Introduction to the Translation of the Aramaic Portions of

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Aramaic: Its History, Development and Relationship to Biblical Hebrew
January 2013 Appendix M
Appendix M1
Introduction to the Translation of the Aramaic Portions of the Old Testament
As part of my work on my treatise for my doctor of philosophy degree, I desired to
translate through the Aramaic portions of the Old Testament. To that end, what follows is
the outworking of my effort.
Notes regarding translation
As has been the goal with many translations, I desired to produce a literal translation,
one that faithfully reproduced, as closely as possible, the meaning of the original. Thus, I
desired to make a readable translation that was as near as possible a “word for word”
translation” (not a “dynamic equivalence” translation, that has been increasingly more
popular within the past several years). Further, I desired that this translation be not only an
accurate representation of the words involved, but also of the grammar and/or syntax of
the Aramaic original. Thus, this translation would be a “word for word as originally
ordered” translation. It is hoped that such a translation would be beneficial to the
student of Aramaic or to the student of the books of Daniel and/or Ezra in better
understanding not only the meaning of the books involved, but also some of the
emphasis and “flavor” of the language involved as well2.
At the outset, this was rather difficult, in that much of the Aramaic word order follows a
middle-eastern (verb/noun/object, or verb/object/noun) rather than western word
1 This section is Appendix M of the PhD thesis of Lee Carl Finley which was submitted to the doctoral
committee of Reformation International Theological Seminary (RITS), of Fellsmere, FL, for consideration.
The thesis was entitled: Aramaic: Its History, Development and Relationship to Biblical Hebrew, from
Antiquity to the time of the Israelite Monarchy. The thesis was submitted to RITS for approval in
September 2012 and was approved by the doctoral committee in October 2012.
2 Subsequent to my translating these portions of scripture, I found the following quote that addresses the
type of translation that I am attempted to make. J. A. Thompson, in his commentary, The Book Of
Jeremiah, is commenting on the nature and the organization of Jeremiah 10.1-16. Thompson states:
“The text of the passage presents a number of problems. The Hebrew differs from LXX in a
number of places. Verses 12-16 occur again in 51.15-19. Verse 11 is in Aramaic. As a result of textual
problems commentators have been ready to rearrange the verses into what appears to them to be a more
logical and consistent pattern. Such rearrangements are always open to question. Ancient Hebrew logic was
not always the same as that of our time; and while there may be some virtue in rearranging the material for
the purpose of explaining the passage to a modern audience, we are in danger of destroying an ancient
pattern which has its own peculiar emphasis (emphasis mine--lcf). In view of the great variety of attempts
to rearrange Jer. 10:1-16 it may be wise to ask whether such attempts are really the right procedure. It may
be far better to attempt to make sense of what lies before us in the given text. Apart from the unusual
Aramaic insertion in v. 11 it is possible to discern a reasonable pattern in which alternating assertions are
made about idols and Yahweh. (J. A. Thompson. The Book Of Jeremiah. Wm B Eerdmans Publishing Co.
Grand Rapids, MI. 1980. p. 325).”
What I have italicized above is what I have attempted to do in my translations of the following
sections, to convey the “ancient pattern with its own emphasis”--lcf
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order/syntax (noun/verb/object). The resulting translation may, at first read, seem
somewhat stilted or awkward. However, given that much of the language of the English-
speaking church has as its foundation the Christian scriptures (with their literary and
historical background), the seemingly “awkward” word order is still understandable with
a modicum of effort on the part of the reader. It is hoped that, once one has become
familiar with some of the Aramaic syntax, that the translation may not seem that
awkward at all.3
One exception must be noted here. Many of the narrative passages involved here are
passages that concern what could be called “running dialogue”, that is, passages that
begin, “He said,…then she said…”, etc. Typically (but not exclusively), in Aramaic, the
verb order is verb/noun/object. But following this word order in a “running dialogue”
context tended to add some ambiguity (or on occasion some dissonance in
understanding) to the translation. Thus, for the sake of clarity of the translation, I deviated
from the Aramaic word order. Typically such instances are noted in the footnotes. Aside
from this one major deviation, I have tried to follow as best I could general Aramaic word
order of the text.
