I’m excited about this Bible coming out, a rendering of the New Testament based on Aramaic, which is what Jesus and His contemporary Israelis spoke, which also Paul must have spoken, though He and many of them would have also been raised to speak and read the scriptures in Hebrew, as Jews are today. And doubtless, many spoke and understood other current languages of the day, for the empire was a vast conglomerate of disparate people groups.
As someone who speaks a few languages and have been trained in ancient Latin and even a little Hebrew, (I even dabbled in Hawaiian when I was living there – very very interesting language), I am so very aware that different nuances of meaning attend different languages. Studying languages has long been part of my love affair with words.
It will be really interesting to see what layers of meaning an Aramaic translation unfolds. An interlinear edition would probably be the next step, with a key, such as the Strong’s lexicon, which brings depth to one’s study and to which many online translations and interlinear versions are tied.*
Danyelle Wolfe Read is a New York City emigre, born and partially-raised in Oklahoma, residing in the US sunbelt. Holding degrees in counseling and public policy and a certificate in nursing, she has worked in the medical field and has also successfully run her own businesses in jewelry, financial analysis and investing. A proponent of bi-vocational pastoring in the tradition of Paul and many others, she has been a ministry leader and speaker, and does not ascribe to a strict differentiation between persons in ministry versus so-called secular work. She herself has worked with hundreds, if not thousands, of people from a faith-perspective. Danyelle's writing career began with songwriting as well as newspaper reporting. In her personal life, Danyelle enjoys the outdoors and rural areas, dark skies, trails and birding. A committed tither, she finds a way to plug into the church she attends, to serve - sometimes in inconspicuous ways, sometimes at the podium or given a title - though in all cases, the Father has acknowledged every joyous, loving act of service with exponential, extravagant blessing, proving that all things do indeed work together for good for those who love and follow after Him.
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