The language that Jesus spoke has been a matter of interest amongst scholars for quite some time. My first serious introduction to the issues was in Stanley E Porter’s “Did Jesus Ever Teach in Greek?” (1993, Tyndale Bulletin 44(2): 199-235) and the response by the late Maurice Casey “In Which Language Did Jesus Teach?” (1997, Expository Times 108(11): 326-328), although I am sure there was much written before this. As Seth Sanders reminds us over at USC Annenberg’s Religion Dispatches, it was recently the subject of a short exchange between Pope Francis and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Sanders’ article provides an overview of the complexities of the issue which I found fascinating. It is well worth a read.
My thanks to Jared Calloway at Antiquitopia for pointing it out.
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