THE APOCALYPSE OF BARUCH is a lost Holy Book. It is the vision of Baruch (Secretary to the Prophet Jeremiah) before and after the destruction of Jerusalem by the armies of Babylon.

The word APOCALYPSE literally means an "unveiling," or explanation of something that was previously unclear. BARUCH is truly an apocalypse in this sense, because it elucidates some of the Bible's history and interpretation. This book is not very well known (obviously) and BARUCH says this to God: "...but that few nations will be left in those times, to whom those words shall be said which Thou [God] didst say." This is particularly true today since this text is rarely if ever studied by Christians of faith along with their Bibles, and it is not readily availible for study. The edition I read is a reprint by R. H. Charles published by Destiny Publishers, not the edition advertised here.

The theological thought in this book is the same as in the Bible, and gives symbolic exposition of Biblical history. The most interesting part is about the twelve waters: six black and six bright. These waters correspond to different events in Biblical history. The person that is lauded as the fifth bright water and given the greatest praise in BARUCH is King Josiah of Judah, who enforced the Law of Moses by force upon his apostate kingdom after he came to power. The sixth bright (and final) water is the Word: the advent of the Christ/Messiah who will usher in the New Covenant of the Church. Later on, the sixth black water (as is happening today) the Church will be besought by all kinds of opposition and God will be slandered. Finally God's Messiah comes and He will reckon with the world's nations, some to be spared and some to be slain. The Messiah's kingdom will be one of joy, peace, triumph and no anxiety.

These same prophesies are in the Bible, but the APOCALYPSE OF BARUCH will give the Christian some supplementary ways of interpreting them and how they will come about.

It is true, as it says in the introduction, that this is not a complete syriac grammar, but it is very comprehensive. I doubt that most people will come across a topic that is not covered in this compact but very useful volume. I recommend reading it through to brush up your Syriac. It is somewhat lacking in instructions for pronunciation, however.

This 136 page spiral bound volume adds useful materials for the study of the Syriac New Testament. The text is well laid out, the Syriac is in a nice readable Syriac (Serto, very close to a Jacobite) font. Initially a computer generated list of word frequencies occupies the first 34 pages, followed by a frequency list of proper nouns, a list of words derived from Greek, consonantal homographs, and elegantly displayed verb paradigms. Added to this work is a fine "skeletal" Syriac grammar by the great S. Brock, which in itself is very handy. The text ends with an English and Syriac index to the work. Kiraz is a known expert with this language, and this work is a useful and accurate tool. It serves as a SUPPLEMENT to a grammar.

This book represents the definitive edition of all the existing published Syriac inscriptions that are neither Jewish nor Christian. It replaces the small book of texts of a set of Old Syriac inscriptions that H. J. Drijvers provided in 1972 or so, with a more thorough presentation of every published inscription, as well some identification of those inscriptions that are in the process of being published. Plates or sketches, and sometimes both, are included for every inscription. For the text of each inscription, the editors offer transliteration, translation, and line notes. There is a fascinating series of inscriptions taken from mosaic floors of the third century, which represent families in their "house of eternity," or tomb. Having worked with all of these materials as presented, I am an unqualified admirer of the edition. It is not always completely neutral in evaluating previous editions; generally, however, the editors recognize that responsible people can disagree on the sense of an inscription. This is a very useful academic tool for understanding the third century milieu out of which Classical Syriac emerged. petersig@ccat.sas.upenn.edu

This is a unique book which is one of the very few available which discusses the Modern Assyrian language in detail

For those of you who don't know much about the Christianity in Syriac, this book is an exellent source of the literature of classical Syriac. As a branch of Semitic language, those of you who have studied Hebrew or Arabic or even Greek will find the text intriquing. The text is printed in beautiful and readable Jacobite script, with Estrangelo headings in New Testament section: they just look fantastic and artistic! I invite you to add this copy in your library, and read the text outloud, appreciating the beauty of God's word.

This is a very good book which gives the beginner a good start in learning the Syriac language. It follows a good pattern of slowly advancing into the language, making it easier for the reader to grasp. This goes both for learning the script, as well as the language itself. The included vocabulary is quite good. The author tries to avoid sticking to the religious aspect, trying to give the language an everyday perspective. To this extend, he has been partly successful. Perhaps in a future version non-religious texts, and not just vocabulary, could be included as part of the learning material. Such texts could come from a variety of topics: history, geography et cetera. Finally, the tape is extremely useful, both in learning the language as well as in getting the pronunciation right.

This is a difficult review to write. On the negatice side, there are simply an unacceptable number of typographical errors--including some baffling errors/ editorial decisions(????) in the chrestomathy. This text book is in dire need of a second edition to correct the numerous publication errors that have found their way into the text.

