The kings of Arabia have haughtily convened
On the war of the Jarrāḥids
The kings of Arabia have haughtily convened and united.
From Ẓoba [Aleppo] to Shur [eastern border of Egypt] they have extended their counsel.
Consulting together, they have slaughtered with the sword,
making cities desolate and chasing away their residents.
They have destroyed two cities [or, regions], demolished them, torn them down.
They have set the streets and open places on fire.
They have plundered their wealth, despoiled and taken,
burdened them with a tax, in the end.
They have betrayed their king, and forgotten his loyalty,
fought with his troops and rejected his treaty.
Whoreson men, they have not remembered the gifts of clothing that they received.
They have fallen into their trap, and the pit where they dropped.
God, cast them down, and pay them their due [punishment], and do not ignore them, O You who dwell in heaven!
Set sword to them, day and night, and make their wound great, with rage and anger.
Since they have been treacherous and destroyed the land—may they fall down as corpses, like dung on the field.
Be mindful of their deeds, serve them a cup of poison. Have no mercy on the day of vengeance!
Arab sons, mixed with Cushites,1 have brought much pain, and all manner of lechery.
They have besieged walls with terrifying war and oppressed living things, human and animal.
Their armies have camped and made battle—but the Chiefest Among Ten Thousand [i.e., God] brought them down there.
The spawn of Zuqeila,2 who had made such great anguish—his head, in a wagon, was brought down to Egypt!
His head was taken, he fell by his own treason, and with him his lieutenant, an uncircumcised [i.e., Christian] man of guile.
He hastened from Ẓoba and brought a great camp, not knowing that his last day would suddenly come.
His memory was obliterated, his camp was vanquished, for he had caused great cries and tumult.
He had plotted against his master, and taken Sidon, and every day brought an angry army to Tyre.
He was entrapped and plunged down, and his belly was burst, and in Sidon he was impaled at the top of the wall.
This was what happened to the one who spurned the oath3 and the people who wickedly violated their treaty with the government.
Thus, speedily, may the Awesome One bring vengeance upon the men of his group.
Lo, their day is nigh, when the Lofty One will destroy them, and His name will be glorified by all who live.
Translated by Gabriel Wasserman.
Notes
[In medieval Hebrew, Cushites usually refer to dark-skinned Africans, but here, the reference is to the Jarrāḥid tribe, who apparently were considered to have dark skin as well.—Trans.]
[An emendation gives ‘Uqeila, which may refer to Ṣālaḥ of the ‘Uqeil tribe.—Trans.]
[Following an emendation, the reference would be the man’s oath of loyalty to his master. The reading in the manuscript is incomprehensible.—Trans.]
Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 3: Encountering Christianity and Islam.
You may also like
When we were still bound
To one of his friends whom he asked to send aromatic wood, which he promised to do.
When we were still bound, joined and linked in each other’s company
Did I ever once ask you for perfumes or myrrh…
The Proverbs
Lend me your ear, my son, and take discipline;
as a father disciplines his son, so discipline your soul.
I raised my eyes to the ancient paths,
to the expanses of the earth, I turned my face.
I…
My father, mother, brothers, and sisters
My father, mother, brothers, and sisters, hear my word and listen to my speech.
Was I not like a citron among you, in my beauty and comeliness, my aroma and my taste?
You raised me like a blade of…
Proclaim liberty, tarry not
Proclaim liberty, tarry not,
for the people who are in the creditor’s hand.
Remember Moses’ merit for them,
and Aaron’s too, and Miriam’s.
Take vengeance for their humiliation,
and wage their…
The child—there was no one like him
The child—there was no one like him,
Tender in years, but old in knowledge.
How did he suddenly depart, and he is gone?
He left me forlorn, bereft, mourning,
Crying and wailing that he has been…
Listen, my friend
Listen, my friend, and listen to me well:
Whom do you think all your loose talk can frighten
When God’s my Rock and Light?
Friend you may be,
But keep up all your bluster
And you’ll end up with my…
You may also like
When we were still bound
To one of his friends whom he asked to send aromatic wood, which he promised to do.
When we were still bound, joined and linked in each other’s company
Did I ever once ask you for perfumes or myrrh…
The Proverbs
Lend me your ear, my son, and take discipline;
as a father disciplines his son, so discipline your soul.
I raised my eyes to the ancient paths,
to the expanses of the earth, I turned my face.
I…
My father, mother, brothers, and sisters
My father, mother, brothers, and sisters, hear my word and listen to my speech.
Was I not like a citron among you, in my beauty and comeliness, my aroma and my taste?
You raised me like a blade of…
Proclaim liberty, tarry not
Proclaim liberty, tarry not,
for the people who are in the creditor’s hand.
Remember Moses’ merit for them,
and Aaron’s too, and Miriam’s.
Take vengeance for their humiliation,
and wage their…
The child—there was no one like him
The child—there was no one like him,
Tender in years, but old in knowledge.
How did he suddenly depart, and he is gone?
He left me forlorn, bereft, mourning,
Crying and wailing that he has been…
Listen, my friend
Listen, my friend, and listen to me well:
Whom do you think all your loose talk can frighten
When God’s my Rock and Light?
Friend you may be,
But keep up all your bluster
And you’ll end up with my…