The Book of Enoch is an apocryphal book of an assumedly prophetical character, to which considerable importance has been attached, particularly on account of St Jude quoting it in the 14th and 15th verses of his epistle. It is referred to by many of the early fathers; it is of unknown authorship, but was probably written by a Palestinian Jew in Hebrew or Aramaic, was translated into Greek, and from the Greek the existing Ethiopic version was made in the 1st or 2nd century BC. Until the end of the 18th century it was known in Europe only by the references of early writers. On his return Bruce, the African traveller, brought with him from Abyssinia two manuscripts containing the Ethiopic translation of it. It has since been repeatedly published, translated, and criticised. Research Book of Enoch
In Judaism, Kaddish is an Aramaic prayer that glorifies God and asks for the speedy coming of his kingdom on earth. Originally recited at the conclusion of rabbinic scriptural exposition, the prayer now takes a variety of forms and serves several liturgical functions. A brief form, called half Kaddish, concludes each part of the worship service and is recited at the end of the Sabbath Torah-reading in the synagogue. A longer form, whole Kaddish, is recited at the end of the Tefillah, the major prayer section of each service. A third form, the rabbis' Kaddish, is recited after Talmud study. The best- known form is that recited by mourners at the conclusion of the worship service. A fifth form, recited as part of the funeral service at the graveside, includes a petition for the resurrection of the dead. The medieval association of the Kaddish with mourners is based on a folk belief that this prayer is efficacious in releasing the souls of the dead from purgatory. Research Kaddish More information about Kaddish
Targums are Aramaic versions of the Hebrew scriptures. In course of time Hebrew as a language understood by the mass of the Jewish people was supplanted by Aramaic. Consequently, when the Hebrew scriptures were read in the synagogues, the services of a translator were required. When the translations were later committed to writing they were called Targums. Research Targum
Hellenists is a name for those Jews who, especially in Egypt after the time of Alexander the Great, became imbued with Greek culture and civilization, and spoke and wrote in Greek. To them was due the formation of the peculiar dialect termed the Hellenistic dialect of Greek, the special feature of which was its use of foreign, and more particularly of Hebrew and Aramaic words and idioms. The most noted of the Jewish Hellenistic philosophers was Philo of Alexandria, and the chief of the learned labours of the Alexandrian Jews was the Septuagint version of the Old Testament. Research Hellenists
The Nabataean were an ancient Arabian people speaking a form of Aramaic strongly influenced by Arabic. Originally a nomadic Arab tribe, they formed an independent state between 312 and 363 BC, prospering from control of trade routes between southern Arabia and the Mediterranean, which converged at their capital Petra (now in Jordan). Their culture reflects Babylonian, Arab, Greek, and Roman influence in its speech, religion, art, and architecture. From AD 63 they became allies and vassals of Rome, and in AD 106 Trajan transformed their kingdom into the Roman province of Arabia. Research Nabataean
The Syrian Arabic Republic (Syria) is a country in west Asia. It has a total area of 185,180 km2. The climate is mostly comprised of desert with a hot, dry, sunny summer lasting from June to August and mild, rainy winters from December to February along the coast. The terrain is primarily semiarid and desert plateau with a narrow coastal plain and mountains in the west. Natural resources are crude oil, phosphates, chrome and manganese ores, asphalt, iron ore, rock salt, marble and gypsum. The religion is comprised of 74% SunniMuslim; 16% Alawite, Druze, and other Muslim sects; 10% Christian made of of various sects and tiny Jewish communities in Damascus, Al Qamishli, and Aleppo. The official language is Arabic with Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian and French also spoken.
From 1516 until 1918 Syria was part of the Ottoman Empire, and after the Great War was occupied by Britisha nd French forces before being placed under French mandate in 1920 and gaining independence in 1946. Research Syria
Aramaic or Armasean was a Semitic language nearly allied to the Hebrew and Phoenician, anciently spoken in Syria and Palestine and eastwards to the Euphrates and Tigris, being the official language of this region under the Persian domination. In Palestine it supplanted Hebrew, and it was it and not the latter that was the tongue of the Jews in the time of Christ. Parts of Daniel and Ezra are written in Aramaic, or, as this form of it is often incorrectly named, Chaldee, from an old notion that the Jews brought from Babylon. An important Aramaic dialect is the Syriac, in which there is an extensive Christian literature. Research Aramaic
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Research Book of Enoch
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