My Neighbor Jesus
Our Assyrian people belong to a country where ancient customs are sacredly and tenaciously held. Railroads and machinery are unknown. Transportation is by mules, camels and on men's backs. The social order, in respect of simple and hospitable ways, continues as in the days of Jesus. Religion, as then, is still the dominant factor. The only literature known is the Bible and the liturgical books used at the church services. The Gospels in the Aramaic are a source of much inspiration to sustain the faith and to cherish the hope of these people, who are now refugees scattered throughout the hot plains of Mesopotamia without home or country, exposed to persecutions and the privations of poverty.
Introduction:
Our Assyrian people belong to a country where ancient customs are sacredly and tenaciously held. Railroads and machinery are unknown. Transportation is by mules, camels and on men's backs. The social order, in respect of simple and hospitable ways, continues as in the days of Jesus. Religion, as then, is still the dominant factor. The only literature known is the Bible and the liturgical books used at the church services. The Gospels in the Aramaic are a source of much inspiration to sustain the faith and to cherish the hope of these people, who are now refugees scattered throughout the hot plains of Mesopotamia without home or country, exposed to persecutions and the privations of poverty.
The Aramaic, according to Old Testament history, is the oldest language. Nearly all Biblical names derive their meanings from it. Abraham was an Assyrian who left Haran to settle in Canaan. Later his son Isaac and his grandson Jacob got their wives from Haran. In this land the majority of Jacob's children were born, after which he returned to Canaan. Aramaic, however, was the language used by them at that time and during their sojourn in Egypt. This same language was spoken by their descendants after the occupation of Canaan under Joshua and through the following centuries, including the Exile and the Return. This continuity of language with inevitable variations extended to the days of Jesus. Aramaic was spoken by him and his disciples and by the Jewish people of Palestine. It continued to be the colloquial and literary language of the Jews until the ninth century, when it was displaced by Arabic owing to the Muhammadan conquest.
This language is simple in style, but its figurative expressions and the different meanings given to certain words often cause confusion. This is especially the experience of those not familiar with the customs of the people. For instance, "God hold you" does not mean God sustain you, but God will condemn you in the day of Judgment. "God has given him a lamp" means God has given him a son to continue the family name after his death. "I and my father are one" means I and my father agree. "I have eaten my body and drunk my blood" means I have worked hard. Then again, specific terms are not generally used. Facts, time and localities are of minor importance to a people, most of whom cannot count beyond one hundred and who do it on their fingers. Such people would hardly know the difference between a thousand and a million except that the latter represents a much larger number. There cannot, therefore, be scientific exactness and accuracy in the modern sense. If this were remembered, what appears to be exaggeration is really a characteristic of symbolical language. There is not the slightest idea of trying to deceive and mislead.
All this is radically unlike the Occidental manner of speech, as I found to my confusion after coming to the United States. Books had given information, for instance, that letters are mailed in boxes on the streets, but this was not clear to an Oriental. Nor did he know the difference between "waste" and "west," for the same Aramaic word is often spelled differently. Letters were at first deposited in boxes marked "waste." It was only after repeated failures, to receive answers he discovered that his letters had miscarried. On another occasion the price for room and board was baffling because board was understood as an ironing-board, which was not needed by one who had few clothes to be pressed. These are doubtless trifling incidents, but they convinced me of the difference between knowledge gained from books alone and what is obtained from the actual experiences of life.
These mishaps led to a further discovery of difficulties from the other side. Just as an Oriental who does not know Occidental ways is apt to be misled, so an Occidental who does not have a first-hand knowledge of the Orient is likely to misunderstand its peculiarities of speech and customs. This is especially true of the ancient Orient of the first century A.D. In conversation with Americans it was learned that many of them interpret the sayings of Jesus in a literal sense because their original meanings are not clearly conveyed in the English translations.
Indeed, the early translators of the Gospels had no access to the Aramaic Peshitto version of the New Testament. Even if they did possess this text, a limited knowledge of the customs and manners of the Near East at that time prevented their accurate rendering of the idiomatic and symbolical expressions in their native context. It is only in recent times that the Near East has been explored, but it is inherently difficult for a foreigner so to immerse himself in its life as to be able to think and feel as its peoples do. This is no reflection, but simply a matter of fact. It implies that the genius of the Orient cannot be adequately grasped by the Occident, for the same reason that the Occident so often mystifies the Orient.
It would, however, be a serious misfortune if the pellucid and persuasive sayings of Jesus are accepted as paradoxical and contradictory. Even those sayings which are considered difficult and treated as having double meanings are perfectly clear to one who is acquainted with present Aramaic, which is virtually the same as the Aramaic of the first century. Add to this the other fact that the manners and customs are practically the same as they were nineteen hundred years ago. One who was born and who lived to early manhood in such an atmosphere, and whose study of the Gospels has been an absorbing interest from his youth, has surely certain qualifications to interpret these holy writings in their original setting.
