LOY Excursus: Greek Transliterations of Hebrew, Aramaic and Hebrew/Aramaic Words in the Synoptic Gospels (original) (raw)

One of the clues that the Synoptic Gospels descended from a Hebrew Life of Yeshua is the number of foreign words that were transliterated into Greek from either Hebrew or Aramaic (it is often impossible to distinguish Hebrew from Aramaic in Greek transliteration).

How to cite this article:

David N. Bivin and Joshua N. Tilton, “LOY Excursus: Greek Transliterations of Hebrew, Aramaic and Hebrew/Aramaic Words in the Synoptic Gospels,” The Life of Yeshua_: A Suggested Reconstruction_ (Jerusalem Perspective, 2014) [https://www.jerusalemperspective.com/12404/\].

Revised: 23 September 2012[1]

Although the canonical Gospels were composed in Greek, there are indications that they drew from non-Greek sources. This makes sense because Jesus’ teaching was probably delivered in Hebrew,[2] and according to early church traditions the earliest record of Jesus’ life was written in Hebrew.[3] One of the clues that the Synoptic Gospels descended from a Hebrew Life of Yeshua is the number of foreign words that were transliterated into Greek from either Hebrew or Aramaic (it is often impossible to distinguish Hebrew from Aramaic in Greek transliteration). Since modern translations of the Bible tend to hide these transliterated words, most readers are not aware of how many transliterated words there are in the Synoptic Gospels.

Below we have collected all the transliterated words in the Synoptic Gospels with the exception of personal names and toponyms.[4] Place names and personal names would greatly increase the number of transliterations in our list,[5] but since such names normally retain their (approximate) pronunciations when crossing from one language to another, they are less relevant when considering a possible Hebrew or Aramaic _Ur_-text standing behind the Synoptic Gospels.[6] In a separate list we have collected Hellenized words derived from Semitic languages that appear in the Synoptic Gospels. These Hellenized Semitic terms are distinguished from transliterations by the fact that they take the various Greek case endings, indicating that these terms have been more fully assimilated into the Greek language. Although less telling than transliterated terms, a Greek translator of a Hebrew or Aramaic source would naturally gravitate toward these Hellenized Semitic terms when confronted with the corresponding Hebrew or Aramaic equivalents in his or her source text.

Transliterated Words in the Synoptic Gospels

Hebrew Words

ἀμήν (amēn) = אָמֵן (’āmēn, “Amen”)[7]

Matt. 5:18, 26; 6:2, 5, 16; 8:10; 10:15, 23, 42; 11:11; 13:17; 16:28; 17:20; 18:3, 13, 18, [19]; 19:23, 28; 21:21, 31; 23:36; 24:2, 34, 47; 25:12, 40, 45; 26:13, 21, 34; Mark 3:28; 8:12; 9:1, 41; 10:15, 29; 11:23; 12:43; 13:30; 14:9, 18, 25, 30; [16:8]; Luke 4:24; 12:37; 18:17, 29; 21:32; 23:43

ἠλί (ēli) = אֵלִי (’ēli, “my God”)

Matt. 27:46 (2xx)

λαμά (lama) = לָמָּה (lāmāh, “why?”)[8]

Matt. 27:46

σαβαχθάνι (sabachthani) = שְׁבַקְתַּנִי (shevaqtani, “you left me”)[9]

Matt. 27:46

ὡσαννά (hōsanna) = הוֹשַׁע נָא (hōsha‘ nā’, “Please save!”)[10]

Matt. 21:9 (2xx), 15; Mark 11:9, 10

Hebrew/Aramaic Words[11]

ἀββά (abba) = אַבָּא (Heb./Aram. ’abā’, “father”)[12]

Mark 14:36

ἐφφαθά (effatha) = הִפָּתַח (Heb. hipātaḥ, “Be opened!”); אֶתְפְּתַח or אֶפְתַּח (Aram. ’etpetaḥ or ’eftaḥ, “Be opened!”)

