Interpretation

As we have learned previously, a disciple is to learn his teacher’s traditions and Scriptural interpretations. Let me begin with a saying from the sages:

“Be meticulous in study, for a careless misinterpretation is considered tantamount to willful transgression.” (m.Avot 4.16)

While this seems rather harsh, I assure you that by the end of this teaching we will understand its truth and significance. With this in mind, I would like to begin to specifically focus on the importance of properly understanding the teachings of Yeshua. In order to understand the gravity of this, let us first turn our ears to the words of our Master. In the gospel record of Mark, Yeshua says:

“Pay attention to what you hear: with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you. For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away” (Mark 4:24-25 ESV).

In this passage, Yeshua holds his followers accountable for the teachings he is giving them. He tells them that the more diligent they are about understanding his teachings, the more they will be rewarded. He also tells them the converse — that if they are not diligent in regard to understanding his teachings, even what they do comprehend will be taken away.

The Macaroni Principle

A few years ago D. Thomas Lancaster, of First Fruits of Zion, introduced what he called The Macaroni Principle. It’s based on the children’s song Yankee Doodle. I’m sure you know it. The first part of the song goes like this:

Yankee Doodle went to town,
Riding on a pony;
He stuck a feather in his hat,
And called it macaroni

This song’s popularity arose from the American Revolution. Each of us grew up singing this song, but how many of us understand the words? There’s always that question in the back of our heads as to why this man named Yankee Doodle would stick a feather in his hat and name it after some kind of pasta. This song has been passed down to each generation over the last two centuries, yet today the meaning has been lost to the average person. But just like the words of our Master, it has been retained, however, for those seeking to understand it.

First, “Yankee Doodle” was not the name of an individual. We still understand that a “Yankee” is a person from the (now) United States, particularly of the northern colonies during the writing of this song. A “doodle,” however, is no longer in our language. But during this time period, a “doodle” was a word that was derived from the German word for “fool” or “simpleton.” Lastly, the term “macaroni” in this case has absolutely nothing to do with pasta. Rather, it has to do with a manner of dress style. The New Oxford American Dictionary defines it as, “an 18th-century British dandy (a man unduly devoted to style, neatness, and fashion in dress and appearance) affecting Continental fashions.” With this information available, the lyrics of this song take on a whole new understanding.

If the meanings of these words in English have changed that much in just the last two centuries, how much more so have they changed from the time of our Master until now? If this simple children’s song needs unpacking, how much more so do the words of our Master, being distanced from us by way of language, culture and two thousand years?

Another example that I enjoy making use of can be seen in the classic film, The Princess Bride. In the movie, Vizzini (the short, loud-mouthed Sicilian “master criminal”), uses the catch-phrase, “Inconceivable!”, over and over when something doesn’t go as planned. He uses it more for “impossible” than “unimaginable.” At one point where something hasn’t gone as planned and he responds again with “Inconceivable!”, Inigo Montoya (the Spanish swordsman in the film), challenges him saying, “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.” Albeit comical in nature, this infamous interjection in many ways parallels the typical use of the teachings of the New Testament in our present day. Many of us are quoting the words of Jesus in our teaching and preaching — talking a lot of “macaroni” — but do we really know what they mean? Let me give you a humorous example to illustrate my point.

Misunderstanding the Message

First, I’ll have to confess. I’m a closet Doctor Who fan, particularly the newer series. While at times it can be over the top, I really appreciate the insights into the human psyche, and the British humor that fills each episode. One episode of particular note was about a spaceship called the Titanic, filled with a host of inter-galactic creatures that was on a “cruise” to visit planet Earth. They had timed their arrival to correspond with the Christmas holidays (the writers of Doctor Who always seem to have universal calamity pivoting around Christmas). As they begin to approach the planet and are preparing for sending passengers to the planet in order to observe the holidays in Earth tradition, the ship historian has to give them a briefing about the Earth customs surrounding the holiday. This is his explanation of Christmas:

