Did Jesus Speak Greek?

[@redpillow7221]

-Literally God incarnate -Heals the sick/blind, cures leprosy -Resurrects himself and others from death -Walked on water -Turns water into wine -Spoke multiple languages

[@thiagoemanuel8607]

Idk, that last one might be hard to believe. Speaking multiple languages is kinda hard, you know?

[@thomasecker9405]

​@@thiagoemanuel8607 Hard, but not impossible.

[@Dee-nonamnamrson8718]

​@@thomasecker940560% of my coworkers are bilingual.

[@michaelbabbitt3837]

@@thiagoemanuel8607 No, it's not. Totally silly, ignorant statement. Many people in Europe and throughout the world speak multiple languages. Americans speak only one language, for the most part.

[@GROENAASMusic]

@@michaelbabbitt3837 I think he was being sarcastic.

[@RstRlx]

Jesus talked to many non Jews in the Gospels, assuming that he always had to have an interpreter for that would be funny. I grew up in Ukraine during USSR, as a kid I learned both Ukrainian and Russian without any question. Russian was the language of the "Empire" - USSR and Ukrainian was local language. In my mind it is not even a question if Jesus spoke more than one language.

[@Dee-nonamnamrson8718]

This comment should be pinned

[@lanpham7855]

Jesus probaly speak at least 3 languages which arr Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek

[@manub.3847]

Well, if you assume that the Roman Empire had ruled there since 63 BC and the Greek sphere of influence was already established around 300 BC, then it is only normal that people in these regions grew up at least bilingual. If you take into account that in my country (DE) English has been officially taught in all schools since around 1964, then it is not surprising that most people can communicate in this language. Attention, this does not apply to the older generation in the eastern part of my country. These people learned Russian. * Regionally, especially within the Hanseatic League, young merchants were already in the 14th and 15th centuries taught the English language .

[@I9s7lam5is-S3tu1pid]

I’m from Asia and where I come from we can speak at least 3 languages one of which would be English even as children.

[@NESShadows]

Being born American to a Hispanic household, learning both English and Spanish were a given to us, then I studied French in high school, I don’t see how many think He wouldn’t have known more than one language

[@David-tk4rj]

Speaking Greek in those days and in that region was as common as people who speak English in Kenya, India and New Zealand today

[@NedJeffery]

"common as people who speak english in New Zealand" ahhhh, I'm sure it was common, but not THAT common.

[@hweiktomeyto]

Barely any New Zealanders speak Māori. There are more pakeha than Māori, so the percentage of English speakers in New Zealand is similar or maybe more than Usa

[@kevin6293]

I’m pretty sure people who live in rural India can’t speak English.

[@benjaminwatt2436]

Typical Monolingual mistake...assuming monolingualism was/ is and has always been the norm.

[@chamuuemura5314]

Funny how outside China, Mexico, and many former British colonies, most people are multilingual. I just assumed Jesus was a polyglot but never had real evidence.

[@john316godsolovedtheworld]

💯

[@daveonezero6258]

True. And many people beleive Paul was so instrumental because he is asssumed to know greek. If we do that we can also assume Mathew and Luke also knew greek because of education. This just expands that idea that a larger number of people were probably also speaking Greek.

[@adamstewart9052]

Islam Critiqued also did a video once on this in response to Muslims in his comment sections "Jesus Spoke Aramaic but the Gospels were Written in Greek!" I recommend watching it too.

[@ПавелВойтко-п7в]

Very hypocritical from them, given that Quran is written in Arabic, language that Jesus never spoke.

[@SaintOtter]

​@user-mh2md4te9i Yeah, they argue that Allah made that translation and, therefore, is a perfect translation and rendering of what Jesus taught.

[@lucienlagarde8093]

@@ПавелВойтко-п7в well the word injil in the quran itself derives from greek

[@AnHebrewChild]

Adam Stewart - Thank you for recommending that video. *_Excellent_* content in a dispassionate, "just the facts, ma'am" presentation style. Good stuff.

[@SaintOtter]

@AlonzoHarris235 Our favorite troll. Or should I say: our favorite example of what Islam does to a human being. Sad.

[@TestifyApologetics]

Nicely done

[@RogersMgmtGroup]

Having spent time in Egypt as a child, Jesus may also have known some Egyptian. We also have evidence of Jesus reading from the scroll in the synagogue, so he clearly also read and spoke Hebrew.

[@lloydgush]

Greek might have been enough for egypt.

[@AndronikosNikephoros]

Alexandria was a Greek city in Egypt where the old testament was translated from Hebrew to Greek in the times of Alexander the Great

[@mysotiras21]

Yep.

[@sluggger]

in egypt the jews were speaking greek, the septuagint (greek old testament) comes from egypt.... that translation is older than the masoretic text that came later to reconstruct the complete hebrew bible which was believed to be lost.

[@DarrenGedye]

Cleopatra was apparently the only one in her family who learnt to speak Egyptian. The rest stuck with Greek.

