a.      Semitic people

b.      Migrated to Syria during the decline of the Hittites (circa 1100 BCE)

c.       Established small, prosperous kingdoms

 

     II.            Damascus

a.      Leading Aramean kingdom

b.      Circa 1000-700 BCE – traded heavily

c.       732 BCE – conquered by Assyria

 

  III.            Contribution – language

a.      Aramean alphabet adopted by the new Babylonian empire (7^th century BCE)

b.      Common language of the Near East

c.       Temporarily replaced Hebrew

                                                              i.      Used for some later books of the Christian Old Testament/Hebrew Tanakh

                                                            ii.      Spoken in Greco-Roman Palestine and Judea

1.      Spoken by Jesus

 

 IV.            Review questions

a.     Where did the Arameans settle circa 1100 BCE?

b.  What is considered to be the most significant contribution of the Arameans to world history?