Jul 06 2010

Languages of Jesus

Published by Hardy under Aramaic,Grammar,Greek

Mark Roberts has posted an intriguing article, What Language(s) Did Jesus Speak? The Circumstantial Evidence.  The content of the article proposes a not too unusual answer–Aramaic and possibly Hebrew and/or Greek.  He seems to be more keen on the idea of Jesus speaking Greek instead of Hebrew, but nonetheless capitulates that Hebrew is a possibility. 
 
There are several problems with such a suggestion, not the least of which is that saying Jesus spoke "Aramaic" or "Hebrew" (or even for that matter "Greek") is not really telling us what language he spoke.  Aramaic was not a single linguistic unit in the first century: what is generally labeled "Aramaic" includes a very wide range of languages and dialects.  A similar problem arises for the Hebrew of the first century–when comparing the evidence from two examples closest to first century Hebrew, the Dead Sea Scrolls and Tannaitic literature, one finds quite divergent characteristics.  (Even though I am no expert, there is evidence for different linguistic strata within Greek as well.) 
 
Further, there is very scant evidence not only for the linguistic community in which he was raised (which the article does well to point out), but the internal evidence within the NT is limited to only a handful of "Aramaic" sayings which do not provide enough data to assess definitively the appropriate dialect/language of one particular individual (setting aside the idiolect problem).
 
So what can we say about the language(s) of Jesus?  The NT evidence points to a dialect of Aramaic, but at our present knowledge of first century Aramaic it would be pure supposition to move too far beyond this point.
 
UPDATE: Roberts on Jesus' use of Hebrew

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Jun 22 2010

SBL: A Shadow of its Old Self?

Published by Hardy under SBL

Ever since Ron Hendel announced his departure from SBL, the bloggers are going crazy and so too is SBL with a mass email, usually reserved for monetary requests, and some heavy rhetoric (at one point correcting Hendel's preposition usage–"the Society for (not “of”) Pentecostal Studies").  One can see how the ship may be at stake, or at least risk taking on some water, if members start abandoning ship (to push the metaphor a bit!).  I, for one, will remain a member of SBL, but shall be on the lookout for hellfire and brimstone or other such frivolity!

UPDATE:

June 28, 2010

Dear Member,

We are pleased to announce that on June 10, 2010, the Society of Biblical Literature and American Academy of Religion signed a Letter of Intent that outlines an agreement to hold concurrent Annual Meetings beginning in San Francisco in the fall of 2011. These meetings will

  • Occur in the same city—though the venue will change from year to year;
  • Occur at the same time—the weekend before the US Thanksgiving holiday;
  • Feature a single, jointly managed Publishers/Software/Book Exhibit;
  • Feature a single, jointly managed Employment Center;
  • Feature distinct and separate AAR and SBL programs planned with open communication between the organizations;
  • Encourage the organizations’ members to attend each other’s programs and events at no additional cost;
  • Allow the organizations to pursue their unique, if sometimes overlapping, missions;
  • Enhance cooperation, not competition, between the organizations.

The advertising for these conventions will use the city name, the year, and will identify the SBL and AAR as hosts. For example, the first of these meetings will be known as “Annual Meetings 2011 San Francisco, hosted by the American Academy of Religion and the Society of Biblical Literature.” This name will appear on the registration gateway, on signage at the meetings, on promotional materials, and on other common elements.

A Conventions Management Committee, consisting of the Executive Directors and staff members from each organization, is developing operating policies and procedures that expand on the considerable detail that already exists in the Letter of Intent. Each year the Committee will review the most recent meetings with an eye toward making improvements in subsequent gatherings. Nine concurrent meetings are being planned for 2011 through 2019. Beginning in 2013 the organizations will begin operating on a seven-year planning horizon that includes a mechanism by which the organizations can, on an annual basis, extend the seven-year agreement for an additional year. Dates and venues of the first three concurrent Annual Meetings are as follows:

  • November 19-22, 2011 San Francisco
  • November 17-20, 2012 Chicago
  • November 23-26, 2013 Baltimore

We believe that concurrent meetings will serve the interests of our members, will help to advance the many disciplines and areas of study we represent, and will maintain and advance the critical inquiry that characterizes the work of our societies. We invite you to join us in building this exciting new future.

Cordially,

Jack Fitzmier

Kent Richards

American Academy of Religion

Society of Biblical Literature

 

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Jun 17 2010

Times on BAR founder Shanks

Published by Hardy under Archeology

The NY Times has a brief and relatively even-handed article on Hershel Shanks, the (in)famous (the in- or lack thereof, of course, depends on one's opinion of "Biblical Archaeology" and a host of other controversial issues) founder of BAR.

(Editorial Note: regular, or semi-regular, posting to this site will resume from now on.  Also, more than 300 daily Hebrew readings may be found through the links above the title banner.)

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Apr 10 2010

Encyclopeaedia Iranica on the OI

Published by Hardy under Archeology

A good article particularly focusing on the early history of the Oriental Institute is online.  It focuses mainly on the expeditions in the eastern half of the Fertile Crescent. 

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Mar 01 2010

Goldwasser on the Proto-Sinaitic Alphabet

Published by Hardy under Uncategorized

This BAR article is a nice summary of her 2006 Egypt and the Levant article: "Canaanites Reading Hieroglyphs: Horus is Hathor? – The Invention of the Alphabet in Sinai."

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