Skip to main content

Relation between Aramaic and Hebrew.

Aramaic and Hebrew are very closely related Semitic language like ,say, Italian and Spanish sharing a lot of common vocabulary and grammar.

They are both written in the Assyrian script -the Ktav ashuri. 

Ktav ashuri, the Assyrian script.

The Hebrew alphabet developed from the Aramaic one which in turn evolved from Phoenician.

Aramaic was the mother tongue of the Arameans initially but after the conquests and policies of the Assyrian Empire followed by the Persian Empire it became the mother tongue of Hebrews also.

Hebrew in reality has long gone extinct  replaced by Aramaic after Jews were exiled in Babylon. Modern Hebrew is a very successful revival of the old language not spoken for two thousand years.

It is actually a reconstruction of what was  perceived by Ben Yahuda as the Hebrew language.

Hebrew continued to be used as a liturgical language after it is ceased to be spoken. Aramaic ,the spoken languages of the Jews at the time, influenced Biblical Aramaic as can be seen in the Talmuds.

The history of these two languages is intertwined. In antiquity the name Hebrew was often used for Aramaic.

Though these modern languages have grown apart greatly following a different path in history.

Syriac Aramaic became the language of the Syriac  Aramaic Christianity setting it apart from the Jewish tradition.

Nowadays only Biblical Aramaic is of importance to the Jews since both parts of the Old Testament and the Targums are written in Aramaic.

There are differences in syntax and grammar between Aramaic and Hebrew

For example the article in Hebrew is placed at the beginning of the word while in Neo-Aramaic languages is placed at the end:

 Ha’lekhem (Hebrew)- Lekhm ‘ah’ (Aramaic)

The bread

There is a consonant shift. The tav in Aramaic corresponds to the shin in Hebrew.

Hebrew (shum) שום 

Aramaic (tum [ah]) ܬܘܡܐ

garlic 



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Hebrew Word of the Week: Mammon.

by Yona Sabar Mammon is not in the Bible, where other words are used, such ashon ve-’osher be-veto, “Wealth and riches are in his house” (of the righteous) (Psalms 112:3), but it is very common in (Aramaic),Targumim and rabbinic literature. It may come from ma’mon “trust, deposit.” In Christianity, however, Mammon* has been associated with covetousness of wealth, the seventh sin (Matthew 6:24: You cannot serve God and mammon). In modern Hebrew, mamon is quite common with regard to financial and property business, such as mimmen, “financed”; mimmun, “financing”; mamonay, “financier”; mamoni, “monetary”; anddine’ mamonot, “civil (property) laws.” *Some Hebrew-Aramaic names and nouns entered English (via Latin-Greek), from the New Testament, such as Thomas, “twin (brother)” and abba, “father.” Yona Sabar is a professor of Hebrew and Aramaic in the department of Near Eastern Languages & Cultures at UCLA. Article found here .

What's your name in Aramaic.

What's your name in Aramaic. Ancient Aramaic ?מה שׁמך  שׁמי ישׁוע Mah shmakh? (m) What is your name?   ישוע שמי Shmi Yeshua My name is Jesus. מא שמיך ma shmikh (f) What's your name? when talking to a female. Classical Syriac ܡ݃ܗ ܫܡ݃ܟ Mah shmak? ܝܶܫܽܘܥ ܫܡܝ݈ yeshuwʿ shmy݈ My name is Jesus. Neo-Aramaic Sureth (Assyrian Neo-Aramaic) ܡܼܘܕܝܼ ܝܠܸܐ ܫܸܡܘܼܟ Mude le shimukh? What's your name? Other  ܡܢ ܫܡܐ ܕܠܟ  ܫܡܐ ܕܠ ܝܗ ܗܘ man shmo dlokh? Shmo dil Yshu’a haw What's your name? My name is Jesus. Back to short Aramaic lessons. Read also Greetings in Ancient Aramaic . Some Aramaic greetings .

Jesus in Aramaic.

Jesus Christ, also known as Jesus of Nazareth, is believed by many scholars to have spoken Aramaic as his native language. Aramaic was a common language in the region of Galilee where Jesus grew up, and it was also used as a lingua franca throughout the Near East during the time of Jesus. There are several Aramaic words and phrases that are attributed to Jesus in the New Testament, such as "Talitha koum" (which means "Little girl, I say to you, get up!") and "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" (which means "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"). These phrases are evidence of Jesus' use of Aramaic. Additionally, some scholars believe that certain sayings of Jesus in the New Testament may have been originally spoken in Aramaic and later translated into Greek. For example, the saying "You cannot serve both God and money" (Matthew 6:24) is thought by some scholars to have originally been spoken in Aramaic as "You cannot serve both...