Langues bibliques
ܐܳܪܳܡܳܝܳܐ
Biblical Aramaic
The language of Daniel and Ezra, the mother tongue of Jesus of Nazareth. A few fragments preserved in the OT and NT.
Aramaic is a Semitic language of the north-western family, a sister of Hebrew. It was the diplomatic and commercial language of the ancient Near East from the 8th century BC, and then the lingua franca of the Achaemenid Persian Empire (Imperial Aramaic, 6th-4th c. BC). In the time of Christ it was the everyday language of Palestine — Hebrew having become mainly a liturgical and learned language.
The periodisation of Aramaic
- Old Aramaic (10th-8th c. BC) — Inscriptions of the Aramaean kingdoms.
- Imperial Aramaic (7th-4th c.) — The administrative language of the Achaemenids. The form of the biblical passages.
- Middle Aramaic (3rd c. BC – 3rd c. AD) — Dialectal diversification: Nabataean, Palmyrene, Jewish Palestinian Aramaic (the language of Jesus), the early Targums.
- Late Aramaic (from the 4th c. AD) — A Western branch (Targum Jonathan, Jewish Palestinian Aramaic) and an Eastern branch (Syriac, Mandaic, Jewish Babylonian Aramaic).
- Neo-Aramaic — Still spoken today in a few pockets in Lebanon (Maaloula), Syria, Iraq (Assyrian Christians), Iran and Turkey.
Écriture et alphabet
Biblical Aramaic is written with the same alphabet as Hebrew (the square script, כְּתָב מְרֻבָּע, kĕṭāḇ mĕrubbāʿ), which is in fact of Aramaic origin and replaced the Palaeo-Hebrew script among the Jews after the Babylonian exile. The other historic forms of Aramaic developed their own scripts:
- Estrangela — The ancient Syriac script (ܐܣܬܪܢܓܠܐ, ʾestrangelā, from Greek στρογγύλος,
rounded
). Used in manuscripts down to the 8th century. - Serto (ܣܪܥܐ) — The Western Syriac script (Jacobite, Maronite). More cursive.
- Madnyāyā (ܭܕܢܚܪܐ,
eastern
) — The Eastern Syriac script (the Church of the East, Chaldean). - Mandaic — Its own alphabet, derived from Aramaic but with integrated vowels.
Phonology
Aramaic shares with Hebrew the 22 consonants, including the six בגדכפת (beghadhkephath) with a double pronunciation (stop/fricative). It nonetheless shows several distinctive phonological features:
- The emphatic gutturals sometimes evolved differently (Proto-Semitic *ḏ became z in Hebrew but d in Aramaic).
- A wider use of the matres lectionis (consonants used as vowels), especially in Late Aramaic.
- A greater tendency towards vowel reduction than in Hebrew.
The Aramaic portions of the Old Testament
Four portions of the OT are written in Imperial Aramaic — not Hebrew — for reasons connected with the historical context (Persian rule, diplomatic exchanges):
| Reference | Extent | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Daniel 2:4b–7:28 | c. 6 chapters | Accounts of the Babylonian and Persian kings; apocalyptic visions. The text begins in Hebrew (1:1–2:4a) and then switches to Aramaic at the point where the “Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic” (Dan 2:4) — the language changes with the speaker. |
| Ezra 4:8–6:18 | c. 2 chapters | Official correspondence with the Persian court, in the diplomatic Aramaic language — the language of the Achaemenid chancery. |
| Ezra 7:12-26 | c. 15 verses | The letter of Artaxerxes to Ezra, quoted in full in its original language. |
| Jeremiah 10:11 | 1 verse | An isolated verse in Aramaic in the midst of a Hebrew chapter — possibly a gloss against idols intended for Aramaic-speaking exiled Jews. |
These portions represent about 1% of the Hebrew OT text, but their study is essential for textual criticism, the exegesis of Daniel (a central apocalyptic book), and understanding the post-exilic linguistic context.
Daniel 7:13 — the vision of the Son of Man
I was watching in the visions of the night, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man.
This passage is one of the most christologically charged in the OT — taken up explicitly by Jesus in Mark 14:62 at his trial before the Sanhedrin (You will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven
). The title Son of Man
— Jesus’ preferred self-designation in the gospels — derives directly from Dan 7:13, in Aramaic בַּר אֱנָשׁ (bar ʾĕnāš).
Grammatical peculiarities — the emphatic state
Aramaic shares most of its morphology with Hebrew, but has several important structural peculiarities.
