“Agape” and the Aramaic version of the gospels

Recently a friend gave me Neil Douglas-Klotz’s book about an Aramaic version of the Gospels, Prayers of the Cosmos: Reflections on the Original Meaning of Jesus’s Word. Of course the Greek word ‘agape’ is not used, but his speculation was ‘ahebw’ was the Aramaic word that Jesus used that was translated as the Greek ‘agape’ and mistranslated into the English word ‘love.’  

In the Textual Notes (p. 85) to the quote “Love your enemies” (Luke 6:27, 35), the note about ‘ahebw’ is “The word ‘ahebw’ differs greatly from ‘rahm’ {the commonly used word for love}. Here one does not find the breath of compassion and mercy, but an even more mysterious impersonal force, one that acts in secret to bring separate beings together to create new life.”

That note showed me that ‘ahebw’ was just as unusual a word for the audience of Jesus as ‘agape’ was for the audience of Paul. The point is the common word for ‘love’ was not used. And so no English translation should use ‘love.’

 {That’s why I found a deeper understanding throughout this compendium of altered quotes in this blog when the more spiritual meaning of ‘love’ is replaced with ‘agape’  (as when ‘agape’ is shown in 1 John 4:7 “God is agape”).

So in the following translations from sayings of Jesus, wherever ‘love’ is used in a spiritual/mystical sense, it was changed to ‘agape.’}

“From the deepest part of yourself, let agape be born for the rays of the One that shine around you. From this self liberate your whole animal energy and life force to flood your entire grasping mind with agape.

“Help us share agape beyond our ideals and sprout acts of compassion for all creatures. As we find your agape in ours, let heaven and nature form a new creation. Create in me a divine cooperation — from many selves, one voice, one action.

“As human beings, one of the most precious things we can give one another is our complete understanding and support, each day and each moment as we are able, with all our perceived limitations included.

“Blessed are those in emotional turmoil; they shall be united inside by agape.

“Tuned to the Source are those who shine from the deepest place in their bodies. Upon them shall be the rays of agape. Aligned with the One are those whose lives radiate from a core of agape; they shall see God everywhere. Aligned with the One are the compassionate; upon them shall be compassion.”

{And so I include the following quote because the study of the word for ‘heart’ is very helpful to understand Romans 5:5 “God’s agape has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.”}

“The word translated as ‘heart’ (‘lebak’ or ‘lebhon’), literally the center of one’s life, also carries the sense of any center from which life radiates — a sense of expansion plus generative power: vitality, desire, affection, courage, and audacity all rolled into one. In the old roots the picture is given of an interior action of creative generation that expands from the center.”