What languages were spoken by St Matthew?

Answer 1

Before 'Matthew' became a disciple of Jesus he was called 'Levi' and was a tax collector. As a tax collector he had to have both known and be fluent in:-

- Aramaic

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it was the local dialect/language;

- Hebrew

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- his birth name of 'Levi' related to the priestly tribe and indicated

membership in the tribe set apart for the worship and service of God.

(if he was not from the tribe of Levi he would not have been

allowed be called 'Levi' [meaning "joined"] at all, indicating his father was a priest, and that Matthew would have been fluent in

Hebrew.)

-Latin

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- The Jews regarded anyone who worked for the Romans as a traitor,

and a Jewish tax collector was regarded as possibly the worst sinner imaginable. He had turned his back on his country and he had

no choice except to already know the language of his employers.

-Greek

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He had to know Greek: he wrote his Gospel in Greek, although

Aramaic was the popular language of the time.

These languages above are the ones that we know he knew, but "Money talks all languages" so he probably knew more. It is known that tax collectors had to know shorthand for receipts of custom, and this is confirmed by the fact that verbatim quotes make up 6o.1% of Matthew's Gospel. In his book "All The Apostles Of The Bible" (ISBN0-310-28011-7 , Zondervan, 1972) Herbert Lockyer says (pp. 120, 121, 125, 124) of Matthew:

....It is true that the other disciples had made sacrifices in their surrender to His claims, but it is quite probable that Matthew had more wealth to forsake than the rest. Before, he had a public post and office, books, accounts, profits and perhaps employees.. ...[The feast] was arranged in Matthew's own house which must have been a large establishment to hold a great company , and all the tables and couches necessary for them. This was no poor man's house. Both the house and lavish entertainment testified to the lavish lifestyle of Levi............[O]f the 1071 verses forming the gospel as we have it in the A.V., 644 verses (or more than three fifths of the whole gospel ) contain words of our Lord. As there is much of it not found in the other three gospels.... .....[A]lthough Matthew, because of his alliance with the Roman Government was practically a social outcast as far as the Jews were concerned,yet he must have been a man of education to work with Romans and Jews as he did when a tax-collector. His shady past by no means implies that he was uncultivated or had no learning. He must have been acquainted with the Aramaic and Greek languages. Matthew wrote his gospel in Greek, although Aramaic was the popular language of the time.

Answer 2

Matthew, the disciple of Jesus, would have spoken Aramaic, although he might have known some Hebrew and, perhaps, some Greek.

Matthew, the disciple of Jesus, is also traditionally credited with writing the gospel that now bears his name. This gospel was originally anonymous and was attributed by the Church Fathers to the disciple Matthew, later in the second century. However, nearly all scholars* say that the Gospel could not have been written by an eyewitness to the events it portrays, although for convenience they continue to call the anonymous author by the name, Matthew. This Matthew, also known as Matthew the Evangelist, spoke and wrote in Greek, the language of the Gospel. He might have known some Aramaic, but probably did not know any Hebrew.

Footnote

*Among others, Ian Wilson (Jesus: The Evidence) says that it can come as quite a shock to discover that no-one can even be sure who wrote the gospels. He says that despite the versions printed in our Bibles long having borne the names Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, these names are mere attributions, and even as such are rather less reliable than attributions given to unsigned works of art.