CAL's Dr. Kaufman CLARIFIES Bar Bahlul... and a few others

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"Let's see what CAL calls you,
GaMLa dear. " 

The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon entry for GaMLa... CAMEL or ROPE ( ?)

gml N02

gml, gmlʾ (gmel, gamlā) n.m./f. camel; beam

female camel may also be explicitly gmlh

  1 camel Com. --(a)  dromedary Syr. 

  2 large curved(?) wooden beam Syr. --(a) a plank bridge made of such beams JBA. --(b) as a large measure of length, i.e. "yard" or the like Syr. 

  3 large insect : see s.v. gmln adj. Syr. 

  4 as a part of the name of other animals . --(a)   camelopard, i.e. giraffe Syr. --(b): millipede Syr.

   For the double gender see Bh Gr² 11(13ff.)

See also s.v. gml "camel driver."

In the NT proverbial saying (Matthew 19:24, Mark 10:25, and Luke 18:25) about a camel and the eye of a needle, the native Syriac lexical tradition seems to be convinced that our lemma is to be interpreted as a large rope used on ships. See the statement of BarBahlul (500:19): 

[Readers: Please note well the Aramaic dialects abbreviated in bold blue type above. 

• JBA stands for Jewish Babylonian.  
• Take careful note how the COMMON ARAMAIC ( the Aramaic of the common man) and the 
• SYRIAC ( the Aramaic of the New Covenant and Biblical liturgies)  dialects define and use GaMLa in every day speech. Keep this in mind through the end of this post. ] 

The NOTE in red, above, was added to CAL's entry on GaMLa during the week of January 7th, 2013. 

Since a few --- a very limited few --- of  the Greek manuscripts of the 9th and 10th century have KAM-I-LON ( rope ) in them, an effort has been made to LOCATE the Aramaic roots of GaMLa (camel) being used as ROPE.  

Thus, a bona fide Aramaic language authority was  found in Dr. Steve Kaufman  to help unravel this mystery. He is  Professor of Bible and Cognate Literature Emeritus, Hebrew Union College, Cincinnati, Ohio, who edits the Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon ( CAL ).  

The CAL identifies 30 different dialects in the Aramaic language literature, including Syriac and Christian Palestinian Aramaic. 

Here are the core features of those conversations.

 To Dr. Kaufman at CAL  … Jan 3, 2013

Dear Mr. Kaufman...

I am researching and trying to verify information I have come across while dealing with an Aramaic English translation of verses Matthew 19:24, Mark 10:25, and Luke 18:25.

Specifically, this information I am trying to verify states that GaMLa means CAMEL but GaMaLah means ROPE... and the difference in the word comes through the vowel pointings.  

The Aramaic texts on Dukhrana have either NO vowel pointings or else the vowel pointings are GaMLa, in these three verses in question. [ I have spent hours checking that word in each verse in every Aramaic text at Dukhrana. ]

Mr. Lars Lindgren of Dukhrana recommended you to me as a source to help answer my question about GaMLa and GaMaLah, specifically, the information found  in the lexicon by Bar Bahlul at 500:19:1691-9. 

This same reference page is linked in CAL for all three of those verses.

Since I do this work very slowly and try to be as thorough as I can, I usually check the reference works listed in links at the bottom of the CAL entry for words I am researching.... just to make certain I have a thorough understanding of the words in question along with the variety of meanings and usages. 

None [ i.e., of the ones in English / SJH ] have ROPE listed for GaMLa  and the CAL definitions simply do not include ANY indication that GaMLa could possibly mean ROPE.

Also, I cannot find the word GaMaLah ( ROPE) anywhere in the Aramaic resources.  

But, perhaps I am missing something that others can clearly see ? 

  

The CAL listing for GaMLa from the various Aramaic dialects has a variety of definitions, but NONE of them can be construed to mean rope or cable. 

Indeed, the only Aramaic word listed for rope or cable is CHaBL , as per Dukhrana.

~ ~ ~ ~ 

steve kaufman to me	Jan 3

I do not know where you got your information that with a change of vowels the meaning might be "rope".  

There is only a single word.  

