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What Language Did Jesus Speak?

6/20/2021

 
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Copy of Jerusalem Temple Inscription in Greek from the time of Jesus.
​Most readers of the Bible know that the Old Testament was largely written in Hebrew as that was the language spoken in the ancient nation of Israel. But by the time of Jesus, that situation had changed considerably.  First, when the Jews were taken into captivity in Babylon in the sixth century BC they began to speak the language of that area, which was Aramaic at that time. Aramaic was thus a major language for the Jewish people when they returned from captivity and was extremely common by the  time of Jesus. But to complicate matters further, the Greek language was also spoken by many in first century Judea, as it had been since Alexander the Great conquered the region in the fourth century BC. Finally, when the Jewish nation became part of the Roman Empire, Latin was used in some official circumstances. So which of these languages did Jesus speak? The answer to that question can help us better understand the New Testament, so we will briefly look at each language in turn.
Hebrew: In Jesus’ time, Hebrew was the main language of the Jewish religion. We know that most religious documents were still written in Hebrew in the centuries after the Babylonian exile – including the latest books of the Old Testament and most of the Dead Sea Scrolls.  All of the inscriptions that have been found in the area of the Jerusalem temple are written in Hebrew, The inscriptions on Jewish coins were in Hebrew indicating its widespread usage, and there is evidence from the Jewish historian Josephus and other sources that many of the people in Jerusalem could also speak Hebrew. It is also likely that in Galilee, which was culturally quite conservative, Hebrew was also understood by many people.  But even though Jesus probably knew Hebrew, he likely would not have spoken the language with his disciples and the crowds he taught, as many would not have understood him.
Aramaic: As we mentioned above, the Aramaic language was adopted by the Jews during and after the Babylonian exile. Portions of some of the later books of the Old Testament were written in Aramaic, showing its increasing importance for the Jews, and there is no doubt that Jesus knew the language. A Galilean dialect of Aramaic was widely spoken in his home area and the Gospels of Matthew and Mark record Jesus using many Aramaic words such as abba “father” (Mark 14:36) and racca “fool” (Matthew 5:22), as well as phrases such as Eli Eli lema sabachthani meaning “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46). The Aramaic language is likely to have been used constantly by Jesus and his disciples in their daily lives. 
Greek: Generally speaking, this language was spoken among the Jewish diaspora visiting Jerusalem; among those involved in regional trade and commerce; and among the more educated Jews. In fact, an amazing 68% of the inscriptions found in tombs and other archaeological sites in Israel from that period are in Greek.  And there are many indications in the New Testament that Greek was sometimes used by or spoken to Jesus. For example, when Jesus talked with the Syro-Phoenician woman (Matthew 15:22-28), it is likely she spoke Greek, and Pilate’s speech to the Jews after the arrest of Jesus (Mark 15:2–5; etc.) was almost certainly in Greek as he would not have known Hebrew or Aramaic and they would not have known Latin. On many occasions, it appears that Jesus quoted scriptures from the Greek Septuagint or a similar Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible as their wording is different from the Hebrew text and closer to that of the Greek (Isaiah 61:1-2; etc.).
Latin: Although there are some Latin words in the New Testament, the language was not commonly spoken and there would be no real reason for Jesus to have known it. When the Roman Governor Pilate spoke to Jesus, he may have spoken through an interpreter, or he could very possibly have spoken in Greek. 
So the evidence indicates Jesus may have spoken three of the four major languages used in first-century Judea.  While Jesus’ “first” language was probably Aramaic, he likely knew quite a lot of Hebrew and was probably also familiar with Greek. As with many people who grow up in multilingual areas, which language he spoke at a given time would have depended on where he was and the audience he was addressing. But knowing that Jesus probably spoke several of these languages can help us to better understand what he might have actually said in some circumstances, where the New Testament simply records his words in Greek, but he was speaking to individuals or groups with their own “first” or preferred language.  

Why Was Jesus Baptized?

6/6/2021

 
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In reading the Gospel accounts of the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist (or the Baptizer, as he is sometimes called), Christians sometimes wonder why Jesus, being sinless (2 Corinthians 5:21; etc.), would undergo a ritual that was specifically meant to symbolize and affirm repentance from sin (Matthew 3:11).  Readers of the Gospel accounts may also wonder what Jesus meant in telling John – who was at first reluctant to baptize him –  that  it would be a “fulfillment of all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15).

Jesus’ expression “all righteousness” indicates a plurality, and there were indeed a number of reasons his baptism by John fulfilled various aspects of God’s will.  We can summarize those reasons by saying that in undergoing baptism, Jesus fulfilled seven significant purposes:
1) He endorsed the baptism of John who was rejected by the religious authorities of that day: “the Pharisees and the experts in the law rejected God's purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John” (Luke 7:30).  This was important as John’s ministry fulfilled a number of Old Testament prophecies.

2) He submitted himself to the call and command of a servant of God regarding personal behavior.  As part of his overall perfect obedience, Jesus obeyed and taught others to obey what God’s appointed servants decreed: “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must be careful to do everything they tell you” (Matthew 23:2-3).

3) He identified directly with the sinful people of Israel, and of the world, for whom he would act as their sin-bearer: “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us” (2 Corinthians 5:21), and the lamb of God who would be sacrificed in a substitutionary death: “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).

4) He fulfilled the ritual requirement of washing placed on all the priests before beginning his own ministry. This was also necessary to serve as a perfect high priest for humanity: “We do have such a high priest … who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by a mere human being … that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven” (Hebrews 8:1-5).

5) He showed the important link between baptism and the receipt of the Spirit of God. On the Day of Pentecost, when the Spirit was made freely available, the apostle Peter stressed this same link: “Repent and be baptized … in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38).

6) He provided an opportunity for God to publicly reveal and confirm him as his Son: “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17).

7) He gave an example regarding the practice of baptism for future Christians to follow: “To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps”(1 Peter 2:21). This truth lay beneath the commission Jesus gave his disciples directly before his ascension: “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 28: 19-20).

There were thus at least seven reasons why Jesus underwent baptism: to support John, to teach us the link between baptism and receipt of the Spirit of God,  to display obedience, to serve as an example for us, to provide an opportunity for God to reveal his Son, and not least to be counted as if he were a sinner and thus identified with sinners – while fulfilling the ritual requirements of the law in order to serve as a purified high priest for sinners.  Seen in this way, we realize that far from being a ritual footnote to his ministry, Jesus’ baptism was an event of the greatest significance.   It was directly after his baptism, of course, that Jesus resisted Satan, called his first disciples, and  began to publicly teach, heal the sick, and perform miracles. It is no exaggeration to say that the baptism of Jesus was the necessary preparation for everything that the Son of God would accomplish in his earthly ministry, as well as being the public announcement that his ministry was about to begin. 

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    Unless otherwise stated, blog posts are written by R. Herbert, Ph.D.,  who writes for a number of Christian venues – including our sister site: TacticalChristianity.org
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