WHY WAS THE OT WRITTEN IN HEBREW & THE NT IN GREEK?

[Open7]

On 6/18/2022 at 3:20 PM, BK1110 said:

Yes. By the time of Jesus' birth Israel had long been a part of the Roman empire and common Greek was widely spoken there. Interestingly though it seems that Aramaic, not Greek or Hebrew, was actually the language most commonly spoken in Galilee and Judea during Jesus' time, and it's likely that's the language he spoke in. Some scholars think Jesus may have spoken all three, though Aramaic was the most common. It should be noted that a lot of people in the region who spoke Aramaic probably couldn't read and write it, so writing the Bible in Aramaic might not have been as helpful as Greek even if it was to an Aramaic-speaking audience. There seems to be some belief that Matthew possibly was written in Aramaic originally, though there isn't a consensus on it.

Ah this is very interesting. You’ve been super helpful. Thanks

[Marathoner]

I hope your question has been answered, @Open7. As others have pointed out, Hebrew was not known nor spoken by the majority of Jewish people during the second temple period which encompasses a large swath of time (over 400 years). 

During that time, Alexander's conquests resulted in what's referred to as the "Hellenization" of the ancient world. Greek became the lingua franca (a universal language of trade) and this persisted for a few centuries after the Lord ascended to sit with our Father upon His throne.

Remember that the Gospel of Jesus Christ calls all men of every nation, so little wonder that what became New Testament scripture was written in a language understood by both Jews and Gentiles at the time, and that language was Koine Greek. This is an ancient form of the Greek language, not the modern Greek tongue of today.

I consider it altogether possible that the Gospel of Matthew might have had an Aramaic manuscript, since this language was spoken by many in Judea at the time. The Lord Himself is recorded as having spoken phrases in Aramaic if my memory serves. 

[Fidei Defensor]

Greek was the universal language of New Testament era, akin to how French was a universal language, and English is today. The Disciples chose to use the language Jews and Gentiles all knew well, so as to reach as many for the Gospel as possible. 

[Bluedragon]

In 332BC, Alexander the Great defeated Tyre. He then marched unopposed to Jerusalem. Before he arrived he had a dream concerning the High Priest. The High Priest met him at the gate and they negotiated the terms of the surrender of Israel to the Boy King. Alexander's influence had great affect on the official records of the cities and the governments. Everything official was conducted in Greek. The writer's of the New testament were more practiced in Greek than Hebrew. The Writer's also knew that every country around Israel would be versed in Greek as a part of the Empire. That's why Greek was well known within educated circles of the time. 

[Leonardo Von]

I don't agree that the New Testament was all written in Greek. After all, why would a Israelite write to other Israelites in Greek? For instance, the letter of James, Hebrews. Consider that the Israelites value so much the Hebraic (Act 22:2).

[Bluedragon]

On 7/26/2022 at 1:21 PM, Leonardo Von said:

I don't agree that the New Testament was all written in Greek. After all, why would a Israelite write to other Israelites in Greek? For instance, the letter of James, Hebrews. Consider that the Israelites value so much the Hebraic (Act 22:2).

Because the New Testament wasn't written just for the Jews. It was written for the Gentiles. Jerusalem, after the resurrection of Christ and until the Romans destroyed Jerusalem in 70AD was an unkind place to be a Christian.  Condemned by the Romans and the Jews .. Most Christians had evacuated the city by 66AD. If Nero didn't get ya ....the Jews did. 

 

[JohnD]

We must remind ourselves when looking back in time not to impose modern convenience or understanding on a time when just about everything was in flux.

Including language.

Ancient Hebrew for example:

Writing and the implements of writing were very high tech in those days. I think of the 10 Commandments movie

Yule Brenner as Pharaoh "So let it be written... so let it be done..."

They painted on walls then or cuneiform clay tablets, then came velum scrolls.

Eventually came secular Koine Greek (a very precise language ) to essentially unite the language of Governance and commerce in the Empire.

Since Babel, humanity had been developing language and culture conflicting with one another.

I forget which teacher I studied under pointed out these things were by divine appointment to

convey the Gospel message to the whole world:

1. the Greek language

2. over the Roman roads

[com7fy8]

On 6/19/2022 at 8:11 PM, Marathoner said:

I consider it altogether possible that the Gospel of Matthew might have had an Aramaic manuscript, since this language was spoken by many in Judea at the time. The Lord Himself is recorded as having spoken phrases in Aramaic if my memory serves. 

Yeah, I would say so. 

And I think of Peter's epistles. These have been translated from copies which are in Greek. But I think Peter's first language could have been Aramaic. So, I see it possible that Peter wrote his epistles in Aramaic, but then the originals got worn out with use. After all, what Peter wrote would be very highly valued so original copies could be worn out.

But Peter was the major leader of the church; and he spent a lot of time in Jerusalem, I understand. So, he could have coordinated a team of people to write down his message in different languages. He could have spoken in Aramaic, and someone wrote that down, while a translator wrote it in Hebrew, and someone else wrote it in Greek. 

In any case, earlier well used copies could have been worn out.

 

Edited August 23, 2022 by com7fy8

[Jayne]

14 hours ago, Slibhin said:

Because the writers of the Tanakh spoke Hebrew. This question is like asking why Shakespeare wrote in English.

Not everyone is familiar enough the the Tanakh, the Bible, or ancient writings to know that.  Even you, a Jew, had to be taught that at one point.

Not everyone knows everything.

The author of the OP did not know that.  That's why he asked.

[Leonardo Von]

On 6/16/2022 at 5:01 PM, Open7 said:

How can it be that all the ot writers wrote their books in Hebrew and all the nt writers wrote their letters in Greek? Did all ot writers just happen to live in the Hebrew region and all nt writers lived in the Greek speaking region?

Thanks

I believe that all the books of the New Testament was written in Hebrew. The problem is that, for some reasons, the original was lost and only stayed manuscripts translated to Greek.