CHURCH HISTORY: COUNCIL OF NICAEA:

When Scripture and tradition afforded no incontestable solution to the issue that arose between Arius and Athanasius concerning the nature of Christ, recourse was possible only to the consenss of the Church. Constantine therefore summoned a council, which met at Nicaea, in Asia Minor in 324 CE. It is called the First Ecumenical (or universal) Council because it included bishops from the East and from the West. To celbrate the twentieth anniversary of his reign, Constatnine invited the assembled bishop to dine with him. When those who had survived the great persecution filed between ranks of Roman soldiers to sit down with the emperor, on of their number wondered whether the kingdom of God had come or whether he dreamed. Here was another of those historical moments great with hope. The council did not resolve Constantine's problems with the church or the Church's own inner disputes. It rejected any subordination of the Son to the Father. The Greek work used to express their full equality was homoousios, meaning "of the same substance or being.: The English equivalent (derived from the Latin) is " Constubstantial." The Fahter and the Son were described as two persons sharing in one being or substance. With the Holy Spirit they constiture the Trinity.




The doctrine of the Trinity, as it was developed, is a formula that embraces a concept of great richness. It ascribes to God both unity and plurality: He is on and three. It ascrives to Him both being and becoming; as the ultimate ground of being, He is static and changless; yet ther in in Him an eternal, timeless process of generation, for the Son is begotten by the Fahter, and the Spirit proceeds from the Father alone (according to the Orthodox Church) or from the Fahter and the Son (according to the Roman Church). God is above time and within time; in the incarnation and throughout the whole history of Israel and of the Christian Church, eternity impinges upon time. God is ultimate being, indescribable save by negatives, yet He has the personal characteristics of the God of Moses, the God who speaks. Christ is the very godhead become flesh, suffering and dying for the redemption of mankind. The doctine of the Trinity was unifying, as indeed all Orthodox Christian thought was unifying. The heretics were commonly dualists. In the second century the Gnostics had separated body and spirit. Now the Arians separated the creature from the creator. Later, as we shall see the Nestorians tended to split the divine and the human natures of Christ.



But, although the Athanasians were able to unite God, as it were, they could not unite the Church. The Council of Nicaea pronounced in their favor. Constantine banished five dissidents, including Arius, and threatened with death anyone who did not deliver up his books to be burned. But, after the coundil had disbanded, Constantine discovered that the buld of the popultasion in the heavily Christianized area of Asia Minor had Arian leanings. Ten years later, in 335 CE, a synot met at Tyre, and this time the Arians won; Arius was restored and Athanasius was exiled. But the struggle was far from over.



Source: Christendom Vol 1: Roland H Bainton: A short history of Christianity and its impact on the Western Civilization.

Ancestral Sin

In the Old Testament account of creation, God created mankind and established a place for him called Paradise. He also gave him a commandment regarding the tree of the knowledge of good and evil: "And the Lord God commanded Adam, saying, "You may eat food from every tree in the garden; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you may not eat; for in whatever day you eat from it, you shall die by death" Gn 2:16, 17 In that Adam and Eve did not physically die the day they ate from the tree, the words "you shall die" indicate a spiritual death throught separation from God.

WHAT ARE THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE FALL?

