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BIBLICAL LANGUAGES

In which languages was the Bible written?

How have our translations into English come to be?

Why would we want to translate in Hebrew or Greek?

 

The Bible was originally written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. Hebrew was the primary spoken language during the events of the Old Testament and those stories were passed down orally for many centuries though were eventually written down. The Dead Sea Scrolls offer the earliest known Hebrew manuscripts of most books in the Old Testament, dating to the fourth century BCE.

 

In the time of Jesus, Greek was the predominant language in all lands around the Mediterranean. Jesus himself likely spoke in Aramaic, a Jewish language originating in Galilee, though he likely also spoke Hebrew and perhaps even Greek to an extent.

 

Before the printing press, Scripture was written by hand in copies called manuscripts. There are no manuscripts known to us that could be considered original, just copies of the original, many of which had already been translated into different languages. One of the most important translations was done in the 3rd century, when the original Hebrew was translated into Greek (this is called the Septuagint).

 

English translations of the Old Testament rely heavily on the Septuagint. The most important English translation was completed in 1611 and is still known as the King James Bible. It is considered one of the most accurate translations of Hebrew and Greek, and most English translations – like the one we read on Sunday – were adapted and revised from that text.

 

Being able to read scripture in either Hebrew or Greek opens up a world of beauty and possibility that often cannot be sufficiently expressed in English! This gives us some options for how to know and understand God.

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