© koninklijke brill nv, leiden, ���4 | doi � �. ��63/�5685�76- � �34�3�9 Numen 6� ( �0 �4) 364–395 brill.com/nu Scriptural Substitutions and Anonymous Citations: Judaization as Rhetorical Strategy in a Jewish Sufi Text1 Nathan Hofer University of Missouri, Department of Religious Studies 221G Arts and Science Building, Columbia, MO 65211 hofern@missouri.edu Abstract In this article, I take the theme of other people’s scriptures in a slightly different direc- tion by highlighting a case in which an instance of scriptural engagement is character- ized by a notable absence rather than explicit presence. I examine the work of David ben Joshua Maimonides, a medieval Jewish author who engaged with and quoted from Muslim Sufi texts. However, in the process of writing David systematically removed references to the Qurʾān and obscured the identity of his Sufi interlocutors, a process which scholars often describe as “judaization.” However, this descriptive use of juda- ization often functions to obscure the complicated negotiations between an author and his or her sources. In this case, I pose judaization as an analytical problem. I argue that David left his knowing readers clues in the text that hint at the Sufi provenance of many of his ideas. The removal of qurʾānic material and the obfuscation of his Sufi sources were actually part of a clear and deliberate rhetorical strategy meant both to subvert his Sufi texts and to bolster his claims about the relationship between Sufism, biblical Judaism, and the revivification of prophecy among the Jews. Keywords Sufism – Judaism – Pietism – prophecy – judaization 1 I would like to thank Marina Rustow and David Vishanoff who read early versions of this article and offered insightful critiques and suggestions for revisions. Likewise, the two anony- mous reviewers pushed me to clarify my exposition and made this a much better piece. Any remaining errors are my own.