1. This fall of Adam caused mankind to become subject to mortality. While this is often seen mainly as a punishment, or penalty, the emphasis concerning Gods judgments on Adam and Eve at the fall is best understood in terms of His mercy. So, for example, concerning mans mortality (Gn 3:19), St Gregory the Theologian states, "Yet here too He provides a benefit - namely death, which cuts off sin, so that evil may not be everlasting. Thus His punishment is changed to mercy."
2. We who are of Adams's race are not guilty because of Adams sin, but because of our own sin. However, because all of mankind fell away from the grace of God through Adams disobedience, man now has a propensity, a disposition, an inclination towards sin, because just as death entered the world through sin, now sin enters through fear of death.
3. Mankinds strong propensity to commit sin reveals that in the Fall, the image of God in man (Gn 1:26,27) is also fallen, However, the ancient Fathers emphasize that the divine image in man has not been totally corrupted or obliterated. Human nature remains inherently good after the Fall; mankind is not totally depraved. People are still capable of doing good., although bondage to death and the influences of the devil can dull their perception of what is good and lead them into all kinds of evil.
4. Adam's Fall not only brought mortality and sin into the world, but also sweat, toil, hunger, thirst, weariness, sorrow, pain, suffering, sickness, tribulations, tragedy and tears.
5. Even after the Fall, the intellectual, desiring and incensive (forceful or driving) aspects of the soul are natural and therefore neutral. They can be used in a good way, or in a bad, harmful way. For instance, desire is very good when one directs it towards God. But when desire is out of control, one may use it in very inapporpriate ways, such as becoming gluttonous or desiring another person's spouse. The classic analogy is that these powers of the soul are like iron, which can be made into a plow to help grow food, or into a sword to be used to kill someone.
6. Christ, by His Death and Resurrection , conquered the devil and death, freeing mankind fromt eh fear death (Heb 2:14-15) and making possible a more complete communion between God and man than was ever possible before. This communion allows people to become "partakers of the divine nature" (2Pt 1:4), to transcend death and, ultimately, all the consequesnces of the Fall.

Source: The Orthodox Study Bible: Ancestral Sin

THE CHURCH

One of the tragic aberrations of so called modern religion is "Churchless Christianity."
The assertion is that it is Christ who saves, not the Church, so "all you need is Jesus".
Few who claim to be Christians would argue against the statement that it is Christ who saves. For He is the eternal Son of God who has assumed human flesh, and has done so "for us and for our salvation" (Niceene Creed). Thus Paul writes, "For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus" 1Ti 2:5.
But because this Mediator established the Church which is His body, we who are joined to Him are joined to His church as well. To say we love Christ, who is Head of the Church and at the same time reject His body is to deny New Testament teaching.
The Gospel and Acts. The first use of the word "church' (Gr. ecclesia) in the New Testament comes in the Gospel of Matthew, when our Lord gives His approval of Peters confession of faith and promises, "I will build my church" (Matt 16:18). Jesus Christ builds, and we cooperate with Him.
The Book of Acts amplifies what Jesus meant in Matthew 16. When Peters sermon on the Day of Pentecost concludes, those present ask for guidance toward salvation: "What shalll we do?" (Acts 2:37). Following Peters word, they are baptized and join with the other believers, three thousand of them (Acts 2:38, 41)
Having been joined to Christ and His Church, these baptized believers begin living as the body of Christ. We find them looking after each other, using their personal resources for one another;s care, continuing togeher in prayer and in the Eucharist (Acts 2:42-47). From this point on "the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved" (Acts 2:47), and throughout Acts, we see the Church being built as the Gospel of Christ spreads.
The Epistles. Pauls instructions in his letters to the churches throughout the eastern Mediterranean clearly show what it means to be members of Christ; to be the Church and to be in the Church. Nowhere in the New Testament is Pauls teaching on the Church more fully disclosed than in Ephesians 4. He instructs us that:
1. The Church is one, "endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" (4:3). There is one Church, one God, one doctrine, one baptism.
2. The Church is people, men and women who are energized by the Holy Spirit. For "to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift" (4:7). We are not all given the same gifts, but together we are equipped to do Gods will.
3. The Head of the Church is Christ, "from whom the whole body is joined and knit together" (4:16)
4. The Church, then, is that place established by Christ where we each may become what we are created to be, maturing and being perfected, while the Church receives what it needs from each of us, so that it too is being perfected. The church as the body of Christ carries us beyond our petty and worldly concerns, stretching our vision to the eternal and the heavenly as we ascend together to worship the Father , the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

* ORTHODOX STUDY BIBLE:

The Second coming of Christ

The Orthodox understainding of the second coming of /Christ is clear: The Lord Jesus Christ truly will return. His second advent is not a myth nor an empty promise, nor is it a metaphor. In fact, eacth time the Divine Liturgy is celebrated, the priest makes a proclamation to the Father that reveals how the Church responds not only to the second comming of Christ, but to all of His work.

