Origen's "CROOKED ANIMAL" ... The GaMLA

Origen Against Celsus clarifies the question of CAMEL vs ROPE.



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Origen lived between AD 185 to 230 or 254...  again, long before the development of the Peshitta.  He lived and taught in Alexandria, but spent the last quarter of his life in Palestine and Caesarea !  Origen was a brilliant apologist for CHRISTIANITY. 

In this brief selection, Origen is arguing against the accusation by Celsus that YESHUA+ HA MASHIYACH+ lifted Matthew 19:24 from Plato's writings.

Please note:  the word CAMEL was NOT THE FOCUS of the argument; it was merely expounded upon to prove Origen's point in his defense of The LORD'S words and intent. 

This work is found in Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 4, Origen Against Celsus, Book 6, Chapter 16, page 580, hard copy, second printing, June 1995,   American Edition, Hendrickson Publishers INC., Peabody, Massachusetts. 

The blog posting is from Master Christian Library, version 8, pages 1148-1149, [ same reference as in the ANF volume listed above ],  2000 AGES software, Rio, WI, www.ageslibrary.com.  

Origen Against Celsus... Book 6.... Chapter 16... in its entirety ( color,  caps, brackets, sizing, and highlight added by SJH )

"In the next place, with regard to the declaration of JESUS against rich men, when HE+ said, "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God,"

Celsus alleges that this saying manifestly proceeded from Plato, and that JESUS perverted the words of the philosopher, which were, that "it was impossible to be distinguished for goodness, and at the same time for riches."

Now who is there that is capable of giving even moderate attention to affairs — not merely among the believers on JESUS, but among the rest of mankind — that would not laugh at Celsus, on hearing that JESUS, Who+ was born and brought up among the Jews, and was supposed to be the son of Joseph the carpenter,

and Who+ had not studied literature — not merely that of the Greeks, but not even that of the Hebrews — as the truth-loving Scriptures testify regarding HIM+, had read Plato,

and [ JESUS ] being pleased with the opinion he [ Plato ] expressed regarding rich men, to the effect that "it was impossible to be distinguished for goodness and riches at the same time," had perverted this,

and changed it into, "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God!"

Now, if Celsus had not perused the Gospels in a spirit of hatred and dislike, but had been imbued with a love of truth, he would have turned his attention to the point why a camel — that one of animals which, as regards its physical structure, is crooked — was chosen as an object of comparison with a rich man, and what signification the "narrow eye of a needle" had for him who saw that "strait and narrow was the way that leadeth unto life;

and to this point also, that this animal. according to the law, is described as "unclean," having one element of acceptability, viz. that it ruminates, but one of condemnation, viz., that it does not divide the hoof.

He would have inquired, moreover, how often the camel was adduced as an object of comparison in the sacred Scriptures, and in reference to what objects, that he might thus ascertain the meaning of the LOGOS+ concerning

is to be wholly condemned.

For even a common individual would not thus indiscriminately have praised the poor, many of whom lead most wicked lives. But on this point we have said enough."

   

A GREEK KAM-I-LON ... in the Peshitta ?



"Can't you see I am a kam-A-lon-- a camel--,
not a kam-I-lon  -- a rope-- ? " 
photo by pocketculture.com


~ or ~

Why 
must we resort to GREEK sources
instead of Aramaic 

to find that CAMEL means ROPE... 

since the Aramaic translations
seem to be 
the ONLY ones
currently transforming 
a CAMEL into a ROPE ?

?  ?  ? ??????????? ?  ? 

 In the Nestle-Aland  Greek New Testament (1979, 12th printing, 1991 edition) are 7 New Covenant Greek manuscripts that have this kam-I-lon variant ...

...yes, 7...
( out of hundreds, at least )

that have appeared in some of the Aramaic English translations
which prefer ROPE
rather than
the bona fide CAMEL ! 

Let us recall some facts: ( all verifiable if the reader should choose to do so. But let me warn you: it takes a LOT of time.)

The texts online at Dukhrana's fine collection have oftentimes NO vowel pointings for the Aramaic word for "camel," GaMLa, as in Mr. Steven Silver's Khabouris T manuscript and Mr. Paul Younan's manuscript.  

