John Courtenay

“On the Assyrian and Babylonian inscriptions before the vi cent. B.C., no Persian word has been found, except the deific title Mithra. Anciently this term referred to the sun, the one object of Persian worship.””

“The contributory elements to the united Arab nationality were possibly the early Ishmaelites, Midianites, Amalekites and other kindred clans ... All constituent tribes were of the purest Semitic blood, and they were less affected by foreign influence than any other member of the Semitic family.””

“The post-Biblical literature contains many Greek loan-words. On the Hasmonaean coins, Greek is found along with Hebrew legends, while on the Herodian coins the inscriptions are in Greek alone ... he acted as an interpreter to Titus. This last reference makes it quite clear that the inhabitants of Jerusalem generally were not familiar with Greek.””