There exists a consensus among scholars that the language of Jesus and his disciples was

Aramaic The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated in ...

. This is generally agreed upon by historians. Aramaic was the

common language A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, vehicular language, or link language, is a language systematically used to make communication possible between groups ...

of Judea in the first century AD. The villages of Nazareth and

Capernaum Capernaum ( ; he, כְּפַר נַחוּם, Kfar Naḥum, Nahum's village; ar, كفر ناحوم, Kafr Nāḥūm) was a fishing village established during the time of the Hasmoneans, located on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. It ...

in Galilee, where

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

spent most of his time, were Aramaic-speaking communities. Jesus likely spoke a Galilean variant of the language, distinguishable from that of

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. It is also likely that Jesus knew enough

Koine Greek Koine Greek (; Koine el, ἡ κοινὴ διάλεκτος, hē koinè diálektos, the common dialect; ), also known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek or New Testament Greek, was the common supra-reg ...

to converse with those not native to

Judea Judea or Judaea ( or ; from he, יהודה, Standard ''Yəhūda'', Tiberian ''Yehūḏā''; el, Ἰουδαία, ; la, Iūdaea) is an ancient, historic, Biblical Hebrew, contemporaneous Latin, and the modern-day name of the mountainous sou ...

, and it is reasonable to assume that Jesus was well versed in

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

for religious purposes.

Cultural and linguistic background

Aramaic was the

of the Eastern Mediterranean during and after the

Neo-Assyrian The Neo-Assyrian Empire was the fourth and penultimate stage of ancient Assyrian history and the final and greatest phase of Assyria as an independent state. Beginning with the accession of Adad-nirari II in 911 BC, the Neo-Assyrian Empire grew t ...

Neo-Babylonian The Neo-Babylonian Empire or Second Babylonian Empire, historically known as the Chaldean Empire, was the last polity ruled by monarchs native to Mesopotamia. Beginning with the coronation of Nabopolassar as the King of Babylon in 626 BC and bein ...

, and

Achaemenid The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Based in Western Asia, it was contemporarily the largest emp ...

empires (722–330 BC) and remained a common language of the region in the first century AD. In spite of the increasing importance of Greek, the use of Aramaic was also expanding, and it would eventually be dominant among Jews both in the Holy Land and elsewhere in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

around 200 AD and would remain so until the

Islamic conquests The early Muslim conquests or early Islamic conquests ( ar, الْفُتُوحَاتُ الإسْلَامِيَّة, ), also referred to as the Arab conquests, were initiated in the 7th century by Muhammad, the main Islamic prophet. He estab ...

in the seventh century.

Dead Sea Scrolls

According to

Dead Sea Scrolls The Dead Sea Scrolls (also the Qumran Caves Scrolls) are ancient Jewish and Hebrew religious manuscripts discovered between 1946 and 1956 at the Qumran Caves in what was then Mandatory Palestine, near Ein Feshkha in the West Bank, on the ...

archaeologist

Yigael Yadin Yigael Yadin ( he, יִגָּאֵל יָדִין ) (20 March 1917 – 28 June 1984) was an Israeli archeologist, soldier and politician. He was the second Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces and Deputy Prime Minister from 1977 to 1981. B ...

, Aramaic was the language of

Hebrews The terms ''Hebrews'' (Hebrew: / , Modern: ' / ', Tiberian: ' / '; ISO 259-3: ' / ') and ''Hebrew people'' are mostly considered synonymous with the Semitic-speaking Israelites, especially in the pre-monarchic period when they were still ...

until Simon Bar Kokhba's revolt (132 AD to 135 AD). Yadin noticed the shift from Aramaic to

in the documents he studied, which had been written during the time of the Bar Kokhba revolt. In his book, ''Bar Kokhba: The rediscovery of the legendary hero of the last Jewish Revolt Against Imperial Rome'', Yigael Yadin notes, "It is interesting that the earlier documents are written in Aramaic while the later ones are in Hebrew. Possibly the change was made by a special decree of Bar Kokhba who wanted to restore Hebrew as the official language of the state". In another book by Sigalit Ben-Zion, Yadin said: "it seems that this change came as a result of the order that was given by Bar Kokhba, who wanted to revive the Hebrew language and make it the official language of the state." Yadin points out that Aramaic was the lingua franca at the time.

Josephus

Hebrew historian

Josephus Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for '' The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly ...

comments on learning

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

in first century

: In the first century AD, the Aramaic language was widespread throughout the Middle East, as is supported by the testimony of Josephus's ''

The Jewish War ''The Jewish War'' or ''Judean War'' (in full ''Flavius Josephus' Books of the History of the Jewish War against the Romans'', el, Φλαυίου Ἰωσήπου ἱστορία Ἰουδαϊκοῦ πολέμου πρὸς Ῥωμαίους ...

