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Question 5

David claims the apostles and early Christians “immediately had the Scriptures translated into the language spoken by the people” rather than training everyone in Hebrew or Greek; what assumptions about discipleship, teaching, and access to Scripture are built into that early-Christian approach?

Another way to ask: Early Christians translated Scripture into the language people spoke instead of making everyone learn Hebrew or Greek. What does that assume about discipleship, teaching, and who should be able to read the Bible?

Direct Answer The transcript suggests early Christians assumed discipleship requires ordinary believers to understand Scripture directly, so translation into the people’s language is part of faithful teaching. They did not treat access to God’s Word as dependent on mastering sacred languages.

Support from Transcript:

David says Jesus did not teach followers Hebrew; “From everything we can tell, Jesus spoke in Aramaic…Everything…preserved…is in Greek. Nothing is in Hebrew.”
He states: “The apostles didn’t set up schools to train people to read Hebrew…[or] Greek, either.”
When Christians went where Greek wasn’t spoken, “they immediately had the Scriptures translated into the language spoken by the people.”
He lists early translations: “Latin and Aramaic…all kinds of languages…even Germanic languages” in the first centuries.
The underlying rationale is repeated: God wants His Word “in a living language that common people can understand.”

Discussion Follow-ups If early discipleship assumed understanding, how should churches today think about Bible reading, children’s comprehension, and evangelism among outsiders?

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