What language did the Israelites in Egypt speak?

Answer 1

Egyptian and Aramaic

Answer 2

Moses was born in Egypt and raised up in Pharaoh's palace. Accordingly, I think he was speaking only Egyptian.

Jewish answer

The fact that Moses spoke Hebrew and not only Egyptian is for these reasons:

1) In those days, Israelite custom was to nurse babies for up to four years. Since it was his own mother who nursed him (Exodus 2:8-9), his family had plenty of time to teach him before he was returned to Pharaoh's daughter (Exodus 2:10) to live in the palace.
2) Moses was not a prisoner in the royal palace. He came and went as he pleased (Exodus 2:11 and 2:13) and sought out his people (ibid).

Answer 2

Scholars say that the story of Moses was written down in the first millennium BCE, based on earlier oral traditions. There was no thought given to what language he might have spoken, and the biblical accounts do not say.

Since the Hebrew language evolved from a dialect of Canaanite shortly before 900 BCE, someone living in the second millennium BCE clearly could not have spoken Hebrew. If Moses was a real, historical person, he must have spoken Egyptian.

Answer 3

The Torah was written in Hebrew, but there is no basis for specifying any language as the language of God. If you believe in an all-knowing God, you have to also believe that God could speak in whatever language would be understood.

Many Jews tend to think that if God spoke at all, it was in the form of thoughts placed in people's brains. Those thoughts would be in the language of the brain's owner.

Answer 2

Tradition states that God created the universe using Hebrew commands (Midrash Rabbah to Genesis 2:23).

Answer 4

The Torah was written in Hebrew, but there is no basis for specifying any language as the language of G-d. If you believe in an all-knowing G-d, you have to also believe that G-d would speak in whatever language would be understood.

Modern Jews tend to think that if G-d spoke at all, it was in the form of thoughts placed in people's brains. Those thoughts would be in the language of the brain owner.

Answer 5

Of course. This is abundantly clear from the Hebrew Bible, which contains thousands of direct quotes.See also the Related Links.

Link: Reliability of the Hebrew record

Link: More about the Hebrew language

Answer 6

Tradition holds that they spoke Hebrew and may have also spoken Egyptian.

Modern scholarship is skeptical, and some scholars believe Hebrew had not yet fully evolved from Old Canaanite at the supposed time of the Exodus.

Answer 7

Of course. This is abundantly clear from the Hebrew Bible.

Answer 8

They spoke Biblical Hebrew.

Answer 9

Moses from the Hebrew bible spoke both Hebrew and Ancient Egyptian.

Answer 10

The Israelites spoke Hebrew.