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> I self admittedly an extremely amateur history buff but my impression was that Greece had completely declined by 200 ce when they are claiming this papyrus or
by throw0101a 5y ago
> I self admittedly an extremely amateur history buff but my impression was that Greece had completely declined by 200 ce when they are claiming this papyrus originated from.
Koine Greek was the lingua franca of the Mediterranean. In the Middle East during that time Aramaic (the language that Jesus spoke) was the lingua franca, as was Persian further east. See The Last Lingua Franca by Nicholas Ostler for a history:
* https://www.theguardian.com/books/2010/dec/04/last-lingua-franca-ostler-review https://www.theguardian.com/books/2010/dec/04/last-lingua-fr...
A language can survive the waning of the culture that it was associated with. For another example, see Ad Infinitum: A Biography of Latin, also by Ostler:
* https://www.theguardian.com/books/2007/dec/08/featuresreviews.guardianreview25 https://www.theguardian.com/books/2007/dec/08/featuresreview...
- prometheus76 5y agoI wanted to add that Koine Greek was also the official language used in synagogues at the time, and that the Septuagint was the official version of the scriptures used in synagogues at the time of Christ. The scriptures could be read in Aramaic, but if they were read in Aramaic, it was also required that they be read in Greek afterwards.