Multilingualism in the Old Testament
Paul Frank
Abstract
As I read various reflections on language in the Old Testament, it’s almost always
about Babel. As the nation of Israel developed, it was a monolingual, monocultural
society—just one of the nations/languages created at Babel. The exile upended Jewish
monolingualism. Apart from specific individuals (e.g., Joseph, Moses), we only see
indication of Jewish bi- or multilingualism around 700 B.C. (2 Kings 18; 2 Chronicles
32). The books of Esther and Daniel, in particular, reveal the multilingual nature of the
kingdoms attacking Israel. Daniel also includes an Old Testament reference to “all
peoples, nations, and languages” hearing praise to the one true God. This paper will
examine these passages and experiences as a significant pivoting point between the
monolingual Jewish nation and the multilingual Kingdom of God.
Introduction
Many discussions about language in the Bible focus on three passages:
1. Genesis 11: The Tower of Babel and the confusion of languages
2. Acts 2: Pentecost and the gifting of languages
3. Revelation 7: The multilingual multitude before the throne of God
The story seems to be simple. God confused people’s languages so that they would scatter and fill the
earth. At Pentecost, God brought understanding instead of confusion for a multilingual world. In the
Kingdom of God, there will be multilingual praise to God. For many, those may be the only passages
and stories they are aware of concerning language in the Bible. If they know something about biblical
languages, they will probably list Hebrew and Greek. In its simplest form, some people probably think
of the Old Testament as the time of confusion of languages and the New Testament as the time when
people come to know God in their languages.
The Jewish people in Old Testament times spoke Hebrew and were, apparently, a largely monolingual
nation. Modern scholarship has identified many languages spoken in that area during different
epochs: Akkadian, Ammonite, Amorite, Aramaic, Assyrian, Babylonian, Canaanite, Edomite, Hittite,
Moabite, Phoenician, Sumerian, and Ugaritic. The kingdoms of Assyria, Babylonia, and Persia were
highly multilingual. It is during the exile that we first read of messages being communicated in many
languages, and we see the first reference in the Bible to “all peoples, nations, and languages” serving
God—the very theme that Acts 2 and Revelation 7 pick up in the New Testament. In the rest of this
paper I will explore multilingualism in the Old Testament.
Multilingualism in the Old Testament 1
Languages before the exile
During the time of the Patriarchs of the Old Testament, multiple languages must have been in use, but
they are not commented on. Stories tell of Abraham talking to Pharaoh (Genesis 12), Melchizedek and
the King of Sodom (Gen. 14), Abimelech, King of Gerar (Gen. 20), and Hittites (Gen. 23). Who was
speaking what language? We don’t know. Someone was at least bilingual in each of those situations
and other similar situations.
We gain one insight into how these interactions may have taken place in the experience of Joseph and
his brothers in Egypt. Genesis 42 tells the story of the first visit Joseph’s brothers made to Egypt. The
scene is presented as a conversation between Joseph and his brothers without saying what language
was being used. Then in 42:23 we read, “They did not know that Joseph understood them, for there
was an interpreter between them.”
1
Joseph was bilingual, as was his interpreter, but his brothers were
not. Joseph only spoke in Egyptian, and his brothers only spoke in Hebrew. (That clearly changed in
Genesis 45, when Joseph spoke directly to his brothers without an interpreter.) It is likely that many of
the conversations we read about in the early books of the Bible between Jews and people of other
nations involved interpreters.
Moses, having grown up as an Egyptian in Pharaoh’s court, was presumably bilingual, but there is no
indication of what language was used when he and Aaron spoke to Pharaoh. There is little indication
that Jews were bi- or multilingual until the time of the Kings. Unique individuals such as Joseph and
Moses appear to be exceptions to Jewish monolingualism.