“Human beings worship the great god Santa — a creature with fearsome ‘claws’ — and his wife, Mary. And every Christmas eve the people of UK go to war with the country of Turkey. They then eat the Turkey people for Christmas dinner like savages!” ¹

While this is a humorous description, it reveals a deep insight into human nature as well as serves as an illustration for how understanding can easily be distorted over the course of time. Think about it this way. If we were to set a course from Virginia to California and start walking in a straight line, but not have any points of reference along the way, over the course of days, weeks and months of walking there would we no way we could continue our straight path. We would inevitably walk in circles, backtracking and crisscrossing our path, never to arrive at our destination. As a matter of fact, it has been shown in several studies starting in the 1920s, that when human beings lose their frame of reference, they tend to walk in random, circular patterns. A recent report on this by NPR says,

“Humans, apparently, slip into circles when we can’t see an external focal point, like a mountain top, a sun, a moon. Without a corrective, our insides take over and there’s something inside us that won’t stay straight.” ²

With these two examples in mind, think of how for the last two thousand years the message of Yeshua has been carried through multiple cultures and languages, theologies and agendas. Do you think our understanding of his original message has been skewed over the last two thousand years? Are we saying all the right words, but missing the proper meaning entirely? In our attempts to propagate the teachings of our Master, are we saying, “inconceivable” when we are trying to say “faith” or “repentance” or “kingdom of Heaven”? Are we teaching and preaching the words of our Master in a way that would have been foreign to his understanding? Unfortunately, this is how many people, theologians included, talk about Jesus and his message. They use the jargon, but they don’t fully understand what they are saying. Dr. Brad Young makes an interesting observation in this regard by saying,

“While few modern Christians would resort to changing the words of their Bible, they interpret the words of Jesus in a way that upholds their understanding… Prejudiced exegesis can have the same result as altering the canonical text.” ³

To paraphrase, he says that when we do injustice to the teachings of our Master, it can have the same result as re-writing our Bibles. Really? Let’s look at two real-life examples in which this took place. The first example is from one of the early Church Fathers. The second example is from rabbinic tradition.

Origen of Alexandria

Origen of Alexandria was a Church Father who lived from the late second century to the mid third century. He was a notable philosopher and theologian and became an influential Christian writer and apologist of his day. One of the more prominent teachings for which he is known is his emphasis on understanding the Scriptures through the lens of allegory. In fact, his stress of looking at the Scriptures allegorically overshadowed any literal or historical understanding of Scripture. Unfortunately, his influence in this area of interpretation has continued to affect modern theologians in their understanding of the biblical text, particularly of the Hebrew Scriptures. ⁴

He did take some things quite literally, however. In fact, too literally. Upon studying Yeshua’s teaching in Matthew 19:12, he took drastic measures to uphold this teaching. Yeshua said,

“For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let the one who is able to receive this receive it.”

Origen’s understanding of this teaching lead to his castrating himself. Say it with me: “Inconceivable!”

Antigonus of Socho

Another example of misapplication through misunderstanding is the origin of the sects of the Sadducees and of the Boethusians (a lesser-known Jewish sect of the Second Temple period).

There is a famous teaching of Antigonus of Socho recorded for us in the Mishnah which appears as follows:

“Antigonus of Socho received the Torah from Shimon the Righteous. He used to say: Be not like servants who minister unto their master for the sake of receiving a reward, but be like servants who serve their master not upon the condition of receiving a reward; and let the fear of Heaven be upon you” (Avot 1:3).

Antigonus of Socho lived a couple of hundred years before the time of Yeshua. He was a godly and faithful teacher who wished to impress upon his students the value of sincere spiritual devotion. His first generation of students appears to have understood his message. However, in subsequent generations, his message was subject to hyper-literalism (not unlike the modern Karaite movement of today) and was thus distorted and for many more generations became the antithesis of his original message. Here’s the full account.

