What language(s) did Jesus speak?

[FrDavid96]

Well, my son began speaking before he was a year old. By age 4 he would have conversations with other people. Little kids absorb language like sponges.

Anyway, I feel comfortable believing that Christ could speak any language He needed to speak, and understood all languages.

I’m not positing any conclusions as to whether or not He spoke Egyptian; or whatever word might be used to describe the languages spoken there at the time. I’m just presenting information for people to view for themselves.

 

[FrDavid96]

As I understand it Popes Shenouda (all three of them) were patriarchs of the Coptic Church, not the Universal Church as we Latin Catholics would understand the title “Pope”. Am I on the right track?

Yes. The proper title for the Coptic Patriarch of Alexandria is “Pope” (in English).

And again, yes, that office is distinct from the office of Pope of Rome.

In modern English, we just happen to use the word “Pope” rather than “Patriarch” in reference to the patriarch-bishop of Alexandria. It’s a coincidence of language, and nothing more. They’re both just synonyms for ‘father.’

 

[tafan2]

Thanks for the response Father.

 

[dochawk]

There are some fundamentalists out there (I just happened across one a few days ago) who think that the King James Bible is the original one, and come rather close to thinking that He actually did speak English.

I remember how flustered Fr. Nils was about the “traditionalists” who insist that He spoke latin . . . as he put it, “What would he have done with Latin? cussed out the roman soldiers???”

:crazy_face:

 

[normdplume]

He would have needed Latin (or Greek?) to talk to Pilate.

 

[po18guy]

Latin? Fr. Mitch Pacwa asserts, “Latin? Why not insist on the original Aramaic mass?”

Touché

p.s. He’s certainly not a priest, but I think that only Jim Caviezel knows the Aramaic mass…

 

[FrDavid96]

He would have needed Latin (or Greek?) to talk to Pilate.

More likely Greek. Koine Greek.

Koine Greek was a sort of “artificial” language. It didn’t belong to any particular nationality or region. It was an international version that served the purpose of being a language that everyone who travelled was able to converse across the Mediterranean world (and most of the Empire).

Pilate was an educated Roman. He had to be, to hold that position in government.

The purpose of using Greek was so that people from different cultures could communicate with each other. It was also the language of Roman government (at the time, because Latin would come later).

Historically speaking, it’s pretty much a given that the trial was in Greek.

 

[DeniseNY]

There was an episode of the Golden Girls that went like this:

Sophia: The mass should be in Latin. The language Jesus spoke.

Dorothy: Ma, Jesus spoke Hebrew

Sophia: Even is Church?

Not sure why I remembered that, but it came to mind.

 

[mVitus]

Dorothy: Ma, Jesus spoke Hebrew

Me: Aramaic!

(Though to be honest, I probably would’ve said Hebrew too just a couple years back.)

 

[normdplume]

Thank you for clarifying.

 

[Gus1]

Where Jesus grew up was very close to Cities that Greek was the predominant language. As a laborer (techton) he probably spoke that as a second language. Greek speakers were most likely his primary employers.The fact the entire New Testament with the possible exception of Matthew is written in Greek attests to its wide spread use.
But his principal spoken everyday language would have been Aramaic as that was the dominant language of the Hebrews since their return.
His he also had knowledge of ancient Hebrew especially if he was literate.But Hebrew was more of a ceremonial language that a popular one.
Being multilingual is a necessity in places like the Middle East.
He most likely knew a Little Latin and maybe even a Persian.