Peshitta Aramaic New Testament Primacy

(The Peshitta Aramaic New Testament is the Original New Testament)

Below is an article on the history of Aramaic posted by Paul Younan in 2008 on the internet. Paul is a native Aramaic speaker from
Lebanon, a Peshitta scholar and Deacon of The Church of the East in Chicago.

History of Aramaic
by Paul D. Younan - June 1, 2000 - [website]
Posted: Sunday, June 22, 2008 at 06:21 AM CT

Aramaic is the ancient language of the Semitic family group, which includes the Assyrians, Babylonians, Chaldeans, Arameans,
Hebrews, and Arabs. In fact, a large part of the Hebrew and Arabic languages is borrowed from Aramaic, including the Alphabet.
The modern Hebrew (square) script is called "Ashuri", "Ashuri" is the Hebrew name for Assyrian, the name being used to signify
the ancestor of the Assyrians, Ashur the son of Shem, the son of Noah (Genesis 10:22). Aramaic is quoted in the very first book
of the Bible, Berisheth (Genesis) in Chapter 31:47. In fact, many portions of the Old Testament are penned originally in Aramaic,
including Daniel chapter 2:4 thru chapter 7.
Tel Dan Inscription.
Approximate Date: 9th-8th century B.C.
Dan, Galilee, Israel.
Museum, Jerusalem

Medium: Basalt Stele.

Place of Discovery: Tel
Current Location: Israel

The first known inscriptions of Aramaic date to the late tenth

expansion, Aramaic spread over Palestine and Syria and large
including Akkadian and Hebrew. For about one thousand years
East, officially beginning with the conquests of the Assyrian
language, replacing Akkadian.

or early ninth century B.C. In a phenomenal wave of

tracts of Asia and Egypt, replacing many languages,
it served as the official and written language of the Near
Empire, which had adopted Aramaic as its official

The Assyrian Empire.

During the later Chaldean (Neo-Babylonian) and Persian conquests, Aramaic had become the
international medium of exchange. Despite Hellenistic influences, especially in the cities, that
followed the conquests of Alexander the Great of Macedonia, Aramaic remained the
vernacular of the conquered peoples in the Holy Land, Syria, Mesopotamia and the adjacent
countries. It ceded only to Arabic in the ninth century A.D., two full centuries after the Islamic
conquests of Damascus in 633, and Jerusalem in 635. Aramaic has never been totally
supplanted by Arabic. Aramaic had been adopted by the deported Israelites of Transjordan,
exiled from Bashan and Gilead in 732 B.C. by Tiglath-Pileser III, the tribes of the Northern
Kingdom by Sargon II who took Samaria in 721, and the two tribes of the Southern Kingdom
of Judah who were taken into captivity to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar in 587. Hence, the
Jews who returned from the Babylonian Captivity brought Aramaic back with them to the
Holy Land, and this continued to be their native tongue throughout the lifetime of Eshoo
Mshikha.
The Aramaic Inscription of the Tomb of Abba was uncovered
north of the Old City of Jerusalem. On the wall above the
repository is an Aramaic inscription in ancient Hebrew letters
(very unusual in the Second Temple period) which reads:
I, Abba, son of the priest Eleaz(ar), son of Aaron the high
born in Jerusalem, and went into exile into Babylonia and
buried him in a cave which I bought by deed.

(priest), I, Abba, the oppressed and the persecuted (?), who was
brought (back to Jerusalem) Mattathi(ah), son of Jud(ah), and

During the Hellenistic period of the Seleucids, Aramaic ceased to be a uniform language, when various dialects began to form, due to regional influences of
pronunciation and vocabulary. Some of these dialects became literary languages after the differences had increased. The language, henceforth, divided into an
Eastern branch, with a number of dialects, and a Western branch with its dialects, but all of which retained a great similarity.
Aramaic Coins from Judea; A.D. 132-135 A.D. From the period of the 2nd Revolt.
OBVERSE: Five stringed lyre surrounded by Aramaic inscription: SHNT AHT LGALT YSRAL (year one to the freedom of
Israel).
REVERSE: Palm branch within wreath surrounded by Aramaic inscription: SHMOWN NSYA YSRAL (Shimon the prince of
Israel), all within dotted circle.
An Aramaic letter from Simon bar Kochba to Yehonathan bar Be'aya, written during the Jewish revolt 132-135 CE.
Aramaic can be dated to five periods, dating from inscriptions that go back to the first millennium B.C.:
2

1. Old Aramaic, 925-700

2. Official or Imperial (Assyrian) Aramaic, 700-200
(when the language was still uniform)
3. Middle Aramaic, 200 B.C. - 200 A.D.
4. Late Aramaic, 200-700
5. Modern Aramaic, 700 to our time

Aramaic Inscription in the Prayer Hall of the Ein Gedi Synagogue, Dead Sea, Israel. 3rd-century A.D.
The Aramaic in which the Bible called "Assakhta Peshitta" is written, known as the Peshitta Text, is in the dialect of northwest Mesopotamia as it evolved and
was highly perfected in Orhai, once a city-kingdom, later called Edessa by the Greeks, and now called Urfa in Turkey. Harran, the city of Abraham's brother
Nahor, lies 38 kilometers southeast of Orhai. The large colony of Orhai Jews, and the Jewish colonies in Assyria in the kingdom of Adiabene whose royal house
had converted to Judaism, possessed most of the Bible in this dialect, the Peshitta Tenakh.

Edessa Citadel Mount with an Aramaic inscription in Estrangela script.

Edessan coin depicting King Abgar Ukkama, the world's first Christian King.
This Peshitta version of the Old Testament was taken over by all the Churches in the East, which used, and still use Aramaic, as far as India,
and formerly in Turkestan and China. The Peshitta Tenakh was completed during Apostolic times with the writings of the New Testament.

Hsian-Fu (Xian) Monument commemorating the arrival of Christianity in China in 635-781 A.D.
Medium: black, sub-granular limestone. Approximate Date: 781 A.D. Place of Discovery: Hsian-Fu, Shanhsi Province, China. Current Location: Pei-lin, China.
This literary form of Eastern Aramaic was pronounced differently in the Western countries under Roman rule and its Byzantine successor, and became the
"Western" dialect, influenced by Greek grammar and style. In the Parthian (Persian) Empire, the language retained its archaic style, syntax and pronunciation.

click on the picture for a larger image

Aramaic & Chinese inscriptions from the Hsian-Fu Monument:

Besides celebrating the arrival of Christianity in China in 635 A.D., the inscriptions consist of one thousand nine hundred Chinese characters and about fifty
Aramaic words (in the Estrangela script), containing some seventy names of Assyrian missionaries in rows on the narrow sides of the stone with the
corresponding Chinese characters denoting the Chinese synonyms or phonetics for the Assyrian names.

Greeks had called Aramaic by a word they coined, 'Syriac', and this artificial term was used in the West, but not in the East, where it has always been known by
its own name, 'Lishana Aramaya' (the Aramaic language). Modern Eastern Aramaic has sixteen dialects, spoken by Christians and Jews, and a widely spoken
western dialect. Modern Western Aramaic is spoken in three small villages north of Damascus, but in a very mixed form with words borrowed from Arabic and
Turkish.
Christian manuscripts in Eastern Aramaic are written in the ancient script called Estrangela (round, thick set) with no vowel markings. After the fifth century
A.D., two different scripts developed. In the West, a script (of which half the letters no longer resemble the Estrangela), called 'Serto' (strophe) is used, with five
capital Greek letters for vowels, written on their side, above or below the letters. In the Eastern script, called 'Madinkhaya' (Eastern) or 'Swadaya'
(Contemporary), only five of the twenty-two letters have been slightly modified. To indicate the seven vowels there are various accents, with two different
strokes to indicate the semi-vowels, resembling the Jewish systems of Tiberias or of Babylon.

A graphical representation of the different scripts used by the Assyrians. The first line is the Eastern Estrangela script, the second is the Western Estrangela
script. The third line is the modern Eastern script (Swadaya) and the last line is the modern Western script (Serto).
Modern Aramaic, in its various dialects, is spoken in modern-day Iraq, Iran, Syria, Israel, Lebanon, and the various Western countries to which the native
speakers have emigrated, including Russia, Europe, Australia and the United States.
This exquisite mosaic was discovered at the ancient synagogue of Hamat Gader and was restored by
the Israel Antiquities Authority. Aramaic inscriptions on the mosaic testify to the importance of Hamat
Gader, a city renowned for its baths during the Roman period. The inscriptions express gratitude for the
financial contributions raised throughout the country to build the synagogue.
Churches which still use Aramaic as their liturgical language include the Church of the East, the
Chaldean Catholic Church, the Syriac Orthodox Church, the Syriac Catholic Church, and the Maronite
Catholic Church.
7

Here is a study that Dave Bauscher did in 2015 on Aramaic primacy from the New Testament:
The Greek NT has not one word our Lord actually spoke, only translations of it. More on that later.
Couple that with the fact that all the churches Paul planted were planted with Jewish men and women who converted to faith in Yeshua
Messiah, all of them Aramaic speakers, as Aramaic had been established the language of the Jews from the Babylonian captivity under
Nebuchadnezzar and after for 1000 years. Greek never replaced Aramaic in the Middle East and Asia Minor; it only was added to many
countries, such as Syria, but never replaced Aramaic as the lingua franca of that region of the world. Check in the book of Acts where Paul
went to preach the Gospel; he went to the synagogues:
Ac 9:2 And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.
Ac 9:20 And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God.
Ac 13:5 And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews: and they had also John to their minister.
Ac 13:14 But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and sat down.
Ac 13:15 And after the reading of the law and the prophets the rulers of the synagogue sent unto them, saying, Ye men and brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation for the people, say on.
Ac 13:42 And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next sabbath.
Ac 14:1 And it came to pass in Iconium, that they went both together into the synagogue of the Jews, and so spake, that a great multitude both of the Jews and also of the Greeks believed.
Ac 15:21 For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day.
Ac 17:1 Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews: (Thessalonians)
Ac 17:10 And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews.
Ac 17:17 Therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews, and with the devout persons, and in the market daily with them that met with him.
Ac 18:4 And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks.(This is in Corinth.)
Ac 18:7 And he departed thence, and entered into a certain mans house, named Justus, one that worshipped God, whose house joined hard to the synagogue.
Ac 18:8 And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house; and many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized. (This is in Corinth.)
Ac 18:17 Then all the Greeks took Sosthenes, the chief ruler of the synagogue, and beat him before the judgment seat. And Gallio cared for none of those things. (This is in Corinth.)
Ac 18:19 And he came to Ephesus, and left them there: but he himself entered into the synagogue, and reasoned with the Jews.
Ac 18:26 And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly.
Ac 19:8 And he went into the synagogue, and spake boldly for the space of three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God. (This is in Ephesus.)
Ac 22:19 And I said, Lord, they know that I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue them that believed on thee: (Here Paul practically says Christians were in the synagogues!)
Ac 24:12 And they neither found me in the temple disputing with any man, neither raising up the people, neither in the synagogues, nor in the city:
Ac 26:11 And I punished them oft in every synagogue, and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto strange cities. (Here Paul
practically says Christians were in every synagogue!)
Ac 11:19 Now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen travelled as far as Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to none but
unto the Jews only.
Ac 19:10 And this continued by the space of two years; so that all they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks
(Peshitta has Aramaeans- Syrians).
Ro 2:17 Behold, thou art called a Jew, and restest in the law, and makest thy boast of God, (This is written to Rome.)

Ro 9:24 Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?
1Co 10:1 Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;
(According to the previous verse, the Corinthians to whom Paul wrote were predominantly Jews, descendents of the Israelites of Moses' time.)
1Co 7:39 The wife is bound by the law as long as her husband liveth; but if her husband be dead, she is at liberty to be married to whom she will; only in the
Lord.
1Co 9:8 Say I these things as a man? or saith not the law the same also?
1Co 9:9 For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen?
1Co 9:20 And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are
under the law;
1Co 9:21 To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law.
1Co 14:21 In the law it is written, With men of other tongues and other lips will I speak unto this people; and yet for all that will they not hear me, saith the
Lord.
1Co 14:34 Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith
the law.
1Co 15:56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.

Remember , the Gospel commission was , "to the Jew first, and also to the Aramaean."
There were no other groups to preach to. This means that the Aramaeans included all Gentiles, and that the Gentile
world was Aramaic speaking to some degree.
What did the Jews and Aramaeans have in common? The answer is, "Aramaic." Non Aramaean Gentiles would
most likely have spoken Greek, in the Roman Empire, but most of them would probably have known Aramaic as the
language of commerce, though perhaps not as well as Greek.
The Greek text of Acts 1:19 also testifies to the fact that Aramaic was the language of Israel: 19 (AV) And <2532> it was
<1096> (5633) known <1110> unto all <3956> the dwellers <2730> (5723) at Jerusalem <2419>; insomuch as <5620> that <1565> field <5564> is called
<2564> (5683) in their <846> proper <2398> tongue <1258>, Aceldama <184>, that is to say <5123> (5748), The field <5564> of blood <129>.

Aceldama is defined in Thayers Greek Lexicon thus: 184 Akeldama ak-el-dam-ah - of Aramaic origin,
corresponding to 02506 and 01818 ; n pr loc; AV-Aceldama 1; 1
So Acts 1:19 in Greek testifies that Aramaic was the language of Jerusalem. Notice that only one language
is mentioned. It does not say there was more than one language spoken by the people.
9

The Greek NT defines Aramaic as the language of Israel in the 1st century. Here are all the NT references to the
Hebrew language being used in Israel:
Joh 5:2 Now <1161> there is <2076> (5748) at <1722> Jerusalem <2414> by <1909> the sheep <4262> market a pool <2861>, which <3588> is called <1951> (5746) in the Hebrew tongue
<1447> Bethesda <964>, having <2192> (5723) five <4002> porches <4745>.
Joh 19:13 When Pilate <4091> therefore <3767> heard <191> (5660) that <5126> saying <3056>, he brought <71> (5627) Jesus <2424> forth <1854>, and <2532> sat down <2523> (5656) in
<1909> the judgment seat <968> in <1519> a place <5117> that is called <3004> (5746) the Pavement <3038>, but <1161> in the Hebrew <1447>, Gabbatha <1042>.
Joh 19:17 And <2532> he bearing <941> (5723) his <846> cross <4716> went forth <1831> (5627) into <1519> a place <5117> called <3004> (5746) the place of a skull <2898>, which
<3739> is called <3004> (5743) in the Hebrew <1447> Golgotha <1115>:
Joh 19:20 This <5126> title <5102> then <3767> read <314> (5627) many <4183> of the Jews <2453>: for <3754> the place <5117> where <3699> Jesus <2424> was crucified <4717>
(5681) was <2258> (5713) nigh <1451> to the city <4172>: and <2532> it was <2258> (5713) written <1125> (5772) in Hebrew <1447>, and Greek <1676>, and Latin <4515>.
Ac 21:40 And <1161> when he had given <2010> <0> him <846> licence <2010> (5660), Paul <3972> stood <2476> (5761) on <1909> the stairs <304>, and beckoned <2678> (5656) with
the hand <5495> unto the people <2992>. And <1161> when there was made <1096> (5637) a great <4183> silence <4602>, he spake <4377> (5656) unto them in the Hebrew <1446>
tongue <1258>, saying <3004> (5723),
Ac 22:2 (And <1161> when they heard <191> (5660) that <3754> he spake <4377> (5707) in the Hebrew <1446> tongue <1258> to them <846>, they kept <3930> (5627) the more <3123>
silence <2271>: and <2532> he saith <5346> (5748),)
Ac 26:14 And <1161> when we <2257> were <2667> <0> all <3956> fallen <2667> (5631) to <1519> the earth <1093>, I heard <191> (5656) a voice <5456> speaking <2980> (5723) unto
<4314> me <3165>, and <2532> saying <3004> (5723) in the Hebrew <1446> tongue <1258>, Saul <4549>, Saul <4549>, why <5101> persecutest thou <1377> (5719) me <3165>? it is
hard <4642> for thee <4671> to kick <2979> (5721) against <4314> the pricks <2759>.
Re 9:11 And <2532> they had <2192> (5719) a king <935> over <1909> them <848>, which is the angel <32> of the bottomless pit <12>, whose <846> name <3686> in the Hebrew tongue
<1447> is Abaddon <3>, but <2532> in <1722> the Greek tongue <1673> hath <2192> (5719) his name <3686> Apollyon <623>.
Re 16:16 And <2532> he gathered <4863> <0> them <846> together <4863> (5627) into <1519> a place <5117> called <2564> (5746) in the Hebrew tongue <1447> Armageddon <717>.

