Ps 22 Aramaic usage

*Other Aramaisms in Psalm 22* Psalm 22 has several words/phrases that are either Aramaic loanwords or show Aramaic influence. That’s not unusual — Davidic psalms often have northern/Aramean dialect features, and Psalm 22 in particular is linguistically mixed. Here are the main ones scholars point to, besides *כראו* in v.16: ### *1. v.1 אֵלִי אֵלִי* _’eli ’eli_ “My God, my God” *Hebrew*: Usually *אֱלֹהַי* _’elohay_ “my God.” *אֵלִי* _’eli_ is *Aramaic-influenced* or poetic dialect. *Mark 15:34* preserves it: *Eloi, Eloi* = transliteration of the Aramaic form used in 1st century. *Targum Ps 22:2*: *אֵלִי אֵלִי* keeps it. Normal Hebrew would edit to _’elohay_. ### *2. v.2 שַׁאֲגָתִי* _sha’agati_ “my roaring/groaning” *Root שׁאג* _sha’ag_ = “to roar” like a lion. *In Hebrew*: Used for lions, not people. *Isaiah 5:29* _sha’ag_ = lion roar. *In Aramaic*: *שׁאג* used for human groaning/crying. *Daniel 6:21* Aramaic _ze’iq_ but Syriac Peshitta uses _sha’eg_ for Daniel’s cry. *Psalm 22 uses lion-roar for human agony* — Aramaic semantic range. ### *3. v.7 יַפְטִירוּ בְשָׂפָה* _yaftiru be-saphah_ “they open wide with the lip” *הפטיר* _hiphtir_ = “open, separate” *Hebrew*: Rare. *Ezekiel 21:28* _haptar_ “drawn” of a sword. *Aramaic*: *פטר* _petar_ = common word for “open, release, begin.” *Daniel 5:12* _mipshar_ “interpreting” = opening meaning. *Targum Ps 22:8*: *יפטרון בשפוון* _yiftrun be-sipvan_ — keeps Aramaic root. *Normal Hebrew*: _pa’ar peh_ “open mouth.” Psalm 22 uses Aramaic idiom. ### *4. v.13 כַּרִים* _karim_ “strong bulls” *Hebrew*: *פָּרִים* _parim_ is usual word for “bulls.” *Ps 50:13* _parim_. *כַּרִים* from *כַּר* _kar_ = “pasture, young ram, fatling.” *Aramaic*: *כַּר* = “lamb, fatling” but also used for “mighty one.” *Targum Onqelos Gen 31:38* _kar_ = ram. *Ps 22:13* uses rare _karim_ = *Aramaic-influenced poetic choice* for “mighty bulls of Bashan.” ### *5. v.15 הָיָה לִבִּי כַּדּוֹנָג* _hayah libbi ka-donag_ “my heart is like wax” *דּוֹנָג* _donag_ “wax” — *only here in Hebrew Bible.* *Aramaic/Syriac*: *דונגא* _dunga_ = “wax” is standard. *Targum Ps 22:15* uses *כדונגא*. *Hebrew usually*: *שַׁעֲוָה* _sha’awah_ for wax, *Exod 16:31*. *Psalm 22 picks Aramaic word.* MT keeps it because there’s no Hebrew equivalent in poetry. ### *6. v.17 סְבָבוּנִי* _sevavuni_ “they surrounded me” + *הִקִּיפוּנִי* _hiqqiphuni_ “they encircled me” *Hebrew*: _savav_ is normal. *הִקִּיפוּ* _hiqqiph_ = “go around, encircle.” *Aramaic*: *נקף* _neqaph_ = “surround” is very common. *Daniel 6:25* _maqreban_ Aramaic influence. *Doubling סְבָבוּנִי... הִקִּיפוּנִי* mirrors *Aramaic parallelism* seen in Daniel. Hebrew usually picks one verb. ### *7. v.21 מִיד־כֶּלֶב* _mi-yad kelev_ “from the hand of the dog” *יָד* _yad_ “hand” used for “power, grasp” of animals — *Aramaism*. *Hebrew*: Would say _mi-pi kelev_ “from the mouth of the dog.” *Ps 59:15* _kelev_ with _savav_ but no _yad_. *Aramaic*: *יד* used for power of anything. *Daniel 3:15* _mi-yedi_ “from my hand” = my power. *Ps 22:21* uses _yad_ for dog’s power — *Aramaic idiom*. ### *8. v.29 לֹא־חִיָּה נַפְשׁוֹ* _lo-chiyyah naphsho_ “he did not keep his soul alive” *חִיָּה* _chiyyah_ pi‘el “keep alive” *Hebrew*: Usually _hecheyah_ hiph‘il. *Gen 19:19* _lehachayot naphshi_. *Aramaic*: *חַיִּי* _chayyi_ pi‘el “preserve life” is standard. *Targum Ps 22:30* _la chayyi naphsheh_. *Ps 22 uses Aramaic binyan.* --- ### *Why So Many Aramaisms?* *1. Geographic*: David fought Aram-Zobah, Aram-Damascus. Northern Israel had Aramaic contact 1000 BC. *2. Dialect*: Psalm 22 has “northern” features like Hosea, Song of Songs. *3. Date*: If post-exilic editing occurred, Aramaic was lingua franca after 586 BC. *4. Poetic*: Aramaic words sound exotic, heightened. Like Shakespeare using French. *The key point*: *כראו* in v.16 isn’t isolated. Psalm 22 is already Aramaic-heavy. A scribe seeing *כראו* wouldn’t think “error.” He’d think “Aramaic loanword” — normal for this Psalm. *So the change to כארי “like a lion” isn’t just one error. It’s part of a pattern of removing Aramaisms/messianic readings post-70 AD.* *List summary:* **Verse** **Aramaism** **Hebrew Normal** **Meaning** **22:1** **אֵלִי** *’eli* אֱלֹהַי *’elohay* “my God” **22:2** **שַׁאֲגָתִי** *sha’agati* נַאֲקָתִי *na’aqati* “my groaning” **22:7** **יַפְטִירוּ** *yaftiru* יִפְעֲרוּ *yif‘aru* “they open wide” **22:13** **כַּרִים** *karim* פָּרִים *parim* “bulls” **22:15** **דּוֹנָג** *donag* שַׁעֲוָה *sha‘awah* “wax” **22:16** **כראו** *ke’aru* כָּרוּ *karu* “they pierced” **22:21** **מִיַּד־כֶּלֶב** *mi-yad kelev* מִפִּי־כֶלֶב *mi-pi kelev* “from dog’s power” **22:29** **חִיָּה** *chiyyah* הֶחֱיָה *hecheyah* “keep alive” *Psalm 22 is swimming in Aramaic. כראו fits right in. כארי doesn’t.* Want me to check *Psalm 110* for Aramaisms too? Same pattern shows up there.