What about Hebrew?!

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Throughout this website, we have seen evidence that Aramaic was the normal, everyday, spoken language amongst Jews in Israel in the first century A.D., and therefore that Aramaic was the language normally spoken by Jesus and the disciples, and hence the most appropriate language for the New Testament to be written in.

We also examined Greek - and saw that, even though there were pockets of Greek-speaking Jews - referred to as the Grecian Jews - they were a minority within Judaism, and Jews in Israel generally did not speak Greek, and in fact avoided it.

But many - in particular those who understand the importance of the Semitic background to the New Testament - will point out that Hebrew was the spoken language of New Testament times. Many will argue that if the New Testament was written in anything other than Greek, it ought to have been Hebrew.

In this lesson, therefore, we take a closer look at the extent to which Hebrew was the spoken language of New Testament times, and for Jews in Israel in particular. We find that Hebrew was certainly still a spoken language, but its use was declining in favor of Aramaic.

As we shall see, there are good reasons why Aramaic was the language chosen to reveal the New Testament. Hebrew to the Jews, and Aramaic to the Gentiles, that all Israel (both Jew and Gentile) might be saved.

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