OK, but… if they weren’t speaking or writing Hebrew, what does the definition of the Hebrew word for ‘brother’ add to the discussion?Gorgias:
Of course.If they were speaking or writing in Hebrew. But they weren’t: Jesus would have spoken Aramaic, and the Gospels (with one possible exception) would have been written originally in Greek.
I’m too used to Hebrew!
Jesus was a pious Jew who knew ancient Hebrew and spoke it on occasion. No doubt he referred to James and Joseph, etc., as his “brothers” in Hebrew at times. He didn’t speak Aramaic all the time every day. Surely you know synagogue services were conducted in Hebrew as they are now. He probably also spoke some Greek. He no doubt referred to all his cousins and countrymen as “brothers.” No one knows his actual relationship to James, etc., and probably no one will in the lifetime of those here.OK, but… if they weren’t speaking or writing Hebrew, what does the definition of the Hebrew word for ‘brother’ add to the discussion?
Right. So, the language for liturgical use was Hebrew. And, the lingua franca of the day was Koine Greek. But, Aramaic would have been the language of everyday conversation. So, in the context of the Scriptures we’re discussing, we’re really ‘hearing’ Aramaic conversations (which were subsequently written down in Greek). We see a few examples of this in passages in which the evangelist includes the actual Aramaic word (e.g., “talitha koum”).
Hopefully I will have the beginning of a reply in the near future