“Antigonus of Soko had two disciples who used to study his words. They taught them to their disciples, and their disciples to their disciples. These proceeded to examine the words closely and demanded: ‘Why did our ancestors see fit to say this thing? Is it possible that a laborer should do his work all day and not take his reward in the evening? If our ancestors, forsooth, had known that there is another world and that there will be a resurrection of the dead, they would not have spoken in this manner.’

So they arose and withdrew from the Torah and split into two sects, the Sadducees and the Boethusians: Sadducees named after Zadok, Boethusians, after Boethus. And they used silver vessels and gold vessels all their lives—not because they were ostentatious; but the Sadducess said, ‘It is a tradition amongst the Pharisees to afflict themselves in this world; yet in the world to come they will have nothing.’ ” ⁵

According to Jewish tradition, two latter-generation disciples of Antigonus of Socho, Tzadok and Boethus, were the founders of the sects of the Sadducees and Boethusians. They founded their heretical sects based on a misunderstanding of this seminal teaching of their rabbi. They turned the teaching of their rabbi completely on its head. As we know, the purpose of Antigonus of Socho’s maxim was to teach his disciples to serve the Holy One selflessly and without a need for reward. He wanted them to be faithful servants who fulfill their spiritual service under any circumstance, rather than only when they are rewarded for their service.

What was the practical result of this? Because the message of Antigonus of Socho was misunderstood, hedonism became common practice among the Sadducean sect, as well as social elitism, a “caste-like” system that was developed to separate the rich from the poor. Hedonism—since there was no reward in the Age to Come, all rewards must be received and enjoyed in this life. Social elitism—since the wealthy were surely blessed and favored by God and the poor were wicked sinners.

Bringing It Home

Many people today, and throughout the course of the last two millennia, have heard the teachings of Yeshua, and have incorporated them into their spiritual journey as a treasured possession. But how many thousands upon thousands over the course of this time have either not understood them, or misunderstood them. This is the equivalent of being stranded on a deserted island with crates full of canned food and a can-opener, and not knowing how to use the can-opener.

As we have seen by the examples of Origen of Alexandria and of the disciples of Antigonus of Socho, it is not enough to merely know the literal words of one’s teacher. One must be able to also understand them properly as well. Otherwise, misapplication and misinterpretation will be inherent. Ann Spangler explains, saying:

“Since any good disciple needs to understand what the master is saying, clarifying Jesus’ words is a necessary preliminary step to living out his commands.” ⁶

Beyond merely knowing the teachings of our Master (as we discussed in the section of memorization), this is indeed the “preliminary step to living out his commands.” And although Christianity has done well to retain an accurate record of the Master’s teachings, we have not done so well by way of transmitting his interpretations. This, in turn, has affected our application of his teachings.

It is our job as disciples of Yeshua to seek an accurate understanding of Yeshua’s teachings so that we will ultimately fulfill them in the proper manner. This follows Paul’s admonition to, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). But how do we do so? The first step is to use the proper filter to approach his teachings. There have to be certain assumptions that we must either accept or reject to establish as a foundation before we can approach the individual teachings of our Master. This will be the basis for our next lesson, Understanding the Message of Yeshua. In it I will give specific examples of how we have traditionally misunderstood the message of Yeshua, and how we can seek to better understand his teachings.

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• Pirkei Avot…Chapter 1, Mishnah 3
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In my introduction to discipleship, I listed the Four Responsibilities of a Disciple. They included the following:

1. To memorize the words of his rabbi or teacher
2. To learn his teacher’s traditions and Scriptural interpretations
3. To imitate the actions of his teacher
4. To raise up more disciples

Of the four responsibilities of a disciple, which I discussed previously, memorization of our Master’s teaching is at the core. Does this mean we literally need to memorize every single word that we have of his that has been left to our record? Or does it mean that we are to have a good handle on everything that he taught? While I believe that the former (actually taking a solid translation and meticulously memorizing each and every word) is the ultimate goal, the latter is a very good starting point. But is memorizing his every word even a realistic goal? I believe it is. However, it will take a great deal of effort, and a change of our educational paradigm in order to do so, because in our society, educational potential has been dumbed down. We have devalued a true education, and praised mediocrity, being afraid of pushing our limits. Nonetheless, in other cultures where pushing the boundaries and potential of the intellect is acceptable, lengthy memorization is not only possible, but de facto.

