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The dialect of Aramaic that Jesus Christ have spoken back then, was Galilean first-century Palestinian Aramaic. It was Galilean, because Jesus was from Galilee, and the dialect was a little bit different in Galilee than it was down in the Jerusalem area; it’s Palestinian because that’s where the Holy Land is—in geographical Palestine. Yes, it is Aramaic because it’s the Aramaic language. Also, it was the first century, so that’s why it’s first-century. So, the primary dialect Jesus spoke back then was first-century Galilean Palestinian Jewish Aramaic.
Lord Jesus Christ taught the famous prayer, “Our Father”, also known as “The Lord’s Prayer,” in Aramaic. [Matthew 6:9-13, Luke11:1-4]
(Phonetic pronunciation)
Aboon Dbashmayo (Our Father who art in Heaven)
Nethcadash shmokh (hallowed be thy name).
teethe malkoothokh, (thy Kingdom come),
nehwe sebyonokh, (thy will be done).
aykano Dbashmayo off bar’o. (On earth as it is in heaven.)
Hab lan lahmo dsoonconan yawmono, (Give us this day our daily bread).
washbook lan howbain wahtohain (and forgive us our trespasses)
aykano doff hnan shbakn il hayobain (as we forgive those who trespass against us)
lo thaalan il nessyoono (and lead us not into temptation)
elo fasson men beesho (but deliver us from evil)
metool ddeelokhee malkootho, (for thine is the kingdom)
ou haylo ou Teshbohto, (and the power, and the glory)
loalam olmen Amin. (For ever and ever. Amen.)
For any individual, who are seeking to learn Aramaic more broadly, I would like to suggest them to start with a standard Aramaic textbook. You can also use Syriac, which is widely used dialect. Syriac holds particular significance as it is the dialect employed in the Aramaic rendition of the New Testament, known as the Peshitta.
But What is Aramaic Language? Where did it come from?
Aramaic is a Northwest Semitic language that was spoken across a vast territory in the Middle East from the 11th century BCE to the 7th century CE. It was the lingua franca of the Assyrian, Neo-Babylonian, Achaemenid, and Parthian empires, and it played a major role in the development of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
Aramaic is divided into two main branches: Western Aramaic and Eastern Aramaic. Western Aramaic includes Imperial Aramaic, the official language of the Neo-Babylonian and Achaemenid empires; Biblical Aramaic, the language of portions of the books of Daniel, Ezra, and Nehemiah; and Jewish Neo-Aramaic, a group of languages spoken by Jewish communities in Iraq, Iran, and Turkey. Eastern Aramaic includes Syriac, the language of the early Christian church in the Middle East; Mandaic, the language of the Mandaeans, a Gnostic religious group; and Modern Neo-Aramaic, a group of languages spoken by Christian and Muslim communities in Iraq, Iran, Turkey, and Syria.
Aramaic is a highly inflected language, with a complex system of verb conjugations and noun declensions. It has a relatively simple phonology, with only three vowels and 22 consonants.
The history of Aramaic can be divided into three main periods:
* Old Aramaic (11th-8th centuries BCE): This was the language of the Aramaean nomads who settled in Mesopotamia and Syria.
* Imperial Aramaic (7th-4th centuries BCE): This was the official language of the Assyrian, Babylonian, and Persian Empires. It was also used for trade and commerce throughout the Middle East.
* Middle Aramaic (4th-7th centuries CE): This was the language of the Talmud, the Babylonian Targums, and the Manichaean and Mandaean religious texts.
Aramaic in Judaism
Aramaic began to be used in Judaism during the Babylonian exile (6th century BCE). After the return to Judah, Aramaic continued to be used alongside Hebrew, and by the time of the Second Temple period, it had become the language of the common people. Aramaic is the language of the Talmud, which was compiled in the 3rd-5th centuries CE. The Talmud is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism, and it contains discussions of Jewish law, ethics, and philosophy. Aramaic is also the language of the Targumim, which are translations of the Hebrew Bible into Aramaic. The Targumim were used in synagogues to help people understand the Hebrew Bible, which was no longer the spoken language of the people by the time of the Second Temple period.
Aramaic in Christianity
Aramaic was the language of Jesus and the early Christian church. The New Testament contains a number of passages in Aramaic, including the Lord's Prayer and the words "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?". Aramaic continued to be used as a liturgical language in the early Christian church, and it is still used in some liturgical contexts by Syriac Orthodox and Chaldean Catholic communities.
Aramaic in Islam
Aramaic was the oldest language than Arabic in the Arabian Peninsula before the advent of Islam. Muhammad was born into an Arabic-speaking community, but he was familiar with Aramaic, and he is said to have spoken it on occasion. Aramaic loanwords are found in the Quran, and Aramaic was used as a liturgical language in the early Islamic community.
According to historians originally, Aramaic was the language of the Arameans, a Semitic-speaking people of the region between the northern Levant and the northern Tigris valley. By around 1000 BC, the Arameans had a string of kingdoms in what is now part of Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and the fringes of southern Mesopotamia (Modern Iraq). Aramaic rose to prominence under the Neo-Assyrian Empire (911–605 BC), under whose influence Aramaic became a prestige language after being adopted as a lingua franca of the empire by Assyrian kings, and its use spread throughout Mesopotamia, the Levant and parts of Asia Minor, Arabian Peninsula and Ancient Iran. According to the Babylonian Talmud (Sanhedrin 38b), the language spoken by Adam — first human — was Aramaic [ https://www.sefaria.org/Sanhedrin.38b.1?lang=bi]. (Classical Syriac: ܐܪܡܝܐ, romanized: Ārāmāyā; Old Aramaic: 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; Imperial Aramaic: 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: אֲרָמִית; Western Neo-Aramaic)
Aramaic is an ancient and important language that has had a profound impact on the world. It is the language of the Jewish Talmud and the Christian Gospels, and it is the ancestor of many modern languages. Aramaic continues to be spoken by small communities in the Middle East today, and it is still used as a liturgical language by Christians, Jews, and Mandaeans.