The names Mary Magdelene and Pontius Pilate appear in the Christian
bible, as do numerous other proper names, but how were they spelled
and *pronounced* in the original Hebrew or Aramaic? The New Testament
was written in Greek, which means that the way we spell and pronounce
biblical names in English had to evolve first through the
Hebrew/Aramaic-to-Greek translations and then from Greek to English. I
have been unable to find any web sites that describe this process of
name changing from one lingua franca to the next. Can you? What I'm
looking for is a matrix that displays, for example, "Mary Magdelene"
in Hebrew (or Aramaic), Greek, and English, together with the phonetic
pronunciation of each version.

Nautico~ 
 
I'm glad you found my answer useful! Thank you.


 
Although we can only guess at what language Jesus and the apostles
spoke, it’s possible that Jesus was bi- or tri-lingual. He may have
spoken to the “masses” in Aramaic or Hebrew, and to gentiles in Greek.
However, it’s likely that he spoke mostly in Greek, because at this
period of history, this was *the* spoken language.
 
Perhaps the reason the information you’re seeking is not readily
available is that most everybody went by Greek versions of their
names, anyway. In other words, there was no “computation” on the part
of NT writers to “discover” the Greek version of somebody’s name. As
one linguist puts it: “But even in that time, many Jews living outside
Palestince had Hellenized or allow Hellenization of their names.”
(“Language In The New Testament,” found for a limited time on a Google
cached page: ://www.google.com/search?q=cache:SHP14BWBM94J:www.linguistlist.org/~ask-ling/archive-most-recent/msg08996.html+%22New+Testament%22+names+Aramaic+to+Greek&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
)
 
 
Yes, there are a few people who try to argue that the NT was
originally in another language, but most scholars agree, Greek it was.
(You might find “Was the NT Written in Greek?” by C. Matthew McMahon
interesting: http://www.apuritansmind.com/Apologetics/McMahonNTWrittenGreek.htm
)
 
You can hear the Greek pronunciation of Mary Magdelene at “Audio
Greek:” http://www.audiogreek.0catch.com/  Scroll down towards the
bottom of the page, and where it reads “Luke,” click on chapter 8. You
may either listen to the clip online, or download it to your computer.
You’ll hear the name about 27 seconds into the sound clip. To hear the
word Pilate, go to Matthew  27.
 
You can see what the name Mary Magdelene looked like in Greek by going
to the Greek Bible: http://www.greekbible.com  On the top right hand
side, there is a search field; type in the name and hit “go.” You can
do the same thing with Pilate.
 
There are some Aramaic translations of the NT, but it’s important to
remember that they came *after* the Greek version. Still, you might
find them interesting. Go to http://www.peshitta.org and click on
“Interlinear NT.” Then click on “Mattai,” then on chapter 27. You’ll
see the Aramaic of Pilate, and the literal translation of Pilate to
“Peelatos.” Do the same thing for Mary Magdelene by clicking on
chapter “Luqa,” chapter 8. The literal translation is “Magdalitha.”
 
You might also find this explanation of Judas’ and Simon’s names
interesting: “Simon & Jude, Apostles”
http://www.oremus.org/liturgy/etc/ktf/m10/h28.html
 
Keywords Used: 
“New Testament” Greek 
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22New+Testament%22+Greek&btnG=Google+Search
 
"New Testament" names Aramaic to Greek 
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22New+Testament%22+names+Aramaic+to+Greek&btnG=Google+Search
 
"New Testament" Aramaic 
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22New+Testament%22+Aramaic

An exhaustively comprehensive response. Well done!

Nautico~

A very interesting question, but I’m not posting my response as an
Answer, because I’m not sure that I've given you the information you
reall seek, despite several hours of work. Here is what I’ve found; if
it suits your needs, please let me know and I’ll post it as an
official Answer. Thank you.

Although we can only guess at what language Jesus and the apostles
spoke, it’s possible that Jesus was bi- or tri-lingual. He may have
spoken to the “masses” in Aramaic or Hebrew, and to gentiles in Greek.
However, it’s likely that he spoke mostly in Greek, because at this
period of history, this was *the* spoken language.

Perhaps the reason the information you’re seeking is not readily
available is that most everybody went by Greek versions of their
names, anyway. In other words, there was no “computation” on the part
of NT writers to “discover” the Greek version of somebody’s name. As
one linguist puts it: “But even in that time, many Jews living outside
Palestince had Hellenized or allow Hellenization of their names.”
(“Language In The New Testament,” found for a limited time on a Google
cached page: ://www.google.com/search?q=cache:SHP14BWBM94J:www.linguistlist.org/~ask-ling/archive-most-recent/msg08996.html+%22New+Testament%22+names+Aramaic+to+Greek&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
)


Yes, there are a few people who try to argue that the NT was
originally in another language, but most scholars agree, Greek it was.
(You might find “Was the NT Written in Greek?” by C. Matthew McMahon
interesting: http://www.apuritansmind.com/Apologetics/McMahonNTWrittenGreek.htm
)

You can hear the Greek pronunciation of Mary Magdelene at “Audio
Greek:” http://www.audiogreek.0catch.com/  Scroll down towards the
bottom of the page, and where it reads “Luke,” click on chapter 8. You
may either listen to the clip online, or download it to your computer.
You’ll hear the name about 27 seconds into the sound clip. To hear the
word Pilate, go to Matthew  27.

You can see what the name Mary Magdelene looked like in Greek by going
to the Greek Bible: http://www.greekbible.com  On the top right hand
side, there is a search field; type in the name and hit “go.” You can
do the same thing with Pilate.

There are some Aramaic translations of the NT, but it’s important to
remember that they came *after* the Greek version. Still, you might
find them interesting. Go to http://www.peshitta.org and click on
“Interlinear NT.” Then click on “Mattai,” then on chapter 27. You’ll
see the Aramaic of Pilate, and the literal translation of Pilate to
“Peelatos.” Do the same thing for Mary Magdelene by clicking on
chapter “Luqa,” chapter 8. The literal translation is “Magdalitha.”

You might also find this explanation of Judas’ and Simon’s names
interesting: “Simon & Jude, Apostles”
http://www.oremus.org/liturgy/etc/ktf/m10/h28.html

Keywords Used:
“New Testament” Greek
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22New+Testament%22+Greek&btnG=Google+Search

"New Testament" names Aramaic to Greek
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22New+Testament%22+names+Aramaic+to+Greek&btnG=Google+Search

"New Testament" Aramaic
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22New+Testament%22+Aramaic

I think it's a comprehensive and very helpful response. Please post it
as an official answer.