Can someone confirm this, please?

This books states the following on Divorce: https://www.logos.com/product/311127/idioms-in-the-bible-explained-and-a-key-to-the-original-gospels

Divorce
“And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and who-so marrieth her which is ‘shvikta’ (undivorced) does commit adultery.”
St. Matthew 19: 9. (Literal translation from Aramaic)
The Aramaic word “shvikta” means “an undivorced woman.” A woman whose husband has not given her divorce papers. The Aramaic for divorced is “shrita,” which means the one on whom the sacred bond has loosened.
The law of Moses permitted divorces on moral and criminal grounds. Nevertheless as the statutes of women in the East are inferior to those of men, men often tire of their wives and let them go but do not bother to obtain decrees of divorce. In this case, Jesus only condemned those who took advantage of the laxity of the law. He only attacked those who married women who were not actually divorced by law.

My question is about the Aramaic terms for undivorced and divorced. Is it true that the term undivorced “shvikta” is the one that appears in Matt 19:9 in the Aramaic Bible?

Thanks!

DAL

Edit: Maybe is the version the author is using because I checked an Aramaic/English online and is definitely not what this author says. 🤔 I wonder where he got that from.

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Christian Alexander

here is a good word study on the aramaic language https://www.chaimbentorah.com/2016/08/word-study-divorce-aramaic-%EF%AC%AA%D7%91%D7%AA%D7%90-shin-beth-taw-aleph/ This book has a good discussion on page 49 Hebraic Perspectives of the Gospel by Robert Barry Davis.

Jan Krohn

That is literally the only resource in the full catalog that contains the word "shvikta". That is, to say it mildly, suspicious.

Jan Krohn

Mat 19 - TheHolyAramaicScriptures.com (weebly.com)

ܐܡܪ ܐܢܐ ܠܟܘܢ ܕܝܢ ܕܡܢ ܕܫܒܩ ܐܢܬܬܗ ܕܠܐ ܓܘܪܐ ܘܢܣܒ ܐܚܪܬܐ ܓܐܪ ܘܡܢ ܕܢܣܒ ܫܒܝܩܬܐ ܓܐܪ
9 But, I say unto you that he who leaves anttheh {his wife}, without the cause of gura {adultery}, and takes another, commits adultery. And he who takes a shabiyqtha {a divorced woman}, commits adultery.

As a non Aramaic speaker, it looks to me that shvikta and shabiyqtha could be the same word.

HJ. van der Wal

"How far removed is the cautious circumspection of Aramaic scholars from the reckless speculations of G. M. Lamsa!"

(Edwin M. Yamauchi, "Greek, Hebrew Aramaic, or Syriac? A Critique of the Claims of G.M. Lamsa for the Syriac Peshitta" in: Bibliotheca Sacra 131, p. 331)

Is it true that the term undivorced “shvikta” is the one that appears in Matt 19:9 in the Aramaic Bible?

Shalom DAL!

The term does indeed appear in the Syriac Peshitta in Matthew 19:9 but if you run an Aramaic Word Study for שבק (note: in Logos you can simple type "a:sbq" and hit <enter>) then you will probably see for yourself that both in Syriac and in other dialects of the Armaic language the verb ShBQ can also mean "to divorce". I can see no ground for Lamsa's claim that the passive participle שביק can have the meaning "undivorced".

You could also search your library for references to Mur 19 ar (Murabba'at Writ of Divorce) where the verb ShBQ is used in an official document.

DAL

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1295951#Comment_1295951

Thanks, guys! His conclusion is way off to say the least, but it serves the purpose to show how poor scholarship can lead to horrendous conclusions. The books is a hit and miss, but still somewhat useful as a how not to interpret a verse or saying in the Bible!

DAL