Abstract
The biblical poem entitled Shir Ha-Shirim (The Song of Songs) composed by Shlomo, the third King of the united tribes of Israel about 1,000 years before the Common Era was composed in Hebrew. However, it was also translated and sung by numerous bards in ancient Arabic dialects, as well as being translated to Kurmanji Kurdish. The King composed this poem to substantiate the primeval identity of his kingdom and its connection to the expanses leading up to Jerusalem and the mountain range surrounding Jerusalem. The poem’s underlying meaning leans on the King’s knowledge of the ancient science of Kabbalah. The eight chapters included in the Hebrew Bible as debated in the first century CE, and recorded by the Mishnaic Sages of Tiberias in the second century CE, now constitute what we have on record of the Song of Songs. The external shell of the poem, the first chapter of which mentions apple-wine and love, and tribal ethics, symbolizes and reminds of the first moment of love’s intoxication and knowledge. The King is mentioned in the Qur’an as prophet Suleimān and is known in English as King Solomon. This study ends with an original translation of the Song of Songs with Notes.
Keywords
Hebrew Bible Song of Songs ancient Kabbalah ancient Arabic dialects wine as symbol prophet Suleiman Kurmanji Kurdish
References
- Alter, Robert (8 Feb 2016). Strong as Death is Love. University of Ca. Berkeley.
- Babayiğit, M. V. (2020). Kürtçe, Türkçe ve İngilizce Atasözlerinde Azim, Başarı, Çalışkanlık, Kararlılık ve Tembellik İfadeleri. International Journal of Kurdish Studies, 6(2), 245-257.
- Babayiğit, M. V. (2021). Investigating Syntax in English Language Teaching Contexts. In Kasap, S. (Ed). The Linguistics of English Language, (1st ed., pp. 33-44). Ankara, Turkey: Anı Press.
- Babayiğit, M. V., & Tanrıkulu V. (2021). Syntax Comparison of Simple Tenses in English, Kurdish and Turkish. International Journal of Kurdish Studies, 7 (2), 287-307.
- Band, D. (2005). The Song of Songs: The Honeybee in the Garden. The Jewish Publication Society. 1 May
- Barakāt, S. (1994). Fuqahā’ al-Ẓalām / [Sages of Darkness]. Baghdad: Al-Mada Publishing House. Translated to English by Aviva Butt in collaboration with the author (2022-3): Sages of Darkness (awaiting publication). 1st edition,
- Butt, A. (2021). The Kurdish Prophet Nahum and His Attitude Towards Nineveh. International Journal of Kurdish Studies 7(2). DOI:10.21600/ijoks.846130
- Chyet, Michael L. (1999). Em hînî Kurmancî dibin. Online: https://www.scribd.com/document/302602640/ingilizikurdi [accessed 18 March 2019].
- Demiral, S. & Babayiğit, M. V. & Koçak, Z. (2023). Comparative Examination between the Wandering Minstrels of Medieval Europe; the Troubadours and Traditional Kurdish Wandering Minstrels; Dengbêjs on the Axis of Culture, Art and Language. Journal of Current Debates in Social Sciences, 6(Special Issue-1), 112-131.
- Gallagher, A. (2004). The Fallible Master of Perfection: Shah Ismail in the Alevi-Bektashi Tradition. PhD Diss. The Institute of Islamic Studies, McGill University, Montreal Quebec Gasimova, A. (2013). The Hair on My Head Is Shining: Qur’anic Imagery of the Curl in Classical Azeri-Turkish Ṣūfī Poetry. Journal of Qur’anic Studies. 15.1, 69-101. Edinburgh University Press. DOI: 10.3366/jqs.2013.0078. JSTOR.
- Hornkohl, Aaron D., Geoffrey Khan, eds. (2021). New Perspectives in Biblical and Rabbinic Hebrew. Cambridge Semitic Languages and Cultures 7. Cambridge: University of Cambridge and Open Book Publishers. https://doi.org/10.11647/OBP.0250.
- Karacan, H., & Babayiğit, M. V. (2017). Türk ve Kürt Dillerinin Sentaks (Sözdizimsel) Karşılaştırması. Tiydem Yayıncılık, Editör: Hasan KARACAN, Basım sayısı, 3, 7-31.
- Karacan, H., Butt, A. (2021). The Antiquity of Kurmanji Kurdish and the Biblical Book of Nahum. Prizren Social Science Journal. Pp: 90-96, https://doi.org/10.32936/pssj.v5i1.206
- Karacan, H., Butt, A. (2021). On the Use of Poetry in Oral and Written Literature: The Voice of the Obscure. ECLSS Proceedings Book. Conference of 18-19 September, 128-136.
- Khan, G. (2020). How Was the Hebrew of the Bible Originally Pronounced?. TheTorah.com. https://thetorah.com/article/how-was-the-hebrew-of-the-bible-originally-pronounced.
- Lings, M. (2004). Sufi Poems. Islamic Texts Society (ISBN 1903682). Interlibrary loan: Victoria University of Wellington, N.Z.
