Re: Carlton's ELOI post

From: Edward Hobbs (EHOBBS@wellesley.edu)
Date: Sun Dec 21 1997 - 17:09:12 EST


From: LUCY::EHOBBS "Edward Hobbs" 21-DEC-1997 17:03:31.51
To: IN%"winberyc@popalex1.linknet.net"
CC: IN%"B-Greel@virginia.edu",EHOBBS
Subj: RE: ELWI ELWI LEMA SABAXQANI (Mk 15,34 / Ps 22,2)

Carlton Winbery wrote:
--------->>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Brian Wilson wrote;

>I have been unable to find a commentary which states that the cry in
>Mark 15:34 is not in Aramaic.
>
The old unabridged Grimm Wilke translated and enlarged by Thayer gives the
reading of ELWi as Syriac.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<------------

Leave it to Carlton to find the one exception!

I can see Carlton's sly smile as he wrote that sentence, wondering how many
of us would remember that Syriac is a dialect of Eastern Aramaic (in which
much of the Babylonian Talmud was written). Palestinian Jewish Aramaic is
usually classified as Levantine Aramaic.

I recall that when we required Aramaic for our Ph.D. students in OT and NT
and listed "Syriac" for students of NT and Patristics, we had some in-
betweeners who asked if they had to take two separate examinations. We
ruled that "Aramaic is Syriac," to the great relief of the students.

Most people tend to make the distinction, not on the basis of actual
dialects, but of which script is used. The Peshitta certainly looks
different from the square-letter text of the Gemara!

So maybe the question is one of what script was used!

(I vote for square-letter, myself.)

Edward Hobbs



This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.4 : Sat Apr 20 2002 - 15:38:40 EDT