Jesus In Bahrain

[GeorgeW]

I don't know if trivia is allowed in this forum, or if it is, where it goes as there is no Trivia Thread.

 

In any event, some of you may not know that The King of Bahrain, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, is literally the son of Jesus (bin Isa).

 

Isa is the Muslim Arabic name for Jesus (Yasu'a is he Christian Arabic name). The Muslim name for Jesus (Isa) was derived from Greek where the Christian Arabic name (Yasu'a) is derived from Hebrew. One would think it would be the reverse, but this isn't the case.

 

I read a book several years ago written by an Egyptian Christian scholar who argued that the Bible was written in Arabic before the Qur'an. Although this is not attested with any hard evidence, he presented a logical case which included some of the Arabic names for biblical characters that were clearly derived from Greek. And, it is well attested that there was a Christian presence in Arabia long before Islam.

 

George

[Nick the Nevermet]

I probably have said this in another thread, but I highly recommend CHristianity: the First Three Thousand Years. It's an excellent overview history of Christianity, with a great deal of "for further reading" resources listed. It also spends a lot of time on Christianity's fate throughout Asia and Ethiopia.

 

On this point, the author cites a historian who claims that at a point in time before Islam, the population of Christians living outside the Roman Empire mostly to the east was likely larger than the population inside it.

[GeorgeW]

I probably have said this in another thread, but I highly recommend CHristianity: the First Three Thousand Years. It's an excellent overview history of Christianity, with a great deal of "for further reading" resources listed. It also spends a lot of time on Christianity's fate throughout Asia and Ethiopia.

 

On this point, the author cites a historian who claims that at a point in time before Islam, the population of Christians living outside the Roman Empire mostly to the east was likely larger than the population inside it.

 

Nick,

 

Does the author discuss Christianity in Arabia?

 

George

[Nick the Nevermet]

Nick,

 

Does the author discuss Christianity in Arabia?

 

George

 

After double-checking, yes, but not in incredible detail (he's more interested in Persia than he is in pre-Islamic Arabia). Nestorian Christianity was present, as was miaphysite (Coptic) Christianity to a lesser extent in the south near Ethiopia. Which version of Christianity was supported by who was (of course) linked into local political machinations. The author seems to rely a lot on a multi-volume work entitled Byzantium and the Arabs in the Sixth Century.

 

EDIT: At any rate, back to your original question, since there were two forms of Christianity coming into the Arabian Peninsula from opposite directions, it would seem reasonable that Arabic texts of scripture would exist.