thistle:
So you really think Luke wrote to Theophilus in Aramaic, and Paul wrote to the Romans in Aramaic, and Paul wrote to the Corinthians in Aramaic. That doesn’t make any sense at all.
With the influence of Hellenism, it is not unlikely that a Palestinian Jew or other Aramaic-speaker would have a Greek name. One must not forget that Luke himself was a Syrian, not a Greek.
As for the Epistles to the Romans and Corinthians:
"“It is known that Aramaic remained a language of Jews living in the Diaspora, and in fact Jewish Aramaic inscriptions have been found at Rome, Pompei and even England. If Paul wrote his Epistle’s in Hebrew or Aramaic to a core group of Jews at each congregation who then passed the message on to their Gentile counterparts then this might give some added dimension to Paul’s phrase “to the Jew first and then to the Greek” (Rom. 1:16; 2:9-10). It is clear that Paul did not write his letters in the native tongues of the cities to which he wrote. Certainly no one would argue for a Latin original of Romans.” – Dr. James Trimm, Aramaic scholar
This would make sense of the Apostle Paul’s oft-used quote, “to the Judean first, and then to the Gentile/Aramean”.
The word in Aramaic for “Arameans” (Armaya) is believed by many to also mean “Gentiles” (while the Greek usually says “Gentiles” or “Greeks”, the Aramaic usually says “Arameans” ). This seems confusing, but many (perhaps most) of the Gentiles involved with early Christianity were Aramean. Arameans were the same basic race of people as Assyrians and Syrians (different to today’s Arabic “Syrians” ). Many labels used to describe the same people. As Christianity started to really bloom in Antioch, Syria, it is not surprising to see the Arameans being spoken of so much in the New Testament, and as possibly being representative of Gentiles in general.
Another interesting point to consider about the Gentiles, is that so often the Bible talks of Judeans and Gentiles (as above, it may not mean Gentiles at all, as “Armaya” are being referred to, but let us digress). What then about the “lost 10 tribes”, the Israelites? Since they are not Judean, are they Gentile? If so, we have yet another prominent Aramaic-speaking Semitic group, as part of “the Gentiles”. With so many Aramaic-speaking Gentiles in the Middle East, is it such a stretch to imagine that Aramaic-speaking authors would write in Aramaic - utilizing Aramaic idioms - to Aramaic-speaking Judeans, Israelites, Chaldeans, Syrians and Assyrians? In fact, why would these authors use so many Aramaic idioms, if they wrote in Greek, to Greek-speaking people who wouldn’t understand them?
Scholars who claim that books such as the Pauline Epistles were written in Aramaic, to primarily Semitic congregations in Greece and Rome, are backed up by the Bible:
Romans 2:17-18
17 Now if you who are called a Jew trust on the law and are proud of God,
18 And because you know his will and know the things which must be observed, which you have learned from the law,
There goes the theory that Romans was addressed to “Romans”.
Romans 11:13
13 It is to you Gentiles that I speak, inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, and perhaps magnify my ministry;
It was also addressed to Gentiles. Note that “Gentiles” does not only include Greeks and Romans as Greek primacists may want to believe. “Gentiles” includes many Aramaic-speaking Semitic groups, such as the Chaldeans, Syrians, Assyrians, Canaanite-Phoenicians and possibly non-Judean Israelites.
1Corinthians 10:1
1 MOREOVER, brethren, I want you to know that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea;
2 And all were baptized by Moses, both in the cloud and in the sea;
Now we focus on Greece, and it seems that again, Paul is talking to Judeans. 1Corinthians and 2Corinthians are full of references to Israelite law and history. Clearly, though Paul writes to people in Greece and Rome, these people are Judeans and Aramaic-speaking Gentiles. It is no wonder then that the Pauline Epistles are so overflowing with Aramaicisms. We must never forget the order of preaching. “To the Judean first…” And according to famous Judean historian Flavius Josephus, the Judeans had great difficulty learning Greek, while they did speak Aramaic (Josephus even wrote in Aramaic)."
aramaicpeshitta.com/Online_Version/historical_proofs.htm
Peace.