The text used for this project is the Masoritic Text found in the Biblia Hebraica
Stuttgartensia (BHS). I utilized the facile edition (vol 14) which contained Daniel, Ezra and
Nehemiah. The text of Daniel was the work of W. Baumgartner, and the text of Ezra and
Nehemiah being the work of W. Rudolf. The copyright of this edition was 1976.
A note must also be said as to references used while making this translation. By and
large, this translation is an original translation. For the most part, other translations were
not consulted in the making of this translation--it was my desire to ensure that this
translation was my own. However, three reliable translations were used sparingly, if a
passage was found to be difficult: The King James Version (KJV), The New King James
Version (NKJV) and the New American Standard Bible (NASB).
As to lexical work, my primary reference was the Reader’s Lexicon of the Old Testament,
by Armstrong, Busby and Carr. When needed I consulted the Aramaic portion of the
Hebrew and Aramaic lexicon by Holliday. I also consulted the vocabulary lists of Larry
Mitchel (A Student’s Vocabulary for Biblical Hebrew and Aramaic, Zondervan/
Academie Books), and the Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (Moody Press).
Although there have been great strides in the fields of comparative linguistics in recent
years, I grant that more could be done in this area. However, I felt that detailed lexical
and/or entomological study was beyond the scope of this work (and the skill of this
translator).
It was not my desire nor intent to try to “re-invent” much of the lexical work that has gone
before. Although there is still need for lexical study in various areas of Aramaic (e.g.--the
legal/governmental terms used of various officials) it is beyond the scope of this work to
pursue this avenue of study.
3 this translation, in turn, may be called a form of “metaphrase” translation. For a fuller explanation of
metaphrase as explained by William H.C. Propp in his commentary on Exodus, see Appendix N.
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Notes regarding the manuscript
As to the manuscript itself, a few comments are in order. First, the manuscript was
translated in paragraph form, basically following the divisions within the Aramaic text. The
verse numbering itself is found to the left of the text, with bold text indicating a
paragraph division. Further, the verse numbering follows the Aramaic versification. When
there is a discrepancy between the Aramaic and the English numbering, the Aramaic
numbering is followed with the English numbering being found in parentheses. For
example:
Daniel 4.2-4 Aramaic (Daniel 4.5-7 English)
2(5) A dream I saw and I was made afraid, and the fantasies while on my bed and the
visions of my head, they were alarming me.
3(6) And from me a command was given to bring before me all the wise (men) of
Babylon, that the interpretation of the dream they might make known to me.
4(7) Then they came, the magicians, the conjurers, the Chaldeans and astrologers, and
the dream I was saying before them, but the interpretation they were not making
known to me.
Poetic sections within the Aramaic text, as identified by the BHS, have been indented for
ease of identification. See below:
Daniel 7.23-26
23 Then he said regarding the fourth beast:
‘The fourth kingdom will be in the earth, (one) that will be different from
all the kingdoms.
And it will consume all the earth and it will trample it down and it will
Shatter it in pieces
24 And the ten horns
From this kingdom ten kingdoms will arise and another will arise after
them.
And it will be different from the ones before, and three kings it will
Bring low.
25 And words against the Most High he will speak, and the holy ones of the
Most High he will wear down.
And he will strive to change times and law,
And they will be given into his hand unto time, times and half a time
26 And the court will sit, and its dominion will be taken away, to
exterminate and to destroy unto the end.
Further, every effort has been made to represent the Aramaic text, and that text alone,
in the translation. However, at times, it was needful to insert a word or phrase for clarity. In
such an instance, the non-textual inserted word is included in the text via parentheses, as
follows:
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Daniel 2.12-13
12 Therefore the king became angry and was wroth exceedingly, and he
commanded to destroy all the wise (men) of Babylon.
