The Aramaic script was used to write the text of the language of the same name, which was used for trade transactions in the Middle East from about 1000 BC. e. and before 1000 AD. e. It comes from the Phoenician script. Since the evolution from one to the other was a continuous process over approximately 2000 years, it is difficult to separate them into separate Phoenician and Aramaic blocks. However, scientists agree that differences between them began around the 8th century BC. The script used in Western Europe and the Mediterranean is called Phoenician, and the one used in the Middle East, Central and South Asia is called Aramaic.

Language of the Persian Empire

Aramaic was the official language of the Achaemenid Empire from the 5th to the 3rd century BC. e. It was used in modern-day Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Macedonia, Iraq, northern Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Palestine, Israel, Lebanon, Syria and parts of Egypt. The Aramaic script was so common that it survived the collapse of the Persian Empire and continued to be used until the 2nd century AD. By the end of the 3rd century, other forms emerged from this alphabet, which formed the basis of Syrian, Nabatean and Pamir writing.

The form of Persian Aramaic that has changed the least is now used in Hebrew. Cursive Hebrew developed in the first centuries AD. e., but it was used only in a narrow circle. In contrast, cursive, developed from the Nabataean alphabet during the same period, soon became the standard and was used in the developing This occurred during the early spread of Islam.

Aramaic writing and features of its writing

Aramaic was written from right to left, with spaces between words. The abjad system was used: each of the twenty-two letters represented a consonant. Because the interpretation of some words was ambiguous when vowels were not inscribed, Aramaic scribes began to use some of the existing consonant letters to indicate long vowels (first at the ends of words, then inside). Letters that have this double consonant/vowel feature are called matres lectionis. The letters waw and yudh can represent the consonants [w] and [j] respectively, or the long vowels, , respectively. Likewise, the letter "alaf" represents a consonant [ʔ] at the beginning of a word or a long vowel elsewhere.

Another feature of the Aramaic script is the presence of a section mark to indicate subject headings in texts. Aramaic orthography was very systematic. Often the spelling of words reflected their etymology more accurately than their pronunciation.

Above is a photo of an Aramaic script. This is a rare manuscript, namely an ancient Syriac manuscript about Rikin Al Kiddas (holy power). It also contains a note written in Arabic, and a note that this manuscript was purchased by Abraham Ben Jacob.

Branches of the Aramaic script

The Aramaic script serves as the basis for the various alphabets that eventually came to be used by many peoples in the Middle East. One example is the square Hebrew script.

Another important Aramaic offshoot is Nabatean, which eventually developed into Arabic script, replacing older Arabian scripts such as South Arabic and Thamudic.

Moreover, it is the Aramaic script that is believed to have influenced the development of scripts in India. Many of the characters in the Kharosti and Brahmi scripts have some similarities with letters in the Aramaic alphabet. It is unclear what the exact relationship is between the Indic and Aramaic languages, but the latter was certainly known in northwestern India, and to some extent it influenced the development of writing in South Asia.

Another important branch of Aramaic writing was the Pahlavi script, on which Avestan and Sogdian in turn developed. The Sogdian script, which is used in Central Asia, branched into the Uyghur, Mongolian and Manchu alphabets.

As you can see, the Aramaic language was a kind of base in the history of the development of writing in Asia. It gave rise to recording systems used by many countries in vastly different geographical locations.

Modern Aramaic

Today, biblical texts, including the Talmud, are written in Hebrew. Syriac and Neo-Aramaic dialects are written using the Syriac alphabet.

Due to the almost complete identity of Aramaic and Classical, Aramaic text in scientific literature is mostly typed in Standard Hebrew.

Letters on a dreidel

A dreidel is a spinning top that is used for games during the Hanukkah festival. It has four Hebrew/Aramaic letters: shin, hey, gimel, nun/gamal, heh, noon, pe.

The custom of playing dreidel is based on a legend that says that in the time of the Maccabees, when Jewish children were forbidden to study the Torah, they still circumvented the ban and studied. As the Greek official approached, they put away their books and spun their tops, declaring that they were simply playing games.

The writing on the dreidel is the first letters in a Hebrew phrase meaning "a great miracle happened there," that is, in the land of Israel. In Israel, the letter "pe" (for the Hebrew word "po", meaning "here") replaces the letter shin to describe "the great miracle that happened here."

