COGaIC: Jesus Spoke Hebrew?

History of Early Christianity

COGwriter

COGaIC reported the following:

Archaeology helps put the record straight

A concept put forward in older dictionaries and commentaries is that Hebrew was not spoken or used in the time of Jesus Christ and the apostles in Judaea and Galilee. Rather the language spoken was Aramaic. This idea was so pervasive that references by Eusebius that the Gospel of Matthew was written in the Hebrew language were footnoted to read Aramaic. During the last 60 years, however, the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls and other archaeological remains show that Hebrew was alive and well as a language, even under the Roman occupation of the land.

A recent article by Jerusalem Perspective sets out to analyse the languages based on a large part of the epigraphic record of inscriptions and coins from the Second Temple Period. It establishes that Hebrew was an actively used language in the land, existing alongside Aramaic and Greek.

The article by Jerusalem Perspective that COGaIC mentioned states:

Examining the new Hebrew and Aramaic epigraphic material from the Second Temple period can be of great value for the heated debate on language use…

A slight preference for Hebrew can be seen in religious contexts, while a slight preference for Aramaic can be seen in economic and administrative contexts; however, neither to the exclusion of the other.

One also should note the inscriptions of Jewish coinage published by Ya’akov Meshorer:[23] the inscriptions of all Jewish coins from the Second Temple period, with only one exception, are in Hebrew. The exception is one series of coins with Aramaic inscriptions (in Paleo-Hebrew script) minted by Alexander Jannai in 78 B.C. However, since Jannai at other times also minted coins with Hebrew inscriptions, this one exception can hardly be evidence for the replacement of one language by the other….

It is difficult to know what was the language primarily spoken based upon artifacts with written inscriptions.

From various quotes in the New Testament, it would seem that Jesus probably spoke both Hebrew and Aramaic.

Of course, the bigger issue is not what Jesus and the disciples spoke, but what they taught.

Several articles of possible interest may include:

The Gospel of the Kingdom of God was the Emphasis of Jesus and the Early Church Did you know that? Do you even know what the gospel of the kingdom is all about? True religion should be based upon the true gospel.
Are You Saved? Do You Love Jesus? What is a True Christian? What is the Gospel? Evangelist Richard Ames answers those important questions.
The Ten Commandments and the Early Church Did Jesus and the Early Church keep the ten commandments? What order were they in? Here are quotes from the Bible and early writings.
The History of Early Christianity Are you aware that what most people believe is not what truly happened to the true Christian church? Do you know where the early church was based? Do you know what were the doctrines of the early church? Is your faith really based upon the truth or compromise?
What Do Roman Catholic Scholars Actually Teach About Early Church History? Although most believe that the Roman Catholic Church history teaches an unbroken line of succession of bishops beginning with Peter, with stories about most of them, Roman Catholic scholars know the truth of this matter. This eye-opening article is a must-read for any who really wants to know what Roman Catholic history actually admits about the early church.
Location of the Early Church: Another Look at Ephesus, Smyrna, and Rome What actually happened to the primitive Church? And did the Bible tell about this in advance?
Nazarene Christianity: Were the Original Christians Nazarenes? Should Christians be Nazarenes today? What were the practices of the Nazarenes.



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