(Kebra Nagast). Epopée Nationale De L’Éthiopie

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COLIN, G. — La gloire des rois (Kebra Nagast). Epopée nationale de l’Éthiopie. (Cahiers d’Orientalisme XXIII). Patrick Cramer Éditeur, Genève 2002. (30 cm, 117). At last we have a new elegant translation of an important Ethiopian literary work into an important European language. Gérard Colin and the editor of the Series “Cahiers d’Orien- talisme”, Enzo Lucchesi, have to be congratulated for this French translation, which entirely supersedes the previous and partial one by H. Le Roux, Chez la Reine de Saba, Paris 1914 (repr. 2001). It must be said from the beginning that this translation is really a pleasure to read, frequently even more agreeable than the sometimes a little boring original. The present reviewer is about to complete the first Italian translation of this work from the original Geez,1) and he has to confess that in most cases he has found nothing better in his own language than an equivalent to the French rendering by Colin. The mistakes, almost unavoidable in a work of these pro- portions, are not numerous nor serious. In the first 60 chap- ters (out of 117, so a little more than a half of the entire text), the present reviewer has found the following: Ch. 8 text p. 4 'arÌawa ÌawaÌ¢wa samay wawarada ’asraba ’ayÌ: transl. p. 17 Il ouvrit les portes du ciel et les cataractes du ciel descendirent, with of heaven (du ciel) instead of of the flood in the final part; Ch. 10 text p. 5 wa'iy¢Ìessu zawa∂'a ’¢m'afuya: transl. p. 18 je (…) ne ferai mentir ce qui est sorti de ma bouche, instead of it will not lie what came out from my mouth; Ch. 17 text p. 10, transl. p. 21: if qanadila (accus.) is translated with lampes, the maÌat¢wa which follows should be translated with a different word, maybe lampes à feu; same place 'a'yaga (sic) wa'abÌ¢rta maybe basins and bowls instead of étangs et lacs (cp. Bezold Teichen und Seen), because it is a list of objects; same place dabra maqdasu is probably not sa montagne sainte, but the mount of his sanctu- ary; Ch. 23 text p. 14 zakama baÒÌa hagara y¢huda ’iyarusalem: transl. p. 24 comment il était arrivé dans le pays de Juda, à Jérusalem (cp. Bezold wie er nach dem Lande Juda, nach Jerusalem (…) gekommen sei), maybe better to the cap- ital of Judah, (that is) Jerusalem; Ch. 29 text p. 24 ba'¢nta f¢qr: transl. p. 29 par amitié (pour moi?) (Bezold in Liebe). The present reviewer proposes with pleasure, as an equivalent of baf¢qr (D. 1359: amanter, benevole, libenter); Ch. 30 text p. 24 wy¢belo laÌ¢∂an Ì¢∂¢b maqal¢da waday ÒaÌba may ’¢nza t¢re'i n¢g¢st: transl. p. 30 (Le roi) dit à un jeune servi- teur, la reine voyant (cela): “Lave une coupe et place (à coté) une cruche d’eau”, thus misunderstanding the meaning of '¢nza t¢re'i n¢g¢st (the queen must see that there is water, not that Solomon was speaking to the servant) and waday (imper- ative of wadaya, not a substantive); the correct translation

1) Italian is the only important European language which still does not possess a translation of the KN. The recent translation by L. Mazzoni, Kebra Nagast. La Bibbia segreta dei Rastafari, Coniglio Editore, Roma 2007, is made from the English of Budge and other European versions (p. 11). 1710_BIOR_2008/5-6_03_Tekst 30-01-2009 10:55 Pagina 697

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should be he said to a young servant: “Rinse a vessel and Bezold p. 47), not a 3rd person feminine referring to Sion (as pour a jug of water [in it], when the queen is looking”; same in transl. p. 48); Ch. 54 text p. 59 bam¢Òn¢yatni wabaqalayat Chapter, text p. 25, transl. p. 30: the word salive (as in Bezold is probably non sur la terre ferme et dans les abîmes (transl. Speichel) does not exist in the text, and †al is not humidité (as p. 48; cp. Bezold p. 48 auf festem Boden und in den Abgrün- in Bezold Feuchtigkeit), but drop; accordingly, a simpler trans- den), but in the firmament (D. 1293) and in the abyss, because lation could be she sought in her mouth, but could not find here the passage is based on the concepts of high and low; Ch. [even] a drop; Ch. 32 text p. 27 wanabara rather than et s’as- 55 text p. 62 talahya labaÌr trad. p. 50 le gonflement de la sit (?) as in the transl. p. 31 (cp. Bezold und setzte sich). The mer, but probably the bumping of the sea (cp. Bezold p. 49 die present reviewer would rather suggest and he waited (also in Brandung des Meeres); same Chapter and page of the text not view of the following waka¨¢ba was¢lsa y¢ssa'ala; Ch. 33 text ils sortirent de la mer (?), but they went out to sea (and cp. p. 28 transl. p. 32 convenable à sa richesse et à sa gloire (of Bezold ibid. sie kamen an’s Meer heraus); Ch. 57 text p. 63 the merchant Tamrin), but the suffix is plural (-omu), so (as in wagassaso l¢bbo wa'anfo ’¢mma y¢rakk¢b m¢wuqa ’¢st¢nfas Bezold) their richness and their glory (referring to the people balaclehu transl. p. 51 et le palpa au coeur et au nez - peut- of the expedition); Ch. 34 text p. 30: in the quotation of 1 être (le) trouverait-il (encore) chaud du souffle qui était en lui, Corinthians 1:20-21 both Colin (transl. p. 33) and Bezold (p. but rather he palpated him to his breast and to his nose, if he 24) make the text of the New Testament too short, because in ever found in him any warm breathing (Bezold p. 51 ob (…) fact zamakara ba†¢babu of the KN here is not immediately an ihm finde); Ch. 60 text 'abawina not mes pères as in transl. referring to Solomon, but (in the form of ba†¢babihomu p. 52, but our fathers (like Bezold p. 54): same Chapter and makara’¢”) is still part of the New Testamental passage; in pages of text and translation dabra maqdas¢ka not la montagne the same Chapter and page of the text baq¢dmehu in the sen- de ta sainteté, but the mountain of your sanctuary (like Bezold tence wawahabo ’¢” mogasa baq¢dmehu ladawit gabru is not p. 51 Berg deines Heiligtums). devant lui (transl. p. 33; cp. Bezold p. 25 bei ihm (Gott)), but before him, earlier than him; Ch. 37 text p. 35 '¢nza ’anta The book intentionally avoids going into details, and, in t¢d¢Ì¢ranni is not toi me bénissant as in transl. p. 36, but with the Introduction, it is satisfied in giving some basic informa- your permission (cp. Bezold p. 29 mit deinem Segenswün- tion, for the utility of a not strictly specialist reader. Here schen); same Chapter text p. 36 [wam¢sla] Òad¢qan daqiqomu some notes follow, in order to place the work in a possibly not as in transl. p. 36 et tous leurs enfants, but their righteous more general perspective; they are intended only to give to children as in Bezold p. 29 (mit ihren gerechten Kindern); the kind of reader just mentioned some suggestions which, I same Chapter and page of text wat¢re'¢yanni ’ana d¢kum diba repeat, were not in the intentions of the author. manbaronu la ’abawiya is not as in transl. same p. 36 Tu me