That being said...

This is arranged and set up as a VERY nice introduction to the Syriac language. In organization and grammatical treatment, it does indeed represent a large step forward from Robinson's grammar. It presupposes no prior knowledge of Semitic language, is clear in its presentation of grammatical concepts, and does a very good job of balancing vocalized forms (in transliteration) with their (as will almsot always be encountered) unvocalized forms in Syriac script.

I fully recommend the use of this grammar--however, because of the fact that numerous errors have crept into the published version, it should only be used in a class taught by an individual with a good knowledge of Aramaic and Semitic verbal morphology.

I'm now in my second read of the book, and can actually read my Peshitta (although very slowly)! This grammar uses a great and easy teaching method, and it's easier to use than most other Greek/Hebrew grammars. It's also very affordable, compared to other Syriac/Aramiac grammars and language tools.

After having tried to learn Syriac (without too much success) from a number of texts (Healey, Ungnad, Muraoka, Robinson), this grammar was like a breath of fresh air! For me, the Syriac script was the major sticking point. Professor Thackston gets the student past this obstacle by using unpointed Estrangela, and by giving transliterations of all paradigms, examples, and vocabulary. In a clear introduction to the sounds and script, he covers the complexities of syllabic division, accentuation, and spirantization in a succinct and understandable manner. There are twenty lessons, and the methodology is similar to that of Lambdin (Biblical Hebrew, Coptic) and Huehnergard (Akkadian): several grammatical points explained clearly, with examples; vocabulary (in Estrangela and in transliteration); and sample sentences / reading exercises. Although I'm only on Lesson 3, I find this book stimulating and thoroughly enjoyable. I'm certain that after completing this text, the conscientious student should have no trouble tackling the New Testament with the aid of a dictionary, or going back to the other works (cited at the beginning of this review) to get extra practice in grammar and reading. The only thing that I feel would have improved this text is a key to the exercises. What I'm doing is to translate the Syriac sentences into English, and after a day or two, translate them back into Syriac, and compare them with the original. This, along with a careful reading of the grammatical principles, gives good feedback. Professor Thackston saw fit to publish a key to his "Introduction to Koranic and Classical Arabic"; hopefully we'll see a key to this work some day as well. But all in all, a pleasure and a wonderful resource.

As the previous reviewer says, this is not for the beginner unless he or she is already familiar with other Semitic languages. The Hebrew scholar might consider starting with Muraoka's Classical Syriac for Hebraists (which I've not used, mind). But this is a good basic reference grammar, with the advantage that it uses Eastern vocalisation, which is rather subtler than Western and throws new light on words you thought you knew well. The print is admirably clear, and transcription is provided too. Best of all is the bibliography by Sebastian Brock, which gives a good idea of what Syriac literature is actually available in print. (The academic on-line journal Hugoye has more recent updates by Dr. Brock).

If you're starting out cold in Syriac, I would not recommend beginning with this book. (Personally, I'd get comfortable with the Syriac script by going through "Classical Aramaic", then - definitely! - work through Thackston's "Introduction to Syriac".)

This is not to take anything away from Muraoka's book. But I don't see it as a book for absolute beginners. The breakdown is about as follows:
introduction to the sounds / script - 16 pages
grammar - about 50 pages
syntax - 30 pages
short section of exercises, plus a key - 10 pages
paradigms - 18 pages
bibliography - 24 pages
annotated readings - 60 pages
glossary - 25 pages

A knowledge of another Semitic language is helpful.

If you're interested in learning Syriac, buy Professor Thackston's "Introduction to Syriac". And when you're done, if you want to learn more grammar, and get some more practice in reading Syriac, buy this one.

The sorting of the words in an alphabetical order was a great idea. It is a good piece of work for advanced users. Beginners, however, should steer clear; seeing that it makes excessively use of abbreviations, and doesn't contain any transliterations nor any tips or explanaitions pertaining to the Syriac (Aramaic) grammar. Beginners would deem the dictionary as difficult and cumbersome.

This is still the standard reference work for any serious Syriac scholars. It does not claim to be an exhaustive dictionary, but one is hard pressed to note any words not found in the Syriac Bible. The text is clearly printed in a Jacobite script with Estrangelo headers. Payne often shows alternative forms, and other common forms for each entry. The work by Jennings is also useful, but too brief and long out of print. This reprint of the expensive Oxford edition of Payne's work by Eisenbrauns, displays Eisenbraun's characteristic attention to quality: it is printed on acid-free paper and is smyth sewn. A fine hard back, and an essential tool for any serious student of the Syriac language or Syriac Bible.