The three states of the noun
| State | Suffix | Function | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Absolute | — | Indefinite, predicate | מֶלֶךְ (melek) — a king |
| Construct | — | The first term of a genitive | מֶלֶךְ דִּּי (melek dî) — the king of… |
| Emphatic | -ָא (-āʾ) | Definite (≈ the Hebrew article) | מַלְכָּא (malkāʾ) — the king |
The emphatic state (with the suffix -ָא) plays the role of a definite article. It is in fact a postposed demonstrative particle, agglutinated to the noun. This construction has no direct equivalent in Hebrew (which uses a prefix, הַ-).
The relative pronoun דִּּי
Aramaic uses a single particle, דִּּי (dî), which serves at once as:
- a relative pronoun (who, which, that, whose) — the equivalent of Hebrew אֲשֶׁר
- a genitive marker (of) — preceding a noun complement
- a conjunction (that) — introducing content clauses
This versatility of דִּּי is one of the most recognisable hallmarks of Biblical Aramaic.
The imperfect with the prefix לִ-
At the verbal level, Biblical Aramaic shows a notable peculiarity: the third person masculine singular of the imperfect is prefixed with לִ- (instead of the Hebrew יִ-) — for example לֶהֱוֵא (lehĕwêʾ, let it be), לִכְתֻב (likṯuḇ, let him write). This makes it quick to distinguish Aramaic from Hebrew in a given text.
The words of Jesus in Aramaic
Several sayings of Jesus, particularly charged with emotion or solemnity, are preserved in their original Aramaic by the evangelists (who then translate them into Greek for their Greek-speaking readers). These ipsissima verba give us direct access to the authentic voice of the historical Christ.
אַבָּא — an intimate prayer
Αββα ὁ πατήρ (Abba ho patêr, Mc 14,36 ; Rm 8,15 ; Ga 4,6)
In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus addresses God, calling him אַבָּא (ʾabbāʾ) — the Aramaic emphatic state of “father”, equivalent to “the father”. Mark preserves the original Aramaic and immediately translates it into Greek (ὁ πατήρ). Paul repeats the same bilingual formula at Rom 8:15 and Gal 4:6 — evidence that primitive Christian liturgical usage preserved the prayer in Aramaic as an expression of filial adoption.
The popular idea that abba was a childish expression equivalent to “daddy” was defended by Joachim Jeremias (Abba: Studien zur neutestamentlichen Theologie und Zeitgeschichte, 1966), who made it the central marker of Jesus’ unique filial consciousness. This thesis is strongly contested by James Barr (“‘Abba’ isn’t ‘Daddy’”, Journal of Theological Studies 39, 1988, 28-47), who shows, on the basis of occurrences in late and Jewish Aramaic, that abba is used by adults addressing their father and that the childish sense is attested only in later periods. The term certainly expresses intimacy, but without any infantilising nuance. The translation “Father” remains the most accurate; the intimacy is carried by the context (Gethsemane) and by the emphatic form itself, which marks personal possession.
טַלִיתָא קוּמִי — the raising of Jairus’s daughter
Ταλιθα κουμ (Talitha koum, Mc 5,41)
The Aramaic form is טַלִיתָא קוּמִי (ṭalîthāʾ qûmî) — “little girl, get up”. Talitha = the feminine emphatic state of ṭallyā (young child). Koum = a masculine imperative, where the feminine koumi would be expected — hence the textual variant κουμι in some manuscripts, and the form koum retained in NA28, which may reflect popular first-century Palestinian usage.
אֵפְּתַח — the healing of the deaf man
Εφφαθα (Ephphatha, Mc 7,34)
The Aramaic form is אֵפְּתַח (ʾeppĕṭaḥ, or ʾippattaḥ) — “be opened”. A passive imperfect (Ithpeel) of the root p-t-ḥ (“to open”), third person masculine singular, or an imperative. Mark preserves the expression in its direct form and translates it at once: ὅ ἐστιν Διανοίχθητι (“that is, ‘be opened’”).
אֱלִי אֱלִי לְמָא שְׁבַקְּתָּנִי — the cry from the cross
Ἠλὶ Ἠλὶ λεμὰ σαβαχθανί (Mt 27,46) / Ελωι ελωι λεμα σαβαχθανι (Mc 15,34)
A citation of Psalm 22:2: ʾēlî ʾēlî lĕmâ šĕḏaqtānî — My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
. Matthew’s form Êli is closer to the original Hebrew; Mark’s form Elōi more closely reflects Palestinian Aramaic. The final word, שְׁבַקְּתָּנִי (šĕḏaqtānî), is on the other hand purely Aramaic — the original psalmic Hebrew uses עֲזַבְתָּנִי (˺ăzaḇtānî). Jesus therefore cites the psalm in a mixed Hebrew/Aramaic form reflecting Palestinian liturgical usage.
