It is generally accepted that Aramaic was the mother tongue of Jesus. This article explores the use of Aramaic in the New Testament, as attributed to Jesus and others.
Cultural and linguistic background
Evidence from 1st century Galilee and Judaea shows that Aramaic was the main language of the native population. Evidence from within the New Testament supports this view by giving place names and some words of Jesus in Aramaic.
It is likely that Jesus also knew some Greek, as it had been the lingua franca of the Near East for three centuries, and was the language used in the administration of the eastern parts of the Roman Empire.
Jesus may have spoken some Hebrew, but there is little evidence either from within the New Testament or beyond to support this. By Jesus' lifetime, Hebrew had become the preserve of an elite of scholars and had ceased to be a living language. Most people could recognise words that were similar to Aramaic, and knew a few religious terms, but little more than that.
One or two words of Latin may have been known to Jesus. However, these were probably learned through the medium of Greek, and were confined to various symbols of Roman rule ('denarius' for example).
Aramaic phrases in the New Testament
Within the Greek text of the New Testament a few words and phrases in Aramaic are included untranslated. These are mainly words of Jesus, and perhaps had a special significance because of this.
Talitha koum
Mark 5:41
- And taking the hand of the child, he said to her, "Talitha koum", which is translated, "Little girl, I say to you, get up".
This verse gives an Aramaic phrase, supposedly used by Jesus in the healing of a girl, with a translation into Greek. The Greek transliteration of the phrase is ταλιθα κουμ.
The most dependable Greek manuscripts (Codex Sinaiticus, Codex Vaticanus) of Mark's Gospel have this text, but a few (Codex Alexandrinus, the Majority Text and the Vulgate) write κουμι (koumi) instead. The latter became the Textus Receptus, and is the version that appears in the Authorised Version.
The Aramaic is ţlîthâ qûm. The word 'ţlîthâ' is the feminine form of the word 'ţlê', meaning 'young'. 'Qûm' is the Aramaic verb 'to rise, get up'. In the feminine singular imperative, it was originally 'qûmî'. However, there is evidence that in speech the final 'î' was dropped so that the imperative did not distinguish between masculine and feminine genders. The older manuscripts, therefore, used a Greek spelling that reflected pronunciation, whereas the addition of an 'ι' was perhaps due to a bookish copyist.
Ephphatha
Mark 7:34
- And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, "Ephphatha", which is 'be opened'.
Once again, the Aramaic word is given with a translation. In Greek, the Aramaic is written εφφαθα. This is from the Aramaic 'ethpthaħ', the passive imperative of the verb 'pthaħ', 'to open'.
Eli Eli lema sabachthani
Matthew 27:46
- Around the ninth hour, Jesus shouted in a loud voice, saying "Eli Eli lema sabachthani?" which is, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
Mark 15:34
- And at the ninth hour, Jesus shouted in a loud voice, "Eloi Eloi lema sabachthani?" which is translated, "My God, my God, for what have you forsaken me?"
This phrase, shouted by Jesus from the cross, is given to us in these two versions. The Matthean version of the phrase is transliterated in Greek as ηλι ηλι λεμα σαβαχθανι. The Markan version is similar, but begins ελωι ελωι.
Jesus seems to be quoting the first line of Psalm 22. However, he is not quoting the canonical Hebrew version (êlî êlî lâmâ `azabtonî), but is using an Aramaic translation of it (see targum).
In the following verse, in both accounts, some who hear Jesus' cry imagine that he is calling for help from Elijah (Eliyyâ). This is perhaps to underline the incomprehension of the bystanders about what is happening. Matthew's use of ηλι may indicate a more 'official' rendition of the psalm verse, more in line with the Hebrew. Mark's version probably represents the Aramaic colloquial better. The Aramaic behind Matthew is êlî êlî lmâ švaqtanî. Whereas Mark has elohî elohî.
A few ancient Greek manuscripts show signs of trying to normalise this text. For instance, the peculiar Codex Bezae renders both versions with ηλι ηλι λαμα ζαφθανι (êli êli lama zaphthani).
As the phrase is clearly translated into Greek in both instances there can be little doubt as to its meaning. However, a minority have speculated on different meanings, among them is George Lamsa, but his methodology has been shown to be seriously flawed.
The Aramaic word švaqtanî is based on the verb švaq, 'to leave, forget', with the perfect tense ending -t (2nd person singular: 'you'), and the object suffix -anî (1st person singular: 'me').
This phrase is treated in more depth at Last sayings of Jesus.
Aramaic personal names in the New Testament
Personal names in the New Testament come from a number of languages, Hebrew and Greek are most common. However, there are a good few Aramaic names as well. The most prominent feature in Aramaic names is 'bar' (Greek transliteration βαρ, Aramaic bar), meaning 'son of', a common patronym prefix. Its Hebrew equivalent, 'ben', is conspicuous by its absence. Some examples are:
- Matthew 10:3 — Bartholomew (Βαρθολομαιος from bar-Tôlmay, perhaps 'son of furrows' or 'ploughman').
- Matthew 16:17 — Simon bar-Jona (Σιμων Βαριωνας from Šim`ôn bar-Yônâ, 'Simon son of Jonah').
- Matthew 27:16 — Barabbas (Βαραββας from bar-Abbâ, 'son of the father').
