What language did Jesus really speak? Most people assume that Jesus spoke Aramaic. It is true that there are several statements in the gospels where Jesus speaks Aramaic, such as ‘Talitha qumi’ which means ‘little girl, get up.’ It is also true that Aramaic had been growing in popularity before the first century, so it makes sense that Jesus would have spoken Aramaic. However, this isn’t really the best question. In a multilingual society, the better question is: what languages would Jesus know, and when might he have been using one language rather than the other – and why? There is good evidence that Jesus spoke both Greek and Hebrew as well as Aramaic, and that he used these languages in his ministry.
Jesus grew up in Nazareth which is about 5 miles from Sepphoris, the capital of the Galilee region at the time. It was also a hub for commerce and trade and was heavily influenced by Greek thought, and many new building projects were started in the city when Jesus was a boy. It is quite plausible that Jesus visited the city with his father and learned to speak Greek there. Jesus also has at least two conversations that were most likely in Greek. Jesus speaks with the Roman centurion and heals his servant. This Roman centurion certainly would have known Latin, and he almost certainly would have known Greek, since it was the lingua franca at the time. It is far less probable that he knew Aramaic, and he almost certainly did not know Hebrew. Given that Jesus probably knew Greek and that the Roman centurion probably did not know Aramaic, the two most likely conversed in Greek. The second conversation is with Nicodemus. Our first hint that they may have spoken Greek is the name Nicodemus, which is a Greek name. He is also described as a ‘ruler’ of the Jews, meaning he was upper class, and as an upper-class citizen, it is far more likely he would have regularly used Greek. Second, the dialogue between Jesus and Nicodemus in John 3 really only makes sense if they were speaking Greek. Jesus uses the Greek word ἄνωθεν which can either mean ‘from above’ or ‘again’ in Greek. Nicodemus understands Jesus as intending ‘again’ (you need to be born again to enter the kingdom), but Jesus clearly intends being born ‘from above’ (since he goes on to explain that the birth is a spiritual birth). This ambiguity would only be present if Jesus was speaking Greek. So Jesus almost certainly spoke Greek and used it in his ministry.
It is also very likely that Jesus spoke Hebrew and used it regularly in his ministry. Documents like the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Bar Kochva letters, and the Mishnah all attest to regular use of Hebrew as a spoken language for religious teaching as well as everyday use well into the second century AD. The Dead Sea Scrolls date from the 3rd century BC to the first century AD and are mostly found in Hebrew. The Bar Kochva letters are from the second century AD and show that Hebrew was still being used in everyday communication. The Mishnah records sayings of Rabbis in Hebrew and was compiled in the early 3rd century AD. The Jerusalem Talmud records a saying of Rabbi Jonathan of Beit Guvrin from the fourth century saying “Four languages are appropriate for use. They are Greek for song, Latin for battle, Aramaic for dirges, and Hebrew for speech.” Even centuries after Jesus, Hebrew is described as being used for regular communication. Acts 21:40 also records Paul addressing the crowds in Jerusalem showing that it was regularly used for communication between Jews. Given the evidence, it seems most probable that Jesus regularly taught in Hebrew to other Jews, just like the group who composed the Dead Sea Scrolls – who predominantly used Hebrew – and just like Rabbinic Jews at the time – whose teachings are recorded in Hebrew. A text like the sermon on the mount naturally reads like Hebrew. The beatitudes begin with μακάριοι (‘blessed’) followed by the one who is blessed. This is odd in Greek, but it is a regular way to call someone blessed in Hebrew. For example, Psalm 1 begins with אַשְׁרֵי הָאִישׁ אֲשֶׁר ‘blessed is the man who…’ Given all this, the beatitudes, and most of Jesus’s teachings, were probably originally spoken in Hebrew.
So what language did Jesus really speak? Americans especially tend to assume Jesus would have primarily spoken one language, but most of the world for most of human history has been multilingual. The evidence suggests that first century Galilee was no different. Jesus almost certainly spoke Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic, and he would have used them on different occasions for different purposes depending on who he was speaking to.
