Did St Paul speak Hebrew and Aramaic and did he write any manuscript in this language?

Answer 1

A:Paul's first language was Greek. Paul was born in Tarsus, in modern day Turkey, at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea. From Greece eastward, the people in the lands around the eastern Mediterranean spoke Greek, usually as a first language, but certainly as second. In all the provinces, Greek was the language of governance and trade. In Galatians, Paul described how he visited Jerusalem to speak to the members of the Jerusalem Church, including James and Peter. The story also appears in Acts.

In Palestine itself, there were three main languages in use. Greek was the language of the Roman Empire and so anyone who spoke to the government or who engaged in trade would speak Greek. During the centuries in which Greek entered Palestine, from about 330 BC onwards, the main Jewish language was Aramaic which had been learned during the Babylonian Exile. Starting in the Exile, Hebrew had been relegated to a liturgical language. So it is probable that when Paul visited Jerusalem, he spoke Greek to the members of the Church. Also, Paul's discussion of the "Law," nomos, in Romans assumes the standard Greek meaning of the word. His theological explanation is not based on the Hebrew word Torah which is what nomos translates in the Greek Septuagint. We have no record of any manuscript written by Paul in Hebrew or Aramaic.

Answer 2

St. Paul likely spoke both Hebrew and Aramaic, being a well-educated Jew of his time. However, his surviving letters and writings in The Bible are in Greek, the lingua franca of the Roman Empire. There are no known manuscripts written by St. Paul in Hebrew or Aramaic.

Answer 3

Paul's first language was Greek. In Galatians, Paul described how he visited Jerusalem to speak to the members of the Jerusalem Church, including James and Peter. Since most Palestinian Jews spoke Aramaic, rather than Greek, it is likely that Paul had to speak to them in Aramaic. However, if the "pillars" of the Jerusalem Church were particulary well educated, they may have been able to communicate with Paul in Hebrew, which was still used as a theological language.

We have no record of any manuscript written by Paul in Hebrew or Aramaic.