Finding an Aramaic phrase in a Greek letter sent to a Greek church might seem strange, to say the least. The famous “pool of Bethesda,” where Jesus miraculously healed a paralysed man, is also derived from an Aramaic word, Bethesda meaning “House of Grace.” The famous “Maranatha” prayer we find at the end of Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians is also Aramaic.
Some Aramaic place names are indeed featured in the New Testament, such as “Gethsēmanē,” a word that means “olive oil press,” which is used to indicate the place where Jesus takes his disciples to pray before his arrest. Read more: “Maranatha”: An ancient Christian prayer in one of the languages Jesus spoke. The language later evolved in various Aramaic dialects including what is often defined as “The Aramaic of Jesus,” the most common dialect spoken in Galilea during the 1st century. Public Domain Jesus was fluent in Greek and Hebrew, but mostly spoke Aramaic, the most spoken language in Galilea during the 1st century.Īramaic appeared in its early form as early as 900 BC, and was based on the Phoenician alphabet, a system of 22 letters that is the base of many modern alphabets. Aramaic was in fact the most spoken language in the Holy Land during Jesus’ lifetime, which is why Mel Gibson chose it as the language for his movie The Passion of Christ. Most historians agree in thinking that Jesus mostly spoke Aramaic, although he was also fluent in Hebrew and Greek. But not everyone knows which language he used to communicate his message. We know what Jesus said during his lifetime thanks to the four gospels.
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