What language(s) did Jesus speak?

  • Thread starter Thread starter normdplume
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
Hebrew was the language of the Jewish scripture and Jewish children are still taught the language. In the temple, in the synagogues, that was the language although I’m sure Jesus spoke Aramaic as well.

Since He conversed with Pilate, I think He also spoke Greek or Latin.
 
Always thought that “Tal′itha cu′mi” and “Eli, Eli, la′ma sabach-tha′ni” were Aramaic.
 
When the Jews returned from captivity in Babylon, they were still slaves, and they had assimilated to using Aramaic. So, Aramaic hanged around for a long time, as the rulers spoke aramaic, etc. That was the official language, as I understand it.
 
He spoke Aramaic! He read Hebrew in the Scrolls in Temple!
If educated in the times, learned Jews could read Latin.
 
He probably spoke both.

Aramaic was the day-to-day conversational language, and Hebrew was the ‘liturgical’ language so to speak. It was used in the temple.
 
From what I have read, Latin and Greek were both languages of commerce so it seems correct to assume that Jesus and his Apostles knew some it. The ordinary language of the area was Aramaic and they used Hebrew for the synagogue.
 
He also spoke Greek.

There was a version of Greek known as Koine Greek. It wasn’t quite the same ‘authentic’ Greek that the Greek people themselves spoke (classic). It was an international language used throughout the mediterranean region, and it was the language of trade.

Greek was also the official language of the Roman Empire (in so far as they had one) of the time. Many people mistakenly think it was Latin. Latin was the language used in the city of Rome (and environs), but Greek was the language of the Empire.

We know that Christ did speak with Roman soldiers and Pilate. Those conversations would have happened in Koine Greek. Pilate would not have bothered to learn Aramaic, much less Hebrew.

Although this isn’t recorded in the Gospels, we can be sure that He went to the market, and other places where He conversed with non-Jews. Tyre (where we know He visited) was an international city.

So we can be fairly certain that He spoke Aramaic (as a home and family language), Greek (in public) and Hebrew (in prayer, synagogue, and Temple). We can add that He probably understood a little bit of Latin.
 
normdplume said:
Years ago I read that Jesus spoke Aramaic, although I don’t recall where, so I looked it up again tonight. The following site argues quite persuasively that it was primarily Hebrew:

Is there still a debate on this, or is Hebrew correct?

Thanks
Norm
Click to expand...
That article argues that He understood Hebrew. Yes, that’s true.

But Hebrew was not a spoken language at that time-and-place. It simply wasn’t.

It was used as the language of prayer. The Scriptures were read in Hebrew, and it was the language of prayer (at home) the synagogues and especially the Temple. So every Jewish person would have known Hebrew. It was what we Catholics would call their “liturgical language” much like Latin for us, except that the everyday people understood it.

It makes perfect sense that the many times Christ quotes Scripture, He did it in Hebrew. All the Jewish people sang the Psalms in Hebrew, so it makes sense that they would quote the Psalms in Hebrew in conversation.

Still, Hebrew was not the language of conversation.
 
Dr. Brock will never see this, but there are multiple references to His being able to read (from the scrolls, in the synagogues). If He could read, he could write.

My take on the OP’s question: His “mother tongue” was Aramaic (multiple quotations in that language). He could read OT Hebrew; therefore, He could probably speak it as well. He dealt with foreigners, so he likely spoke some koine Greek and Latin, altho there is no direct evidence of that.

D
 
Actually He knows all languages for He is God.

The question should be which languages He spoke the most.
 
DaveBj said:
). If He could read, he could write.
Click to expand...
Not true. In ancient times reading and writing were considered two different skills. Almost all Jewish boys could read, they all attended synagogue schools and were taught to read Hebrew and probably Aramaic. But only scholars (their called scribes in the gospels) learned to write.
 
DaveBj said:
Dr. Brock will never see this, but there are multiple references to His being able to read (from the scrolls, in the synagogues). If He could read, he could write.

My take on the OP’s question: His “mother tongue” was Aramaic (multiple quotations in that language). He could read OT Hebrew; therefore, He could probably speak it as well. He dealt with foreigners, so he likely spoke some koine Greek and Latin, altho there is no direct evidence of that.

D
Click to expand...
I’m not so sure about the ability to speak Hebrew.

He certainly knew the language. But it was the language of prayer. Being able to read the Prophets or sing the Psalms (which we know He did) doesn’t always lead to having the ability to actually carry on a conversation in that language.

Hebrew was not a spoken language. People simply did not go to the marketplace and buy a jar of olive oil using Hebrew. Except for prayer (both public and private) Hebrew was, by then, already a dead language.

I do see that there’s plenty of evidence for Koine Greek. He spent quite a bit of time in non-Jewish cities such as Tyre and the Decapolis. For someone of that time and place, He did quite a bit of traveling. In its own way, Jerusalem was an international city. It would have been difficult and very unlikely for such a person not-to-speak Koine Greek.

In His interaction with foreigners, it’s more likely that they would have spoken a shared language (K Greek) than it would be for those foreigners to have learned Aramaic.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top