Mark 15:34

Jack Kilmon jkilmon at historian.net
Thu Apr 20 15:43:22 EDT 2000



Michael Ryle wrote:

>  Mark 15:34 reports that Jesus cried out in a loud voice: ELWI ELWI
> LEMA SABACQANI;  The Jerome Commentary indicates that this is an
> Aramaic version of Psalm 22:2.  For a long time I have have been
> curious about this passage.  Why does Jesus quote the Hebrew
> scriptures in Aramaic?  On the cross under the extreme stress of the
> moment did he spontaneously translate the psalm as he knew it into his
> own spoken language?  Or was he quoting from an Aramaic source, a
> targum?  If so, why would he quote from that instead of the Hebrew
> which he surely would have known?
>
> It is not the source of the quote, if it is historical, that is
> important...it is the audience.  Hebrew was the *literary*
> lingua franca, understood and used by the literate, about 4-5% of the
> population.  Aramaic was the spoken,
> or colloquial lingua franca.  It is impossible to know what the nuance
> was for the "cry from the cross" but
> since it is in Aramaic, it was directed against whomever was observing
> the crucifixion and not God.....if we
> also accept as historical that Jesus was Hebrew literate.
>
> In these difficult times of Roman domination, Psalm 22 may have been a
> lection commonly known during
> a period of heightened messianic expectation.  Jesus may have cried
> out Psalm 22 in Aramaic...perhaps
> he even quoted more than the gospelers record...as a reminder to the
> crowd...sort of an "uh huh....it has
> come true!"
>
>
>
>  In the gospels when Jesus quotes scripture, except for this one case,
> I believe it's true that he always does so in Greek -- at least I
> can't think of another instance.  Why is this case different and what
> does it mean?  I'm curious to know if anyone else has wondered about
> this.
>
> The hagiographers are not Palestinian Jews..they are Hellenistic Jews
> of the diaspora, perhaps one gentile (Luke).
> They use the LXX and not the MT.  Jesus spoke Aramaic and this is
> obvious through the various Aramaisms in
> the sayings material.  OT references by the
> hagiographers...particularly the Matthean scribe are from the LXX.
> I doubt that Jesus used the LXX or was more than casually competent in
> Greek.
>
>  I am a newcomer both to Biblical Greek and to this list and I would
> like to express my gratitude to Jonathan Robie and the other members
> of the list for the tremendous help you offer to someone like me who
> is struggling to learn how to read the New Testament in the eerily
> beautiful language in which it was written.Michael Ryle, North
> Eastham, MA

Jack

--
______________________________________________

taybutheh d'maran yeshua masheecha am kulkon

Jack Kilmon
jkilmon at historian.net

http://www.historian.net

sharing a meal for free.
http://www.thehungersite.com/

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