"Mel made a movie in Aramaic, a language spoken exclusively by Biblical scholars"

Don't be silly. Here's a whole nation delighted that for once they don't need subtitles for a Hollywood movie.

Assyrians Hear Native Tongue in 'Passion'

As I understand it, Babylonians adopted Aramaic from the Assyrians when they conquered their empire and set up their own. It surplanted Hebrew, a close relative, when the during the Babylonian exile.

On the other hand everyone knows that even the Roman soldiers of the time would have spoken Greek not Latin. Mel screwed that one up.