[@kierstenreynoso2195]

As a Christian who loves languages, thank you for making this. It's super amazing that Jesus was bilingual/trilingual!

[@catholiceditz]

In addition, Jesus being the Son of God would mean that He could have realistically spoken any language necessary for His ministry.

[@QuikBlazer]

True, but It's more pragmatic to have the ability to prove the. validity of the scripture to a skeptic.

[@hotwax9376]

@@QuikBlazer This.

[@TheSulross]

Yet Jesus appears to have lived daily life on much the same terms as any of the rest of us - miracles seem to be something very special - toward a purpose of glorifying God the Father in Heaven (Jesus said as much). So if Jesus were bi-lingual or multi-lingual, am of the opinion that it was due to the cultural circumstances he was born into. It's only at the apostles preaching at Pentecost that the scriptures denote the miraculous aspects of their ability to seemingly preach in the native languages of the far flung pilgrim audience they were addressing. The scriptures don't make mention of that kind of thing per the ministry of Jesus.

[@catholiceditz]

@@TheSulross They don't, but we have to remember that this is the incarnate Son of God we are talking about. Had the necessity arisen, I'm sure He would've been able to speak other languages. You are correct though, the scriptures do not specify. Aramaic he spoke for sure, Greek is highly likely, and Hebrew would be a reasonable guess.

[@TheSulross]

@@catholiceditz Yet among all the gospels, Acts, and the epistles of Paul, they sure seem to note a lot of interesting details for those paying attention. That they don't make any mention of Jesus miraculously preaching/teaching in a language other than that he normally spoke in - is most probably because he never did such a thing in conducting his ministry. Am very confident these authors would have noted such if it had happened, because these guys just don't let such important details go by unremarked. (I.e., there is nothing that remarks something like "his disciples were astounded as Jesus conversed with some gentiles [name a group] in their native language as they had never heard him speak in this language before". When you're with someone like that day in and day out, it would definitely stand out if something like that happened.) Speculation based on hand-waving assumptions is not a very convincing way to study Jesus and the early church - and base apologetics on. It's much more rewarding to stay grounded in the information that has been conveyed down to us. Doing otherwise has the effect of ultimately undermining the Gospel message that is being conveyed to unbelievers.

[@cole141000]

As a student of Greek… this was remarkable and an enigma I had been trying to make sense of Thank you so much

[@john-xp4em]

"The 👑GREATEST MAN in HISTORY" had no servants, yet they called Him Master. Had no degree, yet they called Him Teacher. Had no medicines, yet they called Him Healer. He had no army, yet kings feared Him. He won no military battles, yet He conquered the world. He did not live in a castle, yet they called Him Lord, He ruled no nations, yet they called Him King, He committed no crime, yet they crucified Him. He was buried in a tomb, yet He lives today! "His name is JESUS❤"

[@brandonmacey964]

S.M. Lockeridge?

[@Debater1]

A prophet

[@andys3035]

​@Debater1 your Quran says He is a messiah. Using only the Quran, define what that means.

[@hotwax9376]

That is utterly brilliant.

[@H2OAP22]

Just Almighty in every way his will is all powerful, is it not?

[@byzantinedeacon]

I'm surprised that there are people that would argue against this.

[@coffeehousedialogue]

Never underestimate atheistic desperation.

[@byzantinedeacon]

@@coffeehousedialogue I guess you are right.

[@HumbleNBrave]

Muslims/potatoes would argue that Jesus is a muslim bdw

[@sadscientisthououinkyouma1867]

That's because Christianity effectively destroyed history. If you follow the actual academic standards for the discipline of history, Christianity is undeniably true. This is why you see so much bias and anti-academic as it pertains to the study of Jesus. See also why we have far more doubt as to the words of Jesus consistent across multiple Gospels in less than a century after is death (by late dating), but nobody contest the words of ancient military leaders who's only source for existence is some author writing multiple centuries after their life.

[@byzantinedeacon]

@@sadscientisthououinkyouma1867 good point

[@JAHtony1111]

Excellent. Greek then was the equivalent of English today. Universal. Salute.

[@kenyonzebeda9644]

Definitely. I don't if this is evidence but even our history books teach us that the words we use have a Greek sometimes latin origin like "Democracy"

[@DarrenGedye]

Yes in a way, but Koine Greek was also designed to be easy for foreigners to learn, which is not something I often encounter attributed to English! 😉 Perhaps Esperanto would be a better analogy, if Esperanto had a military superpower enforcing it.

[@roydenboom]

This is 1st world bias. In South Africa everyone is either bi or trilingual. We are just raised amongst the different languages. My family speak fluent Xhosa without a single lesson.

[@andrelegeant88]

And the experience of people in an area with many languages like South Africa is far closer to that of Jesus than is the experience of an America.

[@danyboon4851]

You mean USA, cause rest of the world is bilingual

[@johnv5275]

The inscription on the cross was written in hebrew,Latin and Greek. Meaning language was diverse and if language was diverse in a large city,this means people had to be multilingual to live together.

