What language did the Romans (soldiers and Pilate) speak at Jesus' trial and crucifixion?

[Leo1]

I have been told they spoke Greek as this was the “common language” at the time. I tend to disagree. I think they spoke Latin. This, of course, doesn’t mean they didn’t speak Greek as well. Nevertheless, does anyone know where I might find an authoritative answer?

 

[Ron_Conte]

my opinion is that Pilate and the soldiers and Herod all spoke in Latin, and that Jesus replied to Pilate in Latin.

I also believe that the Herodians probably spoke to Jesus in Latin (since they believed that Herod the great was the Messiah and they idolized the Roman empire). And Jesus likely responded in Latin.

[Mark]
{12:17} Respondens autem Iesus dixit illis: Reddite igitur quæ sunt Cæsaris, Cæsari: et quæ sunt Dei, Deo. Et mirabantur super eo.
{12:17} So in response, Jesus said to them, “Then render to Caesar, the things that are of Caesar; and to God, the things that are of God.” And they wondered over him.

They wondered over him because he spoke Latin and gave an answer that was in keeping with the Roman way of thinking.

The inscription on the Cross was not only in Greek, and Hebrew, but also in Latin.

 

[Jean_1958]

Pilate and the Roman soldiers would have spoken in their own language: Latin.

I am sure Jesus’ trial would have been in Latin as well.

Jean

 

[Catholic_Johnny]

When Christ is crucified, the superscription identifying his ‘crime’ (This is Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews) is written in 3 languages: Greek, Latin and Hebrew. Greek was the language of scholarship, Latin of law, and Hebrew of the Judean religion. Jesus spoke Aramaic, as it was the common tongue in Galilee. It is likely that Jesus spoke in Latin, but it is not outside the possibility that either (a) they communicated through a linguist, or (b) Pilate could speak Aramaic.

I had the privilege of worshipping with the Chaldean Rite Catholics in Baghdad while deployed in Operation Iraqi Freedom. They speak Aramaic in the Mass, the vernacular of Jesus, and are the last Christian community on earth to use Jesus Christ’s language. It was too awesome for words to hear the liturgy chanted in Aramaic and know that that was the language spoken by Jesus at the Last Supper.

The Chaldean Rite Catholics are in communion with the Pope and have kept Aramaic alive for 2,000 years. They are also in grave danger of scattering because of Islamic extremists persecuting them wherever they go.

This is a report I gave about their plight in 2003.

 

[thistle]

An interesting snippet I copied some time ago from an old thread:

What is Truth?

Unlike the synoptic gospels, the Gospel of John states that Jesus said to Pilate that he is a king and “came into the world … to bear witness to the truth; and all who are on the side of truth listen to my voice”, to which Pilate famously replied, “What is truth?” (John 18:38)

In a volume of Believe It or Not, Ripley quotes Pilate speaking in Latin, “QUID EST VERITAS?” (“What is truth?”) and adds that an anagram of this is “EST VIR QUI ADEST”–“It is the man who stands before you.”

 

[passus]

In a volume of Believe It or Not, Ripley quotes Pilate speaking in Latin, “QUID EST VERITAS?” (“What is truth?”) and adds that an anagram of this is “EST VIR QUI ADEST”–“It is the man who stands before you.”

The translation should be, “It is the man who is here.” Adest is the 3rd person singular indicative present form of the verb adsum, adesse: to be here (to be present).

 

[thistle]

The translation should be, “It is the man who is here.” Adest is the 3rd person singular indicative present form of the verb adsum, adesse: to be here (to be present).

Okay but essentially the same meaning. At least in English I see no difference between “It is the man who stands before you” and “It is the man who is here.” However thanks for the correct translation.

 

[patrick457]

I have been told they spoke Greek as this was the “common language” at the time. I tend to disagree. I think they spoke Latin. This, of course, doesn’t mean they didn’t speak Greek as well. Nevertheless, does anyone know where I might find an authoritative answer?

Personally, I think it was Greek (and even a bit of Latin), or perhaps there was an interpreter involved.

By this period in history, Koine Greek, not Latin, was the lingua franca of the eastern part of the Roman Empire. Latin, though it was the de facto official language of the Empire, was rarely used east of Italy. It was a newcomer to the Levant, having arrived only with the Roman military occupation of the region in the 1st century BC. Greek, on the other hand, had been around since the 4th century BC, when it was spread as far east as Persia and Afghanistan by Alexander the Great’s army, which left behind ruling elites that Hellenized vast stretches of territory. In the city of Rome itself Koine Greek was in widespread use among ordinary people, and the elite spoke and wrote Greek as fluently as Latin (early Christian liturgies were themselves originally conducted in Greek). All the better educated Jews would have known Greek, and would have habitually used this language when communicating with the higher-ups. Even the uneducated would likely have known at least bits of Greek due to exposure to it in everyday life.

Currently, 1,600 Jewish epitaphs are extant from ancient Palestine dating from 300 BC to 500 AD. Approximately 70 percent are in Greek, 18 percent are in Hebrew or Aramaic, while only 12 percent are in Latin. In Jerusalem itself about 40 percent of the Jewish inscriptions from the 1st century period are in Greek. We may assume that most inhabitants of Jerusalem who saw the inscriptions in situ were able to read them.

It is quite likely that even Jesus knew some Greek, since Jesus worked as a tekton (carpenter/craftsman) for most of His life, and since the region in which Jesus grew up was a multi-cultural and multi-lingual area. It is quite likely that He would have interacted with people from Sepphoris, and therefore He may have known at least enough Greek to get by in business with His customers.

 

[patrick457]

Unlike the synoptic gospels, the Gospel of John states that Jesus said to Pilate that he is a king and “came into the world … to bear witness to the truth; and all who are on the side of truth listen to my voice”, to which Pilate famously replied, “What is truth?” (John 18:38)

In a volume of Believe It or Not, Ripley quotes Pilate speaking in Latin, “QUID EST VERITAS?” (“What is truth?”) and adds that an anagram of this is “EST VIR QUI ADEST”–“It is the man who stands before you.”

An interesting one. In the Greek meanwhile, Pilate asks Jesus “Ti estin alētheia?” Does anyone know any anagram for that?