Tuesday, or maybe not
We are all different, aren't we! I like to do strange things, call them weird or eccentric as you may (while as personal practice I try to avoid offending, I don't much take offense, having moved somewhat beyond minding what others think or say about me and what I say, write, think, or believe); so when an evangelist (gospel writer) quotes Jesus as having said something, I find myself wondering what Jesus really said. BOTH because the evangelists understandably take poetic license in rendering Jesus' acts and words to suit their agenda (both lay and scholarly works in my library and online to check and consider in my ponderings), AND because the evangelists wrote in Greek while Jesus spoke Aramaic, and I wonder what actual sounds He uttered; and sometimes enjoy changing (not correcting), our English version back into the evangelist's Greek, back into the Aramaic (or sometimes Hebrew) that Jesus likely would have spoken (if indeed Jesus really said what the evangelist said He said (and I generally make that assumption, because what the evangelists wrote is canonical gospel for us).
Just so, for last Sunday's gospel (Gospel John about Doubting Thomas) I went from the English translation "Peace be with you", to the evangelist's Greek "iraynay humeen" back to the likely Hebrew "Shalom" and on back to what my online Aramaic bible says, "Shlama", and pressed "audio" to hear the passage read by an Aramaic speaker. This is fun and a lot more interesting than, say, taking a piously religious spiritual evangelical children's Sunday School class approach to Bible study (not to demean that, it's for some folks, but not my SS classes or midweek Bible study).
So anyway, continuing from prep for last Sunday and last Sunday's homiletic endeavor, I've been taking a light (Wikipedia) look at Aramaic, Jesus' spoken language. We are told that the Bible used in Jesus' time was not Hebrew language, which was long out of use and at any event not universally spoken, read, understood by Jews of the dispersion, but the LXX, the Septuagint, the Greek language translation of the Hebrew Scriptures. Which itself is an interesting subject for exploration (eg Isaiah 7 and much else that Matthew quotes in Greek, and that is brought over into the English, and is made Christian doctrine even though the Hebrew prophet meant no such thing!). But my point for myself: granted, Jesus spoke Aramaic, but did Jesus, coming from Nazareth and Capernaum, read and study Greek, the LXX? Whether so or not, it's fun to take what he is quoted to have said back to the sounds he would actually have uttered, the Aramaic (as best we have current Aramaic and relate it to his Galilean Aramaic).
Where's this going? Nowhere profound. It's just that I'm thinking of doing it again in our adult Sunday School class next Sunday.
One thing I noticed: the Aramaic word I found for Jesus (above, top) is quite obviously either Hebrew-derived or the Hebrew is derived from the Aramaic or both from a common Other. I cannot say that for the Aramaic (interlinear) passage of next Sunday's gospel story from Luke, copy and pasted below. Assuming it reads right to left like Hebrew, I cannot make heads or tails of it. But I'll keep at it to see what seems interesting for next Sunday' class.
Luke 24:36-48
ÜÜÜ ÜÜ ÜÜą ÜĄÜĄÜ Ü ÜÜą ÜÜÜ ÜÜ«ÜÜ„ Ü©ÜĄ ÜÜܹ܏ÜÜÜą ÜÜÜĄÜȘ Ü ÜÜÜą Ü«Ü ÜĄÜ Ü„ÜĄÜÜÜą ÜÜąÜ ÜÜąÜ Ü Ü ÜŹÜÜÜ ÜÜą
36 And while they were speaking these things, Eshu {Yeshua} stood among them, and said unto them, “Shlama {Peace} be with you. It is I, don’t be afraid.”
ÜÜÜąÜÜą ÜÜŹÜȘÜÜÜ ÜÜÜÜ ÜÜÜÜ ÜŹÜ ÜŁÜÜȘÜÜą ÜÜÜ ÜÜÜȘ ÜÜȘÜÜÜ ÜÜÜÜą
37 And they were trembling, and were in fear, for, they were thinking that they were seeing a spirit.
ÜÜĄÜȘ Ü ÜÜÜą ÜÜ«ÜÜ„ ÜĄÜąÜ ÜĄÜŹÜŹÜÜÜ„ÜÜą Üܹ܏ÜÜą ÜÜĄÜąÜ ÜŁÜ Ü©Üą ÜĄÜÜ«ÜÜŹÜ Ü„Ü Ü ÜÜÜŹÜÜÜą
38 Eshu {Yeshua} said unto them, “Why do you tremble, and why are thoughts arising upon your hearts?
ÜÜÜ ÜÜÜÜ ÜÜȘÜÜ Ü ÜÜÜąÜ ÜÜąÜ ÜÜÜ«ÜÜąÜąÜ ÜÜÜ„Ü ÜÜ ÜȘÜÜÜ ÜÜŁÜȘÜ ÜÜÜȘÜĄÜ Ü ÜÜŹ Ü Ü ÜÜÜ ÜÜÜÜÜą Üܹ܏ÜÜą ÜÜÜÜŹ Ü Ü
39 See My hands, and My feet, that it is I Myself. Touch Me, and realize that a spirit has no flesh and bones, as you see that I have!”
