Josephus: First Century Jews Didn’t Know Greek

Josephus: First Century Jews Didn’t Know Greek
By
James Scott Trimm


While many Greek primacists claim that Yeshua and his disciples spoke and wrote in Greek.  However the first century Jewish historian Flavius Josephus (37-c.100 C.E.) testifies to the fact that Hebrew and not Greek was the language of first century Jews.  Josephus gives us the only first hand account of the destruction of the Temple in 70 C.E. According to him, the Romans had to have Josephus translate the call to the Jews to surrender into “their own language” (Wars 5:9:2).

Josephus gives us a very clear statement regarding the language of his people during his time:

I have also taken a great deal of pains to obtain the learning of the Greeks, and understanding the elements of the Greek language although I have so long accustomed myself to speak our own language, that I cannot pronounce Greek with sufficient exactness: for our nation does not encourage those that learn the languages of many nations.
(Ant. 20:11:2)

Thus, Josephus makes it clear that first century Jews could not even speak or understand Greek, but spoke “their own language.”

Certainly getting back to the "New Testament Church" means getting back to the Jewish roots of the original Jewish believers in Yeshua as Messiah.

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