Strong's number 1446 occurs in Acts 21,22 & 26 defined as :

1446 Hebrais heb-rah-is
from 1443; TDNT-3:356,372; n f
AV-Hebrew 3; 3
1) Hebrew, the Hebrew language, not that however in which the OT was written but the Chaldee, which at the time of Jesus and the
apostles had long superseded it in Palestine.
The other references use the word 1447 "ebraisti-Hebraisti", which is actually the same word as "-Hebrais" in
what Greek grammar designates the dative case, which makes the noun form into an adjective. The definition is essentially the same: 1447
Hebraisti heb-rah-is-tee
10

from 1446; TDNT-3:356,372; adv

AV-in the Hebrew tongue 3, in the Hebrew 2, in Hebrew 1; 6
1) in Hebrew, i.e. in Chaldee.
"The Hebrew language, not that however in which the OT was written but the Chaldee."
This comes from Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon, which was published first in 1885 and has become the standard Greek Lexicon for
seminarians and Bible colleges and universities. Strong's Concordance uses it throughout for its NT Greek word entries.
This covers all the New Testament references to Hebrew as a language. Notice the definition of the two words; they both resolve Hebrew
down to " Chaldee". The word ebraiv-Hebrais has the longer entry: "The Hebrew language, not that however in which the OT was
written but the Chaldee."
The language is called Hebrew, but it is not the language in which the Old Testament was written, but rather, "the Chaldee". So,
"Hebrew" refers to another language distinct from Old Testament Hebrew.
This language he calls, "Chaldee". The word, "Chaldee" means, "Aramaic". Look it up.
The Greek New Testament affirms that the language of Israel and of the Apostles, when describing the language of the Jews, is Aramaic.
Here is Josephus' testimony concerning the language of Israel:
The testimony of Josephus is quite clear on the point of Greek not being a language of Israel in
the 1st century. Josephus was not fluent in Greek, by his own admission. He had to apply himself
to learn Greek; it was obviously not the native tongue of the Jews there and there were few Jews
who learned it well, as Jews were not encouraged to do so.
"I have taken great pains to obtain the Greek learning and understand the elements of the
Greek language"- Josephus. How does this come to mean that "Greek was a primary or second
language in Israel"?
"Our nation does not encourage those that learn the language of many nations"- Josephus.
How does this come to mean that Greek was a primary or second language in Israel?
11

"I have so accustomed myself to speak our own language, that I cannot pronounce Greek
with sufficient exactness?"
How does this come to mean that Greek was a primary or second language in Israel? How can
such an idea be supported in face of such testimony of such a 1st century Israeli scholar, Priest
and historian of Israel? Notice also that Josephus speaks of only one language - "our own
language"; there was only one common language; no mention of "languages". Elsewhere
Josephus wrote: "I have proposed to myself, for the sake of such as live under the government of the Romans, to translate those
books into the Greek tongue, which I formerly composed in the language of our country, and sent to the Upper Barbarians".
Whistons note on the upper Barbarians: Who these Upper Barbarians, remote from the sea,
were, Josephus himself will inform us, sect.2, viz. the Parthians and Babylonians, and remotest Arabians [of the Jews among
them];besides the Jews beyond Euphrates, and the Adiabeni, or Assyrians. Whence we also learn that these Parthians, Babylonians, the
remotest Arabians, [or at least the Jews among them,] as also the Jews beyond Euphrates, and the Adiabeni, or Assyrians, understood
Josephus's Hebrew, or rather Chaldaic, books of The Jewish War, before they were put into the Greek language.(Chaldaic is Aramaic)
In his Preface to Antiquities, Josephus wrote the following:
2. Now I have undertaken the present work, as thinking it will appear to all the Greeks worthy of their study; for it will contain
all our antiquities, and the constitution of our government, as interpreted out of the Hebrew Scriptures...I grew weary and went
on slowly, it being a large subject, and a difficult thing to translate our history into a foreign, and to us unaccustomed language...
Another exerpt from his Antiquities:
1:129 "for such names are pronounced here after the manner of the Greeks, to please my readers; for our own country language
does not so pronounce them;"
3:32 Now the Hebrews call this food manna; for the particle man, in our language, is the asking of a question, What is this?
"Man" (meaning what?) is Aramaic; the equivalent in Hebrew is "ma".
20:262 And I am so bold as to say, now I have so completely perfected the work I proposed to myself to do, that no other person,
whether he were a Jew or foreigner, had he ever so great an inclination to it, could so accurately deliver these accounts to the
Greeks as is done in these books.
1:17 Many Jews before me have composed the histories of our ancestors very exactly; as have some of the Greeks done it also, and
have translated our histories into their own tongue, and have not much mistaken the truth in their histories.
12

1:1 My books of the Antiquity of the Jews'' Those Antiquities contain the history of five
thousand years, and are taken out of our sacred books; but are translated by me into the Greek tongue.
1:50 Afterward I got leisure at Rome; and when all my materials were prepared for that work, I made use of some persons to
assist me in learning the Greek tongue.
1:73 I shall begin with the writings of the Egyptians... But Manetho was a man who was by birth an Egyptian, yet had he made
himself master of the Greek learning, as is very evident: for he wrote the history of his own country in the Greek tongue.
There were some Hellenists in Israel, but that very term demolishes the idea that all or most 1st
century Jews in Israel spoke Greek. A Hellenist is by definition, "a Greek speaking Jew". If the common Christian view of 1st century
language of Israel were correct, then all Jews in Israel were Hellenists! But the NT mentions the Hellenists as a separate group in Israel.
Ac 6:1 And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a
murmuring of the Grecians <1675> against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected
in the daily ministration.
Ac 9:29 And he spake boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus, and disputed against the Grecians
<1675>: but they went about to slay him.
Ac 11:20 And some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, which, when they were come to
Antioch, spake unto the Grecians <1675>, preaching the Lord Jesus.
A proof that The Jews spoke Aramaic, and not Hebrew proper may be summed up in one word: Targum. A Targum (Aramaic for
translation) is an Aramaic translation which was read aloud by a Meturgeman (Aramaic for Translator) after the reading of a Hebrew
scroll in the synagogue. According to Jewish tradition recorded in the Talmud, this custom went back to the time of Nehemiah in the 5th
century BC, when the people of Israel reinstituted the reading of the Torah in the Temple and in synagogues and yet did not any longer
understand Hebrew since the Assyrian and Babylonian captivities had taken them from Israel and imposed the language of the empires
upon them- Aramaic. Targums were not normally written down, but were simply spoken extemporaneously by a translator of a passage of
scripture read in the synagogue service. Later, several Targums were written in the first three centuries AD. There is also a written
Targum of Job dating to the 1st century AD. Much of the Talmud is also written in Aramaic.
13

Is the Peshitta written in a 1st century Aramaic dialect?

Aramaic as found in the Peshitta dates back to the 1st century AD. The earliest dated inscription of Syriac Estrangela writing such as that
found in the oldest Peshitta manuscripts (5th century AD) is dated AD 6. Here is what it looks like:
Paul Younan, native Aramaic speaker from Lebanon, a Peshitta scholar and Deacon of The Church of the East in Chicago and web host
of Peshitta.org, wrote on his forum:
Shlama Akhan Memradaya,
Why don't you post the whole inscription from 6 AD, and let's compare it to the Peshitta language, shall we? Here is it in its entirety:

14

15

(first line is from the original inscription, the second line is "Peshitta Aramaic", and the third line is obviously the translation into
English): (I hope this puts to rest how much "Syriac" changed from the 1st century, to the 5th century)

(317)
(317) - exact same
(In the month of Adar, year 317)
[]

[]
- exact same
(I, Zarbeyan, son of Abgar, the governor of Berta)
[]
[] - exact same
(guardian of ?widallat son of Manu son of Manu)
[ ]
[ ] - exact same
(made this grave for myself and for Halwiya)
( [ ] undecipherable)
[ ] - exact same
(Lady of my house, and for my children .... )
[ ]
16

 [ ] - slight difference, instead of Y, N for the third-person masculine (attested in other

Aramaic dialects as well)
(Everyone who comes to this grave)

- slight difference, instead of Y, N for the third-person masculine (attested in other
Aramaic dialects as well)
(and sees and gives praise, let all the gods bless him)
( [ ]undecipherable)
( [ ]undecipherable) - exact same
(Khashay the engraver and Seluq ....)
There you have it - FIVE centuries, and there's only ONE slight letter difference in how the 3rd-person masculine verb is constructed.
ONE LETTER. And that is common today in Neo-Aramaic dialects, and other dialects from that time. They differ slightly in the rules of
conjugation of verbs, some colloquialisms are unique, idioms are local, etc.
ONE LETTER. FIVE CENTURIES.
+Shamasha (Church of the East Deacon, Paul Younan)

Paul Younan posted this also on Peshitta.org:

Akhi memradya,
Here's a funerary inscription from Edessa from about 190AD.
17

Please tell me how someone from 5th century Edessa would not understand this?

This is identical to the language of the Peshitta - zero change.

wdhs) rb ) 0yms rb0) 0n0)

) 0nh ) 0ml9) tyb yl tdb(
Yx0w ynbl w yl
ytb+ db(w yrm rgb0) yyx l9)
I, Bar Simya, son of Ashadu,
made for myself this everlasting house
18

for myself, and my children, and my brothers

For the life of Abgar, my lord and benefactor.
+Shamasha (Deacon)

19

20

David Bauscher writing: The above Syriac grammar by George Phillips D.D., President of Queens College of Cambridge University,
England, makes clear that learning the Chaldean Aramaic language of the Old Testament, found in Ezra 4:8 through 6:18 & 7:12-26, and
Daniel 2:4 through 7:28 would enable a person to immediately read Syriac, as found in the Peshitta Bible. Chaldean was the Aramaic of
the Babylonian Empire in the late 7th century BC in Daniels days, and continued as the lingua franca of the empire and of the following
Persian Empire and through the Empire of Alexander the Great, until the first century AD and following. The differences between the
Aramaic of the Peshitta and the 6th century BC Aramaic of Daniel are few and minor. The grammar rules and syntax of the two are
practically identical, the scripts changed from Ashuri to Estrangela in the first century AD and thereafter. Estrangela is a cursive form of
the more familiar Ashuri print block Hebrew-Aramaic letters, which is easily learned, since most of the letter shapes of the respective
scripts of each letter are fairly easily recognized:
Ancient 1st century Aramaic alphabet (Ashuri Dead Sea Scroll script, used 200 B.C. to AD 135) above the Estrangela script of 1st to 8th
century Syrian and Assyrian Aramaic writing, aligned one atop the other:

0 b g dhwz x+ y k l m n s 9 p< qr$t

Below is a comparison of two forms of Aramaic, Imperial Aramaic as found in the original texts of Ezra and Daniel, and the Peshitta
text of the Old Testament. Here is Daniel 2:4-6 in both, side by side in Ashuri script for easier comparison. The left column is the Peshitta
Aramaic text; the right is the original Aramaic text of Daniel:
King
to eternity
live
tell
the dream
to your Servants
and its interpretation
we
we shall show
+5+
answered
the King
and said
to the Chaldeans

(Peshitta Aramaic Text)

aklm
Mlel
yyx
rma
amlx
Kydbel
hrspw
Nnx
awxn

6th century B.C. Babylonian Aramaic- (the Hebrew Bible)

ane
aklm
rmaw
aydlkl

hne
aklm
rmaw
aydskl

aklm
Nymlel
yyx
rma
amlx
Kydbel
hrspw
awxn

21

firm
is
the matter
that I said
that unless
you shall show me
the dream
and its interpretation
limb
by limb
you shall be cut up
and your houses
shall be plundered
+6+
if
but
the dream
and its interpretation
you shall show me
gifts
and wealth
and honor
great
you shall receive
from me
only
the dream
and its interpretation

aryrs
yh
atlm
trmad
alad
ynnwwxt
amlx
hrspw
Mdh
Mdh
Nwqoptt
Nwkytbw
Nwzbtn

adza

Na
Nyd
amlx
hrspw
ynnwwxt
atbhwm
artwew
arqyaw
aaygo
Nwlbqt
ynm
dwxlb
amlx
hrspw

Nhw

show me ynwawx

atlm
ynm
al Nh
ynnwedwht
amlx
hrspw
Nymdh
Nwdbett
Nwkytbw
ylwn Nwmst

amlx
hrspw
Nwwtht
Nntm
hbzbnw
rqyw
aygo
Nwlbqt
ymdq Nm
Nhl
amlx
hrspw
ynwth

+7+
they answered wne
again bwt
and they were saying Nyrmaw

wne
twnynt
Nyrmaw

In Daniel 2:4-6, comparing the original

Aramaic text to the Peshitta, I find that
92% of 7th century Babylonian Aramaic
words are the same as the Aramaic
of the first century A.D. used in the Syriac
Peshitta Version. Only three of them are not
found in a Syriac dictionary. Syriac is found in
inscriptions of A.D. 6 in Syria and
thereafter.
22

to him
the King
the dream
let tell
his Servants
and its interpretation
we
shall show

hl
aklm
amlx
rman
yhwdbel
hrspw
Nnx
awxn

Dan. 2:47
answered
the King
and said
to Daniel
in truth
your God
he is
the God of
gods
and The Lord of
Kings
and he has revealed
secrets
for you were able
to reveal
secret
this
+48+
then
the King

aklm
amlx
rmay
yhwdbel
hrspw
hwthn

ane
aklm
rmaw
lyayndl
atswqb
Nwkhla
wywh
hla
Nyhla
armw
Nyklm
algw
Nyzra
txksad
algml
azar
anh

6th cent.
B.C.
Babyl.
Aramaic(the
Hebrew
Bible)
hne
aklm
rmaw
lyayndl
jsq-Nm
Nwkhla yd
awh
hla
Nyhla
armw
Nyklm
hlgw
Nyzr
tlky yd
algml
azr
and

Nydyh
aklm

Nyda
aklm

Peshitta Aramaic text

23

exalted brwa
Daniel lyayndl
and gifts
many
he gave
to him
and he gave him authority
over
all
the land
of Babel
and presented him
Head
over
all
Chief
in power
and upon
all
a wise man
of Babel

atbhwmw
ataygo
bhy
hl
hjlsaw
le
hlk
aera
lbbd
hmyqaw
asyr
le
Nwhlk
ybr
alyx
lew
Nwhlk
amykx
lbbd

ybr
layndl
Nbrbr
Nntmw
Naygs
bhy
hl
hjlshw
le
lk
tnydm
lbb
Nyngo-brw

le
lk
ymykx
lbb

The above is from my Peshitta interlinear of Daniel, yet unpublished.

I have marked in red letters words and letters which are not found in Middle-Late (200 BC to AD 800) Aramaic dictionaries, such as
Jastrows Targumim, Babylonian Talmud, Midrashic Lit. and Smiths Compendious Syriac Dictionary, but are found in a Chaldee lexicon
of the Old Testament.
Imperial Aramaic such as that found in Daniel and Ezra was used until 200 BC. Syriac was the official language of Edessa, Syria, when
the Kingdom of Osroene was founded in 132 BC.
I find that about 90% of the vocabulary words in Imperial Babylonian Aramaic are retained in the later so called Syriac form of
Aramaic, and the grammatical forms are uniform between the two. Even the scripts of the two were the same for more than a century or
two. One Estrangela inscription was found in Syria dated AD 6. Others date from late 1st century AD to AD 243 in Syria and one in Israel.
There are a few spelling, so called orthographical differences and grammatical conventions (initial Nun (N) instead of Yodh (Y) for 3rd
person imperfect form of verbs in late Aramaic-also called Classical Syriac, attached Dalet proclitic (D) instead of unattached Dalet24

Yodh (DY), between Imperial and Middle Aramaic (200 BC to AD 200), as well as late Aramaic (AD 200 to 700), but the differences
are minor and easily recognizable between these two forms of Aramaic. Syriac should never be construed as a different language
from Aramaic. Syriac is simply a Greek term for the language of Syrians and Assyrians, which is Aramaic. Anyone who learns
the Aramaic language of the Chaldeans of the 7th century BC can then read the Neo Aramaic of modern Iraq or Lebanon, after learning the
22 Swadaya letters of the alphabet corresponding to the 22 Ashuri letters by the same names. The evident similarity and readability
similarity of Middle Aramaic to Aramaic written a thousand years later illustrates the universal nature of this once true lingua franca of
four world empires which became the vehicle of the first Christian Apostles, Evangelists and Missionaries of the Gospel of The Christ of
God and of His Spirit of Holiness to the Jews first, and also to the Aramaeans. The Aramaic writing of Daniel the Prophet and Ezra the
Scribe centuries before the incarnation of Jehovah The Messiah differs little from the Aramaic writing of Bishop Aphraates and Ephraim
the Poet Sage in the 4th century AD, or from Eusebius of Capernaum who wrote Theophania in Aramaic circa AD 325, as well as
Encomium before that. Samuel Lee, a Professor of Semitic languages and editor, collator and producer of the 1816 Syriac Peshitta Old
Testament, translated Eusebius Theophania from Aramaic and wrote this about the Aramaic of this 4th century production:

25

26

27

28

29

Eusebius quote of -Mat 24:27

For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. KJV
30

- Bauschers translation of the Peshitta (The Original Aramaic New Testament in Plain English)

31

Eusebius History of Martyrs AD 411 manuscript (Romans 8:35-39

quotation)
Bauschers Aramaic English NT Interlinear Romans 8:35-39
of The Messiah 0xy$md the love hbwx from Nm will separate me yn$rpn what? wnm 35
persecution? 0ypwdr or w0 imprisonment? 0y$wbx or w0 suffering? 0nclw0
sword? 0pys or w0 peril? swnydnq or w0 nakedness? 0twyl+r( or w0 famine? 0npk or w0
we are killed Nnytym every day Mwylk for Your sake Ktl+md it is written bytkd as Ky0 36
for slaughter 0tsknl sheep 0rm0 as Ky0 & we are accounted Nb$xt0w
we conquer Nnyykz all Nyhlk in these things Nylhb but 0l0 37
Who has loved us Nbx0d Him Nm by dyb
life 0yx neither 0lw death 0twm that not 0ld for ryg I am 0n0 convinced spm 38
army 0lyx nor 0lw authority 0n+lw$ nor 0lw angel 0k0lm nor 0lw
what will come Ndyt(d nor 0lw what is present Nmyqd nor 0lw
created thing 0tyrb neither 0lp0 depth 0qmw( nor 0lw height 0mwr nor 0lw 39
of God 0hl0d the love hbwx from Nm to sever me yn$rpt shall be able xk$t another 0trx0
The Messiah 0xy$m Yeshua (w$y which is in our Lord Nrmbd

The eight Aramaic Peshitta words in red are omitted or replaced with others
by Eusebius in his quotation. The other words are identical except for three
which differ by one letter each: the pronoun (me) attached at the end of
two verbs instead of us, and one word has the initial letter Tau where
Eusebius has a Nun (which is grammatically incorrect, but does not change
the meaning), and the Peshittas adjective beed- dyb (by) is khalaph

Plx (for, for the sake of) in Eusebius. A few word orders are transposed a bit in
Eusebius, but the sense remains the same. Eusebius quotes are apparently loose and
from memory here, accounting for the seven omitted words and one substituted
synonym. An eight word difference out of the 58 Peshitta words is 14%
disagreement between the two Aramaic texts. 86% of the Aramaic words in the two
texts are the same. The Greek text is significantly different from the Eusebius text
so as to disqualify it as the text Eusebius used as his authority. Greek has: Who
shall separate us?, where Eusebius has What shall separate us.? The Greek
has:we are killed all day; Eusebius has every day. Greek has upernikomenwe super-conquer, where Eusebius has we conquer. Greek has at the end of
the last verse: in Christ Jesus our Lord. Eusebius has: in our Lord Jesus
Christ. So Eusebius agrees with the Peshitta text rather than with the Greek text.

