has the essential fault of being much too indefinite, and of easily misleading the unlearned to confound the ancient Hebrew with the Aramaic, which succeeded in its place after the Babylonian exile. It is, therefore, on good grounds that, in modern times, a name less liable to such a misunderstanding has been sought for the language prevailing in Palestine at the time of Christ, and that the appellation of Syro-Chaldaic' has been brought into fashion. But since the proper Chaldaic,' as has already been observed, is utterly unknown to us; and the Syriac (Aramaic) language, as far as we know, was, till the time of Christ, not different from the Chaldaic (Babylonian) language; and, consequently, the appellation of Chaldaic appears to be identical with that of Syriac, it perhaps would be most appropriate,

Jerome has probably first introduced this appellation, by using the word Hebrew (Babylonian Aramaic) and SyroChaldaic, as synonymes. Thus, he says, for example, Lib. ii. comm. ad Matth. xii. 13, that he has translated the Gospel of the Hebrews, "de Hebræo sermone;" and Lib. iii. advers. Pelag. c. i. Speaking of this same Gospel, he says it is "Chaldaico Syroque sermone, sed hebraeis litteris Scriptum." Fabricii Cod. Apoc. N. T. edit. 2; Hamb. 1719;

8vo. vol. i. p. 367, sq.

The author means the ancient Chaldaic.-Transl.

if we were to assign to the Palestinian (originally Babylonian Aramaic) language, by way of distinguishing it from other dialects, the simple name of PALESTINIAN ARAMAIC, or PALESTINIAN SYRIAC, language; for Aramaic and Syriact are completely equivalent.

§ 12. The HELLENISTS, residing at Jerusalem, of whom mention is made in the Acts of the Apostles, are frequently appealed to as a proof, that the Jews who lived in Palestine at the time of the Apostles, were acquainted with the Greek tongue. According to the common opinion, these, i. e. the Hellenists, were utterly unacquainted with the language of the country, and, on that account, had in Palestine their culiar synagogues, in which the Alexandrian version and the Targums were used, instead of the original Hebrew text. Willingly, as we admit, that several, and, in particular, wealthy Palestinian Jews, besides their own language, understood the Greek or Latin, (for this can be proved from Josephus and the Talmudists,) we much hesitate whether we should give our

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t Strabo 1. ed. Siebenkees, p. 112. O¡ vợ' ñμãv Zugoì xaλoúμενοι ὑπ' αὐτῶν τῶν. Συρῶν—Αραμμαῖοι καλοῦνται. Joseph. Antiq. i. 6, 4. Αραμμαίους Αραμος ἔσχεν, οὓς Ἕλληνες Συροὺς προσαγορεύουσιν.

consent to this common theory respecting the Hellenists dwelling in Palestine. For our doubts, we have the following reasons:

1. The received theory is only founded on the name HELLENISTS, given to a part of the Jews at Jerusalem, Acts vi. 1; ix. 29; but from this appellation, it does by no means follow, that the distinguishing character of this party is to be sought for in the Greek language, which, it is supposed, was peculiar to them. For, 1st, How does it happen that the Jews in Asia Minor, in Greece, and in other countries where the Greek language predominated, are never in the Acts called Hellenists? that even Paul himself, although born in Tarsus, a Greek city, never calls himself an Hellenist, but always a Hebrew, or a Jew?— how does this happen, if this name was peculiar to Jews speaking Greek? 2dly, It was a Judaical façon de parler, to divide all nations in the world, with regard to religion, into Jews and Greeks (Ιουδαίους και Ελληνας.) The lat ter name was given to those who were not Jews; because at the time when this appellation was brought into fashion, the neighbouring nations, with whom the Jews were most acquainted, such as Syrians and Egyptians, were subject to Greek sovereigns, and, ac

cordingly, called Greeks. In conformity with this manner of speaking, even those nations who spoke Aramaic, such as the Syrians and SyroPhoenicians," although by no means speaking the Greek language, received the appellation of Greeks. Now, if we derive the word Hellenist from this signification, which was current among the Jews, Hellenistic Jews can mean nothing else but proselytes, or descendants of proselytes, who were always held in lower estimation by those Jews that belonged to the twelve tribes, i. e. by the Hebrews, in the more limited acceptation of the term, and from their heathen descent were called Hellenists. Accordingly, the Aramaic proselytes and their descendants were quite as much Hellenists, as those of Greek or Roman descent, of which latter class there surely could never be a great number in Palestine; because proselytes, made by remote Jews who spoke Greek, cannot be supposed to have been driven by their conver

" In Mark vii. 26, A yuvǹ ZugwQoíviora rỡ yével, who, accordingly, must have spoken the Aramaic, is called 'Eλanvis ; and Josephus, Bell. Jud. ii. 137, coll. xiv. 4. uses the words Έλληνες and Συροί as equivalent terms. Even the Peschito sometimes limits the appellation "Eλany, for example, Acts xvi. 1, and xix. 20, merely to Aramians, and substitutes for it simply the word

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sion to leave the country, in order to settle in Palestine.

2. Even, if among the Hellenists here alluded to, several Greek-speaking Jews had been found, it still remains extremely improbable that they should be so entirely unacquainted with the language of Palestine, as is commonly supposed. The Jews who dwelt in the Greek cities of Asia Minor, in Egypt, in Greece Proper, and in other countries where the Greek tongue was spoken, everywhere formed separate and (if we may use the expression,) close colonies, completely isolated by their religion, manners, and customs, and avoiding all intimate connexion and intercourse with the natives of the country. Colonies of this kind usually long retain their own language, even in foreign parts; and for their trade and intercourse with the natives it is sufficient, when only a few of them understand the language of the country. Must it

[A striking instance of the truth of this remark, is a colony of Dutch farmers and cowfeeders on the island Amak, (Danish Amager,) in the immediate neighbourhood of Copenhagen, who, on account of the superiority of the Dutch in this kind of trade, were invited to settle there in the beginning of the sixteenth century. I said island of Amak; for such it really is, although part of it lies within the walls of Copenhagen, and is separated from the rest of that city

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