And how have we heard, every man our own tongue wherein we were born?
και πως ημεις ακουομεν εκαστος τη ιδια διαλεκτω ημων εν η εγεννηθημεν
8 Church Fathers comment on this verse
Everywhere vice stands alongside virtue. Some marveled; others reviled. The former were truly devout. They lived there in Jerusalem because, according to the Law, they were permitted to appear three times a year in the temple at Jerusalem.
The Apostles inspired by God, who at the feast of Pentecost manifested the gift of tongues in praise of God, amazed the people gathered around them. Devout Jews had come to Jerusalem for the feast from various countries of the world, from Asia, Africa, and Europe, from every historical nation under heaven. Suddenly they heard Galileans, men not naturally distinguished by knowledge of languages, speaking in various languages, and they were amazed (verse 7). In perplexity and confusion they said among themselves: 'Are not all these who speak Galileans?' (verse 8). 'How then do we hear from their mouths each our own native language, in which and with which we were born? (verse 9).
We Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, (verse 10) Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene. There are also among us visitors from Rome, Jews and proselytes, (verse 11) Cretans and Arabs. We hear them speaking in our languages, preaching the great works of God.'
These very people, whom the fearful sound had stirred and the fragrant scent had gathered into one, saw Galileans speaking in all languages and marveled, as he says: "How is it that we hear. Each in our own native language?" Let no one imagine that the Apostles spoke in their native language, while those who heard them thought it was in their own languages.
Those who heard this marveled and said, "How do we hear them speaking?" This is not at all surprising, if you know. Nicodemus also did not know how the Spirit comes, and it was said to him: "The Spirit breathes where He wills, and you hear His voice, but you do not know where He comes from" (Jn 3:8). Likewise, I cannot tell you what He is in His essence.
The people of many different languages who were then in Jerusalem heard the sound that had come down from heaven in the house where Christ's disciples were. They immediately gathered there to learn what had happened. When they had assembled there, the sacred historian writes, they were confounded, that is, amazed, hearing the Apostles speaking in each one's native language. At first they were thrown into confusion by such wondrous hearing. Then they were seized with awe and astonishment and asked one another: Are not these men, who speak so many different languages among themselves, all Galileans, that is, men who do not know our languages? How then does each of us hear his own language from their mouths?
Meanwhile the people, struck by the extraordinary events that had occurred, were thrown into confusion and hastened to the house where the Apostles enlightened by God were staying. The Apostles came out of the house. Their eyes shone like lightning, piercing the crowds, and joyfully surveyed those immeasurable masses. These masses represented a rich harvest for the laborers and builders of the Kingdom of Christ.
Then they began inspired speech. It poured irresistibly from their mouths, formed of words in which each word was their heart, their embodied faith and love for their heavenly Teacher. What were the most famous orators of the classical world before them? They composed their speeches according to the rules of art, speeches animated only by their poor vanity. The inspired speeches of the Apostles thundered like thunder shaking mountains. They acted with the force of a hammer breaking rocks. Countless crowds listened in silence to the wondrous speeches. They marveled more at these speeches than at the dread manifestations that had drawn them there.
Under the first irresistible impression of these speeches, the masses of the people did not notice their miraculous outward feature. They only felt that these speeches were extraordinary. They felt that they pierced to the marrow and burned the listeners' hearts like fire. But when the first impression had passed, the multilingual masses looked at one another to share what they had experienced. Then they noticed with amazement that each had heard the speeches just delivered in his own native language. From astonishment, everyone's face seemed to freeze.
How could this be? The Egyptian, who until then had prided himself that his language was known only to those born in the land of the pyramids, now heard his own language. The Greek and the Roman, who considered their language the possession only of educated men, also heard each his own language. And from whom? From these ignorant, obscure, poor Galileans, whose very name sounded contemptuous. At first their silent amazement began to express itself in words and exclamations. A murmur of exclamations and questions ran through the masses. All turned to one another for an explanation of the mysterious event. 'Are not all these who speak Galileans?' they asked one another in astonishment. 'And how do we hear, each in our own native language, how we hear them speaking in our languages of the great works of God? And again all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another: What does this mean?'
'We hear them.' The writer of Acts does not explain how the people gathered around the house could hear those speaking inside. Perhaps those filled with the Holy Spirit, in spiritual rapture, began to speak in various languages and dialects. Seeing the people gathered around, they came out of the house onto the flat roof, the galleries, or the street. In this way, within the hearing of all, they glorified and magnified God in various languages and dialects. Something of this sort is suggested by the speech of the Apostle Peter with the eleven, spoken within the hearing of all the assembled people, from a roof, gallery, or in the street.
'The dialect in which we were born' means their natural dialect. All those gathered were Jews, and in part proselytes. The former, while living in foreign lands, probably studied their native language, but also spoke the languages that were national in the countries where they usually lived. The latter, having accepted the Jewish faith, rarely studied Hebrew, especially the Syro-Chaldean or Aramaic spoken in Palestine in the time of Christ. If both groups, Jews and proselytes, are now amazed that they hear Galileans speaking in their various native dialects, then these native dialects mean the various dialects and languages used in the different lands from which they came. They do not mean merely different dialects of the Hebrew language, modified in different countries. This is a new confirmation that Christ's disciples at that time spoke in various dialects and languages foreign to them until then and previously unknown.
The multilingual people each heard from the Apostles his own dialect. Therefore some came to think that the Apostles spoke in one dialect, while multilingual speech sounded in the minds of the hearers. Refuting this, Saint Gregory the Theologian teaches: 'Each heard them speaking. Pause here briefly and consider how to divide the phrase. For there is an ambiguity in the wording that is removed by punctuation. Did each hear them in his own dialect in such a way that, so to speak, one sound went forth, but many sounds were heard because of a movement in the air? Or, to speak more clearly, did many sounds come from one sound? Or should we pause after the word "heard" and connect the words "speaking in their own voices" with what follows?
Then the meaning would be: they uttered voices that were native to the hearers, that is, multilingual voices. I agree more with the latter. The former would have been a miracle relating more to the hearers than to the speakers, who are also accused of being drunk.'
Greek text, 12 words with lemma, transliteration and Strong’s number. Tap to expand.
THEOSIS