ÜÜÜ ÜÜ ÜÜą ÜÜĄÜȘ ÜÜÜ ÜÜąÜÜą ÜÜÜÜÜÜ ÜÜȘÜÜ ÜÜÜ
40 And when He said these things, He showed them His hands and His feet.
ÜÜÜ Ü„ÜÜĄÜ Ü ÜÜ«Ü Ü Ü ÜĄÜÜÜĄÜąÜÜą ÜÜÜ ÜĄÜą ÜÜÜÜŹÜÜÜą ÜÜĄÜŹÜŹÜĄÜÜÜą ÜÜÜ ÜÜĄÜȘ Ü ÜÜÜą ÜÜÜŹ Ü ÜÜÜą ÜĄÜÜĄ ܏ܹܹ Ü ÜĄÜÜÜ
41 And up until now they were not believing, because of their joy, and they were astonished. He said unto them, “Do you have something here to eat?”
ÜÜąÜÜą ÜÜÜą ÜÜÜÜ Ü Ü ÜĄÜąÜŹÜ ÜĄÜą ÜąÜÜąÜ ÜÜÜÜÜ ÜÜĄÜą ÜÜÜȘÜÜŹÜ ÜÜÜÜ«Ü
42 Then they gave Him a portion from a broiled fish, and from a comb of honey.
ÜÜąÜŁÜ ÜÜÜ Ü Ü„ÜąÜÜÜÜą
43 And having taken it, He ate it before their eyes.
ÜÜÜĄÜȘ Ü ÜÜÜą ÜÜ ÜÜą ÜÜąÜÜą ÜĄÜ Ü ÜÜĄÜ Ü ÜŹ Ü„ÜĄÜÜÜą ÜÜ Ü ÜÜŹÜÜÜą ÜÜÜÜŹ ÜÜÜ Ü ÜÜ ÜÜąÜ«ÜŹÜ ÜĄ ÜÜ ÜĄÜÜĄ ÜÜÜŹÜÜ ÜܹܥÜÜŁÜ ÜÜĄÜÜ«Ü ÜÜÜąÜÜÜ ÜÜÜĄÜÜĄÜÜȘÜ Ü„Ü Ü
44 And He said unto them, “These are the words that I spoke with you while I was with you, that it is fitting that every thing should be fulfilled that is written in The Namusa d'Mushe {The Law of Moses, i.e. The Torah} and in The Nabiye {The Prophets}, and in The Mazmure {The Psalms, i.e. The Writings}, concerning Me.”
ÜÜÜÜÜą ÜŠÜŹÜ ÜȘÜ„ÜÜąÜÜÜą Ü ÜĄÜŁÜŹÜÜ Ü ÜÜŹÜÜ
45 Then He opened their mind to understand The Kathabe {The Scriptures},
ÜÜÜĄÜȘ Ü ÜÜÜą ÜÜÜÜąÜ ÜÜŹÜÜ ÜÜÜÜąÜ ÜÜÜ© ÜÜÜ ÜÜąÜÜ« ÜĄÜ«ÜÜÜ ÜÜܹܩÜÜĄ ÜĄÜą ÜÜÜŹ ÜĄÜÜŹÜ Ü ÜŹÜ ÜŹÜ ÜÜÜĄÜÜą
46 and said unto them, “Thus it is written, and thus it was right that Meshikha {The Anointed One} should suffer and should rise from the place of the dead the third day.
ÜÜܹ܏ÜÜȘÜ ÜÜ«ÜĄÜ ÜŹÜÜÜÜŹÜ Ü Ü«ÜÜÜ©ÜąÜ ÜÜÜÜÜ ÜÜÜ ÜÜÜą Ü„ÜĄÜĄÜ ÜÜ«ÜÜȘÜÜ ÜąÜÜÜ ÜĄÜą ÜÜÜȘÜ«Ü ÜĄ
47 And that in His Name repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be preached among all the Amme {the Peoples/the Nations/the Gentiles}, and the beginning should be from Urishlim {Jerusalem}.