vois, moi le faible, sur le thrône de mes pères, but you see that The Kebra Nagast (KN) is surely one of the most complex I am weak on the throne of my fathers (cp. Bezold p. 29 Nun and difficult works of the Ethiopian literature, and as such it siehst du mich Schwachen (d.h. meine Wenigkeit) auf dem presents several historical and literary problems. Thron meiner Väter); Ch. 39 text p. 38 y¢babe is here rather Already the precise scope, the time and place of its com- rejoicing (it is coordinated to t¢fs¢Ìt) than transl. p. 37 excla- position are difficult to disentangle. The traditional view, mations d’allégresse (and cp. Bezold p. 31 Jubel); Ch. 40 title according to which the KN was composed to sustain ideo- (text p. 38) not as in the transl. p. 38 Où le prêtre Sadoq obéit logically the recent ruling dynasty,2) must perhaps be revised, au roi David, but the reverse, more or less Where the priest according to the theory of Savir Chernetsov.3) Sadok gave king David an order (the verb is 'azzaza, not ta'az- No doubt one of the major problems king cAmda ∑¢yon zaza; cp. Bezold p. 31 woselbst der Priester Sadoq dem König David Befehl erteilt); Ch. 41 text p. 41 tacaggassa lamacat had to face, after the wars against Tigre, Damot and Hadiya, wad¢Ìra tastafess¢Ìakka is not Abstiens-toi de la colère: was that of the Enderta, which was developing a strong ensuite (Dieu) te réjouira, but Abstain from wrath, and after- autonomist tendency;4) this state of affairs is clearly revealed wards it (the [lack of] wrath) will make you happy (3d person by the documents in the Golden Gospel of Dabra Libanos, fs; cp. Bezold p. 34 Erdulde den Zorn, und er wird dich später those in the Liber Axumae (doc. n. 29, by Lebna Dengel) and erfreuen); Ch. 42 text p. 42 'it¢qt¢l nafsa is not ne tue pas une even more by those from Dabra Hayq (doc. 95, by cAmda âme, as in the transl. p. 40, but simply do not kill, because ∑¢yon himself).5) The head of Enderta at that time, after qatala nafsa is the usual expression for “to kill” (Bezold p. ’Engeda ‘Egzi' and Tasfana ‘Egzi', was nobody else than the 35 du sollst nicht tödten); Ch. 43 text p. 46 wayasenn¢yu same Yacbika ‘Egzi', who according to the colophon, ordered gaÒomu trad. p. 42: il lui montraient un visage joyeux, with a c suffixed pronoun absent from the text, and which makes the the n¢bura ’¢d Y¢sÌaq to write the KN. Ya bika ‘Egzi' was expression focused on Solomon, whereas it has a general value (cp. Bezold p. 37 sie zeigten ein freundliches Gesicht); Ch. 45 text p. 49 wa'awraso m¢dra nakira, instead of he gave him in 2) E.g. E. Cerulli, Storia della letteratura etiopica, Milano 1961, 47; 2nd heritage a foreign land (Colin p. 43, Bezold p. 39) maybe a edition, Firenze-Milano 1968, 46. Colin in the book under review, 9. marvelous land; same Chapter and page of text 'alwaÌa san- 3) S.B. Cernecov (Chernetsov), Efiopskaja feodalynaja monarchija v. nayana wayasta†agcon is not (qu’il fasse rapidement pour moi) XIIIXVI vv., Moskva 1982. deux belles planches et qu’il les ajuste (trad. p. 43), but (so 4) See the convenient summary in Taddese Tamrat, Church and state in that he makes for me immediately) some nice boards, and he Ethiopia, 1270-1527, London 1972, 73-4. Ibid., 73 a document from the joins (cp. Bezold p. 40 zusammenleime) them; Ch. 52 text p. same Golden Gospel of Dabra Libanos, of the year 1305, is quoted, where the governor Tasfana ‘Egzi' calls Enderta “my kingdom”. Taddese rightly 56 has kama yahabbo, omitted in the translation p. 47; same calls this lineage a “new dynasty”. Here it can be added that also onomas- Chapter text p. 57 za'albo q¢dma wad¢Ìra za'¢nbala tahaw¢ko tics, which almost always shows the element ‘Egzi' (Engeda ‘Egzi', Tas- y¢mna wa∂¢gma is probably not sans qu’il y eût d’avant ni fana ‘Egzi', Yacbika ‘Egzi'), points out to a “dynastic” tendency. d’arrière, sans être mus ni à droite ni à gauche, but there was 5) Taddese Tamrat, “The abbots of Dabra Hayq 1248-1535”, JES 8/1 nobody (who stayed) before or behind, but (there was) only (1972), 95-96. In Taddese’s translation: “And after that God gave into my confusion (or: agitation) on the right and on the left (Bezold hand the ruler of Entarta with all his army, his people, his relatives, and all p. 46 not clear); same Chapter text p. 57 wa'¢mh¢ya baÒÌa his country as far as the cathedral of Aksum. And I, king cAmda ∑¢yon, c c is omitted in the transl. p. 47 went to the sea of Eritrea. When I reached there I mounted on an elephant ba'aÌatti ¢lat: ba'aÌatti ¢lat and entered the sea. And I took up my arrow and spears and killed my (not in Bezold p. 46); Ch. 53 text p. 58 kama t¢kun la'¢ka is nd enemy, and I saved my people”. This expedition is also quoted in the Royal probably a 2 person masculine referring to the king (cp. also Songs (IX, 7 and also VIII, 6). 1710_BIOR_2008/5-6_03_Tekst 30-01-2009 10:55 Pagina 698

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no longer in power in 1322, when as the head of Enderta the very recent volumes by J.B. Pritchard (ed.), Solomon and queen Belen Saba is found (doc. 20 of the Golden Gospel of Sheba, Phaidon, London 1974, and of W. Daum (ed.), Die Dabra Libanos), in turn replaced by the king’s son BaÌr Königin von Saba. Kunst, Legende und Archäologie zwis- Asgad in 1329. So, the KN was composed in the years of the chen Morgenland und Abendland, Belser Verlag, Stuttgart- maximum flourishing of the immoderate autonomistic pre- Zürich 1988, very important are the volumes edited by L.K. tentions of Yacbika ‘Egzi' and of the Enderta. It was adopted Handy (ed.), The age of Solomon: scholarship at the turn by the Salomonids only after 1321. of the millennium, Brill, Leiden 1997 (with many contribu- The colophon immediately brings with itself the problem tions by Kitchen, Lasine, Lemche, Millard, Miller, Na’a- of the older versions/sources of the KN, together with its man, Niemann, Shimoff, Throntveit, Viviano), that by S. anti-Zagwe tendency. To begin with this latter, it is true that Wälchli, Der weise König Salomo: eine Studie zu den the KN repeatedly stresses the primacy of Sem,6) and the Erzählungen von der Weisheit Salomos in ihrem alttesta- fact that slavery was given to Cham (and also that Cham’s mentlichen und altorientalischen Kontext, Kohlhammer, son, Canaan, divided the kingdom of Sem into seven parts). Stuttgart 1999, and the single number of the French journal But we cannot go too far, and say with the famous statement Graphè (edited by the Universities of Artois and “Charles- in the Times Literary Supplement of June 1, 1922, that we de-Gaulle” of Lille), 11 (2002) with the title La Reine de find here a “riot of Pan-Semitism”, or with Hubbard7) a Saba (with contributions by Arbach, Baude, Berthier, Can- “pro Semitic bias”, or even that, in Taddese Tamrat’s opin- nuyer, Gomez Geraud, Haelewyck, Lobrichon, Notter, Pel- ion, the Zagwe “have been dismissed as an alien and impi- letier, Pérès, Vermeylen). ous group of adventurers” on the basis of this “linguistic Among single essays, including the passages 1 Kings 10:1- difference”.8) This purely linguistic approach could be an 13 = 2 Chron. 