13 And the law went out and the wise (men) were being killed, and they sought
Daniel and his companions to kill (them).
Numerous footnotes have been inserted within the text. Typically, these footnotes denote
either a literal reading (one that may sound “odd” to our western ear), or may denote
an alternate reading. Other items, such as word order, or suggestions for further study
may be found here as well. Note as follows:
Daniel 7.15-16
15 Distraught was my spirit, I, Daniel, on account of this4 and the visions of my head
were alarming me.
16 I approached unto one from those standing (there) and the truth I was seeking
from him concerning all this, and he spoke5 to me, and the interpretation of the
matter6 he made known unto me.
It is hoped that this translation will further one’s appreciation of the biblical books
involved and further one’s desire to understand the Aramaic behind these passages,
and ultimately be a cause of praise unto God for the matters there presented.
Lee Carl Finley
March 8, 2010
June 19, 2010-rev
October 23, 2010--revise/combine
4 lit, “…in the midst of the sheath.” Possibly the text is corrupted at this point. Cf commentaries.
5 lit, “said”
6 the term is plural in the original.
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Translation of the Aramaic portions of the book of Daniel
2.1 In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed
dreams and his spirit was disturbed and his sleep fled from him.
2 And he said, the king, to call7 to the magicians and to the conjurers and to the
sorcerers and to the Chaldeans, to declare to the king his dream. And they came
and stood before the king.
3 And he said to them, the king, “A dream I have dreamed, and troubled was my
spirit to know the dream.”
4 And they spoke, the Chaldeans, to the king in Aramaic8, “O king, Forever live! Tell
the dream to your servants and the interpretation we will declare.”
5 The king answered and said9 to the Chaldeans, “The matter from me is firm. If you
do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you will be cut into
pieces10 and your houses into a refuge heap will be turned.
6 And if the dream and its interpretation you will reveal (to me), a gift and a reward
and honour great you will receive before me. Therefore the dream and its
interpretation declare to me!”
7 They answered a second time and said, “O king, the dream may he tell to his
servants and its interpretation we will declare”.
8 The king answered and said, “From a truth knowing am I that time you are buying
because you see that firm from me is the word11.
9 For if the dream you do not make known to me, one verdict there is to you. A
word, false and corrupt, you have agreed to say before me until the time is
changed. Therefore, the dream tell me and I will know that its interpretation you
have made known to me.”
10 And the Chaldeans answered before the king, and they said, “There is not a man
upon the earth that the word12 of the king is able to make known, because every
king, chief or lord a matter such as this has not asked to every magician, conjurer
or Chaldean.
11 The word which the king is asking is difficult, and another there is none13 that will
make it known before the king, except (the) gods, whose dwellings are not with
flesh.”
12 Therefore the king became angry and was wroth exceedingly, and he
commanded14 to destroy all the wise (men) of Babylon.
13 And the law went out and the wise (men) were being killed15, and they sought
Daniel and his companions to kill (them).
7 or, summon
8 beginning of Aramaic section of the book of Daniel
9 Lit--“Answered the king (did) and said…”. The Aramaic here reflects the common construction of “he
answered and said…” or, “answered he (did) and said…” and is a common narrative device in Aramaic
utilized throughout the book of Daniel.
10 lit--”limbs you will be made (into)”
11 or, decree
12 or, matter
13 lit-- “another there is not that will make known…”
14 lit--said
15 or, were to be killed
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14 Then Daniel returned (with) counsel and discretion to Arioch, captain of the
guardsmen of the king, who had gone out to kill the wise (men) of Babylon.
15 And he answered and said to Arioch, the captain of the king, “Over what16 is the
decree harsh from before the king?” Then the matter Arioch made known to
Daniel.
16 Then Daniel went in and sought from the king that time would be given to him17
and18 the interpretation (he would) declare to the king.
17 Then Daniel went to his house and to Hananiah, Mishael and Ezeriah his
companions the matter he made known
18 and to seek compassion19 from before the God of the heavens concerning this
secret, that they would not be destroyed20, Daniel and his companions, with the
remainder of the wise men of Babylon.