Eusebius died in AD 325.

32

Peshitta in Ignatius (circa AD 110)

William Cureton, discoverer of the Curetonian Syriac ms. of the Gospels, wrote the following in his
1845 preface to Ignatius Epistles in Syriac:

Ignatius vernacular tongue was Aramaic; he was Bishop of Antioch Syria from the late 1st century to about AD 110.
Ignatius epistles show a familiarity with the Peshitta in the following:

0hl0d Ahmd -The blood of God is referenced several times in his epistles, which is agreeable to the Western Peshitta
reading of Acts 20:28 -

hmdb hnqd yh 0hl0d htd9l Nw9rtd shepherd the church of God which He has purchased with His blood.
33

Nm0t0 Fwlcb in prayer be constant (Ignatius)

wnm0t0 Fwlcb in prayer be constant (Peshitta Colossians 4:2)
Nhl0 0xy$m 9w$yd Fwnrbsmb -in the patience of Jesus Christ our God (Ignatius)
9w$ybd Fwnrbsmb in the patience that is in Jesus (Rev. 1:9 Crawford ms.) This is the only reference to the patience
of Jesus in the NT.

0n0 0mr Fwyxb -I was cast to beasts (Ignatius)

tydt$0 Fwyxl I was cast to beasts (Peshitta 1 Cor 15:32)
K$pn Plx hwh0 0n0 - I will be instead of your soul (Ignatius)
Nwkt$pn yp0 l9 lt0 ymwnq I will give myself instead of your soul. (2 Cor. 12:15 Peshitta)

34

2nd Century Aramaic (AD 150) from Bardesan with Nun preformative in 3rd person Imperfect Verb

Nwxnttn is 3rd person Imperfect Verb with Nun preformative

35

Nun preformative 3rd p.sing imperfect l)Sn

36

37

38

The 3rd Person Masculine Imperfect Verb with Yodh, Lamed & Nun (N) Preformatives
Pesher Habakkuk script (4 BC to AD 68)
Yodh preformative in Hebrew Jehu (Jehovah is He)
Yodh preformative in Hebrew Yehovah (comes form huah to be)
- Aramaic he shall be (Dan. 4:25) ( is Lamedh preformative.)
Aramaic -he shall be (Dan. & Ezra) ( is Lamedh preformative.)
Syriac (Later Aramaic) for he shall be ( is Nun preformative.)

DSS script (150 BC to AD 68)

Yodh preformative in Hebrew Jehu (Jehovah is He)
Yodh preformative in HebrewYehovah (comes form huah to be)
- Aramaic he shall be (Dan. 4:25) ( is Lamedh preformative.)
Aramaic -he shall be (Dan. & Ezra) ( is Lamedh preformative.)
Syriac (Later Aramaic) for he shall be ( is Nun preformative.)
It looks like the early Aramaic Yodh preformative to hua was dropped and replaced in the 6th
century BC with Lamedh to distinguish it from the divine name [YHWH -Yehovah (comes form
huah to be)]; the final He (H) was then replaced with Alap to distinguish it even more.
39

Then in the 1st century AD, the Lamedh was replaced with a Nun preformative to complete the
transformation.
The Aramaic of Ezra and Daniel changed the Yodh preformative only of the 3rd person sinsular
imperfect verb to be huah, because of the confusion the form Yhwh would cause in having
the same consonants as YHWH- the name of God. Later the preformative of other 3rd person
imperfect verbs was also substituted with Lamedh (L), and later by Nun (N). This idea is supported
by many Aramaic scholars (
) and is cited by Aaron D. Rubin in a 28 page
research paper found on Academia.com-On the Third Person Preformative l-/n in Aramaic and an
Ethiopic Parallel.
This alteration of the Aramaic imperfect verb started in Biblical Aramaic of Ezra & Daniel among
the children of Israel and is displayed in Jewish Aramaic scripts found in Dead Sea Scrolls above to
illustrate. The changes originated with the Jews, naturally, and were later adopted and further
modified and adopted by the Christian churches of Judea, then Samaria, Syria, Mesopotamia, Persia,
Asia Minor, and wherever the Jews and Christians had been scattered from the dispersions during
the Babylonian conquests and later. Secular Aramaic as used by pagan Gentiles would most likely
not have been affected by these minor changes in the third person imperfect single letter
preformative. Biblical Aramaic, both Old and New Testaments, would have been affected in keeping
with reverence for the name of God and making the 3rd person masculine imperfect verb consistently

40

identifiable by eventually using the same Nun (N) prefix in Syriac for all 3rd person masculine
imperfect verbs.
In the early Dead Sea script, Lamedh and Nun are barely distinguishable from each other. This
kind of script is found in most of the Dead Sea Scrolls of Palestine and dates back at least to 150 BC
when the earliest scrolls were written.
Why did the Lamedh preformative change to a Nun? I can only offer an educated guess. This may
represent a Christian sign similar to the fish symbol used in the persecuted church to identify oneself
to another as a Christian, drawing an outline of a fish in the gravel. The word fish in Greek is
pronouncedIKTHOOS - which is an acronym for: I XITOS U
"Jesus Christ Gods Son Savior.
What is the Aramaic word for fish? It is Nun! And this word is also one letter N- n and is named
Nun (pronounced Noon) and its name is written with two or three letters. The preformative
change started in order to protect the name of God from being confused with the verb of being from
which it is derived. What better way to do that than by substituting a letter which will preserve the
verbal distinction and at the same time signify the Deity whose name is derived from that verb of
Being- Hayah- YeHoWaH -The I AM THAT I AM- The One who was, is and is to come- THE
BEING or EXISTENCE JEHOVAH who is also revealed as Jesus The Christ The Son of
God The Savior!

41

Of course, such a Nun preformative would have been introduced only after the death of Jesus when
the first Gospel was written in Aramaic, and later when the Peshitta Old Testament translations were
made from the Hebrew Bible.

The Odes of Solomon (AD 100) & The Peshitta

Rendel Harris & Alphonse Mingana in a 1916 book - The Odes & Psalms of Solomon of two
volumes, concluded that The Odes of Solomon are a 1st century AD or circa AD 100 production and
that they were composed in Aramaic. They give evidence that they quote from the Peshitta OT and
the Targums. They did not even consider that they would have referred to the Peshitta NT, as the
Peshitta NT is never considered to have existed in the 1st century by modern western scholars. One
must ask what NT source was used by an Aramaic writer who seems never to refer to Greek sources
in his OT references. The two volumes are available on the internet and are in the public domain.

42

43

It is certainly established by Harris' information that, if the Odes are a 1st century composition, the
Apocalypse was in general use by the Eastern Christian churches at that time. Harris states this
concerning the place and time of authorship of the Odes in his introduction: if we are wrong in
assigning them as written at Antioch in the first century, we are not far wrong either in place
or in time.
The Odes have 0tyb$ 0b$m -"to take captivity captive". This is very similar to the Peshitta in
Eph. 4:6 - 0tyb$ 0b$ and Psalms 68:18 : 0tyb$ tyb$ . The Ephesians text is more similar,
with only one letter difference.
The Odes Of Solomon has: ' I was covered with the covering of your Spirit; I removed from me the
raiment of skins, for your right hand lifted me up.' Ode xxv. 8, 9.

In Colossians 2:15 we find the statement in the Peshitta: "By stripping off (0xl$ ) His body, He
stripped (ysrp) the Principalities and the Powers and shamed them openly in His Essential Self."

44

The Greek texts do not have anything like this. It seems that the Odes are referring to this
disembodied glory and triumph of The Messiah after His death and before His bodily resurrection,
whereby He stripped the Powers of Evil through His Spirit.
There are references to the Apocalypse in Ode 22: He who overthrew by my hands the dragon
with seven heads, and set me at his roots that I might destroy his seed; (See Rev. 12:3,17) and Ode
38 refers to the harlot of Rev. 17 and Rev. 18:3 who intoxicates the nations with the wine of their
intoxication".
Another reference to Revelation is:
"Put on the crown in the true covenant of the Lord, and all those who have conquered will be
inscribed in His book." - Ode 9
He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name
out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. - Re
3:5

45

In Ode 15, we have theses verses:

"I put on incorruption through His name, and took off corruption by His grace.
Death has been destroyed before my face, and Sheol has been vanquished by my word. "

Here is 1 Cor. 15:54,55 in Aramaic:

Jnhw JtWnlBXTm } LBXTmd Jnh Nyd -SBld Jm 54
; JtWkzB JtWm [lBtJd JByTkd -yh JTlm Jwht NYHyh JtwtWYm } tJmd
; LWYS -YktWkz -yh JKyJ wJ JtWm jsqW( WKyJ 55
So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on
immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in
victory.
O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
46

The Odes support the Peshitta NT reading as opposed to the critical Greek reading in verses 54 &
55. The critical Greek omits "corruptible shall have put on incorruption" and has, "O death, where is
thy sting? O death, where is thy victory?" The Peshitta has "Sheol", as does the Ode. The Aramaic
words are the same roots for "corruptible" and "incorruptible". There is a possibility that the Odist
translated from the majority Greek text, but given the support for the Peshitta reading in Colossians
2:15 as opposed to the unanimous Greek reading, that is unlikely.
The Ode 23 has:
"And the name of the Father was upon it; and of the Son and of the Spirit of Holiness, to rule for
ever and ever."

JSdWqd JXwrw JCBw JBJ VSB -Matthew 28:19

"in The Name of the Father , and the Son and the Spirit of Holiness"
The Greek has ""
"" is "of the Holy Spirit"; this is not to be expected as the source of the
Aramaic text in the Odes, though there can be little doubt that the Peshitta text of Mat. 28:19
47

contains the Trinitarian phrase in practically identical form, down to the same title for "The Spirit of
Holiness".
This Trinitarian phrase wording is not found anywhere else in the New Testament. The "Old Syriac"
Curetonian and Sinaitic manuscripts lack this verse altogether, so they cannot be compared.
Below is a sample of the Odes in Aramaic in the right column with English translation on the left
column. This collection comprises the earliest known Christian book of hymns.

48

Ode 3
(the first verse is missing.....)
... I am putting on the love of the Lord.
And His members are with Him, and I am dependent on them;
and He loves me.
For I should not have known how to love the Lord, if He had
not continuously loved me.
Who is able to distinguish love, except him who is loved?
I love the Beloved and I myself love Him, and where His rest
is, there also am I.
And I shall be no stranger, because there is no jealousy with
the Lord Most High and Merciful.
I have been united to Him, because the lover has found the
Beloved, because I love Him that is the Son, I shall become a
son.
Indeed he who is joined to Him who is immortal, truly shall be
immortal.
And he who delights in the Life will become living.
This is the Spirit of the Lord, which is not false, which teaches
the sons of men to know His ways.
Be wise and understanding and awakened. Hallelujah.
The Aramaic of the Odes is written in Estrangela script, which
is the script of the oldest Peshitta mss. Ode 3 also contains
)whn - (he will be) twice, the same written form for the 3rd
person singular imperfect (future) verb that the Peshitta
employs, using the initial letter Nun, instead of the initial Yodh
or Lamed found in some other dialects of Aramaic.

49

Ode 4
No man can pervert Your holy place, O my God; nor can he
change it, and put it in another place.
Because he has no power over it; for Your sanctuary You
designed before You made special places.
The ancient one shall not be perverted PlxtSn (3rd ms imperf.
Nun prefix) by those which are inferior to it. You have given
Your heart, O Lord, to Your believers.
Never will You be idle, nor will You be without fruits;
For one hour of Your faith is more excellent than all days and
years.
For who shall put ( Sbln-3msi) on Your grace and be rejected?
Because Your seal is known; and Your creatures are known to
it.
And Your hosts possess it, and the elect archangels are clothed
with it.
You have given to us Your fellowship, not that You were in
need of us, but that we are always in need of You.
Shower upon us Your gentle rain, and open Your bountiful
springs which abundantly supply us with milk and honey.
For there is no regret with You; that You should regret
anything which You have promised;
Since the result was manifest to You.
For that which You gave, You gave freely, so that no longer
will You draw back and take them again.
For all was manifest to You as God, and was set in order from
the beginning before You.
And You, O Lord, have made all.
Hallelujah.
50

.
Ode 5
I praise You, O Lord, because I love You.
O Most High, forsake me not, for You are my hope.
Freely did I receive Your grace, may I live by it.
My persecutors will come (Nwt)n 3mpl. Imperf. Nun pref.) but
let them not see me. ( Ynnwzxn 3mpl. Imperfect Nun pref.)
Let a cloud of darkness fall upon their eyes; and let an air of
thick darkness obscure them. (jSxn 3ms imperfect Nun pref.)
And let them have ()whn 3ms Imperf. Nun pref.) no light to see
( Nwzxnd 3mpl. Imperfect Nun pref.), so that they cannot seize
me. (ynnqdx)n 3mpl. Imperfect)
Let their designs become hardened, so that whatever they have
conspired shall return upon their own heads. (jwphn 3ms
Imperfect Nun pref.)
For they have devised a plan, but it was not for them.
They prepared themselves maliciously, but they were found to
be impotent.
Indeed my confidence is upon the Lord, and I will not fear.
And because the Lord is my salvation, I will not fear.
And He is as a woven crown upon my head, and I shall not be
shaken.
Even if everything should be shaken, I shall stand firm.
And though all things visible should perish, I shall not die;
Because the Lord is with me, and I with Him.
Hallelujah. (There are eight 3rd person masc. imperfect verbs with Nun
preformative in Ode 5. The last 3 lines of Aramaic text are not displayed here.)

51

Ode 6
As the wind glides through the harp and the strings speak,
So the Spirit of the Lord speaks through my members, and I
speak through His love.
For He destroys whatever is alien, and everything is of the
Lord.
For thus it was from the beginning, and will be until the end.
So that nothing shall be contrary, and nothing shall rise up
against Him.
The Lord has multiplied his knowledge, and He was zealous
that those things should be known which through His grace
have been given to us.
And His praise He gave us on account of His name, our spirits
praise His Holy Spirit.
For there went forth a stream, and it became a river great and
broad; indeed it carried away everything, and it shattered and
brought it to the Temple.
And the barriers which were built by men were not able to
restrain it, nor even the arts of them who habitually restrain
water.
For it spread over the surface of all the earth, and it filled
everything.
Then all the thirsty upon the earth drank, and thirst was
relieved and quenched;
For from the Most High the drink was given.
Blessed, therefore, are the ministers of that drink, who have
been entrusted with His water.

52

They have refreshed the parched lips, and have aroused the
paralyzed will.
Even living persons who were about to expire, they have held
back from death.
And limbs which have collapsed, they have restored and set up.
They gave strength for their coming, and light for their eyes.
Because everyone recognized them as the Lord's, and lived by
the living water of eternity.
Hallelujah.

53

from the beginning until the end.

For by Him He was served, and He was pleased by the Son.
And because of his salvation He will possess everything. And
the Most High will be known by His holy ones:
To announce to those who have songs of the coming of the
Lord, that they may go forth to meet Him and may sing to Him,
with joy and with the harp of many tones.
The Seers shall go before Him, and they shall be seen before
Him.
And they shall praise the Lord in His love, because He is near
and does see.
And hatred shall be removed from the earth, and with jealousy
it shall be drowned.
For ignorance was destroyed upon it, because the knowledge of
the Lord arrived upon it.
Let the singers sing the grace of the Lord Most High, and let
them bring their songs.
And let their heart be like the day, and their gentle voices like
the majestic beauty of the Lord.
And let there not be anyone who breathes that is without
knowledge or voice.
For He gave a mouth to His creation: to open the voice of the
mouth towards Him, and to praise Him.
Confess His power and declare His grace.
Hallelujah.

Here are the rest of the 42 Odes of Solomon in English. All of

these Odes are the translation of John Charlesworth.

Ode 7
As is the course of anger over wickedness, so is the course of
joy over the Beloved; and brings in of its fruits unhindered.
My joy is the Lord and my course is towards Him, this path of
mine is beautiful.
For there is a Helper for me, the Lord. He has generously
shown Himself to me in His simplicity, because His kindness
has diminished His dreadfulness.
He became like me, that I might receive Him. In form He was
considered like me, that I might put Him on.
And I trembled not when I saw Him, because He was gracious
to me.
Like my nature He became, that I might understand Him. And
like my form, that I might not turn away from Him.
The Father of knowledge is the Word of knowledge.
He who created wisdom is wiser than His works.
And He who created me when yet I was not knew what I would
do when I came into being.
On account of this He was gracious to me in His abundant
grace, and allowed me to ask from Him and to benefit from His
sacrifice.
For He it is who is incorrupt, the perfection of the worlds and
their Father.
He has allowed Him to appear to them that are His own; in
order that they may recognize Him that made them, and not
suppose that they came of themselves.
For towards knowledge He has set His way, he has widened it
and lengthened it and brought it to complete perfection.
And has set over it the traces of His light, and it proceeded

Ode 8
Open, open your hearts to the exultation of the Lord, and let
your love abound from the heart to the lips.
In order to bring forth fruits to the Lord, a holy life; and to talk
with watchfulness in His light.
Rise up and stand erect, you who sometimes were brought low.
You who were in silence, speak, for your mouth has been
54

opened.
You who were despised, from henceforth be lifted up, for your
Righteousness has been lifted up;
For the right hand of the Lord is with you, and He will be your
Helper.
And peace was prepared for you, before what may be your war.
Hear the word of truth, and receive the knowledge of the Most
High.
Your flesh may not understand that which I am about to say to
you; nor your garment that which I am about to show you.
Keep my mystery, you who are kept by it; keep my faith, you
who are kept by it.
And understand my knowledge, you who know me in truth;
love me with affection, you who love;
For I turn not my face from my own, because I know them.
And before they had existed, I recognized them; and imprinted
a seal on their faces.
I fashioned their members, and my own breasts I prepared for
them, that they might drink my holy milk and live by it.
I am pleased by them, and am not ashamed by them.
For my workmanship are they, and the strength of my thoughts.
Therefore who can stand against my work? Or who is not
subject to them?
I willed and fashioned mind and heart, and they are my own.
And upon my right hand I have set my elect ones.
And my righteousness goes before them, and they shall not be
deprived of my name; for it is with them.
Pray and increase, and abide in the love of the Lord;
And you who were loved in the Beloved, and you who are kept
in Him who lives, and you who are saved in Him who was
saved.
And you shall be found incorrupt in all ages, on account of the
name of your Father.

Hallelujah.
Ode 9
Open your ears, and I shall speak to you.
Give me yourself, so that I may also give you myself.
The word of the Lord and His desires, the holy thought which
He has thought concerning His Messiah.
For in the will of the Lord is your life, and His purpose is
eternal life, and your perfection is incorruptible.
Be enriched in God the Father; and receive the purpose of the
Most High. Be strong and redeemed by His grace.
For I announce peace to you, His holy ones, so that none of
those who hear shall fall in the war.
And also that those who have known Him may not perish, and
so that those who received Him may not be ashamed.
An everlasting crown is Truth; blessed are they who set it on
their head.
It is a precious stone, for the wars were on account of the
crown.
But Righteousness has taken it, and has given it to you.
Put on the crown in the true covenant of the Lord, and all those
who have conquered will be inscribed in His book.
For their book is the reward of victory which is for you, and
she sees you before her and wills that you shall be saved.
Hallelujah.
Ode 10
The Lord has directed my mouth by His Word, and has opened
my heart by His Light.
And He has caused to dwell in me His immortal life, and
permitted me to proclaim the fruit of His peace.
To convert the lives of those who desire to come to Him, and to
lead those who are captive into freedom.
55

I took courage and became strong and captured the world, and
the captivity became mine for the glory of the Most High, and
of God my Father.
And the Gentiles who had been dispersed were gathered
together, but I was not defiled by my love for them, because
they had praised me in high places.
And the traces of light were set upon their heart, and they
walked according to my life and were saved, and they became
my people for ever and ever.
Hallelujah.

by His light.
And from above He gave me immortal rest, and I became like
the land that blossoms and rejoices in its fruits.
And the Lord is like the sun upon the face of the land.
My eyes were enlightened, and my face received the dew;
And my breath was refreshed by the pleasant fragrance of the
Lord.
And He took me to His Paradise, wherein is the wealth of the
Lord's pleasure.
I beheld blooming and fruit-bearing trees,
And self-grown was their crown.
Their branches were sprouting and their fruits were shining.
From an immortal land were their roots.
And a river of gladness was irrigating them,
And round about them in the land of eternal life.
Then I worshipped the Lord because of His magnificence.
And I said, Blessed, O Lord, are they who are planted in Your
land, and who have a place in Your Paradise;
And who grow in the growth of Your trees, and have passed
from darkness into light.
Behold, all Your laborers are fair, they who work good works,
and turn from wickedness to your pleasantness.
For the pungent odor of the trees is changed in Your land,
And everything becomes a remnant of Yourself. Blessed are
the workers of Your waters, and eternal memorials of Your
faithful servants.
Indeed, there is much room in Your Paradise. And there is
nothing in it which is barren, but everything is filled with fruit.
Glory be to You, O God, the delight of Paradise for ever.
Hallelujah.

Ode 11
My heart was pruned and its flower appeared, then grace
sprang up in it, and my heart produced fruits for the Lord.
For the Most High circumcised me by His Holy Spirit, then He
uncovered my inward being towards Him, and filled me with
His love.
And His circumcising became my salvation, and I ran in the
Way, in His peace, in the way of truth.
From the beginning until the end I received His knowledge.
And I was established upon the rock of truth, where He had set
me.
And speaking waters touched my lips from the fountain of the
Lord generously.
And so I drank and became intoxicated, from the living water
that does not die.
And my intoxication did not cause ignorance, but I abandoned
vanity,
And turned toward the Most High, my God, and was enriched
by His favors.
And I rejected the folly cast upon the earth, and stripped it off
and cast it from me.
And the Lord renewed me with His garment, and possessed me

Ode 12
He has filled me with words of truth, that I may proclaim Him.
56

And like the flowing of waters, truth flows from my mouth,

and my lips declare His fruits.
And He has caused His knowledge to abound in me, because
the mouth of the Lord is the true Word, and the entrance of His
light.
And the Most High has given Him to His generations, which
are the interpreters of His beauty,
And the narrators of His glory,
And the confessors of His purpose,
And the preachers of His mind,
And the teachers of His works.
For the subtlety of the Word is inexpressible, and like His
utterance so also is His swiftness and His acuteness, for
limitless is His progression.
He never falls but remains standing, and one cannot
comprehend His descent or His way.
For as His work is, so is His expectation, for He is the light and
dawning of thought.
And by Him the generations spoke to one another, and those
that were silent acquired speech.
And from Him came love and equality, and they spoke one to
another that which was theirs.
And they were stimulated by the Word, and knew Him who
made them, because they were in harmony.
For the mouth of the Most High spoke to them, and His
exposition prospered through Him.
For the dwelling place of the Word is man, and His truth is
love.
Blessed are they who by means of Him have perceived
everything, and have known the Lord in His truth.
Hallelujah.

Behold, the Lord is our mirror. Open your eyes and see them in
Him.
And learn the manner of your face, then declare praises to His
Spirit.
And wipe the paint from your face, and love His holiness and
put it on.
Then you will be unblemished at all times with Him.
Hallelujah.
Ode 14
As the eyes of a son upon his father, so are my eyes, O Lord, at
all times towards You.
Because my breasts and my pleasure are with You.
Turn not aside Your mercies from me, O Lord; and take not
Your kindness from me.
Stretch out to me, my Lord, at all times, Your right hand, and
be to me a guide till the end according to Your will.
Let me be pleasing before You, because of Your glory, and
because of Your name let me be saved from the Evil One.
And let Your gentleness, O Lord, abide with me, and the fruits
of Your love.
Teach me the odes of Your truth, that I may produce fruits in
You.
And open to me the harp of Your Holy Spirit, so that with
every note I may praise You, O Lord.
And according to the multitude of Your mercies, so grant unto
me, and hasten to grant our petitions.
For You are sufficient for all our needs.
Hallelujah.
Ode 15
As the sun is the joy of them who seek its daybreak, so is my
joy the Lord;

Ode 13
57

Because He is my Sun, and His rays have lifted me up; and His
light has dismissed all darkness from my face.
Eyes I have obtained in Him, and have seen His holy day.
Ears I have acquired, and have heard His truth.
The thought of knowledge I have acquired, and have enjoyed
delight fully through Him.
I repudiated the way of error, and went towards Him and
received salvation from Him abundantly.
And according to His generosity He gave to me, and according
to His excellent beauty He made me.
I put on immortality through His name, and took off corruption
by His grace.
Death has been destroyed before my face, and Sheol has been
vanquished by my word.
And eternal life has arisen in the Lord's land, and it has been
declared to His faithful ones, and has been given without limit
to all that trust in Him.
Hallelujah.

For the eye sees His works, and the ear hears His thought.
It is He who made the earth broad, and placed the waters in the
sea.
He expanded the heaven, and fixed the stars.
And He fixed the creation and set it up, then He rested from
His works.
And created things run according to their courses, and work
their works, for they can never cease nor fail.
And the hosts are subject to His Word.
The reservoir of light is the sun, and the reservoir of darkness
is the night.
For He made the sun for the day so that it will be light; but
night brings darkness over the face of the earth.
And by their portion one from another they complete the
beauty of God.
And there is nothing outside of the Lord, because He was
before anything came to be.
And the worlds are by His Word, and by the thought of His
heart.
Praise and honor to His name.
Hallelujah.

Ode 16
As the occupation of the ploughman is the ploughshare, and the
occupation of the helmsman is the steering of the ship, so also
my occupation is the psalm of the Lord by His hymns.
My art and my service are in His hymns, because His love has
nourished my heart, and His fruits He poured unto my lips.
For my love is the Lord; hence I will sing unto Him.
For I am strengthened by His praises, and I have faith in Him.
I will open my mouth, and His Spirit will speak through me the
glory of the Lord and His beauty,
The work of His hands, and the labor of His fingers;
For the multitude of His mercies, and the strength of His Word.
For the Word of the Lord investigates that which is invisible,
and reveals His thought.

Ode 17
Then I was crowned by my God, and my crown was living.
And I was justified by my Lord, for my salvation is
incorruptible.
I have been freed from vanities, and am not condemned.
My chains were cut off by His hands, I received the face and
likeness of a new person, and I walked in Him and was saved.
And the thought of truth led me, and I went after it and
wandered not.
And all who saw me were amazed, and I seemed to them like a
stranger.
58

And He who knew and exalted me, is the Most High in all His
perfection.
And He glorified me by His kindness, and raised my
understanding to the height of truth.
And from there He gave me the way of His steps, and I opened
the doors which were closed.
And I shattered the bars of iron, for my own shackles had
grown hot and melted before me.
And nothing appeared closed to me, because I was the opening
of everything.
And I went towards all my bound ones in order to loose them;
that I might not leave anyone bound or binding.
And I gave my knowledge generously, and my resurrection
through my love.
And I sowed my fruits in hearts, and transformed them through
myself.
Then they received my blessing and lived, and they were
gathered to me and were saved;
Because they became my members, and I was their Head.
Glory to You, our Head, O Lord Messiah.
Hallelujah.

Let not light be conquered by darkness, nor let truth flee from
falsehood.
Let Your right hand set our salvation to victory, and let it
receive from every region, and preserve it on the side of
everyone who is besieged by misfortunes.
You are my God, falsehood and death are not in Your mouth;
only perfection is Your will.
And vanity You know not, because neither does it know You.
And You know not error; because neither does it know You.
And ignorance appeared like dust, and like the foam of the sea.
And vain people thought that it was great, and they became like
its type and were impoverished.
But those who knew understood and contemplated, and were
not polluted by their thoughts;
Because they were in the mind of the Most High, and mocked
those who were walking in error.
Then they spoke the truth, from the breath which the Most
High breathed into them.
Praise and great honor to His name.
Hallelujah.
Ode 19
A cup of milk was offered to me, and I drank it in the
sweetness of the Lord's kindness.
The Son is the cup, and the Father is He who was milked; and
the Holy Spirit is She who milked Him;
Because His breasts were full, and it was undesirable that His
milk should be ineffectually released.
The Holy Spirit opened Her bosom, and mixed the milk of the
two breasts of the Father.
Then She gave the mixture to the generation without their
knowing, and those who have received it are in the perfection
of the right hand.

Ode 18
My heart was lifted up and enriched in the love of the Most
High, so that I might praise Him with my name.
My members were strengthened, that they may not fall from
His power.
Infirmities fled from my body, and it stood firm for the Lord by
His will; because His kingdom is firm.
O Lord, for the sake of those who are in need, do not dismiss
Your Word from me.
Nor, for the sake of their works, withhold Your perfection from
me.
59

The womb of the Virgin took it, and she received conception
and gave birth.
So the Virgin became a mother with great mercies.
And she labored and bore the Son but without pain, because it
did not occur without purpose.
And she did not require a midwife, because He caused her to
give life.
She brought forth like a strong man with desire, and she bore
according to the manifestation, and she acquired according to
the Great Power.
And she loved with redemption, and guarded with kindness,
and declared with grandeur.
Hallelujah.

with the praise of His holiness.

Praise and honor to His name.
Hallelujah.
Ode 21
I lifted up my arms on high on account of the compassion of
the Lord.
Because He cast off my bonds from me, and my Helper lifted
me up according to His compassion and His salvation.
And I put off darkness, and put on light.
And even I myself acquired members. In them there was no
sickness or affliction or suffering.
And abundantly helpful to me was the thought of the Lord, and
His everlasting fellowship.
And I was lifted up in the light, and I passed before Him.
And I was constantly near Him, while praising and confessing
Him.
He caused my heart to overflow, and it was found in my
mouth; and it sprang forth unto my lips.
Then upon my face increased the exultation of the Lord and
His praise.
Hallelujah.

Ode 20
I am a priest of the Lord, and Him I serve as a priest;
And to Him I offer the offering of His thought.
For His thought is not like the world, nor like the flesh, nor like
them who worship according to the flesh.
The offering of the Lord is righteousness, and purity of heart
and lips.
Offer your inward being faultlessly; and let not your
compassion oppress compassion; and let not yourself oppress a
self.
You should not purchase a stranger because he is like yourself,
nor seek to deceive your neighbor, nor deprive him of the
covering for his nakedness.
But put on the grace of the Lord generously, and come to His
Paradise, and make for yourself a garland from His tree.
Then put it on your head and be joyful, and recline upon His
rest.
For His glory will go before you; and you shall receive of His
kindness and of His grace; and you shall be anointed in truth

Ode 22
He who caused me to descend from on high, and to ascend
from the regions below;
And He who gathers what is in the Middle, and throws them to
me;
He who scattered my enemies, and my adversaries;
He who gave me authority over bonds, so that I might unbind
them;
He who overthrew by my hands the dragon with seven heads,
and set me at his roots that I might destroy his seed;
60

You were there and helped me, and in every place Your name
surrounded me.
Your right hand destroyed his evil venom, and Your hand
leveled the Way for those who believe in You.
And It chose them from the graves, and separated them from
the dead ones.
It took dead bones and covered them with flesh.
But they were motionless, so It gave them energy for life.
Incorruptible was Your way and Your face; You have brought
Your world to corruption, that everything might be resolved
and renewed.
And the foundation of everything is Your rock. And upon it
You have built Your kingdom, and it became the dwellingplace of the holy ones.
Hallelujah.

of the seal which was upon it.

Because they were not allowed to loosen its seal; for the power
which was over the seal was greater than they.
But those who saw the letter went after it; that they might learn
where it would land, and who should read it, and who should
hear it.
But a wheel received it, and it came over it.
And a sign was with it, of the kingdom and of providence.
And everything which was disturbing the wheel, it mowed and
cut down.
And it restrained a multitude of adversaries; and bridged rivers.
And it crossed over and uprooted many forests, and made an
open way.
The head went down to the feet, because unto the feet ran the
wheel, and whatever had come upon it.
The letter was one of command, and hence all regions were
gathered together.
And there was seen at its head, the head which was revealed,
even the Son of Truth from the Most High Father.
And He inherited and possessed everything, and then the
scheming of the many ceased.
Then all the seducers became headstrong and fled, and the
persecutors became extinct and were blotted out.
And the letter became a large volume, which was entirely
written by the finger of God.
And the name of the Father was upon it; and of the Son and of
the Holy Spirit, to rule for ever and ever.
Hallelujah.

Ode 23
Joy is for the holy ones. And who shall put it on but they
alone?
Grace is for the elect ones. And who shall receive it but they
who trusted in it from the beginning?
Love is for the elect ones. And who shall put it on but they who
possessed it from the beginning?
Walk in the knowledge of the Lord, and you will know the
grace of the Lord generously; both for His exultation and for
the perfection of His knowledge.
And His thought was like a letter, and His will descended from
on high.
And it was sent like an arrow which from a bow has been
forcibly shot.
And many hands rushed to the letter, in order to catch it, then
take and read it.
But it escaped from their fingers; and they were afraid of it and

Ode 24
The dove fluttered over the head of our Lord Messiah, because
He was her head.
And she sang over Him, and her voice was heard.
61

Then the inhabitants were afraid, and the foreigners were

disturbed.
The bird began to fly, and every creeping thing died in its hole.
And the chasms were opened and closed; and they were
seeking the Lord as those who are about to give birth.
But He was not given to them for nourishment, because He did
not belong to them.
But the chasms were submerged in the seal of the Lord, and
they perished in the thought with which they had remained
from the beginning.
For they were in labor from the beginning, and the end of their
travail was life.
And all of them who were lacking perished, because they were
not able to express the word so that they might remain.
And the Lord destroyed the devices, of all those who had not
the truth with them.
For they were lacking in wisdom, they who exalted themselves
in their mind.
So they were rejected, because the truth was not with them.
For the Lord revealed His way, and spread widely His grace.
And those who understood it knew His holiness.
Hallelujah.

A lamp You set for me both on my right and on my left, so that

there might not be in me anything that is not light.
And I was covered with the covering of Your Spirit, and I
removed from me my garments of skin.
Because Your right hand exalted me, and caused sickness to
pass from me.
And I became mighty in Your truth, and holy in Your
righteousness.
And all my adversaries were afraid of me, and I became the
Lord's by the name of the Lord.
And I was justified by His kindness, and His rest is for ever
and ever.
Hallelujah.
Ode 26
I poured out praise to the Lord, because I am His own.
And I will recite His holy ode, because my heart is with Him.
For His harp is in my hand, and the odes of His rest shall not be
silent.
I will call unto Him with all my heart, I will praise and exalt
Him with all my members.
For from the East and unto the West is His praise;
Also from the South and unto the North is His thanksgiving.
Even from the crest of the summits and unto their extremity is
His perfection.
Who can write the odes of the Lord, or who can read them?
Or who can train himself for life, so that he himself may be
saved?
Or who can press upon the Most High, so that He would recite
from His mouth?
Who can interpret the wonders of the Lord? Though he who
interprets will be destroyed, yet that which was interpreted will
remain.

Ode 25
I was rescued from my chains, and I fled unto You, O my God.
Because You are the right hand of salvation, and my Helper.
You have restrained those who rise up against me, and no more
were they seen.
Because Your face was with me, which saved me by Your
grace.
But I was despised and rejected in the eyes of many, and I was
in their eyes like lead.
And I acquired strength from You, and help.
62

For it suffices to perceive and be satisfied, for the odists stand

in serenity;
Like a river which has an increasingly gushing spring, and
flows to the relief of them that seek it.
Hallelujah.

Because I continually did good to every man I was hated.

And they surrounded me like mad dogs, those who in stupidity
attack their masters.
Because their thought is depraved, and their mind is perverted.
But I was carrying water in my right hand, and their bitterness I
endured by my sweetness.
And I did not perish, because I was not their brother, nor was
my birth like theirs.
And they sought my death but did not find it possible, because
I was older than their memory; and in vain did they cast lots
against me.
And those who were after me sought in vain to destroy the
memorial of Him who was before them.
Because the thought of the Most High cannot be prepossessed;
and His heart is superior to all wisdom.
Hallelujah.

