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The Reading Culture of Early Christianity

The Primary Language of the New Testament Texts

The New Testament was predominantly written in Koine Greek, the common dialect of the Greek language during the Hellenistic and Roman periods. This choice was strategic, as Koine Greek was widely spoken across the Mediterranean, facilitating the dissemination of the Christian message. The apostolic authors, including Paul, Peter, and John, composed their epistles and gospels in this language to ensure broad accessibility and understanding among the diverse early Christian communities.

Paul, who wrote 14 New Testament books, wrote his letters in Greek before his death, which is commonly placed around 64-67 C.E., under the persecution of Emperor Nero. This timing clearly refutes the claim that the New Testament writings, particularly those of Paul, originated post-70 C.E. The historical context of Paul’s ministry, corroborated by Acts and his epistles, aligns with a pre-70 C.E. authorship. Furthermore, evidence such as Papyrus 46 (P46), a collection of Pauline epistles dated to around 100-150 C.E., suggests early composition dates, as this manuscript would necessarily have been preceded by earlier exemplars.

The Case for Matthew’s Gospel

Matthew first wrote his Gospel in Hebrew around 45-50 C.E. and then again shortly thereafter in Greek (50 C.E.) aligns with ancient testimonies from apostolic fathers like Papias, who mentioned Matthew composing the sayings of Jesus in the Hebrew dialect in 135 C.E. Says Papias: “He wrote the sayings in the Hebrew language, and each one interpreted them as best he could.” Papias was a student of the apostle John, just like his friend Polycarp was. “I DID not . . . enjoy those who have much to say, but those who taught what was true,” so wrote Papias.

Papias’s comments come to us primarily through the writings of Eusebius in his “Ecclesiastical History.” Papias wrote a five-volume work known as “Expositions of the Sayings of the Lord,” which has not survived in its entirety. What we know about Papias’s methods and intentions comes from fragments preserved by later church historians, including Eusebius.

Original Greek and Common Translations

The most direct source about Papias’s methodology from Eusebius includes a passage that goes (in translation):

“For I did not suppose that information from books would profit me so much as information from a living and surviving voice.” (as per Eusebius, HE III.39.4)

Eusebius also provides a passage that describes Papias’s approach to collecting accounts of Jesus’s sayings:

“But I shall not hesitate also to put into properly ordered form for you everything I learned carefully in the past from the elders and noted down carefully, for the truth of which I vouch. For unlike most people I did not enjoy those who have a great deal to say, but those who teach the truth; not those who relate strange commandments, but those who recount the commandments given by the Lord to faith and springing from the truth itself.”

However, the Greek version of Matthew’s Gospel is what has been historically preserved in the canonical New Testament. The rewriting in Greek, done by Matthew himself, would have been motivated by the same reasons as the other New Testament writings—to reach a broader audience in a linguistically diverse empire.

External Affirmations of the Greek New Testament

Early church historians such as Irenaeus (130-202 C.E.), Tertullian (155-220 C.E.), and Eusebius (260/265–339 C.E.) commented on the authenticity and preservation of the New Testament texts. These patristic sources sometimes mentioned the availability of original texts or very early copies in their time, underscoring the reverence and careful transmission of these documents within the early church. Tertullian, for example, argued for the reliability of the New Testament by referencing the availability of original autographs in various churches.

Manuscript Evidence and Translations

The survival of numerous Greek manuscript fragments from the second century C.E., such as those found among the John Rylands Library Papyri and the Bodmer Papyri, demonstrates that the New Testament texts were solidified in their Greek form well before their translation into other languages. These manuscripts not only affirm the early use of Greek for the New Testament writings but also help establish the critical text of the New Testament used today.

Translations of the Greek New Testament began appearing in the second century as Christianity spread. The earliest translations were into Latin and Syriac, the latter of which includes the Diatessaron by Tatian, a second-century harmonization of the four Gospels. This Syriac text underscores the early and widespread use of the Gospels in diverse linguistic contexts. By the fifth century, the Syriac Peshitta included almost all the books of the New Testament, further attesting to the authoritative scope of the Greek originals.

The evidence for the original language of the New Testament and the dating of its composition is extensive and multifaceted, incorporating textual analysis, archaeological findings, and patristic testimonies. Here are additional points that reinforce the understanding that the New Testament was written in Koine Greek before the commonly cited dates:

Archaeological Evidence

Oxyrhynchus Papyri: This collection includes thousands of papyrus discovered in Egypt, some of which contain early New Testament texts. These fragments, such as Papyrus 1 (P1), dated to about 175-225 C.E., hold portions of the Gospel of Matthew written in Greek. The dating of these papyri supports the early circulation of New Testament texts well within the first century.
Chester Beatty Papyri: This group of biblical papyri includes some of the earliest known copies of Pauline Epistles, the Gospels, and the Book of Revelation. Papyrus 45 (P45), for instance, from around 175-225 C.E., contains texts from the Gospels and Acts, demonstrating that the books of the New Testament were being collected and read together by this time.

