More Marginal Notes: the joy of recognition

In sixteenth century Spain Christians studied the Jewish translations of the Old Testament books. Special editions had been made for these Christians: the Jewish Aramaic version in one column and its Latin translation in the second one. Students could learn Aramaic by consulting the Latin translation. One of those students - or was it the scribe himself - was enthusiastic about the Latin translation of 2 Kings 9:4, in which he read a very well-known word: "calvaria".

He placed a sign above the word (") and put a note in the margin: calvaria in caldeo golgota ("the word calvaria in Aramaic is Golgotha"). And indeed, in the Aramaic text you can see the word "golgotha", which means "skull" - just like the Latin word "calvaria".
The student must have been a Christian to be so enthusiastic about this combination of words. Both words are used in the Vulgate, the Latin translation of the Bible, in John 19:17, where is says: exivit in eum qui dicitur Calvariae locum hebraice Golgoltha, "he went out to the place that is called Calvary, Golgotha in Hebrew". Okay, John did not distinguish between Hebrew and Aramaic, but both words are there in the gospel of John - and both words are here in the Jewish translation of 2 Kings 9:4. The two instances have nothing to do with each other, except the joy of the Spanish student in the sixteenth century, who recognized two important words.