Aram

Bridgeway Bible Dictionary

The Arameans, or people of Aram, were one of the many groups of Semitic peoples who lived in the region of the Bible story. The ancestor from whom they took their name was Aram, the son of Shem, the son of Noah ( Genesis 10:22).

Arameans

By the time the Arameans first appear in the Bible story, they were living in the north-western part of Mesopotamia. This was the territory to which the father of Abraham came when he migrated with his family from Babylonia. They settled around the town of Haran ( Genesis 11:31).

Abraham later moved to Canaan, but the rest of his relatives remained in Aram ( Genesis 12:1;  Genesis 12:4-5). Consequently, they became known as Arameans, though actually they were descended not through Aram but through Arpachshad, another of Shem’s sons ( Genesis 10:22-25;  Genesis 11:10-32). When Abraham wanted to obtain a wife for his son Isaac from among his relatives, he had to send his servant back to Aram to fetch Rebekah ( Genesis 24:10;  Genesis 25:20). (Some versions of the Bible call the Arameans Syrians, though the region was not known as Syria till centuries later.)

Jacob, son of Isaac and Rebekah, also went to Aram, where he obtained for himself two wives. Both of them were daughters of Laban, Rebekah’s brother ( Genesis 28:2-5). Because Jacob had lived twenty years in Aram, and because his wives were from that region, he and his children became known as Arameans ( Genesis 31:20;  Genesis 31:38;  Deuteronomy 26:5).

This explains how the practice developed of sometimes using the name Aramean’ when referring to the forefathers of the nation Israel. The name was related to the place where the forefathers lived, not to their racial descent. The true Arameans do not become prominent in the Bible story till the time of the Israelite monarchy. By that time Aram was known as Syria (see Syria ).

Aramaic

One of the greatest influences the Arameans had was through their language, Aramaic. The Aramaic language spread far and wide, and from the time of Israel’s monarchy onwards was the language most commonly used throughout south-west Asia ( 2 Kings 18:26).

Written Aramaic used letters that were similar to Hebrew letters, and isolated sections of the Old Testament are written in Aramaic instead of the usual Hebrew ( Ezra 4:8-24; Ezra 5;  Ezra 6:1-18;  Ezra 7:12-26;  Jeremiah 10:11;  Daniel 2:4-49; Daniel 3; Daniel 4; Daniel 5; Daniel 6; Daniel 7). In the Persian Empire (539-333 BC) Aramaic was the official language ( Ezra 4:7). With the conquests of Alexander the Great, the Greek language spread throughout his empire and became the official language. But in south-western Asia, Aramaic was still the most commonly used language, in spite of the increasing use of Greek. Aramaic was the language that Jesus and his disciples usually spoke ( Mark 5:41;  Mark 7:34;  Mark 15:34), though they also spoke and wrote Greek, the language in which the New Testament is written.

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

1. The name of three men in the Bible: a son of Shem,  Genesis 10:22 , a grandson of Nahor,  Genesis 22:21 , and an ancestor of our Lord,  Ruth 4:19   1 Chronicles 2:10   Matthew 1:3   Luke 3:33   2 . Nearly synonymous with Syria; the Hebrew name of the whole region northeast of Palestine, extending from the Tigris on the east nearly to the Mediterranean on the west, and to the Taurus range on the north. It was named after Aram the son of Shem. Thus defined, it includes also Mesopotamia, which the Hebrews named Aram-naharaim, Aram of the two rivers,  Genesis 25:20   48:7 . Various cities in the western part of Aram gave their own names to the regions around them: as Damascus, (Aram-Dammesek,)  2 Samuel 8:6; Maachah, near Bashan,  1 Chronicles 19:6; Geshur,  Joshua 12:5   2 Samuel 15:8; Zobah, and Beth-rehob,  2 Samuel 10:6,8 . Several of these were powerful states, and often waged war against Israel. David subdued them and made them tributaries, and Solomon preserved this supremacy. After him it was lost, except perhaps under Jeroboam II. See Syria , Padan-Aram . The Aramaean language, nearly resembling the Hebrew, gradually supplanted the latter as a spoken language, and was in use in Judea at the time of Christ. It is still used by Syrian Christians around Mosul.

Smith's Bible Dictionary

A'ram. (High).

1. The name by which the Hebrews designated, generally, the country lying to the northeast of Palestine; the great mass of that high tableland which, rising with sudden abruptness from the Jordan and the very margin of the Lake of Gennesaret, stretched at an elevation of no less than 2000 feet above the level of the sea, to the banks of the Euphrates itself.

Throughout the Authorized Version, the word is, with only a very few exceptions, rendered, as in the Vulgate and LXX, Syria . Its earliest occurrence in the book of Genesis is in the form of Aram-Naharaim, that is, the "highland of or between the two rivers."  Genesis 24:10. Authorized Version, "Mesopotamia".

In the later history, we meet with a number of small nations or kingdoms forming parts of the general land of Aram ; but as Damascus increased in importance, it gradually absorbed the smaller powers,  1 Kings 20:1, and the name of Aram was at last applied to it alone.  Isaiah 7:8, also  1 Kings 11:24-25;  1 Kings 15:18, etc.

2. Another Aram is named in  Genesis 22:21 as a son of Kemuel and descendant of Nahor.

3. An Asherite, one of the sons of Shamer.  1 Chronicles 7:34.

4. Son of Esrom or Hezron, and the Greek form of the Hebrew, Ram .  Matthew 1:3-4;  Luke 3:33.

Fausset's Bible Dictionary

("high table land".)

1. The elevated region from the N. E. of Palestine to the Euphrates and Tigris. Balaam's home ( Numbers 23:7;  Deuteronomy 23:4). Syria, stretching from the Jordan and lake Gennesareth to the Euphrates, rising 2000 feet above the level of the sea. In contrast to Canaan, the lowland bordering on the Mediterranean. In  Genesis 24:10 (Heb.) Aram Naharaim means "the highland between the two rivers," i.e. Mesopotamia. Padan Aram (from Paddah , a plow), "the cultivated highland," is the same as Aram ( Genesis 31:18). In Shalmaneser's inscriptions, 900-860 B.C. the Hittites (Khatte), under the name Palena, occur as occupying the valley of the Orontes and eastward.

Some identify this name with Padan Aram and Batanaea or Bashan. Many petty kingdoms in David's time formed parts of the whole Aram, Aram Rehob, Aram Zobah, etc. (See Aram Rehob, Aram Zobah ) Damascus subsequently absorbed these. In Genesis 10 Aram is described as son of Shem; Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, and Aram (arranged in the geographical order from E. to W.) being the four brethren. Aram (Syrian) stands for Assyrian in  2 Kings 18:26;  Jeremiah 35:11.

2. Another Aram ( Genesis 22:21), son of Kemuel, descended from Nahor; probably head of the tribe Ram, to which belonged Elihu, Job's friend ( Job 32:2).

People's Dictionary of the Bible

Aram ( Â'Ram ), High Region 1. A son of Shem.  Genesis 10:22-23;  1 Chronicles 1:17. 2. A descendant of Nahor, Abraham's brother.  Genesis 22:21. 3. An Asherite.  1 Chronicles 7:34. 4. The son of Esrom, elsewhere called Ram.  Matthew 1:3-4;  Luke 3:33, A. V., but the R. V. reads Ami.

Aram, Highlands. The elevated region northeast of Palestine, toward the Euphrates river.  Numbers 23:7;  1 Chronicles 1:17;  1 Chronicles 2:23. It was nearly identical with Syria. Aram-naharaim of  Genesis 24:10 is translated Mesopotamia in the English Version, and refers to the region between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers. There were probably several petty kingdoms included under Aram, as Aram-zobah, Aram Beth-rehob, Aram Damascus, Padan-aram; all these were gradually absorbed by that of Damascus, which became the capital of all "Aram," or Syria.

Easton's Bible Dictionary

 Genesis 10:22 Genesis 22:21 Matthew 1:3,4 Luke 3:33 1 Chronicles 2:10

The word means high, or highlands, and as the name of a country denotes that elevated region extending from the northeast of Palestine to the Euphrates. It corresponded generally with the Syria and Mesopotamia of the Greeks and Romans. In  Genesis 25:20;  31:20,24;  Deuteronomy 26:5 , the word "Syrian" is properly "Aramean" (RSV, marg.). Damascus became at length the capital of the several smaller kingdoms comprehended under the designation "Aram" or "Syria."

