[Lexicog] Re: When Semantics Doesn't Matter

[David Frank]

Fritz --

I think what Scott meant was that the New Testament as most people know it today -- i.e. in translation -- is derived from the Greek (original). I understood his point to be that while the Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew and Aramaic, the New Testament was originally written in Greek.

Hayim had an interesting theory that what we call the New Testament may have originally been written in Hebrew. That is an intriguing idea, but as far as I know it is just a theory or speculation, though as you said, Fritz, there is sometimes evidence of a Hebrew substratum. As we have been discussing idiomatic phrases, I understand that "son(s) of" as in "sons of thunder," "son of perdition," etc. is a Hebrew idiom that was carried over literally into the Greek New Testament scriptures. But you know this better than I do, Fritz.

I have sometimes said something similar to what Hayim said. I have pointed out that the Greek New Testament scriptures were a translation in themselves, in that the words of Jesus and his followers would have been uttered in Aramaic but written down in Greek. Except for those few cases that Hayim mentioned where the Aramaic utterances were transliterated rather than translated.

-- your friend and colleague David Frank

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Fritz Goerling 
  To: lexicographylist at yahoogroups.com 
  Sent: Saturday, June 30, 2007 6:40 PM
  Subject: RE: [Lexicog] Re: When Semantics Doesn't Matter


  Sorry, Scott,  the NT was not derived from Greek but written in Greek.

  Sometimes the Greek shows a Hebrew substratum. The New Testament was 

  not translated from Greek either but written in Greek. Paul is more known as the

  apostle to the Gentiles.

   

  Fritz Goerling



  Hayim, I liked your points, point by point. 
  I'm a little confused though about your reference to the Bible 
  translation. The New Testament needs differentiation from the Old 
  Testament. The New Testament was derived from Greek, not Hebrew. It 
  was clumped together with the Old Testament, into what modern 
  Christians call "The Bible." Hebrew (Aramaic language), with Hebrew 
  writing being the source text of the Old Testament (written and 
  spoken by Hebrews) -- was copied, text for text, point by point, 
  iota by iota........from generation to generation -- assumably from 
  the hand of Moses himself. 
  But the New Testament, largely written by Paul the Apostle to 
  Greek cities and Greek Christians, was translated from Greek. 

  Scott Nelson

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