| By | | | | Syria; from Nineveh, Kouyunjik, Nimrud, Khorsabad (8th |
| Gabriel Sawma | | | | to 7th century BC; from Babylonia (6th -4th cent. BC); |
| BACKGROUND | | | | from Tello, bilingual in Aramaic and Greek (3rd cent. |
| The fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the First | | | | BC); from Egypt (fifth to beginning of third cent. BC); |
| Temple in 587 BC, by the forces of king of Babylon, | | | | the so-called stele of Sakhara, bilingual (Egyptian and |
| Nebuchadnezzar, mark the beginning of what is known | | | | Aramaic) dated the fourth year of Xerxes 482 BC; |
| as the Babylonian Exile of the Jews. Up to that time, | | | | from Taima, north of Hijaz; Al-Hijr; Petra and Hauran; |
| and from the moment of its appearance in a | | | | the Palmyrene inscriptions belong to the first three |
| documented written form, the Hebrew language | | | | centuries of the Christian Era ; from the Sinaitic |
| presents, a clear evidence that it belongs to the | | | | Peninsula; from Pakistan (3rd. cent. BC); from the |
| Canaanite family of languages. This means that when | | | | former Soviet Union (2nd cent. BC); and from |
| the Israelite tribes settled in the land of Canaan, from | | | | Afghanistan (3rd cent. BC). |
| the fourteenth to thirteenth centuries BC, they adopted | | | | THE ARAMAIC LANGUAGE OF JESUS |
| the language of that country (Isa. 19:18). | | | | At the beginning of the Christian era, Aramaic, in |
| The Hebrew of the poetic sections of the Bible, as | | | | various dialects was the dominant spoken language of |
| well as the oldest epigraphic material in inscriptions | | | | Syria and Mesopotamia. It developed a number of |
| dating from the tenth to the sixth centuries BC, is | | | | literary dialects, known as Palestinian Jewish Aramaic, |
| known as Archaic Hebrew. Among the biblical | | | | Samaritan Aramaic, Syro-Palestinian Christian Aramaic, |
| passages that reflect Archaic Hebrew are the Song | | | | Syriac, Babylonian Talmudic Aramaic, and Mandaic |
| of Moses (Ex 15), the Song of Deborah (Jug 5), the | | | | Aramaic. In Galilee and Samaria, Aramaic dialects |
| Blessings of Jacob (Gen 49) and of Moses (Deut 33), | | | | became the day-to-day means of communication. |
| the Oracles of Balaam (Nm 23-24), and the Poems of | | | | It is generally agreed that the inhabitants of Palestine, |
| Moses (Deut 32), as well as Ps 68 and other early | | | | at the dawn of the first century, were acquainted in |
| psalms. | | | | varying degrees with the Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, |
| The language used in the prose sections of the | | | | and Latin. |
| Pentateuch and in the prophets and the writings | | | | Differences emerge, however, regarding the |
| before the exile, are known as Classical Biblical | | | | geographical and chronological limits of each language. |
| Hebrew, or Biblical Hebrew (BH) proper. | | | | Some scholars defend the theory that Jesus spoke in |
| Many Biblical scholars characterize BH as a language | | | | Greek, among those in favor of this is Vosius, in the |
| which does not have the full sense of the word, a | | | | seventeenth century, D. Diodati In the eighteenth |
| merely "fragment of language". The approximately | | | | century and Paulus, Hug and Credner in the nineteenth |
| 8,000 lexical items preserved in the books of the Bible, | | | | century. More recently, A.W Argyle argued that Jesus |
| are not enough to meet the needs of a living language. | | | | spoke Greek and that his audience understood it as |
| There have also been claims by various scholars that | | | | easily as they did in Aramaic. Some welcomed this |
| clear traces of Aramaic can be found in the origins of | | | | claim, but others were in opposition. |
| Hebrew. | | | | Evidence of Hellenistic influence, is attested by |
| Recently, various studies have emphasized that | | | | numerous Greek inscriptions, graffiti, and |
| Aramaic May have influenced the Hebrew language | | | | correspondence, Greek Pseudepigrapha written in |
| very strongly, mainly in the second half of the first | | | | Palestine, the Greek fragments of the Dead Sea |
| millennium BC up to the beginning of the Christian Era. It | | | | Scrolls, as well as the Greek influence found |
| may also be said that other languages, Semitic and | | | | throughout rabbinic literature. |
| non-Semitic had their influence on the Hebrew | | | | Others have stressed the role of Latin, the language |