Mark 7:34

κορβᾶν (korban) = קָרְבָּן (Heb. qorbān, “dedicated to the Temple”); קָרְבָּנָא (Aram. qorbānā’, “dedicated to the Temple”)

Mark 7:11

ῥαββί (rabbi), var. ῥαββεί (rabbei) = רַבִּי (Heb./Aram. rabi, “rabbi,” “my master”)

Matt. 23:7, 8; 26:25, 49; Mark 9:5; 11:21; 14:45

ῥαββουνί (rabbouni), var. ῥαββουνεί (rabbounei) = רַבּוּנִי (Heb. rabūni, “my master”); רַבּוֹנִי (Aram. rabōni, “my master”)

Mark 10:51

ῥακά (raka) = רֵיקָה (Heb. rēqāh, “empty head”); רֵיקָא (Aram. rēqā’, “empty head”)

Matt. 5:22

Aramaic Words

ἐλωΐ (elōi) = אֱלָהִי (’elāhi, “my God”)

Mark 15:34 (2xx)

κούμ (koum) = קוּם (qūm, “Rise!”)[13]

Mark 5:41

λεμά (lema), var. λειμά (leima) = לְמָה (lemāh, “why?”)

Mark 15:34

σαβαχθάνι (sabachthani), var. σαβαχθάνει (sabachthanei) = שְׁבַקְתַּנִי (shevaqtani, “you left me”)[14]

Mark 15:34

ταλιθά (talitha) = טַלְיְתָא or טְלִתָא (ṭalyetā’ or ṭelitā’, “little lamb/girl”)

Mark 5:41

From the compilation above, we can observe that many of the transliterated words in the Synoptic Gospels are liturgical or cultic terms (e.g., ἀμήν [_amēn_]; ὡσαννά [_hōsanna_]; κορβᾶν [korban, “dedicated to the Temple”]), which naturally had no equivalent in Greek. Other terms that tended to be transliterated were titles of address (e.g., ῥαββί [rabbi, “my teacher”]).[15] Another important observation is that all of the transliterated words in Matthew and Luke belong to the exclusively Hebrew or Hebrew/Aramaic categories. Only the Gospel of Mark contains transliterated words that are exclusively Aramaic.[16]

Hellenized Semitic Words in the Synoptic Gospels

βάτος (batos, a liquid measure) = בַּת (Heb. bat, a liquid measure); בֵּיתָא (Aram. bētā’, a liquid measure)[17]

Luke 16:6

βύσσος (būssos, “fine linen”)[18] = בּוּץ (Heb. būtz, “fine linen”);[19] בּוּצָא (Aram. būtzā’, “fine linen”)

Luke 16:19

γέεννα (geenna, “Gehenna”) = גֵּי[א] הִנֹּם (Heb. _gē_[_’_] hinom, “Gehenna,” “Hinnom valley”); גֵּיהִנָּם (Aram. gēhinām, “Gehenna,” “Hinnom valley”)[20]

Matt. 5:22, 29, 30; 10:28; 18:9; 23:15, 33; Mark 9:43, 45, 47; Luke 12:5

καναναῖος (kananaios) = קַנַּאי (Heb. qanai, “zealous”); קַנְאָנָא (Aram. qan’ānā’, “the zealous”)[21]

Matt. 10:4; Mark 3:18

κορβανᾶς (korbanas, “item dedicated to the Jewish Temple”) = קָרְבָּן (Heb. qorbān, “dedicated to the Temple”); קָרְבָּנָא (Aram. qorbānā’, “dedicated to the Temple”)

Matt. 27:6

κόρος (koros, a measure of quantity) = כֹּר (Heb. kor, a measure of quantity);[22] כּוֹרָא/כּוֹר (Aram. kōrā’/kōr, a measure of quantity)[23]

Luke 16:7

μαμωνᾶς (mamōnas, “mammon”) = מָמוֹן (Heb. māmōn, “wealth”); מָמוֹנָא (Aram. māmōnā’, “wealth”)

Matt. 6:24; Luke 16:9, 11, 13

μνᾶ (mna, “mina,” a denomination of coinage)[24] = מָנֶה (Heb. māneh, “mina,” a denomination of coinage); מָנָא (Aram. mānā’, a measure of weight)[25]

Luke 19:13, 16 (2xx), 18 (2xx), 20, 24 (2xx), 25

πάσχα (pascha, “Passover,” “Passover lamb”) = פֶּסַח (Heb. pesaḥ, “Passover,” “Passover lamb”);[26] פִּסְחָא (Aram. pisḥā’, “Passover,” “Passover lamb”), var. פַּסְחָא (pasḥā’)[27]

Matt. 26:2, 17, 18, 19; Mark 14:1, 12 (2xx), 14, 16; Luke 2:41; 22:1, 7, 8, 11, 13, 15

σάββατον (sabbaton, “Sabbath”) = שַׁבָּת (Heb. shabāt, “Sabbath”); שַׁבַּתָּא (Aram. shabatā’, “Sabbath”)

