Dr. Jonathan Loopstra is using his expert knowledge of Syriac, the dialect of the Aramaic language that Jesus spoke, to bring together experts on ancient languages from around the world.
He and his colleague, Dr. Elvira Martín Contreras, senior research fellow at the Institute of Mediterranean and Near Eastern Languages and Cultures in Spain, hosted an international symposium in Madrid in February titled Techniques for Preserving God’s Word in Syriac, Hebrew and Arabic Sacred Texts. The symposium was funded in part by a federal connection grant from the Social Science and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) of Canada.
Breaking new ground, this symposium was the first time scholars from the three great Semitic language traditions—Jewish Hebrew, Aramaic Syriac Christian and Muslim Arabic—met together to compare notes about what was happening in the eighththrough 12th-century period when the Masora—guides to the Bible—began to appear.
“[We met] together to discuss how scribes from these three Semitic languages dealt with similar issues, though they were from three different religions,” says Loopstra. It was around the same time that these scribes undertook a common task of passing down their oral traditions of scriptural recitation by setting down vowels, accent marks, and other notes on the page.
I want to give glory to God by being faithful in knowing how the Bible was transmitted over time.
Several of the world’s leading experts in these languages spent full days comparing notes at the symposium, along with nearly a hundred remote participants. This sort of work and meeting of minds had not been attempted before. The work is incredibly detailed and the number of experts in these scriptural manuscripts is quite limited.
“All three of these traditions had to figure out how to create vowels and reading marks because originally all three languages were written using only consonants. That’s a significant shift! Imagine reading the Bible without vowels.” Vowels began to be included regularly into Scriptural manuscripts during the same period in all three languages. “They also began to count the number of letters in each verse to ensure nothing was missing. They began to add chapter dividers. They began to add notes, what we call paratext, that would help you read the text–for example, how to pronounce a word like Methuselah.”
“Our work impacts the average person because we get many of our Bibles from this period,” says Loopstra. “It’s important work, but it’s also rare because it’s very difficult work. We’re dealing with the minutiae of how the Scriptures were preserved.”
Being awarded a SSHRC grant has provided additional opportunities for Canadian student involvement in manuscript studies happening in Europe. The symposium included an open question and answer session on Zoom for Canadian students, including a number of Redeemer students.
There’s no substitute for knowing the original languages. Learn Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic. Be able to dissect the Bible on your own. To know and be able to work with the original languages makes all the difference.
“For Redeemer students this is great because they can see how scholarship works … they can be involved in the process of exploration.”
Redeemer students can benefit from Loopstra’s in-depth Biblical knowledge. In core courses, instructors discuss how the Bible was formed, the canon of Scripture and different versions of the Bible. He also teaches Modern Middle East and Church History courses where he talks about relationships between
Christians, Muslims and Jews. “Did the scribes compare notes? Did the scribes of the different traditions talk to each other in this period? We know that they likely did because they were dealing with similar issues. We know that they weren’t isolated.”
Loopstra first got involved in studying ancient languages during his undergraduate studies at Northwestern College where he studied under a Dead Sea Scroll scholar learning Hebrew and Greek. He holds a master’s of Christian Thought from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and a master’s in Syriac studies from Oxford University, as well as a PhD in Early Christian Studies from the Catholic University of America where he studied most of the languages of the Bible and the Eastern Christian world.
“I want to give glory to God by being faithful in knowing how the Bible was transmitted over time.”
Another way Loopstra passes down his knowledge is by teaching doctoral students at the Minnesota Hill Monastic Manuscript Library. The library is known for having digitally preserved tens of thousands of manuscripts. Last summer he taught advanced level Syriac to students from around the world, and he plans to return this summer.
“There’s no substitute for knowing the original languages. Learn Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic. Be able to dissect the Bible on your own. To know and be able to work with the original languages makes all the difference.
Loopstra was the first person to translate a professional edition of the Syriac Aramaic version of the book of Job, which differs from the Hebrew in many ways. His most recent translation work has been as editor of portions of the New Testament of what will be the first ever English translation of the entire Syriac Aramaic Bible. The translation will be used by scholars and by tens of thousands of Christians in their liturgies around the world.