The Aramaic texts online at Dukhrana which DO retain vowel pointings, as in the "G, B, and H" Netzarim volume, have the normal vowel pointings which marks GaMLa as "camel."

The vowel pointings ARE marked as GaMLa, (which is correctly translated as "CAMEL")  in the Dukhrana Aramaic texts of :

· Khabouris C

· Peshitta New Testament, New York, 1886 Mingana Manuscript

· Syriac Manuscript 148-38a

... And this is TRUE for all 3 mis-translated verses in question:

• Matthew 19:24,
• Mark 10:25, and
• Luke 18:25.

Yes, all three verses of YESHUA+ HA MASHIYACH+ 'S  very words have the  mis-translation of "rope," in the "golden, best, and historic" Netzarim volume,  according to the existing VOWEL POINTS of GaMLA found in the Eastern texts listed above. 

They were changed into "ROPE" in the English translations of Mr. Younan and Mr. Lamsa... and the "Golden, Best, and Historic" Bible translation published by the Netzarim Publishing House... with apparently no vowel pointings able to be found to substantiate the change... if vowel pointings are indeed the crucial difference, as written in the GB & H volume !  

Now, do keep in mind that the Netzarim "Golden, Best, and Historic" version says that GaMLa (camel)  is actually a ROPE... due to it being a GaMaLa.   ( page 56 of the Mis-Pag. Edition, footnote 182, for Matthew 19:24).

NOW... LET US LOOK

AT THE GREEK RESOUCES....

Since there are none in the Aramaic. 

MATTHEW 19:24  

And again I+ say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of GOD.

(The young, TORAH-observant man with great possessions went away sorrowful. )

Nestle-Aland Greek Text lists in a bottom footnote the manuscript variant  for "camel" as being  kam-I-lon (rope) here... so few ( i.e., "p c" ) that N-A does not even mention or record the actual manuscripts. 

The fine Byzantine Greek Textform  work of Robinson-Pierpont have NO mention of any variant. 

MARK 10:25

It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of GOD.

( The rich, TORAH-observant man went away sad.)  

The Nestle-Aland manuscript variants listing kam-I-lon  (rope) instead of "camel" are two:

manuscript 13 and manuscript 28 pc of the miniscules.  No variants are listed at all by Robinson and Pierpont's Byzantine Textform. 

LUKE 18:25 

For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of GOD!

(The rich, Torah-observant ruler went away sorrowful here, too.) 

The Nestle-Aland Greek text lists these manuscripts with ROPE ( kam-I-lon) instead of camel in its footnotes here. They are variants found in:

S, f13 manuscripts, 1010 manuscript, and 1424 al ( Latin for "others"), but the "others" are not significant enough to be listed.

No variants are listed by Robinson and Pierpont.

HERE is a TIMELY FACT to consider as well...

Although the GREEK manuscripts do have a few... a VERY FEW... places where ROPE is written in the Greek instead  of CAMEL, the TIME-FRAME of those few manuscripts is of utmost importance to this discussion. 

WHY ? 

The earliest manuscript

which contains such a variant

is dated at the 9th Century !

• p c ... un-datable
• Greek manuscript 13 .... 13th century
• Greek manuscript 28 ... 11th century
• Greek S uncial , dated 949 ... 10th century 
• f13 .... 10th century
• Greek manuscript 1010 ... 12th century
• Greek manuscripts 1424al...9 &10th century

So... how did Mr. Lamsa of Peshitta translation fame and the others who followed his translation,  find ROPE to put it into their translation of the ancient Aramaic text ? 

Futhermore... where did Mr. Lamsa find ROPE ... since it is not found in the Aramaic itself ... but only in these isolated, late GREEK manuscripts ?

Any theories, anyone ?

( I have a few,

based on this surprising 

GREEK text information. )

Coming soon: Elucidation on these Scripture verses by Pre-Nicene, historical Christian writers: Clement of Alexandria ( circa 153-217)  and Origen ( circa 185- 254) ... just in case readers adhere to Prosperity Theology, in either the Greek OR Aramaic camps ! / Sr. Judith Hannah  + + +

Q^Q: When IS a CAMEL ALWAYS a CAMEL ?