Ode 27
I extended my hands and hallowed my Lord,
For the expansion of my hands is His sign.
And my extension is the upright cross.
Hallelujah.
Ode 28
As the wings of doves over their nestlings, and the mouths of
their nestlings towards their mouths, so also are the wings of
the Spirit over my heart.
My heart continually refreshes itself and leaps for joy, like the
babe who leaps for joy in his mother's womb.
I trusted, consequently I was at rest; because trustful is He in
whom I trusted.
He has greatly blessed me, and my head is with Him.
And the dagger shall not divide me from Him, nor the sword;
Because I am ready before destruction comes, and have been
set on His immortal side.
And immortal life embraced me, and kissed me.
And from that life is the Spirit which is within me. And it
cannot die because it is life.
Those who saw me were amazed, because I was persecuted.
And they thought that I had been swallowed up, because I
seemed to them as one of the lost.
But my injustice became my salvation.
And I became their abomination, because there was no jealousy
in me.

Ode 29
The Lord is my hope, I shall not be ashamed of Him.
For according to His praise He made me, and according to His
grace even so He gave to me.
And according to His mercies He exalted me, and according to
His great honor He lifted me up.
And he caused me to ascend from the depths of Sheol, and
from the mouth of death He drew me.
And I humbled my enemies, and He justified me by His grace.
For I believed in the Lord's Messiah, and considered that He is
the Lord.
And He revealed to me His sign, and He led me by His light.
And He gave me the scepter of His power, that I might subdue
the devices of the people, and humble the power of the mighty.
To make war by His Word, and to take victory by His power.
And the Lord overthrew my enemy by His Word, and he
63

became like the dust which a breeze carries off.

And I gave praise to the Most High, because He has magnified
His servant and the son of His maidservant.
Hallelujah.

Come forth, you who have been afflicted, and receive joy.
And possess yourselves through grace, and take unto you
immortal life.
And they condemned me when I stood up, me who had not
been condemned.
Then they divided my spoil, though nothing was owed them.
But I endured and held my peace and was silent, that I might
not be disturbed by them.
But I stood undisturbed like a solid rock, which is continuously
pounded by columns of waves and endures.
And I bore their bitterness because of humility; that I might
redeem my nation and instruct it.
And that I might not nullify the promises to the patriarchs, to
whom I was promised for the salvation of their offspring.
Hallelujah.

Ode 30
Fill for yourselves water from the living fountain of the Lord,
because it has been opened for you.
And come all you thirsty and take a drink, and rest beside the
fountain of the Lord.
Because it is pleasing and sparkling, and perpetually refreshes
the self.
For much sweeter is its water than honey, and the honeycomb
of bees is not to be compared with it;
Because it flowed from the lips of the Lord, and it named from
the heart of the Lord.
And it came boundless and invisible, and until it was set in the
middle they knew it not.
Blessed are they who have drunk from it, and have refreshed
themselves by it.
Hallelujah.

Ode 32
To the blessed ones the joy is from their heart, and light from
Him who dwells in them;
And the Word of truth who is self-originate,
Because He has been strengthened by the Holy Power of the
Most High; and He is unshaken for ever and ever.
Hallelujah.

Ode 31
Chasms vanished before the Lord, and darkness dissipated
before His appearance.
Error erred and perished on account of Him; and contempt
received no path, for it was submerged by the truth of the Lord.
He opened His mouth and spoke grace and joy; and recited a
new chant to His name.
Then He lifted his voice towards the Most High, and offered to
Him those that had become sons through Him.
And His face was justified, because thus His Holy Father had
given to Him.

Ode 33
But again Grace was swift and dismissed the Corruptor, and
descended upon him to renounce him.
And he caused utter destruction before him, and corrupted all
his work.
And he stood on the peak of a summit and cried aloud from
one end of the earth to the other.
Then he drew to him all those who obeyed him, for he did not
appear as the Evil One.
64

However, the perfect Virgin stood, who was preaching and

summoning and saying:
O you sons of men, return, and you their daughters, come.
And leave the ways of that Corruptor, and approach me.
And I will enter into you, and bring you forth from destruction,
and make you wise in the ways of truth.
Be not corrupted nor perish.
Obey me and be saved, for I am proclaiming unto you the
grace of God.
And through me you will be saved and become blessed. I am
your judge;
And they who have put me on shall not be falsely accused, but
they shall possess incorruption in the new world.
My elect ones have walked with me, and my ways I will make
known to them who seek me; and I will promise them my
name.
Hallelujah.

The gentle showers of the Lord overshadowed me with

serenity, and they caused a cloud of peace to rise over my
head;
That it might guard me at all times. And it became salvation to
me.
Everyone was disturbed and afraid, and there came from them
smoke and judgment.
But I was tranquil in the Lord's legion; more than shade was
He to me, and more than foundation.
And I was carried like a child by its mother; and He gave me
milk, the dew of the Lord.
And I was enriched by His favor, and rested in His perfection.
And I spread out my hands in the ascent of myself, and I
directed myself towards the Most High, and I was redeemed
towards Him.
Hallelujah.
Ode 36
I rested on the Spirit of the Lord, and She lifted me up to
heaven;
And caused me to stand on my feet in the Lord's high place,
before His perfection and His glory, where I continued
glorifying Him by the composition of His Odes.
The Spirit brought me forth before the Lord's face, and because
I was the Son of Man, I was named the Light, the Son of God;
Because I was the most glorified among the glorious ones, and
the greatest among the great ones.
For according to the greatness of the Most High, so She made
me; and according to His newness He renewed me.
And He anointed me with His perfection; and I became one of
those who are near Him.
And my mouth was opened like a cloud of dew, and my heart
gushed forth like a gusher of righteousness.

Ode 34
There is no hard way where there is a simple heart, nor barrier
for upright thoughts,
Nor whirlwind in the depth of the enlightened thought.
Where one is surrounded on every side by pleasing country,
there is nothing divided in him.
The likeness of that which is below is that which is above.
For everything is from above, and from below there is nothing,
but it is believed to be by those in whom there is no
understanding.
Grace has been revealed for your salvation. Believe and live
and be saved.
Hallelujah.
Ode 35
65

And my approach was in peace, and I was established in the

Spirit of Providence.
Hallelujah.

And I asked the Truth, Who are these? And He said to me: This
is the Deceiver and the Error.
And they imitate the Beloved and His Bride, and they cause the
world to err and corrupt it.
And they invite many to the wedding feast, and allow them to
drink the wine of their intoxication;
So they cause them to vomit up their wisdom and their
knowledge, and prepare for them mindlessness.
Then they abandon them; and so they stumble about like mad
and corrupted men.
Since there is no understanding in them, neither do they seek it.
But I have been made wise so as not to fall into the hands of
the Deceivers, and I myself rejoiced because the Truth had
gone with me.
For I was established and lived and was redeemed, and my
foundations were laid on account of the Lord's hand; because
He has planted me.
For He set the root, and watered it and endowed it and blessed
it, and its fruits will be forever.
It penetrated deeply and sprang up and spread out, and it was
full and was enlarged.
And the Lord alone was glorified, in His planting and in His
cultivation;
In His care and in the blessing of His lips, in the beautiful
planting of His right hand;
And in the attainment of His planting, and in the understanding
of His mind.
Hallelujah.

Ode 37
I stretched out my hands towards the Lord, and towards the
Most High I raised my voice.
And I spoke with the lips of my heart, and He heard me when
my voice reached Him.
His Word came towards me, in order to give me the fruits of
my labors;
And gave me rest by the grace of the Lord.
Hallelujah.
Ode 38
I went up into the light of Truth as into a chariot, and the Truth
led me and caused me to come.
And caused me to pass over chasms and gulfs, and saved me
from cliffs and valleys.
And became for me a haven of salvation, and set me on the
place of immortal life.
And He went with me and caused me to rest and did not allow
me to err; because He was and is the Truth.
And there was no danger for me because I constantly walked
with Him; and I did not err in anything because I obeyed Him.
For Error fled from Him, and never met Him.
But Truth was proceeding on the upright way, and whatever I
did not understand He exhibited to me:
All the poisons of error, and pains of death which are
considered sweetness.
And the corrupting of the Corruptor, I saw when the bride who
was corrupting was adorned, and the bridegroom who corrupts
and is corrupted.

Ode 39
Raging rivers are the power of the Lord; they send headlong
those who despise Him.
And entangle their paths, and destroy their crossings.
66

And snatch their bodies, and corrupt their natures.

For they are more swift than lightnings, even more rapid.
But those who cross them in faith shall not be disturbed.
And those who walk on them faultlessly shall not be shaken.
Because the sign on them is the Lord, and the sign is the Way
for those who cross in the name of the Lord.
Therefore, put on the name of the Most High and know Him,
and you shall cross without danger; because rivers shall be
obedient to you.
The Lord has bridged them by His Word, and He walked and
crossed them on foot.
And His footsteps stand firm upon the waters, and were not
destroyed; but they are like a beam of wood that is constructed
on truth.
On this side and on that the waves were lifted up, but the
footsteps of our Lord Messiah stand firm.
And they are neither blotted out, nor destroyed.
And the Way has been appointed for those who cross over after
Him, and for those who adhere to the path of His faith; and
who adore His name.
Hallelujah.

be assured in Him.
And His possessions are immortal life, and those who receive it
are incorruptible.
Hallelujah.
Ode 41
Let all the Lord's babes praise Him, and let us receive the truth
of His faith.
And His children shall be acknowledged by Him, therefore let
us sing by His love.
We live in the Lord by His grace, and life we receive by His
Messiah.
For a great day has shined upon us, and wonderful is He who
has given to us of His glory.
Let us, therefore, all of us agree in the name of the Lord, and
let us honor Him in His goodness.
And let our faces shine in His light, and let our hearts meditate
in His love, by night and by day.
Let us exult with the exultation of the Lord.
All those who see me will be amazed, because I am from
another race.
For the Father of Truth remembered me; he who possessed me
from the beginning.
For His riches begat me, and the thought of His heart.
And His Word is with us in all our way, the Savior who gives
life and does not reject ourselves.
The Man who humbled Himself, but was exalted because of
His own righteousness.
The Son of the Most High appeared in the perfection of His
Father.
And light dawned from the Word that was before time in Him.
The Messiah in truth is one. And He was known before the
foundations of the world, that He might give life to persons for

Ode 40
As honey drips from the honeycomb of bees, and milk flows
from the woman who loves her children, so also is my hope
upon You, O my God.
As a fountain gushes forth its water, so my heart gushes forth
the praise of the Lord, and my lips bring forth praise to Him.
And my tongue becomes sweet by His anthems, and my
members are anointed by His odes.
My face rejoices in His exultation, and my spirit exults in His
love, and my nature shines in Him.
And he who is afraid shall trust in Him, and redemption shall
67

ever by the truth of His name.

A new chant is for the Lord from them that love Him.
Hallelujah.

and said, Son of God, have pity on us.

And deal with us according to Your kindness, and bring us out
from the bonds of darkness.
And open for us the door by which we may come out to You;
for we perceive that our death does not touch You.
May we also be saved with You, because You are our Savior.
Then I heard their voice, and placed their faith in my heart.
And I placed my name upon their head, because they are free
and they are mine.
Hallelujah.

Ode 42
I extended my hands and approached my Lord, for the
expansion of my hands is His sign.
And my extension is the upright Cross, that was lifted up on
the way of the Righteous One.
And I became useless to those who knew me not, because I
shall hide myself from those who possessed me not.
And I will be with those who love me.
All my persecutors have died, and they sought me, they who
declared against me, because I am living.
Then I arose and am with them, and will speak by their mouths.
For they have rejected those who persecute them; and I threw
over them the yoke of my love.
Like the arm of the bridegroom over the bride, so is my yoke
over those who know me.
And as the bridal chamber is spread out by the bridal pair's
home, so is my love by those who believe in me.
I was not rejected although I was considered to be so, and I did
not perish although they thought it of me.
Sheol saw me and was shattered, and Death ejected me and
many with me.
I have been vinegar and bitterness to it, and I went down with it
as far as its depth.
Then the feet and the head it released, because it was not able
to endure my face.
And I made a congregation of living among his dead; and I
spoke with them by living lips; in order that my word may not
be unprofitable.
And those who had died ran towards me; and they cried out

See aramaicnt.com for all Dave Bauschers Bible translations

and other printed books and free ebooks and articles.

68

Finally, here is a comparison Assyrian Christian Paul Younan made between the scripture quotations
of Bishop Aphraates of Persia who wrote in Aramaic from AD 337 to AD 345:

69

Paul
Younan

Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2003 2:23 pm

Post subject: Mar Aphrahat and 1Corinthians 2:9

Site Admin

Shlama Akhay,
Joined: 05
Sep 2003
Posts: 1251
Location:
Chicago, IL
USA

In Mar Aphrahat's 22nd Demonstration ("Of Death and The Latter Times"), we read a direct quote from the Pesh
Pe
1Corinthians 2:9:
Mar Aphrahat wrote:

tzx f 0ny9d
t9m4 f 0nd0w
Qls f 04nrbd 0bl L9w
0hl0 By=d Mdm
hl Nymxrd Nyly0l[/font]
Translation:
"There is the thing...
[i">Which eye hath not seen and ear hath not heard, and which hath not come up into the heart of man, That
which God hath prepared for them that love Him."

Peshitta wrote:

tzx f 0ny9d
t9m4 f 0nd0w
Qls f 04nrbd 0bl L9w
0hl0 By=d Mdm
hl Nymxrd Nyly0l[/font]
Translation:
"[i">Which eye hath not seen and ear hath not heard, and which hath no
nott come up into the heart of man, That
which God hath prepared for them that love Him."

As you can see, this is

100% verbatim the reading of the Peshitta. Pretty impressive

impressiv for a "version" that wa

supposed to be around when he was alive, no?

Shlama Akhay,
In Mar Aphrahat's 22nd Demonstration ("Of Death and The Latter Times"), we read a quote from the Peshitta of
Galatians 3:28:
Mar Aphrahat wrote:

[font=Estrangelo (V1.1)]
rm0 0xyl4w

Fbqn fw 0rkdfd
0r0x rb fw 0db9 fw
0xy4m (w4yb Jwnt0 dx Jwklk f0[/font]
Transliteration:
w'emar Shlikha:
d'la dakra w'la neqbata
w'la ebada w'la bar-khere
ela kulkhon khad 'ton b'Yeshua Meshikha

Translation:
And the Apostle said
neither "male nor female"
and neither "servant nor free"
rather "you are all one in Yeshua Meshikha"

Peshitta wrote:

[font=Estrangelo (V1.1)]
0r0x rb fw 0db9 tyl

Fbqn fw 0rkd tyl

0xy4m (w4yb Jwnt0 dx ryg Jwklk [/font]
Transliteration:
Lyt dakra w'la neqbata
Lyt ebada w'la bar-khere
kulkhon gyr khad 'ton b'Yeshua Meshikha
Translation:
There is no "male nor female"
There is no "servant nor free"
"you are all one, for, in Yeshua Meshikha"

With just a little rearranging of the clauses which is typical of the writing style, or paraphrasing, of Mar
Aphrahat - the reading is 100% identical to the Peshitta.

Paul
Younan

Posted: Sun Oct 19, 2003 8:41 am

Post subject: Romans 5:14 and Mar Aphrahat

Site Admin

Shlama Akhay,
Joined: 05
In Mar Aphrahat's 22nd Demonstration ("Of Death and The Latter Times"), we read a direct quote
Sep 2003
Posts: 1251 from the Peshitta of Romans 5:14:
Location:
Chicago, IL
Mar Aphrahat wrote:
USA

[font=Estrangelo (V1.1)]
(V1.1)]0xyl4
0xyl4 rm0d Ky0
04wml 0md9w Md0 Nm Fwm Klm0d
w=x fd Nyly0 L9 P0w[/font]
Transliteration:
Aykh d'emar Shlikha:
d'amlekh mowtha men wAdam w'adma l'Moshe
w'ap al aylyn d'la khaTaw
Translation:
As the Apostle said, that "Death ruled from Adam unto Moses" and "even over those who

sinned not."

Peshitta wrote:

[font=Estrangelo (V1.1)]
04wml 0md9w Md0 Nm Fwm Klm0
w=x fd Nyly0 L9 P0[/font]
Transliteration:
amlekh mowtha men wAdam w'adma l'Moshe
ap al aylyn d'la khaTaw

Translation:
"Death ruled from Adam unto Moses, even over those who sinned not."

As you can see, this is 100% verbatim the reading of the Peshitta. Pretty impressive for a "version"
that wasn't supposed to be around when he was alive, no?
Paul
Younan

Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2003 10:03 pm

Post subject: Mar Aphrahat and Yukhanan 11:43

Site Admin

Shlama Akhay,
Joined: 05
In his Eighth Demonstration (Of the Resurrection of the Dead), Mar Aphrahat quotes the Peshitta
Sep 2003
Posts: 1251 reading of Yukhanan 11:43 verbatim against Old Scratch:
Location:
Chicago, IL
Mar Aphrahat wrote:
USA

rbl F rz9l[/font]

[font=Estrangelo (V1.1)]

Translation - "Lazarus, come forth."

Peshitta wrote:

rbl F rz9l[/font]

[font=Estrangelo (V1.1)]

Translation - "Lazarus, come forth."

Old Scratch wrote:

rbl F Qwp rz9l[/font]

[font=Estrangelo (V1.1)]

Translation - "Lazarus, come out, come forth."

Last edited by Paul Younan on Thu Oct 16, 2003 7:45 am; edited 1 time in total

Back to
top
Rob
Vanhoff

Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2003 7:26 am

Post subject:

Hey Yuri, you out there?

