Arabic

Arabic

Arabic is a Middle Eastern language closely related to Hebrew. It is written in Arabic script which reads right to left, and is spoken in the Middle East and across North Africa in many dialects. Christianity has existed in Arabic speaking countries since New Testament times. The Scriptures were translated into Arabic by the ninth century.

The most popular modern Arabic Bible translation is the Arabic Van Dyck (AVD) version first produced by Smith and Van Dyck in 1865, and now revised as the New Van Dyck (NVD). In 1992 Today’s Arabic Version or Good News Arabic (GNA) was produced.

The countries with the most Arabic speaking Christians are Egypt, Lebanon and Syria. Most Arabic speaking Christians are Orthodox, especially Coptic in Egypt, with Catholic and evangelical Protestant minorities. Bible work is done by the Bible Society in Lebanon, and the Bible Society of Egypt.