Morrish Bible Dictionary

1. Son of Shem.  Genesis 10:22,23;  1 Chronicles 1:17 .

2. Son of Kemuel, Abraham's nephew.  Genesis 22:21 .

3. Son of Shamer, of the tribe of Asher.  1 Chronicles 7:34 .

4. Son of Esrom, and father of Aminadab.  Matthew 1:3,4;  Luke 3:33 : called RAM,  Ruth 4:19;  1 Chronicles 2:9,10 .

5. Place in the land of Gilead, east of the Jordan, which Jair captured.  1 Chronicles 2:23 .

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

ARAM . 1 . A grandson of Nahor (  Genesis 22:21 ). 2 . An Asherite (  1 Chronicles 7:34 ). 3 . AV [Note: Authorized Version.] of   Matthew 1:3 ,   Luke 3:33 . See Arni, Ram.

Holman Bible Dictionary

 Genesis 10:22-23 3 Genesis 22:21 4 1 Chronicles 7:34

Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary

the fifth son of Shem,  Genesis 10:22 . He was the father of the Syrians, who from him were called Aramaeans, or Aramites.

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

(Heb. Aram', אֲרָם , prob. from רָם , High, q. d. highlands; Sept. and N.,T. Ἀράμ see Gesenius, Thes. Heb. p. 151; Forbiger, Alte Geogr. 2, 641, Anm.), the name of a nation or country, with that of its founder and two or three other men. (See Betharam). Comp. (See Cuneiform Inscriptions).

1. ARAMAEA (Sept. and later versions SYRIA) was the name given by the Hebrews to the tract of country lying between Phoenicia on the west, Palestine on the south, Arabia Deserta and the River Tigris on the east, and the mountain range of Taurus on the north. Many parts of this extensive territory have a much lower level than Palestine; but it might receive the designation of "highlands," because it does rise to a greater elevation than that country at most points of immediate contact, and especially on the side of Lebanon. Aram, or Aramaea, seems to have corresponded generally to the Syria (q.v.) and Mesopotamia (q.v.) of the Greeks and Romans. We find the following divisions expressly noticed in Scripture. (See Canaan).

1. ARAM'-DAMME'SEK; אֲרִם דִּמֶּשֶׂק , the "Syria of Damascus" conquered by David.  2 Samuel 8:5-6, where it denotes only the territory around Damascus; but elsewhere "Aram," in connection with its capital "Damascus," appears to be used in a wider sense for Syria Proper ( Isaiah 7:1;  Isaiah 7:8;  Isaiah 17:3;  Amos 1:5). At a later period Damascus gave name to a district, the Syria Damascena of Pliny (v. 13). To this part of Aram the "land of Hadrach" seems to have belonged ( Zechariah 9:1). (See Damascus).

2. ARAM'I-MAAKAH', אֲרִם מִעֲכָה ( 1 Chronicles 19:6), or simply Maakah ( 2 Samuel 10:6;  2 Samuel 10:8), which, if formed from מָעִךְ , to "Press Together," would describe a country enclosed and hemmed in by mountains, in contradistinction to the next division, Aram-beth-Rehob, i.e. Syria the wide or broad, בֵּית being used in Syria for a "district of country." Aram-Maachah was not far from the northern border of the Israelites on the east of the Jordan (comp.  Deuteronomy 3:14, with  Joshua 13:11;  Joshua 13:13). In  2 Samuel 10:6, the text has "King Maachah," but it is to be corrected from the parallel passage in  1 Chronicles 19:7, "king of Maachah." (See Maachah).

3. ARAM'-BEYTH-RECHOB', אֲרִם בֵּית רְחוֹב , the meaning of which may be that given above, but the precise locality cannot with certainty be determined ( 2 Samuel 10:6). Some connect it with the Beth-rehob of  Judges 18:28, which Rosenm Ü ller identifies with the Rehob of  Numbers 13:21, situated "as men come to Hamath," and supposes the district to be that now known as the Ardh El-Hhule at the foot of Anti- Libanus, near the sources of the Jordan. A place called Rehob is also mentioned in  Judges 1:31;  Joshua 19:28;  Joshua 19:30;  Joshua 21:31; but it is doubtful if it be the same. Michaelis thinks of the Rechoboth-han-Nahar (lit. Streets, i.e. the village or town on the River Euphrates) of  Genesis 36:37 i but still more improbable is the idea of Bellermann and Jahn that Aram-beth-

