Aramaic Bible

Rich Pellegrino

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Apr 16, 1997, 3:00:00 AM4/16/97

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Friends: Since mentioning my studies of the Aramaic translation of
portions of the New Testament I have had several requests for further
information on this manuscript. I had lent out and given away my
copies over the years however I was able to track down a source of
the published version, and just received one in the mail. It appears
that this has been around since the 1950's and is not as recent a
discovery as I first indicated, but nevertheless it is exciting
reading. The cover reads: "Khaboris Manuscript: Selected Passages
form the Khaboris Manuscript, An Ancient Syriac New Testament Scribed
in Aramaic, The Language of Jesus of Nazareth", and the first
paragraph of the introduction reads: "There is , indeed, GOOD NEWS
at hand. In April of 1954, a manuscript of the New Testament in the
Aramaic language was first shown to the public in America. On that
day, the Yonan Codex was, at the President's request, presented at
the White House to President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Secretary of
State John Foster Dulles. After their examination, it was transported
to the Library of Congress for display...The manuscript was labeled
by the Reverend Frederick Brown Harris, Chaplain to the U.S.Senate,
as the "New Testament Time Bomb"... It goes on to say that this was
considered a priceless volume, its safety insured for $1.5 million,
and it was escorted by motored police and armed guards.
And as I stated in the earlier post, its significance to both Baha'is
and Bible scholars is the beautiful symbolic language and the lack of
reference to evil or evil forces or satan and the abundance of
reference to unconditional and other forms of love.
You can find out more info at the following websites:
http://messianic.com/khab
http://messianic.com/aramaic

And one source of the book is:
FHU (Foundation for Human Understanding, I believe)
P.O. Box 1009
Grants Pass, OR 97526
(I believe the price is $20 US plus s/h)
I have had incredible teaching experiences with this book and the
people associated with it, and an entire course entitled "Emotional
Maturity Instruction"(EMI) has been developed using this translation;
a course so powerful in its transforming effects that several
municipal judges successfully used it as an alternative sentencing
tool.
Please inform if I can be of further help ( and I would be happy to
correspond with anyone directly)
Love,
Rich

Sheltering Sky

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Apr 17, 1997, 3:00:00 AM4/17/97

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After all the fuss in 1955, scholar's began serious invetigation of
the document. Norman Malek Yonan, the owner of the Codex claims that
it has been in his Family's possetion since the Crusades when they
were Syrian Mumaluks.

The document to which you refer is also called the "Yonan Codex" it is
most likely a Syriac Peshitta from somehwere between the 9th and 11th
Century (see Bible Review December 1996 p. 26ff).

The translator of the document, Mr. Lamsa, was also the founder of the
Aramaic Bible Society. He was a Nestorian from what is today Turkey
and managed to escape the Ottoman massacre of Armenians and Christians
prior to the first world war, and settled in the USA. Many would say
that his translation represents his Nestorian Faith as much as it
represents the Codex itself.

Today most Biblical Scholars are in agreement that the oldest New
Testament copy is the Codex Sinaiticus from the time of Eusebius (mid
4th C).

The code Sinaiticus was discovered at St. Catherines Monestary in
modern day Sinai (let's not get into the debate as to where Biblical
Sinai was located).

The main interest of these Bibles is to see how the text was changed
over the years. Verses are modified, added and deleted, and it
appears that the Bible in the was very much a work in progress as late
as the 6th C. Even the infamous 666.

In article <5j2g3n$ef1$1...@nnrp01.primenet.com>, pil...@ilinks.net
says...

James & Inga Trimm

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Apr 18, 1997, 3:00:00 AM4/18/97

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>From: "Rich Pellegrino" <pil...@ilinks.net>

Rich and All,

Being that I am quite familiar with these two manuscripts, I felt I
should set the story straight and correct some of the false concepts
floating around:

The YONAN CODEX is an old Aramaic New Testament, written
in estrangelo script. This is a vellum ms. of 227 leaves
containing the NT Peshitta Aramaic text. The ms. is missing some
pages. The following is a letter which Bruce Metzger wrote dated
July 2, 1954:

Dear Sir:

Today I had the privilege of examining a remarkable
manuscript of the Syriac New Testament of the Syriac New
Testament which is owned by a Mr. Yonan in Washington.
This Yonan Codex is noteworthy on several scores.
Unlike many other manuscripts, this one contains all the
books accepted as canonicle by the Syrian Church. It is in a
good state of preservation, with almost no fading of the ink.
The style of its script shown that the manuscript dates
from a relatively early time. In fact, it is one of the
earliest such manuscripts of the complete New Testament which
I have ever seen either in this country or in Europe.
In view of the paucity of Syriac documents of
comparable age which are available in the United States, I
should like to urge the Library of Congress to make every
effort to secure this specimen, lets it be sold to some
European collection. I am sure that it would add
considerably to the growing reputation of the holdings of
the Orientalia Division of the Library of Congress.
Furthermore, by having free access to it scholars will
be able to utilize its evidence for the current
International Greek New Testament Project, with
headquarters at the University of Chicago.
Trusting that you may see fit to give this matter
your personal attention, I am,

Yours very truly,
Bruce M. Metzger
Professor of New Testament
Language and Literature
Princeton Theological Seminary