Languages, the Assyrians, and the Jews
Aramaic was the language of the Assyrians when they besieged Jerusalem in 701 B.C., but the
commander of the Assyrian forces (the Rabshakeh
) taunted the inhabitants of the city, speaking in
Hebrew (“the language of Judah”). We learn that the rulers of the city were bilingual in Hebrew and
Aramaic: “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we understand it” (2 Kings 18:26). (At that
time, it seems likely that the social and political elite were able to use languages of wider
communication in addition to Hebrew.) They did not want the people to understand what he was
saying, but the Rabshakeh
knew that if he wanted to convince the people to give up, he would need to
communicate in their language, “to frighten and terrify them” (2 Chronicles 32:18). We see
monolingual Jews (those “sitting on the wall”) confronted by a multilingual enemy. At that time, only
the rulers in Jerusalem were bilingual, knowing both Hebrew and Aramaic.
2
After the exile, the Jewish
people as a whole were bilingual in the two languages, and by the time of the New Testament,
Aramaic was a common language for the people of Israel, along with Hebrew and, for some, Greek
also. This story in 2 Kings 18 and 2 Chronicles 32 foreshadows the change the Israelites would
experience from a monolingual to a multilingual nation.
1
These and all other quotations are from the English Standard Version.
2
It is possible, of course, that they may have known other languages as well, but Aramaic was the language of
wider communication at that time, so their knowledge of Aramaic makes sense.
Multilingualism in the Old Testament 2
“All…languages” and how the Babylonian and Persian empires
operated
The books of Daniel and Esther paint a picture of the Babylonian and Persian empires as highly
multiethnic and multilingual. Even though Aramaic was the common language of these empires,
apparently the successive rulers did not try to linguistically dominate the various nations they
conquered.
The book of Daniel provides multiple examples of kings Nebuchadnezzar and Darius issuing decrees
to “all peoples, nations, and languages.” The “peoples, nations, languages” wording is identical in all
four cases:
3
● In the story of King Nebuchadnezzar and the Golden Image, the decree commanding people to
worship the image was issued to “peoples, nations, and languages” (Daniel 3:4).
● After God saved Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from the fiery furnace, King
Nebuchadnezzar issued a new decree that “Any people, nation, or language that speaks
anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be torn limb from
limb…” (Daniel 3:29).
● After God made Nebuchadnezzar like a beast of the field then restored him to power,
Nebuchadnezzar communicated his experience “to all peoples, nations, and languages that
dwell in the earth” (Daniel 4: 1).
● During the reign of Darius the Mede, the king extolled the God of Daniel, writing “to all the
peoples, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth” (Daniel 6:25).
In the book of Esther, there were three instances of decrees being issued in the name of King
Ahasuerus to “every province in its own script
4
and to every people in its own language”:
● After Queen Vashti refused to come at King Ahasuerus’ command, she was permanently
banished from the king’s presence, and the king issued a decree to all the people that wives
must obey their husbands. “He sent letters to every royal province in its own script and to
every people in its own language, that every man be master in his own household and speak
according to the language of his people” (Esther 1:22).
● When the king supported Haman’s plan to attack the Jews throughout the kingdom, “an
edict…was written to the king’s satraps and to the governors over all the provinces and to the
officials of all peoples, to every province in its own script and every people in its own
language” (Esther 3:12).
● Finally, when the king supported Mordecai’s plan for the Jews to defend themselves from their
attackers, “an edict was written…to the satraps and the governors and the officials of the
provinces from India to Ethiopia, 127 provinces, to each province in its own script and to each
3
Note that all of these passages are in Aramaic, not Hebrew.
4
The other Old Testament instances of the word translated here as “script” refer to a document rather than a
type of writing. This appears to be the only reference in the Bible to scripts or ways of writing.
Multilingualism in the Old Testament 3
people in its own language, and also to the Jews in their script and their language” (Esther
8:9).
These empires were built by conquest, and each nation that was conquered had its own way of writing
(its own script) and its own language. The rulers did not attempt to replace the many languages with
Aramaic, the language of the empire, but instead communicated to all the peoples in their own
languages, in order that all of their subjects would understand and obey their orders. More than two
millennia ago, they understood the importance of communicating to people in their own language!
