“There are, it may be, so many kinds of languages in the world, and none of them is without significance.” (1st Cor. 14:10)

“There are, it may be, so many kinds of languages in the world, and none of them is without significance.” (1st Cor. 14:10)

Although Hebrew was the language used for reading and chanting in the synagogues and Jerusalem Temple, at the time Jesus walked the earth it was not generally used in everyday situations by anyone other than the “religious elite” (Pharisees, Sadducees, and Scribes). Greek was the universal language and most used by the Romans and all who needed to communicate with them. Aramaic was the language spoken by the Jews and probably what Jesus used most. Similar with Hebrew, it also incorporated words from various other countries and regions making it a kind of hybrid language.

Fr. John