Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Trevor & Julie Peterson" <06peterson AT cua.edu>]

Karl wrote:

> How did the linguistic environment change?
> 
> Aramaic lost its official status with the destruction of the Persian
> empire. The "high" languages of the Second Temple period were Hebrew
> centered on Jerusalem and the temple, and Greek from the political
realm
> and the diaspora. Does it make sense after the destruction of
Jerusalem
> and the temple, along with much of the intelligencia that spoke
Hebrew,
> that people would turn to a language with no status unless.?

I don't think that anyone has tried to deny that Aramaic was spoken and
may have even been the dominant language in certain areas. For that
matter, it's probably better to say that Aramaic was widely spoken, and
Hebrew may have been the dominant language in certain areas. I think
part of the idea that's put forth about this shift after Bar Kochba is
that the geographical center changed. The center of Western Jewish
literary activity moved to Galilee, where Aramaic may have played a more
important role to begin with, and eventually the preferred literary
language shifted to reflect that.

Trevor Peterson
CUA/Semitics