Imagine for a minute a theological debate between Benjamin Netanyahu, prime minister of Israel, and Pope Francis. I’m not gonna lie, I’d drop what I was doing to hear that discussion.
Well, during Pope Francis’ last day touring the Holy Land, Netanyahu and the Pope got into a theological parley on the language Jesus spoke when He was alive.
It all started when Netanyahu said in a public meeting on Jewish/Christian relations with the Pope present, “Jesus was here, in this land. He spoke Hebrew.” The Pope chimed in during his speech and said, “Aramaic.” Then Netanyahu corrected the Pope saying, “He spoke Aramaic, but He knew Hebrew.”
So… who is right?
Aramaic is a Semitic language that developed out of Hebrew over a period of centuries (c. 700 B.C. – A.D. 200). just like every language develops. I’m sure Shakespeare would have a difficult time understanding the American English we speak today because the English language has evolved for better or worse.
When Jesus hung on the cross He cried out to the Father, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” (Matthew 26:46), which is Aramaic for, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” So yes, Jesus spoke Aramaic regularly as a common language like most Jewish people did in the 1st century, so the Pope is right.
Jesus was an observant Jewish man as well, which means He would have grown up learning and speaking Hebrew in synagogues during study of the Tanakh (Old Testament) and prayer. Israeli linguistics Professor Ghil’ad Zuckermann, in a Reuters article, said the lower class during the days of Jesus spoke Hebrew to one another. So Netanyahu is right, too.
The debate isn’t life changing, but it was certainly important for Netanyahu to stress to the Pope that Jesus spoke Hebrew. Aramaic was not only a common language for 1st century Jews, but also many other people groups that lived in and around the Levant (eastern Mediterranean).
Netanyahu was arguing, Yes! Jesus spoke Aramaic, but He’s more than just an Aramaic speaker, He was also Hebrew speaker, which identifies Him with the Jewish community. So please don’t rob Jesus of His Jewishness.
CJK
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