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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 February 2009
In 1899 Burkitt posed a question to which no answer has yet been given. It was as follows: ‘It is still more surprising and instructive to find that “salvation” is identified by the Syriac usage with “life”. Σωτ⋯ρ is Mahyânâ, “Life-giver”, and “to be saved” is “to live”. This is the more remarkable, as Syriac has several words meaning “to deliver”, “to protect” and “to be safe and sound”. May we not therefore believe that this identification of “salvation” and “life” is the genuine Aramaic usage, and that the Greek Gospels have in this instance introduced a distinction which was not made by Christ and his Aramaic-speaking disciples?' If Burkitt is right, it is evident that quite a new light is thrown on a number of instances in the NT where the word σᾡζω occurs. This can be seen at once as one thinks of the somewhat negative ‘Saviour’ becoming the more positive ‘Life-giver’. Theologically also, however, there is a difference in meaning, which Burkitt remarked on a few years later. ‘The use of ḥajē,ē life, to render σωηρἱα and σωτ⋯ριoν, instead of some word meaning “deliverance“, together with the corresponding equivalent verb ḥj' and σᾡζɛσθαι belongs rather to theology and philosophy than to linguistics.'
page 390 note 1 Burkitt, F. C., Early Christianity outside the Roman Empire, Cambridge 1899, p. 22.Google Scholar
page 390 note 2 Burkitt, F. C., Evangelion da-Mepharreshe, Cambridge 1904, vol. I, p. 81.Google Scholar
page 390 note 3 Canney, M. A., The Meaning of Salvation, in: Theology XV 1927, pp. 61–63.Google Scholar
page 391 note 1 Cf. c e Sah. and Eth.
page 391 note 2 prq is the translation of the jshc in the Peshitto OT. Note therefore the use of it in the Aramaizing first chapters of Luke.
page 391 note 3 Cf. Plooy, D., Phillips, C. A. and Bakker, A. H. A. (since 1938), The Liége Diatessaron, in: Verhandelingen der Komnklijke Akademie van Wetenschappen te Amsterdam, afd. Letterkunde, n.R., Part XXXI: I, 1929Google Scholar; II, 1931; III, 1933; IV, 1935; V, 1938.
page 392 note 1 Moesinger, G., Evangelii Cancordantis Expositio facta a S. Ephraemo Doctore Syro, Venetiis 1876, pp. 249 and 250.Google Scholar
page 392 note 2 Mark 16.16 (Dem. 1.17), Luke 3.6 (Dem. 16.7), 19.9 (Dem. 20.17), John 10.9 (Dem. 4.4) and Phil. 2.12 (Dem. 23.2).
page 392 note 3 Burkitt, F. C., Christian Palestinian Literature, in: Journ. of Theol. St. II, 1901, pp. 174–183.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
page 392 note 4 Lagrange, M. J., L'Origine de la Version Syro-Palestinienne des Évangiles, in: Rev. Bibl. XXXIV, 1925, pp. 481–504.Google Scholar
page 392 note 5 Black, M., The Palestinian Syriac Gospels and the Diatessaron, in: Oriens Chr. 3. S., 14. B., 1. H., 1939, pp. 101–111Google Scholar
page 392 note 6 Lyonnet, S., La Première Version Arménienne des Évangiles, in: Rev. Bibl. XLVII, 1938, pp. 355–382.Google Scholar
page 393 note 1 It is impossible to say: ‘ḥajē also im Gegensatz zum hebräischen etwas rein Geistiges’, and ḥlm and '˚ si are only used ‘vom rein physischen “gesund werden”’ (Klein, O., Syr.-Griech. Wörterbuch zu den vier kanon. Evangelien, in: Beihefte zur Zeitschr.für die A. T. Wissenschaft. 28, Giessen 1926, p. 13Google Scholar). This might be true for the Peshitto, but is not in agreement with the Old-Syriac evidence.
page 393 note 2 Cf. the Cyprian bilingual Inscription for the goddess Anat: םיח זע תנע, Aθηνâ Σωτ⋯ρa Nἱkη from about the time of ptolemy I (367/6–283/2) in: Corpus Inscriptium Semiticarum, Parisiis 1881, Tom. 1.95.
page 393 note 3 As far as the Palestinian Targum is left (Kahle, P., Masoreten des Westens, Stuttgart, 1930, p.30) we see the same in Gen. 6.19 and 20.Google Scholar
page 394 note 1 Baudissin, W. W., Adonis und Esmun, Leipzig, 1911, p. 404.Google Scholar
page 394 note 2 Cf. àνaβιὡσas in II CLem. 19.4.
