05-17-2014, 03:47 AM
Why would Jesus preach in Greek to an Aramaic speaking people? Why would He quote the Greek Septuagint during an Aramaic sermon? According to Luke 4:16-20, Jesus could read and speak Hebrew also. When quoting the Scriptures, Jesus and the apostles usually paraphrased. The Aramaic Targums were still existing only in oral form, yet were the main way the common people (most of whom did not speak or read Hebrew) learned the Tanach. If Jesus could read and speak Hebrew (as well as Aramaic), why would He use a Greek translation? Languages like Greek and Latin cannot adequately carry Semitic thought, and because of this, the Septuagint was not well liked in Israel by the rabbis.