Hebrew=Aramaic?

Trevor Peterson 06PETERSON at cua.edu
Tue Aug 27 15:20:52 EDT 2002


>===== Original Message From "Theodore H. Mann" <theomann at earthlink.net> =====
>In the NT I count ten instances where terms or sentences are said to be
>"in Hebrew" (Jn.5:2, 19:13,17,20 / Acts 21:40, 22:2, 26:14 / Phil.3:5 /
>Rev.9:11, 16:16), but I read here and there (e.g., F.F. Bruce: NIC,
>regarding Acts 26:14, footnote 18) that at least some of these references
>are to Aramaic, not Hebrew.  I gather that the Greek translation of an
>Aramaic term differs from that of a Hebrew term, and that it's possible to
>tell from that which is which.  Does the term "Hebrew" in all of the above
>verses refer to Aramaic?

There's actually some debate about this. The usual contention is that Greek 
did not distinguish between Hebrew and Aramaic, but some would challenge that 
idea and say that Hebrew means Hebrew, not a catch-all for Semitic languages. 
The Greek translation doesn't tell us much, but the Greek transliteration, 
where the sayings are preserved in the text (in whatever Semitic language is 
actually being used), is sometimes close enough for us to tell which language 
is being used. In some cases, though (note especially the cry from the cross), 
there are textual variants (and variants between Gospels) that seem to drift 
toward one side or the other, so that the testimony is mixed. I don't have the 
resources or time at this moment to comment specifically on the passages 
you've cited. If no one else does, I'll try to come back to them later.

Trevor Peterson
CUA/Semitics




More information about the B-Greek mailing list