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What language was the Bible written in?
What language was the Bible originally written in? The role of Hebrew, Aramaic and Koine Greek in the biblical text.
Updated 18 May 2026 · By the Bibles.co.uk editorial team
The short answer
The three languages
By word count, Hebrew dominates the Bible's original text. A small slice — parts of Daniel, Ezra, and a single verse of Jeremiah — is Aramaic. The entire New Testament is in Koine Greek, the everyday Greek of the first century.
- Hebrew
- ~78% of canon
- Aramaic
- ~1% of canon
- Greek
- ~21% of canon
Hebrew dominates the Old Testament. A few passages — parts of Daniel, Ezra and a verse in Jeremiah — are in Aramaic. The entire New Testament is in Koine Greek.
In more detail
The Old Testament was written primarily in Biblical Hebrew with small portions in Aramaic (parts of Daniel, Ezra, Jeremiah). The New Testament was written in Koine Greek, the common Greek of the first-century Mediterranean.
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