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The origin of languages (pt.6) Language is a vehicle to express our thoughts. God expressed His truth in words of many languages, not just one. His thoughts, concepts and principles for man and Himself are expressed through language. We do not know what kind of language Adam and Eve or their immediate descendant’s used. The same God who spoke to Adam (whatever language this was, some believe is Hebrew. If so, it was not the same Hebrew spoken today) also introduced the other languages to Adam’s descendants. Gen.11:1: “Now the whole earth had one language and one speech.V:6-9 And the Yahweh said, “Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them. Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.” So the LORD scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city. Therefore its name is called Babel, because there Yahweh confused the language of all the earth; and from there the LORD scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.” Some claim these languages were once pure and then “corrupted” and now paganized. But the Scripture states there was only one language and it was God that caused man to have numerous other languages. It became confusion because each did not know what the other was saying, they no longer could communicate with one another as they had before when they were united in building the tower. From the Scripture we would have to consider the English today as a pagan language. So when Sacred Name adherents have God’s correct name in their own Bibles it makes it all the more inexcusable knowing that the “Holy name” is mixed purposely with what they categorize as a pagan language. They do read the English just like anyone else. The fact that they need to deal with is that the original Hebrew language would also be included as corrupted, as it came through this change from Genesis. We know what language Moses used to convey it to us thousands of years later, Hebrew. This Hebrew is not the exact same that we have today. Even if the Hebrew were the original language of mankind no one really speaks this same ancient Hebrew, neither is the bible written in it. The Hebrew today is different from the original “paleo” Hebrew alphabet that the ancients used. Should we then reject the current Masoretic Bible because it is not the original Hebrew? (Remember vowels are added to the writings later). On this alone, their strict concept of languages is on shaky ground. We do find Job who lived in the Abrahamic period as God’s friend, he certainly was not speaking Hebrew. We can assume that Abraham was not speaking the same Hebrew as they do today either! Jacob Meyer and many others claim that Hebrew is the language of heaven and that the Hebrew names of Yahweh and Yahshua are mandated as absolutely essential for salvation. Hebrew goes back to the time of Abraham. The question is, did the patriarch import it from Haran or find it in Palestine? The patriarchs evidently used an Aram dialect in Mesopotamia, but when they came into Canaan they adopted a local Canaanite dialect that was not identical with the standard speech of the sedentary Canaanites, as may be linguistically demonstrated (W. F. Albright, From the Stone Age to Christianity, p. 182). The Canaanite origin of the Hebrew language are attested by both Ugaritic and Phoenician history. Numbers of important Canaanite inscriptions have been recovered, notably the Sarcophagus of Ahiram of Byblos, eleventh century B.C. Later Phoenician inscriptions from Cyprus, Sardinia, Carthage, and other colonies of the Mediterranean show the Canaanite affinities of Hebrew. The Gezer Calendar (c. 925 B.C.) written in perfect classical Hebrew, followed by the Moabite Stone (c. 850 B.C.) written in the language of Moab, which was closely akin to Hebrew, as well as later inscriptions from Samaria from the time of Jeroboam II help to trace the development of Heb. as a closely aligned Canaanite dialect. (from New Unger's Bible Dictionary) F.F. Bruce, one of the more respected Biblical language experts states that Hebrew was a dialect of the Phoenician language spoken in numerous adjacent lands. It was a man-made language which by Sacred Name definition is of a pagan origin, it is not the tongue of heaven. The Indo-European language family, has nine major branches: Indo-Iranian, Baltic, Slavic, Armenian, Greek, Albanian, Celtic, Romance or Italic, and Germanic. The English language is assumed to have three periods. Old English extends from about A.D. 450, the time of the Anglo-Saxon invasions of Britain, to 1066, the date of the Norman Conquest. Middle English continues to about the middle of the 15th century, and Modern or New English runs from then to the present. The