[@jefffarris9238]

The inscription on the cross is not historical. It’s a later church tradition.

[@johnv5275]

@@jefffarris9238 proof

[@Alexander-qy7yz]

​​@@jefffarris9238where do you get that idea from? The inscription is recorded in all the gospels. Matthew 27:37 Mark 15:26 Luke 23:38 John 19:19-20 The gospel of John tells us that it was written in Aramaic (or Hebrew as I'm being informed by an article that says that Aramaic is a mistranslation, either way, the sign on the cross is not later church tradition), Latin and Greek.

[@Crafty.Veteran.Survival]

This is pretty wild. I literally just had an Uncle of mine last night ask, "Why should we trust the New Testament if it was written in Greek, and Jesus and his followers spoke Aramaic?" Was going to research that question/objection today, and here we are! 😮

[@uberfeel]

Tell him people weren't illiterate back then and lingua franca languages existed over 2000 years ago.

[@benjaminwatt2436]

@@uberfeel yeah i always thought this objection was so flimsy. Translation has been a part of human history for literally 1000s of years. The infastructure existed to do it, Scribes would have been perfectly capable, so where's the problem?

[@Mile_12332]

Why u Christian worship one Jew?😂 I m also Jewish worship me too and also worship whole Israel..its all Jewish😂😂

[@ke4755]

This is a legit, good-faith question by a sincere student of Greek and Aramaic only.

[@Saint_nobody]

Glory to God! 😊

[@Vukadin150]

Thanks for presenting this well-researched case and strengthening my faith in Jesus, Mike. May He always be with you!

[@ZelZarKi]

Greek was the Lingua Franca of the day, thanks to Alexander.

[@stephenfisher3721]

Aramaic was the lingua franca.

[@kosmasgvl1615]

@@stephenfisher3721 nope

[@ToeTag1968]

For quite a few years, I've believed that Jesus spoke at least Aramaic, Hebrew, and Greek. And, he could have spoken any language he may have had to depending on who he came into contact with.

[@FishermensCorner]

Only Americans would question the bilingual nature of a European region...

[@uberfeel]

True, even though America was majority bilingual and trilingual almost 100 years ago.

[@bassmanjr100]

There is very little reason for the average Amercian to learn a 2nd language. If there were, they would do it.

[@stevelinley1073]

... or even (especially) the Near East 😉

[@joshd3502]

Only Americans? Israel is in Europe? This might be bait...

[@dougmasters4561]

​@@joshd3502common euro fail

[@obad.iah.]

Thank you for your work brother.

[@xtb3215]

What good timing! I was wondering about this just yesterday.

[@merleharris7485]

Thanks for this! Bart Ehrman has used the "Jesus only spoke Aramaic" assumption to discount the certainty of Jesus' famous one on one conversation in the third chapter of John's gospel. But isn't it interesting that Jesus is talking to a guy named Nicodemeus, a Jew with a Greek name? It's likely they both spoke Greek. Along with the multiple examples you give, Acts 6:1 mentiones the Hellenistic Jews among believers in the Jerusalem church. No reason Jesus could not have spoken Greek.

[@through-faith-alone]

Bart Ehrman. Bart Ehrman. Have you heard of Bart Ehrman? There is this guy called Bart Ehrman.

[@Ahuntrgw2013]

VERY interesting and thought-provoking! Thank you very much for creating and producing this video, sir!

[@TesseRact7228]

Generally, the conquered have to learn the language of the conqueror. In the time of Jesus, the Romans, who spoke Greek, were the the conquerors. Why do Indians, Zimbabweans, Sri Lankan and a whole host of other countries speak English? - Because they had been conquered/ruled/colonized by the English. Ditto for Surinam and Dutch, Namibia and German, Mozambique & Angola and Portuguese, etc., etc., etc.

[@Hwje1111]

Didnt the romans speak latin?

[@TesseRact7228]

@@Hwje1111 Some did. The "universal" language at the time was Greek.

[@DarrenGedye]

​@@Hwje1111Yes, the first language of the Romans was Latin, but Alexander had created a simplified version of Greek known as Koine as a common language for his diverse empire. When the Romans took over they took advantage of this. When Augustus joked that it was better to be Herod's pig than his son it works better in Greek (υς/υιός) than in Latin (porcum / filium).

[@Cklert]

@@DarrenGedye Also keep in mind, that the Jews had likely already been Hellenized under Alexander, long before the Romans came in.

[@DarrenGedye]

@@Cklert Oh absolutely! I was only referring to Hwje1111's question of why *Romans* as the ruling power would also know Greek, rather than trying to impose their Latin on their dominions as one might reasonably expect.

[@drewkline96]

Great video. Funnily enough I first saw you on Redbar when one of his fans tried to mess with you in the chat about an “investigation”. As much as I like laughing at Redbar, your videos on faith are just as good. Hope all is well and that the troll didn’t get to you.

