An Aramaic Approach to the Gospels and Acts

Rating:
Summary: The standard
Review: Black's "Aramaic Approach to the Gospels and Acts" (referenced as AAGA) is the standard work to summarize the scholarship of this topic up 'til 1966, though I think the field has not shifted significantly since then. Black points out that much of the late 19th and early 20th century theorizing about the language of Jesus and the early disciples was rather loose and rife with speculative excess. Adhering to stricter terms of acceptance, Black's survey of the state of the whole field (including unpublished research) gives credence where it is deserved and cancels it where not.

What is surprising, therefore, is how much is left. A truly broad picture emerges (at least from the synoptic gospels) of the speech of Jesus via credible remnants of Aramaic grammar, words, phrases and poetic forms. Along the way, a number of tantalizing glimpses of interpretive possibilities are noted, for example in the resolution of famous synoptic variants or the unraveling of theological knots (e.g. does a plausible Aramaic version of Mark 4:12 connote something less harsh than the Greek seems to?).

If you are interesting in the language and "ipsa verba" of Jesus, this book is indispenable.