Germanic languages broke away from other Indo-European languages before 500 B.C., forming a clearly distinguishable and independent group of closely related dialects, usually referred to as Proto-Germanic. It was the Latin vocabulary and grammar that had extensive influenced the Germanic languages. The Scripture in other languages The Old Latin Versions date from second to fourth centuries (mostly later). The Latin Vulgate was completed by St. Jerome in about the year 405 A.D. There are Syriac Versions dating between fourth and seventh centuries. These include the Peshitta, Palestinian, Philoxenian and Harclean, all of which are Greek dialect’s which differ from the common Koine that the New Testament was written in. There are also Coptic versions (third and fourth centuries), Gothic (fourth), Armenian and Georgian (fifth), Ethiopic (sixth) and others. The oldest surviving Germanic literary text--fragments of a Bible translation made by Ulfilas, bishop of the West Goths (d. c.385), was written in Gothic. The preserved fragments of an East Gothic manuscript of the translation from the 6th century are referred to as the Codex argenteus (silver book). Since the Goths had no written language, Ulfilas took the Greek uncial alphabet, added to it a few Latin and runic letters, and thus created an alphabet for his translation. The existing biblical manuscripts (with the possible exception of Matthew) tend to follow the Septuagint translation, and not the Masoretic Hebrew. Remember that this translation was used in Jesus' day by the Jews. The volume of codexes, manuscripts, and fragments of the gospels are astronomical in number compared to the Greek or Latin Classics. Yet curiously not one early manuscript is in Hebrew. There are approximately 53,000 manuscripts with part or the whole of the Greek New Testament. There are about eight thousand manuscripts of the relevant versions, so the textual critic has his work cut out for him to prove the Hebrew name and translation theory.
P1
3rd cent. Matt.1 Alexandrian P5 3rd cent Jn.1,16,20 western P15
3rd 1 Cor. 7-8 Alexandrian. P45, P46 and P47, The Chester Beatty Papyri.
P45 is made up of pieces of thirty leaves of a papyrus codex: two from
Matthew, two from John, six from Mark, seven from Luke, and thirteen from
Acts. These all date around 200-250 A.D. They are the most reliable
witnesses which we have to date on the Gospels as originally penned. P46 was
originally dated around the same time, has been revised by some scholars to
late first century. This would put it within 25-30 years of the date which
Paul wrote it. P46 contains eighty-six leaves which has the book of Romans,
Hebrews, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Ephesians, Galatians, Philippians, Colossians,
and 1 and 2 Thessalonians. Portions of 1 and 2 Thessalonians and Romans are
missing. P47 dates to around 250 A.D. and contains Revelations 9:10-17:2. P64 Magdalen Papyrus - Is dated before 66 A.D. Matthew 26:7-8, 10, 14-15, 22-23 and 31. Muratorian canon-170 -300 A.D. was found in Italy in 1740 by count Tishendorf. It is not my purpose to debate the texts, but to point out the language they were written in, they were Not Hebrew. Again those who propose the theories of original Hebrew texts until the gentiles came into the Church are lacking ecidence. The word of God in the GREEK The Greek language was spread by Alexander the Great after he defeated the Persian empire 323 B.C. Due to Alexander’s conquest Greek became the international language. In 250 B.C. the Hebrew Scriptures were translated to Greek that became the dominant language of Israel and the eastern world at the time of Christ. The Septuagint (Greek) translation of the Old Testament was done for Greek-speaking Jews in Alexandria Egypt during the reign of Ptolmey Philadelphia IV of Egypt. The Pentateuch was first translated, later the rest of the Old Testament books were added to the translation. Later on many of the Jews were multi-lingual speaking at least two different languages, one of which was Greek. Long before the time of Jesus, in the inter-testament period between the Old and New Testaments, the Jews stopped using Hebrew as their everyday language. It was used in the Synagogues as was Aramaic was their common tongue, they did continue to read the Scriptures in Hebrew in the temple, but not exclusively. The rabbis continued to use Hebrew in their religious practices (the Mishnah, the book of law is written in Hebrew). The Hebrew language as the everyday language of the Jews was replaced by the Aramaic. More than 300 years later after Alexander the Great, the New Testament began to be written in the common language of Greek rather than the Aramaic which Jesus mostly spoke. It was the apostles who