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Almost 100 years ago, the Jewish Semitic scholar D. S. Margoliouth attempted to translate the Greek text of Ecclesiasticus (Ben Sira) back into Hebrew. He knew for a fact from the prologue to Ben Sira that it had been translated into Greek directly from a Hebrew original, and he had at his disposal not only the Greek text, but Syriac and Latin translations as well. Yet when sizable portions of a Hebrew Ben Sira were discovered in the Cairo Geniza,** it was found that he did not correctly translate even one single verse! **Back-translation (called “Ruckubersetzung” in German) is extremely touchy business, even when we are dealing with sources that are only one step removed from the original. But to postulate that accurate Ruckubersetzung can be carried out from sources four or five steps removed from the alleged original is almost unthinkable. And it is entirely out of the question to suggest that wholesale reconstruction – not just retranslation – of an alleged original text (here, the “Life of Jesus”) can be carried out from such a distance. Such an effort can only be viewed as pure conjecture. To reconstruct the original Hebrew or Aramaic text of even the Lord’s Prayer – based on the extant witness of Matthew and Luke – is fraught with difficulty. To attempt to reconstruct the entire (alleged) original Hebrew Gospel – without access to even the supposed primary Greek sources – is nothing more than a counsel of despair.
thinkitthru.tv/recoveringtheinspiredtextPF.htm
In short, if Jesus did in fact speak Galilean Aramaic, where are the manuscripts in that dialect? if there are not enough of them ---- one is bound to make many errors related to the range of meanings of words at any given time.
The Neclected Role of Semantics in the search for the Aramaic words of Jesus by L. D. Hurst JSNT 28 (1986) Pp 63-80
jnt.sagepub.com/content/9/28/63.extract
The Current State of Research on Galilean AramaicMichael SokoloffJournal of Near Eastern Studies
Vol. 37, No. 2, Colloquium on Aramaic Studies (Apr., 1978), pp. 161-167
jstor.org/pss/545141
This may explain why Josheph Fitzmyer refuted his own Kepha Kepha reconstruction in
Biblical Archeology Review. – Queries & Comments," Biblical Archaeology Review 19.3 [1993], 70 fitzmyer refutes the kepha kepha reading based on the fact that it does not account for the greek play on words.
For those unaware,
Fitzmyer, purposed the aramaic kepha kepha reading in a few books,
Joseph A. Fitzmyer, “Aramaic Kepha’ and Peter’s name in the New Testament,” Text and Interpretation: Studies in the New Testament presented to Matthew Black, ed. Ernest Best and R. McL. Wilson
To Advance the Gospel: New Testament Studies (The Biblical Resource Series) by Joseph A. Fitzmyer
thinkitthru.tv/recoveringtheinspiredtextPF.htm
In short, if Jesus did in fact speak Galilean Aramaic, where are the manuscripts in that dialect? if there are not enough of them ---- one is bound to make many errors related to the range of meanings of words at any given time.
The Neclected Role of Semantics in the search for the Aramaic words of Jesus by L. D. Hurst JSNT 28 (1986) Pp 63-80
jnt.sagepub.com/content/9/28/63.extract
The Current State of Research on Galilean AramaicMichael SokoloffJournal of Near Eastern Studies
Vol. 37, No. 2, Colloquium on Aramaic Studies (Apr., 1978), pp. 161-167
jstor.org/pss/545141
This may explain why Josheph Fitzmyer refuted his own Kepha Kepha reconstruction in
Biblical Archeology Review. – Queries & Comments," Biblical Archaeology Review 19.3 [1993], 70 fitzmyer refutes the kepha kepha reading based on the fact that it does not account for the greek play on words.
For those unaware,
Fitzmyer, purposed the aramaic kepha kepha reading in a few books,
Joseph A. Fitzmyer, “Aramaic Kepha’ and Peter’s name in the New Testament,” Text and Interpretation: Studies in the New Testament presented to Matthew Black, ed. Ernest Best and R. McL. Wilson
To Advance the Gospel: New Testament Studies (The Biblical Resource Series) by Joseph A. Fitzmyer