"Did Yeshua Give us the name of the anti-christ?" - An Odd YouTube Video

[NOTE: If you find this article interesting, you might also find this one a curiosity: "'Barak Hussein Obama' Mentioned in Ancient Manuscript?" Read on...]

Now for those of you who are regular readers of this blog, you know that I do not dive into matters of theology here. I try my best to simply represent issues as they pop up in scholarship and popular culture, and when an issue such as this (which breaches both theology *and* politics... yeesh...) I proceed...

... hesitantly...

The following clip appeared 3 days ago on YouTube, and since has had over 100,000 views:



I originally decided to shy away from this video clip, but when I saw that Salon.com had picked it up through my news feeds (if anything even mentions "Aramaic" on the Internet, I hear about it), I figured it was in the limelight enough to finally comment.

So here is my analysis, theology and politics 100% removed. This is a look into the actual claims of the video. The following transcript is reproduced under Fair Use Doctrine for the purposes of criticism in a manner consistent with current protections and rulings:

Luke 10:18:
And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning falling from the heavens.

"These words are written in Greek and translated to English; however, Jesus spoke these words originally in Aramaic, which is the most ancient form of Hebrew.

As you know, the Old Testament was written in Hebrew. If a modern Jewish Rabbi were to speak these words of Jesus today, he would speak them in Hebrew, much the same way that Jesus would have spoken them."

Mistaken Claim: Aramaic is not the most ancient form of Hebrew. Since Hebrew is a Canaanite language, the most ancient form of Hebrew would be Proto-Canaanite. Jesus spoke Old Galilean Aramaic, which is part of the Aramaic language family. Eventually the Canaanite and Aramaic language families date back to Proto-Semitic, but that is certainly beyond the scope of this claim. The two are very different languages.

"So in Hebrew Jesus said that he saw Satan falling 'as lightning from the heights' or 'from the heavens.'

So what are the words for 'lightning' and 'heights' or 'heavens' in Hebrew?

From the Strong's Hebrew Dictionary word #1299: A primitive root-word meaning 'to lighten' or 'lightning' or 'to cast forth' -- the word is "BARAQ".

In the Strong's Hebrew Dictionary word #1300: 'lightning' or by analogy 'a gleam, a flashing sword, or a brightness or a glittering' -- the Hebrew word is "Baw-Rawk"

So 'lightning' or 'a flash of light' in Hebrew is pronounced "ba-rak" or "baw-rawk"

Correct Claim: Baraq [ברק] is the word in Hebrew for 'lightning.' In Aramaic, its cognate is also "baraq" [ברק] or "barqa" [ברקא] depending on dialect and context.

Mistaken Claim: Mr. Obama's first name does not come from the root "baraq" [ברק; bet-rish-qof] but the root "barak" [ברך; bet-rish-kaf] and is a common Semitic name and means "blessed" or "blessing." To claim that these two words are the same is like saying that "right" and "write" are the same word, as they sound similarly but both come from very different etymology.

Now consider this amazing fact: The Book of Isaiah is the source of the origin of the Christian concept and understanding of Satan or 'Lucifer' as Isaiah calls him in chapter 14, especially in verses 12 - 19.

Mistaken Claim: Isaiah does not call Satan 'Lucifer.' Latin translations of Isaiah use the name 'Lucifer' (which literally means the "morning star" "day star" or the planet Mercury) as a translation of the Hebrew phrase הילל בן־שחר ["hillel ben shakhar" = "morning star, son of dawn"].

In Isaiah chapter 14 verse 14 'Lucifer' or Satan is credited with these words:

"I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High."

In the verses of Isaiah that refer directly to Lucifer, several times it is mentioned that Satan has fallen from 'the heights' or from 'the heavens.'

The Hebrew word used in this text for the 'heights' from which Satan fell is Strong's Hebrew Word 1116, pronounced "Bam-maw."

Bammaw is most commonly used to refer to a 'high, sacred place,' as well as the 'heights' to 'the heavens' or 'the clouds.'

Comment: The actual form of the word used in Isaiah 14:14 is במתי ["bamathe"]. Only in its root form is it pronounced "bah-mah."

Correct Claim: במה ["bamah"] does mean "high place."

Comment: במה ["bamah"]'s primary meaning is "shrine." The "High places" mentioned in the King James Version of the Bible describe built-up altars that were used in religious practice throughout Mesopotamia.