Remembering this saving commandment (Jesus' command to eat His flesh and drink His blood) and all that has been done for us the Cross, the Tomb, the Resurrection on the third day, the Ascension into heaven, the sitting at the right hand, and the second and glorious coming - we offer You Your own, from what is Your own, on behalf of all and for all.

Orthodox Christians also believe the New Testament revelation of the second coming of Christ is meant to stimulate our preparation for it, not our speculation about it. This explains the relative simplicity with which the Nicene Creed, the most universal confession of faith in all of Christendom, addresses Christ's return: "He....will come again, with glory, to judge the lving and the dead, whose Kingdom shall have no end." the emphasis of historic Orthodoxy is that Jesus will come again, not when He will come again.

Thus, St. Paul writes, "denying ungodliness and worldy lust, we should live soberly, righteousely, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and gloriouse appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own speacial people, zelous for good works: Tts 2:12-14

There are signs of Christ's coming, to be sure. Jesus phophesied many events that would take place in the world prior to His return (Mt 24; Lk 21:7-36). But even these Gospel passages close with Jesus' exhortation to virtue, righteousness, and preparation for the Judgment. Christ and His apostles issue severe warning, implicit and explicit, against second guessing the time of His coming (Mt24:3-8, 36, 43, 44, 50; Lk 21:7-9, 34 Acts 1:7; 1 Th 5:1-3: 2 Pt 3:8-10)

Much of medern Christendom has succumbed to divisive speculation regarding Christ's return. We are dividied into premillennial, postmillennial, and amillennial camps. Breaking it down even further, there are pre-tribulation, and post-tribulation adherents. Christians part ways and new denominations spring up around interpretations of events that have not yet even come to pass!

Thro0ught history the Orthodox Church has steadfastly insisted on the reality of the second coming of Christ as a settled belief, but has always granted liberty on the question of when it will occur. In the last chapter of Revelation, Jesus speaks the words, ":I am coming quickly.: Three differnt times (22:7, 12, 20). His comming will occur on a day and at an hour when it is not expected. The apostle John, the author of Revelation, concludes his book with a warning:

   For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book; If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in the book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy God shall take away his part form the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from  the things which are written in thei book (Rev 22:18, 19)

To confess the return of Christ is to stand squarely within the apostolic tradition. To add "when" to the promis of His coming is warned against in the Scriptures. As members of the Bride of Christ, let us attend instead to being ready.

Scriptures says to watch and pray.....

The Transmission of the Bible to English

The Transmission of the Bible to English

1. 500 BCE: Completion of All Original Hebrew Manuscripts which make up the 39 Books of the OT

2. 200 BCE: Completion of the Septuagint Greek Manuscripts which contain the 39 OT Books and 14 Apocrypha Books.

3. 1 CE: Completion of all original Greek Manuscripts which make up the 27 Books of the NT.

4. 390 CE: Jerome’s Latin Vulgate Manuscripts produced which contain all 80 books (39 OT + 14 Apocrypha + 27 NT).

5. 500 CE: Scriptures have been translated into over 500 languages.

6. 600 CE: Latin was the only language allowed for Scripture.

7. 995 CE: Anglo-Saxon (Early Roots of English language) translations of the NT produced.

8. 1384 CE: Wycliffe is the first person to produce a (Hand written) manuscript copy of the complete bible. All 80 books.

9. 1455 CE: Gutenberg invents the printing press; Books may now be mass produced instead of individually hand written. The first book ever printed is Gutenbergs Bible.

10. 1516 CE: Erasmus produces a Greek/Latin Parallel NT.

11. 1522CE: Martin Luthers German NT.

12. 1525 CE: William Tyndales NT; The first NT to be printed in the English language.

13. 1535 CE: Myles Coverdales Bible; The first complete Bible to be printed in English. (80 books: OT +NT+Apocypha)

14. 1537 CE: Mathews Bible; The second complete Bible to be printed in English. Done by John “Thomas Matthew” Rogers (80 books)

15. 1539 CE: The “Great Bible” printed; The first English language bible to add Numbered Verses to each chapter (80 books total).

