Bilingualism and the Greek of the New Testament: Semitic Interference in the Gospel of Mark

Abstract

It is an accepted fact that most of the writings in the New Testament originated in bilingual or multilingual communities, and that the native language of their authors was Aramaic, and not Greek. The problem of Semitic interference in New Testament Greek should be re-examined, and special attention should be paid to the phenomenon of bilingualism and making of New Testament documents. This chapter focuses on bilingualism and use of Greek by Jews and Christians in first century. It addresses the nature of New Testament Greek from the perspective of Semitic interference and gives a discussion of Semitic interference in Gospel of Mark. The chapter argues that Mark's Gospel was written by a bilingual author whose native language was probably Aramaic and his second language Greek. Semitic interference can therefore be ascribed to Mark's use of Greek and not to translation into Greek or use of Aramaic or other sources. Keywords: Aramaic; bilingualism; gospel of Mark; Jews; New Testament Greek; Semitic interference