Aramaic vs Hebrew: How They Differ

Two sister languages of the Bible, how they differ, and where the Maronite Church stands between them

Aramaic and Hebrew are not the same language, but they are close relatives. Both are Northwest Semitic languages, both are tied to the Bible, and for several centuries the people of Israel used both. The Aramaic of Jesus is the older sister of the Syriac the Maronite Church sings today.

This page sets out how the two languages are related, how they differ, and which one Jesus spoke. For the full story of his language, see what language did Jesus speak.

Aramaic vs Hebrew: How They Are Related

Hebrew and Aramaic belong to the Northwest Semitic branch of the Semitic family, the same family that includes Arabic. Within Northwest Semitic, Hebrew belongs to the Canaanite group with Phoenician, while Aramaic forms its own group. They split a very long time ago, which is why they share so many roots yet differ in so many details.

The relationship is also one of script. Hebrew as written today uses the "square script," which developed from the Aramaic script in the centuries after the Babylonian exile. Jewish scribes adopted it gradually, and it has been the standard Hebrew script ever since. When you open a Hebrew Bible, you read letters that grew out of Aramaic ones. The Syriac script the Maronites use is another descendant of the same Aramaic alphabet, covered in the Aramaic alphabet.

How Aramaic and Hebrew Differ

Anyone who learns one will recognize much of the other, but several differences are easy to see.

Sounds

The same ancient root often took a different shape. The Semitic word for peace came out as shalom in Hebrew and as shlama in Aramaic, because Hebrew shifted a long vowel to an "o" sound that Aramaic did not.

The word "the"

Hebrew puts the article in front of the noun: ha-. Aramaic puts it at the end: -a. That is why the Aramaic word for God, Alaha, literally means "the God," as explained in God in Aramaic. In Syriac, over time, that ending became part of the ordinary dictionary form of the word.

Vocabulary side by side

English	Hebrew	Aramaic (Syriac)
God	אֱלוֹהַּ Eloah	ܐܠܗܐ Alaha, Aloho
Father	אָב av	ܐܒܐ abba, abo
Peace	שָׁלוֹם shalom	ܫܠܡܐ shlama, shlomo

The pairs are plainly kin. In each, Aramaic carries the ending -a (or Western -o). For the Syriac Our Father, which opens with Abwoon, "our Father," see the Our Father in Aramaic.

Which Did Jesus Speak: Aramaic or Hebrew?

The majority view among scholars is that Jesus' everyday language was Aramaic, the common language of Jewish Galilee. The Gospels preserve his words in Aramaic at the moments that mattered most: Talitha koum, Ephphatha, Abba, and Eloi, Eloi from the cross. They are collected in the Aramaic words Jesus spoke.

Hebrew was the language of Scripture and of synagogue worship, and the Gospels show Jesus reading from Isaiah in the synagogue at Nazareth (Luke 4:16-21). He very likely knew Hebrew. Greek was also present in the region. How widely Hebrew was still spoken in daily life is debated, and a minority of scholars give it a larger role than the majority does. A fair summary is: Aramaic for the road, the kitchen and the lake; Hebrew for the Scriptures; and Greek for dealing with the wider Roman world.

Aramaic in the Old Testament

Although the Old Testament is Hebrew, parts of it are in Aramaic. The large blocks are Daniel 2:4b to 7:28, Ezra 4:8 to 6:18 and Ezra 7:12-26, the last two mostly official letters and decrees. Smaller traces are one verse in Jeremiah (10:11) and two words in Genesis (31:47).

These passages show that Aramaic was the diplomatic language of the empires in which the Jews lived. By Jesus' day it was the people's own language as well.

Syriac: The Aramaic of the Maronite Church

Syriac is a dialect of Aramaic. It grew up around Edessa in the early Christian centuries and became the language of a large Christian literature, including the Syriac Bible, the Peshitta. The Maronite Church inherited it, which is why the Syriac prayers sung in Beirut, Sydney and Detroit are the closest living descendants of the language Jesus spoke.

Syriac is not identical to the Galilean Aramaic Jesus used, but they are related dialects of one language. A Maronite saying Aloho in the Qurbono is saying a form of the word Jesus said as Elah or Eloi. The name Jesus bore in that language is covered in Jesus in Aramaic.

Who Speaks Aramaic Today?

Aramaic is not dead. Modern Aramaic languages are still spoken by communities of Assyrian, Chaldean and Syriac Christians in parts of the Middle East and in the diaspora. In the Maronite world, Syriac lives mainly as a liturgical language, sung in the Qurbono by people who speak Arabic, English, French or Portuguese at home. Hebrew, by contrast, was revived as an everyday language in modern Israel.

One caution about online claims: not every "Aramaic" phrase found on the internet is attested, and some are modern paraphrases. For the Syriac forms of the tradition, use the Peshitta wording on these pages.

Pray in the Language of Jesus

You do not need to read either alphabet to begin. Learn Abun d'bashmayo from a Maronite recording, then learn to hear Qadishat Aloho at the Qurbono. The Charbel app includes guided prayer in Syriac Aramaic alongside English, Arabic, French and Portuguese.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Aramaic the same as Hebrew?

No. Aramaic and Hebrew are separate languages, but close relatives. Both belong to the Northwest Semitic family, share many roots, and have been written in related scripts. They differ in vocabulary, sounds and grammar, and speakers of one could not simply understand the other without learning it.

What is the difference between Aramaic and Hebrew?

They differ in sound, vocabulary and grammar. For example, Hebrew marks 'the' with a prefix (ha-), while Aramaic marks it with a suffix (-a), as in Alaha, 'the God'. Hebrew shalom is Aramaic shlama (Western Syriac shlomo), and Hebrew av, 'father', is Aramaic abba.

Did Jesus speak Hebrew or Aramaic?

Most scholars hold that Jesus' everyday language was Galilean Aramaic. He almost certainly also knew Hebrew, the language of Scripture and synagogue, and probably some Greek. How widely Hebrew was still spoken in daily life is debated, and a minority of scholars argue for more Hebrew than the majority allows.

Is the Bible written in Aramaic?

Mostly no. The Old Testament was written in Hebrew, with a few Aramaic passages: Daniel 2:4b to 7:28, Ezra 4:8 to 6:18 and 7:12-26, a verse in Jeremiah (10:11) and two words in Genesis (31:47). The New Testament was written in Greek, though it preserves Aramaic phrases such as Talitha koum and Abba.

Which language do Maronites use in the liturgy?

Syriac, a dialect of Aramaic. The Maronite Qurbono keeps its core chants and parts of the liturgy in Syriac, alongside Arabic, English, French or Portuguese in the parish.