Aramaic (air-uh-MAY-ick) is one of a family of ancient languages known as Semitic. The Semitic language family also includes Hebrew and Arabic - as well as Akkadian, Assyrian, Babylonian, and others dating back as far as 5,000 years. Although these languages share common roots, a rich history, and a family resemblance, each one is separate and distinct, just as French, Italian and Portuguese - all languages in the Romance family - are separate and distinct from each other. 

shmaya (sh-MY-ah): Usually translated as heaven. Expanded meanings include: light ever-renewing; sound without end; radiant Name; light and sound shining through all Creation

For centuries the language of great kings and prophets, by Yeshua's time Aramaic had become the common spoken language of the Jewish people in the Middle East. Hebrew had all but disappeared as a spoken language as much as 400 years before the time of Jesus, and was used almost exclusively by priests and rabbis in their own studies and high religious ceremonies.

taba (TAH-bah): Usually translated as good. More accurately: ripe; ready in the fullness of ripeness; in the right place and the right time

Aramaic served as the language of day-to-day conversations and commerce for the people of Yeshua's world. Yet, like other Semitic languages, Aramaic also has some unique characteristics that make it an especially rich vehicle for expressing spiritual wisdom and a mystic vision.

rukha (ROO-khah): spirit (as in "Holy Spirit." Also: breath; air; atmosphere

In Aramaic, many words carry not just a single literal meaning, but multiple meanings and interpretative shadings all at the same time. So while Aramaic speakers would certainly hear and understand the literal or "practical" meanings while shopping, for instance, or gossiping about the news of the day, the many imbedded or expanded meanings and shadings would serve to enrich and deepen a message whose content is spiritual, visionary, or mystical in nature.

b'shemi (BEH-shem-ee): In my name (as in Pray or Ask in my name). Also: in my nature; with my consciousness; with my experience; (pray or ask) as I do

"Those who have ears to hear," in other words, not only would have heard the literal meaning of Yeshua's words, but would also have understood and responded to the many rich additional nuances and shadings that were enfolded into them.

bisha (BEE-shah): Usually translated as evil. More accurately: unripe; overripe; not ready or right for its purpose

Aramaic is a living but endangered language. Today, the greatly diminished numbers of native Aramaic speakers are scattered in communities around the world; fewer than one-third still live in or near their war-torn, millennia-old homeland in the Middle East. The threat of Aramaic disappearing entirely as a living language is so grave that on Oct. 28, 2007, the Foundation for Endangered Languages adopted a resolution to name Aramaic as a "World Heritage Language," in an effort to garner global support to protect it from extinction. 

• In Syria's Maalula, Christ's Language is Disappearing (Middle East Online, May 8, 2019)
• Where Do Languages Go to Die? - The tale of Aramaic, a language that once ruled the Middle East and now faces extinction (John McWhorter, The Atlantic, Sept. 10, 2015)
• Is the Islamic State Exterminating the Language of Jesus? - We may be watching the deliberate destruction of Aramaic, unfolding in real time (Ross Perlin, Foreign Policy News, Aug. 14, 2014)

Rita Wahba recites hymns in Aramaic, at the Saint Sarkis monastery in Maaloula, in northern Syria. Pilgrims from the entire world once visited the village to see its religious buildings, and to hear Aramaic spoken on the streets.  But the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011 changed everything. Rebels and jihadists linked to Al-Qaeda seized Maaloula in late 2013, forcing most of its Christian inhabitants to flee. Regime forces recaptured it in April 2014, seven months after the insurgents first entered the village. But two-thirds of its inhabitants have yet to return. (Courtesy of Middle East Online)