Aramaic

===Western Middle Aramaic===
The dialects of Old Western Aramaic continued with [[Nabataean Aramaic|Nabataean]], Jewish Palestinian (in [[Hebrew alphabet|Hebrew "square script"]]), Samaritan Aramaic (in the [[Phoenician alphabet|Old Hebrew script]]), and Christian Palestinian (in [[Syriac alphabet#Classical ʾEsṭrangēlā|Syriac Estrangela script]]).<ref>{{cite book |title=The Qur'an in Its Historical Context |isbn=9781134109456 |page=59 |language=English |quote=…. Palestinian Aramaic also began to be written for the first time (Coptic was written in an adapted Greek script and Palestinian Aramaic in a modified Estrangelo…. |last1=Reynolds |first1=Gabriel Said |date=28 September 2007 |publisher=Routledge }}</ref> Of these four, only Jewish Palestinian continued as a written language.{{Clarify|date=March 2010}}<!--So how do we know the other two if they weren't written? Also, at least Samaritan Aramaic certainly was written and lots of texts survive.-->

====Samaritan Aramaic====
{{Main|Samaritan Aramaic language}}
The [[Samaritan Aramaic language|Samaritan Aramaic]] is earliest attested by the documentary tradition of the [[Samaritans]] that can be dated back to the fourth century. Its modern pronunciation is based on the form used in the tenth century.{{sfn|Tal|2012|p=619–28}}

====Jewish Palestinian Aramaic====
[[File:Kennicott Bible fol 42v.jpg|thumb|right|Hebrew (left) and Aramaic (right) in parallel in a 1299 Hebrew Bible held by the [[Bodleian Library]]]]
{{Main|Jewish Palestinian Aramaic}}

In 135, after the [[Bar Kokhba revolt]], many [[Jew]]ish leaders, expelled from [[Jerusalem]], moved to [[Galilee]]. The Galilean dialect thus rose from obscurity to become the standard among Jews in the west. This dialect was spoken not only in Galilee, but also in the surrounding parts. It is the linguistic setting for the [[Jerusalem Talmud]] (completed in the 5th century), Palestinian [[targum]]im (Jewish Aramaic versions of scripture), and [[midrash]]im (biblical commentaries and teaching). The standard [[niqqud|vowel pointing]] for the [[Hebrew Bible]], the Tiberian system (7th century), was developed by speakers of the Galilean dialect of Jewish Middle Palestinian. Classical Hebrew vocalisation, therefore, in representing the Hebrew of this period, probably reflects the contemporary pronunciation of this Aramaic dialect.{{sfn|Sokoloff|2012a|pp=610–19}}

Middle Judaean Aramaic, the descendant of Old Judaean Aramaic, was no longer the dominant dialect, and was used only in southern Judaea (the variant Engedi dialect continued throughout this period). Likewise, Middle East Jordanian Aramaic continued as a minor dialect from Old East Jordanian Aramaic. The inscriptions in the synagogue at [[Dura-Europos]] are either in Middle East Jordanian or Middle Judaean.

====Christian Palestinian Aramaic====
{{main|Christian Palestinian Aramaic}}
This was the language of the Christian [[Melkite]] (Chalcedonian) community, predominantly of [[Jews|Jewish]] descent, in [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]], [[Transjordan (region)|Transjordan]] and [[Sinai Peninsula|Sinai]]<ref>{{cite book |title=Arabic in Context |date=6 June 2017 |publisher=Brill |isbn=9789004343047 |page=338 |language=English |quote=For the Aramaic-speaking Christian communities of Sinai, Palestine or Trans-Jordan, Christian Palestinian Aramaic was the dominant language in local churches; for Syria and Mesopotamia, it was rather Syriac.…}}</ref> from the 5th to the 8th century.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Arman Akopian |title=Introduction to Aramean and Syriac Studies |date=11 December 2017 |publisher=Gorgias Press |isbn=9781463238933 |pages=573 |language=English |chapter=Other branches of Syriac Christianity: Melkites and Maronites |quote= The main center of Aramaic-speaking Melkites was Palestine. During the 5th-6th centuries, they were engaged in literary, mainly translation work in the local Western Aramaic dialect, known as "Palestinian Christian Aramaic", using a script closely resembling the cursive Estrangela of Osrhoene. Palestinian Melkites were mostly Jewish converts to Christianity, who had a long tradition of using Palestinian Aramaic dialects as literary languages. Closely associated with the Palestinian Melkites were the Melkites of Transjordan, who also used Palestinian Christian Aramaic. Another community of Aramaic-speaking Melkites existed in the vicinity of Antioch and parts of Syria. These Melkites used Classical Syriac as a written language, the common literary language of the overwhelming majority of Christian Arameans.}}</ref> As a liturgical language, it was used up to the 13th century. It is also been called "Melkite Aramaic", "Syro-Palestinian" and "Palestinian Syriac".{{sfn|Morgenstern|2012|pp=628–37}} The language itself comes from Old Western Aramaic, but its writing conventions were based on the [[Syriac language|Aramaic]] dialect of [[Edessa]], and it was heavily influenced by [[Greek language|Greek]]. For example, the name Jesus, Syriac ''īšū‘'', is written ''īsūs'', a transliteration of the Greek form, in Christian Palestinian.<ref name="El-Badawi2013">{{cite book|author=Emran El-Badawi|title=The Qur'an and the Aramaic Gospel Traditions|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iIhiAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA35|year=2013|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781317929338|page=35|quote=However, what truly distinguishes the CPA Gospels from the Syriac ones is the strong influence that Greek Biblical tradi- tions had upon it. This is evident, for example, in the syntax of the Gospel passages and even in the spelling of proper nouns, both of which duplicate the Greek Gospels. Therefore, unlike Syriac where “Jesus” is spelled īšū‘, in CPA it is spelled īsūs.}}</ref>