16. 1568 CE: The Bishops Bible printed; The bible of which the KJV was a revision (80 books).

17. 1609 CE: The Douay OT is added to the Rheimes NT (of 1582) making the first complete English Catholic bible. Translated from the Latin Vulgate (80 books).

18. 1611 CE: The KJV bible printed; Originally with all 80 books. The Apocrypha was officially removed in 1885, leaving only 66 books.

19. 1782 CE: Robert Aitkens bible; The first English language bible ( a KJV without the Apocrypha) to be printed in America.

20. 1791 CE: Isaac Collins and Isaiah Thomas respectively produce the first family bible and first illustrated bible printed in America. Both were KJV with all (80 books).

21. 1808 CE: Jane Aitkens bible (Daughter of Robert Aitken); The first bible to be printed by a woman.

22. 1833 CE: Noah Websters bible; After producing his famous dictionary, Webster printed his own revision of the KJV.

23. 1841 CE: English Hexapla NT; and early textual comparison showing the Greek and 6 famous English translations in parallel columns.

24. 1846 CE: The illuminated bible; The most lavishly illustrated bible printed in America. A KJV with all (80 books).

25. 1885 CE: The Revised Version bible; The first major English revision of the KJB.

26. 1901 CE: The American Standard Version; The second major American revision of the KJV.

27. 1971 CE: The New American Standard Bible (NASB) is published as a modern and “accurate” word for word English translation of the bible.

28. 1973 CE: The New International Version (NIV) is published as a modern and “accurate” phrase for phrase English Translation of the bible.

29. 1983 CE: The New King James Version (NKJV) is published as a modern English version maintaining the original style of the KJV.

30. 1993-2002 CE: The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language was created by Eugene H. Peterson. It is a paraphrase of the original languages of the Bible.

Holy Bible and Syriac Orthodox Church (Part II)

Holy Bible and Syriac Orthodox Church (Part II)


We have seen numerous differences in the translation of Bible in the first part.Now let us see how some of these changes affected the true faith. Please refer to the previous table shown in chapter ‘Holy Bible and Syriac Orthodox Church Part-1’ and see how each of these changes were used to twist the original church teachings. (You may please use a Bible to refer the verses where ever necessary)

Refer to Numbers From the Tables in Part I

CHANGES TO THE ORIGINAL BIBLE AND HOW THEY ARE USED TO CHANGE THE INTERPRETATION OF THE BIBLE
(How changes mentioned in previous table in the previous chapter are used to change the teachings of the original Church)

1 They had to prove that Mary had other children too, and so to prove

that she is not a virgin. Hence they use “brothers”

2 To prove that there is no position of Bishop or episcopacy

3, 42 To prove that Ordination (of Priests) is not necessary

4 To prove that there were only teachings from Apostles and no Doctrines

5 To prove there is nothing like church, only groups

6, 16 To prove that there was no breaking of bread, but just fellowship meals

9, 22 To prove that for salvation, no Church is necessary or that one need not be a member of the church.

10 To satisfy the section of people who believes that Jesus is not Son of God and there for not equal to God

12 To prove that there was no Deacon positions in the early church

13 To prove that there was no ordination, but just appointment

14 To prove no one confessed to the apostles and they have no right to absolve your sins

15 To prove that there is no importance to Sunday

16 To prove that those elders who were given position were not guided by the Holy Spirit

19 To give the impression that baptism does not absolve one's sins.

20, 21 To prove that Christ has no ministers or priests

25 To prove that fasting (and lent) is not required - they left the word fasting

26,28 Apostles has no right to command, but only to teach

27 The cup of blessing is not the communion of the blood of Christ

29 To satisfy the section who believes that Christ is not God

30, 32,33 Faulty translations

31, 41 To prove that the Apostles or their successors are not the representatives of Christ

34,39 To give impression that there were no deacons or Bishops in the early church

