Rare edition of one of the best Arabic translations of the Bible. This work is based on the 1671 version from Rome, which was the first printed edition of the complete Bible in Arabic. However, the version from 1671 was not vocalised (written with vowel points), but the present edition from London is.
The Arabic translation of the Bible from 1671 was done under the direction of Sergius Risi (d. 1638), the archbischop of Damascus. It had been requested by the Archbischop of Aleppo and other important figures from the Eastern Church, as manuscript copies had become rare and were often found to be incorrect. Risi and his team compared the Arabic manuscripts of the Bible they had access to with Hebrew and Latin versions and then composed their own translation. They first completed the Arabic Pentateuch. The Old and New Testament followed in 1647 and 1650 respectively, after Risi's passing. These translations were revised and then finally published in 1671. It was the only Arabic translation of the complete Bible until 1811. Numerous new translations were made in 19th century. The present Catholic edition of the Arabic Bible translation existed alongside the 1860 Protestant translation by Cornelius van Alen van Dyck.
According to the title-page, this edition of the Old Testament was printed in 1855. However, none of the relevant reference works mention an 1855 edition. Since the title-page of the New Testament bears the year 1857, it is possible that the Old Testament was also printed in that year and the date on the title-page is a printing mistake. The 1857 edition is also fairly rare on the market, as we have only been able to find it in 1 sales record of the past 100 years.
With the label of Watkins' bookbinding factory mounted on the front pastedown and a purple, Spanish stamp from the library of someone with a law degree on the final leaf. The edges and corners of the boards are somewhat scuffed, the binding is rubbed, with some loss of material on the spine. The leaves are somewhat browned, mild foxing throughout, the back pastedown has a tear in the gutter. Otherwise in good condition. BM, General catalogue vol 2, p. 1276-198/199 (other eds.); Darlow & Moule 1684; WorldCat 1402269394 (1 copy, 1857 ed.); cf. Green, Journeymen, middlemen: travel, transculture and technology in the origins of Muslim printing. In: International journal of Middle East studies, vol. 41 (2), 2009, pp. 203-224.