Skip to main content
2 of 2
deleted 322 characters in body
Frank Luke
  • 22.7k
  • 18
  • 87
  • 135

This statement by Ehrman that Jesus and the disciples did not speak Greek confuses me. Judea was at the crossroads of three continents. They had been under varying amounts of foreign rule for centuries-foreign rulers who spoke Greek. Greek was the lingua franca of Jesus' day (the trading language spoken by people of different countries). Even the Romans spoke Greek to communicate with the people (Latin was used for legal documents). There is plenty of archeological evidence from the Holy Land that Greek was spoken by many people to varying degrees of fluency. If for no other reason, Mark would need to know Greek when the soldier says, "Hey you! Carry this."

For more evidence of Greek among the disciples, see John 12:20-12 where some Greeks say, "Sir, we would see Jesus." And Phillip of Galilee (a heavily-trafficked trade route) evidently understands them.

Many of the rabbis did not like Greek. Some said that teaching Greek to one's child was the same as teaching polytheism. However, Hillel said the day the LXX was completed was a glorious day for now the Shekinah could be spread amongst the gentiles.

Frank Luke
  • 22.7k
  • 18
  • 87
  • 135