As a fascinating tidbit here, Aramaic was the common vernacular of much of the Levant from at least a couple centuries before the life of Jesus until Arabic began to dominate a few hundred years later. Aramaic, which is related to Hebrew but not actually a variant of it, is still spoken today by Chaldean Christians. The Chaldeans are an ancient sect of Christianity tracing their roots back to the earliest days of the church. They live today mostly in Syria and Iraq, though conflicts there have created a diaspora in recent years.

Chaldean Christians use Aramaic liturgically, but the language isn’t quite static. Even though most Chaldean Christians primarily speak Arabic (or the language of the country where they live) at home, many of them also speak Aramaic as a living language.

When I lived in Detroit, I knew a large community of Chaldeans, some of whom I was in business with, and when negotiating, they would sometimes switch to Aramaic among themselves for privacy.

Quite a fascinating phenomenon for me! Listening to the language that Jesus and his contemporaries spoke, even though I’m sure the language has changed quite a bit, was an amazing experience.