![]() ![]() ![]() Jesus spoke Aramaic - This is one of the big selling-points of Aramaic for many, and almost every journalist who mentions Aramaic has to make the connection with Jesus.The variety of Aramaic in Daniel and Ezra is post-Achaemenid with many Greek borrowings. Portions of the Book of Ezra are also in Aramaic, as is one sentence in the Prophet Jeremiah, and one word in Genesis. Daniel 2.4 is odd as the text changes from Hebrew to Aramaic mid-flow: ‘And the Chaldaeans said to the king in Aramaic, “O king, live for ever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will reveal the interpretation”’ (where the narration is in Hebrew, then the quoted speech is in Aramaic, but then the narration and everything else continues in Aramaic). The largest portion of Aramaic is Daniel 2.4b–7.28, with the rest of the book written in Hebrew. However, a few parts of the Old Testament were originally written in Aramaic. Aramaic is one of the original languages of the Bible - The Old Testament (Hebrew Bible) was originally written down in Hebrew, and the New Testament was written in Greek.Greek and Aramaic coexisted for over a millennium, until Arabic gradually became the dominant language of the Middle East. The Aramaic of Ma‘loula is the last living remnant of the western varieties of Aramaic. Thus, most post-Achaemenid Aramaic is written in Mesopotamian dialects. After the conquest of Alexander the Great and the rise of the Seleucid Empire, Greek became the language of power and high society in much of the Levant, while Aramaic continued as a rural language, remaining strong in its Mesopotamian heartland. The standard Aramaic practised by Achaemenid scribes is known as Official Aramaic. Around the year 500 BC, Darius decreed Aramaic as the official language of Achaemenid Persian Empire. ![]() During the latter half of the eight century BC, the conquests of the Neo-Assyrian founder Tiglath-Pileser III, Aramaic became the diplomatic language of the region. ![]() The earliest Aramaic inscriptions come from the tenth century BC. Geographically, varieties of Aramaic tend to fall into two branches: the more vigorous Eastern Aramaic in Mesopotamia, and the near extinct Western Aramaic in the Levant. Although, I would reckon that Aramaic has resisted change far better than English has, in different times and places people have spoken and written different Aramaics. Aramaic has a recorded history that is more than twice as long as that of English. However, no language stands still: we can see how English has changed from Shakespeare to hip-hop, let alone going back as far as Beowulf.
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