9:1-12: anachronism, because the only documentation of the Ph. Abadie, “Entre histoire et légende”, Monde de la Bible “Semitic speakers” about the linguistic extraneousness of 95 (1995) 16-17; J.-N. Aletti, “Le jugement de Salomon 1R the Zagwe is a short sentence in the Gadla Na'akweto 3, 16-28”, in: F. Mies (éd.), Toute la sagesse du monde: hom- La'ab,9) which indicates also the use of their language only mage à Maurice Gilbert …, Lessius, Bruxelles 1999, 313- within the family. Besides, the MaÒÌafa M¢s†ira samay 337; C. Balzaretti, “Il regno di Salomone fra storia e letter- wam¢dr (15th c.) gives a list of the languages of the sons of atura”, PaVi 46/4 (2001) 4-10; Sh. Bar, “A better image for Sem, and those of Cham, and among the latter one finds Solomon”, BiTod 36 (1998) 221-226; W.B. Barrick, “Lov- nothing less than the language of the Ìabasi who are “the ing too well: the negative portrayal of Solomon and the com- inhabitants of Tigray” (wa Ìabasi zaw¢'¢tomu t¢gray).10) position of the Kings history”, EstBib 59 (2001) 419-450; R. w Beyer, Die Königin von Saba. Engel und Dämon…, Bergisch So, the extraneousness of the Zag e must have been felt also Gladbach 1987; G. Bissoli, “La regina di Saba”, TS (I) 72 on different levels, outside the linguistic one, i.e. political, (gen-feb 1996) 7-10; P.-M. Bogaert, “La Septante, témoin de social, religious, and traditional.11) la plus ancienne forme conservée de l’histoire de Salomon: 1 As for the second problem, that of the versions and the Rois (III Règnes) 2-14”, RTL 34 (2003) 212-217; M. Bose, sources of the KN, it must be said that it opens such formi- “From exegesis to appropriation: the medieval Solomon”, dable and fascinating perspectives on the entire medieval MAe 65/2 (1996) 187-210; K. Brodersen, “Salomon in literature and folklore of the Near East (Jewish, Christian Alexandria? Der weise Richter in 1 Könige 3, antiker Bilda- and Islamic) that one is compelled to affirm, just to para- tradition und P. Oxy. 2944”, in: R. Bartelmus et al (Hg.), Konsequente Traditionsgeschichte. Fs. Kl. Baltzer, Freiburg phrase Ferdinand de Saussure in his famous statement about in Switzerland/Göttingen 1993, 21-30; C.V. Camp, “Reading journalism, that Ethiopian studies bring everywhere, pro- Solomon as a woman”, in: C.V. Camp (ed.), Wise, strange vided that one comes out of them. And also the KN has and holy: the strange woman and the making of the Bible much more to offer, especially in the light of a number of (JSOT S 32), Sheffield 2000, 144-186; I.X. Checa Saldia, Y titles published after the old classic studies.12) After the not la reina de Saba vio toda la sabiduria de Salomon: un estu- dio sincronico del texto de 1 Reyes 10, 11-13, Roma, Diss. Univ. Gregoriana [dir. G. Conroy]; A. Cizek, “La rencontre 6) Also because the majority of the kings on earth descends from Sem, de deux ‘sages’: Salomon et Alexandre le Grand dans la KN, Ch. 70-83. légende hellénistique et médiévale”, Senfiance 11 (1982) 77- 7) D.A. Hubbard, The literary sources of the Kebra Nagast, unp. PhD 97; M. Cohen Sarano, Le storie del re Salomone e le leggende Thesis, St. Andrews 1956, 404. del profeta Elia … (Il filo rosso), Sansoni, Milano 1993; E. 8) Taddese Tamrat, Church and state, p. 57; cp. also pp. 60 [“Semitic- Damelins, Milano, “The identification of the biblical ‘Queen speaking peoples”] and 72 [“Yikunno-Amlak and his Amhara troops of of Sheba’ with Hatshpsout”…, Kronos 3 (1976) 3-18; 4 Tigré (Semitic) ancestry”]). 9) “and he (the king) spoke to her (the queen) in the language of their (1977) 9-24 (cp.: Janssens Bibl. Eg. 1977:7717); J. Deramay, country”, C. Conti Rossini, “Gli Annali di re Na’akuto-La’ab”, AION 2 “La reine de Saba”, RHR 29 (1984) 296-328; W.G. Dever, (1943) 149 (text), 208 with fn. 2 (translation). The word Ìawisa quoted by “The «golden age of Solomon»: fact or fiction? The archae- Taddese Tamrat, Church and state, p. 57 n. 3 does not demonstrate that the ological evidence”, BAIAS 21 (2003) 95-96; E. Diamond, Zagwe spoke Agaw, because this word was already naturalized in Geez as “Lions, snakes and asses: Palestinian Jewish holy men and an interjection (Dillmann 116-7). masters of the animal kingdom”, in: R. Kalmin – S. Schwartz 10) J. Perruchon, “Le Livre des mystères du ciel et de la terre”, PO I/1, (eds.), Jewish culture and society under the Christian Roman Paris 1903 = 1947, 25. empire …, Peeters, Louvain 2003, 251-283; C.A. Dreher, 11) For some possibilities see Taddese Tamrat, Church and state, 53-64, and my Introduction in P. Marrassini, Il Gadla Y¢mr¢Ìanna K¢rstos, Suppl. “Solomon and the workers”, in: L.E. Vaage (ed.), Subversive n. 85 to AIUON 55 (1995) 3-21. scriptures: revolutionary readings of the Christian Bible in 12) Which can be found in the relevant items of the Encyclopedia Latin America, Trinity, Valley Forge, PA 1997, 25-38; H.J.W. Judaica and of the Encyclopaedia of Islam, in the famous unpublished (but Drijvers, “Salomo/Salomoschriften. III. Sapientia Salomonis, obtainable) Ph.D. thesis by D.A. Hubbard, The literary sources of the Kebra Psalmen Salomos und Oden Salomos”, TRE 29 (1998) 730- Nagast (St. Andrews, 1956, quoted above), in the bibliography of E. Ullen- 2; D. Duval, “Salomon sage ou habile?” …, RevSR 66 (1992) dorff, Ethiopia and the Bible, London 1968, 146-160, and of course in the 213-232; K. Elliger, “Salomo und die Königin von Saba: more recent titles quoted here. 1710_BIOR_2008/5-6_03_Tekst 30-01-2009 10:55 Pagina 699

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Ersten Buch de Könige, Kapitel 10”, in: H. Haag (Hg.), J.C. Exum, The historical books, BiSe 40, Academic, Sheffield Schön bist du und verlockend: grosse Paare der Bibel, 1997, 204-215; Ph. de Robert, “Les rois schismatiques Saul, Herder, Freiburg in Bresgau 2001, 105-113; H.E. Faber van David et Salomon dans la tradition samaritaine”, in: V. Mora- der Meulen, Das Salomo-Bild im hellenistisch-jüdischen bito – A.D. Crown – L. Davey (eds.), Samaritan researches Schrifttum, Diss. Theol. Hogeschool Kampen, 1978; A. Faer- of the Société d’Études Samaritaines. Proceedings of the Fifth ber, König Salomon in der Tradition, I Teil, Wien 1902; L.H. Congress of the SES (Milan, July 8-12, 1996), Mandelbaum, Feldman, “Josephus’s portrait of Solomon”, HUCA 66 (1995) Sydney 2000, vol. III, 54-59; E. Romero, “Relatos en lengua 103-167; R.E. Friedman, “Solomon and the great histories”, sefardi sobre el rey Salomon”, in: C. Thoma – G. Stemberger in: A.G. Vaughin et al. (eds.), Jerusalem in Bible and archae- – J. Maier (hg.), Judentum – Ausblicke und Einsichten. Fs. ology …, Atlanta 2003, 171-180; A. Frisch, “Midrashic Kurt Schubert, Lang, Frankfurt am