Joined: 05
Sep 2003
Posts: 61
Location:
Lynnwood,
WA

Back to
top
Paul
Younan

Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2003 9:55 am

Post subject:

Site Admin

Joined: 05
Sep 2003
Posts: 1251
Location:
Chicago, IL
USA

Here is why finding direct quotes from the Peshitta in Mar Aphrahat's Demonstrations
is so explosive

The dates of composition:

Quote:
The Demonstrations are twenty-two in number, after the number of the letters
of the Aramaic alphabet, each of them beginning with the letter to which it
corresponds in order. The first ten form a group by themselves, and are

somewhat earlier in date than those which follow: they deal with Christian
graces, hopes, and duties, as appears from their titles:--"Concerning Faith,
Charity, Fasting, Prayer, Wars, Monks, Penitents, the Resurrection, Humility,
Pastors." Of those that compose the later group, three relate to the Jews

("Concerning Circumcision, the Passover, the Sabbath"); followed by one

described as "Hortatory," which seems to be a letter of rebuke addressed by
Aphrahat, on behalf of a Synod of Bishops, to the clergy and people of Seleucia
and Ctesiphon (Babylon); after which the Jewish series is resumed in five
discourses, "Concerning Divers Meals, The Call of the Gentiles, Jesus the
Messiah, Virginity, the Dispersion of Israel." The three last are of the same
general character as the first ten,--"Concerning Almsgiving, Persecution,
Death, and the Latter Times." To this collection is subjoined a twenty-third
Demonstration, supplementary to the rest, "Concerning the Grape," under
which title is signified the blessing transmitted from the beginning through
Christ, in allusion to the words of Isaiah, "As the grape is found in the cluster
and one saith, Destroy it not" ( lxv. 8 ). This treatise embodies a chronological
disquisition of some importance.
Of the dates at which they were written, these discourses supply conclusive
evidence. At the end of section 5 of Demonstr. V. (Concerning Wars), the
author reckons the years from the era of Alexander (B.C. 311) to the time of
his writing as 648. He wrote therefore in A.D. 337--the year of the death of
Constantine the Great. Demonst. XIV. is formally dated in its last section, "in
the month Shebat. in the year 655 (that is, A. D. 344). More fully, in closing
the alphabetic series (XXII. 25) he informs us that the above dates apply to the

two groups--the first ten being written in 337; the twelve that follow, in 344.
Finally, the supplementary discourse "Concerning the Grape" was written (as
stated, XXIII. 69) in July, 345. Thus the entire work was completed within nine
years,--five years before the middle of the fourth century,--before the
composition of the earliest work of Ephraim of which the date can be
determined with certainty.

The manuscript evidence:

Quote:
The oldest extant MS. of these discourses (Add. 17182 of the British Museum)
contains the first ten, and is dated 474. With it is bound up (under the same
number) a second, dated 512, containing the remaining thirteen. A third (Add.
14619) of the sixth century likewise, exhibits the whole series. A fourth
(Orient, 1017), more recent by eight centuries, will be mentioned farther on. Of
the three early MSS., the first designates the author as "the Persian Sage"
merely, as does also the third: the second prefixes his name as "Mar Jacob the
Persian Sage."

The witnesses:
Quote:
It is not until some years after the mid-die of the tenth century, that the
"Persian Sage" first appears under his proper name,--of which, though as it
appears generally forgotten in the Syriac world of letters, a tradition had
survived.--The Nestorian Bar-Bahlul (circ. 963) in his Syro-Arabic Lexicon,
writes thus:--"Aphrahat [mentioned] in the Book of Paradise, is the Persian
Sage, as they record."--So too, in the eleventh century), Elias of Nisibis
(Barsinaeus, d. 1049), embodies in his Chronography, a table, compiled from
Demonstr. XXIII., of the chronography from the Creation to the "Era of
Alexander" (B. C. 311), which he describes as "The years of the House of
Adam, according to the opinion of Aphrahat, the Persian Sage." --To the like

effect, but with fuller information, the great light of the mediaeval Jacobite
Church, Gregory Barhebraeus (d. 1286), in Part I. of his Ecclesiastical
Chronicle, in enumerating the orthodox contemporaries of Athanasius,
mentions, after Ephraim, "the Persian Sage who wrote the Book of
Demonstrations;" and again in Part II., supplies his name under a slightly
different form, as one who "was of note in the time of Papas the Catholicus,"
"the Persian Sage by name Pharhad, of whom there are extant a book of
admonition [al., admonitions] in Syriac, and twenty-two Epistles according to
the letters of the alphabet." Here we have not only the name and description of
the personage in question, but a fairly accurate account of his works, under the
titles by which the MSS. describe them, "Epistles and Demonstrations;--and
moreover a sufficient indication of his date, in agreement with that which the
Demonstrations claim: for one who began to write in 337 must have lived in
the closing years of the life of Papas (who died in 334), and in the earlier years
of the life of Ephraim. So yet again, a generation later, the learned Nestorian
prelate, Ebedjesu, in his Catalogue of Syrian ecclesiastical authors, writes,
"Aphrahat, the Persian Sage, composed two volumes with Homilies that are
according to the alphabet." Here once more the name and designation are
given unhesitatingly, and the division of the discourses into two groups is
correctly noted; but the concluding words appear to distinguish these groups
from the alphabetic Homilies. Either, therefore, we must take the preposition
rendered "with" to mean "containing,"--or we must conclude that Ebedjesu's
knowledge of the work was at second-hand and incorrect. Finally, in a very late
MS., dated 1364, is found the first or chronological part of Demonstration
XXIII., headed as follows:--"The Demonstration concerning the Grape, of the
Sage Aphrahat, who is Jacob, Bishop of Mar Mathai." Here (though the prefix
"Persian" is absent) we have the author's title of "Sage"; and the identification
of the "Aphrahat" of the later authorities with the "Jacob" of the earlier is not
merely implied but expressly affirmed. Here, moreover, we have what seems to

account for the twofold name. As author, he is Aphrahat; as Bishop, he is

Jacob--the latter name having been no doubt assumed on his elevation to the
Episcopate. Such changes of name, at consecration, which in later ages of the
Syrian Church became customary, were no doubt exceptional in the earlier
period of which we are treating. But the fact that Aphrahat was a Persian
name, bestowed on him no doubt in childhood--when he was still (as will be
shown presently) outside the Christian fold--a name which is supposed to
signify "Chief" or "Prefect," and which may have seemed unsuited to the
humility of the sacred office--supplies a reason for the substitution in its stead
of a name associated with sacred history, both of the Old and of the New
Testament. Here finally we have the direct statement of what Georgius had
justly inferred from the opening of Dem. XIV., that the writer was himself of
the clergy, and in this Epistle writes as a cleric to clerics.

That he definitely was from the Persian Church (Church of the East):
Quote:
That the author was of Persian nationality, is a point on which all the witnesses
agree, except the fourteenth-century scribe of the MS. Orient. 1017, who
however is merely silent about it. The name Aphrahat is, as has been already
said, Persian--which fact at once confirms the tradition that he belonged to
Persia, and helps to account for what seems to be the reluctance of early
writers to call him by a name that was foreign, unfamiliar, unsuited to his
subsequent station in the Church, and superseded by one that had sacred
associations. As a Persian, he dates his writings by the years of the reign of the

Persian King: the twenty-two were completed (he says) in the thirty-fifth, the
twenty-third in the thirty-sixth of the reign of Sapor. --Again: as a Persian of
the early fourth century, it is presumable that he was not originally a Christian.
And this is apparently confirmed by the internal evidence of his own writings;
for he speaks of himself as one of those "who have cast away idols, and call
that a lie which our father bequeathed to us;" and again, "who ought to
worship Jesus, for that He has turned away our froward minds from all
superstitions of vain error, and taught us to worship one God our Father and
Maker."--But it is clear that he must have lived in a frontier region where
Syriac was spoken freely; or else must have removed into a Syriac-speaking
country at an early age; for the language and style of his writings are
completely pure, showing no trace of foreign idiom, or even of the want of ease
that betrays a foreigner writing in what is not his mother-tongue. It is clear
also that, at whatever age or under whatever circumstances he embraced
Christianity, he must have taken the Christian Scriptures and Christian
theology into his inmost heart and understanding as every page of his writings
attests.

That he was bishop of Nineveh:

Quote:
If we accept the late, but internally probable, statement of the Scribe of MS.
Orient. 1017 (above mentioned), that "the Persian Sage" was "Bishop of the
monastery of Mar Mathai," we arrive at a complete explanation of the
circumstances under which this Epistle was composed. For the Bishop of Mar
Mathai was Metropolitan of Nineveh, and ranked among the Bishops of "the
East" only second to the Catholicus; and his province bordered on that which
the Catholicus (as Metropolitan of Seleucia) held in his immediate jurisdiction.
The Bishop of Mar Mathai therefore would properly preside in a Synod of the
Eastern Bishops, met to consider the disorders and discussions existing in
Seleucia and its suffragan sees. It thus becomes intelligible how an Epistle of
such official character has found a place in a series of discourses of which the
rest are written as from man to man merely. The writer addresses the Bishops,
Clergy, and people of Seleucia and Ctesiphon in the name of a Synod over
which he was President, a Synod probably of Bishops suffragan to Nineveh, and
perhaps of those of some adjacent sees.

That he is prior to Ephraem:

Quote:
In thus placing Aphrahat first as their projected series of Syriac Divines, the
learned editors follow the opinion which, ever since Wright published his
edition, has been adopted by Syriac scholars--that Aphrahat is prior in time to
Ephraim. This is undoubtedly true (as pointed out above) in the only limited
sense, that the Demonstrations are earlier by some years (the first ten by
thirteen years, the remainder by five or six) than the earliest of Ephraim's
writings which can be dated with certainty (namely, the first Nisibene Hymn,
which belongs to 350). It is then assumed that Ephraim was born in the reign
of Constantine, therefore not earlier than 306, and that Aphrahat was a man of
advanced age when he wrote (of which there is no proof whatever), and must
therefore have been born before the end of the third century--perhaps as early
as 280. It has been shown above (p. 145) that even if we admit the authority
of the Syriac Life of Ephraim, we must regard the supposed statement of his

birth in Constantine's time as a mistranslation or rather perversion of the text.

Thus the argument for placing Ephraim's birth so lat
late
e as 306 disappears, while
for placing Aphrahat's birth no argument has been advanced, but merely
conjecture; and the result is, that the two may, so far as evidence goes, be
regarded as contemporary. It is true that Barhebraeus, in his Ecclesiastical

History, reckons Aphrahat as belonging to the time of Papas, who died 335;
built is to be noted that in the very same context he mentions that letters were
extant purporting to be addressed by Jacob of Nisibis and Ephraim to the same

Papas,--and though he admi

admits
ts that some discredited the genuineness of these
letters, he gives no hint that Ephraim was too young to have written them. In
fact he could not do so, for in the earlier part of this History he had already
named Ephraim as present at the Nicene Council iin
n 325, and had placed his
name before that of Aphrahat in including both among the contemporaries of

the Great Athanasius.

That his canon is that of the

Peshitta:

Quote:
His New Testament Canon is apparently that of the Peshitta;--that is to say, he
shows no signs of acquaintance with the four shorter Catholic Epistles
Epistles,, and in
the one citation which seems to be from the Apocalypse, it has been shown to
be probable that he is really referring to the Targum of Onkelos on Deut. xxxiii.

6.

All quotes from "JOHN GWYNN, D.D., D.C.L. -- REGIUS PROFESSOR OF DIVINITY IN
THE UNIVERSITY OF DUBLIN" as quoted in the book - NICENE AND POST-NICENE
FATHERS, SERIES II VOLUME XIII
There you have it, folks. The Peshitta present in Nineveh during the 330s remarkable, seeing that Rabbula's * great-grandmother had not yet even been

conceived!
'nuff said!
(*) our modern-day imbeciles claim that Rabbula of Edessa, the 5th-century archenemy of the Church of the East, produced the Peshitta. How the Church of the East,
his hated enemies, came to adopt a version supposedly made fro
from
m his hands - only
these idiots know.
P.S. - if the Peshitta was around during the 330s and quoted by a high-ranking
official of the Church of the East, how much farther back in time must it have
originated? The late 200s....the early 200s....the late 10
100s....the
0s....the early 100s.....the
Apostles' hands?
Paul
Younan

Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2003 4:45 pm

Post subject: Mar Aphrahat and Yukhanan 10:30

Site Admin

Shlama Akhay,
Joined: 05
Sep 2003
Posts: 1251
Location:
Chicago, IL
USA

In his Sixth Demonstration, Mar Aphrahat q

quotes
uotes the Peshitta of Yukhanan 10:30
verbatim against Old Scratch:
Mar Aphrahat wrote:

[font=Estrangelo (V1.1)]rm0 Frx0

Fkwdbw
Nnx dx Yb0w 0n0d[/font]
Translation:
"And in another place, he said:
I and my Father are one (khnan)"

Peshitta wrote:

[font=Estrangelo (V1.1)]Nnx dx Yb0w

0n0[/font]
Translation:
"I and my Father are one (khnan)"

Old Scratch wrote:

[font=Estrangelo (V1.1)]Nnxn0 dx Yb0w

0n0[/font]
Translation:
"I and my Father we are one (ankhnan)"

Paul
Younan
Site Admin

Posted: Sun Oct 05, 2003 12:11 am

Post subject: Mar Aphrahat and Luqa 15:8

Shlama Akhi Yuri,

Joined: 05
Faith,, we find the following quote from Luqa
Sep 2003 In Mar Aphrahat's Demonstrations on Faith
Posts:
15:8:
1251
Location:
Chicago,
[font=Estrangelo (V1.1)]
IL USA

hl ty0d Ftn0 Yh 0dy0

Jwhnm dx dbwtw Nyzwz 0rs9
Fyb 0mxw 0gr4 0rhnm fw[/font]

"What woman, who has ten coins and loses one of them, and (Waw Proclitic) not

does light a lamp and sweep (Khama) the house..."

Now let's see how the Peshitta and Old Scratch read:

Peshitta:

hl ty0d Ftn0 Yh 0dy0

Jwhnm dx dbwtw Nyzwz 0rs9
Fyb 0mxw 0gr4 0rhnm fw[/font]
[font=Estrangelo (V1.1)]

"What woman, who has ten coins and loses one of them, and (Waw Proclitic) not

does light a lamp and sweep (Khama) the house..." (exactly 100% the same as Mar
Aphrahat)
Old Scratch Sinaiticus:

hl ty0d Ftn0 Yh 0dy0

Jwhnm dx db0tw Nyzwz 0rs9
Fyb 0mxw 0gr4 0rhnm f[/font]
[font=Estrangelo (V1.1)]

"What woman, who has ten coins and loses one of them, not does light a lamp and

sweep (Khama) the house..."

Old Scratch Cureton:

hl ty0d Ftn0 Yh 0dy0

Jwhnm dx dbwtw Nyzwz 0rs9
Fyb 04nkw 0gr4 0rhnm f[/font]
[font=Estrangelo (V1.1)]

"What woman, who has ten coins and loses one of them, not does light a lamp and

organizes (kansha) the house..."

As you can see, Akhi, the reading from Mar Aphrahat is 100% the same as the
Peshitta. Both Old Scratch readings differ, however, in the following important ways:

(1) Old Scratch (s) has the imperfect of the PEAL [font=Estrangelo

db0t[/font], whereas Mar Aphrahat uses [font=Estrangelo

(V1.1)]dbwt[/font] just like the Peshitta
(V1.1)]

(2) Both Old Scratc

Scratch
h (s) and (c) are missing the Waw Proclitic, included in
Aphrahat and the Peshitta
(3) Old Scratch (c) uses a completely different word, [font=Estrangelo

04nk

(V1.1)]

[/font]
[/font]for
for "sweep~organize", instead of the word employed

by both the Peshitta and Mar Aphrahat - [font=Estrangelo

0mx[/font]

(V1.1)]

So what do you think here, Akhi - should we believe the "scholarly consensus" about
a long-missing Diatesseron.....or what? (it sure as heck ain't Old Scratch Mar

Aphrahat is using!)
Back to
top

Paul
Younan

Posted: Mon Oct 06, 2003 2:05 pm

Post subject:

Site Admin

Akhi Yuri,
Joined: 05
Sep 2003
Posts: 1251
Location:
Chicago, IL
USA

It's quite lonesome over here all by myself.

Don't you have anything to say about these examples so far? Should I find about 20
more direct quotes from the Peshitta by Mar Aphrahat?

Back to
top

Andrew
Gabriel
Roth

Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2003 8:45 pm

Post subject: Mar Aphrahat

Akhi Paul,
Joined: 06
Sep 2003
Posts: 136

This is awesome stuff! I for one want to see as many of these examples and you
have the patience to put up here. I imagine that this great man must also be known
as "Aphraates" by Lamsa, when he talks about an early commentary being made on
the Peshitta.
So, if Mar Apharat wrote early to middle fourth century, that would mean his proof
texts from the Peshitta would clearly predate both Old Scratch mss.

I may add these into an appendix or extra section in RUACH QADIM or a subsequent
work. Perhaps it will go in the hardcover version when published, but I would like to
see a lot more of these to make a killer presentation of it.
Shlama w'burkate
Andrew Gabriel Roth
Back to
top

drmlanc
Guest

Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2003 9:27 pm

Post subject: .

""So, if Mar Apharat wrote early to middle fourth century, that would mean his proof
texts from the Peshitta would clearly predate both Old Scratch mss.
""
I never even thought of that!
Back to
top

Paul
Younan

Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2003 9:53 pm

Post subject:

Site Admin

Shlama Akhi Andrew,

Joined: 05
Sep 2003
Posts: 1251
Location:
Chicago, IL
USA

No prob - I will get more of these....

The process is painstaking because, most of the time, Mar Aphrahat (a.k.a,
"Aphraates", "Parhad", etc.) really is re-wording and re-formulating, and just plain
recalling from memory.
My only goal was to show that the probability of his paraphrasing matching up
directly with the Peshitta (the text he was paraphrasing) would far outnumber the
times where it seemed he might be quoting something else - it's just random. (and
sometimes not quoting anything at all, like the earlier example on this forum about
Martha being told "If you have faith....")

See what I mean?