Patristic Citations

Citations by Early Church Fathers: Early Christian leaders like Clement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch, and Polycarp, who wrote in the late first and early second centuries C.E., frequently cited New Testament writings in their letters. These citations are crucial as they not only affirm the authority and widespread use of these texts but also confirm their existence in Greek during or shortly after the apostolic era.
Muratorian Fragment: This document, dated to about 170 C.E., is believed to be the earliest existing list of New Testament books. It includes most of the current New Testament and gives us insight into the early church’s recognition of canonical scriptures, again all in Greek.

Linguistic Analysis

Linguistic Style and Vocabulary: The linguistic style of the New Testament texts is consistent with first-century Koine Greek used across the Eastern Mediterranean. Specific phrases, idiomatic expressions, and grammatical structures match those found in other contemporary Greek writings outside the New Testament.
Septuagint Influence: The authors of the New Testament often quoted the Old Testament from the Septuagint—a pre-Christian Greek translation of Hebrew scriptures. This widespread use of the Septuagint among New Testament writers not only reinforces the use of Greek but also links the New Testament linguistically and theologically with the broader Hellenistic Jewish culture.

Scholarly Consensus

Critical Scholarly Analysis: Most biblical scholars agree on the Greek origins of the New Testament texts based on extensive critical analysis. This consensus is supported by a combination of textual criticism, comparative literature, and historical context that aligns with a first-century Greek composition.

Significance of Papyrus 75 (P75) and Papyrus 66 (P66) in New Testament Textual Criticism

Papyrus 75 (P75) Overview

Papyrus 75, dated to around 175-225 C.E., is one of the most important early copies of the New Testament. This papyrus contains large portions of the Gospels of Luke and John. Its significance stems not only from its age but also from its textual characteristics, which show a very careful transcription of the texts. The high quality of the script and the minimal variations from what would become the standard text of the New Testament suggest that P75 is a very accurate representation of the autographs.

The close affinity of P75 with Codex Vaticanus, one of the great fourth-century biblical codices (300-330 C.E.), is particularly noteworthy. This relationship suggests a stable transmission history of the New Testament text from at least the early third century. Scholars have observed that the type of text found in P75 appears to be very similar to that later found in Codex Vaticanus, which has been used to argue for a relatively uniform text of the Gospels circulating in at least some parts of the Christian world by the early third century.

Papyrus 66 (P66) Overview

Papyrus 66, dated to about 100-150 C.E., is another pivotal piece in the study of the New Testament’s textual history. This papyrus is one of the oldest near-complete manuscripts of the Gospel of John, comprising a large portion of this Gospel. The significance of P66 lies in its age and the extent of its preservation, providing invaluable insights into the text of John’s Gospel as it existed in the second century.

The textual character of P66 demonstrates a mixture of textual types, with a predominance of what would later be categorized as Alexandrian text—the type considered by many scholars to be closest to the original writings of the New Testament authors. The presence of some unique readings and occasional scribal errors in P66 also provides important data for understanding the nature of early Christian scriptoria and the processes of copying texts in the early church.

Textual Implications

Both P75 and P66 are critical in establishing the text of the New Testament prior to the major codices of the fourth century. Their early dates help bridge the gap between the apostolic age and the later manuscript tradition represented by such codices as Vaticanus and Sinaiticus. These papyri are part of a body of evidence that challenges the hypothesis of a radical textual evolution during the first few centuries of Christianity. Instead, they support a scenario of a relatively stable transmission process with a high degree of fidelity in the copying of the scriptures.

The textual quality and antiquity of P75 and P66 allow scholars to trace the history of the New Testament text’s transmission with greater confidence. They provide a window into how the text of the New Testament was used and revered in the early Christian communities, confirming that the texts of Luke, John, and other New Testament writings were solidified and circulated as authoritative scriptural texts well before the Church’s formal canonization processes began.

These papyri, therefore, not only affirm the early existence of the texts they contain but also enhance our understanding of the early textual history of the New Testament, underscoring the reverence early Christians held for these texts as faithful records of apostolic teaching. Their study continues to refine our understanding of the text’s historical reliability and the early church’s devotion to preserving the teachings of Jesus and his followers.

These evidences collectively support the assertion that the New Testament was composed in Greek and within the timeframe traditionally ascribed to the apostolic age, contradicting the claims that it was written post-70 C.E. or initially in Aramaic. The Greek manuscripts, the immediate use and citation of these texts by early Church Fathers, and the linguistic data converge to affirm the New Testament’s authenticity and early composition.

Conclusion on the Language of the New Testament

The linguistic evidence, patristic testimony, and manuscript tradition collectively affirm that the New Testament was authored in Koine Greek within the lifetimes of the apostles and their contemporaries. This strategic choice ensured that the teachings of Jesus and the apostolic doctrine were accessible to the expansive and linguistically diverse Roman Empire. The subsequent translations into various languages like Syriac and Latin in the following centuries underscored the text’s foundational role and widespread acceptance among early Christians.

What Language Did Jesus Christ, His Apostles, and Early Christians Speak?

About the Author

EDWARD D. ANDREWS (AS in Criminal Justice, BS in Religion, MA in Biblical Studies, and MDiv in Theology) is the CEO and President of Christian Publishing House. He has authored more than 220 books and is the Chief Translator of the Updated American Standard Version (UASV).