Injiyl g Jerbi — Nafusi/Jerbi Berber Scripture Portions (Libya/Tunisia)
Overview
Injiyl g Jerbi ("The Gospel in Jerbi") is a 4-book scripture collection in the Nafusi (Jerbi) Berber language, published by Chutney Media Agency Ltd and available via YouVersion/Bible.com (ID 4462). The language's autonym is Ažbali Mazoɣ — "Mountain Amazigh/Berber" — reflecting the community's identity as highland Berbers. Nafusi is spoken in two principal territories: the Nafusa Mountains (Jebel Nafusa) of western Libya, and Djerba Island (Jerba) in Tunisia — the "Jerbi" variety. These are treated as dialects of a single language (ISO 639-3: jbn) despite the geographic separation; the title's use of Jerbi reflects the Djerba dialect's wider international recognition. The publisher Chutney Media Agency Ltd is a media production company specializing in Berber-language digital content.
Language and People
Nafusi/Jerbi (ISO 639-3: jbn; autonym: Ažbali Mazoɣ "Mountain Amazigh"; also called Nefusi, Nafusi, Jerbi, Jerbali) is an Afroasiatic language: Afroasiatic → Berber (Amazigh) → Northern Berber → Zenati → Nafusi branch. The Zenati branch of Northern Berber includes many of the Berber languages of Libya, Tunisia, and the western Berber area. Nafusi is closely related to Zuara Berber (ZAU, northwestern Libya), Tamezret, and Matmata Berber (Tunisia), all part of the Zenati cluster.
The Nafusi/Jerbi community inhabits two distinct areas:
- Jebel Nafusa (Nafusa Mountains), northwestern Libya: towns including Nalut, Yafran (Jado), Kabaw, Qalaa, Zintan, and surrounding villages — the heartland of Libyan Amazigh culture
- Djerba Island (Jerba), Médenine Governorate, Tunisia: a historically Berber-speaking island community with Amazigh identity
Estimated speakers: approximately 200,000–300,000 total across both communities (some sources: Libya ~200,000; Djerba ~30,000–50,000; exact counts are complicated by post-2011 displacement in Libya).
Cultural Context
The Nafusa Mountain Berbers played a significant role in Libya's 2011 revolution — the Jebel Nafusa region was among the first areas to fall to anti-Qaddafi forces, with the Amazigh population seeing the revolution as an opportunity to reclaim cultural and linguistic rights suppressed under 42 years of Arabization policy. Post-2011 Libya saw a flourishing of Amazigh cultural expression, including print media, broadcast, and new literacy materials. The Djerba Berbers have maintained their identity on Tunisia's most touristic island, where Berber/Jewish/Arab cultural layers intersect at the ancient El Ghriba synagogue (one of Africa's oldest synagogues). The Nafusi language has been written using a modified Tifinagh script, Latin script, and Arabic script in different contexts; the YouVersion translation likely uses the Latin or Tifinagh script standard.
Publishing and Organizations
Published by Chutney Media Agency Ltd, a media production organization. The Injiyl g Jerbi translation represents a rare instance of a Berber-language scripture published by a specialized digital media company rather than a traditional Bible translation organization.