What was the language Jesus spoke?

Answer 1

I am under the impression that due to his earthly origins (Galilee) his mother language would have been Aramaic, but greek and hebrew were common tounges in that time and region as well, so he may well have spoken all three.

Answer 2

Jesus, though born in Bethlehem of Judea, spent most of his life in the north -- in Nazareth and the surrounding area of Galilee, where the local language is Greek. Therefore, as a citizen of Galilee, and not Judea, Greek was the predominant tongue according to scholars. This is why it was called Galilee of the Gentiles.

Did Jesus speak Babylonian Aramaic? Yes, but we have less than 20 words in the New Testament. To Jairus' daughter he said: "Talitha cumi" meaning 'Little girl, get up" [Mark 5:41]. He spoke "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani" on the Cross.

In spite of the fact Jesus spoke some Babylonian Aramaic language words, Aramaic is not Hebrew. The Jews adopted Aramaic when captive in Babylon. This is backed up by many scholars.

It is therefore certain that Jesus spoke Paleo-Hebrew, Greek, Latin, and Aramaic.

We do not know how much of each of these languages Jesus could speak.
aramaic
Aramaic and most likely Hebrew, since the Jews would have spoken Hebrew in the temple.

Answer 3

The native language of Jesus was probably one of seven dialects of Aramaic spoken in Judea, and he likely had a great deal of familiarity with Hebrew as well, though Hebrew was no longer a language spoken on the streets in his time.

Seven Western Aramaic varieties were spoken in the vicinity of Judea in Jesus' time:

1. Old Judean was the prominent dialect of Jerusalem and Judaea.
2. Southeast Judaean dialect was spoken in the region of Ein Gedi.
3. Samaritan Aramaic was spoken in Samaria, where the consonants "he", "heth" and "'ayin" all became pronounced as "alef".
4. Galilean Aramaic, the dialect of Jesus' home region, is only known from a few place names.
5. A group of Aramaic dialects called East Jordanian was spoken east of the Jordan River.
6. Damascene Aramaic was spoken (deduced mostly from Modern Western Aramaic) in the region of Damascus and the Anti-Lebanon Mountains.
7. The western dialect of Orontes Aramaic was spoken as far north as Aleppo.

Answer 4

The gospels tell us that Jesus was a Jew living in the land of Israel, so he would normally have spoken Aramaic. Since he is portrayed as reading the scriptures in the synagogue, he would also have been able to read Hebrew. Some Jews who had regular dealings with gentiles could speak Greek.

Jesus spoke Aramaic. This was the language of the people of Israel and of the Jews as well. The language of the authors (Romans) of The Bible was however Greek

Answer 5

The language of all Palestinian Jews in the time of Jesus was Aramaic, a language originating from southern Syria and closely allied to Hebrew. Apart from this, Greek Koine was spoken throughout the eastern Roman Empire, so a Palestinian Jew might have known some Greek as well. Jews of the diaspora spoke Greek, rather than Aramaic, as their first language.
Hebrew was definitely not a language of everyday use in the first century.

Answer 6

Jesus [Joshua ben Joseph] spoke Aramaic, the common language of Galilee during his lifetime.

Answer 7

He probably spoke both Aramaic and Hebrew, as he would have been surrounded by both languages during his lifetime.

Answer 8

The majority of Jews in Israel at the time spoke Aramaic. Hebrew was used liturgically and for study.

Answer 9

He spoke in Aramaic

Answer 10

Hebrew