Journal of Jewish Languages 11 (2023) 1–18 brill.com/jjl A Macaronic Hebrew-Greek-Turkish Poem from the First Printed Karaite Prayerbook, Venice 1528 Dan Shapira | orcid: 0000-0002-7296-9385 Professor, Department of Near Eastern History, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel shapiradan.apple@gmail.com Andrey Vinogradov | orcid: 0000-0001-7273-5717 Professor, School of History, HSE University, Moscow, Russia auvinogradov@hse.ru Abstract In this short article we publish, with translations, a macaronic Hebrew cum Middle Greek religious poem, accompanied by a refrain in Ottoman Turkish, all written in Hebrew characters and fully vocalized. The text comes from a Karaite prayerbook printed in Venice in 1528 on behalf of the Constantinople Karaite community. This poem and its origins played a role in different manipulations of Karaite identities and history during the 19th and 20th centuries. Keywords Judeo-Greek – Byzantine Greek – Early Modern Greek – Karaites – Constantinople/ Istanbul – Judeo-Turkic – early printed Jewish books – bilingual/trilingual poetry Published with license by Koninklijke Brill NV | doi:10.1163/22134638-BJA10033 © Dan Shapira and Andrey Vinogradov, 2023 | ISSN: 2213-4387 (print) 2213-4638 (online) 11 A Macaronic Hebrew-Greek-Turkish Poem ‫יטי ְש ָטא ְפ ֵש ָילא‬ ֵ ‫פּוק ֵֿח‬ ָ ‫ְשטֹון ֵתאֹון‬ ‫אֹודה וְ גַ ם ֶא ְת ַפ ְל ָלה‬ ֵ šton θeon pukaxetey šta pšila στὸν θεὸν που κα[ύ]χεται στὰ ψηλά to God exalted up high ʾōδē və-ğam ʾεtpaləlā I shall give thanks, and I shall pray xeofovoštu šta xamila κὲ ὁ φόβος του στὰ χαμηλὰ and His fear is below məʾoδ ‫אֹוֿפֹוֿבֹושּטּו ְש ָטא ַכ ִמ ָילא‬ ְ ‫ֵכ‬ hū naʿalā He is very exalted ‫ְמאֹד הּוא נַ ֲע ָלה‬ ‫ימן וָ ָֿפ ִשיז יָ אר זָ ָֿפ ִשי צֹוק ֵבין‬ ֵ ‫אֹומ ִר‬ ְ ‫ימן‬ ֵ ‫ָש ִה‬ ‫ימ ַדן גֵ ִרי‬ ְ ‫בּולדּום ָשהּום ִש‬ ֱ ‫יָ אר‬ 15šāhimēn ʾomrimēn vāfāšiz yāʾr zafaši çoq bēyn yāʾr buldum šahum šimdan gēri 16šāh-i-mæn ʾömr-i-mēn vafā-sı bizyār vafā-sı čoq bēyn yā’r buldum šāh-um šimdæn gēri My King, my life, His faithfulness is much, His faithfulness is much, I found Friend, my King, from now on again, ‫שהימן‬ šhymn17 *šāh-i mæn my King!18 ‫פֹולא ָק ָקא‬ ָ ‫אֹוטי ֶא ְֿב ַל ְק ָשה ְש‬ ִ ‫תֹוק ָקת‬ ְ ‫נַ ְֿפ ִשי ְב ָֿך ִמ ְש‬ oti evlakša špola kaka ὅτι ἔβλαξας πολὰ κακά for Thou have damaged many wrong things napšī bəḵā mištōqəqā[t] My soul is in passion with Thee xeytayšemey ipoğlika κὲ τάσε με ὑπογλυκά and give me sweetish thing[s] ḥūs va-ḥamōl mi-naʾaqā spare and have mercy from groan / she-camel [Islam], ‫יטיְ ֵש ֵמי ִאיפֹוגְ ִל ָיקא‬ ַ ‫ֵכ‬ 15 16 17 18 ‫חּוס וַ ֲחמֹול ִמנַ ֲא ָקה‬ Here the Turkish text begins. This is a transcription of the text vocalized using the Hebrew vocalizing signs, which do not fit the Turkic phonetics. This is a reconstruction / transliteration of the Ottoman-Turkish text. As a refrain, printed in the so-called “Rashi script,” and unvocalized. Here the Turkish text ends. The next Hebrew line continues the Ottoman-Turkish text. Journal of Jewish Languages 11 (2023) 1–18 