A native Assyrian, George M. Lamsa was born (Aug 5, 1892) and reared in Mar Bishu, that part of the ancient biblical land from which Abraham migrated to Palestine. Because his people were isolated for many centuries, they preserved the Aramaic language and the ancient biblical customs which have since disappeared from other parts of world. Dr. Lamsa, in fact, grew up speaking the languages and participating in the manners, mores and customs which were those in which Jesus and his contemporaries were reared. From the first day of the patriarchs of the Lamsa family to 1918, they lived a simple pastoral life. Even today they still speak in idioms and parables, some of which would be difficult for a Westerner to comprehend.
George Lamsa began his study of the Scriptures in the Aramaic under his tribal teachers. He was educated in the Archbishop of Canterbury's College in Persia and Turkey. After the First World War, he continued his education in the Virginia Theological Seminary of Alexandria. Dr. Lamsa was at once a greatly respected translator, a world traveler and a lecturer. His translations from the Aramaic and his comments on the Scriptures have earned him world-wide renown and have aroused great interest in the United States and Europe, helping many to better understanding of the greatest of all books.
George M. Lamsa, a native Assyrian, renowned scholar of the Scriptures, lecturer and author, F.R.S.A., was born in a civilization with customs, manners, and language almost identical to those in the time of Jesus. His native tongue was full of similar idioms and parables, untouched by the outside world in 1900 years. Until World War I, his people living in that part of ancient Biblical lands which today is known as Kurdistan, in the basin of the rivers Tigris and Euphrates, retained the simple nomadic life as in the days of the Patriarchs. Only at the beginning of the 20th century did this isolated segment of the once-great Assyrian Empire learn of the discovery of America. Likewise, until that same time, this ancient culture of early Christians was unknown to the western world, and the Aramaic (Syriac) language was thought to be dead. But in this so-called "Cradle of Civilization," ancient Biblical customs and Semitic culture, cut off from the world, were preserved.
Lamsa's primary training as a boy was to tend the lambs. His formal studies began under the priests and deacons of the ancient Church of the East. Later he graduated with the highest honors ever bestowed from the Archbishop of Canterbury's Colleges in Iran and in Turkey, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts and Doctor of Theology of the Church of the East. After arriving in the United States, in his early 20's, Lamsa by day worked as a printer, and by night went to school. He later studied at the Episcopal Theological Seminary in Alexandria, Virginia, and at Dropsie College in Philadelphia. It was through his struggles with the idioms of English during these years that Lamsa gradually launched into his "life's work" of translating the Scriptures from Aramaic (Syriac) into English.
He had a photographic memory which retained chapter after chapter of Biblical passages. "I discovered that the words of the Bible contain power, that they are charged with the Holy Spirit. Everything comes and passes away, but God's Truth endures forever." It was Lamsa's firm belief that his translation would bring people nearer to the true Word of God and would facilitate understanding between East and West. In this new world of ecumenical possibilities and universal craving for unity, both spiritual and political, his message is well worth pondering by all the Christian communities. Regardless of your religious convictions (or lack of them), we strongly urge you to take this unique opportunity to read his books and discuss his ideas with your friends, your religious counselors, and your inner, searching self.
A list of few titles of Dr. Lamsa's famous books:
And the scroll opened: A book of Ancient Wisdom about Love & Marriage, Happiness & Sorrow
A Brief Course in the Aramaic Language
Book of Psalms: Translated From Aramaic
The Kingdom on Earth
The Holy Bible From Ancient Eastern Manuscripts
The New Testament: According to the Eastern text/Translated from Aramaic
Gospel Light: From Aramaic Eastern Customs on the teachings of Jesus
Idioms in the Bible Explained
More Lignt on The Gospel
New Testament Commentary From the Aramaic and The Ancient Eastern Customs
New Testament Origin
Old Testament Light: Based on Aramaic of the Ancient Peshitta Text
My Neighbor Jesus
Shepherd of Us All they Twenty-Third Psalms
Lamsa's Holy Biblle is perhaps most significant. He was born in Biblical lands prior to the chaotic upheavals of World War I, when the customs and cultures of his native land still remained unchanged from Christ's day. His native language was Aramaic, the language Christ spoke. Translating directly from the oldest known Aramaic manuscripts, Lamsa eliminates many of the errors of the transition through Greek and Latin.
New York Times ". . . undoubted historical and scholarly interest."
Los Angeles Times ". . . a challenging and rewarding text."
John Sutherland Bonnell, D.D. Fifth Avenue (New York) Presbyterian Church". . . stimulating and suggestive . . . rings true . . . inspiring."
Christian Science Monitor ". . . scholarly work . . . faithfully presented."
Billy Graham, Evangelist ". . . a tremendous contribution . . . a remarkable work."
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