penned or oversaw the writing of the New Testament Because someone speaks this language or uses God’s name from it does not make them a pagan. Otherwise we would have to concede Jesus and the apostles were pagan, since they spoke the Greek language as well as Hebrew and Aramaic. The first 7 deacons of the church all had Greek names showing they were from the Diaspora and immigrated to the land of Israel. Mark and Luke are not Hebrew names nor is there a equivalent for their the names in Hebrew. There is no record of any Aramaic or Hebrew name for Andrew. Many words in the New Testament are transliterations from the Aramaic. Peter's name Cephas is from “kepha” (rock); Thomas is from “toma” (twin). “Bar” the Aramaic word for (son) is used in the names of Bartholomew, Bar- Jonas, Barabbas (Bar-abbas) and Bartimaeus. (The Hebrew word for son is ben). Golgotha is from “golgolta” (skull). The apostles communicated the name of Yeshua in Greek (Yesou). This was the influence from the apostles. But now we have others with a private interpretation of the their writings. Even the book of Hebrews was written in Greek to the Jews warning them not to go back in Judaism. But some ignore this and have started whole movements with holding their hands on both covenants. One of the main arguments of the Sacred-Name Movement is that non-Hebrew languages are actually pagan, therefore they come to conclusion of Hebrew only. What does the New Testament say? Acts 2:4: “And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” Peter spoke with the other apostles. On the feast of Shavout (Pentecost) the gift of tongues were spoken in many different dialects to those Jews from various regions gathered in Jerusalem for the Feast.What is interesting to note is that of the 16 to 17 dialects, Hebrew is not mentioned. Why not if this is the sacred language of God? It states they heard the praises of God, making the point that they all heard the praises in their own dialect. Meaning that God’s word and His name pronounced was not Yahweh to all. Otherwise how could they understand? It was Yahweh (the Holy Spirit) who gave the disciples the ability to speak in other languages that were not Hebrew. Are we to believe the languages that the Spirit gave utterance to were “pagan” languages that were not to be used! This proves that Jewish people commonly spoke more than the Hebrew language at the time of Christ. In Acts 2 at the time of Pentecost: v.5 And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. V. 6 “because that every man heard them speak in his own language.” The people groups that spoke these languages were: Galilaeans, Parthians, Medes, Elamites, Mesopotamia, Judaea, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt, parts of Libya about Cyrene and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, Cretes and Arabians.” Interesting that Hebrew was not one of the languages. Why is it missing if it is supposed to be the sacred language. The reason these people were hearing and understanding in their own languages is the same reason that God has made it possible for His Word to be protected and translated for all people to read today in the different languages. Acts 2:12: “We do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.” This is proof that God is not limited to a certain language or pronunciation. Certainly they spoke God's name and words in their own languages. The New Testament is written in Koine Greek (Common Greek), there were 4 basic languages used in the New Testament times. Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek and Latin, of which Greek was the dominant language. We find the inscription over Christ as being the King of the Jews was written in Greek, Hebrew and Latin. It was a proclamation to all people then and today. Jesus instructs the disciples in Luke 24:47: “and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. What language would be the most appropriate to fulfill the command? It would be the then international language of Greek. Remember Greek speaking Jews were in the primitive Church at Jerusalem. (Acts 6:1). John the apostle writes in Rev. 9:11: “And they had as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, but in Greek he has the name Apollyon.” Why state this if there is to be only one language for all of Scripture? Because there is not! The Greek family manuscripts The oldest (130 A.D.) was a fragment of John. The oldest and near complete copies of the Bible are: The Vaticanus family Manuscript. This is in the Vatican with both Old and New Testaments with only a few pages missing. Ron Rhodes notes there are also some 86,000 quotations from the early church fathers and several thousand Lectionaries (church-service books containing