Literal translation of the Lord's Prayer from Aramaic, read and feel the difference:

O Breathing Life,
Your name shines everywhere!
Make some space
To plant Your presence!
Imagine in your imagination
Your “I can” now!
Clothe Your desire in every light and form!
Sprout bread through us and
An insight for every moment!
Untie the knots of failure that bind us,
Just like we free the ropes,
with which we restrain the misdeeds of others!
Help us not to forget our Source.
But free us from the immaturity of not being in the Present!
Everything comes from You
Vision, Power and Song
From meeting to meeting!
Amen. Let our next actions grow from here.

****
When and why did the reference to the evil one (Satan) appear in the Lord's Prayer?
In ancient Church Slavonic there is no evil: “... and do not lead us into attack, but deliver us from hostility.” Who added “onion” to the main prayer of Jesus Christ?

The Lord's Prayer, known to every Christian since childhood, is a concentrated presentation of the entire Christian doctrine. At the same time, it is one of the most perfect literary works ever recorded in writing.

This is the generally accepted view of the short Lord's Prayer that Jesus taught His disciples.

How is this possible? Indeed, for a complete presentation of religious teachings in other religions, many volumes were needed. And Jesus did not even ask His disciples to write down every word she said.

It’s just that during the Sermon on the Mount He said (Matthew 6:9:13):

"Pray like this:

Our Father, who art in heaven!



And forgive us our debts,
just as we leave our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.”

But this is not the only option for translating the Lord’s Prayer into Russian. In the 1892 edition of the Gospel that the author has, there is a slightly different version:

"Our Father who art in heaven!
Hallowed be Thy Name; Thy kingdom come;
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven;
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our debts;
to our debtors;
and do not lead us into temptation,
but deliver us from evil;”

In the modern, canonical edition of the Bible (with parallel passages) we find almost the same version of the translation of the Prayer:

"Our Father who art in heaven!
Hallowed be Thy Name; Thy kingdom come;
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven;
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our debts;
just as we forgive our debtors;
And do not lead us into temptation,
but deliver us from evil;”

In the Old Church Slavonic translation, the Prayer (if written in the modern alphabet) sounds closer to the first version:

"Our Father, who art in heaven!
Hallowed be Thy name! Thy kingdom come;
Thy will be done as it is in heaven and on earth.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also leave our debtor.
And don't lead us into trouble,
but deliver us from evil.”

These translations use different words to refer to the same concepts. “Forgive us” and “leave us”, “attack” and “temptation”, “who art in heaven” and “he who is in heaven” mean the same thing.

There is no distortion of the meaning and spirit of the words given by Christ to His disciples in any of these options. But comparing them, we can come to the important conclusion that the literal transmission of the Words of Jesus is not only impossible, but not necessary.

In English translations of the Gospels you can find several different versions, but all of them can be considered authentic, because in them the meaning of the Prayer and its spirit are adequately conveyed.

The Lord's Prayer became widespread immediately after the crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus. This is evident from the fact that it was found in such distant places as the city of Pompeii (that is, it was there before Pompeii was destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD).

At the same time, the original text of the Lord’s Prayer has not reached us in its original form.

In translations into Russian, the Lord's Prayer sounds the same in the Gospels of Matthew (6:9-13) and Luke (11:2-4). We find the same text in the KJV (King James Version) Gospels in English.

If we take the Greek source, we will be surprised to discover that the familiar words “he who is in heaven,” “Thy will be done as in heaven and on earth,” and “deliver us from evil” are absent in the Gospel of Luke.

There are many versions explaining the reasons for the disappearance of these words in the Gospel of Luke and their appearance in translations, and subsequently in modern Greek editions of the Gospel. We will not dwell on this, for what is important to us is not the letter, but the spirit of the great Prayer.

Jesus did not command us to pray by memorizing His words literally. He simply said, “Pray like this,” that is, “pray this way.”

Konstantin Glinka

“Our Father” translated from Aramaic

This morning I dreamed that I was walking with someone I didn’t know through a rocky desert and looking into the sunlit sky. Suddenly I noticed that either a carved gilded casket or a book in the same binding was rapidly approaching us.

Before I had time to tell my friend that objects could easily fall from the sky in the desert, and it’s good that they didn’t hit my head, I realized that the object was flying straight at me. A second later he crashed to my right, where my friend should have been. I was so stunned that I woke up before I looked in the direction of my unfortunate comrade.

The morning began unusually: on the Internet I came across the “Our Father” in the language of Jesus. The translation from Aramaic shocked me so much that I was late for work, checking whether it was a fake. I found that about 15 years ago theologians appeared the expression “primacy of Aramaic "

That is, as far as I understand, the Greek source was previously the dominant authority in theological disputes, but incongruities were noticed in it that could arise when translating from the original language. In other words, the Greek version is not primary.

