Subject: The original language of John? |
Bible Note: "OTHER ITEMS John 5:2 says, "Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Hebrew is called Beyit Hesedah. (Bethesda)" Now "Hesedah" (Hebrew) or "Hesdah" (Aramaic) has a meaning in Hebrew that is opposite it's meaning in Aramaic. So while there's no known reason a Greek writer would stop to explain this name and leave other names unexplained, we see clearly why an Aramaic writer would stop to explain that this name is of Hebrew origin even though other names would not be explained in a similar fashion. In Hebrew, "Hesed" means "mercy, grace, etc". In Aramaic "Hesdah" (pronounced a little different but spelled with the same root letters) means "disgrace". Since the word is of Hebrew origin, rather than Aramaic, it would be a significant thing to mention to an Aramaic audience. Most vocabular words that are cognant to both Hebrew and Aramaic have the same meaning, but that's not the case for this word. THE "PARAKLETE" The word "paraklete" is interesting because it appears in both the Greek and Aramaic versions of John 14:16,26, 15:26, and 16:7 and could have separate etymologies in the two languages. HEBREW/ARAMAIC MEANING: The Aramaic word "parakletah" appears in the Aramaic version of Isaiah 66:13, written before the New Testament. It also is used in the Aramaic version of Job 16:20 and 33:23. It is a translation of the Hebrew word for "comfort", and thus means "comforter". The Hebrew "paraklete" can mean "advocate" and appears used this way in the Mishnah, m.Avot 4:11a. Also the Jewish Dictionary states "..The sin offering is like the paraclete before God ‘it interceded for man and is followed by another ... a thank offering for the pardon obtained... The two daily burnt offerings are called 'the two parcletes'.." (pp. 514-515). GREEK MEANING: In Greek, it could be a transliteration of the Aramaic word or it could be Greek meaning "one called alongside". parakaleo is the closest word in Greek to parakletos which means "called alongside". But it is not a common word in Greek. The only known pre-New Testament usage of this word in Greek appears in The Peloponnesian War by Thucydides, written 431 BC, where it appears in a slight variation from the way it appears in the gospel account (aparakletoi). All other appearances of this word are after the gospel record from men referring to it. Now most modern translations use the root meaning of the Aramaic version of this word if they translate it and translate it as "Comforter" or "Advocate", using the Aramaic etymology rather than the Greek etymology of "called alongside one". Either the Aramaic or Greek meanings could make sense. While the Greek version of John 19:31 contains one line of bad grammar, which reads, "the Jews did not want the bodies [plural] left on the cross [singular] during the Sabbath". The Aramaic version says, "the Jews did not want the bodies [plural] left on the crosses [plural] during the Sabbath". So maybe this was just a bad translation from Aramaic to Greek and not how John originally wrote this. Also, the Aramaic version of John gives us some insights that are missing in the Greek version. In John 4:34, Jesus said, "'My food,' said Jesus, 'is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work'" The word "food" here in the Aramaic version of John is "makhulta", which sounds a lot like the Aramaic word for "kingdom", which is "malkhuta". So the point He was making is "my food is my kingdom". Note how He connects "food/makhulta" with "do the will" and a king is characterized by giving orders/being the one in charge, etc. Now the priests ate food in the process of performing their priestly duties. So the Torah model included a group of people who ate food in obedience to the will of the king and 1 Peter 2:5,9 tells us that believers in Jesus are a "royal priesthood"! So this play on words hinted at an allegory." part 2 of 2 (My friend's thesis on the language of John) |
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KBurgee | ||
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salwag | ||
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stephanos | ||
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Saggie1 | ||
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Makarios | ||
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Makarios | ||
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Makarios | ||
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Makarios | ||
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cgs3 | ||
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Anglo38-LL | ||
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MC2 |