Mistaken Claim: במה ["bamah"] does not mean "the Heavens" or "the clouds."

Comment: "The Heavens" in Hebrew is השמים ["ha-shemayim"] where in Aramaic it is שמיא ["shmaya"].

In Hebrew the letter Waw is often transliterated as a "U" some scholars use the "O" of this transliteration. It is primarily used as a conjunction to join concepts together. So, to join in Hebrew poetry the concept of lightning or 'baw-rawq' and the high place or heaven or the heights of heaven, the letter "U" or sometimes "O" the Hebrew letter Waw would be used.

So "Baraq 'O' Bam-maw" or "Baraq 'U' Bam-maw" in Hebrew poetry similar to the style written in Isaiah would translate literally as, "Lightning and the Heights" or "the Heavens" or "Lightning from the Heights" or "the Skies" or "the Heavens."

Correct Claim: Waw is used as a conjunction.

Mistaken Claim: Waw, as a conjunction, is never an "O" sound. In Hebrew, as a conjunction it would be pronounced "veh-" "u-" or in Ancient Hebrew "weh-". In Jesus' dialect of Aramaic, it would be pronunced either "weh-" or "u-" depending on vowel placement.

Mistaken Claim: Waw, as a conjunction never means "from."

Comment: ברק ובמה ["baraq we-bamah" or "baraq u-vamah" due to pronunciation rules] would mean "Lightning and Shrine."

The word "Satan" is sah-tan in Hebrew; a direct translation.

Correct Claim: שטן ["'satan"] is the Hebrew and Aramaic word for "Satan."

So back to Jesus' prophesy in Luke chapter 10, verse 18. If spoken by by a Jewish Rabbi today, influenced by the poetry of Isaiah, he would say these words in Hebrew, the words of Jesus in Luke chapter 10, verse 18 as:

"And I saw Satan as Baraq u-Bama."

Mistaken Claim: In light of the previous comments, in Hebrew it would have most likely been ברק מן השמים [baraq min ha-shamayim]. In Aramaic, it would most likely have been ברקא מן שמיא [barqa min shmaya].

Did Jesus reveal to us the name of the Antichrist?

I report, you decide.

Comment: I believe that in light of the languages in question, that it is clear that this entire argument, theology and politics strictly aside, is based upon several, demonstrably faulty premises.

Peace,
-Steve

PS: This is also ironically, The Aramaic Blog's 100th post. Can't say it isn't spectacular. :-)

Rare 2nd Temple Aramaic Inscription Found

Two lines of the Aramaic inscription.

Photo: Stephen Pfann/UHL

A unique ten-line Aramaic inscription on the side of a stone cup commonly used for ritual purity during Second Temple times was recently uncovered during archaeological excavations on Jerusalem's Mount Zion, The Jerusalem Post learned on Wednesday.

Inscriptions of this kind are extremely rare and only a handful have been found in scientific excavations made within the city.

The archaeological excavations are being carried out within the Gan Sovev Homot Yerushalayim national park, close to the Zion Gate. The work is directed by Professors Shimon Gibson and James Tabor of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, with the co-ordination of Evyatar Cohen and Dr Tsvika Tsuk of the Israel Parks Authority.

Full article here: http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1248277923672&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Hehe yeah, that is a bit hard to interpret. Inscribed as clear as day, but difficult to make sense of. I'm going to have to chew on that snippet of the inscription for a while.

Peace,
-Steve

Traces of Aramaic Found on Shroud of Turin

A recent study by French scientist Thierry Castex has revealed that on the shroud are traces of words in Aramaic spelled with Hebrew letters.

A Vatican researcher, Barbara Frale, told Vatican Radio July 26 that her own studies suggest the letters on the shroud were written more than 1,800 years ago.

She said that in 1978 a Latin professor in Milan noticed Aramaic writing on the shroud and in 1989 scholars discovered Hebrew characters that probably were portions of the phrase "The king of the Jews."

Castex's recent discovery of the word "found" with another word next to it, which still has to be deciphered, "together may mean 'because found' or 'we found,'" she said.

What is interesting, she said, is that it recalls a passage in the Gospel of St. Luke, "We found this man misleading our people," which was what several Jewish leaders told Pontius Pilate when they asked him to condemn Jesus.

