Languages

Discover the languages in which the Bible was composed and translated into.
Languages

Biblical Languages

Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek are the primary languages of the Bible’s composition.

Hebrew

The Torah (the Five Books of Moses) was originally composed in the Hebrew language, as were the Nevi'im (the Prophets) and most of the other Old Testament Khetuvim (Writings).

Aramaic

Later portions of the Old Testament were written in Aramaic---the common language of the biblical lands during and after the Babylonian exile.

Greek

After the Greek conquest of the biblical lands, the Old Testament was translated into Greek and the New Testament was written in it.

Languages of
Ancient Versions

Ancient versions can sometimes shed light on the original composition of the Bible.

  • Latin
  • Syriac
  • Coptic
  • Gothic

Reference
Languages​

Languages contemporary with the Bible’s composition can lend insight on words that biblical writers borrowed or words that they use only once.

  • Ugaritic
  • Akkadian
  • Phœnician

Modern
Languages

  • English
  • Hindi
  • Spanish
  • Mandarin Chinese
  • French
  • German
  • Russian
  • Arabic
  • Bengali
  • Portuguese
  • Japanese
  • Other languages ...

Linguistics

  • International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)