| The Bible in English |
| Old English (pre-1066) |
| Middle English (1066–1500) |
| Early Modern English (1500–1800) |
| Modern Christian (1800–) |
| Modern Jewish (1853–) |
| Miscellaneous |
Formally titled The Holy Bible from Ancient Eastern Manuscripts, the Lamsa Bible (which it is commonly called, after its editor, George M. Lamsa) first appeared in 1933. It was derived, both Old and New Testaments, from the Syriac Peshitta, the Bible used by the Assyrian Church of the East and other Syriac Christian traditions.
Lamsa claimed Aramaic primacy, against the academic mainstream opinion of the original New Testament texts, and thus claimed his translation was superior to texts based on later Greek manuscripts.
The Peshitta, unlike other English Bibles, was translated from earlier Aramaic manuscripts instead of later Greek and Hebrew texts. The New Testament translators of the King James Version, for example, used an edition of Erasmus' Greek Textus Receptus. The Aramaic primacy of the New Testament text is considered by its proponents to be more accurate than the text used for the KJV of the Holy Bible.
Some places in the Lamsa Bible differ greatly from other English-language Bibles. The most controversial of the Bible's rendering is in Matthew.
Matthew 27:46 is rendered in the KJV:
And about the ninth hour
Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying,
Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?
that is to say,
My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
In contrast, Matthew 27:46 is rendered in the Lamsa Bible:
And about the ninth hour,
Jesus cried out with a loud voice and said,
Eli, Eli lemana shabakthan!
My God, my God, for this I was spared!
The text of this verse in the Peshitta in Syriac[1] reads:
ܘܠܐܦ̈ܝ ܬܫܥ ܫܥ̈ܝܢ
ܩܥܐ ܝܫܘܥ ܒܩܠܐ ܪܡܐ ܘܐܡܪ
ܐܝܠ ܐܝܠ ܠܡܢܐ ܫܒܩܬܢܝ
This verse in Greek manuscripts state that from the Cross, Jesus (quoting Psalm 22:1) cried out, 'My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?' (See Matthew 27:46) proponents of Aramaic primacy such as the Nestorian Church claim this verse is a mistranslation into Greek.
Proponents of Aramaic primacy also claim that in Matthew 19:24 as the Aramaic word for 'camel' is written identically to the word for 'rope.' an error occurred due to the translator's limitations when the original scrolls were being transferred into Greek.
This would mean Matthew 19:24 commonly translated as, 'It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God.' Would insteed read 'rope' instead of 'camel'. To support this they claim that rope, is much more in keeping with the imagery of a needle, and that it is probably what Jesus said, and what was originally recorded.
However, Saint Cyril in his commentary on the Holy Gospel according to Luke (Luke 18:25) says that camel is the term used by those versed in navigation for a thick rope, thereby both stating that the term camel is the right one, but that it meaning is that of a rope and not the animal.
The views of Aramaic primacy go against Orthodox Christianity, Catholic Christianity, most branches within Protestant Christianity, as well as most modern biblical scholars, who hold to that although the Gospel of Matthew (and not anything else) may have been translated into Greek the translation is accurate and maybe even by Saint Matthew himself.
Lamsa, George. The Holy Bible from Ancient Eastern Manuscripts. ISBN 0-06-064923-2.