19 Then, to Daniel, in a21 of the night the secret was revealed. Then Daniel blessed The
God of the heavens.
20 And Daniel answered and said,
May the name of God be blessed from eternity to eternity, for wisdom
and might are to Him.
21 He changes the times and the seasons22, removing kings and exalting
kings.
He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the ones knowing
understanding.
22 He reveals the deep things and the hidden things, He knows what is in
the dark, and the light with Him abides.
23 To you, God of my fathers, praising and lauding am I, for wisdom and
strength you have given to me.
And now, You have made known to me that which I have sought from
You, for the matter of the king You have made known to us.
24 Then Daniel went into Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise
(men) of Babylon. And he went and thus he said to him, “The wise (men) of
Babylon, do not destroy! Bring me before the king and the interpretation to the
king I will declare.”
25 Then Arioch, in haste, brought Daniel before the king and thus he said unto him, “I
have found a man from the sons of the exile of Judah that the interpretation to the
king will make known.”
26 And the king answered and said to Daniel, whose name23 was Belteshazzar, “Are
you able to make known to me the dream that I saw and its interpretation?”
27 And Daniel answered before the king and he said, “The secret that the king is
16 or, why
17 or, he would give to him
18 or, that
19 lit, “…and compassion to seek…”
20 lit, “that they would not destroy Daniel and his companions”
21 lit, “the vision”
22 lit, “the times”
23 lit, “the name of him was…”
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asking no wise (men), conjurers, magicians or astrologers are able to reveal to the
king.
28 Nevertheless, there is a God in the heavens who reveals secrets and he has made
known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. The dream and the
visions of your head on your bed were this:
29 “You, O king, your thoughts on your bed were coming up, what would be after this,
and the Revealer of Secrets made known to you what would be.
30 And as to me24, not in the wisdom that is in me (more) than all (men) living, was this
secret revealed to me, but (rather) in order that the interpretation to the king will
be made known and (that) the thoughts of your heart you may know.
31 You, O king, were seeing25, and behold, a great image--this image was great and
the surpassing splendor was rising before you, and its appearance was terrible.
32 That image--its head of pure gold, its breast and its arms silver, its stomach and its
thighs of bronze,
33 its legs of iron, its feet, part of them (were) of iron and part of them of clay.
34 You were looking until a stone was cut out, not with hands, and it smote the image
on its feet of iron and clay and it crushed them.
35 Then they broke, as one, into pieces--the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and
the gold and they became as chaff from the threshing floor of summer and the
wind lifted them, and (in) every place they could not be found26. And the stone
that smote the image became a great mountain and it filled all the earth.
36 This (is) the dream, and the interpretation we will (now) say before the king.
37 You, O king, (are) the king of kings27, for the God of the heavens, kingdom, power
and might and honor has given to you.
38 Wherever they are dwelling, the sons of men, beast of the field, or the bird of the
heavens, He has given (all) into your hand, and He has made you a ruler over all of
them. You are the head of gold.
39 After you a kingdom will arise inferior to you28, and a kingdom, a third, another, of
bronze, that will rule in all the earth.
40 And a fourth kingdom (will arise and) be strong as iron, because iron crushes and
shatters all these , and as iron that crushes, all these it will break in pieces and
crush.
41 And that you saw the feet and the toes, part of them (were) clay of the potter and
part of them iron, a divided kingdom it will be, and from the strength of iron will be
in it, because you saw the iron mixed with clay29.
42 And the toes of the feet, part of them (were) iron and part of them clay, part of the
kingdom will be strong and part of the kingdom will be fragile.
43 Then you saw the iron mixed with wet clay, (it) will be mixed in the seed of men,
and they will not cling to one another30, as iron is not mixing with clay.