מָרָנָא תָא / מָרָן אֲתָא — a primitive liturgical prayer
Μαρανα θα (Marana tha, 1 Co 16,22 ; Didachè 10,6)
Preserved by Paul in Aramaic, untranslated, within a Greek letter. Two syllabic divisions are possible according to the manuscripts:
- מָרָנָא תָא (mārănāʾ tāʾ) —
Our Lord, come!
(imperative). An eschatological invocatory reading. - מָרָן אֲתָא (māran ăṭāʾ) —
Our Lord has come / comes
(perfect or present). A proclamatory reading.
The exact syllabic division depends on an accentuation that the manuscripts do not allow us to settle with certainty. The two readings are theologically complementary: an eschatological prayer and a profession of faith. The same formula is preserved by the Didache (10:6) in a eucharistic liturgical context — which suggests it is a primitive eucharistic acclamation.
The Lord’s Prayer reconstructed in Aramaic
The Lord’s Prayer (Matt 6:9-13; Luke 11:2-4) has come down to us in Greek, but Jesus most probably taught it in Aramaic. A cautious reconstruction, based on the Palestinian Targums and contemporary rabbinic sources:
אֲבוּנָא דִּבִשְׁמַיָּא, יִתְקַדַּשׁ שְׁמָךְ, תֵּיתֵי מַלְכוּתָךְ, תִּתְעֲבֵד רְעוּתָךְ, הֵיכְמָא דִּבִשְׁמַיָּא, אַף בְּאַרְעָא...
A reconstruction of the Lord’s Prayer in Palestinian Aramaic (Joachim Jeremias, Abba, 1966)
Flashcards — Biblical Aramaic vocabulary
Click the card to reveal the translation. Progress is saved locally.
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🎓 Interactive studio — Biblical Aramaic
40 cards in 5 themes to discover אֲרָמָיָא, the language spoken by Jesus and of portions of Daniel/Ezra. Right-to-left reading.
אֱלָהּ
ʾĕlāh
Click to revealGod
c. 95 occ. in the Aramaic sections of Dan–Ezra. Cognate with Hebrew אֱלוֹהַּ. Determined form: אֱלָהָא (the God). In Arabic: ʾIlāh, Allāh.
Dan 2:18-19; 3:17; Ezra 5:1
מַלְכוּ
malkû
Click to revealkingdom, kingship
c. 57 occ. A central term in Dan 2 and 7. The eternal מַלְכוּ of Dan 2:44 and 7:14 grounds the NT concept of βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ.
Dan 2:44; 4:3; 7:14, 27
מֶלֶךְ
mélek
Click to revealking
Cognate with Hebrew. Very frequent in Daniel. מַלְכָּא (emphatic state) = the king. Denotes Nebuchadnezzar, Darius, Cyrus, and others.
Dan 2:4; 3:1; 5:1; 6:7
בַּר
bar
Click to revealson
Cognate with Hebrew בֵּּן. Present in many NT names: Bar-Jesus (Acts 13:6), Barabbas, Bartimaeus. בַּר אֱנָשׁ = son of man (Dan 7:13).
Dan 7:13; Prov 31:2; Mark 10:46
אֱנָשׁ
ʾĕnāš
Click to revealman, human
Cognate with Hebrew אֱנוֹשׁ. בַּר אֱנָשׁ in Dan 7:13 is the source of the NT title ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου (the Son of Man).
Dan 7:13; 4:13; 7:4
חֲלָם
ḥălām
Click to revealdream, vision
Cognate with Hebrew חֲלוֹם. Very frequent in Dan 2-4 (the dreams of Nebuchadnezzar and Daniel). A privileged mode of apocalyptic revelation.
Dan 2:1, 3, 4; 4:2, 4
רָז
rāz
Click to revealmystery, secret
9 occ., concentrated in Dan 2 and 4. A Persian loanword. God alone גָּלֵא רָזִין (reveals mysteries, Dan 2:28). LXX: μυστήριον. Important in Paul (1 Cor 2:7).
