1.5 - Chaldee
November 05, 2004 | Comments: 3Biblical Hermeneutics Part First Chapter 5
In this chapter the author presents the Chaldee language, in which a few sections of the Old Testament were written. He outlines the source and history of the language, the biblical passages where it is found, its grammatical distinctives relative to Hebrew, and the import of its presence in the inspired writings.
Chaldee, variously known as Aramaic and Syriac, is a Semitic tongue like Hebrew, and its linguistic structure is essentially the same. It was the lingua franca of the Babylonian Empire at the time of the Jewish Exile, and the passages where it is found in Scripture reflect this, e.g. Daniel’s account of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, and Ezra’s record of the Samaritan’s letter to Artaxerxes. After the return of the exiles, it was the common speech of the Jews, and continued as such into Roman era.
That certain passages of the Holy Scriptures were written in Chaldee is not happenstance, but has great significance, in that it demonstrates the global purpose of God in His revelation to the Jews. The accounts of Belshazzar’s feast, and of Daniel’s deliverance from the den of lions, and his vision of the world empires and their fall, were written in the common tongue of the Empire, that the world might know of them. [Aside: Hence it was, I believe, that the Persian Magi in Matthew had some knowledge of the true and living God, and His ancient promises.]
Comments
do you think that these Aramaic sections were spliced in by the Hebrew authors, from other publications in the common language? Are you familiar with the field of comparative semitics and its value to the study of biblical texts? Do you think that the 19th century seminaries were wise in requiring course time to study Aramaic? nathan.
nathan on November 11, 2004 at 10:43 AM
Perhaps some of the Aramaic sections were spliced in, as in the case of Ezra reporting the letter of the Samaritans to Artaxerxes. He may have transcribed the actual text of a copy of the letter in his possession. But I would think that by and large the authors, being bilingual, wrote the Hebrew and Aramaic sections together with their own hand.
I regret that I am largely ignorant of the field of comparative semitics. On your last question, I would say that the amount of course time devoted to the study of Aramaic should be commensurate with the amount of the sacred text written in that tongue, viz. some, but not too much.
andrew on November 11, 2004 at 09:13 PM
I asked this question of Dr. Bryan Estelle while he visited and preached here this past week and he is convinced that the biblical authors are responsible for writing most of the Aramaic in the text. Nathan.
nathan on November 23, 2004 at 06:21 PM
