MICAH 5:2 Complete Jewish Bible

Micah 5:1... Complete Jewish Bible (CJB)

But you, Beit-Lechem near Efrat,so small among the clans of Y’hudah,out of you will come forth to me the future ruler of Isra’el,whose origins are far in the past, back in ancient times.

Neither is there SALVATION in any other; for there is NO OTHER NAME+ under Heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
Acts 4:12

That at the NAME of YESHUA+ every knee shall bow, of beings in Heaven, beings in earth, and beings under the earth; and that every tongue should proclaim that YESHUA+ MASHIYACH+ is LORD, to the Glory of ALAHA, His+ FATHER.
Philippians 2:10-11

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Showing posts with label Dr. Kaufman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dr. Kaufman. Show all posts

Saturday, January 28, 2023

A Greek Camel ? An Aramaic Rope ? The WORDS of YESHUA+ HA MASHIYACH+: Which Is BEST ?

RE-PRINT FROM FEBRUARY 10, 2013
Photo by 
www.travel-pictures-gallery.com



He that rejects ME+ 
and receives not My+ WORDS, 
hath ONE that judges him;
  
The WORD that I have spoken, 

the same 
shall judge him 
in the Last Day. 

For I+  have not spoken of Myself+; 
but The FATHER 
which sent ME+,

HE gave ME+ 
a commandment, 
what I+ should say, 
and what I+ should speak.
( Yochanan 12:48-49, words the same in all versions. ) 

 ~ ~ ~ A SERIOUS QUESTION ~ ~ ~ 

Why is the controversy over the true meaning of GaMLa of any importance ?

THIS IS WHY: Either the Greek translators changed the meaning of The Words of YESHUA+ HA MASHIYACH+... or the Aramaic translators changed them.  

Simply put:  one is wrong, one is right. 

Put another way: 

  • one will stand before the Judgment Seat of The MASHIYACH+ to give an awful accounting ; 
  • the other will hear the words, "Well Done, thou good and faithful Servant. Enter thou into the Joy of Thy LORD." 
BOTH, however, can not be right.

Photo by flickr.com

We know: ROPE is found for CAMEL in George Lamsa's Bible, Paul Younan's work on the New Covenant, and the current "Golden, Best, and Historic" version published by the Netzarim publishing house. 

We know :  The Aramaic lexicon written by Hassan Bar Bahlul in the 10th century states that some traditionally have translated a SHIP'S ROPE for GaMLa. [ See blog on Bar Bahlul.]

We know: BB cites Cyril of Alexandria,  a noted GREEK scholar and Patriarch of Alexandria , 412 - 444 AD, as identifying GaMLa as ROPE.  

We know: The ARMENIAN church followed some of the Greek, Cyril of Alexandria's teachings. ( See Wikipedia: " Armenian Apostolic Church." )

We know: From  Wikipedia " Eye of a Needle" 
5. ^ Manlio Simonetti - 2002 -"Cyril of Alexandria: By "camel" here he means not the living thing, the beast of burden, but the thick rope 33 to which ... "This interpretation — "rope" (kamilos)

and not "camel" (kamelos) — rests on the 

homonymic character of the two .."

( In other words, in Medieval Greek, the two Greek words were pronounced the same and thus, caused some confusion. This is also stated in numerous other places on the internet and by Dr. Robinson. See below. )

[ Please note:  The Greek CAMEL is written with a Greek vowel, ETA = a long "A" sound. Greek scholars like Dr. Robinson write the letters in English with a capital "H" for the ETA, / "Ate-aah" /... hence he would write "kamHLon"

In my earlier blog, I wrote "kam- A - lon" to indicate the pronunciation.  Some writers insert an English "e" , as did Simonetti, above, to indicate the CAMEL, as "Kam-e-lon".  

ROPE, you may recall, is spelled in Greek "Kam-i-Lon." ]

 We know : "Kam-i-Lon" ( Gk. ROPE) is never found in the Greek New Covenant. 

However,
"Kam-i-Lon"  for ROPE is seldom used even in other Greek  writings when concerning  ships' cables. Thus, that usage is rather a moot point ... EVEN IN THE GREEK WRITINGS THEMSELVES. 

It is found in two Greek writings OUTSIDE of the New Covenant. See BAGD, 2nd ed. , 1979, page 401, for "KamiLon" for those two references. Many other ancient references in the Greek literature OUTSIDE of the New Covenant are listed for "KamHLon." See BAGD entry directly above kamiLon.  

Rather,  "s X o i n i O n" is found for rope in John 2:15 ( a whip out of ropes = phragellion ek sXoiniOn )  and in Acts 27:32, where soldiers are cutting away the ropes which hold lifeboats, = ta sxoinia. 