Dan 2:18-19, 27-30, 47
עָלַם
ʿālam
Click to revealeternity, world, age
Cognate with Hebrew עוֹלָם. לְעָלְמַיָּא = for ever and ever (Dan 2:4; 7:18). The same root as Arabic ʿālam (world).
Dan 2:4; 4:3; 7:18, 27
שְׁמַיָּא
šᵉmayyāʾ
Click to revealthe heavens (emphatic state)
Cognate with Hebrew שָׁמַיִם. אֱלָהּ שְׁמַיָּא = the God of heaven (Ezra 5:12; Dan 2:18-19). A formula typical of the Persian period.
Ezra 5:11-12; Dan 2:18-19, 37
אַרְעָא
ʾarʿāʾ
Click to reveal Click to revealthe earth (emphatic state)
The Aramaic form of אֶרֶץ (with ayin instead of tsade). Dan 2:35: the stone becomes a mountain that fills “the whole earth”.
Dan 2:35, 39; 4:1, 34; Jer 10:11
בַּיִת
bayit
Click to revealhouse, temple
Cognate with Hebrew. בֵּּית אֱלָהָא = the house of God, the temple (Ezra 4:24; 5:2). Concerns particularly the rebuilding of the Second Temple under Cyrus and Darius.
Ezra 4:24; 5:2-3; 6:3-12
מְנֵא מְנֵא תְקֵל וּפַרְסִין
mᵉnēʾ mᵉnēʾ tᵉqēl ûfarsîn
Click to revealnumbered, numbered, weighed, divided
The mysterious inscription on the wall at Belshazzar’s feast (Dan 5:25-28). Daniel interprets it: “Numbered: God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end. Weighed: you have been weighed and found wanting. Divided: your kingdom is divided.”
Dan 5:25-28
אַבָּא
ʾabbāʾ
Click to revealFather (an intimate vocative)
An emphatic form functioning as a vocative. Jesus’ prayer at Gethsemane (Mark 14:36: Ἀββᾶ ὁ πατήρ). Taken up by Paul (Rom 8:15; Gal 4:6) as a marker of Christian sonship.
Mark 14:36; Rom 8:15; Gal 4:6
טַלְיְתָא קוּם
ṭalyᵉthāʾ qûm
Click to revealLittle girl, get up!
Mark 5:41: ταλιθα κουμ. Jesus’ word raising Jairus’s daughter. טַלְיְתָא = a young girl (emphatic); קוּם = a masculine imperative (originally the feminine קוּמִי).
Mark 5:41
אֶפְּתַח
ʾeftaḥ
Click to revealBe opened!
Mark 7:34: Ἐφφαθα. Jesus’ word healing the deaf man. Preserved in Aramaic by Mark together with its Greek translation, a mark of the saying’s authenticity.
Mark 7:34
רַבּוּנִי
rabbûnî
Click to revealMy teacher
A more solemn form than רַבִּי (rabbi). Mary Magdalene’s address on Easter morning (John 20:16: Ραββουνι, ὅ λέγεται Διδάσκαλε). Also used by Bartimaeus (Mark 10:51).
John 20:16; Mark 10:51
אֱלָהִי אֱלָהִי לְמָה שְׁבַקְתָּנִי
ʾĕlāhî ʾĕlāhî lᵉmâ šᵉvaqtanî
Click to revealMy God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Mark 15:34; Matt 27:46: Ελωι ελωι λεμα σαβαχθανι. Jesus’ cry on the cross, an Aramaic citation of Ps 22:2. It marks the full humanity of Christ in his agony.
Mark 15:34; Matt 27:46; Ps 22:2
מָרַנָא תָא
māranāʾ thāʾ
Click to revealOur Lord, come!
1 Cor 16:22: μαρανα θα. Also at Rev 22:20 and Didache 10:6. A primitive eucharistic acclamation in Aramaic, witnessing to the prayer of the first Palestinian communities.
1 Cor 16:22; Rev 22:20; Did. 10:6
בַּר אֱנָשׁ
bar ʾĕnāš
Click to revealSon of man (a messianic title)
Dan 7:13: “like a בַּר אֱנָשׁ coming with the clouds of heaven”. The title Jesus applies to himself most often (c. 80 occ. in the gospels). It combines humanity and divine authority.
Dan 7:13; Mark 8:31; Matt 26:64
קוּרְבָּן
qorbān
Click to revealan offering consecrated to God
Mark 7:11: Κορβᾶν, ὅ ἐστιν Δῶρον. Jesus criticises the hypocritical use of this vow to evade one’s duties towards one’s parents. Cognate with Hebrew קָרְבָּן.
