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Was the New Testament Really Written in Greek

Yigael Yadin
Was the New Testament Really Written in Greek

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Was the New Testament Really Written in Greek

https://archive.org/details/WastheNewTestamentReallyWritteninGreek1e/

Western Tradition teaches that New Testament is written in Greek while many of Eastern Tradition (especially Church of the East) teaches that New Testament is written in Aramaic. Aramaic NT in Eastern Tradition is called Aramaic Peshitta. This file reveals that Aramaic was the language of New Testament and first century Palestina. Not Greek or Hebrew.

According to First century Hebrew Historian Josephus, Greek wasn't spoken in first century Israel. Josephus also points out the extreme rarity in terms of a Hebrew (a.k.a Judean) knowing Greek in first century AD.

Josephus wrote:

"I have also taken a great deal of pains to obtain the learning of the
Greeks, and understand the elements of the Greek language, although I
have so long accustomed myself to speak our own tongue, that I cannot
pronounce Greek with sufficient exactness; for our nation does not
encourage those that learn the languages of many nations, and so adorn
their discourses with the smoothness of their periods; because they
look upon this sort of accomplishment as common, not only to all sorts
of free-men, but to as many of the servants as please to learn
them. But they give him the testimony of being a wise man who is fully
acquainted with our laws, and is able to interpret their meaning; on
which account, as there have been many who have done their endeavors
with great patience to obtain this learning, there have yet hardly been
so many as two or three that have succeeded therein, who were
immediately well rewarded for their pains."
(Antiquities of Judeans XX, XI.)

Josephus' testimony on "Greek wasn't spoken in first century Palestine" and "the extreme rarity in terms of a Palestinian knowing Greek" are also arguments for PeshittAPrimacy of the New Testament.

Below are some examples:

(Mark 7:26) NIV - "The woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter." But in Mark 7:26 (Book "The Original Aramaic New Testament in Plain English", Page. 68) - "But she was a pagan woman from Phoenicia of Syria, and she was begging him to cast out the demon from her daughter."
Acts 20:21 (NIV) - "I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus." Acts 20:21 (Book "The Original Aramaic New Testament in Plain English", Page. 206) - "While I was testifying to the Jews and to the Aramaeans about returning to God and the faith in Our Lord Yeshua The Messiah."
Acts 19:17 (KJV) - "And this was known to all the Jews and Greeks also dwelling at Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified." Acts 19:17 (Book "The Original Aramaic New Testament in Plain English", Page. 204) - "And this became known to all the Jews and Aramaeans dwelling in Ephesaus and great fear fell upon all of them, and the name of Our Lord Yeshua The Messiah was exalted."

Judean Wars (Book 1, Preface, Paragraph 1):

"I have proposed to myself, for the sake of such as live under the
government of the Romans, to translate those books into the Greek
tongue, which I formerly composed in the language of our country, and
sent to the Upper Barbarians. Joseph, the son of Matthias, by birth a
Hebrew, a priest also, and one who at first fought against the Romans
myself, and was forced to be present at what was done afterwards, [am
the author of this work]."

In first century AD, Josephus points out that Aramaic was a widespread language and understood accurately among Aramaic speakers.

Josephus points out that Parthians, Babylonians, the remotest Arabians, and those of his nation beyond Euphrates with the Adiabeni knew accurately about Judean Wars by his means (mentioned below) and why he translated his work from the language of his country into Greek for Greeks and Romans.

Judean Wars Book 1 Preface, Paragraph 2 -

"I thought it therefore an absurd thing to see the truth falsified in
affairs of such great consequence, and to take no notice of it; but to
suffer those Greeks and Romans that were not in the wars to be ignorant
of these things, and to read either flatteries or fictions, while the
Parthians, and the Babylonians, and the remotest Arabians, and those of
our nation beyond Euphrates, with the Adiabeni, by my means, knew
accurately both whence the war begun, what miseries it brought upon us,
and after what manner it ended."

In (Acts 1:19), Field of Blood was known to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem in their own language as Akeldama which is the transliteration of Aramaic words "Haqal Dama."

Yigael Yadin

According to Dead Sea Scrolls archaeologist, Yigael Yadin, Aramaic was the language of Hebrews in first century Israel and early second century until False Messiah Simon Bar Kokhba tried to revive Hebrew and make it as the official language of Hebrews during Bar Kokhba revolt (132-135 AD).

Yigael Yadin noticed the shift from Aramaic to Hebrew during the time of Bar Kokhba revolt. In Book "Bar Kokhba: The rediscovery of the legendary hero of the last Jewish Revolt Against Imperial Rome" Yigael Yadin notes, "It is interesting that the earlier documents are written in Aramaic while the later ones are in Hebrew. Possibly the change was made by a special decree of Bar-Kokhba who wanted to restore Hebrew as the official language of the state"(page 181).

In Book "A Roadmap to the Heavens: An Anthropological Study of Hegemony among Priests, Sages, and Laymen (Judaism and Jewish Life)" by Sigalit Ben-Zion (Page 155), Yadin remarked:

"it seems that this change came as a result of the order that was given
by Bar Kokhba, who wanted to revive the Hebrew language and make it
the official language of the state."

According to Book "Naming the Witch: Magic, Ideology, and Stereotype in the Ancient World" written by Kimberly B. Stratton (p. 232), Yadin suggests that Bar Kokhba was trying to revive Hebrew by decree as part of his messianic ideology.

This video about Aramaic New Testament is also recommended:

archive.org/details/NTAramaic

Was the New Testament Really Written in Greek

The author of this book has a download page that disclaims the book:

Was the New Testament Really Written in Greek?: A Concise Compendium of
the Many Internal and External Evidences of Aramaic Peshitta
Primacy</i> argues that the New Testament was originally written in
Aramaic. It is the first of two books I wrote long before I had decided
to become a bona fide scholar and commenced post-graduate Religious
Studies. Some of my unjustified assumptions were that Christianity is
the true faith, that Jesus’ speaking Aramaic would somehow mean that
the New Testament was originally written in Aramaic, that the Bible is
the inerrant word of God, and that Jesus even existed as a historical
figure (my scholarly work reveals that this may not be the case).

I have all but disowned this work, but still allow others to view it,
in the interests of transparency, as an example of how religious
motives and beliefs can result in poor scholarship, because despite
these assumptions there are still some interesting points and the
conclusion could actually be correct, and for the interest of the few
Aramaic primacists that remain. In fact, this book still serves some
good purpose, in introducing the theory, in revealing the corrupt and
contradictory nature of the Bible, in revealing the suspect methods and
motives of many Biblical scholars, as well as clearing up the meaning
of many confusing Biblical passages (Aramaic idioms are typically
misunderstood by mainstream Church-goers).

If I understand correctly, his theology has now turned toward mythiscm, and his new book is called: "There was no Jesus, and there is no God."

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