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<DIV><FONT face="Arial Unicode MS" size=2>Hayim --</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial Unicode MS" size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial Unicode MS" size=2>I won't argue with you about whether
the earliest forms of the Gospels might have been written in Aramaic rather than
Greek. I will point out, though, that at the time of Christ the Hebrew
scriptures were being circulated in Greek translation, though I'm sure you are
well aware of that. In fact, there is evidence that many of quotes of the Hebrew
Bible in the Greek New Testament were actually quotes from the Greek Septuagint
translation rather than from the original Hebrew. You see this especially
in the (anonymous) Epistle to the Hebrews, but also in the Gospels, such as
where Jesus quoted the Septuagint version of Deut. 6:5 when asked what the
greatest commandment was. Well, actually, I have to admit that the spoken answer
was probably in Aramaic, but as it is recorded in the oldest manuscripts the
answer is in Greek and apparently based on the Greek Septuagint translation of
Deut. 6:5. We have no reason to think that Jesus actually ever uttered a word of
Greek.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial Unicode MS" size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial Unicode MS" size=2>I don't doubt that the language spoken
by the Jews in Palestine at the time of Christ was primarily Aramaic. The
author of the Epistle to the Hebrews was probably from Alexandria, where Greek
was spoken more.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial Unicode MS" size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial Unicode MS" size=2>You are a very learned man in terms of
languages, literatures, history and traditions, Hayim, so I don't expect I
am telling you anything you didn't already know.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial Unicode MS" size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial Unicode MS" size=2>-- David Frank</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial Unicode MS" size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=hsheynin19444@yahoo.com href="mailto:hsheynin19444@yahoo.com">Hayim
Sheynin</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A
title=lexicographylist@yahoogroups.com
href="mailto:lexicographylist@yahoogroups.com">lexicographylist@yahoogroups.com</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Monday, July 02, 2007 4:38 PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: [Lexicog] Re: When Semantics
Doesn't Matter</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>Dear David and Fritz,<BR><BR>If anything, I intended that the original of
some parts (like four synoptic Gospels and Acts) of the NT could be or
might be written in Palestinian Aramaic, perhaps Galilean dialect. I know that
most of the theologians today are convinced that so called Q-text (a
prototypal source of the NT) was written in Greek. But nobody saw this Q-text,
and it seems to me logical that it could be written in the original
language of Jesus Christ and his disciples. Until the earliest text found, my
suggestion must remain as a suggestion. If the original text had be written in
Greek, I cannot understand an animosity of earlier Rabbis who saw the
Christian teaching as very harmful for Rabbinic Judaism. The Jews of Rabbinic
period (i.e. Hellenistic and Roman periods) did not have easy access to Greek
writings. If they knew Greek, this was a street language. It is true for
Palestine, but it is different for Alexandria and North African Jewish
settlements. <BR></DIV>
<DIV>Necessities of life pushed Greek words into Hebrew and Aramaic as
loanwords, however it is not a proof of Palestinian Jews' proficiency in
Greek.<BR><BR>Hayim Sheynin</DIV></BLOCKQUOTE>
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