Rehob was beyond the Tigris in Assyria. (See Rehob). 4. ARAM'-TSOBAH', אֲרִם צוֹבָה or, in the Syriac form, צוֹבָא , Tsoba ( 2 Samuel 10:6). Jewish tradition has placed Zobah at Aleppo (see the Itinerary of Benjamin of Tudela), whereas Syrian tradition identifies it with Nisibis, a city in the north-east of Mesopotamia. Though the latter opinion long obtained currency under the authority of Michaelis (in his Dissert. De Syria Sobaea, to be found in the Comment. Soc. Gotting. 1769), yet the former seems a much nearer approximation to the truth. We may gather from  2 Samuel 8:3;  2 Samuel 10:16, that the eastern boundary of Aram-Zobah was the Euphrates, but Nisibis was far beyond that river; besides that in the title of the sixtieth (supposing it genuine) Aram-Zobah is clearly distinguished from Aram-Naharaim, or Mesopotamia. It is true, indeed, that in  2 Samuel 10:16, it is said that Hadarezer, king of Zobah, brought against David "Aramites from beyond the river," but these were auxiliaries, and not his own subjects. The people of Zobah are uniformly spoken of as near neighbors of the Israelites, the Damascenes, and other Syrians; and in one place ( 2 Chronicles 8:3) Hamath is called Hamath-Zobah, as pertaining to that district. We therefore conclude that Aram-Zobah extended from the Euphrates westward, perhaps as far north as to Aleppo. It was long the most powerful of the petty kingdoms of Arammea, its princes commonly bearing the name of Hadadezer or Hadarezer. (See Zobah).

5. ARAM'-NAHARA'YIM; אֲרִם נִהֲרִיִם , i.e. Aram Of The Two Rivers, called in Syriac "Beth-Nahrin,' i.e. "the land of the rivers," following the analogy by which the Greeks formed the name Μεσοποταμία , "the country between the rivers." For that Mesopotamia is here designated is admitted universally. The rivers which enclose Mesopotamia are the Euphrates on the west and the Tigris on the east; but it is doubtful whether the Aram- Naharaim of Scripture embraces the whole of that tract or only the northern portion of it ( Genesis 24:10;  Deuteronomy 23:4;  Judges 3:8;  1 Chronicles 19:6; Psalms 60, title). A part of this region of Aram is also called Paddan'-Aram', פִּדִּן אֲרָם , the plain of Aram ( Genesis 25:20;  Genesis 28:2;  Genesis 28:6-7;  Genesis 31:18;  Genesis 33:18), and once simply Paddan ( Genesis 48:7), also Sedeh'-Aram', שְׂדֵה אֲרָם , the field of Aram ( Hosea 12:13), whence the "Campi Mesopotamiae" of Quintus Curtius (3:2, 3; 3:8, 1; 4:9, 6). (See Padan); (See Sadeh). But that the whole of Aram-Naharaim did not belong to the flat country of Mesopotamia appears from the circumstance that Balaam, who ( Deuteronomy 23:4) is called a native of Aram-Naharaim, says ( Numbers 23:7) that he was brought "from Aram, out of the mountains of the east." The Septuagint, in some of these places, has Μεσοποταμία Συρίας , and in others Συρία Ποταμῶν , which the Latins rendered by Syria Interamna. (See Mesopotamia).

6. But though the districts now enumerated be the only ones Expressly Named in the Bible as belonging to Aram, there is no doubt that many more territories were included in that extensive region, e.g. Geshur, Hul, Arpad, Riblah, Hamath, Helbon, Betheden, Berothai, Tadmor, Hauran, Abilene, etc., though some of them may have formed part of the divisions already specified. (See Ish-Tob).

A native of Aram was called אֲרִמִּי , Arammi', an Aramaean, used of a Syrian ( 2 Kings 5:20), and of a Mesopotamian ( Genesis 25:20). The feminine was אֲרִמִּיָּה , Arammiyah', an Aramitess ( 1 Chronicles 7:14), and the plural אֲרִמִּים , Aramminm ( 2 Kings 8:29), once ( 2 Chronicles 22:5) in a shortened form רִמִּים , Rammim'. (See Aramaean Language). Traces of the name of the Aramaeans are to be found in the ῎Αριμοι And Ἀραμαῖοι of the Greeks (Strabo, 13:4, 6; 16:4, 27; comp. Homer's Iliad, 2, 783; Hesiod, Theogn. 804). (See Assyria). The religion of the Syrians was a worship of the powers of nature ( Judges 1:6;  2 Chronicles 28:23; see Creuzer, Symbol. 2, 55 sq.). They were so noted for idolatry, that in the language of the later Jews ארמיותא was used as synonymous with heathenism (see the Mischna of Surenhusius, 2:401; Onkelos on  Leviticus 25:47). Castell, in his Lexic. Heptaglott. col. 229, says the same form of speech prevails in Syriac and Ethiopic. The Hebrew letters ר , resh, and ד , Daleth, are so alike, that they were often mistaken by transcribers; and hence, in the Old Testament, ארם , Aram, is sometimes found instead of אדם , Edom, and Vice Versa. Thus in  2 Kings 16:6, according to the text, the Aramaeans are spoken of as possessing Elath on the Red Sea; but the Masoretic marginal reading has "the Edomites,"

which is also found in many manuscripts, in the Septuagint and Vulgate, and it is obviously the correct reading (Gesenius, Thes. Heb. s. vv.).

