Literary text: T-S Ar.30.253

Literary text T-S Ar.30.253

Metadata

Shelfmark
T-S Ar.30.253
Primary Languages
Judaeo-Arabic
Unidentified (Hebrew script)

What's in the PGP

  • Image

Description

Love poetry in Judaeo-Arabic, probably. (Upper right of recto refers to a beloved singing woman (mughanniyya) and the remainder seems filled with references to beautiful body parts.) Each stanza ends with the same or similar refrain. It may be a kind of debate poem, as there is "wa-radda" and "man radda" in the refrain before the subsequent stanza. Some of the stanzas are extremely similar to each other, except that the orthography differs. This entire interpretation is tentative, because the handwriting is dreadful and the orthography even worse. The letter ד is alternately rendered as ד ,ת ,and ט. The letter צ is alternately rendered as צ and ז.

Additional metadata

Provenance
Geniza
Collection
Cambridge University Library, Taylor-Schechter
Historical shelfmarks
TS Arabic Box 30, fol. 253; TS Arabic Box 30, f. 253
Input date
In PGP since 2019
Image
Transcription
Translation

T-S Ar.30.253 1r

°
1r

T-S Ar.30.253 1v

°
1v
Image Permissions Statement
  • T-S Ar.30.253: Provided by Cambridge University Library. Cambridge University Library This image may be used in accord with fair use and fair dealing provisions, including teaching and research. If you wish to reproduce it within publications or on the public web, please contact genizah@lib.cam.ac.uk.
Cambridge University Library, Taylor-Schechter, T-S Ar.30.253. Available online through the Princeton Geniza Project at https://geniza.princeton.edu/documents/20374/ (accessed June 8, 2026).