Aramaic New Testament: from the Ancient Church of the East Scriptures - Paperback

by Victor N. Alexander (Author)

This translation of the Scriptures comes from a small Apostolic Church, the Ancient Church of the East, a Church that nearly disappeared from the map during the Middle Ages. Yet, because of that it retained the original Scriptures intact. There is almost nobody left that can read this language, a language that is no longer spoken; however, it is a language that has given birth to thousands of languages, because it is the original language that the Lord spoke from the beginning of recorded history. It is the language in which the doctrines of the Scriptures were nurtured. It is called in this translation the Ancient Aramaic language; but it is not Aramaic in the modern vernacular, nor is it Hebrew or any other designation that might imply it is open to personal or nationalistic interpretation. This is the language that the Lord chose, it is the language in which He taught, it is the language He read from, it is the language the Apostles spoke, and it is the language in which the Scriptures were compiled. This is not pride in language. The language is politically dead. It ceased to be used as a literary language in the 13th Century. It exists only as a liturgical language, and now as the language of this translation. It is no longer a language of a single race of people, nor is it the native language of any nation. It is a language free of national boundaries. This translation is in English, because it is the language in which the world has chosen to communicate. The language of the Scriptures must never become subservient to English or any other language. The English language must never be allowed to be the sole vehicle for the Scriptures, because this is how false pride, prejudice and racism begin. As the language of this translation, English is a window to the Scriptures. The Scriptures can be viewed through this window; but the window must not be broken, made into a door, or a gateway into a new interpretation, hierarchy or religious order.

Author Biography

Victor Alexander is a native Aramaic speaking translator, studied Aramaic in schools until age of 12 and continued personal study of the ancient form of the language another fifteen years.