Obsolete Words and Lexical Ignorance: a Lexical-etymological Study on Sarah's Laughter between the Qur'an and the Bible

Abstract

This research aims to clarify two concepts, namely lexical ignorance and obsolete words, through a lexical-etymological analysis of the Arabic verb (ḍaḥikat) used in the story of Sarah and glad tidings of Isaac in the Qur’an, as well as the Hebrew word (צְחֹ֕ק ṣə-ḥōq) which was translated as (laughter) in the Bible from the same story. We started this study with a brief explanation of the two concepts: lexical ignorance and obsolete words, and their relation to the problematic of metaphor (al-majāz) in the Qur’an. Then, guided by the documentation provided by ancient Arabic dictionaries, we reviewed the Arabic root (ḌḤK) and the vocabulary derived from it. The meaning of the verb (ḍaḥikat) used in the Qur'an was also reviewed, along with the arguments offered by commentators and linguists. Additionally, we explored a new hypothesis regarding the etymology of the name "Sarah" in light of the Quranic context, while discussing the meaning of the Hebrew word (צְחֹ֕ק ṣə-ḥōq) and its relation to the root (S/Ḥ/Q) in the Bible, and proposing new translations consistent with the reinterpretation of the Qur’anic verb (ḍaḥikat) that we introduced.