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Dunash Ben Tamim
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Dunash Ben Tamim

Jewish physician
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Also known as: Abu Sahl, Adonim
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Article History
Quick Facts
Also called:
Adonim, or Abu Sahl
Born:
c. 900
Died:
c. 960
Also Known As:
Adonim
Abu Sahl

Dunash Ben Tamim (born c. 900—died c. 960) was a Jewish physician and one of the first scholars to make a comparative study of the Hebrew and Arabic languages.

He practiced medicine at the Fāṭimid court of al-Qayrawān, (now in Tunisia) and, like other educated Jews of his time, was versed in Hebrew. The work for which he is best known was written in Arabic, but the original was lost and it is known only in Hebrew translation. In it he advanced the view that Hebrew is an older language than Arabic, which he also considered to be a corruption of Hebrew. He was frequently quoted by Muslim writers.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Encyclopaedia Britannica.