[@unknowntexan4570]

I was taught this in seminary. Greek was the business language.

[@michaelkelleypoetry]

Dorothy Sayers includes this in her play-cycle, "The Man Born to Be King", in which she includes a scene in which one of the Pilot's servants ask him if he wants him to fetch a translator. Pilot says, "Wait, I'll find out," and then he asks Jesus if he speaks Greek, to which Jesus replies that he does, and Pilot says, "Good, that saves time."

[@Taydutt13]

Interesting as always IP.. when is the next debate? You are a talented debater.

[@InspiringPhilosophy]

Whenever we get someone with a sizable audience to agree. So far, no takers as of late. I am trying to not debate those who have much lower audience sizes, as I think it is worth my audience's time.

[@Taydutt13]

@InspiringPhilosophy thanks for the update you and your content has inspired me to dig deeper into my Bible and your videos are a wealth of knowledge

[@FishermensCorner]

​@@InspiringPhilosophy what is your debate subject of choice? Or is it whatever you are challenged with?

[@Saint_nobody]

​@@InspiringPhilosophylook up Ward Radio. Do they have an ample size audience to go on their show?

[@MichaelGMoney]

Some would say that you happen to be a master debater mr. Philosophy. A master debater indeed.

[@nodiet8660]

Excellent video IP. The sources that you gave compliment each other, even though they may disagree on minor things, for example when it's about the Aramaic verses and when exactly Jesus spoke Greek. I'll have to rewatch that video another time to retain more info but the first watch was good enough for the beginning. Thank you Mike, may God bless you in your journey.

[@con_boy]

Jesus was tri lingual.. and literate.. he spoke Aramaic, Hebrew, Greek

[@stevelinley1073]

He could also write, with his finger in the dust. Now, who is it in the Old Testament who writes with a finger? Oh, look: YHWH!

[@Magnulus76]

Hebrew was not a spoken language in the first century.

[@con_boy]

@Magnulus76 it was read out in Hebrew by Jesus. This video missed the main point:being literate necessitated Greek or Hebrew. Literate/bilingual are the same thing because Aramaic was a spoken only language. You heard the news read out in Greek. You heard decrees and laws in Greek. You heard the Psalms in Hebrew.

[@edward1412]

I say, He spoke Latin too.

[@dakotastein9499]

Given he spent his youth in Egypt,it's possible he could have known Egyptian as well.

[@Qohelethful]

Hebrew, Greek, Coptic, and Aramaic, and possibly Latin. All of these were entirely possible.

[@bobSeigar]

Unless Christ was out and about speaking to folk in the 40s, Coptic is not among those. St. Mark went to Egypt after the Resurrection, and Coptic is a result of his visit.

[@Qohelethful]

@@bobSeigar then Egyptian of some variety is possible even if it would be too early for Coptic.

[@patrickbuckley7259]

It would be more suprising if he didn't speak Greek it was to the ancients what english is to us. One may argue that he'd likely not preach in greek, until we remember that he preached to gentiles as well.

[@hotwax9376]

Exactly; another comparison would be French in the 1700s.

[@el_killorcure]

And many times when quoting the Old Testament, Jesus quoted the Septuagint which was in Greek...

[@PirateRadioPodcasts]

Aye. KOINE is said to have been the vernacular of the time. Presumably popular among the MERCHANT class, in particular.

[@objectivechristian]

Considering Jesus quoted the Septuagint, yeah it's safe to say he spoke Greek.

[@dakotastein9499]

Not to mention he spoke personally to legionairs more than once..he didn't just preach to his own tribe... Kind of hard to do if there was a language barrier.

[@snazzy176]

As usual, IP has provided provocative insight for upholding the veracity of scripture against naysayers. Well done, sir. Snazzy

[@andys3035]

Dr. Peter Williams is a great source!

[@UntilAllHear]

Awesome video summary interacting with Porter’s article. Thanks so much for putting it together!

[@jameswoodard4304]

It also seems possible (I'm not an expert) that where the Greek passage seems awkward, implying an Aramaic original, that the person actually was just speaking an Aramized form of Greek. In other words, the Aramic original existed, but was inside the person's head. It is possible to speak a second language in a way that mimics a first language. Anyone who lives in a bilingual cultural milieu knows this. In South Texas, a native English speaker often speaks their Spanish with more English-style word order and vocabulary and vice versa when native Spanish speakers speak English. Perhaps in some of these instances, we are not seeing Greek text marked by being originally spoken and then translated out of Aramaic, so much as the record of something that was spoken in Greek by a native-Aramaic mind. I do not necessarily mean that Jesus may have spoken a poor, broken, form of Greek so much as that the popular form of Greek He may have spoken in certain circumstances may have been a heavily Aramized Greek. I wonder what an actual linguist would say to this, as I'm just a layman throwing out guesses.

