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mdgspencer
Guest
There were several languages used in Jesus’ time and place, but the people then spoke in Aramaic, this article explains.
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There were several languages used in Jesus’ time and place, but the people then spoke in Aramaic, this article explains.
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Gorgias
Guest
The author is forgetting one dynamic, however: Jesus and the apostles were familiar with the Septuagint (i.e., Greek translation) of the OT. (It’s the one that they quote in the NT.) So, that language – both in terms of Scripture and as a sort of lingua franca between different ethnic groups – would have been at least to a certain extent familiar to them, no?
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Bithynian
Guest
To some extent, I think. A question like ‘what language did Jesus speak’ is a bit misleading in some respects, because 1st century AD Roman Palestine was very multilingual and so everyone probably spoke a little bit of everything. The only sure consensus of modern scholarship is that Aramaic was, by far, the day-to-day vernacular and the lingua franca amongst indigenous peoples. Hebrew was likely dominant in liturgical use, either in private or in the Temple. Greek was likely dominant in civil and legal administrative use. But there was probably a high degree of overlapping language use. The Oxford Handbook of Roman Palestine, for example, notes that some liturgical texts for Temple usage have Greek translations for responses, evidently for visitors who are not fluent in Hebrew (probably Alexandrian Jews who were very Hellenised).
There was a tendency in past scholarship that assumed Jesus and the apostles only spoke Greek, but the degree of Hellenisation in Roman Palestine is often thought to be much less. Aramaic was inculturated into Palestinian society by the Babylonians and Achaemenids several centuries prior to the Greeks even stepping foot in the region, and the predominance of Aramaic was quite persistent.
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Dan_Defender
Guest
Aramaic definitely. But when I read that Jesus entered the synagogue and read from the Scripture, then I think he also knew/spoke Hebrew. And when I read about his conversation with Pilate, I think he also knew/spoke Greek.
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tuffsmurf
Guest
More correctly, the Septuagint is the version that the Gospels refer to, since the Gospels were written in greek. Common people in Palestine probably had more knowledge of the masoretic text, since that was used in the Synagogues.
Educated people and those living in cities with large ports likely spoke some greek. A fisher or farmer in Nazareth perhaps not, since this was before schools and they rarely met people from outside the village.
Educated people and those living in cities with large ports likely spoke some greek. A fisher or farmer in Nazareth perhaps not, since this was before schools and they rarely met people from outside the village.
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CRM_Brother
Guest
The only true language that we have confirmation of Jesus speaking was Aramaic in his naming of Peter (Keifa). The other instances of Christ’s translated words were odd blends of Hebrew and Greek. This denotes that he probably spoke the local vernacular dialect of Galilee in his day to day life. Being on the very edge of Jewish territory, the two languages would have found somewhat of an equilibrium in their vocabulary usage, similar to the evolution of post-Norman English and the modern blending of English and Tagalog in the Philippines into Taglish.
There is a case to be made for Christ being able to speak Greek fluently. Scholars have pointed to Joseph’s resettlement in Nazareth as a sign that he was possibly working to rebuild the nearby Galilean capitol of Sepphoris, which had been destroyed by the Romans a few years before. Work would have been bountiful as the city tried to rebuild. We know that Jesus accompanied Joseph to his work so Jesus, too, would have been immersed in this atmosphere. Pure Greek was spoken in Sepphoris and Jesus would have had to learn it to communicate with the patrons commissioning his work on their homes.
A case could also be made for Jesus being able to speak Coptic. This blending of Greek and Egyptian was prevalent in Egypt during the time which Jesus, Mary, and Joseph lived there. Aramaic was foreign to the local peoples and pure Greek was only spoken by the upper classes there. They would have had to learn Coptic to get by in the day-to-day. The only real question regarding this language would have been the length of Jesus’ stay which could have lasted anywhere from one to ten years, depending upon when it was in the reign of Archelaus that Joseph moved to Nazareth. If Jesus was old enough to learn to speak during his time in Egypt, he may have first learned to speak Coptic because Joseph and Mary did not know how long they would live in Egypt.
There is a case to be made for Christ being able to speak Greek fluently. Scholars have pointed to Joseph’s resettlement in Nazareth as a sign that he was possibly working to rebuild the nearby Galilean capitol of Sepphoris, which had been destroyed by the Romans a few years before. Work would have been bountiful as the city tried to rebuild. We know that Jesus accompanied Joseph to his work so Jesus, too, would have been immersed in this atmosphere. Pure Greek was spoken in Sepphoris and Jesus would have had to learn it to communicate with the patrons commissioning his work on their homes.