An Aramaic version of the Gospel (“Peshitta”, in the Edessa dialect of Aramaic) exists, but it is a translation from Greek.

True, as it turned out, not complete. And not only in the sense of the absence of some parts: there are passages in it that have been preserved in an older form, since they were already written down in Aramaic.

This also applies to the famous main prayer of Christians, “Our Father.”
*******
And if translated literally:

Abwoon d"bwashmaya
Nethqadash shmakh
Teytey malkuthakh
Nehwey tzevyanach aykanna d"bwashmaya aph b"arha.
Hawvlah lachma d"sunqanan yaomana

Wela tahlan l"nesyuna ela patzan min bisha.
Metol dilakhie malkutha wahayla wateshbukhta l"ahlam almin.
Ameyn.
Abwoon d "bwashmaya (Official translation: Our Father!)

Literal: Abwoon translates as Divine Parent (fruitful emanation of light). d"bwashmaya - sky; root shm - light, flame, divine word arising in space, the ending aya - says that this radiance occurs everywhere, at any point in space

Nethqadash shmakh (Official translation: Hallowed be Thy name)

Literal: Nethqadash translates as purification or item for sweeping away litter (to clear a place for something). Shmakh – spreading (Shm – fire) and letting go of inner fuss, finding silence. The literal translation is clearing the space for the Name.

Teytey malkuthakh (Official translation: Thy kingdom come)

Literal: Tey is translated as come, but the double repetition means mutual desire (sometimes the marriage bed). Malkuthakh is traditionally translated as kingdom, symbolically – the fruitful hand, the gardens of the earth; wisdom, purification of the ideal, making it personal for oneself; come home; yin (creative) hypostasis of fire.

Nehwey tzevyanach aykanna d"bwashmaya aph b"arha. (Official translation: Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven)

Literal: Tzevyanach is translated as will, but not strength, but the desire of the heart. One of the translations is naturalness, origin, the gift of life. Aykanna means permanence, embodiment in life. Aph – personal orientation. Arha - earth, b" - means living; b"arha - a combination of form and energy, spiritualized matter.
Hawvlah lachma d "sunqanan yaomana (Official translation: Give us this day our daily bread)

Literal: Hawvlah translates as giving (gifts of the soul and gifts of material). lachma - bread, necessary, essential for maintaining life, understanding of life (chma - growing passion, increase, increase). D "sunqanan - needs, what I can own, how much I could carry; yaomana - necessary to maintain the spirit, vitality.

Washboqlan khuabayn aykana daph khan shbwoqan l"khayyabayn.
(Official translation: And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors)
Literal: Khuabayn is translated as debts, internal accumulated energies that destroy us; in some texts, instead of khuabayn there is wakhtahayn, which is translated as failed hopes. Aykana – letting go (passive voluntary action).

Wela tahlan l "nesyuna (Official translation: And do not lead us into temptation)

Literal: Wela tahlan translates as “do not let us enter”; l "nesyuna - illusion, anxiety, hesitation, gross matter; symbolic translation - wandering mind.

Ela patzan min bisha. (Official translation: but deliver us from evil)

Literal: Ela – immaturity; symbolic translation – inappropriate actions. Patzan – untie, give freedom; min bisha – from evil

Metol dilakhie malkutha wahayla wateshbukhta l "ahlam almin. (Official translation: For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.)

Literal: Metol dilakhie is translated as the idea of ​​owning something that bears fruit (plowed land); malkutha – kingdom, kingdom, symbolic translation – “I can”; wahayla – the concept of vitality, energy, tuning in unison, supporting life; wateshbukhta - glory, harmony, Divine power, symbolic translation - generating fire; l"ahlam almin - from century to century.

Ameyn. (Official translation: Amen.)

Ameyn - manifestation of will, affirmation, swearing of an oath. Infuses strength and spirit into everything created

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ARAMEIC LANGUAGE - the language of the Semitic group, which received its name from the Aramaic tribes that inhabited Mesopotamia and Syria ca. 14th century BC. These tribes are linguistically and ethnically diverse. relations were close to the peoples of ancient Israel. The word “Aramaic” itself probably means nomad... Biblical Dictionary

The Aramaic language - or rather A. languages, that branch of the Semitic group of languages, was spoken in the country of “Aram”, that is, in Syria, Mesopotamia and in the surrounding areas. We find the first mentions of the Arameans in cuneiform monuments of the 14th century. before Christ era, as a group of tribes ... Literary encyclopedia

Aramaic language - (Aramaic)Aramaic, language. us. ancient Syria (biblical name Aram), which belongs to the Semitic group. From the 6th century BC. was used in the countries of the Middle East and gradually replaced Hebrew as the language. Jews in these parts. He was... ...Countries of the world. Dictionary

