Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Ethel Jean (Kowan) Saltz" <macnietspingal AT airmail.net>]

Again, I can't cite the exact location in the Talmud.  It was in Tractate
Megillah that I saw it with my own eyes and  it has really impressed me with
how worldly the talmudists were.

They actually said that Hebrew was a  Holy language and that the second one
was Greek.  In Tractate Megillah they did a lot of historical analysis.

The more I got into the Talmud (about a year) end of Megillah beginning of
that thoroughly modern law text, Sanhedrin, the more the talmudists seemed
to be as modern as we are, inspite of the fact that their world was  bounded
by India and continued west to through the Mediterranean and they didn't
know the planet was "round" or that the moon simply kept track of the sun
when you couldn't see the sun for yourself:)  They were very comfortable
with Greek.  They had to be because in deciding what to include and what not
dealt with Greek texts ?  Was one criteria Hebrew and Aramaic?  I now
understand that Hebrew does use Aramaic script.  I also understand they
wanted to include Sirach/Ecclesiasticus but decided against it.  Did they
read it in both Hebrew and Greek?  Especially significant because in
390CE St. Jerome also was comfortable with both Hebrew and Greek.  He liked
Hebrew better for the "Old Testament".  Wouldn't it be helpful to know why?
It seems he was debating with himself the same way y'all are:)

EJ(K)S