- Mielziner, M. (1968). An Introduction to the Talmud. New York: Bloch Publishing Company, 4th edition.
- Melvin-Koushki, M. (2023). II.9 Another Scientific Revolution: The occult sciences in theory and experimentalist practice. Routledge Handbook on the Sciences in Islamicate Societies: Practices from the 2nd/8th to the 13th/19th centuries. New York: Routledge: 328-39.
- Melvin-Koushki, M. (2023). Safavid Twelver Lettrism between Sunnism and Shi‘ism, Mysticism and Science: Rayab al-Bursī vs. Maḥmūd Dihdār. Academia.edu https://doi.org/10.1080/23801883.2022.2163914.
- Neubauer, A. (1888). Where Are the Ten Tribes?: I. Bible. Talmud, and Midrashic Literature. The Jewish Quarterly Review, Oct., vol.1 no.1: pp. 14-28. University of Pennsylvania Press. JSTOR https://wwww.jstor.org/stable/1449853.
- Noegel, Scott B., Gary A. R. (2009). The Song of Songs: Translation and Notes (Chapter). Solomon’s Vineyard: Literary and Linguistic Studies in the Song of Songs. Atlanta: SBL Press. https://faculty.washington.edu/snoegel/PDFs/articles/Song%20of%20Songs%20Translation.pdf
- Phipps, William E. (1974), The Plight of the Song of Songs. Journal of the American Academy of Religion, 42:1, March: 82–100. JSTOR.
- Saleh, Walid A. (2021). Death and Dying in the Qur’an. Troubling Topics, Sacred Texts: Readings in Hebrew Bible, New Testament, and Qur’an, ed. by Roberta Sterman Sabbath. Berlin/Boston: 345-355. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110650617-020.
- Schiffman, Lawrence H. (1998). Texts and traditions: a source reader for the study of Second Temple and rabbinic Judaism. KTAV Publishing House: Hoboken N.J.
- Snir, R. (1993). The Inscription of ‘En ‘Abdat: An Early Evolutionary Stage of Ancient Arabic Poetry. Abr-Nahrain 31 (now entitled Ancient Near Eastern Studies). Leuven Belgium: Peeters Publishers: 110-125.
- Snir, R. (2006). Religion, Mysticism and Modern Arabic Literature. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag.
Abstract
The biblical poem entitled Shir Ha-Shirim (The Song of Songs) composed by Shlomo, the third King of the united tribes of Israel about 1,000 years before the Common Era was composed in Hebrew. However, it was also translated and sung by numerous bards in ancient Arabic dialects, as well as being translated to Kurmanji Kurdish. The King composed this poem to substantiate the primeval identity of his kingdom and its connection to the expanses leading up to Jerusalem and the mountain range surrounding Jerusalem. The poem’s underlying meaning leans on the King’s knowledge of the ancient science of Kabbalah. The eight chapters included in the Hebrew Bible as debated in the first century CE, and recorded by the mishnaic Sages of Tiberias in the second century CE, now constitute what we have on record of the Song of Songs. The external shell of the poem, the first chapter of which mentions apple-wine and love, and tribal ethics, symbolizes and reminds of the first moment of love’s intoxication and knowledge. The King is mentioned in the Qur’an as the prophet Suleimān and is known in English as King Solomon. This study ends with an original translation of the Song of Songs with Notes.
Keywords
Hebrew Bible Song of Songs ancient Kabbalah ancient Arabic dialects wine as symbol prophet Suleiman Kurmanji Kurdish
References
- Alter, Robert (8 Feb 2016). Strong as Death is Love. University of Ca. Berkeley.
- Babayiğit, M. V. (2020). Kürtçe, Türkçe ve İngilizce Atasözlerinde Azim, Başarı, Çalışkanlık, Kararlılık ve Tembellik İfadeleri. International Journal of Kurdish Studies, 6(2), 245-257.
- Babayiğit, M. V. (2021). Investigating Syntax in English Language Teaching Contexts. In Kasap, S. (Ed). The Linguistics of English Language, (1st ed., pp. 33-44). Ankara, Turkey: Anı Press.
- Babayiğit, M. V., & Tanrıkulu V. (2021). Syntax Comparison of Simple Tenses in English, Kurdish and Turkish. International Journal of Kurdish Studies, 7 (2), 287-307.
- Band, D. (2005). The Song of Songs: The Honeybee in the Garden. The Jewish Publication Society. 1 May
- Barakāt, S. (1994). Fuqahā’ al-Ẓalām / [Sages of Darkness]. Baghdad: Al-Mada Publishing House. Translated to English by Aviva Butt in collaboration with the author (2022-3): Sages of Darkness (awaiting publication). 1st edition,
- Butt, A. (2021). The Kurdish Prophet Nahum and His Attitude Towards Nineveh. International Journal of Kurdish Studies 7(2). DOI:10.21600/ijoks.846130
- Chyet, Michael L. (1999). Em hînî Kurmancî dibin. Online: https://www.scribd.com/document/302602640/ingilizikurdi [accessed 18 March 2019].