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About the name

The traditional designation of the language of written monuments that have come to us from the territory of historical Palestine and dating back to the period from the 10th century. BC e. to the 2nd century n. e., in Russian Hebraistic literature is the “Hebrew language”. The less cumbersome term “Jewish language,” identical to the pan-European usage, in Russian and Soviet linguistic terminology was more often associated with the spoken language of Eastern European Jews (Yiddish), but recently the use of the combination “Jewish language” in relation to the Yiddish language occurs only occasionally. In the scientific and popular literature of recent years, the Hebrew language is sometimes referred to as “Hebrew” (also “Biblical Hebrew” - tracing paper from English Biblical Hebrew).

The language of late antique, medieval and later monuments, in the Russian Hebraistic tradition is usually also called Hebrew, with the corresponding definition: Mishnaic Hebrew language, medieval Hebrew language.

Self-name

The oldest designation for the Hebrew language found in the Bible is ŝəpat kənáʕan ‛language of Canaan’.

More often, the adjective yəhudit “Jewish” (feminine form, in agreement with ŝåpå or låšon “language”) is used as a linguonym. This designation was apparently used by the inhabitants of the southern part of Palestine - Judea (Heb. yəhudå). The dialect that existed in the northern (Israeli) area was apparently designated differently by its speakers, but information about this has not reached us.

The designation of Hebrew by the term ʕibrit (a relative adjective of unclear etymology) has a complex history. In the Old Testament the adjective ʕibrit does not appear as a language designation. Within the Jewish tradition, the use of the term ʕibrit as a designation of the Hebrew language is first recorded in the Mishnah and Talmud. It is characteristic that examples of this kind in the Mishnah and Talmud are quite few: the designation ləšon ha-ḳḳódäš “sacred language” was more common in the rabbinic era. The linguistic name ʕibrit became widespread in the works of Jewish grammarians of the Middle Ages starting from Saadia Gaon (882-942), where it was used as an equivalent to the Arabic designation ʔal-luγatu l-ʕibrāniyyatu.

In modern times, ʕibrit functions as the main designation of the Hebrew language in modern Hebrew (in Israeli pronunciation; the qualifying definition mikra’it “biblical” can be used for the language of the biblical corpus).

In other languages

Outside the Jewish tradition, the Hebrew language has almost always been designated by terms somehow related to ʕibri(t). Numerous evidence of this kind is noted in Greek-language works of the 1st century. n. e., for example hebraicos, hebrais dialectos, hebraisti in Josephus and in the Gospel of John. At least in some places, the authors could have had the Aramaic language in mind, but already in the prologue to the Greek translation of the Book of Wisdom of Jesus son of Sirach written in Hebrew (III-II centuries BC) the expression en heautois hebraisti “in Hebrew” “undoubtedly refers to Hebrew (the author, describing his translation work, notes: “since words spoken in Hebrew, but translated into another language, do not have the same power”).

The Latin terms hebraitas, lingua hebraica go back, in one way or another, to the designations of the Hebrew language in modern European languages ​​(English Hebrew, German Hebräisch, French l’hébreu). In relation to the language of the biblical period, clarifying definitions may be used in linguistic literature (for example, English Biblical Hebrew, Classical Hebrew, Ancient Hebrew).

Linguogeography

Range and numbers

In historical and geographical terms, the Hebrew language occupied an area limited by the Mediterranean Sea in the west, the Sinai Peninsula and the Red Sea in the southwest and south, r. Jordan, Lake Tiberias, the Dead Sea and the Arava Valley in the east; on the political map of modern times, this territory basically corresponds to the modern borders of the State of Israel, including the West Bank.

Epigraphic finds show that until the fall of the Kingdom of Israel in 722 BC. e. The Hebrew language was more or less widespread throughout its territory, from Hazor and Dan in the north to the southern regions of the Negev Desert. After the fall of the Kingdom of Israel and the deportation of its population, the existence of the Hebrew language on its territory apparently ceased. Within the borders of the Kingdom of Judah, the greatest concentration of epigraphic monuments in the Hebrew language is characteristic of the interior regions (Jerusalem, Lachish, Arad), but there is isolated evidence of its existence in the Mediterranean coast area (Metzad Hashavyahu, Ashdod, Khirbet en-Nebi Khuj).

According to biblical tradition, at certain periods the Hebrew language was also widespread east of the river. Jordan (see below about the “Shibboleth episode”), but external evidence confirming this is sparse (see, for example, the mention of the Israelites from the tribe of Gad living in Transjordan in the inscription of the Moabite king Mesha).

