Foreword

Quite a few years ago while reading through the Acts of the Apostles it struck me that Paul was said to have spoken to the mob in the Hebrew language. It struck me because like most other Bible students I had been taught that Aramaic not Hebrew was the language of Jesus and the apostles. After inquiring a bit further into the matter I was assured that Hebrew really meant Aramaic and that I shouldn’t waste my time pursuing an issue that was settled long ago.

So, not having the language skills that would be needed to take my investigation any further I let it rest, even though I was still unsatisfied with the issue. After all, was it not just as easy for the New Testament writers to say Aramaic if that’s what they really meant?

Well many years have past since that incident, and although I never really lost any sleep over the matter it’s still been there in the back of my mind. Therefore, I was extremely delighted when Douglas Hamp handed me a manuscript of this book and asked if I’d read over it. He, of course, had no idea of my previous inquiry into the subject.

Having read it now a number of times I am convinced that the language of Jesus and the apostles was indeed Hebrew rather than Aramaic. That’s why we read in Acts that Jesus spoke to Saul of Tarsus in the Hebrew language and that many years later Paul spoke to the Jewish mob in Jerusalem in the Hebrew language. Not that this changes anything in regard to our faith, but it does shed some interesting light on certain words and phrases in the New Testament. It also, as the author points out, gives us confidence that we can trust the accuracy of the Scriptures right down to the very words.

Brian  Brodersen July 2005

Endorsement

Being in ministry in a Messianic congregation teaches you to look at the Hebraic roots of the gospels. I am always happy to see a Christian author apply this concept. In this case, the author studies the actual language of the gospels themselves, keeping it simple and yet also provocative and informative.

The author provides some very informative discussions bout the language Yeshua (Jesus) likely spoke. He starts with a simple observation, that the authors of Scripture clearly and unambiguously use the Greek words for Hebrew and not Aramaic when they refer to language. He backs up this observation with Jewish sources (such as the Mishna and Josephus) to show that Hebrew and Aramaic, while both Semitic languages, are not the same thing. Yes there are clearly some Aramaic words that made their way into Hebrew usage, much in the same way that some French words have become English words. But in the same way, nobody confuses French for English.

Perhaps the most interesting chapter is an analysis of the words of Yeshua that have been long assumed to be Aramaic. Using Jewish sources such as the Septuagint, he dissects each word to show that although some of the words could be Aramaic, most are Hebrew. I was stunned because apparently few scholars have bothered to really study this in detail (ah, the traps of assumptions).

The author reminds us of a simple point that tends to get lost. Transliterations between languages can be problematic, since not all characters exist in all languages. For example, there is no "j" in Hebrew, thus it can be tricky to translate a name like Janet into Hebrew. Mr. Hamp shows how with some knowledge of Greek and Hebrew, you can see how some of the non Greek words, which are assumed to be Aramaic, are likely Greek transliterations of Hebrew words. Quite fascinating, indeed.

I really liked this book because it challenges some "obvious" assumptions made by scholars. Given how tenaciously the Jewish people defended their culture, why does this not apply to their language? To his credit, that the author is careful not to ascribe too much meaning to any one argument. He has a good balance of views.

To someone who is not familiar with Hebrew, this work might be a little intimidating, but the author gives the some help with transliterations. There are a few issues that need further comment, like his translation of the word "Bethesda" (which may not mean "house of mercy" as Hamp claims). And it would have been interesting for there to be comments on the work of George Lamsa who has done a lot of work on the "Aramaic New testament." (which I don't think is completely accurate, but this work should at least be addressed). Perhaps the author will provide deeper insight into topics like these in future work. Id like to see him take this further someday to see if this can shed anymore light upon the teachings of Yeshua

But overall, this a great work that challenges many incorrect assumptions about the use of Hebrew in the time of Yeshua. Definitely check it out.

Albert Cerussi, Congregational Coleader of Ben David Messianic Congregation