Aramaic

3 Stories

ISIS: Destroying the Language of Jesus?

Aramaic is under threat as ISIS invades northern Iraq

(Newser) - Islamic militants may have an unexpected victim in northern Iraq: an ancient collection of dialects and languages that's been around for over 3,000 years, Foreign Policy reports. Called Aramaic, it was flourishing among Assyrian Christians in the Nineveh plain of Iraq until ISIS invaded earlier this month and...

What Language Did Jesus Speak?

Pope Francis, Benjamin Netanyahu disagree

(Newser) - This week saw a small disagreement between Pope Francis and Israel's prime minister. When the two met publicly in Jerusalem, Benjamin Netanyahu told the pope that "Jesus was here, in this land. He spoke Hebrew." Francis corrected him, Reuters reports: "Aramaic." Netanyahu's response: "...

In the Holy Land, Attempts to Revive Jesus' Language

Schools in two villages teaching Aramaic

(Newser) - In two Holy Land villages—and, randomly, Sweden—efforts are being made to revive Aramaic, the language Jesus spoke that has been almost dead for centuries. The Palestinian village of Beit Jala, near Bethlehem, and the Arab-Israeli village of Jish, in the Galilean hills where Jesus taught, were both inspired...

3 Stories
Most Read on Newser