[@dancedancelauren]

That's a fascinating idea I hadn’t considered. Your example of Spanish/English makes me think of an article I read about how Miami is developing its own unique English dialectic because of all the Spanish spoken there. Young people are using Spanish-style grammar and particularly prepositions (I think one example in the article was, "I get down from the car" rather than "I get out of the car"). Language is so interesting!

[@Magnulus76]

The Gospel of John or Mark is a good example of that kind of language.

[@andrelegeant88]

This is what's happening with Revelation

[@kalex888]

Excellent presentation, Michael

[@beebarfthebard]

I just think it makes sense, everyone had to know Greek at the time and since Jesus was coming to save us all, He would speak in the universal language. 9:04 oh, lol like that.

[@baltasarnoreno5973]

Greek was NOT the universal language of the time. It was only widely spoken in the eastern Mediterranean, and only among the relatively well-educated.

[@Kostas_Dikefalaios]

​@@baltasarnoreno5973It was the language of the entire mediterranean. Doesnt mean everyone spoke it but it was the closest to an universal language at the time.

[@Desh282]

Wonderful video… I also hope you make a new one where you cover universalism. A concept that the gospel is for everyone as shown heavily in the gospel of Luke.

[@ke4755]

The Galilee was quadralingual, by inscriptions. Especially the business types, like carpenter shops.

[@andrelegeant88]

The idea Jesus wouldn't have known some Greek is just an anglocentric bias. English speakers are uniquely monolingual. One doesn't need to be educated to be a polyglot. Just today, I was helping a relative with a job search, and a young person with no college education at the UI office knew English, Turkish and Dari.

[@chrisazure1624]

In Luke 4, Jesus reads from the scroll of Isaiah. He knew Hebrew to understand that. Later correction: The quote seems to be from the LXX. This would support Jesus knowing Greek.

[@chrisazure1624]

Thanks for the like Ip Man.

[@nikostheater]

Not necessarily: the scroll would have been a Septuagint copy.

[@chrisazure1624]

@@nikostheater He read it in a synagogue. Most likely Hebrew.

[@treksta2009]

​@@nikostheater "Reading" the Sefer scroll would've been in Hebrew and then a translator most likely would've recited/translated it from the Aramaic Targums which were later compiled as Targum Jonathan, Jerusalem Targum or Targum Unqelos. That was the standard Jewish tradition back then. This is why when you buy a modern day jewish old testament like Miqraoth Gedoloth you'll see the Aramaic Targums right next to the Hebrew text presented side by side. And Galilee was a heavily "jewish" are so no need for the septuagint

[@nikostheater]

@@treksta2009 Galilee was Jewish in the sense that most of the inhabitants were Jewish, but the whole region was hellenized . Next to Nazareth, was Sepphoris a Hellenistic town for example. The fact that even in Qumran there were scrolls of the Torah in the Septuagint shows that everywhere, the Greek language both spoken and written was very common, including in religious context in Second Temple Judaism. Modern day Judaism is basically an offshoot of Second Temple Judaism, not the same.

[@CooperTheGoosebumpsGuy]

Really good video IP thank you. Amen 🙏 .

[@imikewillrockyou]

Good points Michael, at the very minimum we have translations into Greek by people who grew up bilingual, hence mirror Jesus' sayings as perfect as possible. But Jesus often spoke to outsiders, Roman soldier, Canaanite woman, Pilate etc.. Thus he likely was, at least in those moments, speaking in Greek. BTW, the Greek letter Pi is actually pronounced simply "P", because iota actually sounds like "eee"

[@kenyonzebeda9644]

This was definitely a good video, but I'm actually quite curious who recorded pilates and Jesus' conversation. (I'm christian btw)

[@susand3668]

Dear@@kenyonzebeda9644, I think it is likely that one or more of the people who were in the room, and later became Christian, and reported what went on. The Centurian whose servant Jesus healed perhaps?

[@StephenMallick]

Praise, glory and thanks be to God. Thank you for the evidence IP

[@enockt6218]

Jesus preached too the jews about the hebrew scripture. He spoke aramaic too the locals. He spoke too the roman leaders who spoke greek But muslim refuse this and say he knew only aramaic because they do not care what it true. For them is more important to devalue Christianity and christ.

[@luisr5577]

Great arguments, IP!

[@americanlostinvietnam3721]

Luke 4:17 - Jesus is in the synagogue on sabbath in Nazareth reading from a scroll of Isaiah from the Greek Septuagint. It says he found the passage and he read it to the people. So everyone in Nazareth spoke, read and understood Greek as well. I think it's a sure thing that he spoke both Western Syriac Aramaic and Greek. The Hebrew may be debatable, however, the Pharisees sure had no problem noticing the name of God in the form of an acronym on the sign that was put on the cross. I think Hebrew was probably being utilized much more than scholars say it was, especially within Jerusalem.

[@hirakisk1973]

Notice what St. Luke actually says in Luke 4:16-17, "So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. And He was handed the BOOK of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the BOOK, He found the place where it was written". Jesus Christ then proceeds to quote from the Septuagint. Greeks at this time used "books" called "codices" and not scrolls. This is a small detail that it definitely was from the Greek.