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Answer:

In about 260

[out of about 266* ]

Greek manuscripts
which include the "Good News", 
"Good Message" or "Good Speech"
GOSPEL books 
(i.e., the bona fide meaning of GOSPEL 
which has been erroneously etymologized, 
in the "golden, best, and historic"
Aramaic-English New Covenant
published by the Netzarim Publishing House
as ( in error):
" God's Spell," footnote 40, Matthew 4:23.)
The Correct Etymology of GOSPEL is according to the classical reference found in the Oxford English Dictionary .

* N.B.: It is difficult to ascertain the total of the Gospel manuscripts correctly, as listed in Nestle-Aland's Greek NT introduction (Novum Testmentum Graece, 1979, 12th printing, pages 49-50). Of the 296 Gospel mss, 30 of these have 2 or more of the Gospels in them, with some verse omissions. These numbers simply give the reader a picture of the incongruency of the tiny number of text variants supposedly used to argue for a translation change of CAMEL to ROPE. The six variants are listed by their manuscript by Nestle-Aland in their footnotes at Matthew 19:24, Mark 10:25, and Luke 18:25.    

(We will discuss the findings of those 6 Greek manuscripts in a forthcoming post. )

Also in...

  the Pre-Nicene Christian

writers:

Clement of Alexandria

( AD 153 to 193 or 217) 

and

Origen

( circa AD 185- 254),

both of which we will examine later.  

Also in...

Dukhrana resources:

Khabouris C, T, Mingana 148, and BSFS manuscripts, as well as in the Aramaic Lexicons of Jennings ( pg. 48)

 and J. Payne Smith ( pg.72).

In addition to those lexicons, 

Dukhrana's resouces include

the Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon (CAL) which has "GaMLa" listing as CAMEL in the "Common Aramaic" literature and as "dromedary" in the Syriac... as well as some compound words made from CAMEL. 

Photo by Flickr.com

   

The thoroughly scholarly CAL also includes the comprehensive information found in Sokoloff's

A Dictionary of Jewish Palestinian Aramaic, 1st draft,

and

an extensive citation from M. Jastrow's Sefer Millim.

Both of these CAL resources cite many ancient writings, including the Targum and rabbinical sources, along with camel-compound words and 

proverbs from that era,

which use CAMEL for "GaMLa". 

Also...

Ernest Klein's fastidious and thorough Semitic-language volume, 

A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the Hebrew Language for Readers of English, 

on page 103, includes several root usages of GML in addition to CAMEL... but not one of them includes a hint at rope, cord, or cable.

As in CAL and the other Lexicons, several CAMEL compound words are listed under GaMLa.

As a matter of fact, there was NOT ONE resource that I could find from the Aramaic Lexicons, Hebrew Lexicons, or Ancient Aramaic or Hebraic Writings which listed ROPE as being a possibility for ANY word from the G-M-L root.

Photo by pocketculture.com

But even more importantly than all the scholarly writings and lexicons...

the Aramaic Scripture text itself bears witness that GaMLa means CAMEL.

There are two New Covenant verses that refer to rope, cord, or ship's cable. One verse is found in John 2:15. This verse records the whip of cords The LORD used to cleanse the Temple of the money-changers.  

The word for cord is the Aramaic-Syriac word "CHaBLa" ... which was derived from the Hebrew word "CHaBeL" ... similar to the English word "cable."  It occurs in Proverbs 23:24. This information is according to Ernest Klein, pg. 206.

This same word is found in Acts 27:32, where the Apostle Paul advises the soldiers to keep all the sailors on the ship, so they cut the cables on the lifeboat. 

Thus, if "CHaBLe" means "rope" in the two verses in the New Covenant where rope is REALLY a ROPE...

then why would anyone go against all these witnesses and declare that

"GaMLa" means "CHaBle" ? 

What

is the source 
--- or sources --- 

of this error ?

And worse...

WHY

is this error

being promoted?

( to be continued).      

