What Language Did Abraham Speak? (Explained!)

We cannot say for certain, but he likely knew a couple of languages. His native language was most likely some antecedent of Hebrew, but he seems also to have known Aramaic. He could also have spoken Sumerian, Akkadian, or Elamite as his native language.

The life of Abraham, as well as the historicity of such a person, is a fiercely debated topic in Biblical scholarship.

What language we can agree Abraham speaks is dependent upon a great many different factors which are up for debate, so it’s far from a simple question.

Let’s find out more.

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What nationality was Biblical Abraham?

Let’s start by trying to establish where exactly Abraham was from in the world.

Again, it’s worth remembering that, as far as Biblical scholarship goes, the current consensus is that there is no actual, historical Abraham.

He was a literary invention of the Hebrew authors of the Bible.

With that out of the way, there’s one key piece of information we have to go off to try and figure out Abraham’s nationality.

According to the Bible, Abraham was born in a city named Ur Kasdim.

Scholarship has traditionally identified this city with the city of Ur, in Sumer. If this was the case, then Abraham would have originally been Sumerian, which is modern-day south-central Iraq.

This naturally has implications for the language he would have spoken, but unfortunately, we cannot say for certain that these two were the same city.

Abraham could have been from somewhere else entirely.

With that in mind, let’s look at the arguments for which languages he would have spoken.

What was Abraham’s native language?

As far as the Bible is concerned, whatever language Abraham spoke, his descendants eventually ended up speaking Hebrew.

Abraham is considered the single progenitor of the entire Jewish people, so naturally his people eventually started speaking Hebrew.

On the one hand, many argue he himself spoke Hebrew or an antecedent language which later developed into Hebrew.

But the problem is that Hebrew is not descended from any of the languages we associate with the Sumerian city of Ur, which is usually taken to be the Ur Kasdim that the Bible mentions as Abraham’s birthplace.

So, if these two cities really are the same, then Abraham’s people would have had to eventually adopt a Northwest Semitic language which would become Hebrew—they could not have gotten it from Abraham.

In the case that Abraham did not speak Hebrew or an antecedent, the question of which language he did speak is thrown into further confusion.

Traditional chronology puts Abraham in Ur around the year 2000 BC.

Between the years of 2047 and 1940 BC, the city of Ur in Sumer was ruled by three different groups in rapid succession—the Sumerians, the Akkadians, and the Elamite people.

Depending on the precise circumstances and time of Abraham’s birth and early life, he may have spoken the language belonging to any one of these three groups.

Again, this would have meant Hebrew would later have been adopted by him or his descendants, and though he is the father of the Jews, he would not have spawned their language in this case.

Finally, one other possibility is that his native language was Aramaic.

He is referred to as “the Syrian” at one time, and even the word Hebrew itself means the one from beyond—that is, beyond the Euphrates River. Jacob and Laban, relatives of Abraham, give a commemorative monument an Aramaic name—seeming to suggest the language of their country was Aramaic.

Unfortunately, we just don’t know for sure—but based on interactions in the Bible, we can make guesses about the languages he could speak.

What languages could Abraham speak?

Even if Abraham did not originally speak Hebrew himself, he certainly would have known the language.

He would have conversed with diverse groups of people, and given his and his people’s interactions with the Canaanites, they would certainly have had good knowledge of this language.

Aramaic was another of the Semitic languages which, even if Abraham did not speak them as his native language, most certainly knew them.

He would also have been familiar with the Kushitic Akkadian of the River Valley where he was raised, again even if that wasn’t the tongue he was born to. He would also have had some knowledge of the Proto-Arabic spoken in Canaan.

What religion did Abraham belong to?

Abraham, as we’ve said, is held in Jewish tradition to be the true “first Jew” ever to live, since he was the one to faithfully uphold God’s commandments.

Jews see themselves as being descended from him through Isaac his son and Jacob his grandson.

Of course, being the first Jew, that would have to have meant he was born into a different religion.

Indeed, this is a key part of these early parts of the Bible. Abraham was originally a pagan, a worshipper of idols, and particularly of a pantheon of gods including a moon god, according to the Bible. If his religion ever had a name, it has not survived.

Rejection of idols and pantheons was the first and most important part of accepting Yahweh as the one true God.

So, the simple, boring answer is that Abraham probably spoke no language at all as there’s no evidence such a person ever existed.

However, even taking the sources at face value, there are still a number of possibilities.

The simplest explanation is that he spoke Hebrew.

On the other hand, many scholars prefer Aramaic, but since we don’t know for sure where his Ur is, it may even have been Sumerian.

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Founder - @PollyWebster

Polly Webster is the founder of Foreign Lingo and a seasoned traveler with a decade of exploration under her belt.

Over the past 10 years, she has journeyed to numerous countries around the globe, immersing herself in diverse cultures, traditions, and languages.

Drawing from her rich experiences, Polly now writes insightful articles about travel, languages, traditions, and cultures, sharing her unique perspectives and invaluable tips with her readers.

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1 thought on “What Language Did Abraham Speak? (Explained!)”

Jackie

October 28, 2023 at 1:11 pm

Hello there,
On the article in relation to ‘ what language did Abraham speak’ there is mention of ‘ if Abraham existed at all’ . Abraham is buried in Hebron in the Tomb of the Patriarchs. Thought you might like to know that.