Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Harold R. Holmyard III" <hholmyard AT ont.com>]

Dear Peter

> Well, there are several apparently Aramaic words recorded in
> transliteration in Mark's gospel, e.g. TALIQA in 5:41 and SABACQANI in
> 15:34 (Q = theta, C = chi), and an apparently Hebrew one, ELWI = Elohi
> in 15:34 (W = omega). Translations into Greek are given for all of them,
> just as for "Abba". One interpretation is that Jesus was always speaking
> Aramaic. Another is that Jesus was normally speaking Hebrew which was
> translated into Greek, and the few Aramaic words preserved are preserved
> to show their distinctively Aramaic nature.

HH: Here is a note on the NAB Bible that also takes Mark 15:34 as 
Aramaic in the quote from Psalm 22:
http://www.usccb.org/nab/bible/mark/mark15.htm#foot14

Mark 15:34: And at three o'clock Jesus cried out in a loud voice, 
"Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?" 14 which is translated, "My God, my 
God, why have you forsaken me?"

14 [34] An Aramaic rendering of Psalm 22:2. See also the note on Matthew 
27:46.

                                Yours,
                                Harold Holmyard