| language, especially those who had a significant cultural | | | | of the Roman administration; they argue that Latin left |
| impact in the region such as the Sumarian, Akkadian, | | | | its mark on a number of public inscriptions as well as in |
| and Egyptian. Those languages left their mark on | | | | a few of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Latin influence is |
| Canaan before the Hebrew language came into | | | | manifested in certain aspects of Rabbinic Hebrew. |
| existence. Ugarit and Phoenician on one hand, and the | | | | M. Wilcox, on the other hand, considers the Hebrew |
| Southern Semitic dialects on the other, have also given | | | | language of the Dead Sea Scrolls, which predominates |
| rise to many loanwords in Biblical Hebrew. There is | | | | over Aramaic, as an indication that Hebrew, in New |
| also influence, to a lesser degree, from Persian and | | | | Testament time, was not confined to rabbinical circles, |
| Greek. Some Hebrew words derive from | | | | but appears to be a "normal vehicle of expression". |
| Indo-European languages, such as Hittite, and even | | | | Along this, runs a similar view of H. Birkeland, who |
| Sanskrit. In the Oracles of Balaam (Nm 23:7) we | | | | challenged the usual view that Aramaic was the |
| encounter, for example (Roba) 'dust', attested in the | | | | regular spoken language of the first century Palestine. |
| Akkadian inscriptions; (Surim), which means 'mountains'; | | | | According to Dr. Birkeland, Hebrew, not Aramaic, was |
| (Nehalim) 'palm' . Some of the roots peculiar to archaic | | | | the language of the Jews and of Jesus. |
| poetry are found in other Semitic dialects. For example | | | | No one doubts the extent to which Aramaic had |
| (P'L) 'do, make'; (Mhs) 'strike', and (hardus) 'gold' are | | | | spread throughout the Levant from the middle of the |
| common in Canaanite and Ugaritic texts, wheras | | | | first millennium BC, until; Arabic supplanted it, in the |
| (Yatannu) 'let them recount' (Jg 5:11) and (Mahaqa) | | | | seventh century. A more difficult question, which has |
| 'destroyed' (Jg 5:26) correspond phonologically to | | | | led to a significant disagreement among scholars, has |
| Aramaic. | | | | to do with differences among, and classification of the |
| The Babylonian Exile of the Jews exposed them to an | | | | various dialects of Aramaic. |
| Aramaic cultural and linguistic environment. The | | | | The most extreme theory is that during the Exile, the |
| Aramaic language before that time had been widely | | | | Jews lost their Hebrew language for Aramaic, |
| spread throughout the Assyrian Empire as the | | | | reserving Hebrew, already a dead language, for |
| language of administration, commerce and diplomacy, | | | | literature. This was Saadiah's view, and also, in different |
| supplanting the Akkadian as the Lingua Franca of the | | | | forms, by a number of nineteenth- and-twentieth |
| Assyrian Empire (1100-612 BC). The incident recorded | | | | century scholars, including A. Geiger, A. Meyer, G.H. |
| at 2 Kings 18:26 and Isa 36:11 provide some indication | | | | Dalman, A. Dupont-Sommer, and F. Altheim and R. |
| of the spread of Aramaic into Palestine. During | | | | Stiehl. |
| Sennacherib's siege of Jerusalem in 701 BC, the | | | | Meyer argued that Jesus' mother tongue was |
| Jewish officials request that the Assyrian Rabshakeh | | | | Aramaic and that most of the Testament writings |
| negotiate in the diplomatic tongue, i.e. Aramaic. | | | | were originally written in Aramaic and later translated |
| In the aftermath of the destruction of Nineveh in | | | | into Greek. Dalman agrees with the fact that Aramaic |
| August 612 BC by a combined force of Babylonians | | | | was the spoken language of the Jews in New |
| under Nebuchadnezzar II and Medes commanded by | | | | Testament time. He concluded that Jesus grew up in |
| Cyaxares, a Neo-Babylonian Empire (605-538 BC) | | | | Aramaic environment, and that He had to use Aramaic |
| became the dominant power. And the Aramaic | | | | in order to be understood by his disciples and the |
| language remained a universal language during that | | | | people. |
| period. It reached its zenith as the official language of | | | | More recently too, Dupont-Sommer argued that, |
| the Persian Empire (538-330 BC). | | | | Aramaic was the only language current among |
| With the rise of the Empire of Alexander (336-323 | | | | ordinary people at the time of Jesus, and that it was |