A case could also be made for Jesus being able to speak Coptic. This blending of Greek and Egyptian was prevalent in Egypt during the time which Jesus, Mary, and Joseph lived there. Aramaic was foreign to the local peoples and pure Greek was only spoken by the upper classes there. They would have had to learn Coptic to get by in the day-to-day. The only real question regarding this language would have been the length of Jesus’ stay which could have lasted anywhere from one to ten years, depending upon when it was in the reign of Archelaus that Joseph moved to Nazareth. If Jesus was old enough to learn to speak during his time in Egypt, he may have first learned to speak Coptic because Joseph and Mary did not know how long they would live in Egypt.
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Wesrock
Guest
A point many theologians have made throughout history.
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Gorgias
Guest
Hmm… that doesn’t stand to reason. You’re saying that, when Aramaic conversations were happening, they quoted Hebrew versions of the OT, but when the Evangelists were writing down those conversations, they went over and quoted a different version of the OT, just because it was in Greek?
I’ve always heard it said that the Septuagint was the version used in Galilee (and the diaspora).
(I was going to mention the Sepphoris angle, but I see that @CRM_Brother has already done so.)
The Bible tells us that, as He grew up, Jesus was filled with wisdom. He grew up like any other human. It also says that “though [Jesus] was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself.”
So… no. Not as such.
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tuffsmurf
Guest
The Septuagint wasn’t used in liturgical settings, and was mostly red by (somewhat educated) hellenized jews. Galilee was not directly a part of the hellenistic world.
As for the quotes, remember that there were no recordings and the gospels were written after Jesus’ death, most likely by interviewing eye witnesses or after oral tradition. If I interviewed you in, say Spanish, but was writing a book in English, I would write out the quote in English even if you said ”he quoted genesis” in Spanish.
As for the quotes, remember that there were no recordings and the gospels were written after Jesus’ death, most likely by interviewing eye witnesses or after oral tradition. If I interviewed you in, say Spanish, but was writing a book in English, I would write out the quote in English even if you said ”he quoted genesis” in Spanish.
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Gorgias
Guest
That’s not the question, though. If you interviewed me in Spanish, and I quoted a Hebrew text, and then you wrote your book in English, would you translate the quote yourself into English or would you go looking for an English translation of the Hebrew quote and grab it from there? Keep in mind that we’re talking Scripture, not just Bridget Jones’ Diary – the quote is the inspired word of God, so getting it right is important! Inasmuch as there are differences in phraseology between the Masoretic and Septuagint, then if the quotation was given from the Hebrew, don’t you think that the Evangelist would preserve the phrasing as it was spoken in context? But… it wasn’t! Therefore, that would seem to indicate that it was spoken in Greek… no?
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Julius_Caesar
Guest
You just ruined one of my favorite movies.
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Dan_Defender
Guest
The Masoretic Text was put together later on (7th century). The Dead Sea Scrolls have more common with the Septuagint than with the Masoretic Text which supports that all the OT books in the Catholic canon were being used by Jews in the 1st century.
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Rasoleil
Guest
Could Jesus have known some Latin?
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tuffsmurf
Guest
Yes, but it is more likely that he knew some greek.
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CRM_Brother
Guest
It is unlikely in the extreme that Jesus was able to speak Latin. The only times Latin was used was within upper officers of the Roman armies and the official duties of high ranking Roman governors or civil servants. Unless it was an official act of the Roman government (rather than the local client state like Israel or Galilee) then even Roman administrators would use Greek to communicate as it was the most widely spoken language in the Empire.
Jesus may have understood a few loan words like “Imperator”, “Centurio”, or “Caesar” but he most likely did not have the ability to converse in Latin.
Most people point to Pilate speaking to Christ as proof that he knew Latin but the fact of the matter is that Pilate was, almost assuredly, speaking Greek when he spoke to Christ based upon the culture of the time.
Jesus may have understood a few loan words like “Imperator”, “Centurio”, or “Caesar” but he most likely did not have the ability to converse in Latin.
Most people point to Pilate speaking to Christ as proof that he knew Latin but the fact of the matter is that Pilate was, almost assuredly, speaking Greek when he spoke to Christ based upon the culture of the time.
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PickyPicky
Guest
In the East, yes, although in the West Latin was widely spoken.
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