Page:Judaism and Islam, a prize essay - Geiger - 1898.pdf/61

 MASiNI. 43

was divided into two parts, l the written teaching, that is the Bible, and the teaching by word of mouth or tradition. To occupy oneself with the former was called " to read ;" 2 to occupy oneself with the latter was called "to say." 3 In the Chaldaic Gremara the latter word means to speak after, to repeat the teacher's words after him. In like manner the word tinnah 4 was used almost exclusively of choral music, in which the choir repeated verses after the precentor. Thus teaching by word of mouth was called mishnah, 5 and so also the collection of oral teaching the whole tradition ; and afterwards when this was all written down the book received the same name. Now, however, an etymological error crept in and derived this word from shanah in its true Hebrew meaning " to repeat," and then applied it to the repetition of the written teaching. 6 The error of this explanation is shown both in the use of the word and in its inflection. 7 Still it seems to have been accepted by the Roman Jews, and thus it came about that in Justinian's Novels the Eishna is called secunda editio. 8 The same thing happened in the case of the Arabian Jews, and so we get our word masani. Muhammad putting his book in the place of the whole Jewish teaching calls it not only Quran (miqra) but also masani. 9

nnin and ns

tt connected with the poetic nSJfi and the Syriac tano.

4

6

7 fi3$a in construct, not

rnin

8

9 Suras XV. 87, XXXIX. 24.

The Arabian commentators on Sura XV. 87 differ much in their explanation of this word, but one among them gives what seems to us