35 Proves that there is no need of external ceremonies

38 – 40 In early church there were no Doctrines or traditions

43 Church means just a fellowship

45 Added a word to prove that anyone can confess to anyone

46 Added a word to support another view

47 To prove that to receive Holy Spirit, no unction is necessary

Yes, it is shocking for any independent scholar to see all these changes in the different translations. All these changes were made for ones own selfish gains.
“Soul Winner’s New Testament Bible" has substituted the word ‘baptize’ with ‘immerse’. This book also uses the word ‘immerse in Holy Spirit’. In the Good News Bible, they use ‘Holy Spirit poured on you’. Again in Mark 11:3, it is written ‘The Lord has need of it [Colt]…," In Good News Bible it is written ‘He will return it soon’ ie. Christ will return the colt!

Ruthor Ford established the Jehovah Witness, in 1870. He was 29 years old at that time. They have their own New Testament with their own translations. In 1954, F.W. France, president of the Jehovah Witness group, revealed how they received their interpretation of the Bible. “They are passed by Holy Spirit who invincibly communicates with Jehovah’s witness” (see it is not the real original Bible!). This

section does not consider the Son and the Holy Spirit as God. Again, The Church of Christ of Latter-Day Saints, the fastest growing religion in the U.S., is based on a revelation to Joseph Smith in 1820 (Again not the real and original Bible!). They have their own Bible and their own interpretations. Orson Prat a famous scholar in that church asks, whether there is a single sentence in the Bible now,which is original? (The cults page 88). These 'churches' have their own New Testaments and their own interpretations.

Since most translations are distorted, which version is the original? As you will see in the table of next chapter, the different books of the New Testament were written during the period AD 60-100. It is widely accepted that some of the books were written in Aramaic and some in Greek (but used lots of Aramaic words), which was also the prominent language in Palestine at that time. [Some scholars are of the opinion that nothing was written in Greek, as no one knew Greek there. Jesus Christ taught in Aramaic, as common man understood no other language. So it is unlikely that anything would have been written in Greek. What is the use of writing in a language not understood by the people?] Josephus wrote (AD 42): “I have taken a great deal of pain to obtain the learning of the Greeks and understand the elements of the Greek language; although I have accustomed myself to speak our own tongue, that I cannot pronounce Greek with sufficient exactness. ……there have been many who have done their endeavors, with great patience, to obtain this Greek learning, there have yet been hardly two or three that have succeeded herein. (Antiquities XX, X1 2)” (George Lamsa’s Translation)
Many scholars believe that it is very unlikely that the Epistles targeted for common man, were written in a language understood only by a few. “Aramaic was the language of the common people during the time of Jesus Christ. It is certainly the language of the Semetic culture, the language of the Hebrew Patriarchs and in the older days, the lingua franca of the Fertile Cresecent. The term Hebrew was derived from the Aramaic word Abor or Habor, which means ‘to cross over’. This name was given to Hebrew’s because Abraham and the people who were with him crossed the river Euphrates and went to Palestine. Therefore they were known by those who lived east of the river Euphrates as Hebrews that is ‘the people across the river’ (Lamsa’s Peshitta Translation). Another view is “Aramaic was the mother-tongue of the region comprising of present Eastern Syria and Northern Iraq. This region was called ‘Aram’, after Aram, Sem’s fifth son. Aramaic is the oldest of the semantic languages. Aram, the father of Armenians, was the grandson of Noe, while Heber the Father of the Hebrews was the great great grandson of Noe.”

The earliest manuscripts of the Bible are in Aramaic, and different versions are available which dates back to 2nd, 5th and 7th centuries. “Astonishingly enough, all of the Peshitta Texts in Aramaic agree”. There is one thing the eastern churches can boast about. They copied their holy books diligently, faithfully and meticulously. Sir Frederic Kenon, the curator of the British Museum, in his book Textual Criticism of the New Testament speaks highly of the accuracy of the copying and of the antiquity of Peshitta MSS. “The versions translated from sematic languages into Greek and Latin was subject to constant revisions. Learned men who copied them introduced changes trying to simplify the obscurities and ambiguities, which were due to the work of first translators.

