Page 188 - GQ 12

A 14th-century Karaite view of Jewish history and philosophy of religion 43*

they [= the generations after Adam] ‫ וכמא שתת תע' ̇לגאתהם‬.)9:‫כל הארץ (בר' יא‬
continued using one language ‫פי מא ̇מצי כ̇דלך יגמעהא פי עתיד לבוא‬
until the Generation of the Tower ‫באן ילהמהם לשון הקדש כ"ק כי אז אהפוך‬
of Babel, and when they rebelled, ‫ פדל ̇דלך‬.)9:‫אל עמים שפה ברורה וג' (צפ' ג‬
God caused them to forget the Holy ‫עלי אן אצל אלל̇גאת אלהאם מן אללה לא‬
Tongue and granted them other
languages via divine inspiration, .‫אס ̇תכראג ולא אסתנבאט‬
as it is said: “Because the Lord
did there confound the language of ‫ו ̇כדלך א ̇לכט מ̇תל אל ̇ל ̈גה ליס בינהם פרק‬
all the earth” (Gen. 11:9). And just 94‫פי אנה הדא ̈יה מן אללה עז וגל ותוא ̇רתוה‬
as God in the past dispersed their ‫ ופי א̇כר‬.‫מנהם אסלאפהם ען אסלאפהם‬
languages, he will likewise gather
them [= the languages] up in the .‫אלזמאן יעודו לל̇כט אלעבראני‬
future by inspiring them with the
knowledge of the Holy Tongue as ‫ו ̇כדלך אלעדד ירגע אלי מירא̇ת ונקל ו̇דלך‬
it is said: “For then I will make the ‫אן אללה גל ̇דכרה תמם ̇כלק הדא אלעאלם‬
peoples pure of speech, so that they
all invoke the Lord by name” (Zeph. .‫ ותואר ̇תוהא ג‬94
3:9). And this demonstrates that the
origin of languages is revelation
from God, rather than derivation
and deduction.
Likewise, writing is like language,
and there is no difference of opinion
regarding the fact that it is a gift
from God, the Exalted, and that
(people) transmitted it from (the
original recipients) generation by
generation. And at the end of time,
they will return to the Hebrew script.
And likewise, the origin of the
numbering of the days of the week