Languages- Aramaic, Hebrew, Greek, Latin

Jesus spoke Aramaic and preached in Aramaic to the simple and poor people who could understand Him. Latin was spoken by Roman officials and Jews who were attached to the court of the Roman Government. Greek was understood by a few cultured businessmen and merchants. But the masses spoke Aramaic. Hebrew was only spoken in the synagogues and used as a ceremonial language. Even the Hebrew Scriptures were interpreted by the priest and Pharisees in Aramaic.

First-century Christianity was nothing more than a perfected Judaism inspired by Jewish traditions and hopes. First-century Christianity was primarily a Jewish movement appealing to Jewish racial aspirations and thought. In the second century, the Jewish Christians saw the incorporation of Greek and Egyptian traditions, and religious commercialism crept into their new Jewish movement. Doctrines and dogma were replacing the teachings of Jesus and the Jewish prophets, and there was a danger of this new, pure religion becoming assimilated into the Gentile culture and losing its Jewish identity. By the time of Constantine, many Jews dropped their interest in what was now becoming a Gentile movement. The Gospels were written for the Jews and in the language of the Jews. The style of writing and composition of the Aramaic is not easily translated into other languages. Therefore, we find Aramaic thought and manner of speech dictated into the Greek New Testament. What this means is that the New Testament is filled with many Aramaic idioms. There are about five hundred words in the English language which have more than five thousand meanings. Now, if English, a modern language has so many idioms and words with different meanings, then it must stand to reason that ancient languages have more idioms than English and are much more difficult to understand. 

How important is it for Christians today to recognize these facts? Perhaps it could be a matter of life and death. Let’s assume that the book of Mark was originally written in Aramaic and later translated into Greek. The King 15 Chaim Bentorah James Version was translated in 1611 when little regard to the Aramaic and its idioms. Hence we have Mark 16:11 telling us: "They shall take up serpents…." I recently read where a Baptist pastor, albeit one who was uneducated and preaching in some backwoods church, demonstrated his faith by picking up a rattlesnake expecting his faith to protect him from the snake's venom. It didn’t, and he died.

 So, we have the wedding ceremony where we gaze at Jesus in transparency, leading us to the joy of the wedding dance, and now the groom takes his place at the right hand of the Father at his daqurasih in Aramaic from the root word quras, which is a chamber with an upholstered chair or a divan, what we call a love seat, that is a chair made for two people to sit closely together. It could also be a bedroom, and the way the syntax suggests, we could read this as the bedroom in His Father's house. This is where the groom Jesus would take us His bride, to consummate our marriage to Him.

For reference:

John 10:11: “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd gives his life for his sheep.” Greek: kalos - beautiful, fine, excellent, blameless, high moral character. Aramaic: tawa’ – A relationship with someone or something that is harmonious and in sync

Jesus spoke an Old Galilean form of Aramaic (not Greek) which scholars are just beginning to understand. When read from the Aramaic version of the Bible, the Peshitta, I come up with a little different rendering. First and foremost is the use of the word that is used for cup in Aramaic, which is the word kasa. It is identical to the Hebrew word kavas, which is also the word found in other Semitic languages used for a stork. The stork was noted for its tender loving care of its young. Legend has it that if one of the stork’s chicks died, the mother stork would resurrect its young with its own blood. This is the same word Jesus used at the last supper when He said that this cup (not this wine) is my blood. In other words, this nurturing love is my blood. The Semitic mindset of the disciples would have allowed them to see a little play on words in this context. It would be his blood that would resurrect us and restore us to a rightful position with God. In the garden, Jesus is praying that this kasa (cup, nurturing love) would pass from Him. 

In Greek, the word pass is parelthato, which means to avert, avoid, or pass over. But if this word for pass was spoken in Aramaic and later translated into Greek, it is possible the Aramaic might be closer to what Jesus said, which was avar. Now avar in Aramaic is the same word in Hebrew which has a wide range of meanings. The word itself is the picture of a river overflowing onto its banks. You could say that it is passing over, but more correctly, it would be overwhelming. Yes, the human part of Jesus was not looking forward to the coming torture and pain, but Jesus was not praying to get out of this situation but that this cup, or this nurturing, sacrificial love would overwhelm his physical body so it would not dread the coming pain.

