Present-day scholars claim that the Aramaic
language itself passed through many stages of
development:
* Old Aramaic 975-700 B.C.
* Standard Aramaic 700-200 B.C.
* Middle Aramaic 200 B.C.-200 A.D.
* Late Aramaic 200-700 A.D.
Yet it was not a commonly understood language in Palestine in 701 B.C.:
2Kings 18:26 ΒΆ Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, and
Shebna and Joah said to the field commander,
"Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, since
we understand it. Don't speak to us in Hebrew in
the hearing of the people on the wall."
Yet it was known to some, and so could have affected the literate people.