Galilee was a multilingual area, adjoining provinces where other local languages and dialects were spoken, such as Syria in the north, Samaria in the south, and the nearby 10 cities (the Decapolis), where Greek culture predominated

THE NEW TESTAMENT was written in a language known as Koine Greek. Koine (pronounced koy-nay) meant “common”, referring to the everyday dialect of Greek spoken as the lingua franca of the Roman empire at that time, and especially throughout the eastern Mediterranean. The adjective distinguishes it from the elite variety of the language spoken in Athens (Attic Greek). Greek then – and now – was a two-level language, with “high” and “low’ varieties.

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