The present translators and Bible revisers does the same, when translating the Bible.” The Scriptures in the Church of the East, from the inception of Christianity to the present day, are in Aramaic and have never been tampered with or revised as attested by the present Patriarch of the Church of the East. The Biblical manuscripts were carefully and zealously handed down from one generation to another and were
kept in the massive stonewalls of the ancient churches and caves. They were written on parchments and many of them survive to the present day. When expert scribes copied these texts, they (the copies) were carefully examined for accuracy before they were dedicated and permitted to be read in churches. Even one missing letter would render the text void. Easterners still adhere to God’s commandment not to add or omit to a word from the Scripture. The Holy Script condemns any addition, subtraction or modification to the Word of God.

• “You shall not add to the commandments which I command you, neither shall you take form it, but you must keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you” (Deut. 4:2)

• "Everything that I command to you, that you must be careful to do; you shall not add nor take from it.” (Deut. 4:2)

• "Do not add to his words; lest he reprove you, and you be found a liar.” (Prov.30:6)

• “And if any man shall take away form the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his portion from the tree of life and from the holy city and from the things which are written in this book.” (Rev 22:19)

The term Peshitta means straight, simple, sincere and true, that which is the original. The name was given to this ancient and authoritative text to distinguish it from the other Bible revisions and translations which were introduced into some of the Churches of the East after the division at Ephesus and Chalcedon in 431 and 451 AD respectively. This Peshitta is still the only authoritative text of the Old and New Testament of all the Eastern Christians in the Near East and India, the Roman Catholic Church in the East, the Monophysites and Indian Christians. This was because this text was in use for 400 years before the Christian Church was divided to several sects.
(George Lama’s translation) “The originality of the Peshitta Text is strongly supported by the early evidence. Aphraates quoted it. St. Ephraim wrote a commentary on it and the doctrine of Addi placed it at apostolic times”
“The names Aram, Aramaeans and Aramaic were changed, during the course of time into Syria, Syrians and Syraic. The Greeks were responsible for this change. And Aramaic Christians gradually became reconciled with this change of name” (Syro-Chaldaic grammar by Fr.Gabriel)
Peshitta version of the Bibles existed in the 2nd Century. “The Peshitta version of the Bible was made about the first or second century.” (Helps to the study of the Bible – Oxford page 7) These isolated manuscripts were collected, examined, and approved by the early church fathers only in AD 389; and thus the New Testament became part of the Holy Bible. Soon after the New Testament was translated into Latin, this New Testament was in use till the 14th century. From the 15th century (see the list below) onward, different
protestant groups began to make their own Bibles through distorted translations to suit their arguments.

Syriac Bible

The Syriac Orthodox Church believes that the Holy Bible, which comprises of the Old Testament and the New Testament, is the divine word of God. The words of Christ were first transmitted in his native language, the Palestinian dialect of Aramaic, either orally or in a written form. It is from this Aramaic tradition that the Greek Gospels were derived. The Syriac New Testament as we know it today is an earlytranslation of the Greek, Latin and Aramaic (Refer to Part III) text back into Syriac, the Aramaic dialect of Edessa (Modern Urfa in Southeast Turkey). The Syriac Old Testament is a translation from the original Hebrew and Aramaic (a different Aramaic dialect from Syriac which is known by the name 'Biblical Aramaic'). Syriac Orthodox
Church insists on using only the Peshitta Bible. The close similarities between the Palestinian dialect of Aramaic spoken by Christ and Syriac offer us a unique understanding of some of the Biblical readings. For
example, in the English King James version of the Bible we read in Matthew 5:18 "Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." What could jot mean? The Syriac Bible uses the word yod for jot in this verse. This word is the name of the tenth letter (out of the total 22 alphabets) of the Aramaic alphabet, shown below in the Syriac Estrangelo script (read from right-to-left;
yod is shown in red color. Syriac and Aramaic are read from right to left):
Note that yod is the smallest letter in size. The above verse means that not even the smallest of the letters shall pass from the law. This is rendered in the English New Revised Version as "not one letter. Another interesting reading appears in the Lord's Prayer. The King James reads "and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors" (Matthew 6:12). The Syriac versions read “and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors." This implies that we must first forgive our debtors before asking forgiveness from God. The English New Revised Version agrees with the Syriac in this verse!
In many instances the Syriac language offers interesting interpretations of Biblical verses. An understanding of Syriac homonyms, for example, help us clarify the reading in Matthew 19:25 (also Mark 10:25 and Luke 128:25), when Jesus tells us how much easier it is for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. The Syriac word corresponding to camel is gamlo whichmeans 'camel.' However, gamlo has other a meaning as well, one of which is given by the Syriac lexicographer Bar Bahlul (10th century) in his Syriac dictionary: "gamlo is a thick rope which is used to bind ships." Considering that Jesus was speaking to fishermen, this meaning of gamlo seems more appropriate.