Scripture quotations used in the early centuries of Christianity). What is interesting and significant about these numerous quotes of the New Testament is that you could destroy all the manuscripts of the New Testament, and destroy all the New Testaments in existence in the world, and you could reproduce all but 11-17 verses can be produced of the whole New Testament from their writings. For example Ignatius (70-110 A.D.) quotes from 15 of the books of the New Testament. Yet sacred name groups would just as well have the Greek manuscripts destroyed and have no witness at all for us today. Does this mean no one was saved until the Yashuan groups came along? Obviously from their point of view this is so. Not only do we emphatically deny this, but the facts show the people that protected and copied the New Testament for us to have today were not necessarily Jewish but Gentiles. No sacred name adherent would even have the New Testament revelation if not for the Gentile hands and language it was written in. Sir David Dalrymple once asked himself the question, “Suppose that the New Testament had been destroyed, and every copy of it lost by the end of the 3rd century, could it have been collected together again from the writing of the Fathers of the second and third centuries?” His answer was “...as I possessed all the existing works of the Fathers of the second and third centuries, I commenced to search, and up to this time I have found the entire New Testament, except eleven verses.” (EVIDENCE THAT DEMANDS A VERDICT, J. McDowell, Vol. I, pp. 50-51) What manuscript language were they in? Common Greek the language of the people! We find numerous quotes of the New Testament from those who did not speak or understand Hebrew but Greek speaking. For example, Polycarp, in his Letter to the Philippians (about 110 A.D.), quotes Philippians, and reproduces phrases from nine other of Paul's Epistles and I Peter. Irenaeus a disciple of Polycarp 135-210 A.D., says there are only 4 Gospels. He quotes Paul and over 200 quotes from all the New Testament books except Philemon, Jude, James and 3 John. Ignatius, in his Seven Letters, written about 110 A.D., during his journey from Antioch to Rome for his martyrdom, quotes from Matthew, I Peter, I John, cites nine of Paul's Epistles, and his letters bear the impress of the other three Gospels. Clement of Alexandria, who lived about AD 150 - AD 212, has 2,406 quotes from all but three books of the New Testament. Tertullian, who was an elder of the church in Carthage Africa lived around 160-220 A.D., quotes the New Testament 7,258 times. Of these quotes, around 3,800 are from the gospels. Other quotes from Church fathers include Justin Martyr, 330 quotes; (a native of Samaria in the second century, used in the LXX in all his writings) This is not to be considered an endorsement of everything these men wrote, but only to show the immediate understanding of their time and the proof of the Greek New Testament. Irenaeus, 1,819 quotes; Origen, 17,922 quotes, Hippolytus, 1,378 quotes; and Eusebius, 5,176 quotes, making a total of 36,289 quotes from the Greek New Testament, NOT the Hebrew. The Didache, written between 60-80-100 A.D, makes 22 quotations from Matthew with references to Luke, John, Acts, Romans, Thessalonians, I Peter; and speaks of “The Gospel” as a written document. It too is in Greek. So what are we to make of these historical facts in light of the Sacred name claims, ignore them? The persecutions that took place in the reign of Emperor Trajan (98-117 A.D.) and other Roman Emperors that followed, books of scripture were destroyed and burned wherever they were found. In an effort to preserve scripture, books were buried and hidden, And many have been discovered today. So if any person attempted to corrupt the text or insert their own particular point of view into the scripture, these recent discoveries would have revealed any alterations. But none that have the newfound papyrus’ testify to this, that the text we are using today is essentially the same that was used by the early church. Angelo B. Traina spent twenty years on this translation/revision project and did The Holy Name Bible which was the first of many Sacred Name bibles. Traina’s publishing company, The Scripture Research Association, published the New Testament in 1950. Traina substituted the Hebrew name Yahweh for Kurios (Lord in Greek texts) in the New Testament quotations from the Old Testament. This was the very word that the Jews used when they translated the Hebrew Old Testament into the Greek 250 years before the Messiah came. Why would he need to retranslate it back over again if this was accepted many years before? Any accurate translation worth its salt must be taken from the