Jews in Palestine Spoke Greek

[Metacrock]

wrong totally wrong! how many years did you study Greek? well I read Greek and I've studied the history of it beign spoke because I have arguments about the LXX so I studied the use of the it in Palestine and you are wrong! and it shows the amateurish nature of your knowledge base.

you have no idea what you are saying. They found most of the examples of koine they have in Palestine. you don't know anything.

this source does not exclude Palestine from Greek use:

http://www.jesuscentral.com/ji/histo...urycontext.php

Quote:
Language: The common language in the Roman Empire was Greek. However, at the time it was common for Jews to also use Hebrew, Aramaic, and Latin. Jesus’ every day language was Aramaic.
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http://www.ntgreek.org/answers/nt_written_in_greek.htm


"The September-October 1992 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review contains several fascinating articles which bear heavily on the questions posed for this article. For centuries, scholars have believed -- assumed -- that very few Jews of the first century spoke Greek. They have believed, and taught, that ancient Judea was a "backwater" area of the Roman Empire, and the people were ignorant as a whole of the Greek language, although it is admitted that Greek was the "lingua franca" and "language of commerce" throughout the Roman Empire."

"Today, however, new archaeological discoveries have undermined the speculations of scholars and brought into clear light the fact that Greek was well known among the Jews, especially the priesthood, leadership class, and the merchant class. In particular, Greek was well understood in "Galilee of the Gentiles," the region where Jesus Christ of Nazareth was raised, and grew up as a young lad. There is no doubt, therefore, that Jesus and the original apostles all spoke Greek -- commonly, as a "second language."

"But the most exceptional and significant finds were the two ossuaries that, for the first time in an archaeological context, contained a form of the name Qafa', or Caiaphas, a name known to us from both the New Testament and from the first century Jewish historian Flavius Josephus . . . Suffice it to say that the form(s) of the name Caiaphas inscribed on these ossuaries is probably the same as that of the well-known family of high priests, one of whom presided at Jesus' trial" ("Burial Cave of the Caiaphas Family," BAR, Sept.-Oct. 1992, p.32-35).

Most Jews fuleral inscriptions were in Greek
Ibid.

"In the next article in the same issue of Biblical Archaeological Review, the author, Pieter W. Van Der Horst, points out that no less than 1,600 Jewish epitaphs -- funerary inscriptions -- are extant from ancient Palestine dating from 300 B.C. to 500 A.D. The geographical spread of these inscriptions reveal that Jews were living all over the world at that time, especially the Roman period. In other words, when Jesus' brother James said in Acts 15, "Moses has been preached in every city for generations past and is read in the synagogues on every sabbath" (v.21), he was simply stating the truth. Peter, in his first sermon, enumerates a list of the countries from which Jews came to worship on that first Pentecost of the newly formed Christian Church (Acts 2:9-11)."




"One of the most surprising facts about these funerary inscriptions is that most of them are IN GREEK -- approximately 70 percent; about 12 percent are in Latin; and only 18 percent are in Hebrew or Aramaic.

"These figures are even more instructive if we break them down between Palestine and the Diaspora. Naturally in Palestine we would expect more Hebrew and Aramaic and less Greek. This is true, but not to any great extent. Even in Palestine approximately TWO-THIRDS of these inscriptions are in GREEK.

"APPARENTLY FOR A GREAT PART OF THE JEWISH POPULATION THE DAILY LANGUAGE WAS GREEK, EVEN IN PALESTINE. This is impressive testimony to the impact of Hellenistic culture on Jews in their mother country, to say nothing of the Diaspora.

"In Jerusalem itself about 40 PERCENT of the Jewish inscriptions from the first century period (before 70 C.E.) ARE IN GREEK. We may assume that most Jewish Jerusalemites who saw the inscriptions in situ were able to read them" ("Jewish Funerary Inscriptions -- Most Are in Greek," Pieter W. Van Der Horst, BAR, Sept.-Oct.1992, p.48).


