Language Of Jesus

The language of Jesus was long assumed to have been Aramaic, but with modern linguistic scholarship has been called into question. Other possibilities include Hebrew, which was more prevalent then than previously understood, and Greek.

In fact, modern linguistic evidence, combined with the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls and their extensive use of Greek, is overwhelming that Jesus taught in Greek.^[1]

The Gospel of Mark and, to a lesser extent, the Gospel of Matthew, describes Jesus as speaking several Aramaic phrases. The Gospel of Luke, at Luke 4:16 , describes Jesus as reading Hebrew in a synagogue. But the structure of the Beatitudes and phrases like "hypocrite", which are uniquely Greek in origin, confirm that Jesus taught in Greek. It can be considered liberal denial to insist otherwise.

See also[edit]

• Jesus and Hebrew

References[edit]