For 10 points, name this language, which was used to write the Talmud and which was spoken by ordinary Jews in Palestine during the time of the New Testament, leading many to claim it as the native tongue of Jesus.
Its Western variety became the basis of such tongues as Palmyrene and Nabataean, while its Eastern dialects include Mandaean and Syriac. The Targums are copies of the Old Testament in this language. The official language of the pre-Hellenistic Persian Empire, this tongue was the second language of the Assyrian empire and overtook Akkadian as the common tongue of the Middle East. For 10 points, name this language, which was used to write the Talmud and which was spoken by ordinary Jews in Palestine during the time of the New Testament, leading many to claim it as the native tongue of Jesus.
Its Western variety became the basis of such tongues as Palmyrene and Nabataean, while its Eastern dialects include Mandaean and Syriac.
{Aramaic}