I know the new test. was written in coine greek and aramaic, but I'd like to understand why? Was greek the official language being spoken in Jerusalem or Jewish lands? Did the jews speak greek among themselves? If so, Why greek? How or why did the greek language become so widespread?
The NT was written entirely in Greek. However, the Jews in the land fluently spoke and wrote three languages - Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic. We have tomb inscriptions, town plaques, and coins which show that all three were popular. The reason Greek was widespread is that it was the universal language for the Eastern Mediterranean area. The reason Aramaic was widespread is it was the universal language for the peoples/lands in the Middle East. Both Greek and Aramaic were extremely useful for commerce. Also the OT was translated into both Greek and Aramaic, and these translations regarded as Scripture by the Jews - as much as the Hebrew OT was regarded as Scripture. In fact, in the NT the Greek Septuagint is quoted the most. There are also Hebrew and Aramaic quotes - written in Greek of course, but by the wording we know they come from the Hebrew or Aramaic versions.
If greek was the language of the gentiles in those areas then it makes sense that paul would write his epistles in greek, but what about the gospels like Matthew which seemed to have been written for a jewish audience?
Greek was the universal language not just for the Eastern Mediterranean, but also for the "lower classes" such as slaves. Paul's audience - Jew and Gentile - rich or poor - would have expected him to write in Greek. The Gentiles in particular would not have known Hebrew or Aramaic.
Scholars have studied the issues concerning the gospel of Matthew and based on internal evidence, concluded that it was originally written in Greek.
Did the Roman occupiers speak greek as well? Wouldn't they be speaking latin? or was it common to know multiple languages in that region? I'm just trying to understand the whole language thing.
The Romans in 1st century Palestine would have known Greek and Latin. And yes, it was - and still is - common to know multiple languages in the land.
So if the jews could no longer read ancient Hebrew, what language did they speak to each other? Was it aramaic? Greek? Did they speak Hebrew, but were illiterate?
Well actually, the Jews did read and speak Hebrew at that time. They put Hebrew on their coins, tomb inscriptions, etc. The Jews spoke Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek to one another. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus went into the synagogue and quoted from the Greek Septuagint. Other times Jesus spoke Aramaic, when He was on the cross.
The earliest manuscripts of NT appear circa 50 years after Christ's resurrection right? Do we know for certain that the writers (eg: Matthew, Mark, luke, john, Paul, james etc) wrote these accounts and letters in the greek and aramaic languages or were they written in Hebrew first, then translated by others into Greek and Aramaic since Greek was the language of scholarship?
Evangelical scholars are certain that all the NT books were originally written in Greek. One of the comparisons used is looking at other NT books translated into other languages -such as Latin, Coptic, Syriac, etc. These translated languages show they came from a Greek translation.
Were any of the early nt manuscripts written in Hebrew? If so, which were written in Hebrew, which in Greek and which in Aramaic?
There haven't been any "independent" Hebrew or Aramaic manuscripts that have been found. So the physical evidence is all in the favor of Greek. Also none of the NT books were said by early church fathers to be originally written in Hebrew or Aramaic, save one - Matthew, with one vague reference by Papias. However like I said, scholars have analyzed the text of Matthew and concluded it also was written originally in Greek.
There is an early Hebrew Gospel of Matthew used by the Ebionites. But this Ebionite Matthew has been shown that it was originally translated from a Greek Matthew.
I also would like to know what is Aramaic? I believe it was a semetic language right? Where did it come from? Who spoke/wrote in this language and why?
I know I have a thousand questions. If anyone can point me to an online source that explains all this, please direct me there.
Aramaic is a semitic language, similar to Hebrew - it uses the same alphabet. Aramaic originated with the Aramaeans, then became a kind of official language of various empires. This "imperial" Aramaic is found in OT books such as Daniel and Ezra. The exiled Jews picked it up in Babylon and brought it back when they returned to the land.
I'm sorry I don't have extensive online references for you - I could list books, but I'm not sure that would be helpful. Wikipedia would be a decent start, though.
LDG