Monday, April 29, 2024

It is the 29th of April 2024. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org; I’m Dan van Voorhis.

The 29th of April means one thing at my house: Raymond’s birthday- the youngest member of the clan is 12 years old today, and we have snuck out to Knott’s Berry Farm because we like it and we decided taking out a loan to g0 to Disneyland wasn’t worth it. We did consider telling him that he could go to Disneyland or go to college, but he may have chosen unwisely.

All right, a mailbag question from my neck of the woods, a regular on the mailbag he is Wade from Mission Viejo and he writes:

1) When God and then Moses wrote on stone tablets, what language were they writing and who could read it?

2)Do I understand correctly that God's people went into exile in Babylon reading and writing Hebrew and came out of exile from Babylon with only the priests able to read/write Hebrew?

3) When Jesus was actively teaching, Which languages did he speak? Could those listening also read and write?

Great questions. Christians are, of course, like the ancient Israelites, people of the book. The main text translated into English is called “the Book,” and of course, the second member of the Trinity is called “The Word.” 

The Hebrew Bible was written in Hebrew- it’s fair to call it “Biblical Hebrew” as language changes over time- I studied “biblical Hebrew,” and it would be useless in modern Israel. So, the Ten Commandments would have been written in stone in Hebrew. As far as who could read and write, scholars of the ancient Near East will give you a number somewhere between 3 and 10 percent. However, some recent studies suggest that it might be a scotch higher amongst the Israelites, and this would make sense as God communicated to them in writing, in commandments, and through the writings of prophets. However, that still makes the majority of the population illiterate, and thus, oral communication and memorization were highly prized.

As far as the Babylonian exile, this is the end of ancient of “biblical” Hebrew. After generations, the people would take on the lingua franca of where they lived, which would be Aramaic for most of them. The priestly class would still be able to read and write Hebrew because of the texts, but that would be the extent of the Hebrew. In fact, to have a synagogue (interestingly, a Greek word, a village needed to have at least one person who could read Hebrew, and some didn’t). Aramaic was still spoken, but remember that massive character from the 4th century BC, Alexander the Great. He would conquer vast territories, and to effectively rule, he made Greek the lingua franca- so, the post-exilic Hebrew people up into the time of Jesus would speak Aramaic and Greek- the Old Testament would be translated into Greek- this is the “Septuagint” and this was the Bible for many of our characters in the New Testament- of the almost 300 references to the Hebrew Bible in the New Testament about 90 of them, just under 1/3 are straight from the Septuagint.

Once again, as far as the people he was speaking to, most would be illiterate, but there would be scribes who could write for people. It’s worth noting, as I have before, that the Greek used in the New Testament was “koine” Greek- that is, street Greek. The language of the people, not the elevated Greek of the poets. I think this is worth remembering when some people complain about new translations of the Bible in colloquial language- the originals were written in colloquial language!

It’s also important to remember in all of this that literacy didn’t grow until after the invention of the printing press, but even then, it was uneven into the early modern era; some places- mostly rural would remain at about 10%, with some places surpassing 50%. In 1820, it was thought, globally, that only 1 in 10 was literate, whereas today, it has flipped, with the global average being 9 in 10. But, it is worth noting that historically, the majority of Christian believers would be illiterate, requiring people to proclaim the word to them- in our culture, we sometimes over-prize personal reading and personal knowledge when the model was communal. Proclamation was the way the Gospel spread.

A quick note on Bible translations- according to Wycliffe, the full Bible has been translated into 736 languages, with 3,658 languages and portions of the Bible. The bad news is that there are over 7,000 known languages. The good news: the 3,658 languages account for 97% of the population. Thanks, Wade- you can send me your questions at danv@1517.org

The last word for today is from the daily lectionary and Galatians 5:

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 29th of April 2024, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man in Wisconsin, where they love their indoor water parks; he’s near Breaker Bay, and he is Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man who suffers for Jesus by rooting for the Clippers. I’m Dan van Voorhis.

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.