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The dominant language of the Roman empire was Latin, but its use was predominately in the West. The koine, meaning "common," Greek was spoken throughout the Eastern portion of the empire and in much of the West. While Aramaic was a common language of the Syro-Palestine region it was of limited consequence in the Roman Empire.
Of even less consequence was classical Hebrew, which had so fallen from use that it was archaic and relegated to formal religious matters. From the vantage point of CE 68 it was likely seen to be too limited as a result of the then-raging First Jewish Revolt and its probable consequences.
Thus Hebrew was impractical, Aramaic was limiting, and Latin was far too removed. Yet Greek was used extensively throughout the Eastern portions of the empire. The Septuagint, the LXX, written in Greek was in standard use among Jews throughout the Hellenistic world and was the translation most used by the apostles and by the early church.
As the preferred language throughout the Hellenistic world, the koine Greek became the language in which to preserve the apostolic complement to the Hebrew Scriptures. This necessitated a rewriting, into koine Greek of Matthew�s gospel, which was originally written and circulated in Mishnaic Hebrew. Concerning Matthew, Papias held that: "Matthew composed his history in the [Mishnaic] Hebrew dialect, and everyone translated it as he was able." The Hebrew dialect cited here was Mishnaic Hebrew as spoken in Judea.
Irenaeus, as reported by Eusebius, wrote that Matthew "indeed produced his gospel written among the Hebrews [meaning the Jews] in their own dialect..." Eusebius tells of Pantaenus who is reported to have traveled as far as the Indies [India]. According to Eusebius:
...he there found his own arrival anticipated by some who there were acquainted with the gospel of Matthew, to whom Bartholomew, one of the apostles, had preached, and had left them the gospel of Matthew in the [Mishnaic] Hebrew, which was also preserved until this time [ca. CE 180]. (Eusebius 5.10, Boyle 1955:190.)
When accomplished and by whom is not known, but the gospel text preserved as Matthew became the authorized Greek rendering. The Greek reads so well that some scholars conclude that Matthew�s gospel could not be a translation. Presumably Matthew either wrote in both languages avoiding the need for a translation or he later rewrote his Greek gospel based upon the earlier Mishnaic Hebrew draft. No copy of the Mishnaic Hebrew gospel has survived.
Composed originally in Greek, Peter sent his two epistles to a Greek-speaking readership. The character of the Greek language presented in Peter�s two epistles have markedly different characteristics. Peter�s first epistle, for which Silas presumably served as his amanuensis, was written in a crisp, smooth, flowing style which one would have expected to find among the educated in Greece proper. However, Peter�s second epistle reflected the Greek of the provinces of the East and possesses what could be considered an awkward quality. The two letters reflected the Greek expression and writing of two different amanuenses.
In the bilingual society of Jesus� time it is quite likely that Peter and John spoke both Greek and Mishnaic Hebrew quite fluently. When Peter and John first came before the Small Council in ca. CE 30 they appeared to be a anthropo agrammatos eisin kai idiotes that is, "uneducated and untrained men" (Acts 4:13). This was not evidence that Peter and John couldn�t read, write, or speak Greek or Hebrew. The apostle Peter was not an illiterate, ignorant, or unlearned man as the words imply in the modern sense but rather they were ordinary men of the time. The Greek word agrammatos does not necessarily imply unlearned but rather "without formal training in the Scriptures." Therefore, the remark at the meeting of the Sanhedrin meant that Peter and John were not "theologically educated." They were therefore perceived as uninformed, and therefore ignorant, in the Torah and Jewish law. Dodd maintains that the Greek words agrammatos and idiotes translate a Hebrew idiom which refers to individuals ignorant of the Torah or Jewish law.
Once Peter and his associates selected additional writings for the Scriptures, completed any editing, and made copies on parchment as necessary, the parchment presumably then sewn into three rolls�the memoirs of the apostles (the gospels), the historical writings (acts and the general epistles), and the epistles of Paul. These parchment scrolls then became the master copy of the recognized New Testament Scriptures, laid out in a particular order of presentation, its official order, and ready to be copied and sent to the principal church congregations.
Taken from The First Christians by
Michael P. Germano and edited for the world wide web.
Copyright �1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 2000 by
Michael P. Germano. All Rights Reserved.
Page last edited: 11/28/04 08:44 AM
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