Biblical Aramaic

The Hebrew Tanakh, the foundational religious and literary corpus of ancient Israel, is primarily composed in Biblical Hebrew. However, embedded within its pages are several sections written in Aramaic, a closely related Semitic language that rose to prominence as the lingua franca of the ancient Near East during the Babylonian and Persian periods. This phenomenon of Biblical Aramaic—the use of… Read the rest

Biblical Aramaic, found in select portions of Daniel, Ezra, and Jeremiah, represents a profound intersection of language, imperial history, and theological expression during the exilic and post-exilic periods. As a dialect of Northwest Semitic origin, closely aligned with Imperial Aramaic, it served both administrative and theological functions in Scripture, offering insight into Jewish life under foreign rule. Its grammar, distinct… Read the rest