Languages of the Bible

Three Languages Used in the Bible

The Bible was written in three languages.

• Hebrew: Most of the Old Testament was written in this language.
• Aramaic: Certain passages of the Old Testament were written in Aramaic: Ezra 4:8–6:18 and 7:12–26, Daniel 2:4b–7:28, and Jeremiah 10:11. The name "Jegar-sahadutha," which Laban gave in Genesis 31:47, is also Aramaic.
• Greek: All twenty-seven books of the New Testament were written in Greek. Korean churches customarily refer to ancient Greek as Hella-eo (헬라어), a traditional term derived from "Hellas."

Several Aramaic words are preserved in the New Testament in transliterated form. Examples include "Talitha cumi" (Mark 5:41); "Ephphatha" (Mark 7:34); "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani" (Mark 15:34), one of the Seven Sayings from the Cross; "Abba" (Mark 14:36; Romans 8:15); and Maran-atha (1 Corinthians 16:22). According to John 19:20, the title placed on Jesus' cross "was written in Hebrew, and Greek, and Latin."

Background

Hebrew belongs to the Semitic language family and was originally written with consonants only. Vowel points were added by later Jewish scholars, and the text transmitted in this form is the Masoretic Text.

Aramaic served as the language of international diplomacy during the Assyrian and Persian periods. This is illustrated in 2 Kings 18:26, where officials of Judah ask the Assyrian envoy to address them in Aramaic: "Speak, I pray thee, to thy servants in the Syrian language." After the Babylonian exile, Aramaic is understood to have become widely used as the everyday language of the Jewish people.

Greek became the common language of the eastern Mediterranean after the conquests of Alexander the Great. The form of Greek in which the New Testament was written is called Koine ("common"). The Septuagint, a Greek translation of the Old Testament, was frequently quoted by the New Testament writers.

Significance for the Bible as a Whole

The Bible was written not in a special sacred language but in the languages people actually spoke in their own time. This fact, together with the account that at the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost people heard the gospel "every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born" (Acts 2:8), is often cited as a basis for the legitimacy of Bible translation.

Interpretations and Issues

• The language of Jesus: Many scholars hold that Jesus' everyday language was Aramaic. Scholars differ on the extent to which he used Hebrew or Greek.
• Original manuscripts and authority: Many evangelical Protestant denominations apply inspiration and inerrancy to the first written records in the original languages (the autographs). The Roman Catholic Church, at the Council of Trent, recognized the Latin Vulgate as its official text. Since the twentieth century, however, the Catholic Church has also actively encouraged the study of the original languages.
• Interpreting word meanings: Interpretations differ concerning the two verbs translated "love" in John 21:15–17 (agapao and phileo). Some interpreters regard the difference in meaning between the two words as significant, while others see the variation as stylistic. Scholars generally caution against determining a word's meaning in context solely on the basis of its etymology.

In the Korean Church

Pastoral training programs at Korean graduate schools of theology generally include courses in Hebrew and Greek. In sermons, the phrase "in the original language" is frequently used. Korean Bible translations such as the New Korean Revised Version and the New Korean Standard Version were translated or revised on the basis of the original-language texts.