Theos-Talk Archives (January 2006 Message tt00071)

Gregory - 
Thanks for your post on the "Aramaic Lord's Prayer" business. I 
very much agree with what you say, and, IMHO, the same applies to 
Neil Douglas-Klotz's more famous yet equally dubious "translation."

I would have no problem with any of these renderings of the Lord's 
Prayer if folks were very clear about the fact that these are 
personal, modern interpretations - and not in any way literal 
translations of the text.

For anyone to whom this seems a bit hard-nosed ---- If you are 
really interested in the biblical text, it is well worth taking a 
little Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek at your local university or 
seminary. I'm not particularly good at languages, but had to suffer 
through the required amount in Divinity School, and am glad that I 
did. It doesn't take a lot to acquire enough familiarity to use 
standard resources to check out issues for yourself.

Best,
John