Samaritan Aramaic, or Samaritan, was the dialect of
Aramaic used by the
Samaritans in their sacred and scholarly literature. This should not be confused with the
Samaritan Hebrew language of the Scriptures. Samaritan Aramaic ceased to be a spoken language some time between the 10th and the 12th centuries, with Samaritans switching to
Palestinian Arabic as their vernacular language.
In form it resembles the Aramaic of the
Targum
A targum ( arc, תרגום 'interpretation, translation, version') was an originally spoken translation of the Hebrew Bible (also called the ''Tanakh'') that a professional translator ( ''mǝturgǝmān'') would give in the common language of the ...
im, and is written in the
Samaritan alphabet
The Samaritan script is used by the Samaritans for religious writings, including the Samaritan Pentateuch, writings in Samaritan Hebrew, and for commentaries and translations in Samaritan Aramaic and occasionally Arabic.
Samaritan is a direc ...
.
Important works written in Samaritan include the translation of the
Samaritan Pentateuch in the form of the targum paraphrased version. There are also legal, exegetical and liturgical texts, though later works of the same kind were often written in
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walte ...
.
Sample
Exodus
Exodus or the Exodus may refer to:
Religion
* Book of Exodus, second book of the Hebrew Torah and the Christian Bible
* The Exodus, the biblical story of the migration of the ancient Israelites from Egypt into Canaan
Historical events
* E ...
XX.1-6:
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#
#
#
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Notice the similarities with
Judeo-Aramaic
Judaeo-Aramaic languages represent a group of Hebrew-influenced Aramaic and Neo-Aramaic languages.
Early use
Aramaic, like Hebrew, is a Northwest Semitic language, and the two share many features. From the 7th century BCE, Aramaic became the ...
as found in
Targum Onqelos to this same passage (some expressions below are paraphrased, not literally translated):
# ''Umalleil Adonai yat kol pitgamayya ha'illein lemeimar''
# ''Ana Adonai elahach de'appeiktach me'ar'a deMiṣrayim mibbeit avduta''
# ''La yihvei lach elah achoran, bar minni''
# ''La ta'aveid lach ṣeilam vechol demu devišmayya mille'eila vediv'ar'a millera vedivmayya millera le'ar'a''
# ''La tisgod lehon vela tiflechinnin arei ana adonai elahach el kanna mas'ar chovei avahan al benin maradin al dar telitai ve'al dar revi'ai lesane'ai kad mašlemin benayya lemichtei batar avahatehon''
# ''Ve'aveid teivu le'alfei darin lerachamai ulenaterei pikkodai''
See also
*
Christian Palestinian Aramaic
Christian Palestinian Aramaic (CPA) was a Western Aramaic languages, Western Aramaic dialect used by the Melkites, Melkite Christian community in Palestine (region), Palestine and Transjordan (region), Transjordan between the fifth and thirteenth ...
*
Jewish Babylonian Aramaic
*
Jewish Palestinian Aramaic
*
Mandaic language
*
Western Neo-Aramaic
Western Neo-Aramaic (), more commonly referred to as Siryon ( "Syrian"), is a modern Western Aramaic language. Today, it is only spoken in three villages – Maaloula, Bakhah and Jubb'adin – in the Anti-Lebanon Mountains of western Syria. We ...
Bibliography
*J. Rosenberg, , A. Hartleben's Verlag: Wien, Pest, Leipzig.
*Nicholls, G. F. ''A Grammar of the Samaritan Language with Extracts and Vocabulary''. London: Samuel Bagster and Sons, 1858.
*Tal, Abraham, ''A Dictionary of Samaritan Aramaic'': Brill 2000
External links
Samaritan Aramaic Targum- Aramaic text of Samaritan Targum with English translation.
-https://www.the-samaritans.net - The Samaritan prayers services and liturgy.
References
Samaritan culture and history
Aramaic languages
Extinct languages
Extinct languages of Asia
Languages of the State of Palestine
Western Aramaic languages
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