page 394 note 3 Lidzbarski, M., Mandäische Liturgien, in: Abhandl. der Kgl. Gesellschaft der Wissenschaft zu Göttingen, phil. hist. Kl, n. F., Bd XVII, I, p. XXIII.Google Scholar
page 394 note 4 The dictionaries are probably wrong in giving the first meaning of cmd as ‘to dive’, etc. In that case it would be similar to the Greek βaπτ⋯ζω ‘to dip’, etc. and then later ‘to baptise’. Here the order is probably the reverse: first ‘to stand’ and ‘to baptise’, later becoming ‘to dip’ and ‘to plunge’ (cf. Matt. 14.20, Luke 16.24, John 13.26), for in this case we have an explanation of the different meaning of cmd but not in the other. To see any relation between qeyama and the puzzling expression benai qejama, as D. Plooy does in Novum Testamentum Regnum Aeternum, Amsterdam, 1932, may be tempting, but it is probably not justifiable. In this case qejama is clearly derived from qum which can only mean ‘covenant’, while ‘children of the Resurrection’ has to be benajja daqejamta (cf. Luke 20.36), a derivation from qejama.
page 395 note 1 Kahle, P. E., The Kairo Geniza, The Schweich Lectures of the British Academy 1941, London, 1947, pp. 188–189.Google Scholar
page 395 note 2 Dürr, L., Die Wertung des Lebens im Alten Testament und im antiken Orient, Münster 1926, p. 3Google Scholar. Cf. Theol. Worterbuch II, p. 844Google Scholar (v. Rad) and Rad, G. v., ‘Gerechigkeit’ und ‘Leben’ in der Kultsprache der Psalmen, in: Festschrift für A. Bertholet, Tübingen 1950, pp. 418–437Google Scholar, p. 426 (about ‘life’): ‘es wurde Israel vom Kultus aus zugesprochen’.
page 395 note 3 Cf. Baudissin, W. W., Alttestamentliches hajjīm, ‘Leben’ in der Bedeutung von ‘Glück’, in: Festschr. für Ed. Sachau, Berlin 1915, pp. 142–168.Google Scholar
page 396 note 1 Johnson, A. R., The Vitality of the Individual in the Thought of Ancient Israel, Cardiff, 1949, p. 88.Google Scholar
page 396 note 2 Pedersen, J., Israel its Life and Culture, London-Copenhagen, 1926, p. 183.Google Scholar
page 396 note 3 Baudissin, W. W., Adonis—, p. 396.Google Scholar
page 396 note 4 Baudissin, , Adonis—, pp. 397–402Google Scholar. See especially for the Babylonian Conception: Nötscher, F., Altorientalischer und Alttestamentlischer Auferstehungsglauben, Würzburg 1926, pp. 17–24Google Scholar, about Israel pp. 129–138. Wagner, W., Über ΣΩZEIN und seine Derivata im NT, in: Z.N.W. VI, 1905, pp. 205–235Google Scholar, remarked that ‘to save’ = ‘to come to life’ in the NT. His inquiries, however, split up into a part dealing with a ‘natural’ death (sickness, etc.) and a spiritual one (sin). This is not in agreement with the Semitic background of the Gospels.
page 396 note 5 Cf. John 11.25: 
in Syr s: 'ana qejamta ' ana (with P45 a 1 Cyper.).
page 396 note 6 Harris, R. and Mingana, A., The Odes and Psalms of Solomon, Manchester, 1920, 2 vol.Google Scholar, see: VIII, 22; XVII, 14; XXVI, 9; XXXIV, 6; XXXVIII, 3 and 6; XL, 5–6.
page 396 note 7 Connolly, R. H., The Liturgical Homilies of Narsai, in: Texts and St. vol. VIII, 1909Google Scholar, see Horn. XXII and XXI.
page 397 note 1 Canney, M. A., Life-Symbols in the Apocryphal Acts of Thomas, in: Oriens I, 1926, pp. 23–24.Google Scholar
page 397 note 2 Phillips, G., The Doctrine of Addai the Apostle, London 1876Google Scholar. A favourite expression is ‘to sow the word of life’. This is found in The Doctrine on p. 8, in the Acts of Thomas on p. 176 and in the Hom, of Narsai on pp. 33, 45, and 51.
page 397 note 3 Cf. again the Doctrine of Addai, p. 2 2: ‘… that for which our Lord eame into the world was altogether to teach and show that at the end of created things is a resurrection for all men’. See also Ephrem's Carmina Nisibena, 43–51 and Aphraates' Dem. VIII.