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Biblical Aramaic · Biblical Aramaic Readers

Ezra administrative reader

BA-R04Biblical AramaicAramaic of Daniel and Ezra

ORIGINAL LANGUAGE FIRST

פִּתְגָמָא שְׁלַח מַלְכָּא עַל־רְחוּם בְּעֵל־טְעֵם וְשִׁמְשַׁי סָֽפְרָא וּשְׁאָר כְּנָוָתְהוֹן דִּי יָתְבִין בְּשָֽׁמְרָיִן וּשְׁאָר עֲבַֽר־נַהֲרָה שְׁלָם וּכְעֶֽת׃ נִשְׁתְּוָנָא דִּי שְׁלַחְתּוּן עֲלֶינָא מְפָרַשׁ קֱרִי קׇדָמָֽי׃ וּמִנִּי שִׂים טְעֵם וּבַקַּרוּ וְהַשְׁכַּחוּ דִּי קִרְיְתָא דָךְ מִן־יוֹמָת עָֽלְמָא עַל־מַלְכִין מִֽתְנַשְּׂאָה וּמְרַד וְאֶשְׁתַּדּוּר מִתְעֲבֶד־בַּֽהּ׃

Pedagogical transliterationpitgama shelaḥ malka ... nishtevana di shelaḥtun ... u-minni sim te'em

Plain meaningEzra 4:17–19: the king sends a formal reply, acknowledges the letter, and orders a search of the records.
Pointing follows Miqra according to the Masorah (MAM). Cantillation is omitted on the lesson card for visual focus; the underlying evidence retains the complete source reading. Transliterations are pedagogical aids, not replacements for the source.

WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING AT

Ezra administrative reader

Ezra’s Aramaic is represented here by a complete three-verse royal reply. Verse 17 names the recipients and sends peace; verse 18 reports that their letter was read distinctly before the king; verse 19 orders a search and summarizes the city’s record. This provides a real genre contrast with Daniel without treating administrative vocabulary as narrative speech.

HEAR THIS LESSONListen to the full public explanation.Teacher narration is separate from original-language pronunciation.
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SEE HOW IT WORKS

Keep the form, reading, and meaning together.

פִּתְגָמָא שְׁלַח מַלְכָּא עַל־רְחוּם בְּעֵל־טְעֵם וְשִׁמְשַׁי סָֽפְרָא וּשְׁאָר כְּנָוָתְהוֹן דִּי יָתְבִין בְּשָֽׁמְרָיִן וּשְׁאָר עֲבַֽר־נַהֲרָה שְׁלָם וּכְעֶֽת׃ נִשְׁתְּוָנָא דִּי שְׁלַחְתּוּן עֲלֶינָא מְפָרַשׁ קֱרִי קׇדָמָֽי׃ וּמִנִּי שִׂים טְעֵם וּבַקַּרוּ וְהַשְׁכַּחוּ דִּי קִרְיְתָא דָךְ מִן־יוֹמָת עָֽלְמָא עַל־מַלְכִין מִֽתְנַשְּׂאָה וּמְרַד וְאֶשְׁתַּדּוּר מִתְעֲבֶד־בַּֽהּ׃
ORIGINAL

BA-R04

pitgama shelaḥ malka ... nishtevana di shelaḥtun ... u-minni sim te'em
READING

Pedagogical reading guide

Ezra 4:17–19: the king sends a formal reply, acknowledges the letter, and orders a search of the records.
MEANING

Biblical Aramaic

4:17 sender + recipients + greeting · 4:18 received letter + passive reading · 4:19 royal order + archival search + finding

EXAMPLES

Examples supplied by the approved curriculum.

Close translation — 4:17: ‘The king sent a reply to Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their colleagues who dwell in Samaria and the rest of Beyond-the-River: Peace—and now.’ 4:18: ‘The letter that you sent us was read distinctly before me.’ 4:19: ‘By me an order was issued, and they searched and found that this city from ancient days has risen against kings, and rebellion and sedition have been practiced in it.’

SOURCE REFERENCE

Ezra 4:17–19

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APPROVED STUDY LAYERS

Source-specific guidance from the curriculum.

Learning objective

Read official Biblical Aramaic prose and distinguish document vocabulary, addressees, passive forms, and administrative commands.

Morphology and syntax

MAM reading text is checked against OSHB/WLC at the token level, including verbal voice and suffixes.

Dialect boundary

Biblical Aramaic of Daniel and Ezra. Later Targumic, Jewish Babylonian, and Zoharic forms are not imported into this lesson.

Practice

Identify the sender, the two named recipients, the passive verb in verse 18, and the administrative sequence in verse 19.

Answer key

Sender: מַלְכָּא. Recipients: רְחוּם and שִׁמְשַׁי. Passive verb: קֱרִי, ‘was read.’ Administrative sequence: שִׂים טְעֵם (‘an order was issued’) → בַקַּרוּ (‘they searched’) → הַשְׁכַּחוּ (‘they found’).

Source notes

The passage is a bounded royal response, not a composite of phrases from different documents.

REMEMBER

Genre changes vocabulary and style, not the requirement for exact parsing.