Several brief and fragmentary inscriptions in Hebrew were discovered outside Palestine: during excavations at the sites of Nimrud in northern Mesopotamia (the capital of the Assyrian Empire of Kalhu; the objects on which the inscriptions were made were found there as part of the booty taken out by the Assyrians after the capture of Samaria) and Susa (ancient capital of Elam). Obviously, such finds do not indicate the spread of the Hebrew language in the relevant regions. In general, the possibility of the existence of the Hebrew language outside Palestine (for example, in Egypt or Mesopotamia) can hardly be documented.

Sociolinguistic information

There is virtually no direct evidence regarding the functional status and rank of the Hebrew language in the biblical period. Epigraphic monuments suggest that during the era of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, the Hebrew language was the main language of military-administrative and business correspondence and economic accounting, that is, apparently, it served as the official language. This conclusion is also supported by the very high level of standardization of the language of Hebrew prose, evident in both biblical and epigraphic monuments.

Dialects

Traditionally, the presence of two dialects is postulated for the Hebrew language, southern (“Jewish” or “Jerusalem”) and northern (“Israeli”), but consideration of the linguistic features contrasting these dialects is possible only in the broad context of the chronological, geographical and genre stratification of the Hebrew language.

There are no explicit indications of the existence of dialects of the Hebrew language in the Bible. The only exception is the famous “Shibboleth Incident” described in the Book of Judges (12:5): the word for “ear” (according to another interpretation, “stream”) was pronounced šibbolet by the inhabitants of Gilead (Transjordan), while while the Ephraimites (northern Palestine) pronounced it sibbolät (the phonetic and phonological meaning of this difference has been repeatedly discussed in the specialized literature, but there is no generally accepted solution to this problem).

Writing

The oldest form of writing used to record texts in Hebrew is the so-called Paleo-Hebrew alphabet, similar in form to the alphabets of other Canaanite languages ​​of the 1st millennium BC. e. (Phoenician, Moabite). This alphabet (in the Jewish tradition designated as kətåb ʕibri “Hebrew letter”) is used to record the epigraphic monuments of the Hebrew language (in addition, the Samaritan letter, which, in particular, recorded the Samaritan Pentateuch, goes back to Paleo-Hebrew).

In the last centuries of the 1st millennium BC. e. The Paleo-Hebrew alphabet falls out of use among the Jews, being replaced by the so-called “square” or “Assyrian” letter (kətåb mərubbåʕ, kətåb ʔaššuri), which was widely used during this period to write texts in Aramaic. The vast majority of manuscripts in Hebrew that have reached us are written in square script; various types of cursive writing, as well as printed fonts, are based on it.

Both Paleo-Hebrew and Quadratic are consonantal alphabet with relatively extensive use of the letters W (ו), Y (י) and, in final position, H (ה) as matres lectionis. Although the scope of use of matres lectionis has consistently expanded in the history of the Hebrew language, the text written in the consonantal alphabet left the possibility of numerous readings and interpretations. In the middle of the 1st millennium AD. e. For the sequential transmission of vowel phonemes of the biblical text, a system of superscript and subscript characters was developed. In addition, another system of superscript and subscript symbols (accents, or cantillation marks) serves to indicate stressed syllables, major and minor pauses, and other intonation characteristics.

In this article, examples are conveyed in traditional Semitic phonological transcription.

Linguistic characteristics

Phonetics and phonology

In the consonantism of the Hebrew language there are 23 phonemes (proto-Semitic interdental, emphatic lateral, uvular are lost; the non-emphatic lateral ŝ is preserved). All consonants, except guttural and r, can be doubled. Voiceless and voiced stop phonemes (p, t, k, b, d, g) have spirant variants with a tendency to transform them into independent phonemes.

Vocalism has 7 full-vowel phonemes (å, a, ä, e, i, o, u) and 4 reduced ones (ə, ă, ä̆, о), the phonological status of reduced vowels (in particular, the nature of the opposition “ə - zero sound”) not entirely clear.

The stress is phonologically significant (cf. bǻnu ‘in us’ - bånú ‘they built’), although most word forms have stress on the last syllable. The mobility of stress during inflection led to the emergence of a complex system of vocal alternations.

Morphology

In nominal morphology - the opposition of masculine (not marked) and feminine (with indicators -å, -Vt), units. and many more numbers (masculine indicator -im, feminine - -ot). For some types of names, when forming plurals. h. ablaut is observed (cf. mäläk ‘king’ - plural məlåk-im). The dual number indicator -ayim joins a limited range of lexemes.

