Transcript Peshitta F=y4p - Peshitta Aramaic/English Interlinear New Testament

Comunicación y Gerencia
Peshitta
F=y4p
The Original Aramaic New Testament
of the Church of the East
Presented on February 24, 2008. St. Mary’s, Detroit Michigan
What is the
Peshitta?
“…the Church of the East
received the scriptures from
the hands of the blessed
Apostles themselves in the
Aramaic original, the
language spoken by our
Lord Jesus Christ Himself,
and…the Peshitta is the text
of the Church of the East
which has come down from
the Biblical times without
any change or revision."
•+Mar Eshai Shimun
Contains same books as the
Western Canon of scripture,
except for 2 Peter, 2 & 3
John, Jude and Revelation.
Divided into 3 sections:
The
Peshitta
Canon
Gospels
Acts & Universal Epistles
Epistles of Paul
Similar to Jewish OT canon:
Law
Prophets
Writings
The words of Moses are
preserved to this day in
Hebrew, the language he
used.
Why
Aramaic?
The words of Muhammad
are preserved to this day in
Arabic, the language he
used.
The Aramaic words of Jesus
are preserved to this day
in……Greek?
Is Christianity the only
religion where the written
word is in a language other
than that of the founder?
Aramaic or
Greek…
does it
really
matter?
• Something is always lost
in translation
• Likewise, something is
always added in translation
• That is why it’s so
important to establish the
original language of the
scripture
• It’s important to learn
Aramaic, but it’s even more
important to THINK in
Aramaic
• Different languages have
different psyches,
overtones and resonances
…even in synonymous
expressions
What
evidence
do we have
of an
Aramaic
original?
• Contradictions
• Wordplays
• Mistranslations
• Syntax
• Polysemy
• Parallelisms
Example of a Contradition
Who named the child?
“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign; Behold, a virgin will
conceive, and bear a son, and she will call his name Immanuel.”
Isaiah 7:14
Greek Gospels
Matthew 1:21 – “She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name
Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
Luke 1:31 – “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a
son, and you shall name Him Jesus.”
The Aramaic Solution
In the Aramaic original of Matthew 1:21, the verb “call”, “Teqra”, is in
a form that can be either 2nd-person masculine, or 3rd-person
feminine.
It is Mary who named the child. The Peshitta solves the
contradiction in the Greek version.
What
evidence
do we have
of an
Aramaic
original?
• Contradictions
• Wordplays
• Mistranslations
• Syntax
• Polysemy
• Parallelisms
Examples of Wordplays
Luke 7:41-42
“Two men owed money to a certain debtor. One owed him five
hundred silver pieces, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the
money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which
of them will love him more?” (Debt = Khoba, Love = Khuba)
John 8:34
“Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of
sin. ” (commits = abed, slave = abada)
What
evidence
do we have
of an
Aramaic
original?
• Contradictions
• Wordplays
• Mistranslations
• Syntax
• Polysemy
• Parallelisms
Examples of Mistranslations
Mark 9:49
“And everything will be salted with fire, and every sacrifice will be
seasoned with salt.” (Greek version)
Salted with fire?
Solution: Aramaic word “melakh” can mean “salt” or “destroy.”
In Aramaic, this also becomes a word-play on the dual meaning of
“melakh.”
Examples of Mistranslations
Acts 2:24
“Whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of Sheol, because it
was not possible that He should be held by it .” (Greek version)
Loosed the “pains” of death?
Solution: Aramaic word “khawle” can mean “cords” or “pains.”
Evidence from the Old Testament (same word in Hebrew):
2 Samuel 22:6 - Where the verse reads - "The cords of Sheol
surrounded me; the snares of death confronted me.”
Psalms 1163 - "The cords of death encompassed me, And the terrors
of Sheol came upon me; I found distress and sorrow.”
Examples of Mistranslations
Acts 8:23
“For I perceive that you are in a gall of bitterness, and in the bonds of
iniquity.” (Greek version)
Gall of bitterness?
Solution: Aramaic word “Kabda” can mean “anger” or “liver.” The
“gall of bitterness” is properly translated “bile”, a fluid secreted by
the liver.