24 lit, “and I,…”
25 or, looking
26 lit, “one could not find them”
27 lit, “king of the kings”
28 lit, “to the earth from you”
29 or, wet clay
30 lit, “this to this”
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44 In the days of those kings the God of the heavens will raise up a kingdom that unto
eternity will not be destroyed and (that) kingdom to another people will not be left.
It will crush and it will put an end to all of these kingdoms and it will endure to
eternity.
45 Because you saw that, from a mountain, a stone was cut not with hands and it
crushed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold, the great God has
made known to the king what will be after this, and certain is the dream, and
trustworthy is its interpretation.”
46 Then king Nebuchadnezzar fell in his face, and to Daniel he gave homage and an
offering and incense he declared to pour out for him.
47 The king answered and said, “Truly31 your God is the God of gods and the Lord of
kings and a Revealer of secrets, for you were able to reveal this secret.”
48 Then the king exalted Daniel, and many great gifts he gave to him, and he made
him ruler over all the province of Babylon and captain of the prefects over the all
the wise (men) of Babylon.
49 And Daniel sought from the king and he appointed over the administration of
Babylon Shadrack, Meshack and Abed-Nego. And Daniel was in the court of the
king.
3.1 Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold; its height was 60 cubits, its
breadth six cubits. He erected it in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.
2 And Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather the satraps, the prefects, the
governors, the counselors, the ministers, the judges, the officials and the rulers of
the province to come to the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the
king had erected.
3 Then they assembled, the satraps, the prefects, the governors, the counselors, the
ministers, the judges, the officials and the rulers of the province to the dedication of
the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had erected.
4 And the herald called loudly32, “To you it is said33, o peoples, o nations, o (men of
every) tongue34!
5 In the time that you hear the sound of the horn, the flute, (the) lyre, the trigon, (the)
psaltery, (the) bagpipe and all kinds of music, you shall fall and you shall give
homage to the image of gold that Nebuchadnezzar the king erected.
6 Whoever will not fall down and give homage, in that very moment35 he will be cast
into the midst of the furnace of burning fire36”.
7 Thereupon, in that very moment, when they heard, all peoples, the sound of the
horn, the flute, (the) lyre, the trigon, (the) psaltery and all kinds of music, they fell
down, all peoples, all nations and (men of every) tongue, giving homage to the
image of gold that Nebuchadnezzar the king had erected.
8 Then, in that time, (certain) men approached, Chaldeans, and they accused
31 lit, “of a truth (it is) that…”
32 lit, “in strength”
33 lit, “saying”
34 lit, “o tongues” And thus throughout the chapter.
35 lit, “in it, the moment”
36 lit, “in the midst of the furnace of fire, the burning (one)”. And thus throughout the chapter.
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maliciously37 the Jews.
9 And they answered and said to Nebuchadnezzar the king, “O king, to eternity live!
10 You, o king, have given38 a command that every man that hears the sound of the
horn, the flute, (the) lyre, the trigon, (the) psaltery, (the) bagpipe and all kinds of
music, he shall fall down and he shall give homage to the image of gold.
11 Whoever does not fall down and give homage, he shall be cast into the midst of
the furnace burning with fire.
12 There are men, Jews, whom you have appointed over the administration of the
province of Babylon--Shadrack, Meshack and Abed-Nego--these men do not give,
concerning you, o king, a thought--your gods not serving and to the image of gold
that you erected not giving homage.”
13 Then Nebuchadnezzar, in anger and rage, commanded to bring Shadrack,
Meshack and Abed-Nego. Then, these men they brought before the king.
14 Nebuchadnezzar answered and said to them, “Is it true, O Shadrack, Meshack and
Abed-Nego, (that) my gods you do not serve and to the image of gold that I
erected you do not give homage?
15 Now, if you are ready, that in the time when you will hear the sound of the horn,
the flute, (the) lyre, the trigon, (the) psaltery, (the) bagpipe and all kinds of music,
you will fall down and you will give homage to the image that I made. And if you
will not give homage in that moment, you will be cast into the midst of the furnace
of burning fire. For what god39 (is there) that will deliver you from my hand?”