Mark 7:11; Lev 1:2 LXX
גַּלְגַּלְתָּא
gulgaltāʾ
Click to revealGolgotha — “the skull”
Mark 15:22: Γολγοθᾶν, ὅ ἐστιν μεθερμηνευόμενον Κρανίου Τόπος. The Aramaic emphatic state. The Vulgate translates it as Calvaria (whence “Calvary”).
Mark 15:22; Matt 27:33; John 19:17
חֲקֵל דְּמָא
ḥăqēl dᵉmāʾ
Click to revealHakeldama — “the field of blood”
Acts 1:19: Ἡκελδαμάχ, τούτ' ἔστιν Χωρίον Αἵματος. The field bought with the price of Judas’s betrayal. חֲקֵל = field; דְּמָא = the blood (emphatic).
Acts 1:18-19; Matt 27:7-8
־ָא
terminaison de l'état emphatique
Click to revealthe determined form (a postposed article)
Aramaic has no prefixed article as Hebrew does, but a suffix ָא added to the noun. E.g. מֶלֶךְ (a king) → מַלְכָּא (the king). A major distinctive feature of Aramaic.
Dan 2:4; Ezra 5:3
3 états du nom
absolu / construit / emphatique
Click to reveal3 nominal forms in Aramaic
The absolute state (indefinite: מֶלֶךְ a king), the construct state (subordination: מֶלֶךְ king of…), the emphatic state (definite: מַלְכָּא the king). Hebrew has only 2 states (absolute/construct).
Table at Dan 2:21; Ezra 5:11
דִּי
dî
Click to revealwho, which; of (genitive)
c. 358 occ. An essential Aramaic particle. A relative pronoun (“who, which”) and a genitive subordination marker (מַלְכָּא דִּי בָבֶל = the king of Babylon). The source of the Mishnaic Hebrew prefix שׁ־.
Dan 2:9; Ezra 5:11
7 binyanim araméens
Peal, Pael, Aphel...
Click to reveala verbal system related to Hebrew
Peal (≈ Qal), Pael (≈ intensive Piel), Aphel/Haphel (≈ causative Hifil), Ithpeal, Ithpaal, Ittaphal (passive/reflexive), Shaphel. A different vocabulary but a logic parallel to Hebrew.
Dan 2–7 (all the forms)
־ַיָּא
terminaison du pluriel emphatique
Click to revealthe determined masculine plural ending
מַלְכַיָּא = the kings; שְׁמַיָּא = the heavens. The feminine emphatic ending is ָתָא. The absolute masculine plural: ִין (e.g. מַלְכִין).
Dan 7:17; Ezra 5:11
־ִין
terminaison pluriel absolu
Click to revealthe indefinite masculine plural ending
A distinctively Aramaic feature (versus Hebrew ִים). Allows immediate distinction between Hebrew and Aramaic text. E.g. Aramaic רַבְרְבִין versus Hebrew גְּדוֹלִים.
Dan 7:3, 17; Matt 5:12
ת ↔ שׁ
correspondance araméen/hébreu
Click to revealAramaic tav = Hebrew shin
A regular phonetic correspondence. E.g. Aramaic תּוֹר = Hebrew שׁוֹר (ox); תְלָת = שָׁלוֹשׁ (three). This helps identify Aramaic loanwords in Biblical Hebrew.
Compare Dan 7:17 and Gen 32:16
ע ↔ צ
correspondance araméen/hébreu
Click to revealAramaic ayin = Hebrew tsade
A regular phonetic correspondence. E.g. Aramaic אַרְעָא = Hebrew אֶרֶץ (earth); קְעַף = קֵץ (end).
Jer 10:11; Dan 2:35
עַתִּיק יוֹמַיָּא
ʿattîq yômayyāʾ
Click to revealthe Ancient of Days
Dan 7:9, 13, 22. Denotes God seated on his throne in the apocalyptic vision. Clothed in white, hair like pure wool. The image is taken up at Rev 1:14.
Dan 7:9, 13, 22; Rev 1:14
קַדִּישִׁין
qaddîšîn
Click to revealthe saints (of the Most High)
Dan 7:18, 21-22, 25, 27: “the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom”. Their identity is debated: faithful Israel? angels? an eschatological community? The centre of chapter 7.
Dan 7:18, 21-22, 25, 27
עֶלְיוֹנִין
ʿelyônîn
Click to revealthe Most High
A frequent divine designation in Dan 4 and 7. An ambiguous grammatical form (an apparent plural of intensity). Cognate with Hebrew עֶלאֶיוֹן (Gen 14:18-22, Melchizedek). LXX: ὕψιστος.