It appears from the ethnographic table in the tenth chapter of Genesis ( Genesis 10:22-23) that Aram was a son of Sham, and that his own sons were Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash. If these gave names to districts, Uz was in the north of Arabia Deserta, unless its name was derived rather from Huz, son of Nahor, Abraham's brother ( Genesis 22:21). Hul was probably Coele- Syria; Mash, the Mons Masius north of Nisibis in Mesopotamia; Gether is unknown. Another Aram is mentioned ( Genesis 22:21) as the grandson of Nahor and son of Kemuel, but he is not to be thought of here. The descent of the Aramaeans from a son of Shem is confirmed by their language, which was one of the branches of the Semitic family, and nearly allied to the Hebrew. Many writers, who have copied without acknowledgment the words of Calmet, maintain that the Aramaeans came from Kir, appealing to  Amos 9:7; but while that passage is not free from obscurity, it seems evidently to point, not to the aboriginal abode of the people, but to the country whence God would recover them when banished. The prophet had said ( Amos 1:5) that the people of Aram should go into captivity to Kir (probably the country on the River Kur or Cyrus), a prediction of which we read the accomplishment in  2 Kings 16:9; and the allusion here is to their subsequent restoration. Hartmann thinks Armenia obtained its name from Aram. (See generally Michaelis, Spicileg. 2:121 sq.; Wahl, Alt. u. N. Asien, 1, 299 sq.; Gatterer, Handb. 1, 248; Rosenm Ü ller, Alterth. I, 1:232 sq.; Ritter, Erdkunde, 10:16; Lengerke, Kenaan, 1:218 sq.). (See Syria).

2. The first named son of Kemuel and grandson of Nahor ( Genesis 22:21), B.C. cir. 2000. He is incorrectly thought by many to have given name to Syria, hence the Sept. translates Σύροι . By some he is regarded as same with RAM (See Ram) of  Job 32:2.

3. The last named of the four sons of Shamer or Shomer of the tribe of Asher ( 1 Chronicles 7:34), B.C. cir. 1618.

4. The Greek form among the ancestors of Christ ( Matthew 1:3-4;  Luke 3:33) of the Heb. RAM (See Ram) (q.v.), the son of Hezron and father of Amminadab ( 1 Chronicles 2:9-10).

Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblial Literature

A´ram, the name given by the Hebrews to the tract of country lying between Phoenicia on the west, Palestine on the south, Arabia Deserta and the river Tigris on the east, and the mountain range of Taurus on the north. Many parts of this extensive territory have a much lower level than Palestine, but it might receive the designation of the highlands because it does rise to a greater elevation than that country at most points of immediate contact, and especially on the side of Lebanon. Aram, or Aramaea, seems to have corresponded generally to the Syria and Mesopotamia of the Greeks and Romans (see those articles). We find the following divisions expressly noticed in Scripture:—1. Aram-Dammesek, the 'Syria of Damascus' conquered by David,  2 Samuel 8:5-6, where it denotes only the territory around Damascus; but elsewhere 'Aram,' in connection with its capital 'Damascus,' appears to be used in a wider sense for Syria Proper ( Isaiah 7:1;  Isaiah 7:8;  Isaiah 17:3;  Amos 1:5). To this part of Aram the 'land of Hadrach' seems to have belonged ( Zechariah 9:1). 2. Aram-Maachah ( 1 Chronicles 19:6), or simply Maachah ( 2 Samuel 10:6;  2 Samuel 10:8), was not far from the northern border of the Israelites on the east of the Jordan (comp.  Deuteronomy 3:14, with  Joshua 13:11;  Joshua 13:13). 3. Aram-beth-Rechob, the precise locality of which cannot with certainty be determined. 4. Aram-Zobah ( 2 Samuel 10:6). Jewish tradition has placed Zobah at Aleppo, whereas Syrian tradition identifies it with Nisibis, a city in the north-east of Mesopotamia. The former seems a much nearer approximation to the truth. We may gather from  2 Samuel 3:3;  2 Samuel 10:16, that the eastern boundary of Aram-Zobah was the Euphrates, but Nisibis was far beyond that river. The people of Zobah are uniformly spoken of as near neighbors of the Israelites, the Damascenes, and other Syrians; and in one place ( 2 Chronicles 8:3) Hamath is called Hamath-Zobah, as pertaining to that district. We, therefore, conclude that Aram-Zobah extended from the Euphrates westward, perhaps as far north as to Aleppo. It was long the most powerful of the petty kingdoms of Aramaea, its princes commonly bearing the name of Hadadezer or Hadarezer. 5. Aram-Naharaim, i.e. Aramsof the Two Rivers, or Mesopotamia. The rivers which enclose Mesopotamia are the Euphrates on the west and the Tigris on the east; but it is doubtful whether the Aram-Naharaim of Scripture embraces the whole of that tract or only the northern portion of it (comp.  Genesis 24:10;  Deuteronomy 23:4;  Judges 3:8). A part of this region of Aram is also called Padan-Aram, the plain of Aram ( Genesis 25:20;  Genesis 28:2;  Genesis 28:6-7;  Genesis 31:18;  Genesis 33:18), and once simply Padan ( Genesis 48:7), also Sedeh-Aram, the field of Aram ( Hosea 12:12).

