In the 2nd chapter of Matthew, we read the
following (NASB):
Now after Jesus was born in
Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in
Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw
His star in the east and have come to worship Him.” When Herod the king heard
this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. Gathering together all the
chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah
was to be born. They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for this is what has
been written by the prophet:
‘And you, Bethlehem, land of
Judah,
Are by no means least among the
leaders of Judah;
For out of you shall come forth a
Ruler
Who will shepherd My people
Israel.’”
Because most of us read this in English, there is much that
we miss in this interchange. So, let’s consider what languages are being used
here and who the various players are using those languages.
Herod
Herod (*1) is what is sometimes called a “client king” in
that while he had been born in Judea and raised in a Jewish family, he was
serving under the authority of the Romans. He likely spoke at least two
languages – the local language of the Jews, which at the time would have been
some version of Aramaic, and the trade language of the middle east, Greek. As
an educated Jew, he may have also known Hebrew as that would have been
necessary to understand the Torah.
But why Greek instead of Latin, the native language of the
Romans? For that, we need to understand the history of this part of the world.
Alexander the Great conquered much of the area of around the
eastern Mediterranean, including Israel, in 333 BC (*2). So, Greek had become
the trade language of the entire area. While the Romans later supplanted the
Greeks by conquering the area in 63 BC (*3), Greek remained as the trade
language until after the Muslim conquest in 476 AD.
Magi
While there is debate about exactly how many magi there were
or which countries they came from, I’m not going to address that here. It is
unlikely that they spoke any Aramaic as they were not from Judea. Their native
language may have been Persian or some other eastern language. However, since
the empire of Alexander the Great extended some 2000 miles to the east of Israel,
it is quite likely that the magi, as rich, educated men, would have also spoken
Greek and thus could communicate with Herod in this language. The magi were
following the star in the east (*4), which would have brought them to Jerusalem.
As Bethlehem was only six miles from Jerusalem, determining where it was
exactly overhead would have been somewhat difficult. Thus, it was quite
reasonable for them to stop in Jerusalem and ask.
Priests and Scribes
As the chief officials of the Jewish faith, these
individuals would be most familiar with Hebrew, the language of their religious
documents. They would also likely know Aramaic, the local language. They may or
may not have been familiar with Greek as they did not deal with trading
merchandise.
The sacred scrolls
The information that Herod was asking for would not have
been information that the priests and scribes thought about on a daily basis.
The books that we now know as the Old Testament describe events that had
happened 400 or more years before (*5). While some scholars believe that the
written form of some these books may have been later than the events described,
the response that the priests and scribes give is from the book of Micah (5:2).
This book was written in the period 750-700 BC, i.e. 7-8 centuries in the past.
All the scrolls would have been written in Hebrew.
The Interaction
So now we have a group of magi who have traveled a large
distance and enter the city of Jerusalem. They are invited to speak to Herod
and, not knowing a common local language, they ask him their question in Greek.
Herod turns and speaks to the priests and scribes, probably in Hebrew, although
he could have used Aramaic or possibly Greek.
The priests and scribes consult their sacred scrolls written
in Hebrew, and quote them to Herod and to the magi – who are anxiously awaiting
their response. The key word they are waiting to hear is the word Bethlehem,
which in Hebrew means “House of Bread.” (*6). Herod would have had to translate
the response of the priests and scribes into Greek in order for them to
understand the text from the scroll which they quoted. This small village would
not have been familiar to the magi, so someone would have had to give them
directions before they left Jerusalem. (*7) When they eventually met with Jesus
and his parents in Bethlehem, while they could have presented their gifts
without interpretation, if they wished to say anything, they would possibly
have needed an interpreter as Joseph and Mary would have likely known only
Aramaic.
When Matthew recorded this interaction some 80 years later (*5),
he would have written it all down in Greek so that it could be circulated in
the Roman world to people whose common trade language was Greek (*8). It would
be several centuries later that this was eventually translated into English so
that we can read it today.
This passage from the book of Matthew is only a few verses
long. But how much richer it can become when we consider the cultural, linguistic,
and geographical context of those verses!
Notes:
