Rabbi complaining of Jews' widespread Aramaic use

[peshitta_enthusiast]

And how did the language fare after Jesus? In 1933, archaeologists discovered Aramaic inscriptions in a Jewish synagogue built around 245 AD in the Roman outpost of Dura Europos, located on the Euphrates River in modern Syria. They have since uncovered Aramaic writing in more than 20 synagogues across the Holy Land. Clearly, Jews continued to speak the language. And they did so in such numbers that Hebrew scholars felt the pressure of Aramaic competition: third-century Rabbi Yohanan insisted Jews should speak only Hebrew, as "the angels do not know Aramaic."

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[gbausc]

A very interesting article by Brock !
Western Christians need this kind of information.

Dave

[Zechariah14]

And how did the language fare after Jesus? In 1933, archaeologists discovered Aramaic inscriptions in a Jewish synagogue built around 245 AD in the Roman outpost of Dura Europos, located on the Euphrates River in modern Syria. They have since uncovered Aramaic writing in more than 20 synagogues across the Holy Land. Clearly, Jews continued to speak the language. And they did so in such numbers that Hebrew scholars felt the pressure of Aramaic competition: third-century Rabbi Yohanan insisted Jews should speak only Hebrew, as "the angels do not know Aramaic."

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Why do you think the article says:

Inscriptions in churches across the Holy Land attest to this???scholars have even found early Aramaic copies of the Bible translated from the Greek Septuagint ?

It seems illogical to think that the Peshitta Tanakh was a translation from the Septuagint rather than the Hebrew!

Wayne

[Paul Younan]

Hi Wayne,

The Peshitta OT was translated from the Hebrew. Some other versions were made from the LXX, mainly for reference purposes.

[oozeaddai]

And how did the language fare after Jesus? In 1933, archaeologists discovered Aramaic inscriptions in a Jewish synagogue built around 245 AD in the Roman outpost of Dura Europos, located on the Euphrates River in modern Syria. They have since uncovered Aramaic writing in more than 20 synagogues across the Holy Land. Clearly, Jews continued to speak the language. And they did so in such numbers that Hebrew scholars felt the pressure of Aramaic competition: third-century Rabbi Yohanan insisted Jews should speak only Hebrew, as "the angels do not know Aramaic."

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Wow this looks like a very cool post! I look forward to reading the article you linked thanks! <!-- s:biggrin: --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/biggrin.gif" alt=":biggrin:" title="Big Grin" /><!-- s:biggrin: -->

It also should come in handy when I get in my next big Biblical Aramaic vs. Greek debate.

[peshitta_enthusiast]

I just can't believe this comes from a very mainstream Christian website <!-- s --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/smile.gif" alt="" title="Smile" /><!-- s -->

The times, they are a-chan-gin'

[peshitta_enthusiast]

Oops. Left out the best bit:

"Not Greek or Hebrew but Aramaic
Had it been only the Jews who spoke Aramaic, it might well have passed out of common usage. Aramaic was the language of the Middle East at the time, among Jews and Gentiles alike. Inscriptions in churches across the Holy Land attest to this"

I found this while looking for info about Gentiles in the Biblical time speaking Aramaic. Does anyone have info on this?