Main 1993, 185-200; U. derivations of Solomon’s name in the Book of Kings”, Beit Sansoni, Il nodo di Salomone: simbolo e archetipo di Mikra 160 (1999) 96-84; A. Frisch, “Three syntactical dis- alleanza, Electa, Milano 1998; P. Särkiö, Die Weisheit und continuities in 1 Regnum 9-11”, ZAW 115 (2003) 88-93; P. Macht Salomos in der israelitischen Historiographie …, Gilbert, “Les figures bibliques de la sagesse”, Monde de la Helsinki 1994 [diss. T. Veijola]; P. Särkiö, “Die Struktur der Bible 95 (1995) 17-18; P. Gilbert, “Sagesse et histoire: sur Salomo-Geschichte (1 Kön. 1-11) und die Stellung der l’histoire idealisée de Salomon”, in: F. Mies (éd.), Toute la Weisheit in ihr”, BN 83 (1996) 83-106; P. Särkiö, Exodus und sagesse du monde: hommage à Maurice Gilbert …, Lessius, Salomo. Erwägungen zur verdeckten Salomokritik anhand von Bruxelles 1999, 215-227; B. Gosse, “La sagesse et l’intelli- Ex. 1-2; 5, 14 und 32, Helsinki 1998; P. Särkiö, gence de Salomon en 1 Rois 5, 9”, BN 65 (1992) 12-14; M. “Salomo/Salomoschriften I: Altes Testament”, in: G. Krause Gomez-Geraud, “La reine de Saba au rendez-vous de la – G. Müller (hg.), TRE 29: Religionspsychologie-Samaritaner, Croix: avatars typologiques du discours légendaire”, Graphè De Gruyter, Berlin 1998, 724-7; P. Scholz, “Königin von 11 (2002) 123-135; B. Gosse, “La sagesse et l’intelligence de Saba und kein Ende”, Nubica 1-2 (1990) 395-8; J. van Seters, Salomon en 1 Rois 5, 21”, BN 65 (1992) 15-18; E.A. Green, “Solomon’s temple: Fact and ideology in Biblical and Near “The queen of Sheba: a queen of Egypt and Ethiopia?”, JBQ Eastern historiography”, CBQ 59 (1997) 45-57; J. Snyder, 29 (2001) 151-155; B. Green, “The wisdom of Solomon and The literary ambiguity of the Solomon narratives in First the Solomon of wisdom” …, Horizons 30 (2003) 41-66; A. Kings, Diss Aberdeen 2002; F.A. Spina, “In but not of the van Heijst, “Beyond dividing thinking: Solomon’s judgment world: the confluence of wisdom and torah in the Solomon and the wisdom-traditions of women”, LvSt 19 (1994) 99- story (1 Kings 1-11)”, AsbTJ 56 (2001) 17-30; H.-E. Steller, 117; V. Hirth, “Die Königin von Saba” …, BN 83 (1996) 13- Solomon’s dream or “Ask what I shall give thee”: a study in 15; K. Huber, “Die Könige Israels: Saul, David und Midrash texts and their interrelations, Diss. Rijksuniv. Lei- Salomo”, in: M. Öhler (hg.), Alttestamentliche Gestalten im den 1996; H.-J. Stoebe, “Überlegungen zum Aufbau von 1 Neuen Testament, Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darm- Kön 1-12”, ThZ 58 (2002) 97-198; Z. Talshir, “The reign of stadt 1999, 161-183; J.J. Kang, The persuasive portrayal of Solomon in the making: pseudo-connections between 3 King- Solomon in 1 Kings 1-11, Lang, Bern 2003; W. Krebs, “Die doms and Chronicles”, VT 50 (2000) 233-249; M. Taradach, Königin von Saba”, Das Altertum 17 (1971) 195-202; S. “La figure insolite de Salomon”…, in: F. Rourell (ed.), Mis- Lasine, “Jehoram and the cannibal mothers (2 Kgs 6.24-33). celania, tradiciò i traduciò de la Paraula. Festschrift Jordi Solomon’s judgment in an inverted world”, JStOT 50 (1991) Camps i Reverter, Montserrat 1993, Asoc. B., 325-335; C. 27-53; J. Lassner, Demonizing the Queen of Sheba. Bound- Termini, “Il sogno di Salomone e la sapienza (1 Re 3, 4-15)”, aries of gender and culture in post-biblical Judaism and PaVi 46/4 (2001) 16-20; P.A. Toprijano, Solomon the eso- medieval Islam. Studies in the history of Judaism, The Univ. teric king: from king to magus, development of a tradition, of Chicago Press, Chicago 1993; F. Le Failler, “La reine de Diss. New York Univ. 1999, Brill, Leiden 2002; J. Ver- Saba ou le rêve incertain”, Etudes, juillet-août 2001, 91-100; meylen, “La visite de la reine de Saba à Salomon: une lec- A. Lemaire, “La reine de Saba à Jérusalem: la tradition anci- ture de 1 Rois 10, 1-13”, Graphè 11 (2002) 11-28; O.V. enne reconsiderée”, in: U. Hübner – E.A. Knauf (Hg.), Kein Volkoff, D'ou vint la reine de Saba?, Le Caire 1971; M. Land für sich allein. Studien … für Manfred Weippert …, Warner, “In and out of the fold: wisdom, ranger and glam- Freiburg-Göttingen 2002, 43-55; L. Luke, “Solomon’s wis- our in the tale of the Queen of Sheba”, in: E. Büchmann – C. dom”, BiBh 27 (2001) 134-146; R. Mayer – I. Rühle, Spiegel, Out of the garden. Women writers on the Bible, Pan- “Salomo als Prototyp eines Weisen? Die Weisheit Salomos dora, London 1995, 150-165; J.T. Wash, “The characteriza- – einmal anders”, BiKi 52 (1997) 193-199; C.C. McCown, tion of Solomon in First Kings 1-5”, CBQ 57 (1995) 471-493; “The Christian tradition as to the magical wisdom of A. Wénin, “Le roi, la femme et la sagesse: une lecture de 1 Solomon”, JPOS 2 (1922) 1-24; M. Mena Lopez, “A Rainha Rois 3, 16-18”, RTL 29 (1998) 29-45. de Saba: uma proposta de reconstruçao historica da sabedo- ria feminina afro-asiatica do secolo X a. C. ”, RCT 11/42 Making use of this old and new material, for the figure of (2003) col. 10-20; H.M. Niemann, “Salomo und die Königin the two principal actors an interesting picture emerges from von Saba” …, BiKi 57 (2002) 220-223; K.I. Parker, a comparison between historical reality and literary-folkloric “Solomon as philosopher king? The nexus of law and wis- tradition. dom in 1 Kings 1-11”, JStOT 53 (1992) 75-91 = J.C. Exum, In the case of Solomon, his historical reality cannot be The historical books, BiSe 40, Academic, Sheffield 1997, 233- discussed, although, as an ideal figure of a king, by no 248; M. Perani, “La fortuna di Salomone nel giudaismo”, means to be taken for granted in every detail. As it is well PaVi 46/4 (2001) 37-44; A. de Pury, “Salomon et la reine de Saba: l’analyse narrative peut-elle se dispenser de poser la known, S. is a central personage not only in the Jewish and question du contexte historique? ”, in: D. Marguerat (éd.), La Rabbinical tradition, but also in the Oriental folklore, Bible en récits: l’exégèse biblique à l’heure du lecteur, Labor including Islam, Coptic Egypt, and Ethiopia. His most et Fides, Genève 2003, 213-238; A. de Pelletier, “La Reine prominent traits were wisdom (for which the KN seems to de Saba, ou il y a plus ici qu’un anecdote”, in: P. Bovati – make use only of the Old Testament, without resorting to R. Meynet (eds.), Ouvrir les Écritures: mélanges offerts à extra-biblical sources), haughtiness13) (but here the KN Paul Beauchamp …, Cerf, Paris 1995, 119-132; A.M. Pel- letier, “Les femmes de Salomon: pour relire l’histoire de la reine de Saba”, Graphè 11 (2002) 29-44; H.S. Pyper, “Judg- 13) The sources are here the Old Testament and the Wisdom of Solomon, ing the wisdom of Solomon” …, JStOT 59 (1993) 25-36 = an apocryphal writing included in the Septuaginta. 1710_BIOR_2008/5-6_03_Tekst 30-01-2009 10:55 Pagina 700