Extreme Memory

There’s a children’s game that illustrates this point well. It’s a game known by many names, but the two with which I am familiar are “Telephone” and “Gossip.” It’s where you line up a group of people, whisper a phrase in the ear of the first person and then they repeat it quietly to the person next to them and pass the message down the chain to the last person. When the last person receives the message, the received message is spoken aloud to the group. At this point there is usually a roar of laughter when everyone hears how the original message has been distorted to an unidentifiable substitute. However, I remember hearing of a Westerner who was living somewhere in the Middle East and decided to play this game with the children one day. He gathered the children, explained the rules, lined them up and spoke the a phrase in the ear of the first child. The message was passed along until it reached the end of the chain. The child who last received the message, repeated it verbatim, word-for-word, back to the group. The Westerner, thinking this to be a fluke, tried it again with another phrase. Again, the child at the end of the line produced the same results. He tried it a third and fourth time only to find the results to be identical, thus proving that it was indeed possible and even probable for an oral tradition to be accurate, particularly in a Middle Eastern context.

When the Lubavitcher Rebbe, the late Rebbe Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory, was alive, he would teach for hours upon hours on Shabbat and other festival days. Since Jewish law prohibits both the use of electronic devices and writing on Shabbat, his teachings were not recorded in the traditional manner. However, there was a group of oral scribes who would put to memory the teachings of the Rebbe as he lectured for hours on end. At the close of Shabbat, they would begin transcribing his teachings from memory in order to preserve them for latter generations. Simon Jacobson was one of these gifted individuals and has passed on volumes of the Rebbe’s teachings in the years since his passing.

On a smaller scale, a waiter or waitress has to do a similar feat. They constantly have to push organized information into their short term memory. A good waiter or waitress will remember what each person ordered, as well as what they are drinking (to be able to properly refill drinks without a mixup). I remember a year or so ago I had a business meeting one morning at a local diner to which I had never been. The following week we had a follow up meeting at the same location, and my waitress (the same one we had the previous week), brought honey to the table along with my coffee without me having to ask. After just one visit, she remembered a small detail regarding my preference for my coffee out of the hundreds of people she serves each week. I admit that my request for honey was somewhat unique and probably aided in her remembering, but it was still impressive, and shows that what a properly developed memory can accommodate.

Bringing It Home

We have all heard of the Mega Memory system and other such systems designed to increase your ability to remember things. It’s not that we are incapable of remembering large volumes of information, it’s just that we haven’t learned how to properly prioritize information and store it in a method for easy retrieval. Why is it that we can remember every play in a ball game, every corny one-liner of a movie, every lyric to every song of your favorite artist, every character and particular dysfunction of our favorite sitcom, but yet can’t remember the Sermon on the Mount? It’s all about prioritization and organization.

Back to the Master. No matter what our mental ability, we each have some capacity to store and retrieve the teachings of our Master. If we are continually pouring over his words, we will have an affinity with them that will not easily be broken, and that will guide us in our day to day experiences. It will also provide the springboard from which the other three responsibilities can take off and begin to soar.Similar Posts:

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Yes, I have another wallpaper image for the iPhone for download. This one is great for your Login page. My description is as follows:

This wallpaper for your iPhone contains three spikes, a crown of thorns, and the name “Yeshua” (Jesus) written in a beautiful script as well as in Hebrew, contrasting the earth-tone, harsh elements in the background.

Be sure to tweet this page or post it to Facebook for others to enjoy. Blessings! And if you like this, you might want to check out my previously posted Torah themed wallpaper for the iPhone.

