What Did the Jews Read in the 1st Century?

J. I. Roe
Aug 16, 2025
4 min read

The Apostles and the Three Streams of Scripture

Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek in the New Testament

Introduction

When we read the Apostolic Writings (New Testament), we encounter many quotations from the Torah, the Prophets, and the Writings. Yet, these quotations do not always line up with the Hebrew Masoretic Text. At times they reflect the Greek Septuagint (LXX), the common translation among Jews of the Diaspora. At other times, they echo the Aramaic Targumim — the paraphrased synagogue readings that shaped how Jews in Yeshua’s day heard Scripture.

This raises an important question: Which Bible did the apostles use?

The answer is not “only one.” The early followers of Yeshua lived in a rich textual environment, drawing from:

The Hebrew Scriptures (proto-Masoretic tradition).
The Septuagint (Greek translation).
The Aramaic Targumim (oral and written paraphrases).

The apostles’ use of all three shows how the Ruach Ha’Kodesh guided them to proclaim Messiah Yeshua as the Word made flesh — using the forms of Scripture their audiences knew best.

1. The Textual Worlds of the First Century

The Hebrew Scriptures

Preserved in scrolls in the Temple and synagogues.
Confirmed by the Dead Sea Scrolls to be very close to the later Masoretic tradition.
Still studied and expounded by Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes.

The Septuagint (LXX)

Produced in Alexandria beginning in the 3rd century BCE.
Used by Greek-speaking Jews across the Roman Empire.
Quoted by Philo and Josephus, and frequently by NT writers such as Luke and the author of Hebrews.

The Aramaic Targumim

Since many Jews spoke Aramaic daily, the Hebrew Torah was paraphrased into Aramaic in the synagogues.
The Targumim (Onkelos, Jonathan, Neofiti) were later codified, but oral targumic traditions predate Yeshua.
The Targumim were not literal translations. They were interpretive, often inserting messianic or theological explanations.
Key concept: Memra d’Adonai (“the Word of Adonai”) — the Targumic way of describing Elohim’s self-revealing activity.

2. The Apostles and the Septuagint

Many NT quotations align with the Septuagint.

Isaiah 7:14 → Matthew 1:23
- Hebrew: “Behold, the young woman (almah) shall conceive.”
- LXX: “Behold, the virgin (parthenos) shall conceive.”
- Matthew: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive.”
- Matthew follows the LXX.
Psalm 40:6 → Hebrews 10:5
- Hebrew: “Ears You have opened for me.”
- LXX: “A body You prepared for me.”
- Hebrews: “A body You prepared for me.”
- The writer of Hebrews follows the LXX.
Amos 9:11–12 → Acts 15:16–17
- Hebrew: “That they may possess the remnant of Edom.”
- LXX: “That the rest of mankind may seek the Lord.”
- James: “That the rest of mankind may seek the Lord.”
- James quotes the LXX.

Lesson: When addressing Hellenistic audiences, the apostles used the LXX as the familiar authority.

3. The Apostles and the Hebrew Text

Other times, NT quotations clearly align with Hebrew against the LXX.

Hosea 11:1 → Matthew 2:15
- Hebrew: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”
- LXX: “I called his children out of Egypt.”
- Matthew: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”
- Matthew uses Hebrew.
Zechariah 12:10 → John 19:37
- Hebrew: “They will look on me whom they pierced.”
- LXX: “They will look to me because they mocked.”
- John: “They will look on him whom they pierced.”
- John uses the Hebrew.
Isaiah 8:14 → Romans 9:33; 1 Peter 2:8
- Hebrew: “Stone of stumbling, rock of offense.”
- LXX: “Stone of stumbling, rock of falling.”
- Paul & Peter: “Rock of offense.”
- Matches Hebrew.

Lesson: The apostles were not bound to one translation. They returned to the Hebrew when it best captured Elohim’s prophetic intent.

4. The Apostles and the Aramaic Targumim

Perhaps the most overlooked influence is the Aramaic Targumim.

Luke 4:18–19 / Isaiah 61:1–2
- Hebrew: “To proclaim liberty to captives.”
- LXX: Adds “recovery of sight to the blind.”
- Targum: “To proclaim to the blind that they shall be enlightened.”
- Luke’s version combines Hebrew + LXX + Targum — a synagogue-style reading.
John 1:51 / Genesis 28:12
- Hebrew: Angels ascending and descending on it (ladder).
- Targum Neofiti: Angels ascending and descending on the Son of Man.
- John: “You will see angels… ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”
- John reflects the Targum’s messianic reading.
Matthew 11:5 / Isaiah 35:5–6; 61:1
- Hebrew: “Eyes of the blind opened… lame leap.”
- Targum: Cast as signs of Messiah’s coming.
- Yeshua: “The blind see, the lame walk…”
- Yeshua uses Targumic messianic interpretation.

5. Case Study: John 1:1 and the Memra

The clearest example of Targumic influence is John 1:1.

John 1:1 (Greek): “In the beginning was the Word (Logos), and the Word was with Elohim, and the Word was Elohim.”
Targum Genesis 1:1:
- Hebrew: “In the beginning, Elohim created the heavens and the earth.”
- Targum: “In the beginning, with wisdom, the Memra of Adonai created the heavens and the earth.”
Targum Genesis 1:27:
- Hebrew: “Elohim created man in His image.”
- Targum: “The Memra of Adonai created man in His image.”

The Memra in the Targumim was Elohim’s Word — His active presence in creation and covenant. John takes this synagogue concept and declares:

The Memra/Word was with Elohim from the beginning.
Through Him all things were made.
In Him was light and life.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14).

John uses the Greek Logos to bridge with Greek speakers, but his underlying thought is Targumic Memra theology — not Greek philosophy.

6. Preserved Hebrew/Aramaic Idioms

Even within Greek text, Hebraic speech survives:

“Ashrei” formula: “Blessed are…” (Matt 5:3).
“Talitha koum” (Mark 5:41).
“Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani” (Matt 27:46).
“Abba, Father” (Rom 8:15).
“Hosanna” (Matt 21:9).

These show the Semitic thought-world underneath the Greek NT.

7. Why the Apostles Used All Three

Different audiences: Hebrew for Judean Jews; LXX for Hellenistic Jews; Targum for synagogue hearers.
Layers of meaning: Hebrew sometimes clearer (pierced, son). LXX sometimes expands (virgin, Gentiles). Targum often already messianic (Son of Man, healings, Memra).
Demonstrating Elohim’s Word is not bound — it speaks through Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek alike.

Conclusion

The Apostolic Writings breathe Hebrew, speak Aramaic, and reason in Greek. The apostles used all three streams of Scripture — Hebrew Text, Greek Septuagint, and Aramaic Targumim — to proclaim Yeshua as the living Torah and the Word (Memra) made flesh.

For disciples walking in Ha’Derech, this teaches us not to flatten Scripture to one translation, but to embrace the fullness of Elohim’s Word in its Hebrew roots, its Aramaic synagogue interpretation, and its Greek witness to the nations.