Posted on 02/06/2009 9:35:02 AM PST by Between the Lines
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).
Just curious ... how long have you studied Arabic and are you familiar with some of the dialects?
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.
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
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.
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!
It looks very interesting! I will definitely order it. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks!
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