"The Birds Chapter" in Kalila and Dimna: Comparing Versions in Hebrew, Arabic, Latin and Spanish - Major Lines for Reconstructing the Source of Joel`s Translation

The overall unresolved question of Kalila and Dimna origins and the development of its ramifications and, particularly that of Joel`s translation into Hebrew, is still a main issue due to the importance of understanding the fiction literature history in the East and the West. In this most complicated genealogy, Joel`s Hebrew translation from Arabic becomes central axis since translated into Latin by John of Capua during the XIII century lying at the basis of many European versions. Nevertheless, the questions of Joel`s identity, as well as when and where, have remained open up to this day due to lack of details. An in-depth study of more than a hundred different manuscripts in Arabic and Hebrew reveals a group of chapters appearing in only very few, including the “Birds chapter”. A comparative reading of the Arabic, Hebrew, Latin and Spanish versions has helped us to initially restore the Arabic model which the Hebrew translation is based on, shedding light on the secret of its composition. It is particularly interesting to examine how the characterization of the different animals, their behavior and the description of the environment they are surrounded, are charged with social and political significance embodying a clear reaction to the historical context the translation was composed in. In my lecture, I will present these key points, as the outcome of a joint research work by Prof. Dr. Isabel Torel Nihof, Mrs. Khouloud Khalfallah and myself, Dr. Rachel Peled Cuartas as part of the project: "Kalila and Dimna, AnonymClassic" of the Freie University of Berlin, conducted by Prof. Dr. Beatrice Gruendler.