| − | In 36 A.D., both the Queen of Adiabene, known in Greek as Queen Helena (not the mother of Constantine) and known to the Jews as Queen ShlomZion ("Peace of Zion"), and her son King Ezad were converted to Judaism. Queen Helena was buried in the grand tomb complex in East Jerusalem - formally thought to be the Tomb of the Kings. Her palace complex takes up the full half of the Hill of the City of David as reconstructered by Israeli archaeologist, Mikhael Avi-Yonah (reconstruction now in the Israel Museum, Jerusalem). Queen Helena commissioned or furthered the translation of the Hebrew Scriptures in her Kingdom's language - Aramaic. That developing translation came to be known as the Peshitta - meaning simple or common speech, in much the same way as the Greek Bible would be translated into Latin and be called the Vulgate - meaning simple or common speech. The Peshitta retains elements of the then Jewish "targumic" (interpretive) understanding of the Hebrew Bible. (A History of Christianity in Asia, Volume l, Samuel Hugh Moffett,orbis, 1998, pg. 70). | + | In 36 A.D., both the Queen of Adiabene, known in Greek as Queen Helena (not the mother of Constantine) and known to the Jews as Queen ShlomZion ("Peace of Zion"), and her son King Ezad were converted to Judaism. Queen Helena was buried in the grand tomb complex in East Jerusalem - formally thought to be the Tomb of the Kings. Her palace complex takes up the full half of the Hill of the City of David as reconstructered by Israeli archaeologist, Mikhael Avi-Yonah (reconstruction now in the Israel Museum, Jerusalem). Queen Helena commissioned or furthered the translation of the Hebrew Scriptures in her Kingdom's language - Aramaic. That developing translation came to be known as the Peshitta - meaning simple or common speech, in much the same way as the Hebrew Bible would be translated into Latin by Jerome, with extensive help form a Rabbi,and the resultant translation would be called the Vulgate - meaning simple or common speech. The Peshitta retains elements of the then Jewish "targumic" (interpretive) understanding of the Hebrew Bible. (A History of Christianity in Asia, Volume l, Samuel Hugh Moffett,orbis, 1998, pg. 70). |
| | When Thomas' followers (possibly Adai (Thaddeus), the Galilean from Caesarea Phillipi among them) arrived in Adiabene, and having gone, to the synagogues first, they found already, if not a populous, then an elite governmental element, conversant with the biblical message in Aramaic. From these people, hearing the preaching of the messengers from Israel , came believers in Jesus Christ, and soon after, came the translation of the Greek New Testamet Scriptures into Aramaic, and so the Peshitta was added to by inclusion of the New Testament in Aramaic. | | When Thomas' followers (possibly Adai (Thaddeus), the Galilean from Caesarea Phillipi among them) arrived in Adiabene, and having gone, to the synagogues first, they found already, if not a populous, then an elite governmental element, conversant with the biblical message in Aramaic. From these people, hearing the preaching of the messengers from Israel , came believers in Jesus Christ, and soon after, came the translation of the Greek New Testamet Scriptures into Aramaic, and so the Peshitta was added to by inclusion of the New Testament in Aramaic. |