Download: Yeshua iPhone Wallpaper (1.2MB)Similar Posts:

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וַיְדַבֵּר מֹשֶׁה אֶל־רָאשֵׁי הַמַּטּוֹת לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לֵאמֹר זֶה הַדָּבָר אֲשֶׁר צִוָּה יהוה׃ אִישׁ כִּי־יִדֹּר נֶדֶר לַיהוה אוֹ־הִשָּׁבַע שְׁבֻעָה לֶאְסֹר אִסָּר עַל־נַפְשׁוֹ לֹא יַחֵל דְּבָרוֹ כְּכָל־הַיֹּצֵא מִפִּיו יַעֲשֶׂה׃

(Numbers 30:2-3)

Moses spoke to the heads of the tribes of the people of Israel, saying, “This is what the LORD has commanded. If a man vows a vow to the LORD, or swears an oath to bind himself by a pledge, he shall not break his word. He shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.
(Numbers 30:1–2, ESV)

Vows & Oaths

The above passage comes from last week’s Toah portion, Matot, and contains a key by which we can better understand a teach of the Master found in the Apostolic Scriptures. In this passage we find the Scriptural rule for vows, oaths and self-induced prohibitions.

The first thing we note in this passage is that whatever proceeds from our lips is binding. In fact, it becomes as binding as Scripture. In a sense, when we make a vow or pledge an oath, we have created a new restriction upon ourselves that is above and beyond the obligations of the Scriptures. We have, in a sense, “added to Scripture.” This is one reason why both the sages, and our Master are so critical of vows and pledges.

A person should take care not to make any vows. It is even preferable not to vow to give charity. Rather, if one possesses something to [give to] charity, he should give it immediately; if one does not possess the means at present, he should wait until he does, and then give without taking a vow. [1. http://www.torah.org/learning/halacha/classes/class250.html]

The above quote is a typical quote from a Jewish source. The general consensus in regard to taking upon oneself vows or pledges is not a favorable one. The master agrees:

Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil. (Matthew 5:33-37, ESV)

Hebrew Word Play

There is, however, something deeper which I would like us to notice. In the Hebrew, there is a play on words that  we do not completely catch in the English. Three times it uses a combination of words which play upon one another.

1. yidor neder (to “vow a vow”) – the root being נדר
2. hishava shavua (to “oath an oath”) – the root being שבע
3. le’sor issar (to “bind a binding”) – the root being אסר

Two of these are somewhat obvious in our English. The last one, however, is not so obvious. The KJV actually brings this out a little more by translating this as “to bind his soul with a bond.”

Binding & Loosing

In this passage, we clearly see how “binding” is associated with a restriction. This is the precedent by which the rabbis use the term to “bind” or loose” in regard to things which are questionable in their use. For instance, a rabbi would “bind” (restrict/forbid) the use of a certain type of crock pot for use on Shabbat. Or they might “loose” (permit) an activity which might be questionable.

It is in this very context that we should understand the words of Jesus in Matthew 18 in regard to “binding” and “loosing”.

Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. (Matthew 18:18, ESV)

In this passage, the context is dealing with church discipline. Jesus is telling them that the decisions they make in this regard will be upheld by his authority in heaven. They have the power to both restrict and permit anything that is not clearly spelled out in the Scriptures. This is even more apparent in the DHE, as the Hebrew uses the same terminology as the passage in Numbers.

אָמֵן אֹמֵר אֲנִי לָכֶם כֹּל אֲשֶׁר־תַּאַסְרוּ עַל־הָאָרֶץ אָסוּר יִהְיֶה בַּשָׁמָיִם וְכֹל אֲשֶׁר־תַּתִּירוּ עַל־הָאָרֶץ מֻתָּר יִהְיֶה בַּשָׁמָיִם

(Matthew 18:18)

In this passage, he says, “kol asher ta’asru al ha’aretz asur yihyeh bashamayim” – “everything that you bind on earth will be bound in the heavens.”