16 Shadrack, Meshack and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, “O
Nebuchadnezzar, no need have we of account of this a word to return to you.
17 If it is (so), our God that we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of burning
fire and from your hand He will deliver.
18 And if not, may it be known to you, o king, that your gods we will not serve and to
the image of gold that you erected we will not give homage.”
19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with rage and the image of his face was altered
concerning Shadrack, Meshack and Abed-Nego. He answered and said to heat
the furnace seven times over that which it was customary to heat it.
20 And to men, mighty in strength that were in his army, he commanded to bind
Shadrack, Meshack and Abed-Nego (in order) to cast them (into) the burning fire.
21 Then these men were bound in their mantles, their coats, and their hats and their
(other) garments, and they were cast into the midst of the furnace of burning fire.
22 Therefore, because the word of the king (was) severe, the furnace being heated
extremely, these men, that took up Shadrack, Meshack and Abed-Nego were
killed, they (by) the flame of the fire.
23 And these three men, Shadrack, Meshack and Abed-Nego, fell into the midst of
the furnace of burning fire, being bound.
24 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was startled and he arose in haste. He answered
and said to his royal officials, “Did we not cast three men into the midst of the fire,
37 lit, “ate the pieces of”
38 lit, “placed”
39 lit, “for who is a god who…”
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bound?” They answered and said to the king, “Certainly, o king!”
25 He answered and said, “Behold, I am seeing four men, loosed, walking in the midst
of the fire, and there is no injury in them40, and the appearance of the fourth is like
a son of the gods!”
26 Then Nebuchadnezzar drew near to the door of the furnace of burning fire, he
answered and said, “O Shadrack, Meshack and Abed-Nego! Servants of the most
high God! Come out and come (here)!” then they came out, Shadrack, Meshack
and Abed-Nego, from the midst of the fire.
27 and they assembled, the satraps, the prefects and the governors and the royal
officials of the ling, examining41 these men whose bodies were not burnt by the
fire42 and the hair of their heads was not singed and their mantels were not
changed and the smell of fire did not touch43 them.
28 And Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, “Blessed (be) the God of Shadrack,
Meshack and Abed-Nego, who sent His angel and delivered His servants who
relied on Him and the word of the king violated and they gave their bodies that
they would not serve and they would not give homage to any god except their
God.
29 And from me a command is given that every people, nation, or (men of every)
tongue that speaks negligence against the God of Shadrack, Meshack and Abed-
Nego, (into) pieces they will be made and their house (into) a pile will be made,
because there is no other god that is able to deliver as this.”
30 Then the king made Shadrack, Meshack and Abed-Nego to prosper in the
province of Babylon.
31(1)44 “Nebuchadnezzar the king: to all peoples, nations, and (men of every) language,
who dwell in all the earth, may your peace grow great!45
32(2) The signs and the wonders which He has done46 with me, the highest God, it
seemed proper to declare,
33(3) His signs how great and His wonders how mighty!
His kingdom (is) an everlasting kingdom and His dominion (is) with
generation to generation47.
4.1(4)I, Nebuchadnezzar, at ease, was in my house, and flourishing in my palace.
2(5) A dream I saw and I was made afraid, and the fantasies while on my bed and the
visions of my head, they were alarming me.
3(6) And from me a command was given to bring before me all the wise (men) of
Babylon, that the interpretation of the dream they might make known to me.
4(7) Then they came, the magicians, the conjurers, the Chaldeans and astrologers, and
the dream I was saying before them, but the interpretation they were not making
known to me.
40 lit, “and injury there is not in them…”
41 lit, “seeing”
42 lit, “these men, that the fire had no power in (or, against) their bodies.”
43 lit, “go on them’
44 The Aramaic and the English verse numbering differ at this point. The Aramaic verse numbering is first,
with the English verse numbering being found in parentheses.
45 lit, “your peace, may it grow great”
46 lit, “did”
47 that is, “in every generation”. (Cf Rosenthal. p. 36, sec. 83)
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