Ibid.



"The great rabbi Judah ha-Nasi, the compiler of the Mishnah (a collection of Jewish oral law) in about 200 C.E., was buried in Beth She-arim; the majority of pious Jews who wanted to be buried with him at Beth She-arim had their funerary inscriptions written in Greek.

"This is not to say Hebrew and Aramaic ever died out completely as languages for the Jews. Especially in the eastern Diaspora, Jews continued to speak a Semitic language. But IN THE FIRST FIVE CENTURIES OF THE COMMON ERA, exactly the period when rabbinic literature was being written in Hebrew and Aramaic, A MAJORITY OF THE JEWS IN PALESTINE and the western Diaspora SPOKE GREEK" (ibid., p.48-54).


"The Dead Sea scrolls reveal that a TRILINGUALISM EXISTED IN PALESTINE in the first and second century of the Christian era. In addition to Aramaic, some Jews also spoke Hebrew or Greek -- or both. Different levels of Jewish society, different kinds of religious training and other factors may have determined who spoke what" ("Did Jesus Speak Greek?", same issue of BAR, p.58).

Biblical Paths
In Historical Jesus on January 27, 2010 at 10:07
Stephen Smuts
"Did Jesus Speak Greek?"
http://biblicalpaths.wordpress.com/2...s-speak-greek/
"I have had a number of conversations lately about whether or not Jesus spoke some Greek. In the past it was generally assumed that ancient Jews fell into two categories: Aramaic speaking Jews in Palestine and Jews in the Diaspora who spoke Greek. However the more this matter is examined the more it seems likely that some Jews in Palestine knew at least some Greek."
__________________

[MonolithTMA]

Who said they didn't?

[Metacrock]

I knew someone would be puzzled. I actually put this here so I'll know where to find it when I incorporate it into my pages on Doxa.

someone did say that, some guy on CARM calling himself John Milton is arguing that they didn't. He didn't answer these arguments either but just ignored them. But that makes me want to put them on my pages and rather than allowing them to be lost on CARM in the middle of a long thread that will soon slide off the board I dumped them over here.

but we we could start a big discussion about it.

[MonolithTMA]

I thought Jews in Palestine spoke Pig Latin, of wait, that wouldn't be kosher.

Interesting, I don't think I've ever heard anyone arguing that they didn't speek Greek. I assume they were trying to discredit the parts of the New Testament written in Greek?

[Metacrock]

I thought Jews in Palestine spoke Pig Latin, of wait, that wouldn't be kosher.

Interesting, I don't think I've ever heard anyone arguing that they didn't speek Greek. I assume they were trying to discredit the parts of the New Testament written in Greek?

he's actually maknig an anti-Trinitarian argument. He argues this so he can use a Coptic text that translates John 1:1 as "word was A god" then argue that John wouldn't have known Greek so the Coptic translator would actually have known Greek as well as the guy who translated John from Hebrew into Greek. But the problem is (aside from the fact that Jews did speak Greek, John doesn't have the Hebrewisms in it to justify the idea that it was written in Hebrew.

[MonolithTMA]

Ahh, is a he a believer? I've heard that argument from Jehovah's Witnesses and Christadelphians.

[Metacrock]

Ahh, is a he a believer? I've heard that argument from Jehovah's Witnesses and Christadelphians.

I didn't think he was at first. He hasn't answers my question but we were pretty much in total hate. You know, I'm a jerk and he's a jerk. we hated each other over knows the most. real Christ like hu?

but I am beginning to think he's a believer of some kind, but not one that likes the Greek Orthodox.

[MonolithTMA]

Ahh, two jerks battling it out.

[Metacrock]

Ahh, two jerks battling it out.

I resemble that remark!

[MonolithTMA]

SUNDAY! SUNDAY! SUNDAY! MONSTER JERK RALLY!