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Aramaic Primacy and the Church Fathers
#1
I know several of the Church Fathers mentioned at least Matthew and Hebrews being written in the Aramaic language. Do any of the Church Fathers mention anything else about the language of the other books of the New Testament or claim that any of it was written in Greek? I've never see anyone use Patristic quotes as evidence of Greek primacy.
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#2
ScorpioSniper2,
in the Introduction to the Hebraic Roots Version under THE ORIGINAL LANGUAGE OF NEW TESTAMENT you will find all you asked for and more. Yeah, there is a very good reason the Greek primmest never quote the early Church Father, or any other ancient witnesses, on this subject.

For a free downloadable copy of the Introduction of the Hebraic Root Version see:
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#3
[the following is quoted from the introduction of the HRV]

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TESTIMONY OF THE "CHURCH FATHERS"

All of the "Church Fathers", both East and West, testified to the Semitic origin of at least the Book of Matthew, as the following quotes demonstrate:

Papias (150-170 C.E.)
Matthew composed the words in the Hebrew dialect, and each
translated as he was able.

{quoted by Eusebius Eccl. Hist. 3:39}

Ireneus (170 C.E.)
Matthew also issued a written Gospel among the Hebrews in
their own dialect.

{Irenaeus; Against Heresies 3:1}

Origen (c. 210 C.E.)
The first [Gospel] is written according to Matthew, the same
that was once a tax collector, but afterwards an emissary of
Yeshua the Messiah, who having published it for the Jewish
believers, wrote it in Hebrew.

{quoted by Eusebius; Eccl. Hist. 6:25}

Eusebius (c. 315 C.E.)
Matthew also, having first proclaimed the Gospel in Hebrew,
when on the point of going also to the other nations, committed
it to writing in his native tongue, and thus supplied the want of
his presence to them by his writings.

{Eusebius; Eccl. Hist. 3:24}

Pantaenus... penetrated as far as India, where it is reported
that he found the Gospel according to Matthew, which had been
delivered before his arrival to some who had the knowledge of
Messiah, to whom Bartholomew, one of the emissaries, as it is
said, had proclaimed, and left them the writing of Matthew in
Hebrew letters.

{Eusebius; Eccl. Hist. 5:10}

Epiphanius (370 C.E.)
They [the Nazarenes] have the Gospel according to Matthew
quite complete in Hebrew, for this Gospel is certainly still
preserved among them as it was first written, in Hebrew
letters.

{Epiphanius; Panarion 29:9:4 xxiii}

Jerome (382 C.E.)
"Matthew, who is also Levi, and from a tax collector came to be
an emissary first of all evangelists composed a Gospel of
Messiah in Judea in the Hebrew language and letters, for the
benefit of those of the circumcision who had believed, who
translated it into Greek is not sufficiently ascertained.
Furthermore, the Hebrew itself is preserved to this day in the
library at Caesarea, which the martyr Pamphilus so diligently
collected. I also was allowed by the Nazarenes who use this
volume in the Syrian city of Borea to copy it. In which is to be
remarked that, wherever the evangelist... makes use of the
testimonies of the Old Scripture, he does not follow the
authority of the seventy translators [the Greek Septuagint], but
that of the Hebrew."

{Jerome; Of Illustrious Men 3}

"Pantaenus found that Bartholomew, one of the twelve
emissaries, had there [India] preached the advent of our Lord
Yeshua the Messiah according to the Gospel of Matthew, which
was written in Hebrew letters, and which, on returning to
Alexandria, he brought with him."

{Jerome; De Vir. 3:36}

Isho'dad (850 C.E.)
His [Matthew's] book was in existence in Caesarea of Palestine,
and everyone acknowledges that he wrote it with his hands in
Hebrew...

{Isho'dad Commentary on the Gospels}


Other "church fathers" have testified to the Semitic origin of at least one of Paul's epistles. These "church fathers" claim that Paul's Epistle to the Hebrews was translated into Greek from a Hebrew original, as the following quotes demonstrate:

Clement of Alexandria (150 - 212 C.E.)
In the work called Hypotyposes, to sum up the matter briefly
he [Clement of Alexandria] has given us abridged accounts of
all the canonical Scriptures,... the Epistle to the Hebrews he
asserts was written by Paul, to the Hebrews, in the Hebrew
tongue; but that it was carefully translated by Luke, and
published among the Greeks.

{Clement of Alexandria; Hypotyposes; referred to by Eusebius in Eccl. Hist. 6:14:2 xxiv}

Eusebius (315 C.E.)
For as Paul had addressed the Hebrews in the language of his
country; some say that the evangelist Luke, others that Clement, translated the epistle.

{Eusebius; Eccl. Hist. 3:38:2-3}

Jerome (382)
"He (Paul) being a Hebrew wrote in Hebrew, that is, his own
tongue and most fluently while things which were eloquently
written in Hebrew were more eloquently turned into Greek.

{Lives of Illustrious Men, Book V}

It should be noted that these church fathers did not always agree that the other books of the New Testament were written in Hebrew. Epiphanius for example, believed "that only Matthew put the setting forth of the preaching of the Gospel into the New Testament in the Hebrew language and letters."* Epiphanius does, however, tell us that the Jewish believers would disagree with him, and point out the existence of Hebrew copies of John and Acts in a "Gaza" or "treasury" [Genizah?] in Tiberius, Israel.** Epiphanius believed these versions to be mere "translations"*** but admitted that the Jewish believers would disagree with him.**** The truth in this matter is clear, if Greek had replaced Hebrew as the language of Jews as early as the first century, then why would fourth century Jews have any need for Hebrew translations. The very existence of Hebrew manuscripts of these books in fourth century Israel testifies to their originality, not to mention the fact that the Jewish believers regarded them as authentic.

* Epiphanius; Pan. 30:3
** Epipnanius; Pan. 30:3, 6
*** Epiphanius; Pan. 30:3, 6, 12
**** Epiphanius; Pan. 30:3


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