Judeo-Aramaic language
Encyclopedia
Judæo-Aramaic is a collective term used to describe several Hebrew
-influenced Aramaic
and Neo-Aramaic language
s.
, and the two share many features. From the 7th century BCE, Aramaic became the lingua franca
of the Middle East
. It became the language of diplomacy and trade, but was not used by the Hebrew populace at this early date. As described in 2 Kings
18:26, Hezekiah, king of Judah, demands to negotiate with Assyrian ambassadors in Aramaic rather than Hebrew so that the common people would not understand.
brought the working language of Mesopotamia
much more into the daily life of ordinary Jews. Around 500 BCE, Darius I of Persia
proclaimed that Aramaic would be the official language for the western half of his empire, and the Eastern Aramaic dialect of Babylon
became the official standard. Documentary evidence shows the gradual shift from Hebrew to Aramaic:
These phases took place over a fairly protracted period, and the rate of change varied depending on the place and social class in question: the use of one or other language was likely a social, political and religious barometer.
. It became the dominant language throughout the Seleucid Empire
, but significant pockets of Aramaic-speaking resistance continued. Judaea
was one of the areas where Aramaic remained dominant, and its use remained among Babylonian Jews as well. The destruction of Persian power, and its replacement with Greek rule sped the final decline of Hebrew to the margins of Jewish society. Writing from the Seleucid and Hasmonaean
periods show the complete supersession of Aramaic as the language of the Jewish people. In contrast, Hebrew was the holy tongue. The early witness to this period of change is the Biblical Aramaic
of the books of Daniel
and Ezra
. This language shows a number of Hebrew features have been taken into Jewish Aramaic: the letter He
is often used instead of Aleph
to mark a word-final long a vowel and the prefix of the causative
verbal stem, and the masculine plural ending -īm often replaces -īn.
Different strata of Aramaic began to appear during the Hasmonaean period, and legal, religious and personal documents show different shades of hebraism
s and colloquialisms. The dialect of Babylon, the basis for standard Aramaic under the Persians, continued to be regarded as normative, and the writings of Jews in the east was held in higher regard because of it. The division between western and eastern dialects of Aramaic is clear among different Jewish communities. Targum
s, translations of the Jewish scriptures into Aramaic, became more important as the general population do not understand the original. Perhaps beginning as simple interpretive retellings, gradually 'official' standard Targums were written and promulgated. Eventually, those of the Babylonian community became standard in Judaea also. Among religious scholars, Hebrew continues to be understood, but Aramaic appears in even the most sectarian of writings. Aramaic is used extensively in the writings of the Dead Sea Scrolls
, the Mishnah
and the Tosefta
alongside Hebrew.
of 135 with their severe Roman reprisals lead to the breakup of much of Jewish society and religious life. However, the Jewish schools of Babylon continued to flourish, and, in the west, the rabbis settled in Galilee
to continue their study. Jewish Aramaic had become quite distinct from the Official Aramaic of the Persian Empire by this period. Middle Babylonian Aramaic
is the dominant dialect, and it is the basis of the Babylonian Talmud
. Middle Galilean Aramaic
, once a colloquial northern dialect, influenced the writings in the west. Most importantly, it is the Galilean dialect of Aramaic that was most probably the first language of the Masoretes
, who composed signs to aid in the pronunciation of scripture, Hebrew as well as Aramaic. Thus, the standard vowel marks that accompany pointed versions of the Tanakh
may be more representative of the pronunciation of Middle Galilean Aramaic than that of Hebrew of earlier periods.
