The Islamic Research Foundation has published the Persian translation of ‘Sacred Languages and Sacred Texts’, a scholarly work by John Sawyer, a veteran in biblical and Hebrew textual studies.
 The book, translated by Mansour Motamedi, offers a deep and practical exploration of sacred languages and religious texts prior to the advent of Islam.  
The publication examines the concept of textual and linguistic sanctity in Islam, emphasizing that the Quran is not merely a textbook, but a divine revelation treated with utmost reverence. 
From ornate bindings and respectful handling to the avoidance of commercial terminology in its distribution, the Quran’s sanctity has inspired flourishing traditions in calligraphy, illumination, and bookbinding.  
This reverence extends to the Arabic language—the language of revelation—whose learning and teaching have long been considered virtuous.
 This has led Iranian scholars to pioneer Arabic lexicons, grammar, and rhetoric, driven by a desire to understand divine speech more profoundly.  
While the book focuses on sacred texts and languages before Islam, it addresses themes such as interpretation, translation, literacy, and canonization—making it highly applicable to Quranic studies. 
It is thus a valuable resource not only for students of comparative religion but also for Islamic and Quranic scholars.  
The book’s chapters include topics such as language status, sacred languages, literacy, canon formation, translation, names and numbers, styles and strategies, and interpretation.  
Geographically, the author concentrates on the religious traditions of West Asia, Greece, and Rome, with particular attention to Judaism, Christianity, Zoroastrianism, and Greco-Roman beliefs.
 Temporally, the study spans the second and first centuries BCE and especially the early centuries CE.  
Described as the first comprehensive study of the role of language and scripture in Greco-Roman world religions, the book reflects Sawyer’s decades of expertise in biblical and Hebrew studies.