The favorable reception given to addresses delivered in various parts of the United States and the interested inquiries from several people, have induced me to offer this selection of interpretations of the life and teachings of Jesus. The translations of passages from the Gospels are direct from the Peshttto text.
Our people rightly regard Jesus as a neighbor, who understands them with keen sympathy, who reads their hearts with discerning insight, who meets their needs with the fullness of the divine grace. They think of him, not in theological terms, but as the peerless religious soul and the Saviour of the world.
G. M. L.
Pages: 164
(1892 – 1975) By virtue of his birth place, linguistic ability, and his scholarly achievements, George M. Lamsa was ideally suited to accomplish his outstanding contribution to the field of Biblical research. As all serious students of the Bible know, no one particular version of the Bible may accurately be called THE Word of God as originally given by God. In order to arrive at an accurate understanding of certain scriptural passages, one must at times examine various translations of the Bible, as well as the underlying original, ancient Biblical languages. Lamsa’s pioneering work, including the notable Holy Bible from Ancient Eastern Manuscripts, provided invaluable resources for Biblical scholars and kindled a widespread interest in the long neglected, yet crucial, primary Aramaic texts.
Aramaic History
The history of the Aramaic language extends all the way back to the time of the patriarchs and the region of Mesopotamia, commonly referred to as "the cradle of civilization." It is the ancestor to all Semitic languages, and the language and its alphabet continue in use to the present day. Being a Galilean, Jesus Christ spoke Aramaic. The Gospels and Church epistles were originally written in Aramaic, and then immediately translated into Greek as they were sent out to the Greek speaking regions of early Christianity, such as Macedonia and Achaia. As Christianity continued to grow and spread simultaneously in the Aramaic speaking regions of the Eastern Church, and the Greek speaking regions of the western church, the Scriptures were carefully copied and preserved in both of these primary languages. Written in the Syriac dialect of Aramaic, the Peshitta version is the oldest complete Aramaic manuscript in existence. The word Peshitta means “straight, simple, sincere, or true.” The earliest manuscripts were written in a script called Estrangelo. In the fifth century A.D., the church in the East, or Assyrian Church as it came to be known, split from the church in the Western world over doctrinal issues. This occasioned the development of two new scripts -- the Jacobite and the Nestorian. Aramaic remained the lingua franca of the Middle East up until the time of the ninth century. At that time, Arabic became the most commonly used language in the region; yet, Aramaic continued to be spoken in an isolated area known as Kurdistan throughout the centuries and up to present day time.
Although little known to most Christians in the Western world, the church in the East thrived for centuries; reaching out as far as India, China, Indonesia, and Japan; and even outnumbered European Christians at times, according to some scholars. World-changing, geopolitical events and the resulting severe persecution of Eastern Christians drove the Assyrians to seek refuge in the Zagros and Taurus mountain ranges, cutting them off from the rest of the world for centuries.
It was this remote part of ancient Biblical lands, located in the basin of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in what is now northern Iraq, which George Lamsa identified as his birthplace. Here he grew up speaking Aramaic in a culture where the customs, manners, and idioms, as well as the language of the Bible had been preserved throughout the centuries. It was only with the events surrounding World War I in the early 20th century that this isolated society and the rest of the world became aware of one another.
Lamsa's Work and Study
Lamsa began his study of the ancient Aramaic texts under the tutelage of the Assyrian Church. He continued his education at the Archbishop of Canterbury College in Iran and Turkey, graduating with the highest honors ever bestowed and receiving the degrees of Bachelor of Arts and Doctor of Theology of the Church of the East. After immigrating to the United States following World War I, he furthered his studies at the Episcopal Virginia Theological Seminary andDropsie College of Hebrew and Cognate Learning, now known as The Center for Advanced Judaic Studies (CAJS) at the University of Pennsylvania, which is the world's only institution exclusively dedicated to post-doctoral research on Jewish Civilization. George Lamsa was also distinguished as a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Arts, (FRSA).
Dr. Lamsa dedicated his life to the work of translating the ancient texts into English and traveling the country to generate awareness and interest in Aramaic. Called by God, and encouraged by hundreds who heard him speak in churches, seminaries, and lecture halls; he labored for over 30 years to translate the entire Old and New Testaments. His first work in Aramaic translations, Four Gospels, was published in 1933; followed by New Testament According to the Eastern Text in 1940. His culminating work, Holy Bible from Ancient Eastern Manuscripts in 1956, presented a translation of the Aramaic texts into easily understood modern English based upon the wording style of the King James Version. He also wrote several other books, including commentaries describing the customs and manners of early Christians.
Dr. George M. Lamsa's legacy is widely seen today in the field of Biblical research. The Lamsa Bible continues to be widely used as a valuable research tool by Christians throughout the world. Moreover, his life and work has directly led to even more valuable works by others, providing additional works in the translation and study of Biblical Aramaic. The background of Lamsa's life and heritage evidence God's calling and hand on the life of a man chosen for an important work. Most significantly, we see the Almighty God's protection and preservation of his Holy Word.