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takes the opposite direction, stressing his humility and mak- do not possess a “historical” portrait of her21) - or maybe this ing him frequently say that his wisdon comes from God),14) is easier, just because of that. What is sure is that in the tra- idolatry, the most relevant cause of it being his union with dition she has a negative connotation as a witch: in the Jew- many wives and concubines15) (here the KN chaps. 63 and ish Targum Sheni (“Second Targum”) to Ester 1:2-2722) (7th- 64 add the story of Maqsara, the daughter of Pharaoh, who 8th c. or 11th-13th; see also below) and in the Qur’an she is induced him to make sacrifices [particularly of locusts] to the queen of the worshippers of the sun; in the Islamic tra- the idols, as in many Rabbinical writings and in the Testa- dition, and in a saying of the Prophet in ™abari (d. 923) she ment of Solomon [in Greek, Egypt, 3rd-4th c. A.D.];16) in Ch. is the daughter (in other sources, grand-daughter) of the king 28 the KN justifies Solomon’s behaviour by his will to ful- of the ginn, who at the same time was the king of Himyar. fil what is said in Gen. 22:17) - but above all magic, a char- Besides, in the Targum Sheni and in the Qur’an she submits acteristic of S. which is so universally known in the entire to Solomon several difficult riddles and problems to solve; Near East and Christian Africa that it does not need to be in the Byzantine world, in the Chronicon by George the stressed here. Monk23) (9th c.), she began to be identified with the Sybil (so, On the historicity of the Queen, it must be repeated that another prophetess and a witch). In favour of this identifica- queens are not attested in Saba and in South Arabia in gen- tion also the similarity of her name (Saba) with the name of eral,17) whereas at least eight queens are documented by the a judaic sybil called Sabbe played an important role; this Assyrian sources in North Arabia between the 8th and the 7th Sabbe was a descendant of Noah, who left her as her heritage c. B.C.;18) possibly they were all priestesses of the goddess the regions of the South (so, with another parallelism, in this Dilbat in one of the main centers of the Arabs at that epoch, case with the title “queen of the south” usual for the queen the desert fortress of Adummatu (Biblical Dumah), in the of Sheba). In the Testament of Solomon, quoted above, it is oasis of al-Gawf, in southern Syria. The fact that South-Ara- explicitly said in Ch. 19 that the queen “was a witch”. She bian remains in Syria-Palestine (or related to it) are so few is also frequently identified with Lilith,24) queen of the (3 short inscriptions of the 7th c. B.C. found in the neigh- netherworld and enemy of Solomon, winged demon of the bourhood of Jerusalem,19) and one from Macin which quotes night, making women have abortion and killing the newborn, Tyre,20) of uncertain date but which confirms the commer- and herself a hairy being; she was the first wife of Adam, cial contacts in Ez. 27:22), confirms the traditional view that created directly from earth (and not from the first man), and some confusion was produced in Syria-Palestine between so always struggling for her independence.25) But above all (North)Arabians and (South)Arabians, thus transplanting the her witchlike activity is demonstrated by her hairiness, and/or (for that mentality) astonishing tradition about the queens to her hoof (of a donkey26) or of a goat).27) In general, hairiness the more prestigious (and fabulous) southern civilization. was considered to be a symbol of demoniac nature (Hebr. A little more difficult to disentangle is the “mythical” s¢'irim “the hairy”, demons of the desert, e.g. Is. 13:21, aspect of the Queen, because, differently from Solomon, we 34:14).28) Even more serious and fascinating than that of the Zagwe is another problem raised by the colophon, that of the Coptic 14) See also Ch. 24, about the worker. original, and of the Arabic translation made by “Abalez and 15) 1 Kings 11:1-13 and Deut 17:17. Probably this was not because of Abalfarag” in 1225, under king Lalibela, without translating mere sensuality, but for political reasons, and in the Old Testament to explain the proliferation of pagan deities. Cp. the essay of A.-M. Pelletier, “Les femmes de Salomon: pour relire l’histoire de la reine de Saba”, Graphè 11 (2002) 29-44. 21) Although also for Solomon the historical portrait can be of course 16) Crit. ed. by C.C. McCown, The Testament of Salomon, Leipzig 1922; ideological; cp. the general bibliography above. see also F.C. Conybeare, “The Testament of Solomon”, JQR 11 (1898), 1- 22) Text in P. Cassel, Zweites Targum zum Buche Esther, Leipzig-Berlin 45, and now D.C. Duling, “Testament of Solomon. A new translation and 1885; P. Cassel, An explanatory commentary on Esther. Appendix I. The Introduction”, in: J.H. Charlesworth (ed.), The Old Testament Pseude- Second Targum, Edinburgh 1888; M. David, Das Targum Scheni, Berlin pigrapha, vol I, Longman & Co., London, Darton 1983, 935-987. See in 1898; S. Gelbshaus, Das Targum Sheni zum Buche Esther, Frankfurt am general J.-C. Haelewyck, Clavis apocryphorum Veteris Testamenti, Bre- Main 1893; L. Munk, Targum Scheni zum Buch Esther nebst variae lec- pols, Turnhout 1998, n. 162 pp. 115-116, and specifically for the Testament tiones nach wissenschaftlichen Quellen, Berlin 1878; summary in L. of Solomon J.-C. Haelewyck, “La reine de Saba et les apocryphes Ginzberg, The legends of the Jews, Philadelphia 1913, IV, 142-6, 148-9; salomoniens: “Testament de Salomon” et “Questions de la reine de see also M. Grünbaum, Neue Beiträge zur semitischen Sagenkunde, Leiden Saba””, Graphè 11 (2002) 83-99. 1893, 209-215. 17) M. Arbach, “La reine de Saba entre légende et réalité historique 23) S. Kraus, “Die Königin von Saba in den byzantinischen Chroniken”, d’après les inscriptions sudarabiques préislamiques”, Graphè 11 (2002) BZ 11 (1902) 120-131; E. Nestle, “Zur Königin von Saba als Sibylle”, ibid. 69-82. 13 (1904) 492-3. 18) Zabibe, Shamsi, Yatic, Telhunu, Tabu'a, Yapa, Baylu, A†iya, under 24) For Lilith add to the traditional bibliography W. Bacher, “Lilith, kings Tiglatpileser III, Sargon II, Sennacherib, Assarhaddon, Assurbanipal. Königin of Smaragd”, MGWJ 19 (1970) 187-9; C. Müller-Kessler, “Lilit(s) Cp. the relevant texts in R. Borger, Die Inschriften Assarhaddons, König in der aramäisch-magischen Literatur der Spätantike. Teil I” …, AoF 28 von Assyrien, Graz 1956; D.D. Luckenbill, Ancient records of Assyria and (2001) 338-352. Babylonia, Chicago — NY – London 1927/8 (repr. 1968, 1989) vols. I and 25) In Arabic she is also called karina, against whom Solomon fights in II; S. Parpola – K. Watanabe, State archives of Assyria, II, Helsinki 1988; many Jewish, Arabic and Slavic legends. H. Tadmor, The inscriptions of Tiglatpileser, king of Assyria, Jerusalem 26) Cp., in the Testament of Solomon, the onoskelìs, demon with the 1994. See again N. Abbott, “Pre-islamic Arabian queens”, AJSL 58 (1941) body of a woman, and legs of a donkey. In the Arabic tradition the ghul are 1-22; F. Briquel-Chatonnet, “Les arabes en Arabie du Nord et au Proche- malign demons (sub-type of the ginn) with ass hoof. In the Physiologus Orient avant l’hégire”, in Ch. Robin (ed.), L'Arabie antique …, RMMM 61 (Alexandria, about 1st-2nd c. A.D.) it is said that “the onager is the devil”. (1991-3) 37-43. A. Avanzini, “Remarques sur le “matriarcat” en Arabie 27) See esp. G. Rösch, “Die Königin von Saba als Königin Bilqis”, du Sud”, ibid. 157-8; J. Retsö, The Arabs in antiquity, London - New York Jahrbücher für protestantische Theologie 6 (1880) 524-572; E. Littmann, 2003, 126 ff. The legend of the Queen of Sheba in the tradition of Axum, Leiden 1904, 19) Y. Shiloh, “South Arabian inscriptions from the city of David, 28-29; Hubbard, Literary sources, 294 with fn. 31. Connection between Jerusalem”, PEQ = Palestine Exploration Quarterly 119 (1987) 9-18. ass’s hoof and witchcraft in both Rösch and Littmann. 