Case relations are expressed analytically (the direct object is formalized by the preposition ʔеt; accessory is a juxtaposition of the vertex and dependent name, sometimes with phonetic changes: dåbår ‘word’, dəbar dawid ‘word of David’). There is an ending -å with a directional meaning (yámm-å ‘to the sea’). The definite article has the form ha-.

In verbal morphology - a reduced system of genders (5), “internal” (apophonic) passive, suffixal (perfect) and prefixal (imperfect) conjugations expressing the meanings of the past and future tenses (cf. kåtab 'he wrote' - yiktob 'he will write' ). The meaning of the present tense is expressed by the active participle (hu koteb ‘he writes’). In a narrative text, combinations of the perfect and imperfect forms with the conjunction wə/wa ‘and’ have meanings that are opposite to the meanings of these forms without this conjunction: cf. wəkåtab ‘he will write’ (wə with the perfect) - wayyiktob ‘he wrote’ (wa with the imperfect); the interpretation of this phenomenon remains controversial. There are moods: imperative (kətob 'write'), cohortative (only in the 1st person: ʔäšmər-å 'let me preserve'), some verbs have a jussive (cf. imperfect yåʕum 'he will stand up' - jussive yåʕom 'let him will get up'). 2 infinitives - conjugate (kətob), absolute (kåtob).

Syntax

Neutral word order is “subject + predicate” in a nominal sentence, “predicate + subject + (direct object)” in a verbal sentence. Dependent words follow vertex words.

Vocabulary

The vocabulary includes Aramaicisms, borrowings from the Akkadian language, the ancient Egyptian language, the ancient Persian language, and in the Mishnaic monuments - Greekisms and Latinisms.

Notes

1. (Jes 19.18: Ba-Iyom ha-hu yihyu ḥḥʕʕʕʕärärṣ miṣráyim mədabbbs ŝəpat kənáʕan ‛on that day in the country of Egyptian will speak in the language of Canaan’, prophecies about the transition of the Egyptians to Christianity)
2. In 2R 18.26, 29 (= Jes 36.11, 13 = 2Chr 32.18) and in Ne 13.24
3. In general, in the text of the Old Testament, the adjective ʕibri ‛Jew(ish)’ (j. r. ʕibrit) is rare and has a specific usage, usually denoting the Israelites in situations of contact with representatives of other nations. The greatest concentration of such usages is found in the books of Genesis (Joseph in Egypt), Exodus (the exodus of the Jews from Egypt) and the first book of Samuel (Philistine wars), see also Jon 1.9 (Jonah and the shipmen) and Gn 14.13 (Abraham and the Canaanites). Characteristic is the predominance of passages representing direct speech, both from foreigners and from the Israelis themselves.
4. For example Mishnah Yadayim 4.5 (targum šä-kkåtəbu ʕibrit wə-ʕibrit šä-kkåtəbu targum<…>ʔeno məṭamme ʔät-hayyšådayim ‛Aramaic (Bible text), written in Hebrew (that is, translated into Hebrew) and Hebrew (Bible text), written in Aramaic (that is, translated into Aramaic)<…>does not defile hands (that is, does not have a sacred character)’, Jerusalem Talmud Megillah 1.8 (4 ləšonot nåʔim šä-yyištammeš båhem håʕolam<…>láʕaz ləzä́mär romi liḳråb sursi ləʔilyå ʕibri lədibbur ‛there are four languages ​​suitable for people to use: Greek for singing, Latin for war, Aramaic for mourning and Hebrew for conversation’).
5. bəbåbäl låšōn ʔărammi ləmå? ʔällå ʔo ləšon ha-ḳḳódäš ʔo låšon parsi ‛Why (use) Aramaic (language) in Babylonia? No, either the sacred language or the Persian language!’ (Babylonian Talmud, Sotah 49.2

> See also

• Jewish languages
• Hebrew

Territory: Creator:

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Date of creation:

X - VII centuries BC e.

Period:

8th century BC - VI century AD

Status:

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Letter direction:

From right to left

Signs: The oldest document:

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Origin: Developed into:

Story

Arameans
Aramaic
Aramaic alphabet
Aramaic kingdoms
Aramaic kings

Aramaic writing, like Greek, which also developed from Phoenician writing, formed the basis of the Aramaic branch of the alphabets of the East - just as the Greek alphabet served as the basis for the alphabets of the West. The Aramaic script, with its vowels and matres lectionis, gave rise to a number of the most important alphabets of the Middle East, North Africa and Asia, including the Arabic and modern Hebrew alphabets, as well as the various scripts of India (Brahmi and then Devanagari) and their descendant alphabets of Southeast and Central Asia ( including Thai and Mongolian script).