Matt. 12:1, 2, 5 (2xx), 8, 10, 11, 12; 24:20; 28:1 (2xx); Mark 1:21; 2:23, 24, 27 (2xx), 28; 3:2, 4; 6:2; 16:1, 2, [9]; Luke 4:16, 31; 6:1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 9; 13:10, 14 (2xx), 15, 16; 14:1, 3, 5; 18:12; 23:54, 56; 24:1

Σαδδουκαῖος (Saddoukaios, “Sadducee”)[28] = צְדוּקי (Heb. tzedūqi, “Sadducee”)

Matt. 3:7; 5:20; 9:11, 14, 34; 12:2, 14, 24, 38; 15:1, 12; 16:1, 6, 11, 12; 19:3; 21:45; 22:15, 34, 41; 23:2, 13, 15, 23, 25, 26, 27, 29; 27:62; Mark 2:16, 18; 2:24; 3:6; 7:1, 3, 5; 8:11, 15; 10:2; 12:13; Luke 5:17, 21, 30, 33; 6:2, 7; 7:30, 36, 37, 39; 11:37, 38, 39, 42, 43, 53; 12:1; 13:31; 14:1, 3; 15:2; 16:14; 17:20; 18:10, 11; 19:39

σάκκος (sakkos, “sackcloth”)[29] = שַׂק (Heb. saq, “sackcloth”);[30] סַק (Aram. saq, “sackcloth”)

Matt. 11:21; Luke 10:13

σατανᾶς (satanas, “Satan”)[31] = שָׂטָן (Heb. sāṭān, “satan,” “accuser”); סָטָנָא (Aram. sāṭānā’, “satan,” “accuser”)

Matt. 4:10; 12:26 (2xx); 16:23; Mark 1:13; 3:23 (2xx), 26; 4:15; 8:33; Luke 10:18; 11:18; 13:16; 22:3, 31

σάτον (saton, a measure of quantity) = סְאָה (Heb. se’āh, a measure of quantity); סָאתָא (Aram. sā’tā’, a measure of quantity)

Matt. 13:33; Luke 13:21

σίκερα (sikera, “fermented drink,” “beer”)[32] = שֵׁכָר (Heb. shēchār, “fermented drink,” “beer”);[33] שִׁכְרָא (Aram. shichrā’, “fermented drink,” “beer”)

Luke 1:15

συκάμινος (sūkaminos, “mulberry”)[34] = שִׁקְמָה (Heb. shiqmāh, “sycamore”);[35] שִׁיקְמָא (Aram. shiqmā’, “sycamore”)

Luke 17:6

Φαρισαῖος (Farisaios, “Pharisee”)[36] = פָּרוּשׁ (Heb. pārūsh, “Pharisee”); פְּרִישָׁא (perishā’, “Pharisee”)

With respect to Hellenized Semitic words, it must first be noted that some of them, especially those attested early on, probably entered the Greek language via Akkadian, Ugaritic or Phoenician (Canaanite), through contact with traders and merchants.[37] Other Hellenized Semitic words, it will be noticed, are phonetically closer to Aramaic than Hebrew (e.g., κορβανᾶς [closer to Aram. קָרְבָּנָא than Heb. קָרְבָּן]; πάσχα [closer to Aram. פַּסְחָא than Heb. פֶּסַח]; σατανᾶς [closer to Aram. סָטָנָא than Heb. שָׂטָן]).[38] Such Hellenized Semitic terms may have entered the Greek lexicon through contacts between Aramaic-speaking local representatives of the Jewish community in the former Persian Empire and Greek-speaking officials of the Ptolemaic and/or Seleucid Empires. A third observation to be made is that in a translated text the mere appearance of Hellenized terms from Aramaic, such as πάσχα, does not indicate from which Semitic language a Greek text might have been translated, since the LXX translators frequently employed Aramaic-derived terms when translating Hebrew texts.[39] The LXX translators naturally preferred to use vocabulary that was already established in their target language, rather than resorting to foreign-sounding transliterations that conveyed no meaning to an exclusively Greek-speaking audience. The same preference would probably have been shared by an ancient translator of a collection of sayings or Hebrew biography of Jesus.

Greek and Hebrew mosaic from the fourth-century synagogue in Hammat Tiberias, with the words ΑΜΗΝ (amēn) and שָׁלוֹם (shālōm).

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