20) Ch. Robin, “Première mention de Tyr chez les Minéens d’Arabie du 28) W.R. Smith, Lectures on the religions of the Semites, London 1889, Sud”, Semitica 39 (1990 = Hommages à Maurice Sznycer) 135-147. 113; J. Wellhausen, Reste altarabischen Heidentums, 151-2. 1710_BIOR_2008/5-6_03_Tekst 30-01-2009 10:55 Pagina 701

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it in turn into Geez because this would have been a sacrilege, amount of legendary material common to many literatures of the Zagwe being usurpers and not “from the house of Israel”. the Near East, Egypt, and East Africa. Anyway, it is the merit That of the Arabic version has frequently been a problem, of the Islamic expounders to clarify the events: the glass sim- which can be solved by taking into account a plurality of Ara- ilar to water was put there in order to make the Queen to lift bic sources, as more or less maintained by Cerulli.29) In view her dress, and to discover her nature of a witch by revealing of the composite character of the legend, it is possible to her hairy foot (hair, ass’s foot, goat’s foot are usually indices strenghten this hypothesis significantly. of witchcraft in the Near East and in Africa). The oldest evidence coming from the Islamic world is the For the Arabic tradition, a recent Italian translation, by G. Qur’an itself (Sura 27 “the ant”: 15-45), as usual, in its qual- Canova, of al-™aclabi (d. 1035), Storia di Bilqis regina di Saba, ity of a “text without context” (Peters), not very explicit (in Venezia, Marsilio 2000, has an excellent bibliography on pp. this case it surely presupposed that the readers already knew 102-108, Islamic pp. 101-102. Recently some studies by F.A. the story). It speaks of the ginn at Solomon’s court‚ of their Pennacchietti must be consulted: “The queen of Sheba, the involvement in the problem of receiving the queen, of the crys- glass floor and the floating tree-trunk”, Henoch 22 (2000) 223- tal palace mistaken for water by the queen, her raising of her 246 [Italian original in Sincronie. Università di Roma «Tor dress, but not of any abnormal hairiness of her leg. This last Vergata», Dipartimento di Studi Filologici, Linguistici e Let- terari 4 (2002) 48-64]; “La reine de Saba, le Pavé de cristal detail, which is in fact essential for the whole legend, is pre- et le Tronc flottant”, Arabica 49 (2002), pp. 1-26; “La regina sent in the Jewish Targum Sheni quoted above, which tells di Saba, il pavimento di cristallo e il tronco galleggiante”, in: more or less the same story with much more details. Among S. Giombi (ed.), La sorgente e il roveto: la Bibbia per il XXI these latter one cannot help noting the presence of the hoopoe, secolo fra storia religiosa e scrittura letteraria, Manziana, which, as in the Qur’an, plays an important rôle in discover- Roma 2002, 32-48. See also C. Schedl, “Sulayman und die ing the existence of the pagan Queen. The hoopoe is an impor- Königin von Saba”, in: R.G. Stiegner (ed.), al-Hudhud. tant bird in the islamic culture;30) its name in Arabic is hud- Festschrift Maria Höfner…, Graz 1981, pp. 305-324. hud, and the name of the father of the Queen in the islamic Cerulli does not give clearly his opinion about the possi- sources is al-Hadhad. More in general, the presence of a fab- ble Coptic original (although he seems to militate against this ulous bird is clear also in the Copto-Arabic tradition (the bird 31 possibility), which is admitted by Bezold; Nöldeke was in rokh or rakh, ) see below). We can take into account the pres- doubt.35) This problem has been repeatedly discussed. Dill- ence of many other features in the different literatures. One mann in his Catalogue of the manuscripts of the Bodleian important example is that of the hairy leg (very important Library (1848) declared36) that the entire colophon was false, because it reveals the witchlike nature of the Queen), which is because of its bad type of Geez, but from Zotenberg37) present in Jewish (Targum Sheni), Islamic (Qur’an, indirectly; onwards it is believed that in the colophon only this allusion Islamic commentators, see below), and Ethiopian traditions; to Coptic is false. About the Egyptian (i.e. Copto-Arabic) tra- in these latter, it has been eliminated from the KN (thanks to dition the following must be said: its general tendency to filter and cleanse the story), but it is present in a popular oral tradition in three versions (two in 1) first of all, a translation from Coptic to Arabic, far from Tigrinya,32) and a third in Tigre,33)) narrating of one young girl being surprising, represents the absolute normality in the by the name of Azeb “south” (or '¢teye Azeb “princess of the Coptic literature; south”) offered in sacrifice to the dragon, which afterwards is 2) there is an Arabic text contained in the MS BN Suppl. 92 killed by 9 (or 7 or 4) angels and/or saints, clearly a reminis- (year 1594),38) and edited and translated by Bezold,39) who cence of the famous “9 saints” of the tradition;34) her foot considered it as a summary (Auszug) of the KN.40) touches the blood of the dragon, and it is changed into an ass’s 3) there is a French summary of an Arabic text (the same? heel. Afterwards she goes to Jerusalem, and is healed by another?), also indicated by Bezold,41) and contained in Solomon, who did not refuse a trick similar to that employed E. Amélineau, Contes et romans de l’Égypte chrétienne, for the queen of Sheba in the KN; in one version, she is dressed Paris 1888, Tome I, 144 ff. (Chapter “Comme le royaume as a man, and this strongly reminds one of the proofs of abil- de David passa aux mains des roi d’Abyssinie”); accord- ity submitted to Salomon by the Queen in the literary tradition. ing to Bezold, ergab schon eine oberflächlige Vergle- All this invites to take into account the presence of a massive ichung… dass beide Texte identisch sind. Upon Bezold’s request, Amélineau answered that unfortunately he had lost sight of the original manuscript, which had been 29) Storia della letteratura etiopica, Milano 1961, 47-48; 2nd edition, bought in Cairo, and afterwards sold to a private person.42) Firenze-Milano 1968, 46-7. 