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what language was the first bible written in

The first parts of the Bible were written mainly in Hebrew , with some sections in Aramaic , and the New Testament in Koine Greek.

Quick scoop

  • The Old Testament (Hebrew Bible / Tanakh) was composed over many centuries, and almost all of it was originally written in Hebrew.
  • A few chapters in Daniel and Ezra , plus one verse in Jeremiah , were written in Aramaic , a closely related Semitic language that became widespread in the ancient Near East.
  • The New Testament books (Gospels, letters, Revelation) were written in Koine Greek , the common Greek of the eastern Roman Empire in the first century AD.

What “first Bible” usually means

When people ask “what language was the first Bible written in,” they usually mean the earliest books of the Old Testament , such as the Torah (Genesis–Deuteronomy) , which were composed in Hebrew around the first millennium BC.

So, in short:

  • First Bible language (core): Hebrew
  • Also used: Aramaic (parts of Daniel, Ezra, Jeremiah)
  • New Testament language: Koine Greek

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