''. Josephus chose to inform people from what are now Iran, Iraq, and remote parts of the Arabian Peninsula about the war of the Jews against the Romans through books he wrote "in the language of our country", prior to translating into Greek for the benefit of the Greeks and Romans: H. St. J. Thackeray (who translated Josephus' ''Jewish Wars'' from Greek into English) also points out, "We learn from the proem that the Greek text was not the first draft of the work. It had been preceded by a narrative written in Aramaic and addressed to "the barbarians in the interior", who are more precisely defined lower down as the natives of Parthia, Babylonia, and

Arabia The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plat ...

, the Jewish dispersion in

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the ...

, and the inhabitants of Adiabene, a principality of which the reigning house, as was proudly remembered, were converts to

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in t ...

(B. i, 3, 6). Of this Aramaic work the Greek is described as a "version" made for the benefit of the subjects of the Roman Empire, i.e. the Graeco-Roman world at large. In , the "Field of Blood" was known to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem in their own language as '' Akeldama'', which is the transliteration of the Aramaic words "Haqal Dama". Josephus differentiated Hebrew from his language and that of first-century Israel. Josephus refers to Hebrew words as belonging to "the Hebrew tongue" but refers to Aramaic words as belonging to "our tongue" or "our language" or "the language of our country". Josephus refers to a Hebrew word with the phrase "the Hebrew tongue": "But the affairs of the Canaanites were at this time in a flourishing condition, and they expected the Israelites with a great army at the city Bezek, having put the government into the hands of Adonibezek, which name denotes the Lord of Bezek, for Adoni in the Hebrew tongue signifies Lord." In this example, Josephus refers to an Aramaic word as belonging to "our language": "This new-built part of the city was called '

Bezetha Bezetha (), also called by Josephus the New City was a suburb of Jerusalem, north and north-west of the Temple, built opposite the tower Antonia (now in proximity to the Convent of the Sisters of Zion and ''Ecce Homo'' on Via Dolorosa Street) and ...

,' in our language, which, if interpreted in the Grecian language, may be called 'the New City.'" On several occasions in the New Testament, Aramaic words are called Hebrew. For example, in (KJV), the gospel-writer narrates that Jesus, "bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha." The last word is, in fact, Aramaic. The word "Golgotha" is a transliteration of an Aramaic word, because ''-tha'' in ''Golgotha'' is the Aramaic definite article on a feminine noun in an emphatic state.

Phonology

Aramaic phrases in the Greek New Testament

The Greek

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chri ...

transliterates a few Semitic words. When the text itself refers to the language of such Semitic glosses, it uses words meaning "Hebrew"/"Jewish" (Acts 21:40; 22:2; 26:14: ''têi hebraḯdi dialéktōi'', lit. 'in the Hebrew dialect/language') but this term is often applied to unmistakably Aramaic words and phrases; for this reason, it is often interpreted as meaning "the (Aramaic) vernacular of the Jews" in recent translations. A small minority of scholars believe that most or all of the

was originally written in Aramaic. This theory is known as

Aramaic primacy The Aramaic original New Testament theory is the belief that the Christian New Testament was originally written in Aramaic. There are six versions of the New Testament in Aramaic languages: #the ''Vetus Syra'' (Old Syriac), a translation fr ...

Talitha kum (Ταλιθὰ κούμ)

Mark Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * F ...

: : ''And taking the hand of the child, he said to her, "Talitha kum", which translates as, "Little girl, I say to you, get up."'' This verse gives an Aramaic phrase, attributed to Jesus bringing the girl back to life, with a

transliteration Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one script to another that involves swapping letters (thus ''trans-'' + '' liter-'') in predictable ways, such as Greek → , Cyrillic → , Greek → the digraph , Armenian → or L ...

into Greek, as ταλιθὰ κούμ. A few Greek

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in ...

s (

Codex Sinaiticus The Codex Sinaiticus ( Shelfmark: London, British Library, Add MS 43725), designated by siglum [Aleph] or 01 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 2 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscript ...

, Vaticanus) of

Mark's Gospel The Gospel of Mark), or simply Mark (which is also its most common form of abbreviation). is the second of the four canonical gospels and of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells of the ministry of Jesus from his baptism by John the Baptist to ...

have this form of the text, but others (

Codex Alexandrinus The Codex Alexandrinus (London, British Library, Royal MS 1. D. V-VIII), designated by the siglum A or 02 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 4 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscripts), is a manu ...

, the text-type known as the

Majority Text In the textual criticism of the New Testament, the Byzantine text-type (also called Majority Text, Traditional Text, Ecclesiastical Text, Constantinopolitan Text, Antiocheian Text, or Syrian Text) is one of the main text types. It is the form fo ...

, and also the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

Vulgate The Vulgate (; also called (Bible in common tongue), ) is a late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bible. The Vulgate is largely the work of Jerome who, in 382, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Gospels u ...

) write κοῦμι (''koumi'', cumi) instead. The latter is in the

Textus Receptus ''Textus Receptus'' (Latin: "received text") refers to all printed editions of the Greek New Testament from Erasmus's ''Novum Instrumentum omne'' (1516) to the 1633 Elzevir edition. It was the most commonly used text type for Protestant deno ...

and is the version which appears in the

KJV The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and published in 1611, by sponsorship of K ...

. The Aramaic is ''ṭlīthā qūm''. The word ''ṭlīthā'' is the feminine form of the word ''ṭlē'', meaning "young". ''Qūm'' is the Aramaic verb 'to rise, stand, get up'. In the feminine singular imperative, it was originally ''qūmī''. However, there is evidence that in speech, the final ''-ī'' was dropped so the imperative did not distinguish between masculine and

feminine gender In linguistics, grammatical gender system is a specific form of noun class system, where nouns are assigned with gender categories that are often not related to their real-world qualities. In languages with grammatical gender, most or all nouns ...

s. The older manuscripts, therefore, used a Greek spelling that reflected pronunciation, whereas the addition of an 'ι' was perhaps due to a bookish copyist. In square script Aramaic, it could be טליתא קומי or טליתא קום.

Ephphatha (Ἐφφαθά)

: ''And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, "Ephphatha," which is 'be opened'.'' Once again, the Aramaic word is given with the transliteration, only this time, the word to be transliterated is more complicated. In Greek, the Aramaic is written ἐφφαθά. This could be from the Aramaic ''ethpthaḥ'', the passive imperative of the verb ''pthaḥ'', 'to open', since the ''th'' could assimilate in western Aramaic. The pharyngeal '' ḥ'' was often omitted in Greek transcriptions in the

Septuagint The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond ...

(Greek Old Testament) and was also softened in Galilean speech. In Aramaic, it could be אתפתח or אפתח. This word was adopted as the official motto of Gallaudet University, the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

' most prominent school for the

deaf Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an audiological condition. In this context it is written ...

Abba (Ἀββά �

14:36 :''"Abba, Father," he said, "everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will."''

Galatians Galatians may refer to: * Galatians (people) * Epistle to the Galatians, a book of the New Testament * English translation of the Greek ''Galatai'' or Latin ''Galatae'', ''Galli,'' or ''Gallograeci'' to refer to either the Galatians or the Gauls in ...

4:6 :''Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father."''

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

8:15 :''The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father."''

Abba ABBA ( , , formerly named Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid or Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida) are a Swedish supergroup formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The group ...

, an originally Aramaic form borrowed into the Greek Old Testament as a name (2Chr 29:1) tanding for the Hebrew ''Abijah'' () common in

Mishnaic Hebrew Mishnaic Hebrew is the Hebrew of Talmudic texts. Mishnaic Hebrew can be sub-divided into Mishnaic Hebrew proper (also called Tannaitic Hebrew, Early Rabbinic Hebrew, or Mishnaic Hebrew I), which was a spoken language, and Amoraic Hebrew (also c ...

and still used in

Modern Hebrew Modern Hebrew ( he, עברית חדשה, ''ʿivrít ḥadašá ', , '' lit.'' "Modern Hebrew" or "New Hebrew"), also known as Israeli Hebrew or Israeli, and generally referred to by speakers simply as Hebrew ( ), is the standard form of the H ...

Greenspahn, Frederick E. 2003. An introduction to Aramaic. P.25 (written Αββά �in Greek, and ''’abbā'' in Aramaic), is immediately followed by the Greek equivalent (Πατήρ) with no explicit mention of it being a translation. In Aramaic, it would be אבא. Note, the name

Barabbas Barabbas (; ) was, according to the New Testament, a prisoner who was chosen over Jesus by the crowd in Jerusalem to be pardoned and released by Roman governor Pontius Pilate at the Passover feast. Biblical account According to all four canoni ...

is a

Hellenization Hellenization (other British spelling Hellenisation) or Hellenism is the adoption of Greek culture, religion, language and identity by non-Greeks. In the ancient period, colonization often led to the Hellenization of indigenous peoples; in the H ...

of the Aramaic ''Bar Abba'' (בר אבא), literally "Son of the Father".

Raca (Ρακά)

Matthew 5:22 :''But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother ithout a causeshall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.'' (The bracketed text does not appear in all

recension Recension is the practice of editing or revising a text based on critical analysis. When referring to manuscripts, this may be a revision by another author. The term is derived from Latin ''recensio'' ("review, analysis"). In textual criticism (as ...

s and is absent in the Latin

.) Raca, or ''Raka'', in the Aramaic and Hebrew of the

Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law ('' halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the ce ...

, means empty one, fool, empty head. In Aramaic, it could be ריקא or ריקה.

Mammon (Μαμωνάς)

Gospel of Matthew The Gospel of Matthew), or simply Matthew. It is most commonly abbreviated as "Matt." is the first book of the New Testament of the Bible and one of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells how Israel's Messiah, Jesus, comes to his people and form ...

6:24 :''No one can serve two masters: for either they will hate the one, and love the other; or else they will hold to the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and

mammon Mammon in the New Testament of the Bible is commonly thought to mean money, material wealth, or any entity that promises wealth, and is associated with the greedy pursuit of gain. The Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke both quote Jesus us ...

.'' Luke 16:9–13 :''And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations. He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.'' 2 Clement 6 :''Now the Lord declares, "No servant can serve two masters." If we desire, then, to serve both God and mammon, it will be unprofitable for us. "For what will it profit if a man gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" This world and the next are two enemies. The one urges to adultery and corruption, avarice and deceit; the other bids farewell to these things. We cannot, therefore, be the friends of both; and it behoves us, by renouncing the one, to make sure of the other. Let us reckon that it is better to hate the things present, since they are trifling, and transient, and corruptible; and to love those ho are to come,as being good and incorruptible. For if we do the will of Christ, we shall find rest; otherwise, nothing shall deliver us from eternal punishment, if we disobey His commandments.'' (Roberts-Donaldson) In Aramaic, it could be ממון (or, in the typical Aramaic "emphatic" state suggested by the Greek ending, ממונא). This is usually considered to be an originally Aramaic word borrowed into

Rabbinic Hebrew Mishnaic Hebrew is the Hebrew of Talmud, Talmudic texts. Mishnaic Hebrew can be sub-divided into Mishnaic Hebrew proper (also called Tannaim, Tannaitic Hebrew, Early Rabbinic Hebrew, or Mishnah, Mishnaic Hebrew I), which was a spoken language, an ...

,Fernández, Miguel Pérez and John Elwolde. 1999. An Introductory Grammar of Rabbinic Hebrew. P.5 but its occurrence in late Biblical Hebrew and, reportedly, in 4th century

Punic The Punic people, or western Phoenicians, were a Semitic people in the Western Mediterranean who migrated from Tyre, Phoenicia to North Africa during the Early Iron Age. In modern scholarship, the term ''Punic'' – the Latin equivalent of t ...

may indicate that it had a more general "common Semitic background". In the New Testament, the word ''Mamōnâs'' is declined like a Greek word, whereas many of the other Aramaic and Hebrew words are treated as indeclinable foreign words.

Rabbuni (Ραββουνί)

:''Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master.'' (KJV) Also in Mark 10:51. Hebrew form

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

used as title of Jesus in Matthew 26:25,49; Mark 9:5, 11:21, 14:45; John 1:38, 1:49, 4:31, 6:25, 9:2, 11:8. In Aramaic, it would have been רבוני.

Maranatha (Μαραναθά)

Didache 10:6 (Prayer after Communion) :''Let grace come, and let this world pass away.

Hosanna ''Hosanna'' () is a liturgical word in Judaism and Christianity. In Judaism it refers to a cry expressing an appeal for divine help.Friberg Lexicon In Christianity it is used as a cry of praise. Etymology The word ''hosanna'' (Latin ', Greek ...

to the God (Son) of David! If any one is holy, let him come; if any one is not so, let him repent. Maran-Atha. Amen.'' (Roberts-Donaldson) 1 Corinthians 16:22 :''If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema

Maranatha __NOTOC__ ''Maranatha'' (Aramaic: ') is an Aramaic phrase which occurs once in the New Testament (). It also appears in Didache 10:14. It is transliterated into Greek letters rather than translated and, given the nature of early manuscripts, the ...

.'' Depending on how one selects to split the single Greek expression of the early manuscripts into Aramaic, it could be either מרנא תא (''marana tha'', "Lord, come!") or מרן אתא (''maran atha'', "Our Lord has come").

Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani (Ἠλί, Ἠλί, λεμὰ σαβαχθανί)

Matthew 27:46 : ''Around the ninth hour, Jesus shouted in a loud voice, saying "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" which is, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"''

15:34 : ''And at the ninth hour, Jesus shouted in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" which is translated, "My God, my God, for what have you forsaken me?"'' This phrase, among the

Sayings of Jesus on the cross The sayings of Jesus on the cross (sometimes called the Seven Last Words from the Cross) are seven expressions biblically attributed to Jesus during his crucifixion. Traditionally, the brief sayings have been called "words". The seven sayings ar ...

, is given in these two versions. The Matthean version of the phrase is transliterated in Greek as Ἠλί, Ἠλί, λεμὰ σαβαχθανί. The Markan version is Ἐλωΐ, Ἐλωΐ, λαμὰ σαβαχθανί (''elōi'' rather than ''ēli'' and ''lama'' rather than ''lema''). Overall, both versions appear to be Aramaic rather than Hebrew because of the verb (''šbq'') "abandon", which is originally Aramaic.Davies, William D. and Dale C. Allison. 1997. Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Gospel According to Saint Matthew. Volume III. P.624 The "pure" Biblical Hebrew counterpart to this word, (''‘zb'') is seen in the second line of

Psalm 22 Psalm 22 of the Book of Psalms (the hind of the dawn) or My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? is a psalm in the Bible. The Book of Psalms is part of the third section of the Hebrew Bible, and a book of the Christian Old Testament. In the ...

, which the saying appears to quote. Thus, Jesus is not quoting the canonical Hebrew version (''ēlī ēlī lāmā ‘azabtānī'') attributed in some Jewish interpretations to King David cited as Jesus' ancestor in Matthew's

Genealogy of Jesus The New Testament provides two accounts of the genealogy of Jesus, one in the Gospel of Matthew and another in the Gospel of Luke. Matthew starts with Abraham, while Luke begins with Adam. The lists are identical between Abraham and David, but ...

if the Eli, Eli version of Jesus' outcry is taken; he may be quoting the version given in an Aramaic

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 ...

(surviving Aramaic Targums do use ''šbq'' in their translations of the Psalm 22 ). The Markan word for "my god", Ἐλωΐ, definitely corresponds to the Aramaic form אלהי, '' elāhī''. The Matthean one, Ἠλί, fits in better with the אלי of the original Hebrew Psalm, as has been pointed out in the literature; however, it may also be Aramaic because this form is attested abundantly in Aramaic as well. In the next verse, in both accounts, some who hear Jesus' cry imagine that he is calling for help from

Elijah Elijah ( ; he, אֵלִיָּהוּ, ʾĒlīyyāhū, meaning "My El (deity), God is Yahweh/YHWH"; Greek form: Elias, ''Elías''; syr, ܐܸܠܝܼܵܐ, ''Elyāe''; Arabic language, Arabic: إلياس or إليا, ''Ilyās'' or ''Ilyā''. ) w ...

(''Ēlīyā'' in Aramaic). Almost all ancient Greek manuscripts show signs of trying to normalize this text. For instance, the peculiar

Codex Bezae The Codex Bezae Cantabrigiensis, designated by siglum D or 05 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 5 (in the von Soden of New Testament manuscript), is a codex of the New Testament dating from the 5th century writ ...

renders both versions with ηλι ηλι λαμα ζαφθανι (ēli ēli lama zaphthani). The Alexandrian, Western and Caesarean textual families all reflect harmonization of the texts between Matthew and Mark. Only the Byzantine textual tradition preserves a distinction. The Aramaic word form ''šəḇaqtanī'' is based on the verb ''šəḇaq''/''šāḇaq'', 'to allow, to permit, to forgive, and to forsake', with the perfect tense ending ''-t'' (2nd person singular: 'you'), and the object suffix ''-anī'' (1st person singular: 'me'). In Hebrew, the saying would be "", the Aramaic phrase would be "" or "".

Jot and tittle ()

Matthew 5:18 :''For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the Law (that is, the Torah) till all is fulfilled.'' The quotation uses them as an example of extremely minor details. In the

text translated as

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

jot and tittle is found ''iota'' and ''keraia''.

Iota Iota (; uppercase: Ι, lowercase: ι; ) is the ninth letter of the Greek alphabet. It was derived from the Phoenician letter Yodh. Letters that arose from this letter include the Latin I and J, the Cyrillic І (І, і), Yi (Ї, ї), and ...

is the smallest letter of the Greek alphabet (ι), but since only capitals were used at the time the Greek New Testament was written (Ι; still, it is the smallest of all the Greek majuscules) and because the Torah was written in Hebrew, it probably represents the Hebrew

yodh Yodh (also spelled jodh, yod, or jod) is the tenth letter of the Semitic abjads, including Phoenician Yōd /𐤉, Hebrew Yōd , Aramaic Yod , Syriac Yōḏ ܝ, and Arabic . Its sound value is in all languages for which it is used; in many l ...

(י) which is the smallest letter of the

Hebrew alphabet The Hebrew alphabet ( he, אָלֶף־בֵּית עִבְרִי, ), known variously by scholars as the Ktav Ashuri, Jewish script, square script and block script, is an abjad script used in the writing of the Hebrew language and other Jewi ...

. ''Keraia'' is a hook or serif.

Korban (Κορβάν)

Matthew 27:6 :''But the chief priests, taking the pieces of silver, said, ‘It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, since they are blood money.’'' In Aramaic (קרבנא) it refers to the treasury in the

Temple in Jerusalem The Temple in Jerusalem, or alternatively the Holy Temple (; , ), refers to the two now-destroyed religious structures that served as the central places of worship for Israelites and Jews on the modern-day Temple Mount in the Old City of Jeru ...

, derived from the Hebrew Korban (קרבן), found in Mark 7:11 and the

(in Greek transliteration), meaning ''religious gift'' or ''offering''. The Greek is declined as a Greek noun, much like other examples.

Sikera (Σίκερα)

Luke 1:15 :''for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He must never drink wine or strong drink; even before his birth he will be filled with the Holy Spirit.''

Hosanna ()

11:9 :''Then those who went ahead and those who followed were shouting,

! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!'' This word is derived from הושע נא. It is generally considered to be a quote from

Psalms The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived ...

118:25 "O , save (us)", but the original Biblical Hebrew form was הושיעה נא. The shortened form הושע could be either Aramaic or Hebrew.

Aramaic personal names in the New Testament

Personal names in the New Testament come from a number of languages; Hebrew and Greek are most common. However, there are a few Aramaic names as well. The most prominent feature in Aramaic names is ''bar'' (Greek transliteration βαρ, Aramaic ''bar''), meaning 'son of', a common patronym prefix. Its Hebrew equivalent, ''ben'', is conspicuous by its absence. Some examples are: * –

Bartholomew Bartholomew (Aramaic: ; grc, Βαρθολομαῖος, translit=Bartholomaîos; la, Bartholomaeus; arm, Բարթողիմէոս; cop, ⲃⲁⲣⲑⲟⲗⲟⲙⲉⲟⲥ; he, בר-תולמי, translit=bar-Tôlmay; ar, بَرثُولَماو� ...

(Βαρθολομαῖος from ''bar-Tōlmay'', perhaps "son of furrows" or "ploughman"). * – Simon bar-Jona (Σίμων Βαριωνᾶς from ''Šim‘ōn bar-Yōnā'', "Simon son of Jonah"). * – Simon bar-Jochanan ("Simon son of John"). * –

(Βαραββᾶς from ''bar-Abbā'', "son of the father"). * – Bartimaeus (Βαρτιμαῖος possibly from combination of Aramaic ''bar'' and Greek ''timaios'' meaning "honorable" or "highly prized", perhaps "honorable son"). * – Barsabbas (Βαρσαββᾶς from ''bar-Šabbā'', "son of the Sabbath"). * – Joseph who is called

Barnabas Barnabas (; arc, ܒܪܢܒܐ; grc, Βαρνάβας), born Joseph () or Joses (), was according to tradition an early Christian, one of the prominent Christian disciples in Jerusalem. According to Acts 4:36, Barnabas was a Cypriot Jew. Name ...

(Βαρνάβας from ''bar-Navā'' meaning "son of prophecy", "the prophet", but given the Greek translation υἱὸς παρακλήσεως; usually translated as "son of consolation/encouragement", the Greek could mean "invocation" as well). * – Bar-Jesus (Βαριησοῦς from ''bar-Išo'', "son of Jesus/Joshua").

Boanerges (Βοανηργές)

3:17 : ''And James, the son of Zebedee, and John, the brother of James, and he gave them the name Boanerges, which is Sons of Thunder.'' Jesus surnames the brothers

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguati ...

and

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

to reflect their impetuosity. The Greek rendition of their name is Βοανηργές (Boanērges). There has been much speculation about this name. Given the Greek translation that comes with it ('Sons of Thunder'), it seems that the first element of the name is ''bnē'', 'sons of' (the plural of 'bar'), Aramaic (בני). This is represented by βοάνη (boanē), giving two vowels in the first syllable where one would be sufficient. It could be inferred from this that the Greek transliteration may not be a good one. The second part of the name is often reckoned to be ''rḡaš'' ('tumult') Aramaic (רגיש), or ''rḡaz'' ('anger') Aramaic (רגז). Maurice Casey, however, argues that it is a simple misreading of the word for thunder, ''r‘am'' (due to the similarity of ''s'' to the final ''m''). This is supported by one

Syriac Syriac may refer to: *Syriac language, an ancient dialect of Middle Aramaic *Sureth, one of the modern dialects of Syriac spoken in the Nineveh Plains region * Syriac alphabet ** Syriac (Unicode block) ** Syriac Supplement * Neo-Aramaic languages a ...

translation of the name as ''bnay ra‘mâ''. The

Peshitta The Peshitta ( syc, ܦܫܺܝܛܬܳܐ ''or'' ') is the standard version of the Bible for churches in the Syriac tradition, including the Maronite Church, the Chaldean Catholic Church, the Syriac Catholic Church, the Syriac Orthodox Church, ...

reads ܒܢܝ ܪܓܫܝ ''bnay rḡešy'', which would fit with a later composition for it, based on a Byzantine reading of the original Greek.

Cephas (Κηφᾶς)

1:42 : ''He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon son of John, you shall be called Cephas", which is translated 'Peter'.'' (New International Version) 1 Corinthians 1:12 : ''But I say that each of you says "I am of Paul", or "I am of Apollos", or "I am of Cephas", or "I am of Christ".''

1:18

NRSV The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) is an English translation of the Bible published in 1989 by the National Council of Churches.Simon Peter ) (Simeon, Simon) , birth_date = , birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire , death_date = Between AD 64–68 , death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire , parents = John (or Jonah; Jona) , occupation ...

. The Greek word is transliterated (Kēphâs). The apostle's given name appears to be Simon, and he is given the Aramaic nickname, ''kēpā'', meaning 'rock' or 'stone'. The final sigma (''ς'') is added in Greek to make the name masculine rather than feminine. That the meaning of the name was more important than the name itself is evidenced by the universal acceptance of the Greek translation, (Petros). It is not known why Paul uses the Aramaic name rather than the Greek name for Simon Peter when he writes to the churches in Galatia and

Corinth Corinth ( ; el, Κόρινθος, Kórinthos, ) is the successor to an ancient city, and is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Since the 2011 local government refor ...

. He may have been writing at a time before Cephas came to be popularly known as Peter. According to

Clement of Alexandria Titus Flavius Clemens, also known as Clement of Alexandria ( grc , Κλήμης ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεύς; – ), was a Christian theologian and philosopher who taught at the Catechetical School of Alexandria. Among his pupils were Origen an ...

, there were two people named Cephas: one was Apostle Simon Peter, and the other was one of Jesus' ''

Seventy Apostles The seventy disciples or seventy-two disciples, known in the Eastern Christian traditions as the seventy apostles or seventy-two apostles, were early emissaries of Jesus mentioned in the Gospel of Luke. The correct Greek terminology is evdomikont ...

''. Clement goes further to say it was Cephas of the Seventy who was condemned by Paul in Galatians 2 for not eating with the Gentiles, though this is perhaps Clement's way of deflecting the condemnation from Simon Peter. In 1708, a French Jesuit,

Jean Hardouin Jean Hardouin ( en, John Hardwin; la, Johannes Harduinus; 1646 – 3 September 1729), was a French classical scholar. He is most known for his theory that most texts from Antiquity were forgeries. Biography He was born at Quimper in Brittany. ...

, wrote a dissertation that argues "Peter" was actually "another Peter", thus the emphasis of using the name Cephas (Aramaic for ''Peter''). In 1990

Bart D. Ehrman Bart Denton Ehrman (born 1955) is an American New Testament scholar focusing on textual criticism of the New Testament, the historical Jesus, and the origins and development of early Christianity. He has written and edited 30 books, including t ...

wrote an article on the ''

Journal of Biblical Literature The ''Journal of Biblical Literature'' (''JBL'') is one of three academic journals published by the Society of Biblical Literature (SBL). First published in 1881, ''JBL'' is the flagship journal of the field. ''JBL'' is published quarterly and incl ...

'', similarly arguing that Peter and Cephas should be understood as different people, citing the writing of

and the

Epistula Apostolorum The Epistle of the Apostles ( la, Epistula Apostolorum, italic=no) is a work of New Testament apocrypha. Despite its name, it is more a gospel or an apocalypse than an epistle. The work takes the form of an open letter purportedly from the rema ...

and in support of his theory; Ehrman's article received a detailed critique by

Dale Allison Dale C. Allison (born November 25, 1955) is an American New Testament scholar, historian of Early Christianity, and Christian theologian who for years served as Errett M. Grable Professor of New Testament Exegesis and Early Christianity at Pittsb ...

, who argued that Peter and Cephas are the same person. Ehrman later retracted his proposal, deeming it "highly unlikely". In Aramaic, it could be כיפא.

Thomas (Θωμᾶς)

11:16 : ''Then Thomas, who was called Didymus, said to his co-disciples, "Now let us go that we might die with him!"''

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

() is listed among the disciples of Jesus in all four gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. However, it is only in John's Gospel that more information is given. In three places (John 11:16, 20:24 and 21:2), he is given the name Didymus (), the Greek word for a twin. In fact, "the Twin" is not just a surname, it is a translation of "Thomas". The Greek —Thōmâs—comes from the Aramaic ''tōmā'', "twin". Therefore, rather than two personal names, Thomas Didymus, there is a single nickname, the Twin. Christian tradition gives him the personal name Judas, and he was perhaps named Thomas to distinguish him from others of the same name. In Aramaic, it could be ܬܐܘܡܐ.

Tabitha (Ταβιθά)

Acts The Acts of the Apostles ( grc-koi, Πράξεις Ἀποστόλων, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; la, Actūs Apostolōrum) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of its message ...

9:36 : ''In Joppa, there was a disciple named Tabitha, which is translated

Dorcas Dorcas ( el, Δορκάς, Dorkás, used as a translated variant of the Aramaic name), or Tabitha ( arc, טביתא/ܛܒܝܬܐ, Ṭaḇīṯā, (female) gazelle), was an early disciple of Jesus mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles (, see discussi ...

.'' The disciple's name is given both in Aramaic (Ταβιθά) and Greek (Δορκάς). The Aramaic name is a transliteration of ''Ṭḇīthā'', the female form of (''Ṭaḇyā''). Both names mean 'gazelle'. It may be just coincidence that

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

's words to her in verse 40, "Tabitha, get up!" (), are similar to the "

talitha kum Talitha Kum (or the International Network of Consecrated Life Against Trafficking in Persons) is an organization of Catholic nuns established by the International Union of Superiors General (UISG) in 2009. The group works to end human-traffickin ...

" phrase used by Jesus. In Aramaic, it could be טביתא.

Aramaic place names in the New Testament

Gethsemane (Γεθσημανῆ)

Matthew 26:36 : ''Then Jesus went with them to a place called

Gethsemane Gethsemane () is a garden at the foot of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem where, according to the four Gospels of the New Testament, Jesus underwent the agony in the garden and was arrested before his crucifixion. It is a place of great resona ...

.''

