Language of Jesus
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There exists a consensus among scholars that Jesus of Nazareth spoke the Aramaic language.[1][2] Aramaic was the common language of Roman Judaea, and was thus also spoken by at least some of Jesus' disciples. The villages of Nazareth and Capernaum in Galilee, where the Gospels record him as having been raised, were populated by Aramaic-speaking communities.[3] Jesus probably spoke the Galilean dialect, distinguishable from that which was spoken in Roman-era Jerusalem.[4] Galilee was known for its trade routes and for its interface with the wider spectrum of Hellenism (so Mt 4:15 references "Galilee of the Gentiles"). As such, the Gospels understand Jesus' youth in Nazareth to be in a highly cosmopolitan area in which Greek was used frequently, only 10 kilometres (just over 6 miles) from the meeting of several major trade routes in Sepphoris.[5] It is thus likely that Jesus was able to work in Koine Greek. Additionally, given that Hebrew had continued to be used by Jews who were left after the Babylonian Exile and is understood to be the language of composition for several canonical texts composed in the Second Temple Period,[6] it is understood that Jesus was conversant in the Hebrew that was spoken among the Samaritans (John 4) and in Jerusalem. Jesus was thus well versed in Hebrew beyond its use as the liturgical language of Judaism.[7][8][9][10] And he further exercised some command of Greek despite favoring Aramaic.[6]
- ^ "Aramaic language | Description, History, & Facts". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2019-11-06.
Jesus and the Apostles are believed to have spoken Aramaic.
- ^ "What Language Did Jesus Speak?". Zondervan Academic. Retrieved 2019-11-06.
There is wide consensus among scholars that Aramaic was the primary language spoken by the Jews of first century Palestine.
- ^ "Aramaic language | Description, History, & Facts". Encyclopedia Britannica.
- ^ Allen C. Myers, ed. (1987). "Aramaic". The Eerdmans Bible Dictionary. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans. p. 72. ISBN 0-8028-2402-1.
It is generally agreed that Aramaic was the common language of Israel in the first century AD. Jesus and his disciples spoke the Galilean dialect, which was distinguished from that of Jerusalem (Matt. 26:73)
- ^ Lukaszewski, Albert (2008). Evans, Craig (ed.). Roads and Commerce in Judaea and Galilee in Encyclopedia of the Historical Jesus. Routledge. ISBN 9780415880886.
- ^ a b Lukaszewski, Albert (2005). A Viable Approach to the Aramaic of the New Testament (PDF). St Andrews, Scotland: St Andrews Repository.
- ^ Barr, James (1970). "Which language did Jesus speak? – some remarks of a Semitist". Bulletin of the John Rylands University Library of Manchester. 53 (1): 9–29. doi:10.7227/BJRL.53.1.2. Archived from the original on 2018-12-03. Retrieved 2017-12-11.
- ^ Porter, Stanley E. (1997). Handbook to exegesis of the New Testament. Brill. pp. 110–112. ISBN 90-04-09921-2.
- ^ Hoffmann, R. Joseph (1986). Jesus in history and myth. Prometheus Books. p. 98. ISBN 0-87975-332-3.
- ^ Gleaves, G. Scott (October 2015). "Did Jesus Speak Greek?". American Society of Overseas Research. 3 (10). Archived from the original on 2023-08-11. Retrieved 2023-08-10.