The theory is that Mar Aphrahat used the Peshitta, and sometimes he quoted directly

from it and sometimes he just paraphrased. That's the goal of these posts......to
demonstrate some direct quotes from the Peshitta and at the same time show some
quotes that match nothing in existence - therefore proving the theory that he used
the Peshitta - and only the Peshitta.....and perhaps some "literary genius."
You see, the reason Akhan Yuri hasn't answered yet (God love him!) is that these
examples don't fit into their theory. How could Mar Aphrahat be quoting a version
which supposedly didn't exist until a hundred years after he was buried? (quotes,
mind you, directly from the Peshitta and directly against the Old Scratch readings.)
According to this latest view, the Old Scratch was the basis for the Diatesseron
harmony of Tatian.
Who laid that egg? I have no idea. But I know many people tried real hard to hatch
it.
I guess those scholars should paraphrase their "consensus!"

The gall of these people - to think they can come around and tell millions of people
throughout the world who have a 2,000 year-old history that they don't even know
the story of their own texts - that they really were waiting around for 21st-century
American philosophists to edumacate them and set them straight.
Sheesh!
Back to
top

drmlanc
Guest

Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2003 10:22 pm

Post subject: .

"The gall of these people "

Yeah the anger of these people amazes me too...

""to edumacate them ""

Too much Simpsons for you...
""to think they can come around and tell millions of people throughout the world who
have a 2,000 year-old history that they don't even know the story of their own
texts""
So do you have quotes from the Church etc that the Peshitta is the original? Just the
stuff I'm looking for for the historical compendium. Do you have quotes for each book
(22/27) of its Aramaic primacy?
Back to
top

Paul
Younan

Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2003 8:13 am

Post subject: Re: .

Site Admin

drmlanc wrote:
Joined: 05
Sep 2003
Posts: 1251
Location:
Chicago, IL
USA

"The gall of these people "

Yeah the anger of these people amazes me too...

Heheheh
drmlanc wrote:
So do you have quotes from the Church etc that the Peshitta is the ori
original?
ginal?

Just the stuff I'm looking for for the historical compendium. Do you have quotes
for each book (22/27) of its Aramaic primacy?

Akhi, this was not an issue before. Nobody talked about what language the books
were originally written in because they did not even know that centuries later, people
would be claiming that a foreign language was it.
This is the universal tradition among all the churches in Asia all the way to India, and
Japan before Tamerlane wiped out 99.999999% of the church.

This is why all the churches, bar none, venerate the Peshitta and no other version
(not just the Church of the East, but the Maronites, Jacobites, Chaldeans, Indians,
etc.)
No other version is allowed in their worship and their liturgical readings. That all
these churches hate each other from 431 AD also says alot, because they all use the
same version. It must have been well established centuries before these splits for all
sides to unanimously adopt them as their official version......otherwise, why would
they adopt the version of their hated enemies?
When I talk of the "history" behind the primacy of the Peshitta, I am not referring to
words but to the actions of these particular communities.
As the old saying goes....actions speak a lot louder than words....
Paul
Younan

Posted: Sat Oct 04, 2003 10:11 pm

Post subject: Mar Aphrahat and Mattai 5:16

Site Admin

Shlama Akhi Yuri,

Joined: 05
Sep 2003
Posts: 1251
Location:
Chicago, IL
USA

In Mar Aphrahat's Demonstrations on Faith

Faith,, we have the following reference from
Mattai 5:16:

Yhwxyl4l rm0 Bwtw

04nynb Mdq Jwkrhwn rhnnd
0b= Jwkydb9 Jwzxnd[/font]
[font=Estrangelo (V1.1)]

"And again he said to his Apostles:

Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works"
(see CAL's citation on chapter 1)
Now, let's looky at how the Peshitta and Old Scratch read:

Peshitta:
[font=Estrangelo (V1.1)]

04nynb Mdq Jwkrhwn rhnn

0b= Jwkydb9 Jwzxnd[/font]
"Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works" (exactly 100%

like Mar Aphrahat)

Old Scratch Sinaiticus:

04n0 Ynb Mdql Jwkrhwn rhnn

[font=Estrangelo (V1.1)]

0ryp4 Jwkydb9 Jwzxnd[/font]

"Let your light shine before (with Lamadh Proclitic) men, that they may see your
beautiful works"

Old Scratch Cureton:

04n0 Ynb Mdq Jwkrhwn rhnn

0ryp4 Jwkydb9 Jwzxnd[/font]
[font=Estrangelo (V1.1)]

"Let your light shine before men, that they may see your beautiful works"

There you have it my man, Mar Aphrahat here agrees 100% with the Peshitta, but
here are the problems with Old Scratch:

(1) Sinaiticus has a Lamad Proclitic before "qdam" - and Mar Aphrahat does

not.
(2) Both Sinaiticus and Cureton have "Shapir" (beautiful) before "works",
whereas Mar Aphrahat and the Peshitta agree against them with ""Tawa
Tawa" "good".
(3) Finally, both Old Scratch (s) and (c) have "Bnay Anasha" (men) as
distinct words - whereas Mar Aphrahat and the Peshitta have the
them
m combined.

Where is this "scholarly consensus" Akhi?

Paul
Younan

Posted: Sat Oct 04, 2003 8:55 pm

Post subject: Mar Aphrahat and Yukhanan 10:27

Site Admin

Shlama Akhi Yuri,

Joined: 05
Sep 2003
Posts: 1251
Location:
Chicago, IL
USA

Looky, looky!
Here is a quote from Mar Aphrahat's Demonstrations on Faith:

0n0 rm0d Mdmd Yhwdymltl ryg rm0

0ryhnb Jwtn0 Yhwrm0 0kw4xb Jwkl[/font]
[font=Estrangelo (V1.1)]

This is translated "For he said to his disciples: whatever I tell you in the darkness,
proclaim in the light (Nahira)."
Now. let's looky-looky at how the Peshitta and Old Scratch read here:
Yukhanan 10:27:
Peshitta:

0ryhnb Jwtn0 Yhwrm0 0kw4xb Jwkl

[font=Estrangelo (V1.1)]

0n0 rm0d Mdm

[/font]
"Whatever I tell you in the darkness, proclaim in the light (Nahira)."

Old Scratch:

0rhwnb Jwtn0 Yhwrm0 0kw4xb Jwkl

[font=Estrangelo (V1.1)]

0nrm0d Mdm
[/font]
"Whatever I tell you in the darkness, proclaim in the light (Nuhra)."
See Akhi Yuri, the quote given by Mar Aphrahat not only matches the Peshitta 100%

- but I've also demonstrated that there are two major differences between the
quotation given by Mar Aphrahat and the Old Scratch:

(1) The "Emar ena" (I said) a

are
re two distinct words in Aphrahat, but a
combined word in Old Scratch.
(2) Instead of "Nahira" for "light" as Aphrahat and the Peshitta have it, Old
Scratch has "Nuhra".

What Akhi? Does this mean that Mar Aphrahat was quoting from the Peshitta,
paraphrasing - or quoting from a long-lost "Old Syriac Diatesseron?"
He certainly wasn't quoting Old Scratch!
Paul
Younan

Posted: Sat Oct 04, 2003 8:21 pm

Post subject: Mar Aphrahat and Yukhanan 13:34

Site Admin

Shlama Akhi Yuri,

Joined: 05
Sep 2003
Posts: 1251
Location:
Chicago, IL
USA

In Mar Aphrahat's Demonstrations on Faith

Faith,, he puts these words in Meshikha's mouth:

Yhwdymltl rm0 0nkh

dxl dx Jwmxrtd Yndqwp wh 0nhd [/font]
(see CAL citation, Chapter 1 on Aphrahat's Demonstrations)
This is translated "Thus he spoke to his disciples: This is my commandment - that you love
one another."
Now to prove to you that Mar Aphrahat was simply [i">paraphrasing,

and not directly

quoting either the Peshitta or Old Scratch, I have provided their
direct wordings for three dif
different
ferent verses in Yukhanan which record a
similiar saying by Meshikha:

Yukhanan 13:34:
Peshitta:
[font=Estrangelo (V1.1)]dxl

dx Nybxm Jwtywhd Jwkl 0n0 Bhy

Fdx 0ndqwp[/font]
"A new commandment I give to you - that you should love one
another."
Old Scratch:
[font=Estrangelo (V1.1)]dxl

dx Nybxm Jwwhtd Jwkl 0nbhy

Fdx 0ndqwp[/font]
"A new commandment I give to you - that you should be loving to
one another."

Yukhanan 15:12
Peshitta:
[font=Estrangelo (V1.1)]dxl

dx Jwbxtd Yndqwp wnh[/font]

"This is my commandment = that you should love one another."

Old Scratch:
[font=Estrangelo (V1.1)]dxl

dx Jwbxtd Yndqwp wnh[/font]

(same reading)
Yukhanan 15:17
Peshitta:
[font=Estrangelo (V1.1)]dxl

dx Jwbxtd Jwkl 0n0 dqpm

Nylh[/font]
"this I command you: to love one another"
Old Scratch:
[font=Estrangelo (V1.1)]dxl

dx Nymxr Jwwhtd Jwkl 0ndqpm

Nyd 0dh[/font]
"this, therefore, I command you: to be loving to one another."

Akhi Yuri - can you tell me whether or not Mar Aphrahat is citing any
specific version here - or is he simply paraphrasing?
Or, is he supposedly quoting from a long-lost (possibly never having
existed) "Old Scratch Diatesseron?"
Paul
Younan

Posted: Sat Oct 04, 2003 4:54 pm

Post subject: Mar Aphrahat and Lazarus

Site Admin

Shlama Akhi Yuri,

Joined: 05
Sep 2003
Posts: 1251
Location:
Chicago, IL
USA

In Mar Aphrahat's Demonstrations on Faith, he puts these words in Meshikha's

mouth:

Ykwx0 Mwqn Ytnmyhmd wh J0[/font] (see

[font=Estrangelo (V1.1)]

http://cal1.cn.huc.edu/cgi-bin/analysis.cgi?voffset=63450%2079873 )
This is translated: "If you believe, your brother shall rise".
Mar Aphrahat was commenting on the raising of Lazarus, and he quoted Meshikha as
saying these words to Martha.
Now, can you please tell me where Mar Aphrahat is quoting from?
Paul
Younan
Site

Posted: Sat Sep 27, 2003 11:04 am

Post subject: Mar Aphrahat and Mattai 1:23

Admin

Shlama Akhay,

Joined: 05
Sep 2003
Posts:
1251
Location:
Chicago,
IL USA

Mar Aphrahat (the "Persian Sage") lived c.280-367. He wrote extensively, but very little of his writings
have survived to this day. One of these works is called "Demonstrations", and it is available in the CAL
database.
It is commonly claimed that Mar Aphrahat used either the Diatesseron or Old Scratch in his scriptural
commentaries, and not the Peshitta since it is commonly held that he lived before the time of the Peshitta.
But the reality is that Mar Aphrahat for the most part does not give direct scriptural quotes of any known
version. Most of the time, he appears to be going from memory or paraphrasing from the Peshitta.
Mattai 1:23 is an example of this:
In the original Aramaic of Aphrahat, we read the following quote from Isaiah 7:14 and Mattai 1:23:

0rqtnw dl0tw N=bt Flwtb 0hd[/font]

Nm9 Jhl0 Yhwty0d Ly0wnm9 hm4

[font=Estrangelo (V1.1)]

[/font]

"Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear; and His name shall be called Emmanuel,
that is, our God with us."
First of all, this verse exists nowhere in any version or translation of the Diatesseron - so we can rule out
the Diatesseron completely.
There are 4 possibilities left:

(1) He was quoting the Peshitta of Isaiah 7:14 (he used the Peshitta Tanakh)
(2) He was directly quoting Mattai 1:23 using Old Scratch
(3) He was directly quoting Mattai 1:23 using the Peshitta
(4) He was paraphrasing, or recalling the scriptures from memory

Which of these scenarios are the most likely?

Well, he could not have been quoting the Peshitta Tanakh - since the words "a Son"
are not present in his quote. The Peshitta Tanakh has "she will bear a Son".
So we can rule out #1 as a possibility.
Now, let's look at scenarios 2 and 3. Here is the reading of Mattai 1:23 from both
versions:
[img">http://www.peshitta.org/images/mattai123.jpg[/img:59e8221392]
We can rule out scenarios 2 and 3 altogether. Firstly, they both contain the "a Son"
reading just like the Peshitta Tanakh of Isaiah 7:14. Secondly, they have

Mgrttmd

[font=Estrangelo (V1.1)]

[/font](which is interepreted) instead of

the word that Mar Aphrahat used

Yhwty0d [/font](which is).

[font=Estrangelo (V1.1)]

We are left with only one other possible, reasonable scenario. That is that
Mar Aphraht freely paraphrases or in some cases may be recalling scripture
from memory.
This leaves Mar Aphrahat's writings very vulnerable to attacks by Greek Primacists
who insist that he used the Diatesseron - since the Diatesseron doesn't even exist
anymore so that we could compare the readings and refut
refute
e the Greek primacists.
The argument that Mar Aphrahat used the Diatesseron is an argument from silence
an almost impossible charge to prove, or to defend against.

In this case, however, there is no valid translation of the Diatesseron

(the Arabic or the Latin) which contains this reading. Tatian simply did not appear to include this

passage in his harmony of the 4 Gospels.

Therefore I submit that Mar Aphrahat in this case was not directly quoting

any known (or unknown) version, but it is very evid

evident
ent that he was simply

"targumming."

Back to
top
yuku

Posted: Mon Sep 29, 2003 12:56 pm

Post subject: Re: Mar Aphrahat and Mattai 1:23

Paul Younan wrote:

Joined: 06
Sep 2003
Posts: 58
Location:
Toronto,
Canada

Shlama Akhay,
Mar Aphrahat (the "Persian Sage") lived c.280-367. He wrote extensively, but
very little of his writings have survived to this day. One of these works is called
"Demonstrations", and it is available in the CAL database.
It is commonly claimed that Mar Aphrahat used either the Diatesseron or Old
Scratch in his scriptural commentaries, and not the Peshitta since it is commonly
held that he lived before the time of the Peshitta.

[snip]
First of all, this verse exists nowhere in any version or translation of the
Diatesseron - so we can rule out the Diatesseron completely.

Sorry, Paul, but actually this verse is present in all the Diatessarons that I've
consulted so far.

For example, this is what we find in the Arabic Diatessaron,

6166 Behold, the virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, And they shall call his name
Immanuel, which is, being interpreted, With us is our God.
But, in any case, the differences between the many different versions of tthis
his verse
don't seem to be all that significant.

Shlama,
Yuri.
Back to
top

Paul
Younan

Posted: Mon Sep 29, 2003 2:09 pm

Site Admin

yuku wrote:

Post subject: Re: Mar Aphrahat and Mattai 1:23

Joined: 05
Sep 2003
Posts:
1251
Location:
Chicago, IL
USA

Sorry, Paul, but actually this verse is present in all the Diatessarons that I've

consulted so far.
For example, this is what we find in the Arabic Diatessaron,
6166 Behold, the virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, And they shall call his
name Immanuel, which is, being interpreted, With us is our God.

OK - I see it in the Arabic Diatesseron - but still that version reads "A Son" - which is
absent in Mar Aphrahat.
This actually proves that Mar Aphrahat was not quoting the Diatesseron - otherwise
the words "A Son" should be present!
yuku wrote:
But, in any case, the differences between the many different versions of this
verse don't seem to be all that significant.

I disagree - for a direct quote the words should be 100% the same. T
They
hey are not therefore Mar Aphrahat cannot be quoting the Diatesseron. He was, as I stated paraphrasing.
Paul
Younan

Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2004 10:06 am

Post subject: Yukhanan 16:13

Site Admin

Shlama Akhi Antonio,

Joined: 05
I was wondering if I may ask you a question, since you studied Aramaic and NT
Sep 2003
history for one of your PhDs in Germany.
Posts:
1251
Location:
Are there any grammatical errors in this reading from Old Scratch?
Chicago, IL
USA

Old Scratch Yukhanan 16:13 wrote:

[font=Estrangelo (V1.1)]
0rr4 hlkb Jwkrbdt Yh 0rr4d 0xwr Nyd tt0d 0m
(m4td Lwk f0 h4pn Ny9r Nm Llmt fd L=m

Jwkrbst F0d 0m Lk L9w rm0t wh[/font]

Thank you for your assistance.

Paul
Younan
Site
Admin

Posted: Mon Nov 17, 2003 4:11 pm

Post subject: Evangelion de Mepharreshe

Shlama Akhay,
The "Life of Rabbula," a biography of the Monophysite Tyrant of Edessa composed

Joined:
shortly after his death by a colleague of his, contains the following quote:
05 Sep
2003
Quote:
Posts:
1251
By the wisdom of God that was in him he translated the New Testament from
Location:
Greek into Syriac because of its variations, exactly as it was.' (Rabul episcopi
Chicago,
Edesseni, Baleei, aliorumque opera selecta, Oxford 1865, ed. J. J. Overbeck)
IL USA

Here we have historical evidence that Rabbula made his own translation, or revision,
of some version of the Greek New Testament into Syriac. After the completion of
Rabbula's version, he sought to extinguish any other version of the scrip
scriptures
tures from his
episcopal territory:
Rabbula wrote:
'The presbyters and deacons shall see to it that in all the churches a copy of the
Evangelion de Mepharreshe shall be available and read'. (Th. Zahn,
Forschungen zur Geschichte des neutestamentlichen Kanons, i. (1881), p. 105.)

This title, Evangelion de Mepharreshe is a combination of Greek and Aramaic and

means "Separate Gospels." This name was intended to distinguish it from the
Diatesseron (or Gospel Harmony) of Tatian, which was very popular at th
the
e time in the
area of Edessa, his diocese. So Rabbula, in one of his numerous tirades, began to
suppress the Diatesseron in favor of his own translation.
Some modern idiots, headed by none other than F.C. Burkitt, in the early part of the
20th century theorized that this version which Rabbula made, the Evangelion de
Mepharreshe, is today known to us as the Peshitta.
We have already written about the researches of Arthur Voobus and Bruce Metzger,
who have thoroughly disproved this theory. The primary evi
evidence
dence against Burkitt's
theory is the quotations of the Gospels by Rabbula himself - they do not match the
Peshitta. In fact, Arthur Voobus proved that Rabbula did not even use the Peshitta.
The second reason why it is impossible to suppose that Rabbula created the Peshitta
is the acceptance of it as the official New Testament of the Church of the East. It is
unrealistic to imagine that the Church of the East would have accepted as its official
version a text produced by its chief opponent and persecuter.

