So, back in the day, were most people multilingual? Did everybody know Hebrew as a second language? From what I understand, there were no schools for the common man. Most of them could neither read or write, yet, somehow they all knew Hebrew. Moses was found and brought into the Pharaoh's palace where he was raised as a grandson. Why did they teach him Hebrew? He must have known Hebrew because he had to tell all those Hebrew folk to follow him and head for the promised land. He had to have known Hebrew in order to read those 10 commandments (which were written in Hebrew). Then there was Paul who traveled about from land to land spreading the word. In Hebrew? Or, as I asked initially, were most folks multilingual? And if so, why was Hebrew their second language...just curious.
If you've ever watched Star Trek, then you know that, in the future, English will become the universal language.
Why yes. Star wars and Battlestar Galactica as well (with a few modified expletives) Oh frak!. I almost forgot Stargate.
Moses lived among Hebrews..they were slaves. He probably knew some of the language just from association. And then when he ran off....he met his future Father In Law and lived with his family. That is where he learned the culture, religion and probably the language. Paul was a Roman citizen who knew Hebrew, Arabic , Latin and Greek. He was highly educated and those languages were common.
...and Paul? well, not Paul so much as all those people he converted whilst spreading the word. This guy comes up and starts babbling in some strange language and Whamo..converted.
Paul was a Roman Citizen and highly educated in languages. Greek was the common language, along with Aramic, and I believe Greek was his first language..
Nope the Egyptians were there longer. They were there when the Hebrews first arrived and they were there when they left.
There's a hypothesis that the Hebrews weren't slaves at all. They were mercenaries. That they weren't Hebrew, but Habiru. A number of the Amarna letters—sent to pharaohs Amenhotep III, Akhenaten (Amenhotep IV) and, briefly, his two successors from vassal kings in Canaan and Syria in the 14th century BC — mention the "Habiru". These letters, written by Canaanite scribes in the cuneiform-based Akkadian language, complain about attacks by armed groups who were willing to fight and plunder on any side of the local wars in exchange for equipment, provisions, and quarters. However; Since the discovery of the 2nd millennium inscriptions mentioning the Habiru there have been many theories linking these to the Hebrews of the Bible. Anson Rainey has argued that "the plethora of attempts to relate apiru (Habiru) to the gentilic ibri are all nothing but wishful thinking. The Zondervan Illustrated Bible Dictionary states that Habiru is not an ethnic identification and is used to refer to both Semites and non-Semites, adding that "the connection, if there is any, remains obscure. I report...you decide...
Well, I"m a Bible Believer. Which means I believe they were slaves. I do find research into this time-period fascinating....but its hard to say what is credible and what isn't. So much hasn't been found, but some things have.
Time to attack those pesky Catholics (The Church, not individual Catholics. Some of my best friends are Catholic. Just thought I'd throw that in to avoid any derogatory remarks. Running about the ancient world gathering up anything and everything of historical importance and hiding it away in their archives and secret catacombs. Anything, (which amounted to almost everything) that disputed their agenda. How much historical information is just sitting on shelves gathering dust? To me, it's beyond criminal. It's treason against mankind.
I think you are correct. Aramaic was the lingua franca of the day.. and the universal language of commerce. Greek also because of the cities of the Decapolis in Palestine.. They were a prosperous trading center. Hebrew was for the most part a dead language after the Babylonian exile. - - - Updated - - - John 8:33 King James Bible They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?
What are you trying to say when you quote this verse? Do you know what kind of men these were that stated that? Why are you using a verse completely out of the context of the story to insinnuate the Hebrews weren't slaves? Its shady behavior girl....
The Israelites/Jews had express tickets to Egypt. Every time they got in trouble they went on the lam to Egypt until things cooled down.
There is a good argument that the Hebrews were actually the Hysos people who ruled over Egypt from about 1700BC until the Egyptians regained control over them. The Bible supports this takeover by these Hysos as they were called, in that Joseph managed to buy up all the farms during the great famine. He traded food for the lands. The famine was long and bad. So, in the end, the Hebrews owned the land to which they had come themselves. This condition was reversed and the Jews were forced into servitude and discriminated against as foreigners.
It is no accident that the Egyptians did, indeed, record that the Hyksos, foreigners,(*)a people of mixed Semitic descent, Hyksos, who had entered into Egypt and settled in the Nile delta(*)c.(*)1640(*)bc. (*) (It is my contention that these people were the Jews Moses collected together in the Exodus. I assert that, under Joseph, the Jews, who were his 11 brothers, used the great famine described on Genesis to gain power and control over that Nation, without the resource to arms, they used money, food, property, position to control that whole country for 200 years.) The Hyksos formed the 15th and 16th dynasties of Egypt, and ruled a large part of the country until driven out of power and enslaved(*)c.(*)1532(*)bc. The 200 years of slavery before Moses appeared, i.e.; between 1532-1362BC, was documented by Egyptians who left out the ending, where monotheism throughout Egypt appeared for a short space of time on that same date. One evidence for this is the name for Ramses, which was previously called Avaris. Recent and thorough excavations at Tell el-Dab´a and Qantir have identified the true site of both the Hyksos capital Avaris and the Ramesside capital Pi-Ramesses. Biblical Ramses
The place name Ramses (Hebrew: רַעְמְסֵס, Tiberian: amses), sometimes Raamses or Ra'amses, occurs four times in the Tanakh: Genesis 47:11; Exodus 1:11 and Numbers 33:3,5. The Septuagint equates this name with the Egyptian name Ramessu, hellenizing it as Hramessê (Greek: ραμεσση, ramsːe), whence Latin Ramesses, whence traditional English.

The location is synonymous with Goshen, the land where Joseph and his descendants settled. According to the biblical account, the Israelites departed from Ramses in their exodus from Egypt (Exodus 12:37).
They weren't slaves in Egypt.. they were just shepherds headed for the Nile Delta in a time of famine and drought... as was the common practice at the time.
Probably not.. The Hyksos introduced the domesticated horse into Egypt.. There is NO evidence that the Hebrews had horses.. NONE in Palestine. They rode donkeys and used camels for transport, but they had NO camel saddles either. - - - Updated - - - Probably not.. The Hyksos introduced the domesticated horse into Egypt.. There is NO evidence that the Hebrews had horses.. NONE in Palestine. They rode donkeys and used camels for transport, but they had NO camel saddles either.
You were trying to prove this from that verse you cherry picked?? If you are going to ignore the story, detailed in Exodus, a story Jesus knew well and who practiced the Passover with the Jews.... and present a cherry picked out of context quote from angry ignorant people flinging lies, hatred ... getting ready to attack and kill Jesus -- as proof, then I would say you don't want them to be remembered as slaves to the Egyptians.
Maybe as the twelve sons grew families and gain the wealth from all the farm land Joseph acquired for them, their population grew and they gained access to horse as such important rich and powerful people often will do. The theory I presented explains Hyksos origins when no other theory has done so. It also explains how they were able to gain power over Egypt when the strange events took place back then.
Moses, if he existed at all, was a prince of Egypt... Why would he be hanging out with "slaves"? BTW.. the Hebrews claim that they were NEVER slaves to any man. - - - Updated - - - There is NO evidence for horses in Palestine... other than some Roman officers.. The Jews rode burros..
For most of history Sinai and Palestine were ruled by Egypt... but there is ZERO evidence for the Jews building the pyramids, or being slaves or for Exodus.