Rather than giving his disciples authority to “bind” demons, or “loose” finances (as I was taught growing up, and contrary to much contemporary teaching), this teaching of the Master is associated with apostolic authority. Yes, Jesus gave his disciples authority over demons. However, this teaching is in no way associated with demons or spiritual warfare. It is, however, a clear case in which both Jesus and the rabbis are using their clear understanding of the Torah to allow the creation of legislation within their communities.Similar Posts:

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As many of you know, Vine of David (a division of FFOZ) has been working diligently on an English translation of Franz Delitzsch’s Hebrew translation of the Gospels for the past few years. It is officially called the Delitzsch Hebrew-English (DHE) translation. As of yesterday, it has been released and is available for pre-ordering.

Another Translation?

Why is such a work important? Because it attempts to place Jesus and his apostles back into their proper place among Jewish history and spirituality. It is an attempt to reconnect Jesus and his message with his people. It is an attempt to bring the reader into the Jewish world of Jesus. While David Stern’s The Complete Jewish Bible attempts the same, it only works to bring the non-Jewish reader into the Jewish text. The DHE takes it another step by trying to connect Jewish people with their Messiah. This has been done through presenting the full text of the Gospels in a parallel Hebrew translation, along with traditional blessings for the studying of the Holy Text, all in an elegant presentation as you would expect from publishers such as Artscroll. This text hopes to help Jewish readers see Jesus and his Jewish message as part of Judaism, rather than an outside voice from a separate religion.

Delitzsch & His Translation

Franz Delitzsch (1813–March 4, 1890) was a German Lutheran theologian born in Leipzig, Germany who grew into a unique man of God. Widely known and respected as a “Christian Hebraist,” he was a pioneer in the area of Jewish studies in the New Testament and in the development of the Hebrew language. Delitzsch was a prolific writer, translator, and biblical commentator. His greatest and most enduring work is his New Testament translation into Hebrew. At his eulogy, Delitzsch was memorialized with the following words: “Indeed, not only in the Christian, but also in the Jewish world the name of Delitzsch has shone. For he was at home in the literature of the Rabbis as none other among the living, and perhaps as none before him. We may say the truest friend of Israel is dead. A great man has fallen in Israel.”

Delitzsch’s work is important, because of his “extensive knowledge of mishnaic Hebrew and first century Judaism… [which created] a translation and reconstruction of the Greek text back into an original Hebrew voice.” It is reported that the famed Dr. David Flusser, a devout Orthodox Jew and renowned New Testament scholar of Hebrew University, said that the Delitzsch Hebrew New Testament was the best translation of the New Testament extant in any language.

Needed Support

Much support is needed for this project. It is going to take people like yourself to purchase the DHE and share it with others. You can do that on a personal level, or at a larger level. Vine of David is also publishing a Levy Hirsch Memorial Edition, which will is available solely for the purpose of distributing to Jewish people who do not yet know their Messiah. Vine of David will be taking donations to dedicate a specific number of these editions toward distribution among Jewish people.

If you would like to a part of this momentous event, then support Vine of David and order your copy now.

Website Link

http://vineofdavid.org/resources/dhe/index.htmlSimilar Posts:

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He [Hillel] used to say: The more flesh the more worms; the more possessions the more anxiety; the more women the more witchcraft; the more maidservants the more lewdness, the more manservants the more theft. But the more Torah the more life, the more study the more wisdom; the more counsel the more understanding; the more charity (righteousness) the more peace. (Avot 2:8)

While studying this mishnah (“saying”) from Pirkei Avot, I came across some interesting thoughts in regard to Paul, and how we might understand one of his teachings on an entirely new dimension than before. First, let me give some background.

Less Is More

The more flesh the more worms; the more possessions the more anxiety; the more women the more witchcraft; the more maidservants the more lewdness, the more manservants the more theft.

This maxim can easily stand on its own. We all realize, to some degree or another, that “less” is often “more,” and “more” is often an overdose. The main point Hillel is making here is that just because we think we need “more,” it is not necessarily a good thing. “More” can often lead to our demise.