ÜÜܹ܏ÜÜą ÜÜąÜÜą ÜŁÜÜÜ ÜÜÜ ÜÜą
48 And you are witnesses of these things.
The Collect for the Third Sunday of Easter
O God, whose blessed Son made himself known to his disciples in the breaking of bread: Open the eyes of our faith, that we may behold him in all his redeeming work; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
The First Lesson Acts 3:12-19
Peter addressed the people, “You Israelites, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we had made him walk? The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our ancestors has glorified his servant Jesus, whom you handed over and rejected in the presence of Pilate, though he had decided to release him. But you rejected the Holy and Righteous One and asked to have a murderer given to you, and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. And by faith in his name, his name itself has made this man strong, whom you see and know; and the faith that is through Jesus has given him this perfect health in the presence of all of you.
“And now, friends, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. In this way God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, that his Messiah would suffer. Repent therefore, and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out.”
The Response Psalm 4
1 Answer me when I call, O God, defender of my cause; *
you set me free when I am hard-pressed;
have mercy on me and hear my prayer.
2 "You mortals, how long will you dishonor my glory; *
how long will you worship dumb idols
and run after false gods?"
3 Know that the Lord does wonders for the faithful; *
when I call upon the Lord, he will hear me.
4 Tremble, then, and do not sin; *
speak to your heart in silence upon your bed.
5 Offer the appointed sacrifices *
and put your trust in the Lord.
6 Many are saying, "Oh, that we might see better times!" *
Lift up the light of your countenance upon us, O Lord.
7 You have put gladness in my heart, *
more than when grain and wine and oil increase.
8 I lie down in peace; at once I fall asleep; *
for only you, Lord, make me dwell in safety.
The Epistle 1 John 3:1-7
See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God's children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.
Everyone who commits sin is guilty of lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. You know that he was revealed to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who abides in him sins; no one who sins has either seen him or known him. Little children, let no one deceive you. Everyone who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.
The Gospel Luke 24:36b-48
Jesus himself stood among the disciples and said to them, “Peace be with you.” They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. He said to them, “Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate in their presence.
Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aramaic
Aramaic (Classical Syriac: ÜÜȘÜĄÜÜ ArÄmÄyÄ; Old Aramaic: đ€đ€đ€đ€đ€; Imperial Aramaic: đĄđĄđĄđĄđĄ; square script ŚַŚšָŚָŚָŚ) is a language that originated among the Arameans in the ancient region of Syria,[1] at the end of the 2nd millennium BC, and later became one of the most prominent languages of the ancient Near East. During its three thousand years long history,[2] Aramaic went through several stages of development. It has served as a language of public life and administration of ancient kingdoms and empires, and also as a language of divine worship and religious study. It subsequently branched into several Neo-Aramaic languages that are still spoken in modern times.[3][4][5][6][7]
Aramaic language belongs to the Northwest group of the Semitic language family, which also includes the Canaanite languages, such as Hebrew, Edomite, Moabite, and Phoenician, as well as Amorite and Ugaritic.[8][9]Aramaic languages are written in Aramaic alphabet, that was derived from Phoenician alphabet. One of the most prominent variants of Aramaic alphabet, still used in modern times, is Syriac alphabet.[10] Aramaic alphabet also became a base for the creation and adaptation of specific writing systems in some other Semitic languages, thus becoming the precursor of Hebrew alphabet and Arabic alphabet.[11]
Historically and originally, Aramaic was the language of the Arameans, a Semitic-speaking people of the region between the northern Levant and the northern Tigris valley. By around 1000 BC, the Arameans had a string of kingdoms in what is now part of Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and the fringes of southern Mesopotamia and Anatolia. Aramaic rose to prominence under the Neo-Assyrian Empire (911–605 BC), under whose influence Aramaic became a prestige language after being adopted as a lingua franca of the empire, and its use spread throughout Mesopotamia, the Levant and parts of Asia Minor. At its height, Aramaic, having gradually replaced earlier Semitic languages, was spoken in several variants all over what is today Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Eastern Arabia, Bahrain, Sinai, parts of southeast and south central Turkey, and parts of northwest Iran.[5][12][7]
Aramaic was the language of Jesus,[13][14][15] who spoke the Galilean dialect during his public ministry, as well as the language of several sections of the Hebrew Bible, including books of Daniel and Ezra, and also the language of the Targum, Aramaic translation of the Hebrew Bible.[16][17][18]