[@michaelg4919]

great episode.

[@JonCrs10]

Omnilingual but deliberately limiting Himself in His Humanity to just 3 or so languages until Resurrection when that self-restriction is no longer necessary

[@Fathersonandholyspirit-u2d]

Excellent video! 👏🏼

[@lucienlagarde8093]

well many people forget that the region used to be hellenized before even jesus came, seem like time to read the book of maccabees.

[@RichFaithLiving]

Keep up the good fight my brother.

[@Longshanks1690]

Given how many time travellers have reported Jesus telling them “You’re not supposed to be here!” in perfect modern English when they went back to hear him preach, I assume so. 😅

[@HadrianDev]

Love the videos IP!

[@randywise5241]

Mathew would have used Greek in his tax collecting job. Probably Roman too.

[@TM_AZ]

*Latin

[@Hideyoshi3241]

@@TM_AZ most educated romans knew greek and greek was way more common than latin in the eastern part of the mediterranean

[@oamurnaretal960]

Looking forward for mike to start a series on the book of Isaiah and Daniel 😊

[@samuelrobinson5842]

This is always something that I figured to be true. Much of the world, even today, is bilingual or trilingual, using a lingua franca in terms of business, government, and media. It is uniquely American to only speak one language, even most Brits know a good bit of French, German, Scots, or a local Celtic language. Even if Jesus didn't, we have the desciples referencing the Septuagint. I also have been told Mark is a sloppy Greek that grammatically works better in Hebrew, showing that it was Mark himself that penned the gospel taught by Simon Peter. This would be in contrast to John's gospel where I have heard that he had scribes translate it for him

[@andrelegeant88]

Mark's Greek is fine. It's Revelation that is a mess.

[@woff1959]

That's really great, thanks!! An additional string to your bow: In John 3:1-21, Jesus converses with a member of the Sanhedrin (as you said, a Greek name) whose name is Greek: "Nicodemus", from "Nike" or victory, and 'demos' or people. So his name meant 'victory of the people.'

[@kingvinoda3896]

I still like to imagine Jesus could speak perfect english if you went back in time.

[@greesemonkeyarmy]

His trade was building,(the actual meaning of the word we translate carpenter). He knew Hebrew, Aramaic, and likely some Greek to understand the other craftsmen. They were building a city a few miles from his home. The building went on for decades.

[@WeakestAvenger]

Heh, I was just arguing with (presumably) a Muslim in KZbin comments about this. I haven't watched your whole video here yet, so forgive me if you address this, but... In Mark 7:26, a Syrophoenician woman described as "hellenis" comes to Jesus and speaks with him. That word is defined by BDAG as "Greek in language and culture." So what language would Jesus have used to have a conversation with a Greek-speaking woman?

[@NickAlbano253]

Another good resource on this particular subject is Craig Evans's encyclopedia on the historical Jesus. There’s an article in there about whether Jesus spoke Greek, and it breaks down many good points about how he would have known Greek.

[@cnhhnc]

Although a stretch, it is not out of the question that people in that period of time had some knowledge of other languages. Although, in this case, why wouldn't Jesus be able to speak ANY LANGUAGE since speaking in tongues under the influence of the Holy Spirit seems to be an ability that a man-god would have. Would he not be able to understand a Han Chinese of this time? Babel much?

[@philltheotherguy1868]

I don’t see it as much of a stretch with or without godly knowledge

[@tayh.6235]

Of course, as a Christian, I believe it's within the realm of possibility for Jesus to have been able to speak any language miraculously. But being monolingual is rare in cultures that have contact with other cultures frequently. In a place like ancient Israel that has long been a cultural crossroads, I would expect most people to have some knowledge of other languages even if they weren't fluent. I mean, after just a few hours of watching shows in another language I'll start picking out some common words and noticing a little grammar like verb endings, word order, etc. We Americans are just spoiled because everyone uses English in business so we don't have a reason to push ourselves to learn other languages. It's really not that difficult though.

[@YourFriendDevin]

I just started my Masters of Theological Studies this week, and Greek is my first class! What timing! I’m excited to be able to read some of our Lord’s words in the actual language in which He originally spoke them.

[@ike991963]

Jesus was raised in Nazareth, a town nestled among the Decapolis, ten Greek speaking cities. As a young laborer He was probably pressed into service to help expand Caesaria.

[@mysotiras21]

Nazareth is in Galilee, not the Decapolis. The Decapolis was east of the Jordan River. Even so, there were many foreigners in Galilee, making knowledge of Greek a necessity.

[@ike991963]

@@mysotiras21 That's right. Thanks for correcting me. Wasn't one city of Decapolis west of the Jordon?

[@ike991963]

@@mysotiras21 Scythopolis wasn't far from Nazareth.