In Aramaic psyche, the liver is the organ responsible for
bitterness/anger. The verse should be translated “in a bitter anger.”
Examples of Mistranslations
Matthew 7:6
“Give not a holy thing to dogs: and cast not your pearls before swine;
lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.”
(Greek version)
Holy Thing?
Solution: Aramaic word “Qudsha” can mean “holy” or “ring.” Instead
of “give”, the Aramaic word “Tala” should be translated “hang.” The
entire verse should be translated:
“Do not hang rings on dogs: and cast not your pearls before swine;
lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.”
(Aramaic version)
What
evidence
do we have
of an
Aramaic
original?
• Contradictions
• Wordplays
• Mistranslations
• Syntax
• Polysemy
• Parallelisms
Examples of Semitic Syntax
Preposition Repetition
A characteristic feature of Semitic grammar is the repetition of a
preposition before every noun of a series which it governs. Such a
construction is intolerable in literary Greek (as it is in English.)
Example from the Old Testament
“Then Joshua came at that time and cut off the Anakim from the hill
country, from Hebron, from Debir, from Anab and from all the hill
country of Judah and from all the hill country of Israel. Joshua utterly
destroyed them with their cities.” (Joshua 11:21)
Examples of Semitic Syntax
Preposition Repetition
Example from the Greek New Testament
“Jesus withdrew to the sea with His disciples; and a great multitude
from Galilee followed; and also from Judea, and from Jerusalem, and
from Idumea, and from beyond the Jordan, and from Tyre, and from
Sidon, a great number of people heard of all that He was doing and
came to Him.” (Mark 3:7-8)
Proper Greek (and English) Grammar would be:
“Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lake, and a large crowd from Galilee followed.
8When they heard all he was doing, many people came to him from Judea, Jerusalem,
Idumea, and the regions across the Jordan and around Tyre and Sidon.” (NIV English)
Examples of Semitic Syntax
Preposition Repetition
Examples of different translation styles
To illustrate this concept a little further, I'd like to demonstrate how
two different translators approached this problem.
If different books were translated from the Aramaic originals into
Greek, we would expect that each translator would have different
styles and preferences.
For instance, one Greek translator may decide that the rules of Greek
grammar are more important, while the other translator may decide
that he will follow it word-for-word, translating the redundant
preposition, even at the expense of proper Greek grammar.
Examples of Semitic Syntax
Preposition Repetition
Examples of different translation styles
The verses in question are synoptic cognates in Matthew 16:21 and
Mark 8:31. In Aramaic, Matthew 16:21 reads:
“And He would suffer much by the Elders and by the High Priests.”
The Greek translator responsible for translating Matthew decided to
polish the Greek and avoid the use of the redundant preposition, in
accordance with proper Greek grammar. He omits the repetitive
second “by.”
Examples of Semitic Syntax
Preposition Repetition
Examples of different translation styles
The verses in question are synoptic cognates in Matthew 16:21 and
Mark 8:31. In Aramaic, Mark 8:31 reads:
“And He would suffer much and be rejected by the Elders and by the
High Priests.”
The Greek translator responsible for translating Mark decided to
translate more conservatively and follow the original Aramaic
grammar word-for-word. He preserves the repetitive second “by.”
What
evidence
do we have
of an
Aramaic
original?
• Contradictions
• Wordplays
• Mistranslations
• Syntax
• Polysemy
• Parallelisms
Polysemy is a Greek word
that means “multiple
meanings.”
What is
Polysemy?
A word is judged to be
polysemous if it has two
senses or meanings that are
unrelated.
English example:
“Mole” is a small, furry
burrowing animal. It can
also mean a blemish on the
surface of the skin.
Context is very important:
what does “Getting rid of a
mole” mean?
Why is Polysemy Important?
Different translators will choose different meanings when translating
a word that is polysemous. If a translator in one region uses the first
meaning for a polysemous word in his translation, and another uses
the second meaning, we can ascertain the original language of a
document.
The “Mole” Example:
Suppose two men in China are translating a book, and in their
translations we find the following:
“Mary paid a lot of money to get rid of that annoying blemish on her
skin”
“Mary paid a lot of money to get rid of that annoying furry, small
burrowing animal.”