But though the districts now enumerated be the only ones expressly named in the Bible as belonging to Aram, there is no doubt that many more territories were included in that extensive region, e.g.Geshur, Hul, Arpad, Riblah. Tad-mor, Hauran, Abilene, etc. though some of them may have formed part of the divisions already specified. It appears from the ethnographic table in  Genesis 10:22-23 that Aram was a son of Shem, and that his own sons were Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash. Another Aram is mentioned ( Genesis 22:20-21) as the grandson of Nahor and son of Kemuel, but he is not to be thought of here. The descent of the Aramaeans from a son of Shem is confirmed by their language, which was one of the branches of the Semitic family, and nearly allied to the Hebrew.

The Aramaic language—that whole, of which the Chaldee and Syriac dialects form the parts—constitutes the northern and least developed branch of the Syro-Arabian family of tongues. Its cradle was probably on the banks of the Cyrus, according to the best interpretation of  Amos 9:7; but Mesopotamia, Babylonia, and Syria form what may be considered its home and proper domain. Political events, however, subsequently caused it to supplant Hebrew in Palestine; and then it became the prevailing form of speech from the Tigris to the shore of the Mediterranean, and, in a contrary direction, from Armenia down to the confines of Arabia. After obtaining such a wide dominion, it was forced, from the ninth century onwards, to give way before the encroaching ascendency of Arabic; and it now only survives, as a living tongue, among the Syrian Christians in the neighborhood of Mosul. According to historical records, and also according to the comparatively ruder form of the Aramaic language itself, we might suppose that it represents, even in the state in which we have it, some image of that aboriginal type which the Hebrews and Arabians, under more favorable social and climatical influences, subsequently developed into fullness of sound and structure. But it is difficult for us now to discern the particular vestiges of this archaic form; for, not only did the Aramaic not work out its own development of the original elements common to the whole Syro-Arabian sisterhood of languages, but it was preeminently exposed, both by neighborhood and by conquest, to harsh collision with languages of an utterly different family. Moreover, it is the only one of the three great Syro-Arabian branches which has no fruits of a purely national literature to boast of. We possess no monument whatever of its own genius; not any work which may be considered the product of the political and religious culture of the nation, and characteristic of it—as is so emphatically the case both with the Hebrews and the Arabs. The first time we see the language, it is used by Jews as the vehicle of Jewish thought; and although, when we next meet it, it is employed by native authors, yet they write under the literary impulses of Christianity, and under the Greek influence on thought and language which necessarily accompanied that religion. These two modifications, which constitute and define the so-called Chaldee and Syriac dialects, are the only forms in which the normal and standard Aramaic has been preserved to us.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

ā´ram ( ארם , 'ărām ): (1) A son of Shem ( Genesis 10:22;  1 Chronicles 1:17 ). See Arameans; Syria . (2) A grandson of Nahor ( Genesis 22:21 ). (3) A descendant of Asher ( 1 Chronicles 7:34 ). (4) Ἀράμ , Arám , King James Version: Greek form of Ram (thus the Revised Version (British and American)  Matthew 13:4; Arnı́  Luke 3:33 ), grandson of Perez.