Did Peter know the Greek language?

[Battar Kurdi]

Did Peter know the Greek language?

I read in one of the topics he did not know Greek and he had some translators
I need the historical evidence ...
Were all students or some of them do not know?

Very thanks.

[DCHindley]

Did Peter know the Greek language?

I read in one of the topics he did not know Greek and he had some translators
I need the historical evidence ...
Were all students or some of them do not know?

Very thanks.

I think you must have heard claims that the author of the gospel of Mark was Peter's "interpreter". That was made by some post-NT early church writers who were not speaking so much of interpreting Peter's Aramaic into Greek, but of the way he presented "Peter's" teaching about Jesus Christ in the gospel that bears his name.

That gospel itself is, as are all the "Canonical" gospels, anonymous. It only later became associated with Mark, who - according to the Acts of the Apostles - was supposed to be the same Mark who traveled with Paul for a while before leaving for whatever reason, and later going off to work with Barnabas. Nowhere in the NT is it said that this Mark worked with Peter. This is later legend, and they can be quite elaborate, where he is sometimes termed "John Mark" as a way of consolidating the figures in the diverse legends. This may be also why some think that the gospel of Mark contains traces of Pauline Christological doctrine.

There are devotional type books out there that traces these legends as if they are true, but you always need to take such stuff with a grain of salt. This kind of speculation also is very popular with regard to sources such as Papias, who makes some statements about the three "synoptic" gospels (Matthew, Mark & Luke), which have been heavily spun by some to preserve the integrity of the Christian church's later understanding of its origins.

You could search this forum, and the old forum's archived messages, for the terms "John Mark", Peter & Paul and see what pops up.

DCH (who now declares victory over the dark powers of the lawn, which sought to disobey my exact instructions about height and width, and have cut it down to size to put it in its place and do my bidding)

[Bernard Muller]

Did Peter know the Greek language?

All the available evidence points to NO (Acts, Papias, Justin Martyr).

Cordially, Bernard

[Charles Wilson]

The character "Peter" was a child who saved a Priest in the Temple Slaughter of 4 BCE. He returns 12 years later with the Mishmarot Group "Immer" to finish the job. Peter and his Group are intercepted and (at least) the Priest and others, possibly Peter himself, were crucified. "My God, my God, for this was I spared?" shouts the Priest.

Peter, or a remnant of his Party, return to the Priesthood to finish their days and wonder why God did not Stand with them as He promised. See Matthew 5.

It is highly unlikely that Peter had anything to do with Greek at any time. He was of the Priesthood, of Immer, living in Jabnit, in Galilee. All other mentions of Peter are rewrites and addition, for effect.

The End.

CW

[Secret Alias]

If Cephas is someone other than Peter (cf Ehrman) then YES.

[toejam]

Did Peter know the Greek language?

All the available evidence points to NO (Acts, Papias, Justin Martyr).

What/Where does Martyr talk about Peter's language?

[toejam]

If Cephas is someone other than Peter (cf Ehrman) then YES.

Ehrman changed his mind about that many years ago, I believe. He now thinks Cephas and Peter are the same dude.

[Bernard Muller]

What/Where does Martyr talk about Peter's language?

From Justin Martyr, indirectly, in 1st Apology, chapter XXXIX (Roberts-Donaldson English Translation):

For from Jerusalem there went out into the world, men, twelve in number, and these illiterate, of no ability in speaking

Cordially, Bernard

[toejam]

Hmmm... The Cyril C. Richardson translation I have reads: "For a band of twelve men went forth from Jerusalem, and they were common men, not trained in speaking, but by the power of God they testified to every race..."

This says nothing about what language they were using, only that they weren't professional orators...

[Ben C. Smith]

Hmmm... The Cyril C. Richardson translation I have reads: "For a band of twelve men went forth from Jerusalem, and they were common men, not trained in speaking, but by the power of God they testified to every race..."

This says nothing about what language they were using, only that they weren't professional orators...

Justin Martyr, 1 Apology 39.3:

ἀπὸ γὰρ Ἰερουσαλὴμ ἄνδρες δεκαδύο τὸν ἀριθμὸν ἐξῆλθον εἰς τὸν κόσμον, καὶ οὗτοι ἰδιῶται, λαλεῖν μὴ δυνάμενοι....

For from Jerusalem men went out, twelve in number, into the world, and they __, not having ability to speak....

That blank represents the word ἰδιῶται, the plural of ἰδιώτης, which is not a straightforward word to translate into English. At it core it is related to the Greek word for "one's own" and means a private individual (as opposed to the public at large); this meaning eventually led to the cognate word idiot in English (an idiot being somebody who does things in his or her own way rather than in the tried and tested way that the rest of society does things). But it does not yet mean idiot in our modern sense in ancient texts. The relevant shade of meaning for ἰδιώτης in LSJ in this context is probably:

III. one who has no professional knowledge, layman, καὶ ἰατρὸς καὶ ἰ. Th.2.48, cf. Hp.VM 4, Pl.Tht.178c, Lg.933d; “ἰ. ἤ τινα τέχνην ἔχων” Id.Sph.221c; of prose-writers, ἐν μέτρῳ ὡς ποιητής, ἢ ἄνευ μέτρου ὡς ἰ. Id.Phdr.258d, cf. Smp.178b; “ἰ. καὶ μηδὲν αὐλήσεως ἐπαΐων” Id.Prt.327c; opp. to a professed orator, Isoc.4.11; to a trained soldier, X.Eq.Mag.8.1; ἰδιώτας, ὡς εἰπεῖν, χειροτέχναις （-νας codd.) “ἀνταγωνισαμένους” Th.6.72; opp. ἀσκητής, X.Mem.3.7.7, cf. 12.1; opp. ἀθλητής, Arist.EN 1116b13; opp. a professed philosopher, Id.Pol.1266a31, Phld.Lib. p.5<*> O., D.1.25; in Music, Id.Mus.p.42 K.; opp. δημιουργός, Pl.Prt. 312a, Thg.124c: as Adj., ὁ ἰ. ὄχλος, opp. artificers, Plu.Per.12.
2. c. gen. rei, unpractised, unskilled in a thing, “ἰατρικῆς” Pl.Prt.345a, cf. Ti.20a; “ἔργου” X.Oec.3.9; ἰ. κατὰ τοὺς πόνους, κατὰ τὸν ὕπνον, Id.Cyr. 1.5.11; “ἰ. τὰ ἄλλα” Hdn.4.12.1; “ἰ. ὡς πρὸς ἡμᾶς ἀγωνίζεσθαι” X.Cyr. l.c., cf. Luc.Herm.81.
3. generally, raw hand, ignoramus, “ἄν τε δεινοὶ λάχωσιν ἄν τε ἰδιῶται . . ” D.4.35; παιδάρια καὶ ἰ., of slaves, S.E. M.1.234 (cf. “ἰ. οἰκέται” Luc.Alex.30); ἀμαθὴς καὶ ἰ., opp. τεχνίτης, Id.Ind.29; voc. ἰδιῶτα, as a term of abuse, Men.Sam.71.
4. 'average man', opp. a person of distinction, Plu.2.1104a.

Ben.