No early Hebrew translations of the New Testament are known. If such manuscripts did exist, we would have tremendous enlightenment regarding the name of God in New Testament times. Although no such manuscripts exist, writings of early church fathers indicate that the Gospel of Matthew was originally written in Hebrew.1
Papias (130 AD) “Matthew wrote the oracles in the Hebrew language, and every one interpreted them as he was able” (Eusebius, Church History, 3.39.16) Irenaeus of Lyons (170 AD) “Matthew also issued a written Gospel among the Hebrews in their own dialect.” (Irenaeus, Against Heresies, 3.1.1) Origen (200 AD) “The first was written by Matthew, who was once a publican, but afterwards an apostle of Jesus Christ, and it was prepared for the converts from Judaism, and published in the Hebrew language.” (Eusebius, Church History, 6.25.4) Eusebius (315 AD) “For Matthew, who had at first preached to the Hebrews, when he was about to go to other peoples, committed his Gospel to writing in his native tongue.” (Eusebius, Church History, 3.24) Jerome (382 AD) “Matthew, also called Levi, apostle and aforetimes publican, composed a Gospel of Christ at first published in Judea in Hebrew for the sake of those of the circumcision who believed, but this was afterwards translated into Greek, though by what author is uncertain. The Hebrew itself has been preserved until the present day in the library at Caesarea.” (Jerome, On Illustrious Men, 3)
No copies of this Hebrew version of Matthew exist. The Greek language “had an enormous impact in Judea in both Second Temple and rabbinic times. As far as we know, however, Hebrew remained the primary language of literary expression. The Qumran scrolls demonstrate that Hebrew was the original language of most of the works written in Judea between the period of the Maccabees and the destruction of the temple in 70 CD.”2 For years, it had been commonly believed that Hebrew was not spoken in Jesus’ day and that the vernacular of Palestine was Aramaic. However, since the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, scholars have reconsidered this supposition as these texts are overwhelmingly Hebrew, not Aramaic. Many other discoveries from Judea in the last 50 years have also confirmed the extensive use of Hebrew in the land of Judea in the early first century.
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Author: John Cortright
Keywords: Book of Matthew, Gospel of Matthew, Matthew written in Hebrew, Hebrew gospels, Hebrew New Testament, Matthew's gospel, Aramaic
Bible reference(s): Matthew 1:1
Source: “A Hebrew Gospel Of Matthew,” Glad Tidings, July/August 2013, pp. 4-5, 7.
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