Our Animal Nature

In Rabbi Abraham Twerski’s excellent commentary on Pirkei Avot, Visions of the Fathers, he expounds upon this saying through a couple of illustrations. He says that if we look at a human being we will find that he is composed of both a physical body, and a spiritual soul. Our bodies are essentially the same as any other animal, and living for our bodies as our main priority (it’s easy to find out if this is true or not, by simply looking at where we invest our time & resources) causes us to be no better than an animal. In actuality, in some ways being an animal would really be better, because animals generally don’t over-indulge. When they have eaten to their fill, they stop. Not so with humans. Too often we eat more for pleasure than for our physical needs. Animals don’t struggle with obesity. Humans do.

So to primarily feed our physical bodies puts us at a level that is actually below the animal kingdom. We miss our calling of truly being human. Therefore, just as this mishnah states, we must attend to our physical needs with limitations.

Our Spiritual Nature

On the other hand, however, our spiritual needs are different than our physical needs. While we must be careful to limit our physical pleasures, our neshamot (our spiritual beings) should be handled with an entirely different approach. Just as God is infinite, the needs of our neshama, made from the spark of the Divine (“…breath deep the breath of God”), are also infinite. Therefore, placing a limit upon our spiritual pursuits (in contrast to our physical pursuits) may actually be detrimental to us, rather than beneficial. Rabbi Twerski sums this thought up with the following:

There are some things for which halachah does not designate an appropriate limit, but for many other spiritual activities — such as helping others or Torah study — there are no limits.¹

This immediately brought my mind back to a passage from the Mishna that is recited each morning:

These are the precepts that have no prescribed measure: the corner of the field [which must be left for the poor], the first-fruit offering, the pilgrimage, acts of kindness, and Torah study. (Peah 1:1)

These things “have no limit.” They may be done “to excess.” After all, can we be too kind? Too generous? Too devout? Should we place a limit on godliness?

The Fruits of the Spirit

This brought my mind back to something we hear from the Apostle Paul that has always troubled me in its wording. In his letter to the Galatians he introduces his concept of the “fruit of the Spirit” with the following:

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. (Galatians 5:16,17)

He essentially does the same thing as our mishnah. He warns us against “feeding our flesh,” and contrasts this with being sensitive to the Spirit and living a more spiritual life than a fleshly one. But the curious part about it is when he actually gives us his list for the “fruit of the Spirit”:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22,23, emphasis mine)

Paul could have stopped with “self-control.” However, he concludes his list with the phrase, “Against such things there is no law.” In other words, these are things which “have no limit,” just as the corners of the field, the first-fruit offering, the pilgrimage, acts of kindness and Torah study. There should be no limit to love, nor joy, nor peace, nor kindness, nor goodness, nor faithfulness, nor gentleness, nor self-control.

Have you been limiting yourself unnecessarily? I know I have. Are you ready to live life without limits?

I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. (John 10:10)

This is how we do it. This is how we truly live. To coin a phrase… “Just do it.”

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Aerial view of the Chamber of the Hewn Stone

Recently, the Temple Institute released the blueprints for the Chamber of the Hewn Stone (the Lishkat haGazit, in Hebrew), the area of the Temple complex in which the Sanhedrin would convene. This is very exciting to see, and makes the possibility of the Holy Temple’s rebuilding somewhat tangible. Even more so is the computer-generated, virtual “fly-through” that they have created as well. You can really visualize what it might be like.

If you’re not familiar with the Chamber of Hewn Stone, it probably because there’s not a great deal of information circulating about it. This chamber was used by the Sanhedrin for judgement. They would hear cases and deliberate upon them in this area.

When Israel became occupied by foreign powers, the Sanhedrin removed themselves from this location as an act of protest, since their power was essentially stripped from them (particularly in the area of capital cases). Although I had thought it took place much earlier, the Jewish Time Line Encyclopedia (p.93) says this took place in 29 C.E.

Some have claimed that this would have been where Jesus would have been taken and tried upon his arrest. However, there are several problems with this assumption, two of which are 1) The Sanhedrin could not try capital cases at night (Sanhedrin 35a-b), and 2) he was not tried by the Sanhedrin proper. He was sentenced before a kangaroo court, which did not legally have the authority to any sentence at all.