[@dangerdelw]

Jesus also demonstrates he was familiar with Aesop’s Fables (and maybe his audience too). Could possibly be how he learned Greek?

[@banmancan1894]

Wait, did you see my discussion with YT Muslims yesterday or something 😳. This is exactly what we were talking about.

[@briandiehl9257]

I think I might have been a part of that

[@raymondmordi7937]

Jesus likely learned Greek as a child in Egypt where it was the primary language of the Jewish community there

[@Patralgan]

Of course not. He spoke American and wrote Bible and founded the United States

[@thepyramidschemepodcast]

The Constitution says so!

[@Patralgan]

@@thepyramidschemepodcast which he also wrote

[@Kostas_Dikefalaios]

How KJV only people sound to me hahaha.

[@kodiak_9169]

@@Kostas_Dikefalaiosunironically it’s what Mormons sound like too

[@bassmanjr100]

​@Kostas_Dikefalaios I do not read the KJV, but your comment sounds insulting and not very charitable to your fellow brothers in Christ.

[@divadrelffehs]

He also spent his early childhood in Egypt where the main language of the Jews was Greek.

[@AndronikosNikephoros]

ALEXANDER THE GREAT spread Greek language ane culture as far as Egypt and India We Greek Orthodox ☦️🇬🇷 use the Greek Old Testament witch was translated in the Greek Egyptian city Alexandria a couple centuries before Christ and it is the old testament the first Christians used Χριστός Ανέστη Αληθώς Ανέστη ☦️

[@KoLecnac]

I’m guessing this is weird mostly for Americans. Isn’t learning multiple languages pretty common around the world, particularly in the Middle East where three continents collide?

[@Pontic_warrior]

I feel lucky as a Greek to speak a language that Jesus spoke/knew

[@FollowerofChristSpidey]

I'm learning Greek man. It's a lot easier to learn than I thought.

[@AndronikosNikephoros]

Χριστός Ανέστη , Αληθώς Ανέστη

[@ntonisa6636]

As the joke goes, Jesus must have been Greek , if he was 30 and still living with his mom. 🇬🇷😎👍

[@greenbird679]

Greek language in 1st century Judea is similar to English language in the modern world. Consider India, there are many spoken languages, yet urban population prefer English to converse with others.

[@stephenfisher3721]

Aramaic was the lingua franca.

[@osmanniazi7888]

I am looking for refutation of Rabbi Tovi Singer. Can someone please point me to refutation of his videos.

[@ingela_injeela]

Please pray for Tovia Singer.

[@TM_AZ]

Anthony Rogers has done some livestreams refuting him.

[@osmanniazi7888]

@@TM_AZ thanks

[@g.willikers465]

Is this considered controversial that Jesus might have taught and or spoken in Greek? Because I think it would be more unbelievable to say He never knew any Greek. It makes intuitive sense that he would speak the languages of the culture He lived in, even if only by cultural osmosis. I mean, I pick up dozens of words when I visit a foreign country for a few days and Jesus was considered a Rabbi so much smarter.

[@SacredReason]

GLORY BE TO THE FATHER, TO THE SON, AND TO THE HOLY SPIRIT, ONE GOD ALMIGHTY. HALLELUJAH. AMEN.

[@glorybtoGod]

AMEN❤️💯! God bless u and never forget, Jesus loves u❤️💯

[@nemoexnuqual3643]

We know he was raised with Hebrew, we know he spoke Aramaic with Mary Magdalene (see resurrection in John), we know he spoke well and easily to Romans, we know that the apostles spoke Greek and quoted Him in Greek, we know God gave us all the languages after the Tower of Babel and knows all things so that he speaks every language as it has changed over time seems common sense especially with “every man hearing in his own language” in Acts 2. So yes Jesus spoke and is fluent still today in Greek… Latin… Hebrew… Aramaic… Gaelic… German… Russian… Cantonese… Swahili… English… Japanese… Spanish… Portuguese…Italian… whatever near English is being spoken by Boomhaur’s in the American southeast… IT technician…Gen Z’eese… and even Welsh

[@pierreabbat6157]

Paul spoke at least two languages. Acts 21:37 Paul asked the chiliarch, "Ει εξεστι μοι ειπειν προς σε;" He replied "You know Greek? So then you aren't the Egyptian who ...?" A few verses later he switches to "Hebrew dialect" (which may be Aramaic) to speak to the crowd. However, growing up in Mersin and attending rabbinical school in Israel, he didn't learn classical Greek. Before he visited Athens, he probably was coached by Timothy in the use of the optative and in Greek literature.

[@jaybees5734]

Andrew Peter James and John were not some dirty dusty fishermen, they were wealthy enough to hire help and have multiple houses. They spoke multiple languages. James and Johns father was friends with the high priest, that's why John was allowed at Jesus trial

[@bassmanjr100]

Agreed. It seems that Peter had a large home and likely more than one. He and his brother were not a couple of hobos with fishing poles.