original languages they were written in the text (either ancient Hebrew or Koine (common) Greek). To translate it From the Greek to English and back to Hebrew is not scholarly, honest or accurate. What manuscripts did he or others use, since the ancient New Testament is not found in Hebrew. The early church writings show they were quoting the Greek and there is no proof that anyone pronounced his name in Hebrew that spoke another language. They replaced the name of Jesus with a supposed accurate Hebrew name. Some of these Leaders obviously believed they are called by God to correct the so-called errors in the Scriptures, which they themselves cannot all agree on. Ask ten sacred name groups and they will all have a different angle on the name. These “errors” and their corrections come from a presupposition of doctrine favored by their own favorite Bible teacher, reviser or revelator. How did these sacred name groups come to believe that God chose them to correct the Church and correct the Word of God? These people are Jewish ‘wanna be's’ thinking there is some spiritual advantage to speaking the Hebrew. God is not interested in making “Jewish” Christians who speak his name only in Hebrew. He is taking people from every tongue and tribe and making the body of Christ, the middle wall of partition is broken down as sacred scripture tells us in Ephesians 2. Does this mean we dispense with learning the language or the Hebrew culture no. It can enhance our understanding, but it should not be the end all to ones understanding the Scripture. What about Zeph.3:9: “For then I will restore to the peoples a pure language that they may all call upon the name of the LORD, to serve him with one accord.” Is this Hebrew or currently English? What is the timing for this Scripture? The Millennium. In these last days (English is currently the universal language of the world). Whatever language this is (it could be Hebrew since God is speaking to the Hebrew people) it has not taken place yet, for it is after the judgment of the nations. The Lord in His wisdom has chosen the English language to present His Word to the world. It is written plain, simple, and easily comprehended words of His gospel to the world to all classes and cultures. Just as God chose the Greek language at the start of the Church which was going to the Gentiles, He gave the English language at the end of time. God does not want this legalism to divide his body. “You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace... You were running well; who hindered you from obeying the truth?” (Gal.5:4, 7). Paul, was a Jew born in Tarsus on the south coast of Turkey in the first century A.D. He was able to quote the Greek philosophers and poets which he learned under Gamaliel in the Jewish school (Yeshiva). Even Paul who wrote the New Testament as a Jew writes Jesus’ name in Greek as Iesoun not Yashua. In Rom.10 Paul writes whoever calls upon the name of the Lord (kurios) not Yashua or Yahweh will be saved. This is a reference to the Hebrew text in Joel 2. Yashua and Iesoon is the same name of the same person in two different languages. Paul was well aware that it’s not the pronunciation of the name that saves, but the person who is God. His point to call on this kurios is to call on Yahweh. Since many sacred name groups do not believe Yeshua was God, which one are they calling on? Paul used his Roman name instead of his Hebrew name Shaul (Saul), this does not mean he was a pagan. The name Paul in Latin (Roman) is from the Latin Paulus. He intentionally made himself known by this name to reach the Greek speaking people he was a missionary to. In so doing he would likewise change “the name” of the savoir to their language as well. Acts 21:37 and 40 records Paul's ability to speak in both the Greek and Hebrew language. The culture the Jews were in (not by choice) was Roman. Everyone spoke in the Greek language and for the Jews to survive they needed to do so as well. They translated the Hebrew Old Testament into Greek 250 years before Christ, showing this was part of their culture, they spoke the Greek language otherwise they would not be able to do the translation. Those who continue in the Old Testament law (which is called legalism by Rabbi Paul in Galatians) said they have blinders on (2 Cor. 3:14). “Their minds were blinded: for until this day remains the same veil untaken away in the reading of the Old Testament; which veil is done away in Christ.” Christ commissioned the Jewish apostles to go to the whole world, not just their own people who spoke Hebrew. To do so necessitates speaking in other languages. Speaking to the gentiles in their own language Looking at the Scripture without the bias of certain men we find that Jesus and the