12 Shapira and Vinogradov (cont.) šhymn *šāh-i mæn my King! ‫שהימן‬ ‫דֹוטי‬ ֵ ְ‫פרֹושכֹו ָפנ‬ ֵ ‫נַ ֵש‬ našeprošexo pandotey να σὲ προσέχω πάντοτε To be devoted to Thee always ‫יפֹוטי‬ ֵ ‫ימין ֵכ ָיֿב ִרין ִט‬ ִ ‫ִט‬ timin xeyvarin tipotey τιμὴν κὲ βαρὺν τίποτε [give me] honor19 and that which is never heavy,20 yirʾε/atəkā ʿālay nəṭē Inflect Thy fear in me və-ʿālay ‫יִ ְר ָא ְת ָֿך ָע ַלי נְ ֵטה‬ ‫צּורי וְ ָע ַלי ַת ֲע ֵטה‬ ִ ṣūrī taʿaṭē My Rock, dress me / invest with / give me ‫שהימן‬ šhymn *šāh-i mæn my King! ‫גֹורגֹון ַא ֵֿפנְ ִדי יִ ֵיר ְפ ֵשי‬ ְ ‫ימי ְמצולֹות ֵא ְת ְמ ֵשה‬ ֵ ‫ֵמ‬ ğorğon afendi yirepšey γοργὼν ἀφέντη γυρεύσει Oh Lord, return soon mēmēy məṣūlōt ʾēt məšē Draw [Moses]21 from the depths of waters xeğliğora šindomepšey κὲ γλήγορα συντομεύσει and quickly reduce [our Exile], ʾōtī pədē ʾal tεḥεšē Redeem me and do not desist from [redeeming quickly],22 ‫דֹומ ְפ ֵשי‬ ֵ ְ‫יגֹורא ִשינ‬ ָ ‫ֵכגְ ִל‬ ‫שהימן‬ ‫אֹותי ְפ ֵדה ַאל ֶת ֱח ֵשה‬ ִ šhymn *šāh-i mæn my King! 19 20 21 22 Accusative governed by the previous Hebrew word. The stricter Karaite commandments? Or τιμὴν και *χαριν, “honor and grace”? A pun; the “prophet like Moses” (Deuteronomy 18:15). Based on Isaiah 51.5: “My righteousness draws near speedily, my salvation is on the way”; and Isaiah 60.22, “I will hasten it in his time.” Journal of Jewish Languages 11 (2023) 1–18 13 A Macaronic Hebrew-Greek-Turkish Poem (cont.) ‫יפ ָשא‬ ְ ‫יצמּו ֵש ֵשין ִד‬ ָ ‫יכ‬ ִ ‫ְפ ִש‬ ‫ָש ַדי ְליִ ְש ִעי ִת ְד ְר ָשה‬ pšixičamu šešeyn δipša ψυχὴ ča23 μου σε σἐ{ν} διψᾷ My (little) soul longs to Thee šāday lə-yišʿī tiδrəšā My breast24 seeks my salvation / Oh Shadday, please turn to my salvation aftuša xefloyizuša ἁπτοῦσα κὲ φλογίζουσα exciting and burning, mahēr gəʾ ālā min ʾεša Deliver me quickly from fire, ‫זּוש ַא‬ ָ ִ‫אפטושא ֵכ ְֿפלֹויי‬ ָ šhymn *šāh-i mæn my King! ‫ָמ ֵהר גְ ָא ָלה ִמן ֶא ַשה‬ ‫שהימן‬ ‫ֵכ ַא ֵפ ַט ְק ֵשינָ ה ֵמוְ גֵ ֵלי‬ xeapetakšeyna mevğaley κὲ ἀπέταξε να με βγάλε and appoint to carry me away ‫ֵכ ְשט ְֹש ִּפ ִטיּשּו ַמ ְפרֹוזְ ווַ ֵלי‬ xeštošpitišu meprozvaley κὲ στὸ σπίτι σου με προσβάλλει and deliver me to Thy house, ‫שהימן‬ ‫ַה ֵאל ְב ַח ְס ָד ְֿך ַה ֲע ֵלה‬ haʾēl bə-ḥasdāk haʿalē God, take me up in Thy grace ‫ַע ְֿב ָד ְֿך ְל ַמ ֲענָ ְֿך ְד ֵלה‬ ʿabdāk lemaʿanāk dəlē Take Thy slave out of the water / tie up the grapevines,25 for Thine Self, šhymn *šāh-i mæn my King! Conclusions Hebrew was not the only language used in Karaite liturgy in Early Ottoman Constantinople; some Greek and vernacular Ottoman-Turkish were used, as well. The liturgical use of the text published here may predate the move of the Karaite community from Adrianople to Constantinople. Even the use of Turkic by the Karaites of Constantinople and Edirne may predate Muslim rule over them (cf. Shukurov 2016). 23 24 25 A Turkish affix? If not a misprint for *šaddāy. A double pun on a prophet like Moses (who was drawn from the water) and on grapevine imagery of the Temple (cf. Shapira 2006). Journal of Jewish Languages 11 (2023) 1–18