The Shema in Saadia Gaon’s Judeo-Arabic translation of the Tanach

A book opened up to two pages filled with Hebrew letters, the Judeo-Arabic Tanach, the Tafsir Rasag.

Saadia Gaon’s Judeo-Arabic translation of the Tanach, the Tafsir Rasag, has been available at Sefaria for years now, and it’s fascinating in many ways. Today I want to talk about how the Gaon translates the word “Elohim” and the tetragrammaton. As would be expected by any unbiased person, the Hebrew word אלוהים (Elohim, God) is … Read more