As the Jewish diaspora
was spread more thinly, Aramaic began to give way to other languages as the first language of widespread Jewish communities. Eventually, it, like Hebrew before it, became the language of religious scholars. The thirteenth century Zohar
, published in Spain, is testament to the continued importance of the language of the Talmud after it had long since ceased to be the language of the people.
and the Plain of Mosul
, and as far east as Sanandaj
. Also throughout this same region were many Aramaic-speaking Christian groups. In some places, Zakho
for instance, the Jewish and Christian communities comprehended one another's Aramaic well. In others, like in Sanandaj, Jews and Christians both speaking Aramaic could not understand one another. Among the different Jewish dialects, mutual comprehension became quite sporadic. In the middle of the last century, the founding of the State of Israel
led to the disruption of centuries-old Aramaic-speaking communities. Today, most first-language speakers of Jewish Aramaic live in Israel, but their distinct languages are gradually being eroded in a sea of Modern Hebrew
.
These include:
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
-influenced Aramaic
Aramaic language
Aramaic is a group of languages belonging to the Afroasiatic language phylum. The name of the language is based on the name of Aram, an ancient region in central Syria. Within this family, Aramaic belongs to the Semitic family, and more specifically, is a part of the Northwest Semitic subfamily,...
and Neo-Aramaic language
Language
Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...
s.
Early use
Aramaic, like Hebrew, is a Northwest Semitic languageNorthwest Semitic languages
The Northwest Semitic languages form a medium-level division of the Semitic language family. The languages of this group are spoken by approximately eight million people today. The group is generally divided into three branches: Ugaritic , Canaanite and Aramaic...
, and the two share many features. From the 7th century BCE, Aramaic became the lingua franca
Lingua franca
A lingua franca is a language systematically used to make communication possible between people not sharing a mother tongue, in particular when it is a third language, distinct from both mother tongues.-Characteristics:"Lingua franca" is a functionally defined term, independent of the linguistic...
of the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
. It became the language of diplomacy and trade, but was not used by the Hebrew populace at this early date. As described in 2 Kings
Books of Kings
The Book of Kings presents a narrative history of ancient Israel and Judah from the death of David to the release of his successor Jehoiachin from imprisonment in Babylon, a period of some 400 years...
18:26, Hezekiah, king of Judah, demands to negotiate with Assyrian ambassadors in Aramaic rather than Hebrew so that the common people would not understand.
Gradual adoption
During the 6th century BCE, the Babylonian captivityBabylonian captivity
The Babylonian captivity was the period in Jewish history during which the Jews of the ancient Kingdom of Judah were captives in Babylon—conventionally 587–538 BCE....
brought the working language of Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia is a toponym for the area of the Tigris–Euphrates river system, largely corresponding to modern-day Iraq, northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey and southwestern Iran.Widely considered to be the cradle of civilization, Bronze Age Mesopotamia included Sumer and the...
much more into the daily life of ordinary Jews. Around 500 BCE, Darius I of Persia
Darius I of Persia
Darius I , also known as Darius the Great, was the third king of kings of the Achaemenid Empire...
proclaimed that Aramaic would be the official language for the western half of his empire, and the Eastern Aramaic dialect of Babylon
Babylon
Babylon was an Akkadian city-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which are found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq, about 85 kilometers south of Baghdad...
became the official standard. Documentary evidence shows the gradual shift from Hebrew to Aramaic:
- Hebrew used as first language and in society, other, similar Canaanite languagesCanaanite languagesThe Canaanite languages are a subfamily of the Semitic languages, which were spoken by the ancient peoples of the Canaan region, including Canaanites, Israelites and Phoenicians...
known and understood. - Aramaic is used in international diplomacy and foreign trade.
- Aramaic is used for communication between subjects and the imperial administration.
- Aramaic gradually becomes the language of outer life (in the marketplace for example).
- Aramaic gradually replaces Hebrew in the home, and the latter is used only in religious activity.
These phases took place over a fairly protracted period, and the rate of change varied depending on the place and social class in question: the use of one or other language was likely a social, political and religious barometer.
From the Greek conquest to the Diaspora
The conquest of the Middle East by Alexander the Great in 331 BCE overturned centuries of Mesopotamian dominance, and led to the ascendancy of GreekGreek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
. It became the dominant language throughout the Seleucid Empire
Seleucid Empire
The Seleucid Empire was a Greek-Macedonian state that was created out of the eastern conquests of Alexander the Great. At the height of its power, it included central Anatolia, the Levant, Mesopotamia, Persia, today's Turkmenistan, Pamir and parts of Pakistan.The Seleucid Empire was a major centre...