- Demiral, S. & Babayiğit, M. V. & Koçak, Z. (2023). Comparative Examination between the Wandering Minstrels of Medieval Europe; the Troubadours and Traditional Kurdish Wandering Minstrels; Dengbêjs on the Axis of Culture, Art and Language. Journal of Current Debates in Social Sciences, 6(Special Issue-1), 112-131.
- Gallagher, A. (2004). The Fallible Master of Perfection: Shah Ismail in the Alevi-Bektashi Tradition. PhD Diss. The Institute of Islamic Studies, McGill University, Montreal Quebec Gasimova, A. (2013). The Hair on My Head Is Shining: Qur’anic Imagery of the Curl in Classical Azeri-Turkish Ṣūfī Poetry. Journal of Qur’anic Studies. 15.1, 69-101. Edinburgh University Press. DOI: 10.3366/jqs.2013.0078. JSTOR.
- Hornkohl, Aaron D., Geoffrey Khan, eds. (2021). New Perspectives in Biblical and Rabbinic Hebrew. Cambridge Semitic Languages and Cultures 7. Cambridge: University of Cambridge and Open Book Publishers. https://doi.org/10.11647/OBP.0250.
- Karacan, H., & Babayiğit, M. V. (2017). Türk ve Kürt Dillerinin Sentaks (Sözdizimsel) Karşılaştırması. Tiydem Yayıncılık, Editör: Hasan KARACAN, Basım sayısı, 3, 7-31.
- Karacan, H., Butt, A. (2021). The Antiquity of Kurmanji Kurdish and the Biblical Book of Nahum. Prizren Social Science Journal. Pp: 90-96, https://doi.org/10.32936/pssj.v5i1.206
- Karacan, H., Butt, A. (2021). On the Use of Poetry in Oral and Written Literature: The Voice of the Obscure. ECLSS Proceedings Book. Conference of 18-19 September, 128-136.
- Khan, G. (2020). How Was the Hebrew of the Bible Originally Pronounced?. TheTorah.com. https://thetorah.com/article/how-was-the-hebrew-of-the-bible-originally-pronounced.
- Lings, M. (2004). Sufi Poems. Islamic Texts Society (ISBN 1903682). Interlibrary loan: Victoria University of Wellington, N.Z.
- Mielziner, M. (1968). An Introduction to the Talmud. New York: Bloch Publishing Company, 4th edition.
- Melvin-Koushki, M. (2023). II.9 Another Scientific Revolution: The occult sciences in theory and experimentalist practice. Routledge Handbook on the Sciences in Islamicate Societies: Practices from the 2nd/8th to the 13th/19th centuries. New York: Routledge: 328-39.
- Melvin-Koushki, M. (2023). Safavid Twelver Lettrism between Sunnism and Shi‘ism, Mysticism and Science: Rayab al-Bursī vs. Maḥmūd Dihdār. Academia.edu https://doi.org/10.1080/23801883.2022.2163914.
- Neubauer, A. (1888). Where Are the Ten Tribes?: I. Bible. Talmud, and Midrashic Literature. The Jewish Quarterly Review, Oct., vol.1 no.1: pp. 14-28. University of Pennsylvania Press. JSTOR https://wwww.jstor.org/stable/1449853.
- Noegel, Scott B., Gary A. R. (2009). The Song of Songs: Translation and Notes (Chapter). Solomon’s Vineyard: Literary and Linguistic Studies in the Song of Songs. Atlanta: SBL Press. https://faculty.washington.edu/snoegel/PDFs/articles/Song%20of%20Songs%20Translation.pdf
- Phipps, William E. (1974), The Plight of the Song of Songs. Journal of the American Academy of Religion, 42:1, March: 82–100. JSTOR.
- Saleh, Walid A. (2021). Death and Dying in the Qur’an. Troubling Topics, Sacred Texts: Readings in Hebrew Bible, New Testament, and Qur’an, ed. by Roberta Sterman Sabbath. Berlin/Boston: 345-355. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110650617-020.
- Schiffman, Lawrence H. (1998). Texts and traditions: a source reader for the study of Second Temple and rabbinic Judaism. KTAV Publishing House: Hoboken N.J.
- Snir, R. (1993). The Inscription of ‘En ‘Abdat: An Early Evolutionary Stage of Ancient Arabic Poetry. Abr-Nahrain 31 (now entitled Ancient Near Eastern Studies). Leuven Belgium: Peeters Publishers: 110-125.
- Snir, R. (2006). Religion, Mysticism and Modern Arabic Literature. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag.
Details
| Primary Language | English |
|---|---|
| Subjects | Kurdish Language, Literature and Culture |
| Journal Section | Makaleler |
| Authors | |
| Publication Date | August 27, 2023 |
| Submission Date | April 23, 2023 |
| Published in Issue | Year 2023Volume: 9 Issue: 2 |
NOTICE: All submissions will be accepted through the Manuscript Submission System. Please click on www.ijoks.com and register to submit a paper.