The Christian-Jewish Debate at Tomei (Thmuis), Egypt, circa 620

This is the editio princeps of the Arabic text of The Christian-Jewish Debate at Tomei (Thmuis), Egypt, accompanied by its first complete translation (English), and a full study. Originally written in Greek c. 620 AD, it is a largely historical account of a theological dialogue between the leader of the Jewish community of Thmuis and local monks.

The editors provide the Arabic editio princeps of The Christian-Jewish Debate at Tomei (Thmuis), Egypt together with the first complete translation into a modern language. The English translation is on the literal side, to aid non-Arabic readers. They analyse the Greek original of the text, its survival solely in an expanded eighth-century Arabic version, and the manuscript and transmission history. They investigate authorship, provenance, and the wider Christian, Jewish, and Islamic contexts. They argue that the narrative reflects an essentially historical encounter circa 620 between the leader of the Jewish community of Thmuis and two monks from a large local monastery, ultimately leading to the baptism of 375 Jews, for which bishop Yasib required voluntary assent. They reconstruct the Jewish presence in Thmuis, known only from this source, and explore two traditions about the community’s origins. They clarify the two dates assigned to the debate, the intersection of the Festival of Tabernacles with the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, and the extended section on the 72 traits of God. The editors show that the Jewish background of this last section favours its origin in the lost Greek text rather than as an Arabic addition. They examine the early attestation of the Year of the Martyrs in the text, trace the history of Thmuis, its bishops, its monastery, and the city’s disappearance, and assess the new information about the Patriarch Benjamin’s election. Finally, they explain why the text was translated so early into Arabic and how its scriptural testimonies could address Jewish as well as Muslim objections to Christianity in a period without a complete Arabic Bible.

1 - Dedication
2 - Acknowledgements
3 - Introduction
Introductory Comments
Description of the Contents of the Debate at Tomei (with Outline of the Debate)
Our Arabic Text of DT, the Individual Manuscripts, Title, and Text Types
The Manuscripts of DT
Their Completeness
Title
Text types
Three Important Corruptions in U Corrected by the Other Manuscripts
DT's Textual Tradition and Some Implications for the Date of Arabic DT
Previous Scholarship
Original Form and Authorship of the Debate and DT
Original Language of DT
Date of the Original Debate
631 A.D. versus The Time of Andronicus (616-623)
The Year of the Debate
Month and Day of the Debate
The Date of the Debate in relation to the Jewish Festival of Tabernacles
The Date of the Arabic Translation of DT
Griveau's First Two Proposed Anachronisms
Al-Andalus
Year for the Pure Martyrs
Provenance of Arabic DT
Additional Thoughts on the Christians in DT
Thmuis
The Monastery
The Bible
DT Compared to Other Christian-Jewish Dialogues
Additional Thoughts on the Jews in DT
The Early Jewish Community of Tomei (Thmuis) according to DT
The Jewish Community of Tomei circa 620 and Did It Outnumber the Christians?
The Gathering Outside Omran's Shop
The 72 Traits (Names) of God
The Veracity of the Debate and of the Jewish Conversions
Griveau's Objections Considered
Late Antique Examples of Groups of Jews Converting to Christianity without Coercion
Comparison of Omran and the Saracen Phylarch Aspebetos
Additional Thoughts on the Islamic Background of DT
Muslim Interest in Christian-Jewish and Christian Biblical Debate in the Seventh Century
Two Eighth-Century Christian Works Directed at Islam as Further Background to DT
Final Thoughts on the Islamic Background to DT
4 - Abbreviations-introduction to Arabic and English Texts
5 - Facing Arabic Text and English Translation
6 - Bibliography

• Edited by Lawrence Lahey
• Edited by Nuha Alshaar