, but significant pockets of Aramaic-speaking resistance continued. Judaea
Judea
Judea or Judæa was the name of the mountainous southern part of the historic Land of Israel from the 8th century BCE to the 2nd century CE, when Roman Judea was renamed Syria Palaestina following the Jewish Bar Kokhba revolt.-Etymology:The...
was one of the areas where Aramaic remained dominant, and its use remained among Babylonian Jews as well. The destruction of Persian power, and its replacement with Greek rule sped the final decline of Hebrew to the margins of Jewish society. Writing from the Seleucid and Hasmonaean
Hasmonean
The Hasmonean dynasty , was the ruling dynasty of Judea and surrounding regions during classical antiquity. Between c. 140 and c. 116 BCE, the dynasty ruled semi-autonomously from the Seleucids in the region of Judea...
periods show the complete supersession of Aramaic as the language of the Jewish people. In contrast, Hebrew was the holy tongue. The early witness to this period of change is the Biblical Aramaic
Biblical Aramaic
Biblical Aramaic is the form of the Aramaic language that is used in the books of Daniel, Ezra and a few other places in the Hebrew Bible and should not be confused with the Aramaic translations of the Hebrew Bible known as targumim....
of the books of Daniel
Book of Daniel
The Book of Daniel is a book in the Hebrew Bible. The book tells of how Daniel, and his Judean companions, were inducted into Babylon during Jewish exile, and how their positions elevated in the court of Nebuchadnezzar. The court tales span events that occur during the reigns of Nebuchadnezzar,...
and Ezra
Book of Ezra
The Book of Ezra is a book of the Hebrew Bible. Originally combined with the Book of Nehemiah in a single book of Ezra-Nehemiah, the two became separated in the early centuries of the Christian era...
. This language shows a number of Hebrew features have been taken into Jewish Aramaic: the letter He
He (letter)
He is the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets, including Phoenician , Aramaic, Hebrew , Syriac and Arabic . Its sound value is a voiceless glottal fricative ....
is often used instead of Aleph
Aleph (letter)
' is the reconstructed name of the first letter of the Proto-Canaanite alphabet, continued in descended Semitic alphabets as Phoenician ' , Syriac ' , Hebrew Aleph , and Arabic ' ....
to mark a word-final long a vowel and the prefix of the causative
Causative
In linguistics, a causative is a form that indicates that a subject causes someone or something else to do or be something, or causes a change in state of a non-volitional event....
verbal stem, and the masculine plural ending -īm often replaces -īn.
Different strata of Aramaic began to appear during the Hasmonaean period, and legal, religious and personal documents show different shades of hebraism
Hebraism
Hebraism is the identification of a usage, trait, or characteristic of the Hebrew language. By successive extension it is sometimes applied to the Jewish people, their faith, national ideology, or culture.- Idiomatic Hebrew :...
s and colloquialisms. The dialect of Babylon, the basis for standard Aramaic under the Persians, continued to be regarded as normative, and the writings of Jews in the east was held in higher regard because of it. The division between western and eastern dialects of Aramaic is clear among different Jewish communities. Targum
Targum
Taekwondo is a Korean martial art and the national sport of South Korea. In Korean, tae means "to strike or break with foot"; kwon means "to strike or break with fist"; and do means "way", "method", or "path"...
s, translations of the Jewish scriptures into Aramaic, became more important as the general population do not understand the original. Perhaps beginning as simple interpretive retellings, gradually 'official' standard Targums were written and promulgated. Eventually, those of the Babylonian community became standard in Judaea also. Among religious scholars, Hebrew continues to be understood, but Aramaic appears in even the most sectarian of writings. Aramaic is used extensively in the writings of the Dead Sea Scrolls
Dead Sea scrolls
The Dead Sea Scrolls are a collection of 972 texts from the Hebrew Bible and extra-biblical documents found between 1947 and 1956 on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea, from which they derive their name...
