Aramaic Peshitta
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Peshitta Unoriginal? If so, it is STILL Superior, Due to Yeshua’s Words
Even if the Greek NT is the original and the Aramaic NT is a translation, what is the most important part of the whole Bible? Would you dare say it isn’t the very words of Jesus? Since, He is the central figure in the Bible, and many would believe so, let us assume that Yeshua’s words are the most important part of the Bible. Now, what language did He speak? Aramaic. So even IF the Greek NT is the original, the most important bits are still only translations (which as we have seen with the many Peshitta proofs, result in many problems with the Greek NT), or at best, transliterations.
Now with the Aramaic Peshitta, we often see that Yeshua’s words are filled with Semitic poetry, Aramaic idiom etc. Are Greek primacists impressed? No, because Jesus spoke Aramaic anyway. But what does this imply? That the Peshitta contains the original words of Jesus, whether it is the original NT or a translation of the Greek NT! Whether or not the Peshitta NT is the original, in the most important sections, the words of Yeshua, it is superior to the Greek NT, whether or not the Greek is the original. While the Aramaic Peshitta preserves the original teachings of Yeshua, the Greek NT must make do with translations and transliterations.
From this of course, you can branch off, with more ideas that scream “Peshitta primacy”. What would happen if you wrote some poetry in English, translated it into Swahili, and then had an expert translate that into English, without the help of the source text? Would it retain its poetry and even idiom? Unlikely. So why does the Aramaic Peshitta NT preserve the poetry and idiom of Yeshua’s teachings? Does it make use of a source text that has the original sayings of Yeshua? If so, this makes the Peshitta superior to the Greek which is filled with translations of Yeshua’s words. What is this source? Could the Peshitta be its own source, the original? Either way, Peshitta primacists can take comfort in the fact that even if the Peshitta is in the main part, a translation from the Greek NT, it is still superior due to having the original words, in the original language of the central figure in Christianity, Yeshua.
As a side note, what applied here to Yeshua can also be applied to other Aramaic-speaking New Testament figures such as Peter, James and Stephen. Keep applying the above principles to all those in the NT who spoke Aramaic (i.e. all, Aramaic being the common language of the Semitic peoples) and you may conclude that the entire NT was originally penned in the language of the Messiah and His people.
Maybe Christians would have a better understanding of the Bible, if they studied the original teachings of Jesus, rather than a Greek copy of His teachings.
Raphael Lataster