Real Religious News Blog

A Misunderstanding in the Bible

2010-12-23T03:28:00.032-06:00

One of the most often quoted and misunderstood sayings in the Bible.

"And again I say to you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." Mathew 19:24

Check back for the answer >>>> Do you know the answer? Leave as a comment Below.

Hint - not a camel, not a large gate of a walled city or the small gate beside the large one that only foot traffic went through as mentioned in the book The Syrian Christ. The small gate of the walled cites and fuedal castles of Palestine has never been called the eye of the needle and the large gates have never been called a needle. The name for the small gate was "plum" and I am Sure the scriptural passage above makes no reference to it whatsoever.
Hint- The Aramaic word "Gamla" used for camel also has 2 other meanings, "a Rope" and "a "Beam" The context will determine the right english translation of the word gamla.
Hint - Eastern woman and Aramaic speaking woman of the time of Jesus refer to thickest of threads as "Rope".

Answer, using the proper translations of idioms and Aramaic lanuage of the day.

"And again I say to you, It is easier for the thickest of thread to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." Mathew 19:24 Jesus was indicating there is resitance if one puts materialism before God, not an impossibility of the rich man to enter the kingdom of God.

"Do not believe everything that is said or written by an authority, or if it is said to come from angels, or from Gods, or from an inspired scribe. Believe it only if you have explored it in your own heart and mind and found it to be true. Find your own way, through gentle persistence and intuitive knowing. Seek and you shall find the spirit of truth, for it dwells with you and is in you."

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Aramaic Translation of the Lords Prayer

2008-01-30T11:47:00.025-06:00

The Aramaic word for prayer is slotha. This literally means" to trap" or "to set a trap." Thus prayer implies"setting your mind like a trap so you may catch the thoughts of God" - in other words, "to trap the inner guidance and impulses that come from your inner spiritual source." Prayer can also mean a state of mind in which we still our personal thoughts and project nothing outward, almost as if, one was receiving from within. It is an alert state of total sensitivity, attentiveness and awareness. One could say, one is adjusting and preparing their minds and hearts to receive Gods program. The following Biblical phrases come to mind, "Be still and Know That I am God", "Let go and let God" or "meditate unceasingly."

What Prayer May Not BE!
A prayer is not "telling God" what to do. God knows how to run the universe! We do not need to remind God of our needs or ask for things, nor do we need too for our friends and relatives. "Thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men." (Matthew 6:5) "And when you are praying, be not babbling like the pagans, for they are expecting that through the abundance of words that they will be heard. Thus, do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need, before you ask Him." (Matthew 6:7-8)

What Prayer May Be!
So, prayer may not be "telling God," but it may be listening to what God would tell us. The purpose of prayer is not to change God, but to change us. We can consciencely work with this inner intelligence or knowing to guide us in solving problems we face in life. "When thou prayest, enter into thy secret chamber, and shut thy door, and pray to thy Father who is in secret; and thy Father, who seeth in secret, shall reward thee in openness. (Matthew 6:6) This is why Jesus gave us this form of prayer. Prayer is our means of hearing or knowing the quiet gentle voice of the loving presence we call God. "I and my Father are one." (John 10:30) Or could the Aramaic biblical truth translation be, "I and my Father are in agreement."

(enter into thy secret chamber, and shut thy door, and pray to thy Father who is in secret) is not to be taken literaly, this is probably an Aramaic Idiom that implies setting your mind like a trap so you may catch the thoughts of God as explained above. Get still, within your mind, meditate, recieving from within ect..

Most biblical scholars believe the language Jesus spoke was Aramaic. The following is a literal translation of what we call the Lords Prayer Matthew 6:9-13. Jesus told them to pray this way. The short phrase "this way"means to pray "something like this" .

Our Father who is everywhere (heavens)

Let Your name be set apart.

Come Your Kingdom (counsel).

Let Your will (desire) be, as in the universe, also on earth.

Provide us needful bread from day to day.

And free us from our offenses, as also we have freed our offenders.

And do not let us enter into temptation, but separate us from error .

