Aramaic and Hebrew Bible Interpretations

Sunday, September 21, 2025

Luncheon and Lecture: Aramaic and Hebrew Bible Interpretations

Andrew Litke - Georgetown University

Aramaic had become the lingua franca of Judeans and others in the Southern Levant by the first century of the Common Era. Oral and later written translations into Aramaic were interspersed with weekly Hebrew Bible readings. The practice was to chant a few verses in Hebrew, followed by an Aramaic translation called a targum.

These targums took liberties, inserting rabbinic moral/ethical interpretations ("midrash") along with the direct text. These targums provide a fascinating window into the history of the earliest Bible interpretation.

Scholar Andrew Litke will tell the story of the targums and their impact.

This event will be held at Yayla Bistro located at 2201 North Westmoreland Street, Arlington, VA 22213. Luncheon at 2 pm; Lecture at 3 pm.

Make your reservation at:
https://basonova.org/next-lecture-reservation.html