Jonah ibn Janah
Jonah ibn Janah (Judeo-Arabic: יוֹנָה אִבְּן גַּ֗נָאח, romanized: Yonāh ibn Janāḥ) or ibn Janach,[1] born Abū al-Walīd Marwān ibn Janāḥ ( Arabic: أبو الوليد مروان بن جناح),[2] (c. 990 – c. 1055), was a Jewish rabbi, physician and Hebrew grammarian active in al-Andalus (Muslim-ruled Spain). Born in Córdoba, ibn Janah was mentored there by Isaac ibn Gikatilla and Isaac ibn Mar Saul, before he moved around 1012, due to the sacking of the city by Berbers. He then settled in Zaragoza, where he wrote Kitab al-Mustalhaq, which expanded on the research of Judah ben David Hayyuj and led to a series of controversial exchanges with Samuel ibn Naghrillah that remained unresolved during their lifetimes.
Jonah ibn Janah
between 985 and 990
1055
Physician
His magnum opus, Kitab al-Tanqīḥ, contained both the first complete grammar for Hebrew and a dictionary of Biblical Hebrew, and is considered "the most influential Hebrew grammar for centuries"[3] and a foundational text in Hebrew scholarship. Ibn Janah is considered a very influential scholar in the field of Hebrew grammar; his works and theories were popular and cited by Hebrew scholars in Europe and the Middle East. His second seminal work of no less importance was a book entitled Kitāb al-Talkhīṣ ("Book of the Commentary"), being the oldest monograph on the nomenclature of simple drugs.[4]
Name[edit]
The name in which he is known in Hebrew, Jonah ("dove", also spelled Yonah) was based on his Arabic patronymic ibn Janah ("the winged", also spelled ibn Janach).[5][6] His Arabic personal name was Marwan, with the kunyah Abu al-Walid. Latin sources, including Avraham ibn Ezra[7] referred to him as "Rabbi Marinus", a Latinization of his Arabic name Marwan.[5]
Early life[edit]
There is little information on his family or early life, mostly known from biographical details found in his writings.[5] He was born in Córdoba, in modern-day Spain and then-capital of the Umayyad Caliphate of Córdoba between 985 and 990.[5] He studied in the nearby Lucena; his teachers there included Isaac ibn Gikatilla and Isaac ibn Mar Saul.[1][5] His education included the languages of Arabic, Hebrew, and Aramaic, the exegesis of the Bible and the Quran, as well as rabbinic literature.[5] Ibn Mar Saul was a master of poetry and ibn Janah attempted to write some Hebrew poetry himself, but was not very successful at it.[8][5] Ibn Gikatilla was an expert in both Hebrew and Arabic grammar, and under his tutelage ibn Janah became fluent in Arabic, familiar with Arabic literature and "acquired an easy and graceful" Arabic writing style.[8] Arabic became his language of choice for most of his writings.[2][9] Ibn Janah also mentioned Judah ben David Hayyuj as one of his major influences, but he was unlikely to have met him, because Hayyuj was active in Córdoba and died before ibn Janah returned there.[8]
Around 1012, he returned to Córdoba, where he studied and practiced medicine.[2] By this time, Al-Andalus or the Islamic Iberia was in a period of instability and civil war, known as the Fitna of al-Andalus.[5] Córdoba was besieged and sacked by Berber rebels, who committed atrocities on its citizens, including the Jews.[5][10] The caliphate of Córdoba soon disintegrated into small states known as the taifas.[10] Ibn Janah and many other Jews were forced to leave the capital.[8] He moved to the Upper March region of Al-Andalus,[5] and – after a period of wandering there – settled in Zaragoza.[8] He had at least one son.[5]
Legacy[edit]
Ibn Janah died in approximately 1055,[2] his works quickly became popular among Hebrew scholars in Spain.[22] They were initially inaccessible in other parts of Europe, which did not read Arabic.[22] However, in late twelfth century, Spanish-Jewish scholars in Italy and southern France spread Ibn Janah's work there and to the rest of Europe.[22] Ibn Janah's main work, Kitab al-Tanqīḥ, was translated into Hebrew by Judah ben Saul ibn Tibbon in 1214.[23] This translation as well as others spread ibn Janah's methods and fame outside the Arabic-speaking Jews.[18] He was subsequently cited by Hebrew scholars and exegetes in the Iberian peninsula, the Middle East and southern France.[18]
In 1875 Kitab al-Usul was published in English as "The Book of Hebrew Roots", and a second printing with some corrections occurred in 1968. It was republished in Hebrew in 1876.[22]
His work, research and methodology are considered deeply important. The Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World (EJIW) describes him as "one of the best-known, most influential, closely followed, and highly praised scholars" of Hebrew. Professor of Judaic Studies Michael L. Satlow writes that Kitab al-Tanqīḥ is "fundamental to the study of Hebrew grammar";[24] Sephardic Studies Professor Zion Zohar calls it "the most influential Hebrew grammar for centuries", and an example of where "medieval Judeo-Arabic literary culture reached its apogee".[3] Writer David Tene "rhapsodizes" on Kitab al-Luna, calling it "the first complete description of Biblical Hebrew, and no similar work - comparable in scope, depth and precision - was written until modern times...[it was] the high point of linguistic thought in all [medieval grammatical] history".[25] The EJIW described Kitab al-Usul as "the basis of all other medieval Hebrew dictionaries".[18] The Jewish Encyclopedia, however, notes "serious gaps" in Kitab al-Tankih, because it does not discuss vowels and accents, and because it omits explaining Hayyuj's works on which it is based on.[26] The Encyclopædia Britannica calls him "perhaps the most important medieval Hebrew grammarian and lexicographer" and says that his works "clarif[ied] the meaning of many words" and contained the "origin of various corrections by modern textual critics".[9]