30) See S. al-Azharia Jahn, “Zur Volkskunde eines Zugvogels. Die Wiedehopf in Nordeuropa und den islamischen Ländern Afrikas”, Anthro- 35) Review of Bezold in WZKM 19 (1905) 402. pos 76 [1981], pp. 371-392; H. Venzlaff, Al-Hudhud. Eine Untersuchung 36) In the footnote p. 74. zur kulturgeschichtlichen Bedeutung des Wiedehopfs im Islam, Frankfurt 37) Catalogue des manuscrits éthiopiens (gheez et amharique) de la Bib- am Main 1994. liothèque Nationale, Paris 1877, 223a. 31) Nothing to do with the camel-like rukh, on which see recently R. 38) Zotenberg, Catalogue, ibid. Kruk, “Of rukhs and rooks, camels and castles, Oriens 36 (2001) 288-298. 39) Pp. xliii-lx of his edition of the KN. An English translation in Budge, 32) C. Conti Rossini, “La leggenda etiopica di re Arwê”, Archivio Queen of Sheba, xxxix-lvi. storico per le tradizioni popolari 20 (1901) 524-5; summary in his Storia 40) Bezold had copied it in München in 1887; afterwards, in 1904, he d’Etiopia, Bergamo 1928, 250-1; and C. Conti Rossini, “Studi su popo- knew, “ganz zufällig”, that Littmann had already begun to work on a copy lazioni dell’Etiopia. La seconda migrazione agau dell’Eritrea”, RSO 4 of the same MS made by Basset. Littmann kindly desisted, and passed his (1912) 611-613 (Tigrinya text p. 603). materials to B. 33) Littmann Legend, 2-13. For the similarity between these legends and 41) Bezold xliii. those from Yemen see Littmann, Legend, 27-28; Conti Rossini, Studi, fn. 42) The philological information by Bezold is somewhat erratic: in 3, pp. 612-614. Bezold’s opinion, the two MSS are identical, but nevertheless Amélineau’s 34) In one of the versions, 3 of them bear names of 3 of the 9 saints MS “mindestens so gut wie die Pariser ist, teilweise aber wahrscheinlich (¢aÌma = ∑¢Ìma, Garima, Män†äliyos = Pän†alewon). eine kürzere Fassung (…) bietet.” 1710_BIOR_2008/5-6_03_Tekst 30-01-2009 10:55 Pagina 702

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4) there is a Coptic text contained in a fragment of a mis- of legendary material also in Coptic Egypt,50) and that this cellaneous MS of the 9th or 10th c., a collection of tales probably contributed to the formation of the legend. and songs in Coptic, in the possession of the Coptologist This extraordinary complexity and heterogeneity of mate- and specialist in Gnosticism Carl Schmidt, edited with a rials all the more stresses the gigantic effort made by the German translation by Adolf Erman in 1897.43) Ethiopian author of the KN in systematizing, purifying and filtering the legend of any unbecoming and non-christian If we compare all these texts, it becomes evident, in my element; and also by introducing another two different opinion, that they are obviously related to the same sub- “cycles”, that of the Ark, and that of the Wood of the Cross. ject, but also show enormous differences. So, I think that The result is a masterpiece which is, in fact, entirely new. the opinion by Bezold,44) Zotenberg,45) and Cerulli46) is This has been affirmed many times, and does not need to unwarranted. As in the case of a critical edition, where it be stressed here. The present reviewer would only like to is not easy to demonstrate that a MS is a of descriptus observe that the sexual union between the queen and the another, because both of them could be faithful reproduc- king is described in Chapter 30 with exceptional tact, only ers of a common (sub)archetype, in our case the similarity with the words of motifs and single elements does not demonstrate that the and she fulfilled his will, and they slept . After the vision of a sun which dwells on Israel, Egyptian material is derived from the Ethiopic (quite apart together in a dream, Solomon wakes up, and is astounded of the from the difficulty of deriving from Ethiopic a Coptic text beauty of the queen, who, the text says, was strong, hand- of the 8th-9thcentury), instead of being both derived from a some and (Geez text p. 26 common source. It is well known that in textual criticism pure in her virginity n¢Ò¢Ìt ). Of course, if the text has to be taken lit- it is extremely difficult to demonstrate that a codex is bad¢ng¢l¢nnaha erally, it is not only a question of adding this example to copied from an model, and that the significant dif- extant the long list of the virgins mothers of the universal folk- ferences (or similarities) are to be sought in details which lore,51) but, taking also into account the fact that her son are apparently minor and senseless, not to say contrary to was born after 9 months and 5 days, which is the usual the attitude of the author or copyist. So, probably period attributed to the Virgin Mary, we can conclude that Nöldeke47) is right in stressing some of these differences: Menelik, following a well known “scriptural model” mainly the goats foot healed by the miraculous wood; the silent employed in hagiography,52) was considered a new Christ, approval of Solomon to the theft; the killing of the work- or at least a king somewhat similar to Christ. ers who had built the framework to mask the theft (and this Anyway, all these literary developments in Ethiopia must of course shocks the author). The conclusion by Nöldeke be inserted in the ideological framework of Judaism in this was just that these writings had a common source, but were country, for which the articles by Rodinson53) still represent not dependent one from the other.48) We can add: the the most enlightening contribution. They must be only sup- young son, in this Egyptian text is a rascal (the first male plemented by mentioning the parallel tendencies of the Zagwe king of Ethiopia!), because he kills several persons; the themselves to be proud of an “israelite” ancestry (from narration of the seduction is different; the Legend of the Moses) quoted by the Armenian doctor Abu Salih in 1208,54) Holy Cross is clearly isolated, and put at the beginning; the and the antiquity of Judaism in South Arabia, even before the name of (or similars) never appears; there is Bayna LeÌem oldest clear monotheistic inscription (Glaser 389 = RES 3383), a bird called . raÌ dated 378 or 384 A.D., as suggested by the present reviewer The Coptic fragment is very obscure, but, apart from the in 1979,55) and now masterly investigated, from both an epi- not clear mention of a ring of Solomon,49) it speaks of a col- graphical and a historical point of view, by Ch. Robin.56) umn which is transported from Saba to Jerusalem, and of the strong presence of demons in Solomon’s palace - both ele- Firenze, April 2008 Paolo MARRASSINI ments which are found in the Jewish tradition and in the Qur’an (the throne of the Queen transported to Solomon’s ** court), but surely not in the . So, the general impression KN * of the present reviewer is that there was a significant amount

