What languages did the believers speak at Pentecost?
At Pentecost the believing Jews spoke the languages of the Jews gathered from many regions, including India, Syria, Greece, Italy, Spain, Great Britain, Morocco, Northern Africa, and Egypt. They spoke the languages of the people who had come from every end of the empire.
Les explains that the multitude was confounded because every man, whether from India, Syria, Greece, Italy, Spain, Great Britain, Morocco, Northern Africa, or Egypt—wherever these Jews had come from and had embraced that language—heard the twelve men speaking his language. Les emphasizes this to address confusion today: these believing Jews were speaking the languages of the people who had come from every end of the empire. The crowd was amazed and marveled, saying, 'Behold, are not all these who speak Galileans?' Les notes the twelve were from Galilee, and there was a cultural situation: Jerusalem was more cultured and educated, especially in biblical things, while northern Israel was rural and less educated—mostly farmers and sheep herders—so the Galileans likely stood out like a sore thumb.
Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.
More Questions
What really happened when the disciples spoke in tongues at Pentecost?
At Pentecost, the twelve disciples were speaking the languages of the Jewish pilgrims who had come from all over the empire, so each person could understand in his own language.
Who were the foreign-born people who heard the disciples at Pentecost?
The multilingual visitors at Pentecost were Jews who had relocated to foreign countries and had been assimilated, adopting the local languages.
What were the believing Jews doing when the crowd gathered at Pentecost?
At Pentecost the believing Jews were speaking the languages of the Jewish pilgrims who had come in from every end of the empire.