| BC) in the East, the Greek language became influential | | | | the language spoken by Jesus and the Apostles. |
| in the region. The Greek translation of the Hebrew Old | | | | Similarly, Altheim and Stiehl argued that from the |
| Testament (at Alexandria), known as the Septuagint | | | | beginning of the Hellenistic era, Aramaic had |
| (LXX), and subsequently the writings of the New | | | | completely supplanted Hebrew as a spoken language. |
| Testament, were only examples of such influence. But | | | | A more sophisticated approach distinguishes Middle |
| Greek never displaced Aramaic among the Jews of | | | | Aramaic (from 300 BC), and Late Aramaic dialects. In |
| Palestine or Babylon. | | | | the first group, E.Y. Kutscher placed Targum Onkelos |
| The succeeding Maccabean, Hasmonian, and Roman | | | | and the Aramaic translations from the Dead Sea |
| administration in Palestine did not witness fundamental | | | | Scrolls as well as inscriptions from around Jerusalem, |
| changes in the linguistic situation, although, with the | | | | and Aramaic expressions in the New Testament. The |
| coming of the Romans to the East, Latin was | | | | later dialects, which belong to Western Aramaic, are |
| introduced into many aspects of public life. | | | | classified as Galilean, Samaritan, and |
| BIBLICAL ARAMAIC | | | | Christian-Palestinian Aramaic. Of these, the Galilean |
| Passages of the Old Testament written in the | | | | dialect is of particular interest, because, it was used, for |
| Aramaic language are called Biblical Aramaic. They | | | | example, in the Aramaic sections of the Palestinian |
| occur in Ezra 4:8; 6:18 and 7:12-26. Daniel 2:4,7:28; and | | | | Talmud , the Palestinian Targums , numerous midrashim |
| the gloss in Jer. 10:11 and Gen 31:47. | | | | , and various Synagogue inscriptions. |
| Various scholars have tried to show that the original | | | | The evidence of the Aramaic language of Jesus is |
| language of a number of books from the Persian and | | | | Impossible to explain if Aramaic was not His spoken |
| Hellenistic periods, were written in Aramaic, and that | | | | language. The Scriptures were provided with Targum |
| they were later translated into Hebrew. This view has | | | | for the Aramaic-speaking masses who could no |
| been presented in connection with Job, Koheleth, | | | | longer understand Hebrew. |
| Daniel, Esther, 1 and 2 Chronicles, proverbs, and Ezekiel | | | | Nowadays, there are few scholars who would |
| In the New Testament, various Aramaic words or | | | | disagree that in Galilee and Samaria, the spoken |
| expressions occur, e.g. "Talitha Cumi" (little girl, stand up) | | | | language of the time was basically Aramaic. More |
| Mark 5:41; "Ephphata" (etphtah, be opened) Mark 7:34; | | | | controversial though, is the extent of the use of |
| "Eli, Eli, Lama Shabachthani" (my God, my God, why | | | | Aramaic in Judea to the south . The discovery of |
| hast thou forsaken me) Matt.27:46, Mark 15:34; | | | | Aramaic texts among the Dead Sea Scrolls, as well |
| "Rabboni" (my Lord) Mark 10:51, John 20:16; "Maran | | | | as earlier evidence from, for example, names of |
| Atha" (our Lord, come) Cor. 16:22. | | | | persons and places, have demonstrated conclusively |
| Aramaic influence is apparent in personal names such | | | | that the use of Aramaic was well established, but not |
| as " Cephas" John 1:42, 1 Cor 1:12 and "Tabitha" Acts | | | | completely dominant in Judea. |
| 9:36, 40, and in place names, including "Akeldama" (field | | | | To simplify the matter, we can say that the most |
| of blood) Acts 1:19; "Gesthsemane (oil press) Matt | | | | widely spoken language was Galilean Aramaic in |
| 26:36, Mark 14:32; and "Golgotha" (skull) Mark 15:22 | | | | Galilee, Samaritan Aramaic in Samaria, and Rabbinic |
| ARAMAIC INSCRIPTIONS | | | | Hebrew in Judea, although, at certain times and places, |
| We possess an abundant number of inscriptions | | | | more than one language may have been used. Since |
| written in Aramaic. They constitute an extremely | | | | Jesus began his career as a Galilean rabbi, well versed |
| important source of information for our knowledge of | | | | in the Scripture, It is highly possible that he was able to |
| Biblical Aramaic. With the earliest inscriptions dating as | | | | converse in Hebrew as in Aramaic. |
| far back as the ninth century BC, from Zinjirli in north | | | | |