22.4
The Kebra Nagast 22.4 · A wise man watches the king📜 Bezold's printed edition
The book now shows Solomon through the merchant’s eyes. Tamrin will carry what he sees home to the queen.
· · ·
ወውእቱሰ፡1
wa-wǝʾǝtusa
And he,and as for him
ነጋዲ፡2
nagādi
the merchant,
, ፈድፋደ፡3
fadfāda
was veryexceedingly
ልብው፡4
lǝbbǝw
wiseshrewd
, ወይሬኢ፡5
wa-yǝrēʾi
and sawand he sees
ጥበቢሁ፡6
ṭǝbabihu
the wisdomhis wisdom
ለሰሎሞን፡7
la-Salomon
of Solomon,
, ወያነክር፡8
wa-yānakkǝr
and marvelled,and he marvels
, ወይትዐቀብ፡9
wa-yǝtʿaqqab
and watched closelyand he guards himself
ከመ፡10
kama
toso that
ይጠይቅ፡11
yǝṭayyǝq
examinehe look closely
አውሥኦተ፡12
ʾawśǝʾota
the answering of
ቃሉ፡13
qālu
his words,his voice
, ወፍትሖ፡14
wa-fǝtḥo
and his judging,and his judgment
, ወሣእሣአ፡15
wa-śāʾśāʾa
and the eloquence ofand the fluency of
አፉሁ፡16
ʾafuhu
his mouth,
, ወጣዕመ፡17
wa-ṭāʿma
and the sweetness ofand the taste of
ነገሩ፡18
nagaru
his speech,
, ወሑረቶ፡19
wa-ḥurato
and his walk,and his going
, ወንብረቶ፡20
wa-nǝbrato
and his sitting,
, ወተንሥኦቶ፡21
wa-tanśǝʾoto
and his rising,and his rising up
, ወግብሮ፡22
wa-gǝbro
and his work,and his deed
, ወፍቅሮ፡23
wa-fǝqro
and his love,
, ወሥርዐቶ፡24
wa-śǝrʿato
and his order,and his arrangement
, ወማእዶ፡25
wa-māʾǝdo
and his table,
, ወሕጎ፡26
wa-ḥǝggo
and his law…
And he, the merchant, was very wise, and saw the wisdom of Solomon, and marvelled, and watched closely to examine the answering of his words, and his judging, and the eloquence of his mouth, and the sweetness of his speech, and his walk, and his sitting, and his rising, and his work, and his love, and his order, and his table, and his law…
And he, the merchant, was very wise, and saw the wisdom of Solomon, and marvelled, and watched closely to examine the answering of his words, and his judging, and the eloquence of his mouth, and the sweetness of his speech, and his walk, and his sitting, and his rising, and his work, and his love, and his order, and his table, and his law…
22.5
The Kebra Nagast 22.5 · Like water to the thirsty📜 Bezold's printed edition
At Solomon’s court Tamrin watches the king. The book describes his wisdom at length; this is the heart of it.
· · ·
And the sweetness of his words was like water to the thirsty, and like bread to the hungry, and like healing to the sick, and like clothing to the naked, and like a father to the orphan; and he judged with justice, and did not favour anyone’s face.
The merchant is himself lǝbbǝw fadfāda, “very wise”, and he sees Solomon’s wisdom and marvels. The verb, ʾankara, rests on a root that Dillmann glosses “foreign and unknown”: to marvel is to find something strange. Tamrin then watches closely, kama yǝṭayyǝq, “to examine”, and the list of what he examines runs on past the end of this selection.
The list covers the whole man: his answers and judgments, the eloquence of his mouth, the sweetness of his speech, his walk, his sitting and rising, his work, his love, his order, his table, his law. Dillmann’s entry for the rare word śāʾśāʾ, “eloquence”, quotes almost this very line and names this chapter of the Kebra Nagast.