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• Whereas at the time of the Assyrian Empire the Israelites spoke Hebrew and only a few were able to speak Aramaic, by the time of the Babylonian Empire Aramaic was becoming more widely spoken. The Jews were exiled into Babylon still generally only speaking Hebrew, but by the time they returned 70 years later, Aramaic had become just as well known as Hebrew. In fact, as we shall see in the next lesson, the Babylonian exile created a profound shift in the ordinary language spoken by the Israelites. Hebrew was diminishing as a spoken language, and Aramaic was increasing.