Latinisms in mark

[Paul Younan]

Shlama Akhi Michael,

I don't know what verse this person is referring to, but in the Peshitta Mattai 27:26 contains the native Aramaic "pragela" - the entry is here from CAL:

prgl N prgl)
1 CPA,Syr whip
LS2 592
LS2 v: prAgelA)

This word comes from the Aramiac verb:

prgl V
091 Syr to warn
092 Syr to send a denunciation
093 Syr to stir up
094 Syr to prohibit
095 Syr to hold back
096 Syr to impede
097 Syr to reproach
098 JLATg to whip
121 Syr to be stirred up
122 Syr to be forbidden
123 Syr to be impeded
124 Syr to be reproached
LS2 592

The word also occurs in Yukhanan 2:15, and nobody would argue for a "Latinism" here.

The word is used in several other Aramaic sources, including The Syro-Roman Lawbook (see http://cal1.cn.huc.edu/cgi-bin/showtexts...word=60301)

Akhi, you have to remember that these people do not know enough about the history of Aramaic, and its interaction with and influence on other languages like Greek and Latin. All these languages borrowed heavily from one another.

For instance, the word English word TUNIC, from Latin, entered Latin from Phoenician (through Punic), which in turn had borrowed it from Akkadian, which in turn had borrowed it from Sumerian ("gada", linen), a non-Semitic language of ancient Mesopotamia.

But if you ask any linguist, there is no reason why TUNIC isn't a perfectly Latin word.

Things are not always as simple as they seem when it comes to linguistics. <!-- s --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/smile.gif" alt="" title="Smile" /><!-- s -->