- Mark 10:46 — Bartimaeus (Βαρτιμαιος from bar-Ţim'ay, perhaps 'son of defilement' or 'son of a whore').
- Acts 1:23 — Barsabbas (Βαρσαββας from , 'son of the Sabbath').
- Acts 4:36 — Joseph who is called Barnabas (Βαρναβας from bar-Navâ meaning 'son of prophecy, the prophet', but given the Greek translation υιος παρακλησεως; usually translated as 'son of consolation/encouragement', the Greek could mean 'invocation' as well).
- Acts 13:6 — Bar-Jesus (Βαριησους from bar-Yêšû`, 'son of Jesus/Joshua').
Boanerges
Mark 3:17
- And James, the son of Zebedee, and John, the brother of James, and he gave them the name Boanerges, which is Sons of Thunder.
Jesus surnames the brothers James and John to reflect their impetuosity. The Greek rendition of their name is Βοανηργες (Boanêrges).
There has been much speculation about this name. Given the Greek translation that comes with it ('Sons of Thunder'), it seems that the first element of the name is 'bnê', 'sons of' (the plural of 'bar'). This is represented by βοανη (boanê), giving two vowels in the first syllable where one would be sufficient. It could be inferred from this that the Greek transliteration may not be a good one. The second part of the name is often reckoned to be 'rğaš' ('tumult') or 'rğaz' ('anger'). Maurice Casey, however, argues that it is a simple misreading of the word for thunder, 'r`am' (due to the similarity of s to the final m). This is supported by one Syriac translation of the name as 'bnay ra`mâ'. However, the Peshitta reads 'bnay rğešy'.
Cephas
John 1:42
- He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon son of John, you shall be called Cephas", which is translated 'Peter'.
1 Corinthians 1:12
- But I say that each of you says "I am of Paul", or "I am of Apollos", or "I am of Cephas", or "I am of Christ".
In these two passages, 'Cephas' is given as the nickname of the apostle better known as Peter. The Greek word is transliterated Κηφας (Kêphas).
The apostles given name appears to be Simon, and he is given the Aramaic nickname, kêfâ or kîfâ, meaning 'rock'. The final sigma (s) is added in Greek to make the name masculine rather feminine. That the meaning of the name was more important than the name itself is evidenced by the universal acceptance of the Greek translation, Πετρος (Petros). It is not known why Paul uses the Aramaic name rather than the Greek name for Simon Peter when he writes to the church in Corinth. Perhaps, he is writing at a time before Cephas came to be popularly known as Peter.
Thomas
John 11:16
- Then Thomas, who was called Didymus, said to his co-disciples, "Now let us go that we might die with him!"
Thomas (Θωμας) is listed among the disciples of Jesus in all four gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. However, it is only in John's Gospel that more information is given. In three places (John 11:16, 20:24 and 21:2) he is given the name Didymus (Διδυμος), the Greek word for a twin. In fact, 'the Twin' is not just a surname, it is a translation of 'Thomas'. 'Thomas' comes from the Aramaic 'tômâ', 'twin'. Therefore, rather than two personal names, Thomas Didymus, there is a single nickname, the Twin. Christian tradition gives him the personal name Judas, and he was perhaps named Thomas to distinguish him from others of the same name.
Tabitha
Acts 9:36
- In Joppa, there was a disciple named Tabitha, which is translated Dorcas.
The disciple's name is given both in Aramaic (Ταβιθα) and Greek (Δορκας). The Aramaic name is a transliteration of Ţvîthâ. Both names mean 'gazelle'.
It may be just coincidence that Peter's words to her in verse 40, "Tabitha, get up!" (Ταβιθα αναστηθι), are similar to the 'talitha koum' phrase used by Jesus.
Aramaic place names in the New Testament
Gethsemane
Matthew 26:36
- Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane.
Mark 14:32
- And they went to a place that has the name Gethsemane.
The place where Jesus takes his disciples to pray before his arrest is given the Greek transliteration Γεθσημανι (Gethsêmani). It represents the Aramaic 'Gath-Šmânê', meaning 'the oil press' or 'oil vat' (referring to olive oil).
Golgotha
Mark 15:22
- And they took him up to the place Golgotha, which is translated Place of the Skull.
John 19:17
- And carrying his cross by himself, he went out to the so-called Place of the Skull, which is called in 'Hebrew' Golgotha.
This is clearly Aramaic rather than Hebrew. 'Gûlgaltâ' is the Aramaic for 'skull'. The name appears in all of the gospels except Luke, which calls the place simply 'the Skull', with no Aramaic. The name 'Calvary' is taken from the Latin Vulgate translation, Calvaria.
Akeldama
Acts 1:19
- And this became known to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that field was called, in their own dialect, Akeldama, that is Field of Blood.
The place of Judas Iscariot's suicide is clearly named Field of Blood in Greek. However, the manuscript tradition gives a number of different spellings of the Aramaic. The Majority Text reads Ακελδαμα ([H]akeldama); other manuscript versions give Αχελδαμα ([H]acheldama), Ακελδαιμα ([H]akeldaima), Ακελδαμακ ([H]akeldamak) and Ακελδαμαχ ([H]akeldamach). Despite these variant spellings the Aramaic is most probably 'ħqêl dmâ', 'field of blood'.
