Page 20 - Yahwehs Book

language. It became a matter of necessity for the Jews to speak Aramaic so that they could dwell in
Babylon, conduct business, and converse with their Babylonian neighbors. Consequently, when the
Jews returned to Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile they were now speaking Aramaic. While in
Babylon, the Jews also abandoned the Paleo Hebrew alphabet and adopted the Aramaic square script.

The alphabet above would have been familiar to the inhabitants of Canaan during the time Joshua
led the Israelites in to conquer the land, circa 1,500 B.C..

The Alphabet above is what the Jewish people adopted while in Babylonian captivity around 600
B.C.. This shows how much a single language can change over the course of time. While the Jewish
people were dwelling in Babylon, Aramaic became the every day language of the Hebrews in exile.
Aramaic remained the common language of the Jews in what is referred to as “the Second Temple
Period.” This time spanned between 539 B.C. when the Jews returned from Babylon, and 70 A.D.
when the Temple was destroyed, along with Jerusalem, by the Roman General Titus. These years
fully encompassed the life and ministry of Christ in Judea. That Christ and His disciples spoke