“All…languages” and the worship of God
Daniel 7:13-14 presents a vision of God that is strikingly similar to John’s visions recorded in
Revelation:
Behold, with the clouds of heaven
there came one like a son of man,
and he came to the Ancient of Days
and was presented before him.
And to him was given dominion
and glory and a kingdom,
that all peoples, nations, and languages
should serve him;
his dominion is an everlasting dominion,
which shall not pass away,
and his kingdom one
that shall not be destroyed.
In very few other places does the Bible contain references to people of all languages in the kingdom of
God.
5
Some of the few references to praise to God in “all languages” are in Daniel itself, in
proclamations made by kings extolling God due to miracles that He had performed:
● When God rescued Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from the fire, King Nebuchadnezzar
issued a decree that “Any people, nation, or language that speaks anything against the God of
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb, and their houses laid in ruins,
for there is no other god who is able to rescue in this way” (Daniel 3:29).
● Nebuchadnezzar’s communication to his subjects in Daniel 4 is similarly directed to all
peoples, nations, and languages, for the purpose of making God’s wonders known:
“King Nebuchadnezzar to all peoples, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth:
Peace be multiplied to you. It has seemed good to me to show the signs and wonders that
the Most High God has done for me” (Daniel 4:1-2).
He closes his letter with this testimony concerning God:
5
Isaiah 66:18 is one of those few passages: “The time is coming to gather all nations and tongues. And they shall
come and see my glory.”
Multilingualism in the Old Testament 4
“Now, I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of Heaven, for all his works
are right and his ways are just; and those who walk in pride he is able to humble” (Daniel
4:37).
● After God protected Daniel in the lion’s den, King Darius also wrote to “all the peoples,
nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth” (Daniel 6:25):
“Peace be multiplied to you. I make a decree, that in all my royal dominion people are to
tremble and fear before the God of Daniel,
For he is the living God,
enduring forever;
his kingdom shall never be destroyed,
and his dominion shall be to the end.
He delivers and rescues;
he works signs and wonders
in heaven and on earth,
he who has saved Daniel
From the power of the lions.”
Three things strike me about these proclamations by kings Nebuchadnezzar and Darius:
1. Comparing Daniel 3:4 with the passages in 4:1-2 and 6:25, we see that the exact same phrase,
“peoples, nations, and languages,” occurs in the kings’ decrees both related and unrelated to
“God Most High.” In all cases, the ruler’s intent is that all people in his kingdom understand
the edict being issued. You might say that the “secular” (or non-God) use of this phrase
provides the model for communicating about God to all peoples in all their languages.
2. In Daniel’s vision of the “son of man” in Daniel 7:13-14, he uses this exact same phrase—in
Aramaic—to describe the dominion of the Ancient of Days and the Son of Man over all people. I
am struck by the fact that this reference to people of “all languages” serving God was
expressed with the same wording used by pagan kings and using Aramaic rather than Hebrew.
3. The kings’ praise to God in 3:2-29, 4:1-36, and 6:25-27 anticipates the eternal reality of people
from all languages praising and serving God. Their action to proclaim God’s wonders to people
of all languages came several hundred years before the church took up the vision and call to
invite people of all languages to enter the Kingdom of God. Their actions were, in essence, the
first use of mass media and multilingual communication to “preach the gospel to all nations”
(cf. Matthew 28:19-20), foreshadowing Christ’s command to his apostles.
Conclusion
Perhaps others were aware the first biblical references to people of all languages being in the
Kingdom of God was in the Old Testament, but I wasn’t until later in life. If I thought about it at all, I
had vaguely assumed that this vision of a multilingual host in heaven was a new revelation when John
had his visions on the Island of Patmos. But God had announced his intention, years before the church
Multilingualism in the Old Testament 5
was founded, that people of all languages would hear about Him and enter the Kingdom. Ancient
pagan kings were the first to speak God’s praises to all peoples, nations, and languages.
Multilingualism in the Old Testament 6