Apostles Knew Greek as well as Hebrew, they were multilingual. So They could speak to the Jews in Hebrew and the Greeks (gentiles) in Greek. Matthew 4:15-16 reminds us that Jesus started His ministry after John was cast into prison, from Galilee, which was known to be populated not with Jews, but Gentiles, “beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles.” Yet he went to the Jews specifically. It is unrealistic to think that they did not speak Greek along with Hebrew. John 7:35: “Then said the Jews among themselves, whither will he go, that we shall not find him? Will he go unto the dispersed among the Greek, and teach the Greeks?” Most Greeks were not familiar with Hebrew but vice versa. John 12:20: “And there were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast.” John 19:20: “This title then read many of the Jews: for the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city: and it was written in Hebrew, and Greek, and Latin.” Three languages God used to communicate to mankind who the Son is. Are we to believe he does approve of other languages when he was sovereign to proclaimed this over the messiah? Mark 7:25-27: “For a certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell at his feet: The woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation; and she besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter. But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it unto the dogs” (little puppies). We can assume that she did not speak Hebrew nor Aramaic to Jesus, but Jesus communicated to her. This gives us the principle that we are allowed to communicate the word in other languages. Jesus also spoke Aramaic, actually whenever the language that is spoken is mentioned in Scripture it is Aramaic not Hebrew. Mark 5:41: “Then He took the child by the hand, and said to her, “Talitha, cumi,” which is translated, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.” Mt. 5:22: “and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca” which is an Aramaic word” Mk.7:34 He said Ephphata - be opened to the deaf man. Mt.10:25: “If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub” which is the Aramaic form of Baal-zebub. Mark 15:22: “And they brought Him to the place Golgotha, which is translated, Place of a Skull. The Bible in many places has no problem going from one original language to make the meaning plain in another. Mark 15:34: “And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is translated, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” Again this is Aramaic and it is spoken in a very crucial part of his sacrifice. Notice that Jesus did not call God in His personal name like Yahweh in Aramaic but with a personal petition “My God.” These is the very words of Thomas’ confession “My Lord my God” to Jesus. If Hebrew is the true pure language, then Aramaic is to be condemned among the other pagan languages. Does this make Jesus a pagan since he spoke to God in another language other than Hebrew, and from the time of his atonement no less! Was His prayer was not heard because Yeshua used Aramaic words instead of Hebrew? If he is not condemned why do sacred name groups condemn others today? Greek speaking Hellenistic Jews formed their own synagogues in Palestine. There were Hellenistic Jews in the Church. Hebrews certainly spoke Hebrew as well as other languages. The Jerusalem church In Acts 6:1 we find the Hellenists, Greek speaking Jews from the diaspora came to the apostles and spoke Greek to them showing that they understood Greek. How did Paul or Barnabas work among the gentiles who did not speak Hebrew? Does anyone actually think they wrote the Scriptures in Hebrew and had to teach them a whole new language first to understand it? This would have taken years before they could have preached the Gospel to them. No I don’t think so. Does this mean the gospel was for the Jews only? Rom. 1:16: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.” (Greek represented the gentile world) Remember Paul was the apostle to the gentiles and he was familiar with their cultures and language so he was able to speak to them. Acts 21:37: “Then as Paul was about to be led into the barracks, he said to the commander, “May I speak to you?” He replied, “Can you speak Greek? V. 39 But Paul said, “I am a Jew from Tarsus, in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city; and I implore you, permit me to speak to the people.” That’s Greek! Again we find in Acts 17:16-31 the Apostle Paul spoke to the natives of Athens, how else could this be done if not in Greek. We know from Scripture that the Apostle knew and did speak Greek (Acts 21:37). In fact, in the narrative of Acts 17 Paul read the “inscription” in the language of the Greek