Photo by pocketculture.com

 

Paraqlita in the PRE-Peshitta WRITINGS by the Early Christian Apologists of the 2nd and 3rd Centuries

ORIGEN, c. 185-254, teacher in Alexandria, widely traveled, most prolific writer of the Pre-Nicene Church, ordained a presbyter (elder) by bishops of Caesarea in Palestine. Tortured during Decian persecution and died later from those injuries, as a Confessor in the church. (See David Bercot, A Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs, Scroll Publishing. )

ALL of these Ante-Nicene Christian writers and apologists were men of reknown, learned men, well-traveled, lived during the first 3 centuries of Christianity, and many spoke several languages.  In other words, they were not spurious characters. They led the church in various parts of the world and had the backing of the Church proper. And, the CHURCH PROPER was UNIFIED in those centuries.

Many were martyrs for CHRIST as they led the flock and many others died of wounds received as they were tortured for CHRIST, as did today's writer, Origen.

Their accounts and records need to be taken seriously and the modern Christian Church proper would do well to adjust their practices and theology in accordance to the Writings of these Apologists. Some were taught by the Apostles and some , later, by men who were taught by those God-fearing Brothers.

In the case of PARAQLITA , such quandries about translation could have been quickly put to right by consulting the Early Church Writings to see how the historic Christian Church translated John 14:16 and 26, John 15:26, and John 16:7, plus I John 2:1 because.... it's all in there!

The astute reader will realize, of course, that these Christian apologies were written MUCH EARLIER than the Peshitta. [We will look at the Peshitta time frames in a later blog.]

ANTE-NICENE FATHERS,  VOL 4  ORIGEN, DE PRINCIPIIS,  BOOK 2, CHAPTER 7 , SECTION 4, p. 286, (hard copy; Page 551, Master Christian Library CD, version 8 )

But the Paraclete, who is called the HOLY SPIRIT, is so called from His work of consolation, paraclesis being termed in Latin consolatio. For if any one has deserved to participate in the HOLY SPIRIT by the knowledge of His ineffable mysteries, he undoubtedly obtains comfort and joy of heart.

For since he comes by the teaching of the SPIRIT to the knowledge of the reasons of all things which happen — how or why they occur — his soul can in no respect be troubled, or admit any feeling of sorrow; nor is he alarmed by anything, since, clinging to the Word+ of God and His Wisdom+, he through the HOLY SPIRIT calls JESUS    LORD.

And since we have made mention of the Paraclete, and have explained as we were able what sentiments ought to be entertained regarding Him; and since our SAVIOR+ also is called the Paraclete in the Epistle of John, when he says, “If any of us sin, we have a Paraclete with THE FATHER,  JESUS CHRIST The RIGHTEOUS+, and HE+ is the propitiation for our sins;” let us consider whether this term Paraclete should happen to have one meaning when applied to the SAVIOR, and another when applied to the HOLY SPIRIT.

Now Paraclete, when spoken of the SAVIOR, seems to mean intercessor.

For in Greek, Paraclete has both significations — that of intercessor and comforter.

On account, then, of the phrase which follows, when he says, “And HE+ is the propitiation for our sins,” the name Paraclete seems to be understood in the case of our SAVIOR as meaning intercessor; for HE+ is said to intercede with THE FATHER because of our sins.

In the case of the HOLY SPIRIT, the Paraclete must be understood in the sense of comforter, inasmuch as He bestows consolation upon the souls to whom He openly reveals the apprehension of spiritual knowledge.

~  ~  ~

REFERENCES

NOTE: Material is from the Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volumes 1-10,  American Edition ( a reprint of Christian Literature Publishing Co. 1886), 2nd printing 1995, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA. ISBN 1-56563-087-4

Some supplemental information and dates are from: David W. Bercot, editor, A Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs, Peabody, MA, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 1998. ISBN 978-1-56563-870-9  [ See Scroll Publishing at http://www.scrollpublishing.com/ ]

Digital Copy from: The Master Christian Library Version 8 CD-ROM 2000 Ages Software, Rio, WI  www.ageslibrary.com

NOTE: This Digital Copy of the ANF does NOT contain any Introductory Notes from the translators and editors, no footnotes, and no elucidations and comments at the end of the books, although these helpful items are contained in the hard copy listed above.

~  ~  ~

NOTE: Comments in green are from the Order of the GOOD SHEPHERD+; extra words in black are in the text from the editors. Color added to pronouns, etc., for clarity.