Ironically, the "Hebrew" Ashuri script is actually (originally) Aramaic. Prior to the Babylonian exile, the Israelites used an older Hebrew script, known as Paleo-Hebrew, which was closely related to the old Phoenician characters. "Ashuri" means "Assyrian", and the Israelites adopted the Aramaic or Assyrian script following the Babylonian exile. It has remained with Israel ever since. Thus, as we study the Ashuri script, we are actually studying a script that was used for Aramaic to begin with. We have come full circle.

Even the symbols and meanings are directly tied to Jesus and His prophecies being fulfilled. The whole Bible in an alphabet- how amazing and infinite is His wisdom!

What is Jesus full name?

During millennia, Yeshua, Jesus’ true name, which is an instance of transliteration, has developed. ″Isous″ is the Greek transcription of Jesus’ original name, whereas ″Yeshua″ is the late Biblical Hebrew form of Jesus’ name. Irrespective of one’s religious beliefs, the name ″Jesus″ is almost universally recognized.

What is Jesus Hebrew name?

Jesus’ given name in Hebrew was ″Yeshua,″ which translates to ″Joshua″ in the English language. So, how did the name ″Jesus″ come to be given to us?

Is Aramaic older than Hebrew?

Aramaic is the Middle Eastern language that has been continually spoken and written for the longest period of time, dating back even further than written Hebrew and Arabic. It is one of the world’s earliest written languages, dating back thousands of years.

Who spoke Aramaic in the Bible?

As early as the 6th century bce, Aramaic had supplanted Hebrew as the primary language of the Jewish people. Certain sections of the Bible, such as the books of Daniel and Ezra, as well as the Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmuds, are written in the Aramaic language.

Why do we say Jesus instead of Joshua?

1. His given name in Hebrew is Yeshua, which is a contraction of the word yehshu’a.
2. Despite the fact that his given name is Joshua, the name ″Jesus″ was not chosen just on the basis of originality, but rather on the basis of translation.
3. When the name Yeshua is translated into the Greek language, from which the New Testament is derived, it becomes Isous, which is spelled ″Jesus″ in the English language.

How do you say Son of God in Aramaic?

″Bar ‘elaha″ (bar ‘elaha) is a biblical Aramaic term that means ″son of God.″ The genitive case did not exist at the time, and it was created by simply placing two nouns one after the other.. In Syriac, the term for Son of God is bar d alaha. The statement appears in Mel Gibson’s film The Passion of the Christ, when it is spoken.

Revelation tells us that Jesus is the Alpha (Greek) and Omega (Greek) which is also an idiom. 

Matt. 1:23 refers to Jesus as "Emmanuel" which translates into Hebrew "God with us" and is interpreted from the original Aramaic. 

Matt. 21:9 refers to Jesus as "Hosanna" which is Hebrew from the root word "yasha'" where we get the name Yeshua, Joshua, and Jesus. It means salvation. 

Luke 23:38 "And a superscription also was written over him in letters of Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew, THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS." John 19:20.

Acts 21:40 "And when he had given him licence, Paul stood on the stairs, and beckoned with the hand unto the people. And when there was made a great silence, he spake unto them in the Hebrew tongue, saying,"

The name Aramaic is found in Ezra 4:7 as יתִ מָ רֲא’) aramiyth) which is the feminine of Aramaean, and translated Aramaic, but the older translations say the ”Syrian language.” In Genesis 10:22, Aram, the youngest son of Shem, is mentioned as the founder of the Aramaean nation, and thus the country is rightly called “Aram” (Num. 23:7); but the same Hebrew word is rendered “Mesopotamia” (Judge 3:10)2 . Syria is an abbreviated form of Assyria and came into common use after the conquests of Alexander the Great. The Aramaic found in Daniel’s day is referred to in Daniel 2:4 as הָ ימִ דְׂ ש ַּכ (kasdiymah), or the shortened form יִ דְׂ ש כ) kasdiy) from Kasdites the descendents of Kesed and has come to be known as the Chaldean language common to the region of Babylonia.