She said it would not be unusual for something to be written on a burial cloth in order to indicate the identity of the deceased.

http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0903394.htm

I am intrigued.

Personally not quite sure about the authenticity of this particular relic (I lean towards skepticism) but I would become absolutely giddy if I could hunt up some images of this text.

Peace,
-Steve

"Jesus Saves" Ring in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek

(Or so it claims... Read on.)

Good morning fellow Aramaic Enthusiasts,

Today I was looking around eBay for a bit, and I came across a listing I had seen a number of times before, but since it never really interested me I always failed to take a closer look.

This time, however, I figured "what the heck?" and clicked through to the listing... and was unpleasantly surprised.

There is no Aramaic to be found on this ring.

Instead, in the very center, there is an Arabic phrase. Not too much of a surprise, actually. Aramaic is often confused with Arabic, and even more often Amharic, so this is an easy goof to make. However, the ring had something else in store that piqued my interest.

The inscription in Arabic read:

جيسوس ينقذ

Now, I must admit that my Arabic is not very good, but even at my level of comprehension, I noticed something a little bit odd. I did not see عيسى‎ "Isa," the Arabic cognate for "Jesus" anywhere.

Instead I saw جيسوس: "JEE-SUS" spelled out phonetically.

I must admit that I've never come across such a transliteration before, so I Googled it, which returned with a mere 27,000 hits. This seems like a good chunk (perhaps it is used amongst some small Arabic circles), but this is also in juxtaposition with 8,000,000+ hits for عيسى‎ "Isa".

The owner of the entry has been emailed, and I do hope that they update the listing.

UPDATE: As "bulbul" reminded me below, يسوع "Yasu`" is also another valid spelling of Jesus' name in Arabic, and is the form used most frequently among Arab Christians. Needless to say, that form isn't found on this ring either.

Peace,
-Steve

Aramaic Sudoku Revisited

A long while ago I put together an Aramaic version of Sudoku, and just recently came across it again. I've now linked it up to the main Aramaic Designs website and I'll soon be publishing some other Aramaic games for fun.

Check back here in a couple of weeks to see what's up. :-)

Peace,
-Steve

Ethnologue Oops

I was cruising around Ethnologue today and came upon the following whoops:

Samaritan Aramaic
An extinct language of Palestinian West Bank and Gaza

ISO 639-3: sam
Population: No known speakers. Ethnic population: 620 (1999 H. Mutzafi).
Region: West Bank near Nablus; Tel Aviv, Israel. Also in Israel.
Classification: Afro-Asiatic, Semitic, Central, Aramaic, Western
Language use: Ceased as L1 for daily functions in 10th–12th centuries A.D. Mainly Samaritan Hebrew and Samaritan Aramaic secondarily as liturgical languages. About 30% live near Nablus and speak Palestinian Arabic [ajp] as L1. Others live near Tel Aviv and speak Hebrew [heb] as L1. Religion.
Writing system: Syriac script.
Comments: Samaritan religion, related to Judaism.

I've emailed the editor. The Syriac and Samaritan alphabets are quite different from one-another.

Peace,
-Steve

Aramaic Class Preregistrations Open

Preregistration for the following classes over at Aramaic Designs has opened:

ARC010: The Aramaic Lord's Prayer

This is a specialty 8-week course that was put together at Aramaic Designs for anyone who is interested in learning more about the Lord's Prayer in Jesus' mother tongue, Aramaic.

Duration: 8+ weeks.
Price: $50

[preregister here]

SYR101: Classical Syriac

This course will serve as a basic introduction to Classical Syriac Aramaic, a major literary dialect that was prominent between the 2nd and 8th centuries CE, most notably as the vehicle for Syrian Christianity, that stretched as far as China and India. Upon completion, the student will have a firm grasp of Syriac grammar and a sizeable vocabulary.

Duration: 15+ weeks.
Price: $100

[preregister here]

Both of these courses are set to open before the end of July. They are 100% online so you can enroll at any time and work through them at your own pace.

Preregistrants will have access to the material for an extended period of time and the ability to put in requests for additional material before the class open officially.

Peace,
-Steve

Codex Sinaiticus

Not quite Aramaic-related, but a very important development in terms of early Greek Bible studies, the Codex Sinaiticus is now up for viewing by the public, and it looks really spiffy. :-)

http://www.codexsinaiticus.org

Peace,
-Steve