The prevalence of Aramaic writing is due to the fact that the Aramaic language and writing, appearing from the end of the 8th century BC. e. a means of international correspondence and communication in the Middle East, during the conquests of the Achaemenids they received the status of the diplomatic language and writing of the Persian Empire.

Pagan cults continued to exist in the Aramaic language environment; Thus, the religious sect of the Mandaeans, which still exists today (modern Iran and Iraq; several hundred Mandaeans also live in the USA and Australia), have preserved sacred books written in the Mandaean dialect of the Aramaic language, this dialect is also used as the language of worship, and its more modern form, according to some reports, it is used in everyday communication by approximately 1 thousand people in Iran; other Iranian Mandaeans speak Farsi, while Iraqi Mandaeans speak Arabic.

After the Arab conquests of the 7th century. and the creation of the caliphate, Syriac-Aramaic dialects were supplanted by Arabic; this process, however, was long and was largely completed only by the 15th century. The current heirs of the Aramaic language, in addition to the Assyrian and Mandaean dialect, are the dialects of several villages in Syria (see Maaloula, Saidnaya), where several thousand people live, mostly Christians.

Syriac-Aramaic literature is very extensive and has great historical significance: the brilliant era of medieval Islamic thought became possible in its time precisely thanks to the translation into Aramaic - and from it into Arabic - the works of ancient Greek philosophers, especially Aristotle.

Alphabet

Imperial Aramaic alphabet.

Letter name	Letter shape	Letter	Equivalent Jewish	Equivalent Arabic	Equivalent Syrian	Sound
Alaf	File:Aleph.svg	𐡀	א	أ	ܐ	/ʔ/ ; /aː/, /eː/
Beth	File:Beth.svg	𐡁	ב	ب‎	ܒ	/b/, /v/
Gamal	File:Gimel.svg	𐡂	ג	ج	ܓ	/ɡ/ , /ɣ/
Dalat	File:Daleth.svg	𐡃	ד	د‎	ܕ	/d/, /ð/
Heh	File:He0.svg	𐡄	ה	ﻫ‎	ܗ	/h/
Vav	File:Waw.svg	𐡅	ו	و‎	ܘ	/w/; /oː/, /uː/
Zain	File:Zayin.svg	𐡆	ז	ز‎	ܙ	/z/
Het	File:Heth.svg	𐡇	ח	خ,ح	ܚ	/ħ/
Tet	File:Teth.svg	𐡈	ט	ط	ܛ	emphatic /tˤ/
Yud	File:Yod.svg	𐡉	י	ي	ܝ	/j/; /iː/, /eː/
Kaf	File:Kaph.svg	𐡊	כ ך	ك	ܟܟ	/k/, /x/
Lamad	File:Lamed.svg	𐡋	ל	ل	ܠ	/l/
Mime	File:Mem.svg	𐡌	מ ם	م‎	ܡܡ	/m/
Nun	File:Nun.svg	𐡍	נ ן	ن	ܢܢ ܢ	/n/
Semkat	File:Samekh.svg	𐡎	ס	س	ܣ	/s/
‘Ē	File:Ayin.svg	𐡏	ע	غ,ع	ܥ	/ʕ/
Pe	File:Pe0.svg	𐡐	פ ף	ف	ܦ	/p/, /f/
Sade	File:Sade 1.svg , File:Sade 2.svg	𐡑	צ ץ	ص‎	ܨ	emphatic /sˤ/
Kof	File:Qoph.svg	𐡒	ק	ق‎	ܩ	/q/
Resh	File:Resh.svg	𐡓	ר	ر	ܪ	/r/
Shin	File:Shin.svg	𐡔	ש	ش,س	ܫ	/ʃ/
Tau	File:Taw.svg	𐡕	ת	ت‎,ث	ܬ	/t/, /θ/