I have not personally examined the YONAN CODEX but my best
information is that there were some exagerated claims about it at one
time anyway. It was promoted in 1954 and 1955 as a "1600 year old New
Testament." The owner Norman Yonan Malek had political ties to the
Eisenhour administration, and Eisenhour himself, and several key
officials were involved in this promotion of the Codex as a 1600 year
old New Testament. The ms. was even put on display at the Great Hall
of the Library of Congress at this time. Eventually it was made clear
that the YONAN CODEX was "from a relatively early time" but certainly
not the fourth century. The manuscript was either co-owned by an
attorney named Daniel MacDougald, or Mcdougald purchased it. At
any rate Mcdougald and Yonan became partners in The Yonan Codex
Foundation. In 1966 they acquired a second Aramaic NT Codex called
the CODEX KHABORIS.

Now some exagerations have been made about codex Khaboris
as well, so let me et the story straight here. I know Mr. MacDougald,
the current owner. I have handled the CODEX KHABORIS in my bare hands
and even produced an english translation of its colophon.

In 1965, the year before the YONAN CODEX FOUNDATION obtained
the CODEX KHABORIS, a Sadook de Mar Shimun, B.A.B.D. produced a
"preliminary report" on the Codex. He claimed in this well published
report, the the colophon "ascribes it to the first decade of the 3rd
century." However, my translation of the clophon showed no such
thing. If this was on the ms. in 1965 then it is now part of the lost
or illegable portion. At any rate it would likely have been copied
from an earlier copy and not apply to the CODEX KHABORIS itself. The
CODEX is on vellum which was not used in the third century. The Yonan
Codex Foundation stated "No claim as to its age has been made by the
Foundation, for no claim need be made. The news presented here is not
the antiquity of the manuscript..."

At some point Yonan and MacDougald got involved in behavioral
linguistics with the concept that Aramaic was better suited for
teching "laws for living."

In 1970 Yonan died and the Yonan Codex Foundation ended
operations. However MacDougald created Social Research Labratories and
began a successful prison reform program teaching prisoners "laws for
living" by teaching them key Aramaic words for ideas like "love" etc.

Around 1993 The Yonan Codex Foundations booklet ENLIGHTENMENT;
SELECTED PASSAGES FROM THE KHABORIS MANUSCRIPT; AN ANCIENT SYRIAC NEW
TESTAMENT SCRIBED IN ARAMAIC, THE LANGUAGE OF JESUS OF NAZARETH was
republished by the Foundation for Human Understanding under the title
KHABORIS MANUSCRIPT (same sub title).

The Foundation for Human Understanding has exagerated the
manuscript in its advertisements for this book. FHU calls the
KHABORIS a fourth century ms. which it is not. It was also not
UNEARTHED as such.

FHU is a nontraditional religious organizations who's leader
Roy Masters has been quoted as saying:

I am a man without sin. I know the thruth.
It is black and white, there are no grays.
Anyone who disagrees with me is wrong.
I can take you to a world without suffering,
to a paradise in your mind,"
(Paul Taulieb, Masters' Touch," US (April 1984) p. 36)

In this case, he is wrong, Codex Khaboris has not been dated to the
fourth century.

Also contrary to some other rumors, the CODEX KHABORIS is NOT
the oldest Aramaic New Testament on earth.

OK now the truth. The Kodex Khaboris is written on vellum
with estranglo script. I understand vellum was used for writing
between the fourth and nineth centuries. Also there has been no
attempt to supplement the Peshitta cannon of KHABORIS with the extra
Peshitta books, which might incline one to an early date.

The text of Codex Khaboris is clearly that of the Nestorian
rather than the Jacobite version of the text. It is a very good and
complete copy of the Peshitta NT without any missing pages. Although
an undated manuscript it is quite old. A facsimile of two pages from
the Codex appear in my book THE SEMITIC ORIGIN OF THE NEW TESTAMENT.
It is my opinion that the Aramaic Peshitta text of the New Testament
is in fact a descendent of the original Hebrew and Aramaic text of the
New Testament. This original Hebrew/Aramaic New Testament served a a
model for the Greek text. My thesis on this is well presented in my
book THE SEMITIC ORIGIN OF THE NEW TESTAMENT which is available from:

Hebrew/Aramaic NT Research Inst.
PO Box 471
Hurst, TX 76053

The book is $15.00 plus $2 postage (or $3 for priority mail)
checks or money order should be made out to James Trimm.

If anyone has any questions about these two manuscripts, or
the Semitic origin of the New Testament, you may reach me at:

James Scott Trimm
jst...@flash.net

Please copy any reply to e-mail as I do not follow this usenet group.

==============================================
= =
= He who seeks will not cease until he finds,=
= and having found he will be amazed, =
= and having been amazed he will reign, =
= and having reigned he will rest. =
= - The Goodnews according to the Hebrews =
==============================================

Rich Pellegrino

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Apr 19, 1997, 3:00:00 AM4/19/97

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Many thanks to James for this enlightening clarification.
Rich

>
> Rich and All,
>
> Being that I am quite familiar with these two manuscripts, I felt I
> should set the story straight and correct some of the false concepts
> floating around:
>

[ rest deleted... ]