people. If he spoke to the people about it, it was obviously in Greek! Neither was Paul restricted by an inscription that used the Greek word theos, a translation of the Hebrew equivalent for God (elohim). He preached the message of salvation to the people of Athens using the term theos referring to the true God. He was not obligated nor does it record he used Yahweh. Imagine him writing a letter in Hebrew to lets say Titus, and he gets it and asks what does it say since he doesn’t speak or read Hebrew. The letters at times were written to individuals but intended to guide and instruct the church, so they would have to be read to all. The Hebrew Old Testament was not main Scripture language of the Jews at Jesus time. The Targumim and the LXX was the primary version of the Old Testament among Christians of the first century. We can reasonably conclude that Peter was well versed in the LXX. James used the LXX as well (Acts 15:14-18) and writes to the Jews in the diaspora which means they were in other lands incorporated in their culture they needed to speak the languages. The Septuagint was favorably quoted by the New Testament writers over the Masoretic. One of the points of the New Testament being written in Greek is that the partition between Jew's and Gentiles was broken down so we could all become one new man in Christ. Unlike the Old Testament that was written predominantly in Hebrew to a whole nation that spoke Hebrew. The New Testament was written in Greek bringing God’s kingdom to the whole Greek speaking Gentile world, as well as the Jews. The purpose was that we might all become one people under God. The partition that divided Jew from gentile has been taken down. The whole bible (both the old and new) has been translated into English for the English speaking world (both Jew’s and Gentile) and it has been re-translated into other ethnic tongues for all speaking people. Otherwise how can one explain Rev 7:9-10:”A great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” They received salvation because they heard the gospel in their native tongue. God is able to provide the means for all to have His Word. Why make a mountain out of one particular name of God. Is it not all God’s word? Logical and Biblical Proof’s of Jews being multilingual Mt.28 they were sent to the nations but none of them spoke Hebrew. God never said Hebrew was the only language, and they must learn that language to speak to God or say his name in Hebrew. A couple of centuries before Jesus was born the Jews translated YHVH into the Greek word Kurios = Lord. Some claim there was no integrity at the time and it was wrong to translate the name of God into the Greek. This was the language used just as when the Jews were in captivity in Daniel's time. They were in a foreign land and learned to speak another language. It was Aramaic that some of the Old Testament was written in. Some passages in the Old Testament books of Ezra and of Daniel are written in this dialect. The New Testament writers continued this, calling God, (Yahweh) and Jesus, Lord-Kurios. Why did the Jews have the Septuagint if they did not speak in the Greek language? To say the Greek is corrupted is equivalent to say that the Hebreseptugw may be also; since it was the same scribes that kept the Hebrew Scriptures and translated it over from the Hebrew to the Greek. Why would any of the New Testament writers write exclusively in Hebrew if they were going to reach the gentile people in the world. In the Old Testament it was Hebrew because that was the language of the nation of which God was giving revelation to. The New Testament says the grace of God has appeared to all men. Not just the Jews. When Jesus had a conversation with Pilate what language did he speak? Pilate did not speak Hebrew he loathed them and certainly would not take time to learn their language. When Paul brought the gospel to the Greeks did he teach them in Hebrew. Matt. 1:23: “and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.” This is Hebrew but it is translated over into the Greek, Matthew had the license to translate it over. God takes people out of every tribe and tongue in the tribulation, not just the Hebrew tongue. It is clear that God chose to reveal His Word in certain languages and certain culture, at certain times. And learning the languages and culture can be advantageous for a more complete understanding of what God has said. This However in no way endorses that the Hebrew language is to be spoken or read exclusively. So to sum all this up: Jesus said He was the Alpha and the Omega, this should be the Α (beginning) and Ω (end) answer to their arguments on God's name. And this is written in Greek.
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