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Consonantal letter Abugids / Indian script Abugids / Other letter That's what I was afraid of. My soul wept, thinking about everyone I love so much. About those whom I was now leaving... But this was still not enough. I knew that Caraffa would not let me leave so easily. I knew that he would certainly make me suffer greatly... Only I still had no idea how inhumane this suffering would be... “This is the only thing I cannot provide you with, Madonna Isidora,” the cardinal answered sharply, forgetting his secular tone. “Well, well, then at least allow me to see my little daughter,” I asked, growing cold inside from impossible hope. – But we will definitely organize this for you! Only a little later, I think, thinking about something of his own, Caraffa said contentedly. The news shocked me! He apparently had his own plan for my little Anna!.. I was ready to endure all the horrors myself, but I was never ready to even think about what my family could suffer. – I have a question for you, Madonna Isidora. And how you answer it will determine whether you will see your daughter soon, or whether you will have to forget about what she looks like. Therefore, I advise you to think carefully before answering,” Karaffa’s gaze became sharp, like a steel blade... “I want to know where the famous library of your grandfather is located?” So this is what the crazy inquisitor was looking for!.. As it turned out, he was not so crazy after all... Yes, he was absolutely right - my grandfather’s old library contained a wonderful collection of spiritual and mental wealth! It was one of the oldest and rarest in all of Europe, and it was envied by the great Medici himself, who, as you know, was ready to sell even his soul for rare books. But why did Karaffa need this?! – My grandfather’s library, as you know, was always in Florence, but I don’t know what happened to it after his death, Your Eminence, since I never saw it again. It was a childish lie, and I understood how naive it sounded... But I just couldn’t find another answer right away. I could not allow the world’s rarest works of philosophers, scientists and poets, the works of great Teachers to fall into the dirty clutches of the church or Caraffa. I had no right to allow this! But, for now, not having had time to come up with anything better to somehow protect all this, I answered him with the first thing that came into my head, inflamed from wild tension, at that moment. Caraffa's demand was so unexpected that I needed time to figure out what to do next. As if he had overheard my thoughts, Caraffa said: “Well, Madonna, I’ll leave you time to think.” And I strongly advise you not to make a mistake... He left. And night fell on my little world... All this terrible time, I mentally communicated with my beloved, exhausted father, who, unfortunately, could not tell me anything reassuring, except for one positive news - Anna was still in Florence, and at least for now there was nothing to fear for her . But my unfortunate husband, my poor Girolamo, returned to Venice with the desire to help me, and only there did he learn that it was too late - that I had been taken to Rome... His despair knew no bounds!.. He wrote long letters to the Pope. I sent notes of protest to the “powers of this world,” whom I once helped. Nothing worked. Caraffa was deaf to any requests and pleas... “Couldn’t you just disappear?!” Or “fly away” for that matter?.. Why didn’t you use something?!!! – Unable to bear it any further, Stella exclaimed, upset by the story. – You must always fight to the end!.. That’s what my grandmother taught me. I was very happy - Stella was coming to life. Her fighting spirit took over again as soon as there was an urgent need for it. “If only everything were so simple!” Isidora answered sadly, shaking her head. – It wasn’t just me. I was completely unaware of Caraffa's plans for my family. And I was very frightened by the fact that no matter how much I tried, I could not see anything. This was the first time in my life when no “vision”, none of my “witch talents” helped... I could view any person or any event a thousand years in advance! I could even predict future incarnations with absolute accuracy, which no Vidun on Earth could do, but my Gift was silent when it came to Caraffa, and I could not understand it. Any of my attempts to look at him were easily “sprayed”, bumping into a very dense golden-red defense that constantly “curled” around his physical body, and I could not break through it. It was new and incomprehensible, something I had never encountered before... Naturally, everyone (even my little Anna!) in my family knew how to create excellent protection for themselves, and everyone did it in their own way, so that it was individual, in case trouble happened. But no matter how complex the defense turned out to be, I knew perfectly well that at any moment I could “go through” the protection of any of the sorcerers I knew, if an urgent need for this suddenly arose, including the protection of my father, who knew and could do much more me. But it didn’t work with Caraffa... He possessed some kind of alien, very strong and very refined magic that I had never encountered... I knew all the Sorcerers of Europe - he was not one of them. I, like everyone else, was well aware that he was a true “servant of the Lord” and a faithful “son of the church”, and, according to everyone’s understanding, could in no way use what he called “the devil’s manifestation” and what was used we, Witches and Sorcerers!.. What, in that case, was it?!.. Was the most faithful servant of the church and the Grand Inquisitor, in fact, a black Sorcerer?!. Even though it was completely and utterly unbelievable, it was the only explanation I could honestly give, hand on heart. But how, in this case, did he combine his “holy” duties with the “devilish” (as he called it) teaching?! Although what he did on Earth was truly Devilish and black... Once again, mentally talking with my father, I asked him what he thought about this? - It’s not him, honey... They’re just helping him. But I don't know who. There is nothing like this on Earth... It didn’t get any easier hour by hour!.. The world was really turning upside down... But I promised myself to still try to somehow find out what this strange “holy father” was using, while at the same time persecuting and burning his own kind ?..