Tafsir Tehillim – translation of Tehillim into Judeo-Persian.

Oriental script. The translation begins on leaf 8, after an introduction in Persian about the Hebrew language (lacking at beginning). The translation is complete. Concludes with poem with author’s name in acrostic, and colophon on last page.

This translation of Tehillim appears in several Persian manuscripts studied by Prof. Ezra Tzion Melamed (all later than the present manuscript). The introduction of the Tafsir indicates that it was made in Isfahan for the king.

Judeo-Persian refers to both a group of Jewish dialects spoken by Jews and Judeo-Persian texts (written in Hebrew alphabet). As a collective term, Judeo-Persian refers to a number of Judeo-Iranian languages spoken by Jewish communities throughout the formerly extensive Persian Empire, including Iranian Jews, Mountain Jews, Afghan Jews, and Bukharan Jews.

The speakers refer to their language as Färsi. Some non-Jews refer to it as “dzhidi” (also written as “zidi”, “judi” or “jidi”, which means “Jewish” in a derogatory sense. In the absence of a unified dialect of Persian spoken by Jews, Judeo-Persian refers to local dialects spoken by Jews. It is notable for its preservation of certain incorporation of Hebrew words; however, this is less prominent than in other Jewish languages. Judeo-Median is often used to designate the group of dialects spoke by Jewish communities in Central Iran. Early Judeo-Persian writings display various orthographies that sometimes demonstrate pronunciation differences from Persian. It preserves a transitional stage in certain linguistic features. It also exhibits a variety of constructions for ezafe and for verbs in passive voice. Judeo-Persian versions of the Bible do not follow Persian syntax, instead glossing the Hebrew word-for-word.

Contemporary Dialects Some of the primary Iranian cities with Jewish dialects are Kashan, Isfahan, Yazd, Kerman, Shiraz, Borujerd, and Hamadan. Vernaculars spoken by Jews in Persian-speaking Central Asia are often referred to as Judeo-Tajik. Judeo-Tat is spoken in the eastern Caucasus and is considered mutually intelligible with standard Persian today. Many speakers of these Iranian dialects have left Iran and few native speakers remain. As a result, Judeo-Median languages are considered endangered according to the Endangered Language Alliance.