The Syriac Fathers studied the Bible in a critical and scientific manner, though regarding it at the same time as a divine text. Witness to this are the numerous translations and revisions of translations and the massive body of commentaries that they have produced. Some of these translations were lost until they were discovered by
Western scholars in the past 150 years.

Many old Syriac manuscripts of the Biblical texts survive and can be found in the major museums and libraries of the world and of course in the ancient Syriac libraries of the Middle East as well. The Syriac Orthodox Church in India had many Peshitta Syriac Bibles and one of them, in 16th century, was transferred to the Oxford University library in fear of Roman Catholic Persecution, since the Portugal Roman Catholics were in search of all Syriac documents for destruction. The most famous manuscript is that of the Gospels which is written by a certain Rabbula, hence known as the Rabbula Gospels. It is famous for its decorative calligraphy and miniatures which are excellent representations of Syriac art.

The first printed edition of the Bible was an edition of the New Testament which was printed in 1555, soon after the advent of printing. It was published by Johann Widmanstetter, with the assistance of a Syriac Orthodox priest, Moses of Mardin. Moses was sent by the Patriarch of Antioch to meet with the Pope of Rome and served as a teacher of Syriac in Europe.

The Syriac Bible is available today from the United Bible Societies. The Peshitta Institute at Leiden is preparing a new annotated English translation of the Peshitta Old Testament (NEATSB, or The New English Annotated Translation of the Syriac Bible).

Questions to test your knowledge

1. What could be the reason (what is the impact) why there is a translational

difference in Good News Bible version from King James Version in Acts 1:14?

2. What could be the reason (what is the impact) why there is a translational

difference in Good News Bible version from King James Version in Acts 1:22?

3. What could be the reason (what is the impact) why there is a translational

difference in Good News Bible version from King James Version in Acts 2:42?

4. What could be the reason (what is the impact) why there is a translational

difference in Good News Bible version from King James Version in Acts 14:23?

5. What could be the reason (what is the impact) why there is a translational

difference in Good News Bible version from King James Version in Acts 2:47?

6. What could be the reason (what is the impact) why there is a translational

difference in Good News Bible version from King James Version in Phili 3:3?

7. What could be the reason (what is the impact) why there is a translational

difference in Good News Bible version from King James Version in 2 Tess

2:15?

8. What could be the reason (what is the impact) why there is a translational

difference in Good News Bible version from King James Version in Acts 19:18?

9. What could be the reason (what is the impact) why there is a translational

difference in Good News Bible version from King James Version in 1 Cori 7:5?

10. What could be the reason (what is the impact) why there is a translational

difference in Good News Bible version from King James Version in Phili 1:1?

11. When was Jehovah Witness established?

12. What was the language of the common men at the time of Jesus Christ?

13. Where (material) was the Biblical Manuscripts written in olden days?

14. What does the tern Peshitta means?

15. Which Bible is the original Bible?

16. Give an example to show how important it is to learn Syriac to interpret Bible?

17. How many letters are there in Syriac or Aramaic language?

18. Which is the smallest letter in the Syriac/Aramaic?

19. Where can we get Syriac Bible today?

20. According to the Syriac lexicographer Bar Bahlul, which is more appropriate

meaning of ‘Gamlo’ to interpret the Biblical verse in in Matthew 19:25?