Galatians 1:8 But even if we or an angel from heaven...

Galatians 1:8

Syriac Peshitta · Morphology · Interactive study

Peshitta Classical Syriac West Syriac pointing

Manuscript page (Galatians 1)

ܐܳܦ݂ ܐܶܢ ܚܢܰܢ ܕ݁ܶܝܢ ܐܰܘ ܡܰܠܰܐܟ݂ܳܐ ܡܶܢ ܫܡܰܝܳܐ
ܢܣܰܒ݁ܰܪܟ݂ܽܘܢ ܠܒ݂ܰܪ ܡܶܢ ܡܳܐ ܕ݁ܣܰܒ݁ܰܪܢܳܟ݂ܽܘܢ
ܢܶܗܘܶܐ ܚܪܶܡ ܀

ʾāp̄ ʾen ḥnan dēn ʾaw malʾaḵā men šmayyā
nsabbarḵōn lḇar men mā d-sabbarnāḵōn
nehwē ḥrem.

“But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.”

📖 Literary & Historical Context ▼

This verse stands near the opening of Paul’s letter to the churches of Galatia. After a brief greeting, Paul expresses astonishment that the Galatians are so quickly turning to “another gospel.” Verses 8–9 form a solemn double anathema that protects the integrity of the apostolic message.

Key point: Paul includes even himself and a hypothetical angel under the curse. No authority—human or celestial—may alter the gospel he originally proclaimed.

The Peshitta rendering is a close and idiomatic translation of the Greek. The Syriac tradition has transmitted this text with remarkable stability.

🔍 Word-by-Word Analysis ▼

Syriac	Lemma / Form	Part of Speech	Meaning
ܐܳܦ݂	ʾāp̄	Particle / adverb	even, also
ܐܶܢ	ʾen	Conditional particle	if
ܚܢܰܢ	ḥnan	Independent pronoun 1pl	we
ܕ݁ܶܝܢ	dēn	Discourse particle	but, then, now (postpositive)
ܐܰܘ	ʾaw	Coordinating conjunction	or
ܡܰܠܰܐܟ݂ܳܐ	malʾaḵā	Noun, emphatic state, ms	angel, messenger
ܡܶܢ	men	Preposition	from
ܫܡܰܝܳܐ	šmayyā	Noun, emphatic, m.pl.	heaven, the heavens
ܢܣܰܒ݁ܰܪܟ݂ܽܘܢ	nsabbar-ḵōn	Pael imperfect 3ms + 2mp object	he should announce/preach (the gospel) to you √sbr
ܠܒ݂ܰܪ	lḇar	Preposition / adverb	outside, beyond, contrary to
ܡܶܢ	men	Preposition	from (completing “beyond/contrary to”)
ܡܳܐ	mā	Relative / interrogative	what, that which
ܕ݁ܣܰܒ݁ܰܪܢܳܟ݂ܽܘܢ	d-sabbarnā-ḵōn	Relative + Pael perfect 1pl + 2mp	which we preached to you
ܢܶܗܘܶܐ	nehwē	Imperfect / jussive 3ms of √hwy	let him/it be
ܚܪܶܡ	ḥrem	Noun (absolute)	ban, curse, anathema

📚 Vocabulary ▼

ܐܳܦ݂ʾāp̄

even, also

Particle / adverb

ܐܶܢʾen

if

Conditional particle

ܚܢܰܢḥnan

we

Pronoun 1pl

ܕ݁ܶܝܢdēn

but, then, now

Discourse particle

ܐܰܘʾaw

or

Conjunction

ܡܰܠܰܐܟ݂ܳܐmalʾaḵā

angel, messenger

Noun emph. ms

ܫܡܰܝܳܐšmayyā

heaven(s)

Noun emph. m.pl.

ܣܒ݁ܰܪsabbar (Pael)

to announce, preach the gospel

Verb √sbr

ܠܒ݂ܰܪlḇar

beyond, outside, contrary to

Preposition / adverb

ܡܳܐmā

what, that which

Relative pronoun

ܗܘܳܐhwā / nehwē

to be (jussive: let him be)

Verb √hwy

ܚܪܶܡḥrem

curse, ban, anathema

Noun

⚖️ Greek Parallel & Translation Notes ▼

Greek (NA28 / SBLGNT)

ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐὰν ἡμεῖς ἢ ἄγγελος ἐξ οὐρανοῦ εὐαγγελίζηται ὑμῖν παρ’ ὃ εὐηγγελισάμεθα ὑμῖν, ἀνάθεμα ἔστω.

Syriac Peshitta (literal sense)

Even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you beyond / contrary to what we preached to you, let him be a curse (ḥrem).

The Syriac faithfully renders the Greek conditional structure and the strong term anathema with ܚܪܶܡ. The phrase ܠܒ݂ܰܪ ܡܶܢ is the idiomatic equivalent of Greek παρ’ ὅ (“contrary to / other than”).

Translation tradition: Etheridge (1849) and Murdock (1852) both capture the sense well: “But if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach… other than what we have preached… let him be accursed.”

🧬 Morphology Deep Dive ▼

The verb ܢܣܰܒ݁ܰܪܟ݂ܽܘܢ

• Root: √sbr (ܣܒܪ) — “to hope, expect; in Pael: to announce good news / preach the gospel”
• Stem: Pael
• Tense/Mood: Imperfect (modal “should / might”)
• Person/Number/Gender: 3rd masculine singular
• Object: 2nd masculine plural pronominal suffix -ḵōn (“you” pl.)

The jussive ܢܶܗܘܶܐ ܚܪܶܡ

ܢܶܗܘܶܐ is the 3ms imperfect/jussive of √hwy “to be”. Combined with the noun ܚܪܶܡ it forms the classic curse formula: “let him be anathema / under the ban.” This is the precise Syriac counterpart of Greek ἀνάθεμα ἔστω.

Teaching tip: Students often confuse the jussive of √hwy with pronouns because the surface form looks simple. Always check the context: when it stands before a noun predicate like ܚܪܶܡ, it is verbal.

▶️ Audio / Video Resource ▼

✨ How to Study This Page ▼

• Start with the large Syriac display and try reading aloud using the transliteration.
• Open the Word-by-Word Analysis and compare each item with the glosses.
• Use the Vocabulary cards as flash-review.
• Check the Greek parallel to see how the Peshitta handles key phrases.
• Return to the Morphology Deep Dive when you want to understand the verb forms in detail.

Interactive study · Galatians 1:8 Peshitta

Syriac text follows the standard Peshitta tradition. Morphological labels and glosses verified against classical sources.