Dan 4:17, 24, 32; 7:18-27
דִּין
dîn
Click to revealjudgement, justice rendered
Dan 7:10, 22, 26. The divine tribunal sits in session (דִּינָא יְתִב). A fundamental concept of apocalyptic eschatology. It influences the NT (κρίσις, the last judgement).
Dan 7:10, 22, 26
סָפְרָא
sāfᵉrāʾ
Click to revealthe scribe, the book
Ezra 7:12, 21. Ezra is called “a scribe of the Law of the God of heaven”. The origin of the rabbinic sofer, a key figure of post-exilic Judaism who transmitted the written Torah.
Ezra 7:12, 21; Neh 8:1
22 lettres
alphabet araméen
Click to revealthe same script as the square Hebrew
The “square” script used for Biblical Hebrew is in fact of Aramaic origin (the Imperial Aramaic alphabet, 5th c. BC). Adopted for Hebrew during the Exile, replacing the Palaeo-Hebrew script.
The Elephantine papyri; Matt 5:18
5 dialectes
périodisation
Click to reveal5 strata of Biblical Aramaic
1) Old Aramaic (10th–8th c.). 2) Official/Imperial Aramaic (Ezra, Daniel). 3) Middle Aramaic (Qumran, the early Targums). 4) Late Palestinian Aramaic (spoken by Jesus). 5) Syriac (the Peshitta).
The Sefire inscriptions; the Elephantine papyri
Portions araméennes
269 versets
Click to reveal269 verses of the OT in Aramaic
Dan 2:4b–7:28 (200 v.); Ezra 4:8–6:18 and 7:12-26 (67 v.); Jer 10:11 (1 v.); Gen 31:47 (2 words: יְגַר שָׂהֲדוּתָא). That is, c. 1% of the MT.
Dan 2–7; Ezra 4–6; Jer 10:11
Bilinguisme
Dn 2,4
Click to revealDaniel begins in Hebrew and switches to Aramaic
Dan 1–2:4a in Hebrew; 2:4b–7:28 in Aramaic; 8–12 a return to Hebrew. The switch is announced: “the Chaldeans spoke to the king אֲרָמִית (in Aramaic)”. The narrator then writes in Aramaic himself.
Dan 2:4; 8:1
Targums
traductions araméennes
Click to revealAramaic paraphrases of the Hebrew OT
Read in the synagogue after the return from Exile, once Hebrew was no longer understood. The principal ones: Onkelos (the Pentateuch), Jonathan ben Uzziel (the Prophets), Neofiti, Pseudo-Jonathan (the Pentateuch). Valuable exegetical witnesses.
Neh 8:8; rabbinic tradition
📖 Quiz 1 — Biblical Aramaic vocabulary
8 questions on the vocabulary and Aramaic texts of the OT.
Question 1 / 8
How many verses of the Old Testament are written in Aramaic?
Question 2 / 8
What does the Aramaic word רָז mean?
Question 3 / 8
The expression בַּר אֱנָשׁ in Dan 7:13 denotes:
Question 4 / 8
What do the words of the wall inscription of Dan 5:25, מְנֵא תְקֵל פַרסִין, mean?
Question 5 / 8
What grammatical peculiarity distinguishes Aramaic from Hebrew?
Question 6 / 8
What does the expression עַתִּיק יוֹמַיָּא denote in Dan 7:9?
Question 7 / 8
The “square” script used for Biblical Hebrew is:
Question 8 / 8
The Targums are:
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8 / 8
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📜 Quiz 2 — Aramaic sayings of the New Testament
7 questions on the Aramaic sayings preserved in the gospels and epistles.
Question 1 / 7
What does the Aramaic invocation אַבָּא mean?
Question 2 / 7
The expression טַלְיְתָא קוּם in Mark 5:41 means:
Question 3 / 7
Jesus’ cry on the cross, אֱלָהִי אֱלָהִי לְמָה שְׁבַקְּתָּנִי, is a citation of:
Question 4 / 7
What does the acclamation מָרַנָא תָא (1 Cor 16:22) mean?
Question 5 / 7
The place name גַּלְגַּלְתָּא (Mark 15:22) means:
Question 6 / 7
The word רַבּוּנִי in John 20:16 is:
Question 7 / 7
The presence of Aramaic expressions in the gospels chiefly witnesses to:
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7 / 7
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