50) Although Cannuyer, La reine de Saba, 63 and in the title, says that 43) A. Erman, “Bruchstücke koptischer Volksliteratur”, Abhandlungen in the Coptic tradition there is rien ou presque”, and calls the Queen a der königlichen preussischen Akademie d. Wiss. zu Berlin 1897, pp. 3-4, “troublante inconnue”. Note that there are also three fragments in the texts 23-26, 41-2; French translation in Ch. Cannuyer, “La reine de Saba dans of Nag Hammadi. les traditions de l’église copte: une troublante inconnue”, Graphè 11 (2002) 51) For which the old book by P. Saintyves, Les Vierges Mères et les 64-65. Naissances Miraculeuses. Essai de mythologie comparée, Librairie Critique 44) Bezold ix: “Die Abhängigkeit dieser… Erzählung vom Kebra Nagast Emile Nourry, Paris 1908, is still useful. ist unverkennbar”. This because of the similarity of many motifs and details 52) For these motifs in hagiography see P. Marrassini, Gadla YoÌannes relating to the core (Kern) of the tale, like the spicy foods, the water, the Mesraqawi - Vita di Yohammes l'Orientale, Istituto di Linguistica e di ring to recognize the son, the name David of this latter, the journey to Lingue Orientali, Firenze 1981, lxiii, 75 with fn. 1. Jerusalem, the wooden framework instead of the ark, etc. 53) M. Rodinson, “L’Ethiopie a-t-elle été juive?”, REJ 21 (1963) 399 45) Catalogue, p. 223: the story of the journey of the Queen of Sheba, ff.; review of E. Ullendorff, The Ethiopians…, Oxford 1960, in BiOr 21 mélée à quelques légéndes musulmanes (Rokh, the goat foot, etc.). Cette (1964) 238-245; “Sur la question des “influences juïves” en Ethiopie”, JSS pièce a pour base l’ouvrage éthiopien. 9 (1964) 11-19, “Le problème du christianisme éthiopien: substrat juif ou 46) Storia, 46 (1st ed.) and 47 (2nd ed.): … opuscolo contenuto in un christianisme judaisant?”, RHR 167 (1965) 113-117; review of E. Ullen- codice di Parigi del 1594 d. Cr., e che ha riconosciuta fonte nell’etiopico. dorff, Ethiopia and the Bible, 1968, in JSS 17 (1972) 166-170. 47) WZKM 19 (1905) 409-410 (review of Bezold). 54) Abu Salih, The churches and monasteries of Egypt, ed. and transl. 48)“Man könnte deshalb vermuten, dass diese Erzählung mit dem Kebra by B.T.A. Evetts, Oxford 1895, 287-8. Nagast nur eine gemeinsame Quelle hätte, nicht ihr selbst entstammte.” 55) “Note di storia etiopica”, Egitto e Vicino Oriente 2 (1979) 177-8. 49) The text does not permit to decide if this ring is intended to recog- 56) Ch. Robin, “Le judaisme de Himyar”, Arabia 1 (2003) 97-172; nize the son, as in the KN, or if it is simply a mention of the famous “ring “Himyar et Israel”, CRAIBL 2004, 831-906 (+ Discussion 906-908); “Him- of Solomon”, very widespread also in Egypt as a magical object. yar, des inscriptions aux traditions”, JSAI 30 (2005) 1-51. 1710_BIOR_2008/5-6_03_Tekst 30-01-2009 10:55 Pagina 703

811 BOEKBESPREKINGEN — ISLAM 812

LUSINI, G. — Ascensione di Isaia. Concordanza della ver- sowitz, Wiesbaden, 1973 (cp. review in OrChrPer 39 (1973), sione etiopica (Äthiopistische Forschungen 62). Verlag 501); W. Strothmann, Konkordanz zur syrischen Bibel, Har- Otto Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden, 2003. (24 cm, XIII, 212). rassowitz, Wiesbaden, 1995 (cp. review in OrChr 83 (1999), ISBN 3-447-04732-1. ISSN 0170-3196. / 58,-. 254-5). See also the ancient concordance of the Psalms pointed out This is a very useful and welcome instrument for the study by J. Drescher, “The earliest biblical concordances”, of the apocryphal literature, in a text of the 3rd or 4th c. A.D., BSAC 15 (1958-60), 63-67. midway between that of the Old Testament (chap. 1-5) and that of the New (chap. 6-11). The Ethiopic is not so essen- Firenze, August 2008 Paolo MARRASSINI tial as in Enoch or Jubilees, but it is nonetheless important, because its conclusion preserves the lost part of one of the two branches of the Greek original traditions. As a Concor- dance, it is obvious that it is an important work, and one can- not help hoping that it could be followed by others of the same kind. As a matter of fact, it appears as a complement to a collective work on the “Ascension of Isaiah” published eight years earlier (P. Bettiolo, A. Giambelluca Kossova, C. Leonardi, E. Norelli, L. Perrone (eds.), Ascensio Isaiae. Tex- tus. Commentarius (Corpus Christianorum Series Apoc- ryphorum 7-8), Turnhout 1995). The only other concordance of an Ethiopic text known to the author of this review is that of the Psalms by Monica S. Devens, published earlier in the same Äthiopistische Forschungen (A Concordance to Psalms in the Ethiopic ver- sion (ÄF 59), Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden, 2001); and this is sufficient to indicate our desperate need of this kind of basic instrument. To stress this point, the following is a provisional and very partial list of other concordances available in par- allel fields of study. For Coptic, L.Th. Lefort, Concordance du Nouveau Tes- tament sahidique. I. Les mots d’origine grecque, CSCO 124, Subsidia 1, Louvain 1950, repr. 1964 (cp. reviews in CdE 27 (1952), 324-5; RHE 46 (1951), 205-6; and L.Th. Lefort, “Pour une concordance du Nouveau Testament sahidique”, Mus 63 (1950), 113-7); M. Wilmet, Concordance du Nou- veau Testament sahidique, II. Les mots autochtones, 1., CSCO 173, Subsidia 11, Louvain 1957; 2., CSCO 183, Sub- sidia 13, Louvain 1958; 3., CSCO 185, Subsidia 15, Louvain 1959; R. Draguet, Index copte et grec-copte de la concor- dance du Nouveau Testament sahidique (CSCO 124, 173, 183, 185), CSCO 196, Subsidia 16, Louvain 1960. For Syriac, The Concordance to the Peshitta Version of the Aramaic New Testament, American Christian Press, New Knoxville, Ohio, 1985; T.C. Falla, Analytical Concordance of the Peshitta Fourth Gospel, including the various readings of the Old Syriac version. Vol. I: aleph-daleth, M.A. Diss. Melbourne 1967; T.C. Falla, A Key to the Peshitta Gospels. Vol. 1.’Alaph-Dalath (NT Tools and Studies 14), Brill, Lei- den, 1991 (cp. reviews in ExpTim 103 (1991-2), 56; Mus 104 (1991), 391-2; ETR 67 (1992), 113-4; JSS 37 (1993), 105- 6; NT 34 (1992), 308-9; OrChr 76 (1992), 252-3; JAOS 114 (1994), 88; CBQ 55 (1993), 146-7; JTS 44 (1993), 330-1; Abr-Nahrain 31 (1993), 136-7; ScotTJ 47 (1994), 273-4); G.A. Kiraz, A Computer-generated Concordance to the Syr- iac New Testament, Brill, Leiden, 1993 (cp. reviews in Liber Annuus 43 (1993), 570-2; Mus 106 (1993), 385-7; BSOAS 57 (1994), 648; NT 36 (1994), 291-2; RB 101 (1994), 580- 2; JBL 114 (1995), 357-9); G.A. Kiraz, Lexical Tools to the Syriac New Testament (JSOT Manuals 7), Academic, Sheffield, 1994; R. Sprenger, Konkordanz zur syrischen Psalter, Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden, 1976 (cp. review Bibl 58 (1977), 583-4); W. Strothmann, Konkordanz des syrischen Koheletbuches nach der Peshitta und Syroexapla, Harras-