Likewise, in the Peshitta texts: 

John 2:15 = phragela men CHaBLa is the whip out of ropes, and L-CHaBLe'H  is the  rope on the ship in Acts 27:32.   

We know :  Toma Audo, ( 1854-1918 ), an archbishop of the Chaldean Catholic Church, stated the ROPE definition, as does the German linguist who wrote in Latin, Carl Brockelmann ( 1868-1956).... [ according to the information from Mr. Steven Ring, noted Aramaic scholar, well-known on the Internet.]
Photo by pocketculture.com


We know:  Dr. Steve Kaufman who edits the Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon in Cincinnati's Hebrew Union College stated that  [ GaMLa for] ROPE was not found in the Aramaic literature or writing. 

He stated that the ONLY place it was found was in the "exegetical" work of some translators. 

Dr. Kaufman stated ( See his comments, verbatim, on the previous blog ) that 

" ... the exegetes derive it from the context.  It has nothing to do with Aramaic per se."

And: "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."

We know : Dr. Kaufman does NOT establish ROPE as a regular definition for GaMLa in  the Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon because GaMLa is never used as "rope" in any Aramaic writing.

[ Please note: the scholarly CAL editor(s) differentiate between 30 different dialects which are used in the writings classed as "Aramaic." ]   

We know : Even Dr. Kaufman's note about GaMLa being translated by some translators as ROPE was added to the CAL entry on GaMLa during the week of January 7, 2013 following my quest for scholarly information.... so the current volumes did not have this reference note from which to work when compiling their translations.
Photo by pocketculture.com

We Know: The information about an extra vowel in GaMLa .... making it to be pronounced as Gam-a-lah  in Aramaic is totally erroneous, according to Dr. Kaufman.  

We know : Unfortunately, that mis-information about "gamala" is printed in footnote 182, at Matthew 19:24 in the "G,B, and H" version of the Netzarim New Covenant. 

We Know: Dr. Maurice Robinson of the excellent Robinson-Pierpont's The New Testament in the Original Greek, Byzantine Textform, 2005, listed NO VARIANTS for those three verses where GaMLa is translated as ROPE instead of CAMEL. Nestle-Aland's 26th Greek edition listed only a very few, starting with the 9th century. Nestle-Aland's 27th Greek edition listed a few, also from the 9th or 10th century.   Here are Dr. Robinson's exact words:  


The data shown in NA27 are simple:

Mt 19:24, where KAMILON is read in only MSS 579 1424 pc arm

Mk 10:25, where KAMILON is read in only MSS f13 28 579 pc geo

Lk 18:25, where KAMILON is read in only MSS S f13 579vid 1424 al

1. First thing to notice is that, except for MS 579, *none* of the witnesses remain consistent for all three occurrences. [ Please note: ms 579 was from the 13th century. /SrJH]

2. The reason the R-P text doesn't mention KAMILON in place of KAMHLON is simple: the manuscript support is too slim to be of any consequence.

3. The *primary* issue is merely phonetic orthographic variation. In (at least) later medieval Greek H and I were pronounced identically. This phenomenon is replicated in the *other* instances where "camel" occurs, where no one is claiming * * * "rope" meaning; e.g., John the Baptist dressed in camel's hair:

Mt 3:4, where instead of KAMHLOU  [ camel] you have KAMILOU [rope ] in MSS 28 565 (and where MS D reads KAMHLLOU )

Mk 1:6, where instead of KAMHLOU [ camel ] you have KAMILOU  [ rope ] in MSS Gsup 2 28 (and where MS D along with Theta reads KAMELOU).

 And Mt 23:24, where it hardly matters whether a Pharisee is trying to swallow a camel or a rope (he simply can't do it); there KAMILON [ rope ] is read by MSS M Theta Pi* 579.

We know : These few with Kam-i-lon spellings in the Greek manuscripts came from the 9th, 10th, and 13th century. 

We know : At least one or two of these early manuscripts came from the ARMENIAN and the GEORGIAN early manuscripts. 

We know : George Lamsa was born in Armenia. 

We know: Cyril of Alexandria , a Greek Patriarch, was lauded by the church in Armenia. 

We know : Mr. Lamsa repudiated and taught against basic Christian doctrines, like the physical Resurrection of YESHUA+ HA MASHIYACH+ and a host of other doctrines central to Christianity. 



We know : The idea of a LARGE animal going through a small opening is an ORIENTALISM.  This quote was found on Wikipedia  
[ From Wikipedia's "Eye of a Needle " article, above]  and on several other sites on the Internet.  To wit: 


The Babylonian Talmud applies the aphorism to 
unthinkable thoughts. To explain that dreams 
reveal the thoughts of a man's heart, the product 
of reason rather than the absence of it, the rabbis 
say:
They do not show a man a palm tree of gold,

 nor an elephant going through the eye of a 

needle.[1]

References
1.                             ^ B.T. Berakhot 55b



photo by wysinfo.com

Changing the words of 
YESHUA+ HA MASHIYACH+ 
is serious  
because 
it makes a rich man 
able to enter 
the Kingdom of Heaven...
exactly the opposite teaching 
of YESHUA+ HA MASHIYACH+ !   



