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• In fact, as we trace through the pages of the Bible, we find that God’s people, centered in Israel, nearly always spoke either Hebrew - the Holy Language of Judaism - or Aramaic, or both. Together, Hebrew and Aramaic are the languages of the Bible, the Holy Scriptures.
• But the nations surrounding Israel did not speak Hebrew. Instead, consistently, century after century, for millennia, they spoke Aramaic. As we shall see, the first major world empire of Biblical interest is the Assyrian Empire, and they spoke Aramaic as their official language.
• The next world empire of interest to the Bible is the Babylonian Empire, and they also spoke Aramaic as their official language. Then came the Medo-Persian Empire, and they also spoke Aramaic as their official language.