Between Translation and Adaptation: The Arabic Apocryphal Gospel of John and the Ethiopic Ta’āmra Iyasus
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21906/rbl.3793Keywords:
adaptation, Apocryphal Gospel of John, Arabic Christian literature, Christian East, Ethiopian apocrypha, Ge‘ez, reception, Ta’āmra Iyasus, translationAbstract
The article examines the relationship between the Arabic Apocryphal Gospel of John and the Ethiopic Ta’āmra Iyasus, treating the Ethiopic version both as a translation of the primary layer of the Arabic source text and as its redactional adaptation. The study focuses on mechanisms of segmentation, expansion, and reinterpretation within the Ethiopic tradition. A comparison of the macrostructure of both versions demonstrates that Ta’āmra Iyasus is not a passive reflection of the Arabic model, but rather a creative reinterpretation in which translation becomes a tool of inculturation and functional transformation of the text.
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