, the Mishnah
Mishnah
The Mishnah or Mishna is the first major written redaction of the Jewish oral traditions called the "Oral Torah". It is also the first major work of Rabbinic Judaism. It was redacted c...
and the Tosefta
Tosefta
The Tosefta is a compilation of the Jewish oral law from the period of the Mishnah.-Overview:...
alongside Hebrew.
In the Diaspora
The Great Jewish Revolt of 70 CE and the Bar Kokhba's RevoltBar Kokhba's revolt
The Bar Kokhba revolt 132–136 CE; or mered bar kokhba) against the Roman Empire, was the third major rebellion by the Jews of Judaea Province being the last of the Jewish-Roman Wars. Simon bar Kokhba, the commander of the revolt, was acclaimed as a Messiah, a heroic figure who could restore Israel...
of 135 with their severe Roman reprisals lead to the breakup of much of Jewish society and religious life. However, the Jewish schools of Babylon continued to flourish, and, in the west, the rabbis settled in Galilee
Galilee
Galilee , is a large region in northern Israel which overlaps with much of the administrative North District of the country. Traditionally divided into Upper Galilee , Lower Galilee , and Western Galilee , extending from Dan to the north, at the base of Mount Hermon, along Mount Lebanon to the...
to continue their study. Jewish Aramaic had become quite distinct from the Official Aramaic of the Persian Empire by this period. Middle Babylonian Aramaic
Jewish Babylonian Aramaic
Jewish Babylonian Aramaic was the form of Middle Aramaic employed by Jewish writers in Babylonia between the 4th century and the 11th century CE. It is most commonly identified with the language of the Babylonian Talmud and of post-Talmudic literature, which are the most important cultural...
is the dominant dialect, and it is the basis of the Babylonian Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
. Middle Galilean Aramaic
Jewish Palestinian Aramaic
The Jewish Palestinian Aramaic, also called Galilean Aramaic, was a Western Aramaic language spoken by the Jews in Palestine in the early first millennium. Its closest relatives are the Samaritan Aramaic and Christian Palestinian Aramaic...
, once a colloquial northern dialect, influenced the writings in the west. Most importantly, it is the Galilean dialect of Aramaic that was most probably the first language of the Masoretes
Masoretes
The Masoretes were groups of mostly Karaite scribes and scholars working between the 7th and 11th centuries, based primarily in present-day Israel in the cities of Tiberias and Jerusalem, as well as in Iraq...
, who composed signs to aid in the pronunciation of scripture, Hebrew as well as Aramaic. Thus, the standard vowel marks that accompany pointed versions of the Tanakh
Tanakh
The Tanakh is a name used in Judaism for the canon of the Hebrew Bible. The Tanakh is also known as the Masoretic Text or the Miqra. The name is an acronym formed from the initial Hebrew letters of the Masoretic Text's three traditional subdivisions: The Torah , Nevi'im and Ketuvim —hence...
may be more representative of the pronunciation of Middle Galilean Aramaic than that of Hebrew of earlier periods.
As the Jewish diaspora
Jewish diaspora
The Jewish diaspora is the English term used to describe the Galut גלות , or 'exile', of the Jews from the region of the Kingdom of Judah and Roman Iudaea and later emigration from wider Eretz Israel....
was spread more thinly, Aramaic began to give way to other languages as the first language of widespread Jewish communities. Eventually, it, like Hebrew before it, became the language of religious scholars. The thirteenth century Zohar
Zohar
The Zohar is the foundational work in the literature of Jewish mystical thought known as Kabbalah. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah and scriptural interpretations as well as material on Mysticism, mythical cosmogony, and mystical psychology...
, published in Spain, is testament to the continued importance of the language of the Talmud after it had long since ceased to be the language of the people.
