ARAMAIC 251B / HDS 4116 – Aramaic: Translation and Paraphrase in Later Aramaic

ARAMAIC 251B / HDS 4116 – Aramaic: Translation and Paraphrase in Later Aramaic

Semester: Spring
Offered: 2024
Course Head: Andrew Teeter
Instructor: TBA
Meeting Time: W 3:00pm-5:00pm

In this course we will read selections from several Aramaic works loosely grouped under the category of “biblical translations:” namely, the Qumran “Genesis Apocryphon”, a variety of targums, and the Syriac Peshitta. Our goals will be twofold. First, by reading widely and with careful attention to grammar, students will strengthen and broaden their knowledge of Aramaic across several ancient dialects. Second, in our focus on “translations” we will consider the questions of the audience and purpose of these texts, their own interrelationships, and the connected interpretive categories of “translation,” “paraphrase,” and “expansion.” Our focus will be on the three texts mentioned, but additional Aramaic sources (e.g., Christian Palestinian lectionaries, Mandaic “Johannine” literature, etc.) may be included depending on student interest. Prerequisite: a working knowledge (one year or more) of Hebrew or another Semitic language, or previous study of another Aramaic dialect.

Offered jointly with: Harvard Divinity School as HDS 4116.

For more details please visit the Harvard Course Catalog.