Scholars have often cited a particular linguistic feature of Palestinian environment as characteristic of Jesus.242 Although our extant Gospels are written in Greek, that they contain Aramaic figures of speech also tends to suggest authentic Jesus material,243 especially if the first translators into Greek frequently sought word-for-word fidelity as some scholars suggest.244 Although reconstructing Aramaic behind gospel traditions seems more complex than often allowed, some have argued that the Aramaic original of as much as 80% of the Synoptic sayings material appears to fit a poetic or rhythmic form helpful for memorization.245 Jesus’ common phrase “Son of Man” (literally, “the son of the man”) makes no more sense in Greek than it does in English, but such a phrase makes perfect sense in Hebrew or Aramaic, where it frequently occurs. Some divergences in Jesus’ sayings in different Gospels may reflect different possible translations of these sayings from Aramaic.246 (Various Semitic structural features of many sayings also suggest their antiquity, and perhaps that their sage uttered them in easily memorized form.)247
Although Greek was the universal trade language in the urban east (hence probably the one common language for even the Jerusalem church), the Aramaic vernacular would be dominant in rural settings, such as most of the settings where Jesus taught (especially in Galilee). (Although Aramaic was probably the first language of most Galileans outside the urban centers, even in Lower Galilee,248 Greek was widespread in Palestine;249 even the Semiticist Gustaf Dalman long ago recognized the use of Greek in Jerusalem.)250 Aramaic was the diplomatic language of Israel in dialogue with Mesopotamia before the exile (2 Kgs 18:26; Is 36:11), and the dominant language of Israel before the Hellenistic period.251 Many Qumran scrolls appear in Aramaic (despite the prejudice for Hebrew),252 and Babylonian Jewry, which affected Palestinian Judaism just as the Mediterranean Diaspora did, used Aramaic.253 Throughout western Asia, Aramaic remained the vernacular of peoples (especially in rural areas or small towns) whose first language was not Greek or a small local language.
Material from Masada indicates that bilingualism (and even trilingualism) was common, but Aramaic was the common tongue for most Judeans, though Hebrew could be used in priestly and purity matters.254 Aramaic was the dominant language for the masses even in Jerusalem.255 Even Greek composition in Judea reflects abundant Aramaisms, especially for those scribes and translators whose Greek was weaker.256 The Aramaic tradition apparently remained important enough that Paul seems to have taught some Aramaic words to his churches (Rom 8:15; 1 Cor 16:22; Gal 4:6).
Because most of Jesus’ teachings in the Synoptics appear to have been delivered to Galilean villagers, they probably reflect Aramaic rather than Greek originals.257 It is quite true that the earliest church, like Jesus, often spoke Aramaic; but the early presence of many Greek-speakers in the Jerusalem church means that, in Jerusalem at least, the shared language of the community understood by all was Greek. From an early period, the bilingual milieu of the Syrian and Palestinian churches undoubtedly facilitated the ready translation on a popular level of Jesus’ sayings from Aramaic to Greek, probably sometimes in diverse forms.258
Some might therefore charge that the earliest Christians could have invented some sayings attributed to Jesus in this period.259 But given all we know of Jewish and (for that matter) Greco-Roman traditioning and the growth of legends, this would be the least likely period in which sayings or stories would be invented.260 (Paul attests two of the leading eyewitnesses — Peter and John — plus Jesus’ brother in positions of leadership in the Jerusalem church — Gal 2:9; cf. 1 Cor 15:7.) At the same time, early Christians wrote our Gospels and probably their direct sources in Greek, and just as Matthew frequently adjusts Mark’s Greek, his sources may have also adapted earlier language. So Aramaisms suggest traditions stemming from the earliest (hence most reliable) community; but261 good Greek is not a mark against the reliability of the traditions (especially if most Palestinian Jews were bilingual, as is probably the case).262 Aramaic could be translated into colloquial Greek just as it could be translated into Greek with Semitic interference in its syntax.