[@philltheotherguy1868]

Wait, where are you getting this info? Genuinely asking.

[@jaybees5734]

@@philltheotherguy1868 Biblical historian Ronald Brownwigg speculates that Zebedee was contracted supply fish for the High Priests. If John was known to the High Priest it suggests that there was interaction. Calling them sons of Zebedee suggests that he was well known and possibly influencial

[@TheWhiteTrashPanda]

(comment written before finishing the video). I would argue Jesus was most likely trilingual. He was a rabbi. This is roughly akin to being a traveling evangelist today. He would have not only needed to know how to interact with the people of the various regions he visited but also communicate to them in an effective manner. Traveling with a translator is theoretically possible but likely would have been referenced somewhere in the scriptures. Also a rabbi is a scholarly position. Jesus would have needed to be able to read and understand the scriptures. While some scrolls may hsve been translated into Aramaic, it seems more likely the strong reverence for tradition in the Jewish culture would lend to the scrolls primarily being written in Hebrew. Also Hebrew and Aramaic are very similar languages, so it would not be terribly difficult (relatively speaking) to be fluent in both. Certainly much easier than English and Hebrew, for example.

[@MeanBeanComedy]

He also spoke 1611 King's English, right?

[@coffeehousedialogue]

Wrong channel.

[@MeanBeanComedy]

@@coffeehousedialogue 😉😜

[@bassmanjr100]

Funny. But there a need to insult your fellow Christians?

[@MeanBeanComedy]

@@bassmanjr100 Yes, 100%.

[@coffeehousedialogue]

@@MeanBeanComedy Okay, I get the joke, now. LOL

[@JimCvit]

Of course the First Century Jews used the Septuagint so Jesus most definiy bilingual but trilingual too speaking Latin no doubt. The Jews probably quit using the Septuagint in the mid- to late Second Century. The Septuagint was used by Christians up until the Protestants decided to use the Masoretic text because it agreed with their version of Scripture to get away from using what the Church always used untl the Reformation, of course.

[@CopeandSeethe325]

In most bilingual areas today, people who are equally proficient in two languages will only use the pure form of either in formal speech, whereas in colloquial speech they engage in “code switching”, freely switching between the two languages and using vocabulary from either as they see fit. Christ and the Apostles undoubtedly would have done this, but New Testament scholars seem to live in a world where bilingual people never mix languages and only speak one or the other in its “pure” form.

[@David-j8v5p]

The same thing with what is written on in John 15:25 verse where Jesus says that that verse was based on a fulfilment written on in the Law of the Hebrews.

[@anthonylogiudice9215]

Most Jews in first century spoke Koine Greek. I would argue that Jesus spoke Aramaic and Greek. The upper class Romans including Pontius Pilate spoke and wrote Koine Greek and that is how he and Jesus were able to communicate with each other.

[@jesseboise6162]

I live in Cape Town, South Africa. When my pastor speaks only in English, the Afrikaans members complain. When our pastor speaks only in Afrikaans, the English members complain. It’s seems quite obvious to me, that a speaker needs to know their crowd and should be able to speak in their language.

[@mysotiras21]

Very likely that Jesus understood Greek. It was the lingua franca of the Roman Empire. Had Jesus not known Greek, he could not have conversed with Romans or the people of the Decapolis, none of whom were likely to have known Aramaic.

[@michaelkelleypoetry]

The Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures, was the primary Bible of the Jews in the first century, and Jesus quoted from it more than he did from the Masoretic text.

[@stephenfisher3721]

The Septuagint was the Bible of the Jews of Alexandria Egypt, not Judea and the Galilee.

[@Magnulus76]

Tekton doesn't mean just "Carpenter", it means more like day laborer. It's likely that both Jesus and Joseph worked as day laborers or tinkerers in Greco-Roman and Syrophoenician cities in the region. To do so, they would have had to been conversant in Koine Greek. It's very likely Jesus exchange with the Roman centurion and Syrophoenician woman, for instance, would have been in Greek, not Aramaic.

[@someinteresting]

I'd say it was a 3.5 lingual context - because Hebrew also was used, albeit in diminished capacity outside religion.

[@yodaz101]

YES.....he spoke to several people in their native language and dialects too And he spoke in his language and others in other languages somehow understood him. Same for apostles after Holy Spirit.

[@danielleduffy]

It's still up for debate on what Jesus' native tongue was. Check out "Did Jesus Speak Greek?" by Scott Gleaves.

[@bakhop]

Gee I do believe the Lord could speak any language if he so chose. Though I guess we have to understand that he may have allowed himself to be limited while incarnated, though those limitations don't seem very deep or broad since he could defy gravity and changed material things which defies Newtonian physics.

[@ehhe4381]

I think the conversation with Nicidemus also works better in Greek.

[@David-j8v5p]

The next thing to know is Luke 4:18 verse which in the Old Testament in Isaiah 61-1 verse it was written in the Greek language of the Septugint but originally it was written on in the Hebrew language of the Tanakh