06-25-2008, 12:19 AM
Shalom Yochanan,
I respect the thoughtfulness of your post and there are valid points we can all agree on. Please give thought to the following:
(a) The Greek manuscript tradition is our best friend. We have an immense appreciation for these works, without which it would be much harder to prove the original language of the NT. The scribes, by and large, were very respectful to the original text that lay in front of them and it is because of this that we can ascertain the Semitic reality underneath the Greek skin.
(b) Jews at the time, and today, are a minority in the Aramaic-speaking world. The number of "Gentile" (Semitic, non-Jewish) nations who speak Aramaic are many today, and there were many more back in the time of the New Testament. Arameans, Phoenicians, Mesopotamians (Babylonian, Assyrian, Chaldean, Mandean, Hatran, etc.), Arabs, as well as non-Semitic nations like the Persians and certain Anatolians.....the list goes on and on.
For example, the Apostles and the Edtha (Congregation~Church) spread east of Jerusalem as well as west of Jerusalem. To the east of Jerusalem lay an immense population of Jewish, and non-Jewish, Aramaic speakers. Primarily non-Jewish.
I said that to say this: Aramaic had as much, if not much more, readership among "Gentiles" (Semitic and non-Semitic) as Greek did among"Gentiles".
+Shamasha Paul
I respect the thoughtfulness of your post and there are valid points we can all agree on. Please give thought to the following:
(a) The Greek manuscript tradition is our best friend. We have an immense appreciation for these works, without which it would be much harder to prove the original language of the NT. The scribes, by and large, were very respectful to the original text that lay in front of them and it is because of this that we can ascertain the Semitic reality underneath the Greek skin.
(b) Jews at the time, and today, are a minority in the Aramaic-speaking world. The number of "Gentile" (Semitic, non-Jewish) nations who speak Aramaic are many today, and there were many more back in the time of the New Testament. Arameans, Phoenicians, Mesopotamians (Babylonian, Assyrian, Chaldean, Mandean, Hatran, etc.), Arabs, as well as non-Semitic nations like the Persians and certain Anatolians.....the list goes on and on.
For example, the Apostles and the Edtha (Congregation~Church) spread east of Jerusalem as well as west of Jerusalem. To the east of Jerusalem lay an immense population of Jewish, and non-Jewish, Aramaic speakers. Primarily non-Jewish.
I said that to say this: Aramaic had as much, if not much more, readership among "Gentiles" (Semitic and non-Semitic) as Greek did among"Gentiles".
+Shamasha Paul