Photo by fasterthenrocket.com







Monday, August 5, 2013

BIRTH PANGS... or ... Cords ?

Khabouris C text ~ Courtesy of DUKHRANA.com


Aramaic Text and Khabouris Text of Acts 2:24 and text translations  
~ Courtesy of DUKHRANA.com



Acts 2:24 - ܐܠܗܐ ܕܝܢ ܐܩܝܡܗ ܘܫܪܐ ܚܒܠܝܗ ܕܫܝܘܠ ܡܛܠ ܕܠܐ ܡܫܟܚܐ ܗܘܬ ܕܢܬܬܚܕ ܒܗ ܒܫܝܘܠ ܀ (analyze)

Acts 2:24 - But Aloha raised him, and loosed the bands of Shiul, because it was not possible that he should be holden in Shiul.  
~Dr. John Etheridge

Acts 2:24 - But God hath resuscitated him, and hath loosed the cords of the grave; because it could not be, that he should be held in the grave. 
~ Dr. James Murdock

Acts 2:24 - Whom God has raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible for the grave to hold him. 
~ Mr. George Lamsa

Acts 2:24 - quem Deus suscitavit, solutis doloribus inferni, iuxta quod impossibile erat teneri illum ab eo. 
~ Latin Vulgate, Clementine

Acts 2:24 - ον ο θεος ανεστησεν λυσας τας ωδινας του θανατου καθοτι ουκ ην δυνατον κρατεισθαι αυτον υπ αυτου. 
~ New Testament in the Original Greek, Byzantine Textform 2005, Dr. Robinson and W.G. Pierpont



The two words in question in the highlighted phrase are:
pains vs cords 
and 
death vs Sheol.

Some scholars in the Aramaic camp state that PAIN is a "mis-translation" of the Greek ... ostensibly because PAIN does not follow the Aramaic translation.  

Mr. Paul Younan states, in his version of Acts 2:24: 

The Greek versions mis-translated this word as "pain" (c.f. Yukhanan 2:15 & 2 Samuel 22:6). 

The "golden, best, and historic" New Covenant version published by the Netzarim Publishing House included Mr. Younan's statement in footnote #19 at Acts 2:24, page 306 , mis-pag. edition, as justification for translating CHeB,Leyh as CORDS. 

HOWEVER, some Aramaic language scholars did NOT seem to follow either the Netzarim or Mr. Younan's line of thinking for CHeB,Leyh.  
Dr. George A. Kiraz's SEDRA3 ( found on Dukhrana.com at Acts 2:24 analysis page ) states the 4 definitions for that very word as: 
  • sorrow
  • travail
  • pangs
  • throes
In addition, CAL's language expert, Dr. Steve Kaufman, publishes the CAL definitions for that very word: 
  • #1 labor pains -- ( from JLAtg = Jewish Literary Aramaic, Targumic ,and Syr = Syriac dialects )
  • #2 a type of demon -- ( from JBAmb = Jewish Babylonian dialects ) 
On Dukhrana's analysis page of CheB, Leyh, the only verse in the entire New Covenant listed which has that particular word ( M pl emphatic; suffix = 3rd fem sing ) is Acts 2:24.

 Jerome's Latin Vulgate / Clementine, which is a re-working from the Vetus Latina manuscripts, calls it doloribus inferni

Doloribus = pain, anguish, grief, sorrow, suffering; resentment, indignation. 

[ Note: If anyone knows where to find the Old Latin or Vetus Latina on-line, I would greatly appreciate that information... having a desire to review the  Latin before it was re-written by Jerome in about 382 AD. Please inform me via a comment. Thank you kindly, SrJH+++ . ]  

The GREEK word... without any variants whatsoever in ALL the Greek manuscripts... is Odinas... which always means "the pain that accompanies childbirth birth pang, labor pang".   The definition never alludes to cords or ropes. [ Greek definition from Timothy Friberg's  Analytical Lexicon of the Greek New Testament  , Baker Books, Grand Rapids, MI , 2000, p. 415.] 

HOWEVER, I applaud the Netzarim Publishing House and Mr. Younan  for taking a step in this direction: for looking unto verification of their work from Scriptures themselves. 

That is GOOD... for there is no higher authority, language and linguists notwithstanding. 

[ Next blog article: A look into those Scriptures!]   





Tuesday, January 22, 2013

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

Photo by britannica.org

"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; beamfemale 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  + + +