Bar Bahlul does say that earlier interpreters in his tradition take the meaning of the word "camel" in the proverb to be " a thick rope used for securing ships". 

Frankly, I prefer the solution followed by some moderns that claims that the "eye of the needle" was a well known narrow passageway through which camels could not easily go.

If you wish to translate the Syriac Biblical text, the best way simply might be to put "camel" in quotation marks.  That would be most true to the Syriac interpretive tradition itself.

In any case, I thank you for your query.  I have added a note to the lexical entry discussing this further.  It will be online after the next update...

~ ~ ~ 

MAY I QUOTE YOU ?

Sister Judith	Jan 9
to steve

Dear Mr. Kaufman...

I have seen your additional notation to GaMLA on the CAL.

Let me ask you another couple of questions:

Is Bar Bahlul the only reference work which is able to be found that has ROPE for GaMLA ?
I noticed that you did NOT ADD the  ROPE definition to the regular definitions, though, so I thought there might be a reason for omitting it  ....such as perhaps the CAL standard requires the usage of a certain word to be found in X-number of  writings, literature, etc. ?

Now, on my blog, I will be doing a posting re: the ROPE side of the issue. I would like to quote you, but I will do so ONLY if you give me permission. [ If you have a title other than "scholar", I would appreciate your permission to use that too, if you will tell me what it is :>) . ]....

~  ~  ~

steve kaufman	Jan 10
to me

I am Prof. of Bible and Cognate Literature Emeritus, Hebrew Union College, Cincinnati

Your question is apt.  

The reason I do not give it as a meaning is the same that a modern lexicographer of English would not say that English "camel" is a rope because of the Synoptics' passage. 

It is only in exegetical work, not attested as an actual word in the language. 

I give the exegetical tradition in the note and think that is sufficient.

You may quote me.

 ~ ~ ~

Sister Judith	Jan 15 (12 days ago)
to steve

Dear Dr. Kaufman... Thank you for your response. I think that your note is quite sufficient also.

I want to make no mistakes in what I understand you saying, though. Please CORRECT me where I am wrong. [ It will save me head-aches later :>)  ! ]

• 1.You are saying here  that GaMLa could  possibly be translated as ROPE, 
  but it is not found so used in language OR LITERATURE  ( of that era or any era ?)

• 2. In other words, that usage [ GaMLa = ROPE ] is found only as a definition that "stretches" the limits of the word and only those digging in the roots ( exegetical) could find it.

• 3. Or... are you saying that usage only exists in theory, but not in actual practice ?

In my studies, I have found exactly 2 verses in the Aramaic text of the New Covenant where cords, cable, or rope is actually used. BOTH places have the word CHaBL... much like the English "cable."  

One place, John 2:15 CHaBL is used for cords of rope in a whip where YESHUA+ cleansed the Temple of the money-changers.   

The other place is in Acts 27:32, where The Apostle Paul is on a ship about to flounder and the soldiers cut the ropes to the life-boats.   

In NEITHER of these verses, however,  is GaMLa used as rope,  even in the one directly talking about roping used on a ship.

The interesting thing is that the Apostle Luke wrote the Acts verse as well as the verse in Luke 18:25, where GaMLa is used as camel, not rope. 

Well, enough said. Thank you for your help; how I appreciate your sharing of your scholarship!

Hoping to hear from you soon.

~ ~ ~

steve kaufman	Jan 15 (12 days ago)
to me

no -- what I am saying is that the word "camel" in that text was explained by some exegetes as referring to a thick rope used on boats.  

Otherwise it is not found in any actual texts.

~  ~  ~

Sister Judith	Jan 15 (12 days ago)		>
to steve

So.... where did they get it ? How could they derive ROPE from GaMLa ?? ( Begging your patience with my questions !)

SrJH + + +

~  ~  ~

steve kaufman	Jan 16 (11 days ago)
to me

The exegetes derive it from the context.

It has nothing to do with Aramaic per se.  

~ ~ ~

~  ~  ~ End of Conversation via email ~ ~ ~ 

Dr. Kaufman can verify this conversation. Only a few spelling errors have been changed. / SJH  + + +