Latin-Official

Latin. A language.

Latin was the language spoken by the people of the ancient region of Latium and the Roman Empire. Because Judea was under the government of Rome since 63 BC, several Latin terms and phrases found their way into the NT. Most Latin terminology in the NT is related to day-to-day life and the ruling practices of the imperial power. They include, for instance, words on economy like denarius (Grk. dēnarion, Matt 22:19) and libra (Grk. litras, John 19:39), military terms like centurio (Grk. kentyriōn, Mark 15:39), and judicial terminology like flagellum (Grk. phragellion, John 2:15). Since Tertullian's theological and apologetic works, Latin (known also as Ecclesiastical Latin) turned out to be the possession of the Church for liturgy, ecclesiastical government, and theology, especially in the Western world. The Vulgate (Lat. editio vulgata "common version"), the Latin version of Scripture translated by Jerome, was the most influential Scriptural text for faith and practice from the fourth century AD until the Reformation.