The Language Jesus Spoke

The Language Jesus Spoke

From Biblical Time Machine by Helen Bond & Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones

March 2, 2026 · 46 min · Season 4

About this episode

Helen and Lloyd explore the Aramaic language spoken by Jesus with historian Bruce Chilton.

This week in the Biblical Time Machine, Helen and Lloyd travel back in time to hear and read Aramaic, the language Jesus spoke. Helping them to uncover the language is world-leading Jesus historian, Bruce Chilton, the Bernard Iddings Bell Profesosr of Religion at Bard College, NY. Professor Chilton is the author of numerous books, including Rabbi Jesus: An Intimate Biography and most recently, Aramaic Jesus: Tradition, Identity, and Christianity's Mother Tongue. On the show, he answers ...

People in this episode

Hosts: Helen Bond, Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones

Guest: Bruce Chilton

Topics covered

  • Aramaic
  • language of Jesus
  • historical linguistics
  • Christianity
  • religion

Keywords

  • Jesus
  • Aramaic
  • Bruce Chilton
  • Christianity
  • language
  • history

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Bard College

Books & works: Rabbi Jesus: An Intimate Biography, Aramaic Jesus: Tradition, Identity, and Christianity's Mother Tongue

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