Proof Jesus Christ and His Disciples Spoke Greek
The claim that Jesus only spoke in Aramaic is as valid as a diploma from Hogwarts and the New Testament proves that Jesus was trilingual.
In Mark, chapter 5, Jesus and His disciples travel to the region of the Greek speaking Gerasenes. They would not go there to preach if they did not speak Greek. In Mark 7:26 Jesus preaches to a Greek-speaking syrophoenician woman and In Mark 7:31, Jesus and his disciples travel to the Decapolis to teach and preach where Greek was the spoken language.
How do we know that Jesus could speak, and read in Hebrew as well? In Luke 4:17 Jesus is handed the scroll of Isaiah in the synagogue which was written in Hebrew. Jesus unrolls it, finds what He’s looking for, and reads it.
In Matthew 5:18 Jesus makes a Hebrew linguistic reference when He says that not an ‘iota’ nor a ‘dot’ will pass from the law until all is accomplished. This reference to Hebrew characters underscores His knowledge of the Hebrew script.
The environment of first-century Judea was multilingual, and this DIRECT and internal evidence in the gospels proves that Jesus and his contemporaries spoke Greek and Hebrew as well as Aramaic.
The region where Jesus lived was under Roman occupation, and Greek was the official language of the Roman Empire. To be trilingual as a Jew , was necessary in trade, governance, and education.
The New Testament was written in Greek to reach a broader audience across the Empire. Greek was the most practical choice for documenting the Gospel due to its widespread official use.
The New Testament's Greek manuscripts are the earliest and most reliable sources we have, dating back to the first century AD and we can be as certain in the text's fidelity as sunrise until the final day.
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There is VAST historical evidence suggesting that Jews in the first century were trilingual, speaking Greek, Aramaic, and Hebrew. This linguistic diversity can be attributed to several historical, cultural, and socio-political factors of the time.
Evidence and Context:
1. Hellenistic Influence:
Following the conquests of Alexander the Great (4th century BC), Greek culture and language spread widely throughout the Eastern Mediterranean, including Judea. The Hellenistic influence persisted through the subsequent centuries under the Seleucid and Ptolemaic dynasties, and later under Roman rule. Greek became the lingua franca of the Eastern Mediterranean and was commonly used for commerce, administration, and literature.
Reference: "The Hellenistic Age" by Peter Green provides an in-depth look at the spread of Greek culture and language.
2. Septuagint (LXX):
The translation of Hebrew Scriptures into Greek, known as the Septuagint, was completed by Jewish scholars in Alexandria in the 3rd to 2nd centuries BC. The existence of the Septuagint itself is strong evidence of the widespread use of Greek among Jews, especially in the Diaspora. Many Jews were more comfortable reading the Scriptures in Greek than in Hebrew.
Reference: "Invitation to the Septuagint" by Karen H. Jobes and Moisés Silva explores the historical context and significance of the Septuagint.
3. Aramaic:
Aramaic was the common spoken language of Jews in Israel during the first century, later named Palestine by the Romans to humiliate the Jews in the late part of the first century after the failed Jewish revolt and the destruction of the temple by the Romans. Aramaic had been the dominant language of the region since the Neo-Assyrian Empire (8th century BC) and continued to be widely used under Persian, Hellenistic, and Roman rule.
Reference: "A Grammar of Biblical Aramaic" by Franz Rosenthal provides details on the use of Aramaic in ancient Judea.
4. Hebrew:
Hebrew remained the liturgical and scholarly language. It was used in religious texts, prayers, and in the Temple. The Dead Sea Scrolls, discovered in the mid-20th century, contain texts in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, reflecting the trilingual environment.
Reference: "The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Bible" by James C. VanderKam discusses the linguistic diversity found in the Dead Sea Scrolls.
5. Jewish Inscriptions and Ossuaries:
Archaeological findings, such as inscriptions and ossuaries from the first century, show evidence of Greek, Aramaic, and Hebrew usage among Jews. These inscriptions often contain a mix of languages, indicating that trilingualism was a practical reality for many Jews.
Reference: "Jewish Inscriptions of Graeco-Roman Egypt" by William Horbury and David Noy contains examples of such inscriptions.
The overwhelming amount of historical evidence proves that Jews in the first century were trilingual, speaking Greek, Aramaic, and Hebrew. This multilingualism was a result of the historical and cultural influences of Hellenistic and Roman rule, the practical needs of commerce and administration, and the religious traditions that preserved Hebrew as a sacred language.
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