For belongs to You the kingdom, the power, and the song and the praise.

From all ages throughout all ages.

Amen (sealed in trust, truth, and faithfulness.)

Words in brackets are other possible synonyms, where there are not exact language translations
(bread or bread of life can also refer to Eternal Truth or the true and eternal teaching)
Translated from the Aramaic Peshitta text.

Source: Setting a trap for God - The Aramaic Prayer of Jesus

>>> Hear The Lords Prayer Spoken as Jesus did in Aramaic. <<<

Hear the Lords Prayer Sang in The Language that most Biblical scholars agree Jesus and the Disciples Spoke (Aramaic)

What the Bible translators did not know.

2007-07-26T08:59:00.007-05:00

All languages of the world, both past and present, have idioms, metaphors and mannerisms of speech. This style of speech is called colloquialism. An idiom is a saying that a stranger to that language cannot understand and therefore takes literally and is misunderstood. This is because we use an idiom to say one thing, but we mean another. For example, in Semitic language (Hebrew/Aramaic) one would say "If your hand offends you, cut it off," which means, If you have a habit of stealing , cut it out." A Western or American/English idiom, "He is in hot water", "He is in a jam" or "He has gotten himself into a real fix," really means, "He is in trouble." Idioms and colloquialisms cannot be taken literally.

A translator of the Holy Bible must know the true meanings in order to translate them accurately into another language. This is one reason why the Bible is misunderstood and has been subjected to revision throughout the years. The sixteenth century translators of the Holy Bible did not understand the idioms and proper synonyms of the language they translated, nor did the early Greek language translators, who translated portions of the New Testatment from a Semitic language, (probably Aramaic). Most Biblical scholars now agree that the language that Jesus and the Disciples spoke was Aramaic, and the scriptures of the old Testament were written in Hebrew, both Semitic languages. Semitic being of the Biblical "Shem" one of the sons of Noah. Common sense and conscience tells me that in order to get the true understanding of the original scriptures, one would want translations from the original or earliest accepted Semitic writtings, and not of the Koine Greek translations.

Source: DR. George M. Lamsa Semitic language expert and translator

Proper translations of the book we call The Bible.

2007-03-21T10:05:00.006-05:00

It is the writers intention to seek and find the truth within the ancient texts of what we now call the Bible, using the proper translations from the original Semitic languages of Hebrew and Aramaic. Most of the prophets would have spoken either Hebrew or Aramaic. With that in mind, one would have to consider the Near Eastern culture of the times, the proper translations from the Semitic language to English, the best use of synonyms, and the understanding of the idioms(figures of speech) of the day. Most Biblical scholars now agree that the language that Jesus and the Disciples spoke was Aramaic. This blog will concentrate on the translations and interpretations from the earliest and validated Hebrew and Aramaic text, comparing it with the Greek text and translations therein the western or English Bible of today.

The term Bible was not used in the old Semitic languages of Hebrew or Aramaic. The English word Bible comes from the old french bible that was derived from the Greek word biblia which meant "books". The original term for the Bible was "Scriptures" or "the Writings". The term Bible came about when the Greek word for scriptures was translated into Latin and the word biblia was substituted to show a collection or library of books. To understand or know what was written in the original or earliest scriptures, one must come at the English translations from a Near Eastern/Aramaic /Hebrew point of view. In Hebrew the name for the Bible is torah. Most scholars translate this Semitic word as the "Law". The torah originally referred to the first five books of Moses, Genesis through Deuteronomy. Later on the Jewish people also used torah to refer to the entire Hebrew sacred writings.( see Tanakh). The Aramaic speaking Semites call the sacred writing auretha. Both torah and auretha derive from the Semitic root yrh and mean "to teach," "to instruct" and by inference "to enlighten". Therefore, the early portions of the book we call "The Bible" is a book of directions, teachings, or enlightenment. One must always consider the Near Eastern culture and times when trying to understand the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament sometimes called the Greek Testament or Greek Scriptures, and sometimes also New Covenant.

And Then There was Light: DR. Rocco A. Errico (Noohra Foundation)