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I want to know the probable original Hebrew statement spoken by Jesus in Jn 10:30:

"I and the Father are one."

"Egō kai ho Patēr hen esmen."

Specifically, I want to know whether the probable original Hebrew statement included the word ’eḥāḏ or echad in the Shema (Deut 6:4):

"Hear, O Israel: YHWH is our God, YHWH is one."

"Sh'ma Yisra'el, YHWH 'eloheinu, YHWH ’eḥāḏ."

The reason of my question is clear: if ’eḥāḏ was in the original Hebrew version of Jn 10:30, Jesus was stating directly the compatibility of the binitarism [1] He was revealing at that time with Hebrew monotheism.

I am clearly taking the short route for the question, assuming either that there is trivial homology between Aramaic and Hebrew, as e.g. between Spanish and Portuguese, or that Jesus actually spoke the Jn 10:30 statement in Hebrew, which is plausible since his audience at that time in Jerusalem was not a crowd of simple Galileans but rather comprised of many Pharisees and scribes, much like the audience in Jerusalem to which Paul spoke in Hebrew in Acts 22:1-21.

But if an Aramaic-mastering user wants to go the long route for the answer, i.e. to give the Aramaic version of the Shema and the probable original Aramaic statement spoken by Jesus in Jn 10:30, so as to see whether the Aramaic equivalent of ’eḥāḏ is in the latter, feel free to go ahead.

[1] Jesus did not reveal that the Holy Spirit was a distinct divine Person until the Farewell Discourse, John chapters 14-17. If someone disagrees with this point, please do not touch it in your answer but open your own question about it.

Note: asking for "the probable original Hebrew statement spoken by Jesus in Jn 10:30" amounts, in practice, to asking for "a reliable Hebrew translation of the koine Greek text of Jn 10:30". Whether a translation to language Y of a text in language X is reliable is mostly an objective matter. Therefore, the question is not opinion-based. But since I am already satisfied with Perry Webb's response, you can leave it on hold if you like.

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    I said "probable original" not to mean that the issue is a matter of opinion, but as an expression of epistemic humbleness. If the answering user is absolutely sure that the Hebrew version he is providing was the spoken by our Lord Jesus Christ, he can just say that it has 100% probability.
    – Johannes
    Commented Feb 27, 2018 at 15:23
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    This question doesn't have the same controls (or interest) as a somewhat analogous question: "What did Jesus likely say in John 8:58?". Whether the word "one" is in Hebrew, Greek, Aramaic, English, or Runyoro makes no odds. The meaning is the same, and Jesus' claim is the same -- I fail to see what difference the language used makes.
    – Dɑvïd
    Commented Feb 27, 2018 at 15:30
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    Jesus states (John 14:26) the Holy Spirit will remind the disciples everything Jesus said. The consequence of this is the Greek reflects the exact words; if there is an "translation" issue it is how the Greek would be conveyed in Aramaic, not the Aramaic into Greek. Your question assumes the original speech was in Aramaic despite the Gospel which states otherwise. You assume since Jesus (likely) spoke Aramaic He delivered His discourses in Aramaic which His disciples (later) translated into Greek. However, John says whatever language may have been common, His teaching was spoken in Greek.
    – Revelation Lad
    Commented Feb 27, 2018 at 17:16
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    I am just stating what the canonical text states. The absence of a Hebrew or Aramaic canon is evidence no such document existed, unless one is to believe the original believers who (presumably) all spoke Aramaic had greater interest in preserving a second-hand record than the original. Do you believe your question on the difficulty of conveying one to the other was unknown to the original writers? And if such difficulties exist, why create a second-hand account to create the difficulties and fail to preserve the clarity of the original?
    – Revelation Lad
    Commented Feb 27, 2018 at 19:29
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    Perhaps the correct understanding of that text is exactly what it says: those words were spoken and preserved in Aramaic.
    – Revelation Lad
    Commented Feb 27, 2018 at 20:02

1 Answer 1

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Note: we can only guess. The following translations are probably better than we can guess. Some people even argue that Jesus taught in Greek.

This translation is identical to Delitszch's translation:

אֲנִי וְהָאָב אֶחָד אֲנַחְנוּ

enter image description here

ha-Berit ha-ḥadashah. (2000). (Jn 10:30). Israel: The Bible Society in Israel.

The Peshitta is pretty much the same, except for "my Father" instead of "the Father":

ܐܷܢܳܐ ܘܳܐܒ݂ܝ ܂ ܚܰܕ݂ ܚܢܰܢ ܂

enter image description here

Kiraz, G. A. (2002). The Peshitta (Jn 10:30). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.

This is virtually word for word with the Greek except for "my" in the Peshitta:

ἐγὼ καὶ ὁ πατὴρ ἕν ἐσμεν.

Nestle, E., Nestle, E., Aland, B., Aland, K., Karavidopoulos, J., Martini, C. M., & Metzger, B. M. (1993). The Greek New Testament (27th ed., Jn 10:30). Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft.

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    The Syriac differs from both Greek and Modern Hebrew in the pronominal suffix to 'ab: "my father". The addition of 'anaHnû / Hnan is a translation issue to indicate the plurality of the verb, it sounds artificial in the ancient languages. The original would have more likely lacked that last word, and the plural form in Greek can easily be explained by semantic agreement. But like I said on the question, all of this is guesswork.
    – user2672
    Commented Feb 28, 2018 at 3:54
  • I think we have exhausted all we can reasonably say other than the response of Jesus' listeners: " The Jews answered him, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.” The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Jn 10:33). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.
    – Perry Webb
    Commented Feb 28, 2018 at 9:49
  • @Perry, I accepted your answer. Notably, GT translates it as "I and my father are all alone", while if you take out the last word and leave "אֲנִי וְהָאָב אֶחָד", GT translates it as "I and my father are one". Since both possibililites have "אֶחָד" (’eḥāḏ), my question is answered affirmatively in any case. Thanks.
    – Johannes
    Commented Feb 28, 2018 at 16:43
  • Google Translate has no support for the language spoken by Jesus.
    – user2672
    Commented Feb 28, 2018 at 20:33

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