[blam]

"Thanks for the interesting post. Perhaps you can answer a question I have (since seeing The Passion) that I have not been able to figure out. Jesus and his followers spoke Aramaic. Who spoke Hebrew in those days? Was Hebrew used only by the priests and Aramaic by the common people? I think the Torah was written in Hebrew, but I'm not altogether sure. In all of your reading, have you ever come across the answers to this question?"

Sorry, I can't answer any of that.

[Verginius Rufus]

All of the Hebrew Scriptures, including the Torah, are written in Hebrew, except for portions of the book of Daniel which are in Aramaic.

The Hebrew Scriptures are the same books as the Protestant canon of the Old Testament.

Catholics and Eastern Orthodox Christians also include in the Old Testament some additional books which are preserved in Greek only (although in at least one case the book was originally written in Hebrew, namely Sirach or Ecclesiasticus). There are also some additions to Daniel which are in Greek only, including the story of Susannah and the elders.