The question remains, then - what version did Rabbula create? What is this
Evangelion de Mepharreshe ?
If you study the history of the Old Scratch manuscripts, you will come to the
conclusion that they were the product of Rabbula's translation effort. In fact, the
ending to the Gospel of John in the Old Scratch manuscripts reads this way:
Old Scratch wrote:

04rpmd Jwylgnw0 Ml4

"Shlam Evangelion de Mepharreshe"
"Here ends the Evangelion de Mepharreshe"
(c.f., Syriac Text at the Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon)

Rabbula created Old Scratch, not the Peshitta - which was never known by the name
of "Evangelion de Mepharreshe."
This is the reason why the Old Scratch was not used by the Church of the East, and
why it eventually fell out of use in ever
every
y other Church of the middle east (including
Rabbula's own Syriac Orthodox Church, which eventually reverted back to the
Peshitta) - only to find it's way to a dusty shelf in a Greek Orthodox monastery of
Egypt.
Last edited by Paul Younan on Fri Feb 10, 2006 9:59 pm; edited 1 time in total

Back to
top

judge

Joined: 11 Sep
2003
Posts: 170

Posted: Mon Nov 17, 2003 9:44 pm

Post subject:

Paul, is this the first time that the OS has been identified with the translation Rabula did?

Back to top

Paul Younan
Site Admin

Joined: 05 Sep
2003
Posts: 1251
Location:
Chicago, IL USA

Posted: Mon Nov 17, 2003 11:40 pm

Post subject:

Shlama Akhi Michael,

I'm not sure. But I'm finding additional evidence all over the place. I'm reading the
researches of Arthur Voobus right now, and I'm just stunned at how people could have
missed this connection.
Voobus demonstrates how Rabbula inserted readings known from Old Scratch ("Evangelion
de Mepharreshe") into a translation he made of one of Cyril of Alexandria's Greek letters,
where the underlying Greek of Cyril's letter cannot account for the biblical text Rabbula
used.
This shows beyond a doubt that Rabbula was responsible for Old Scratch. He used his own
translation - it all makes sense now. This clarifies Rabbula's ow
own
n rule which states, Let the
presbyters and deacons take care that in all the churches there should be the Evangelion de
Mepharreshe and it be read.
Voobus proves that the four gospels stipulated by Rabbula were the Old Syriac four gospels,
not the Peshitta. Even the Greek biography written after he died contains Old Scratch
gospel quotations taken from the Evangelion de Mepharreshe.
People have always wondered what his translation may have been, so much so that Burkitt
theorized (but Voobus and Metzg
Metzger
er later disproved) that it was the Peshitta. But all along,
the important clue in the name Evangelion de Mepharreshe was seemingly missed.......I
don't know whether anyone else has made this connection, or not.

Back to top

Rob Vanhoff

Posted: Tue Nov 18, 2003 6:31 pm

Post subject:

Shlama Akhi Paul,

Great post.

Joined: 05 Sep
2003
Posts: 61
Location:
Lynnwood, WA

I'd like to learn more about Rabbula's persecution of the C.O.E., and if there is any evidence
that he sought to discredit not only the Diatesseron, but the Peshitta.
Also, could you give a citation for A. Voobus' demonstration that Rabbula did not use the
Peshitta?

Thank you Akhi!

BTW - I visited St. Thomas Church this last Sunday. Totally English, but on the bullitin there
was the familiar [font=Estrangelo (V1.1)]hy[/font] !
I must say, coming from a conservative Lutheran background, it was composed of elements
familiar and foreign. Very intense...

Rob
Back to top

Paul Younan
Site Admin

Joined: 05 Sep
2003
Posts: 1251
Location:
Chicago, IL USA

Posted: Thu Nov 20, 2003 2:20 pm

Post subject:

Rob Vanhoff wrote:

Shlama Akhi Paul,

Great post.
I'd like to learn more about Rabbula's persecution of the C.O.E., and if there is any
evidence that he sought to discredit not only the Diatesseron, but the Peshitta.

Shlama Akhi Rob,

Sorry for the tardy response. For his persecution of the CoE, see Han J. W. Drijvers in
Journal of Early Christian Studies 4.2 (1996) pp 235-248 , Johns Hopkins University Press.
Rob Vanhoff wrote:
Also, could you give a citation for A. Voobus' demonstration that Rabbula did not use

the Peshitta?

Here are a few citations:

a.

lnvestigations into the Text of the New Testament used by Rabbula of Edessa,
Pinneberg, 1947.

b.

Researches on the Circulation of the Peshitto in the Middle of the Fifth Century,
Pinneberg, 1948.

c.

Neue Angeben Ueber, die Textgeschicht-Zustande in Edessa in den Jahren ca. 326340, Stockholm, 1951.

d.

Early Versions of the New Testament. Stockholm, 1954

Rob Vanhoff wrote:

Thank you Akhi!

BTW - I visited St. Thomas Church this last Sunday. Totally English, but on the bullitin
there was the familiar [font=Estrangelo (V1.1)]hy[/font] !
I must say, coming from a conservative Luthe
Lutheran
ran background, it was composed of
elements familiar and foreign. Very intense...

Rob

Cool. If you're ever in L.A., take a ride to Dean's parish. It's the other extreme (all Aramaic,

no English at all - not even the sermon.)

Back to top

judge

Posted: Fri Nov 21, 2003 4:40 am

Post subject:

Joined: 11 Sep
2003
Posts: 170

Paul, do you see any connection between the other problems yopu have pointed out
previously in the Old Syriac and the Rabulla?

Back to top

Paul Younan
Site Admin

Joined: 05 Sep
2003
Posts: 1251
Location:
Chicago, IL USA

Posted: Fri Nov 21, 2003 9:53 am

Post subject:

Well, it would explain why someone would have scratched off Old Scratch.

Back to top

judge

Joined: 11 Sep
2003
Posts: 170

Posted: Wed Mar 10, 2004 10:03 pm

Post subject:

Paul,
when you mention the Old Syriac here do you mean 'Codex Sinaiticus'?
If the codex sinaiticus is the work of Rabulla then what is the Cureton mss?
As I understnd both these mss differ from each other.

Back to top

judge

Joined: 11 Sep
2003
Posts: 170

Posted: Wed Mar 10, 2004 10:04 pm

Post subject:

judge wrote:
Paul,
when you mention the Old Syriac here do you mean 'Codex Sinaiticus'?
If the codex sinaiticus is the work of Rabulla then what is the Cureton mss?
As I understand both these mss differ from each other.

Back to top

Paul Younan
Site Admin

Joined: 05 Sep
2003
Posts: 1251
Location:
Chicago, IL USA

Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2004 5:48 pm

Post subject:

Shlama Akhi Michael,

Both texts are definitely related, the Cureton being a revision of the Sinaitic. Both read ~
90% the exact same, word-for-word. The other 10% represents a revision.

Back to top

yuku

Joined: 06 Sep
2003
Posts: 58
Location:
Toronto, Canada

Posted: Fri Apr 23, 2004 10:34 am

Paul Younan wrote:

Rabbula wrote:

Post subject: Re: Evangelion de Mepharreshe

'The presbyters and deacons shall see to it that in all the churches a copy of
the Evangelion de Mepharreshe shall be available and read'. (Th. Zahn,
Forschungen zur Geschichte des neutestamentlichen Kanons, i. (1881), p.

105.)

Shlama, Akhi Paul,

Yes, I agree with Voobus that Rabbula did not produce the Peshitta.
But beyond that, I'm not quite sure if I can understand your argument.
So, let's see... SyS uses the expression "Evangelion de Mepharreshe".
Also, Rabbula uses the expression "Evangelion de Mepharreshe".
So this means that Rabbula was the author of SyS? Is this your argument?

Best,
Yuri.
Back to top

Paul Younan
Site Admin

Joined: 05 Sep
2003
Posts: 1251
Location:
Chicago, IL USA

Posted: Fri Apr 23, 2004 10:49 am

Post subject:

Well, you have a nasty little habit of grossly oversimplifying my argumen

arguments.
ts. Here is the fuller
picture:
(1) We know from his biographer that Rabbula created his own translation from the Greek
("by the wisdom (!) of God that was in him (!) he translated the New Testament from Greek
into Syriac because of its variations, exactly as it was.")
(2) We know that Rabbula supressed the Diatesseron (only in the areas under his control, of
course) and replaced it with what he called the "Evangelion de Mepharreshe" ("....in all the
churches a copy of the Evangelion de Mepharreshe shal
shalll be kept and read")

(3) We know that Old Scratch Mattai starts with "here starts the Evangelion de
Mepharreshe" and that Old Scratch Yukhanan ends with "Is finished the Evangelion de
Mepharreshe"
(4) We know that no Peshitta manuscripts (or any other manuscripts) are known by this
name
(5) And, finally, we also know that Voobus proved that Rabbula did not quote from the
Peshitta.....that he did not even use it.
Back to top

Paul Younan
Site Admin

Joined: 05 Sep
2003
Posts: 1251
Location:
Chicago, IL USA

Posted: Fri Apr 23, 2004 11:10 am

Post subject:

Akhi Yuri,
How's the search for "eastern variants" coming along? I didn't send you off on a wild-goose
chase, did I?

Back to top

Paul Younan
Site Admin

Posted: Fri Apr 23, 2004 11:21 am

Post subject:

Joined: 05 Sep
2003
Posts: 1251
Location:
Chicago, IL USA

Shlama Akhi Yuri,

I'm assuming you can read Aramaic: what does it say on top of this manuscript?

Back to top

Paul Younan
Site Admin

Joined: 05 Sep
2003
Posts: 1251
Location:
Chicago, IL USA

Posted: Fri Apr 23, 2004 11:30 am

Post subject:

Shlama Akhi Yuri,

I'm gonna go out on a limb and assume that you know how to read the Serto script
(Jacobite) - what does it say on the bottom of this page of the Cureton version of Old
Scratch?

(Dave Bauschers translation: The Holy Gospel preaching of John The Apostle which he
spoke in Greek in Ephesus.)
Paul Younan
Site Admin

Joined: 05 Sep
2003
Posts: 1251
Location:
Chicago, IL USA

Posted: Fri Apr 23, 2004 11:45 am

Post subject:

Shlama Akhi Yuri,

Here is a scan from an eastern manuscript of the Peshitta which dates to before the Old
Scratch manuscript above which has "Evangelion de Mepharreshe" on the heading of the
manuscript.

Why does this 5th-century eastern copy of the Peshitta not have "Evangelion de
Mepharreshe" on the heading? (like Old Scratch does?)

Back to top

Paul
Younan
Site
Admin

Posted: Fri Apr 23, 2004 11:49 am

Post subject:

Akhi Yuri,
Here's another eastern Peshitta copy...this time from the 6th century....but, lookie!

Joined:
It's also missing the "Evangelion de Mepharreshe" heading like Old Scratch has?
05 Sep
What's going on here? Can you explain?
2003
Posts:
1251
Location:
Chicago,
IL USA

Paul
Younan
Site
Admin

Joined:
05 Sep
2003
Posts:
1251
Location:
Chicago,

Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2004 7:01 pm

Post subject: Mattai 20:28, Bezae and Old Scratch

Shlama Akhay,
Check out this spurious reading from Old Scratch in Mattai 20:28:
Rabbula the Maniac wrote:

IL USA

[font=Estrangelo (V1.1)]Jwbr0t Fwrw0z Nmd w0b Nyd

Jwtn0
0nynmdzmd 0m Jwr0zt Fwbr Nm fw
Nykmtsm Jwtywh f Fym4x0 tybl Jwtn0
rtymd Nm F0n fd Frtym Fkwdb
Brqt0 Fym4x0 0rm Kl rm0nw Knm
Nyd n0 0kyms Yny9b thbtw txtl
rycbd Nm F0nw Frycb Fkwdb Kmtst
Brqt0 Fym4x0 0rm Kl rm0nw Knm
Fxwb4t Kl 0whtw Kmts0w f9t0w
0kyms Yny9b Frtym

[/font]
Translation:
Quote:
"But you should seek to increase from that which is small, and to become less
from that which is greater. When you enter into a house and are summoned to
dine, do not sit down in the highest places, lest perchance a more honorable
man than you come in afterwards, and he who invited you to come should say
to you, go down lower; and you be ashamed. But if you sit down in the worst
place, and one worse than you should come in afterwards, then he that invited
you will say to you, go up higher; and this will be advantageous for you."

Why this addition of this spurious made-up reading? Well, the Bezae contains it....why

else?

A First Century Peshitta Manuscript, Dated and Signed!

William Cureton (1808 17 June 1864) was an English Orientalist, born in Westbury, Shropshire. After being educated at the
Adams' Grammar School in Newport, Shropshire and at Christ Church, Oxford, he took orders in 1832, became chaplain of
Christ Church, sublibrarian of the Bodleian, and, in 1837, assistant keeper of manuscripts in the British Museum. Cureton
became best known for his discovery of an old Syriac (Aramaic) manuscript of the four Gospels na
named
med after him- the Curetonian
manuscript. In 1845, he wrote the following:

These comments piqued my curiosity, especially the second one in the footnote. I did a little research and found the source he
named by J. S. Assemani- Bibliotheca Orientalis, Vol
Vol.. II, p. 486. There are online editions of the books available, however the
text is written mostly in Latin and has some Syriac Aramaic as well. Syriac is no problem for me to read and translate; Latin is
another matter, so I found a good Latin translation web site and managed, I think, to translate the Latin text involved.

The following is a digital photo of the text, with my translation:

Assemani Bibliotheca Orientalis Vol. II, p. 486

Here is the translation of the Latin which precedes and introduces the Syriac annotation:
Machichae Bishop of Geslunae note in the end of a certain Gospel book by an amanuensis copied note at the end book
Gospel(s)of recorded writings which the amanuensis in these words copied from a certain very ancient Gospel which would come
out from the Holy Roman Church Household.
In the city of Baghdad was a certain Gospel of Edessa (this is the Syriac Edessa indeed), but it is in fact clear and distinct, from
which place not even an iota (I)-indeed a single thing deleted was destroyed, but clearly which as one recent book was very

anciently noted moreso than earlier predecessors quinternios (five books) which proceed before antiquity; therefore the same had
been cut out up unto the same truth. Certainly it passes the goal line. Thus it is written (Please excuse the translation errors, all
you Latin experts):
My translation of the Syriac subscription: This holy book was finished Thursday, December 18th, in the year 389 of the
Greeks (AD 78), in the handwriting of the hand of Akhay, fellow Apostle of Mari (Mar) Maray, the Disciple of Mari
(Mar) Addai the Apostle. His prayer be with us. Amen.
Giuseppe Simone Assemani, whose work is referenced above Yusuf ibn Siman as-Simani, English: Joseph Simon Assemani,
Latin: Ioseph Simonius Assemanus), 16871768, was a Lebanese Maronite orientalist.
Giuseppe Simone Assemani was born on 27 August 1687 in Hasroun, Mount Lebanon.[1] When very young he was sent to the
Maronite College in Rome, and was transferred thence to the Vatican library. He was ordained priest on 21 September 1710.[2] In
1717 he was sent to Egypt and Syria to search for valuable manuscripts, and returned with about 150 very choice ones. In 1735
Pope Clement XII sent him again to the East where he presided over the 1736 Maronite Synod of Mount-Lebanon, which laid the
foundations for the modern Maronite Church. He returned with a still more valuable collection. He later played a significant role
in mediating several crises in the Maronite Church hierarchy by virtue of his influence in Rome and his knowledge of the
Maronite Church.
On his return he was made, in 1739, First Librarian of the Vatican library. As reward of his activity he was consecrated titular
archbishop of Tyre on 7 December 1766.[1] by Prince Henry Cardinal Stuart, Duke of York. He died in Rome on 13 January
1768.
When appointed librarian of the Vatican library he instantly began to carry into execution most extensive plans for editing and
publishing the most valuable manuscript treasures of the Vatican. His main work is:

Bibliotheca Orientalis Clementino-Vaticana in qua manuscriptos codices Syriacos, Arabicos, Persicos, Turcicos,
Hebraicos, Samaritanos, Armenicos, Aethiopicos, Graecos, Aegyptiacos, Ibericos, et Malabaricos, jussu et
munificentia Clementis XI Pontificis Maximi ex Oriente conquisitos, comparatos, et Bibliotecae Vaticanae addictos
Recensuit, digessit, et genuina scripta a spuriis secrevit, addita singulorum auctorum vita, Joseph Simonius
Assemanus, Syrus Maronita (Rome, 17191728), 9 vols folio
The Bible of the Maronite church is- The Peshitta.
His description of the Gospels manuscript referenced above is doubtless a Peshitta manuscript, whose original
exemplar was dated AD 78. The Maronite Church would have used nothing but a Peshitta manuscript for its church
liturgy, readings and homilies in the 18th century and prior.
There is a lot of controversy about which New Testament manuscripts are the closest to the original manuscripts, but
there is no known manuscript with an actual date on it which assures it was actually written in the first century, except
this one of the Gospels which is noticed, cited and translated by Giuseppe Assemani in 1728.
The specificity of the citation is compelling, inspiring the trust of the reader that the scribe who wrote it was testifying
to the day, month and year of the writing of the manuscript -(AD 78 in a traditional 1st century date method using 311
BC as a starting point).He also named the copyist as Akhay, fellow Apostle Mar Maray, the disciple of Addai, who
was the Apostle(of Jesus)!
But I am not surprised. I have seen many other evidences that the Peshitta was not only written in the 1st century, but
that it is the original God written New Testament. They will be forthcoming. For now, I can say that the very best
evidence I know is the Peshitta itself. If you read it and compare it to other New Testaments, either the Aramaic text
itself, or a good translation of it, you will see and hear the divinity of its words, if you read it with your heart and mind
in The Spirit by whom it was written. I will go even a step further and say, if you read the Peshitta in The Spirit by
whom it was written, you will hear, not only the words, but the very voice of God.