This may be one of the finest New Testament Introductions. It is a must-read. I was able to locate Vols. 2 and 3, but not Vol. 1 on the market. I hold all three apart from modern republications. This is the work of one of Germany's finest scholars from the 19th century. The comments are gold; the footnotes are double-gold. This is high-end scholarship. Here are some notes on Aramaic and Greek.
Volume 3 is available at: http://www.amazon.com/
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS CONCERNING THE LANGUAGE AND ITS HISTORY
§ 1. The Original Language of the Gospel, 1-33
• The Gospel of the Kingdom was preached by Jesus was "in Aramaic"
• The Apostles preached the Gospel to Palestinian Jews "in Aramaic"
• The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and John preserve some short sayings of Jesus in Aramaic, convinced they were reproducing the original sayings
• Shortly after the establishment of the Jerusalem Church, the Gospel is spoken to Greeks in Antioch
• Jesus prayed in Aramaic. Cf. Mk. 1426; 15.34; Mt. 27.46
Mark 14.26: “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”
Mark 15.34: And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).
Matthew 27.46: “Eli, Eli,] lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).
• Jesus used Aramaic to heal and raise the dead. Mk. 5.41; 7.45
Mark 5.41: He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which means “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”).
Mark 7.45: He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, “Ephphatha!” (which means “Be opened!”). 35 At this, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly
• Aramaic was also known as Syrian or Syriac
• Aramaic had preceded Christ’s appearance by at least 500 years; it was the dominant language of western Asia; there were dialects of it: West Syriac (Aramaic), Nabataean, Palymyrene. Mr. Zahn likens it to High Germanic dialects: Alemanic, Swabian, Bavarian, and Franconian
• Alexander the Greek and his successors spread Greek, but there were no linguistic rivals to either until the triumph of Islam in the 7th century A.D.
• Syrian, or Aramaic, was considered in the 6th century A.D. to be the “queen of the languages.” As such, one can speak of Aramaic has having at least 1000 years of dominance and use in those areas.
• By 700 B.C. , the Assyrian Commander, at the gates of Jerusalem spoke Hebrew in the mocking tones (indicating polyglot skills too), but the Jerusalem defenders begged for the Assyrians to speak in Aramaic, or Assyrian, or Syrian, so as to not demoralized the Jerusalemites. Aramaic was the language of commerce and discourse.
2 Kings 18.26: Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, and Shebna and Joah said to the field commander, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, since we understand it. Don’t speak to us in Hebrew in the hearing of the people on the wall.”
Isaiah 36.11: 11 Then Eliakim, Shebna and Joah said to the field commander, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, since we understand it. Don’t speak to us in Hebrew in the hearing of the people on the wall.”
• The Persian Empire: Aramaic became the official language of the royal government at satrapies of western provinces and the polyglot subordinates.
• Numerous inscriptions bear out this language-dominance, but as we'll note below, parallel to the dominance of Greek as well
• Jewish children, Jesus included, learned Aramaic before studying classical Hebrew
• Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman and other Samaritans without, inferably, translators. Jn. 4.7-43; Lk. 17.16
• Jesus spoke to a Syro-Phonecian woman
• Hillel’s sayings were transmitted in Aramaic; Aramaic was “widely employed even in rabbinic circles” (11)
• Aramaic terms survive, for example, maranatha, amen, and hosanna in Greek services, e.g. Didache. Paul uses it in 1 Cor. 16.22, preserved in the KJV, but airbrushed out in the NIV.
§ 2. The Greek Language among the Jews, 34-72
• Greek was the cosmopolitan language with the New Testament books written in Greek
• This was a testimony to the success of Alexander the Great and his successors; God willing, this will be the subject of a subsequent inquiry.
• The Romans nourished literacy in Greek
• Political changes work slowly however; the Celtic vernacular in Gaul did not yield to Latin’s ascendancy until the Frankish kings
• The Seleucids and Ptolemaic influences worked slowly
• The common folk in Palestine retained Aramaic, or Syriac, until the Islamists’ triumph in the 7th century A.D.
• The port cities and highways of commerce evinced more knowledge of Greek
• Within Israel, Greek islands and language-cultural centers existed. Alexander the Great settled Greek colonists in Perea, Dion, Hippus, Gadara, and Sycthopolis
• Caesarea was called πολις ελληις
• Ambassadors of Judas Maccabeus travelled to Rome in 161 B.C. and conversed in the Roman Senate in, most likely, Greek
• Herod the Great fashioned himself as “more Greek than Jew” according to Josephus (Antiquities, 19.7.3). He had his sons educated in Rome. He brought Greek and Roman influences to Israel with theaters, amphitheaters and hippodromes.
• The Greek Septuagint, LXX, a translation of the OT in Greek, was common in foreign lands. It was spoken by “prominent rabbis.”
• A 1-day journey from Jerusalem and one could encounter Greek cities, e.g. the Decapolis
• Mr. Zahn believes that Jesus used Greek loan words taken over into Aramaic: Συνεδριον, διαθηκη, παρακλητος , κυριε (as a form of address), δηναριον, αςςαριον, κοδραντης, πανδοκευς, πανδοκειον, λεγεων
• Pilate and Jesus, on Mr. Zahn’s view, probably conversed in Greek
• This raises questions: Peter’s sermons in early Acts? In Aramaic? Greek? We learn that other "foreign languages" (real languages) were used in Acts 2, not this non-sensible gibberish defended by the Costalists.
• James, who presided over the Jewish-Palestinian churches in/around Jerusalem was inferably and probably bi-lingual, e.g. Hellenists and Jerusalem Christians
• Peter speaking in Caesarea?
• Peter and John later presided over multi-lingual churches in Asia Minor
• Greek was the lingua franca of daily talk and religious services of Asia Minor, European provinces of Rome, and even Rome itself; Jewish tombs in Rome have Greek inscriptions
• Paul: brought to Jerusalem at an early age (Acts 22.3), educated by Rabbi Gamaliel (knowledgeable in Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic), of a Hellenistic household of Tarsus, and reflected tremendous versatility in the use of Greek. He epistles show, at times, delicacy of expression, sharp tones of sarcasm, instances of eloquence, ability to show tedious details (e.g. collection of monies), and an ability to teach, argue and refute. . “His letters are weighty and strong” said his opponents (2 Cor. 10). He can write a brief and delicate letter like Philemon or a doctrinal treatise like Romans. He evinces grammatical variety ably. He cites Greek authors: Epimenedes (Tit. 1.12), Menander (1 Cor. 15.33) and Aratus (Acts 17.28). During his first visit to Jerusalem, he encountered Hellenists (Acts 9.29). According to Mr. Zahn, Paul spent at least 5 years in Tarsus before going to Antioch to assist in Church ministry; Mr. Zahn dates this as 38—43 A.D.
• In the wider context, there was a 10 to 1 ratio of non-Greeks speaking Greek compared to national Greeks speaking Greek.
• Allegedly, Rabbi Gamaliel and his family for generations after 70 A.D. “cultivated Greek studies” for reasons of concourse but also because of “social standing.”
• Josephus brags about his Greek skills. He was born in Jerusalem in 37 A.D. of a priestly family. He began his Greek studies at age 14. Quite inferably, we may say he knew Aramaic, the language of the land. Also, in his rabbinic studies, he learned classical Hebrew. He brags that at age 26 (Vita, 2; Antiquities 20.12), he was able to converse in high circles at Rome including the wife of Nero; however, he notes that he could not overcome his accent, but that he was clearly understood.
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