We can easily ascertain that the original language was English.
Examples of Polysemy
Matthew 11:19
“But wisdom is justified of her children (teknon).” (Byzantine Greek
texts, KJV)
“But wisdom is justified of her works (ergon).” (Alexandrian Greek
texts, NASB)
The Aramaic root, “b-n-a”, can mean to “build” and also “offspring”:
The Greek translators mistook “Bnayah” to mean “her children”
instead of the proper translation of “her works.”
Examples of Polysemy
1Corinthians 13:3
“And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I
give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me
nothing.” (Byzantine Greek texts)
“And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I
give my body that I may boast, and have not charity, it profiteth me
nothing .” (Alexandrian Greek texts)
The Aramaic root, “y-q-d”, can mean “burn” and also “boast”.
Examples of Polysemy
Romans 8:24
“For if we see it, do we hope (elpis) for it? ” (Byzantine Greek texts)
“For if we see it, do we wait (dechomai) for it? ” (Alexandrian Greek
texts)
The Aramaic root, “s-k-y”, can mean “hope” and also “wait”.
The two Greek words are listed below. Notice how different they are.
Examples of Polysemy
Philippians 1:8
“I long for all of you in the bowels of Jesus Christ.” (Byzantine Greek
texts)
“I long for all of you in the love of Jesus Christ.” (Alexandrian Greek
texts)
The Aramaic root, “r-kh-m”, can mean “bowels” and also “love”.
In Semitic thought, the bowels are viewed as the seat of compassion
(as the heart is the organ viewed as the seat of intellect and wisdom.)
What
evidence
do we have
of an
Aramaic
original?
• Contradictions
• Wordplays
• Mistranslations
• Syntax
• Polysemy
• Parallelisms
A parallelism is a literary
device where a passage
exploits both meanings of a
word simultaneously.
What is a
Parallelism?
The parallelism hinges on
the use of a single word
with two entirely different
meanings: one meaning
paralleling what precedes,
and the other meaning,
what follows.
The technique is commonly
used in Semitic literature.
Examples of Parallelisms
Song of Songs 2:12
"The blossoms are seen in the land
- the time of Zemar has arrived and the voice of the turtledove
is heard in our land."
The Hebrew word, “Zemar”, can mean “prune” or “sing.” Thus, paralleled
with what precedes, it takes the meaning 'to prune'. Paralleled with the 'voice'
and 'heard' which follow, it takes the meaning 'to sing'.
Examples of Parallelisms
James 3:18
“And the fruit (peera) of righteousness is sown in Shayna of them
that make peace (shlama)” (Aramaic Peshitta NT)
The Aramaic word, “Shayna”, can mean “cultivated land” or “tranquility.”
Thus, paralleled with what precedes, it takes the meaning ‘land‘ and exploits
the meaning of the seed of the fruit being sown.
Paralleled with the ‘peace‘ (shlama) which follows, it exploits the alternate
meaning of ‘tranquility'.
This does not work in the Greek, which has the same word, “eyrene”, for
both Shayna and Shlama.
Examples of Parallelisms
Matthew 13:31-32
“The Kingdom of Heaven is likened to a grain of mustard seed,
which a man took and sowed in his field. When it has grown, it is
greater than all the herbs. And it becomes a tree, so that the
Parakhta of heaven will come and nest in its branches” (Aramaic
Peshitta NT)
The Aramaic word, “Parakhta”, can mean “blossom” or “bird.” Thus,
paralleled with what precedes, it takes the meaning ‘blossom‘ and exploits
the meaning of the seed of the fruit being sown.
Paralleled with the ‘heaven‘, ‘nest’ and ‘branches’ which follow, it exploits the
alternate meaning of ‘bird'.
This is, of course, totally lost in the Greek.
Final
Thoughts
“…Many of our Assyrian
people in America
unfortunately are unaware
of the key which we hold to
the Scriptures, and
especially to the New
Testament, through the
Aramaic language, the
language which our Lord
Jesus Christ spoke and
preached during His
mission on Earth."
+Mar Eshai Shimun
Comunicación y Gerencia
For more
information:
www.peshitta.org
Presented on February 24, 2008. St. Mary’s, Detroit Michigan