"Ancient" Syriac bible found in Cyprus

Reuters ^ | Feb 6, 2009 | Sarah Ktisti and Simon Bahceli

[Between the Lines]

NICOSIA (Reuters Life!) - Authorities in northern Cyprus believe they have found an ancient version of the Bible written in Syriac, a dialect of the native language of Jesus.

The manuscript was found in a police raid on suspected antiquity smugglers. Turkish Cypriot police testified in a court hearing they believe the manuscript could be about 2,000 years old.

The manuscript carries excerpts of the Bible written in gold lettering on vellum and loosely strung together, photos provided to Reuters showed. One page carries a drawing of a tree, and another eight lines of Syriac script.

Experts were however divided over the provenance of the manuscript, and whether it was an original, which would render it priceless, or a fake.

Experts said the use of gold lettering on the manuscript was likely to date it later than 2,000 years.

"I'd suspect that it is most likely to be less than 1,000 years old," leading expert Peter Williams, Warden of Tyndale House, University of Cambridge told Reuters.

Turkish Cypriot authorities seized the relic last week and nine individuals are in custody pending further investigations. More individuals are being sought in connection with the find, they said.

Further investigations turned up a prayer statue and a stone carving of Jesus believed to be from a church in the Turkish held north, as well as dynamite.

The police have charged the detainees with smuggling antiquities, illegal excavations and the possession of explosives.

Syriac is a dialect of Aramaic - the native language of Jesus - once spoken across much of the Middle East and Central Asia. It is used wherever there are Syrian Christians and still survives in the Syrian Orthodox Church in India.

Aramaic is still used in religious rituals of Maronite Christians in Cyprus.

[G8 Diplomat]

Interesting article. I was aware that Islam is a heresy of Christianity, but didn’t know many of the details.

On the linguistic side....
Aramaic comes from the Nothwest Semitic branch, if I remember right, and Arabic comes from the Central Semitic branch. Christ’s last words, “Abba, abba, lema sabachthani?” are Aramaic for the phrase we all know as “Father, father, why have you forsaken me?” Abba = father; in Arabic, ab means father. Lema = why; in Arabic, limatha. The -ni on the end of sabachthani refers to “me”; the same ending is used in Arabic.

The Hebrew (and Aramaic) amen means “I believe”; in Arabic, amanu (although the -u ending on verbs usually isn’t pronounced except in formal situations).

[NYer]

Just curious ... how long have you studied Arabic and are you familiar with some of the dialects?

[G8 Diplomat]

I’ve studied it at my university for about a year. I know some differences in pronounciation and vocabulary between the dialects, but I don’t think I could communicate in them.

[AdmSmith]

It is out of print, and there are no translations in other languages.
Except English:
1st Edition 2007

ISBN-10: 3-89930-088-2
ISBN-13: 978-3-89930-088-8
http://www.verlag-hans-schiler.de/index.php?title=Christoph+Luxenberg+The+Syro-Aramaic+Reading+of+the+Koran&art_no=M0088

and a new hardcover edition due in April:
Publisher: Prometheus Books (April 2009)
# Language: English
# ISBN-10: 1591027101
# ISBN-13: 978-1591027102
http://www.amazon.com/Syro-Aramaic-Reading-Koran-Contribution-Decoding/dp/1591027101

[NYer]

I know some differences in pronounciation and vocabulary between the dialects, but I don’t think I could communicate in them.

Here's a book I think you will totally enjoy! I stumbled upon it last year and could not put it down.

Journey Back to Eden - My Life and Times Among the Desert Fathers.

The author, Mark Gruber, is a Benedictine monk who decided to write his thesis on the Coptic monasteries in Egypt. Though fluent in Arabic, he was challenged to understand the various dialects in the different parts of Egypt. It is a fabulous book and I envy the person who will read it for the first time.

[NYer]

Thank you very much for doing the research! I will definitely order a copy of the edition when it becomes available in April. Thank you again!

[G8 Diplomat]

It looks very interesting! I will definitely order it. Thanks for sharing!

[Dajjal]

and a new hardcover edition due in April:

Thanks!

[SunkenCiv]

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