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Old Testament:
Ancient Near East


There are several other languages that are not as helpful at the present time, but sometimes have interesting clues. Ebliate is a very difficult language that they are still trying to translate. Over 24,000 tablets have been found. Hittite is another language that seems more useful for the books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy.

To sum it up, Akkadian was the lingua franca for most of the OT period. From Cyrus the Great Aramaic became the world trade language. From Alexander the Great onward Greek became the most important language. At the time of the NT an easier Hellenistic "Koine" Greek was spoken which the NT is written. With Roman domination Latin came into prominence which the church fathers used in the Middle Ages.