The Bible in Aramaic

The Bible in Aramaic

From Biblical Time Machine by Helen Bond & Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones

June 8, 2026 · 35 min

About this episode

This episode explores the significance of Aramaic in the context of the Bible and ancient literature with expert Tawny Holm.

Many of us think of the Bible as a book written in Hebrew and Greek, overlooking the important role of Aramaic—the lingua franca of much of the ancient Near East. In this episode, Helen and Lloyd climb into the Time Machine with Tawny Holm, one of the world's leading experts on Aramaic, to explore the language's history, literature, and cultural significance. Who spoke and wrote Aramaic? What kinds of texts were composed in it? And how can Aramaic literature beyond the Bible help us better un...

People in this episode

Hosts: Helen Bond, Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones

Guest: Tawny Holm

Topics covered

  • Aramaic
  • Bible
  • language history
  • cultural significance
  • ancient texts

Keywords

  • Aramaic
  • Bible
  • language
  • history
  • literature
  • cultural significance
  • ancient Near East

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: The Bible

Places: ancient Near East

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