In the 20th century
Aramaic only continued to be the first language in those Jewish communities that remained in Aramaic-speaking areas throughout Mesopotamia. At the beginning of the twentieth century, dozens of small Aramaic-speaking Jewish communities were spread throughout a wide area spread between Lake UrmiaLake Urmia
Lake Urmia , ancient name: Lake Matiene) is a salt lake in northwestern Iran, near Iran's border with Turkey. The lake is between the Iranian provinces of East Azerbaijan and West Azerbaijan, west of the southern portion of the similarly shaped Caspian Sea...
and the Plain of Mosul
Mosul
Mosul , is a city in northern Iraq and the capital of the Ninawa Governorate, some northwest of Baghdad. The original city stands on the west bank of the Tigris River, opposite the ancient Assyrian city of Nineveh on the east bank, but the metropolitan area has now grown to encompass substantial...
, and as far east as Sanandaj
Sanandaj
Sanandaj , also Romanized as Senneh and Sinneh) is a city in and the capital of Kurdistan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 311,446, in 81,380 families....
. Also throughout this same region were many Aramaic-speaking Christian groups. In some places, Zakho
Zakho
Zakho is a district and a town in Northern Iraq located a few kilometers from the Iraqi-Turkish border.Zakho is a province of the Dohuk Governorate. The city has 200,000 inhabitants. It may have originally begun on a small island in the Little Khabur which currently flows through the city...
for instance, the Jewish and Christian communities comprehended one another's Aramaic well. In others, like in Sanandaj, Jews and Christians both speaking Aramaic could not understand one another. Among the different Jewish dialects, mutual comprehension became quite sporadic. In the middle of the last century, the founding of the State of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
led to the disruption of centuries-old Aramaic-speaking communities. Today, most first-language speakers of Jewish Aramaic live in Israel, but their distinct languages are gradually being eroded in a sea of Modern Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
.
Modern dialects
Modern Jewish Aramaic languages are still known by their geographical location before the return to Israel.These include:
- Lishana DeniLishana DeniLishana Deni is a modern Jewish Aramaic language, often called Neo-Aramaic or Judeo-Aramaic. It was originally spoken in the town of Zakho and its surrounding villages in northern Iraq, on the border with Turkey. Most speakers now live in and around Jerusalem...
originally spoken around ZakhoZakhoZakho is a district and a town in Northern Iraq located a few kilometers from the Iraqi-Turkish border.Zakho is a province of the Dohuk Governorate. The city has 200,000 inhabitants. It may have originally begun on a small island in the Little Khabur which currently flows through the city...
in IraqIraqIraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
. - Lishan DidanLishán DidánLishán Didán is a modern Jewish Aramaic language, often called Neo-Aramaic or Judeo-Aramaic. It was originally spoken in Iranian Azerbaijan, in the region of Lake Urmia, from Salmas to Mahabad. Most speakers now live in Israel...
originally spoken in Iranian Azerbaijan. - Lishanid NoshanLishanid NoshanLishanid Noshan is a modern Jewish Aramaic language, often called Neo-Aramaic or Judeo-Aramaic. It was originally spoken in southern and eastern Iraq, in the region of Arbil. Most speakers now live in Israel. Lishanid Noshan means 'the language of our selves'; speakers often also call it Lishana...
originally spoken around ArbilArbilArbil / Hewlêr is the fourth largest city in Iraq after Baghdad, Basra and Mosul...
in IraqIraqIraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
.
See also
- Aramaic
- Israelian HebrewIsraelian HebrewIsraelian Hebrew is a proposed northern dialect of biblical Hebrew . It is proposed as an explanation for various irregular linguistic features of the Masoretic Text of the Hebrew Bible. It competes with the alternative explanation that such features are Aramaisms, indicative either of late dates...
- Semitic languagesSemitic languagesThe Semitic languages are a group of related languages whose living representatives are spoken by more than 270 million people across much of the Middle East, North Africa and the Horn of Africa...