14:32 : ''And they went to a place that has the name

.'' The place where Jesus takes his disciples to pray before his arrest is given the Greek transliteration Γεθσημανῆ (Gethsēmanē). It represents the Aramaic ''Gath-Šmānē'', meaning 'the oil press' or 'oil vat' (referring to olive oil). In Aramaic, it could be ܓܕܣܡܢ. This place name is more properly an Aramaized version of an original Hebrew place name. ''Gath'' גת is a normal word for press in Hebrew, generally used for a wine press not an olive press though; and ''shemanei'' שמני is the Hebrew word ''shemanim'' שמנים meaning "oils", the plural form of the word ''shemen'' שמן, the primary Hebrew word for oil, just in a construct form (''-ei'' instead of the ordinary plural suffix ''-im''). The word in Aramaic for "oil" is more properly ''mišḥa'' (משחא), as also attested in

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

writings in Aramaic from the Galilee (see Caspar Levias, A Grammar of Galilean Aramaic, Jewish Theological Seminary of America, 1986).

Golgotha (Γολγοθᾶ)

15:22 : ''And they took him up to the place Golgotha, which is translated Place of the Skull.''

19:17 : ''And carrying his cross by himself, he went out to the so-called Place of the Skull, which is called in 'Hebrew' Golgotha.'' ''Gagūltā'' Aramaic, means 'skull'. The name appears in all of the gospels except Luke, which calls the place simply ''Kranion'' (Κρανίον) 'the Skull' in Greek, with no Semitic counterpart. The name ' Calvary' is taken from the Latin

translation, Calvaria. In Aramaic, it could be ܓܓܘܠܬܐ. Though this word has the Aramaic final form ''-ta'' / ''-tha'', it is otherwise also closer to the

word for skull, ''gulgolet'' גולגולת, than to the Aramaic form.

Gabbatha (Γαββαθᾶ)

19:13 : ''When Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus outside and sat on the judge's bench at a place called The Stone Pavement, or in Hebrew, Gabbatha.'' The place name appears to be Aramaic. According to Josephus, ''War'', V.ii.1, #51, the word ''Gabath'' means ''high place'', or ''elevated place'', so perhaps a raised flat area near the temple. The final "א" could then represent the emphatic state of the noun. In Aramaic, it could be גבהתא.

Akeldama (Ἀκελδαμά)

1:19 : ''And this became known to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that field was called, in their own dialect, Akeldama, that is Field of Blood.'' The place of

Judas Iscariot Judas Iscariot (; grc-x-biblical, Ἰούδας Ἰσκαριώτης; syc, ܝܗܘܕܐ ܣܟܪܝܘܛܐ; died AD) was a disciple and one of the original Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ. According to all four canonical gospels, Judas betraye ...

's death is clearly named Field of Blood in Greek. However, the manuscript tradition gives a number of different spellings of the Aramaic. The

reads Ἀκελδαμά (''Akeldama''); other manuscript versions give Ἀχελδαμάχ (''Acheldamach''), Ἁκελδαμά (''Hakeldama''), Ἁχελδαμά (''Hacheldama'') and Ἁκελδαμάχ (''Hakeldamach''). Despite these variant spellings the Aramaic is most probably ''ḥqēl dmā'', 'field of blood'. While the seemingly gratuitous Greek sound of ''kh'' at the end of the word is difficult to explain, the Septuagint similarly adds this sound to the end of the Semitic name Ben Sira to form the Greek name for the Book of ''Sirakh'' ( la, Sirach). The sound may be a dialectic feature of either the Greek speakers or the original Semitic language speakers. In Aramaic, it could be חקל דמא.

Pool of Bethesda (Βηθεσδά)

5:2 : ''Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades.'' ''Bethesda'' was originally the name of a pool in

, on the path of the Beth Zeta Valley, and is also known as the ''Sheep Pool''. Its name in Aramaic means "House of Grace". It is associated with

healing With physical trauma or disease suffered by an organism, healing involves the repairing of damaged tissue(s), organs and the biological system as a whole and resumption of (normal) functioning. Medicine includes the process by which the cells ...

. In

John 5 John 5 is the fifth chapter of the Gospel of John of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It relates Jesus' healing and teaching in Jerusalem, and begins to evidence the hostility shown him by the Jewish authorities.Plummer, A. (1902)Cambri ...

was reported healing a man at the pool. For other Aramaic place names in the New Testament beginning with ''beth'' ("house of"), see Bethabara,

Bethany Bethany ( grc-gre, Βηθανία,Murphy-O'Connor, 2008, p152/ref> Syriac: ܒܝܬ ܥܢܝܐ ''Bēṯ ʿAnyā'') or what is locally known as Al-Eizariya or al-Azariya ( ar, العيزرية, " laceof Lazarus"), is a Palestinian town in the West B ...

Bethphage Bethphage ( grc, Βηθφαγή, Bēthpagḗ; arc, בֵּית פַּגִּי, Bêt̲ Paggî, lit=house of unripe figs) or Bethsphage, is a Christian religious site on the Mount of Olives east of historical Jerusalem. Bethphage is mentioned in t ...

and Bethsaida and

Bethlehem Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital o ...

. In Aramaic, "Bethesda" could be spelled בית חסדא.

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Language Of Jesus 1st-century Christianity

Language and mysticism Jesus