The Old Testament was first written in Hebrew, with a few passages in Aramaic. Captivity in Babylon caused spoken Hebrew to be lost as most Jews spoke the common language, Aramaic. Fortunately, written Hebrew was preserved in the Scriptures. Later, after conquests by Alexander the Great, Greek became the common language of the Mediterranean world. The most famous translation of the Old Testament into common Greek was the Septuagint. (Septuagint means 70, or in Latin LXX, a rounded number for the project’s 72 translators in Alexandria, Egypt.) This translation was completed over two centuries before Christ. By the time Christ lived on earth, the Septuagint was used for public readings across the Roman world (Acts 15:21). It was the version most often quoted by Jesus and New Testament writers, and was read by the Ethiopian (Acts 8:32-33). It reflected well the meaning of the Hebrew text and effectively led the Ethiopian and others to Jesus as the fulfillment of prophecy.
Jesus, the Lamb of God, was crucified in about A.D. 30. (A.D. or Anno Domini—“the year of our Lord”—refers to the year since Jesus’ birth.) Between about A.D. 50 and A.D. 90, the New Testament was written, using the common (koine) Greek of the day. It recorded Jesus’ life and His continuing work through His apostles and first followers. Greek, as the main trade and educational language, was spoken far and wide. It was instrumental in the spread of the Gospel to the Gentile world. Greek is a living language, still used today, and its range of words is among the richest in the world.