Also interesting is the fact that of all of the parts of the Holy Temple which they could have been the initial focus, the Chamber of the Hewn Stone was chosen. Why? According to the Temple Institute,

The Sanhedrin Chamber of Hewn Stone is but a single chamber in the northern wall of the Holy Temple. It was chosen as the initial focus of the blueprint project, not because of its architectural significance, per se, but because of its overwhelming spiritual significance to the world. The seventy elders of the Sanhedrin have been vested with the authority of the seventy elders whom G-d commanded Moshe to appoint in the desert…

These elders are not only judges, but also teachers who task is to ensure that “for out of Zion shall the Torah come forth, and the word of HaShem from Jerusalem.” (Isaiah 2:3).

But could this also be a dual fulfillment of prophecy? Psalm 118:22 says:

“This is the stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.”

We know this is in fulfillment of Jesus, the Messiah. However, could it also be connected to the Chamber of Hewn Stone, the literal “stone” which was once rejected now becoming the “cornerstone” of the rebuilding of the House of God? Just a thought…Similar Posts:

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Over the last few posts, I have been dealing with topics addressed in Oskar Skarsaune’s book, In The Shadow of the Temple. In this post I would like to address another such topic. In order to do so we must first look at the teachings of Jesus which are relevant to this discussion. They are as follows:

You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire. (Matthew 5:21-22, ESV)

You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. (Matthew 5:27-28, ESV)

It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery. (Matthew 5:31-32, ESV)

Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil. (Matthew 5:33-37, ESV)

You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. (Matthew 5:38-39, ESV)

You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,  so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 5:43-45, ESV)

In each of these teachings from the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5, Jesus makes a contrast between what was said previously (or “to those of old”) and his “new” instruction. There are different thoughts as to what he means by these contrasts, but I should like to address one in particular which has been offered by Skarsaune. He begins by commenting,

Jesus, obviously, never authenticated his teaching the way the rabbis did. He never said “I have received as a tradition”. “He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes” (Mk 1:22). Nor did he speak like a prophet. He never made himself a representative of God by using the prophetic messenger formula.

He spoke God’s word, he said God’s Law, in his own name. “You have heard that it was said [by God] to those of ancient times [at Sinai], … but I say to you” (Mt 5:21–22, 27, 31, 33, 38, etc.). For Jewish ears, this must have been shocking. They must have asked, “who are you, to set your own authority above that of the Law?” ¹

In Skarsaune’s first statement, he is correct in his observation that Jesus did not validate his teachings as other rabbis. He had no previous authority from which he received his teaching, other than God alone. He taught by his own authority, not in the authority of another.

In Skarsaune’s next observation, however, we hear him speaking aloud the subconscious heart of modern Christian theology. Skarsaune interprets the phrase, “You have heard…” to mean, “You have heard that it was said [by God] to those of ancient times [at Sinai].” Here Jesus states what was spoken in the Law of Moses, and begins to change and to correct these antiquated laws which have become burdensome to the Jewish nation. According to Skarsaune, Jesus is said to set his “own authority above that of the Law.”  He later notes that, Jesus “…can deepen, radicalize, even correct the Torah” ²

With these statements, Skarsaune reveals an unconscious bias towards the supposed deficiency of the Torah, the Word of God previously given to His people. He sees it as needing correction, change, alteration in order to adapt God’s commandments to a new, Christian era. He doesn’t see the Word of the God being as immutable as God Himself. He assumes that the Torah can somehow be modified.

Theology Today

When asked if Jesus abrogated, repealed, overturned, or annulled the Law, most Christians will chime in with an emphatic, “No!” However, in our teaching, preaching and our daily lives, we state just the opposite. We play word games to try to uphold the Scriptures, while at the same time negating them. Skarsaune does this very thing. He attempts to justify his statements by saying Jesus can “correct the Torah; not by abrogating it, not by doing it away, but by making it complete” (p. 333). But this, along with all other similar attempts, is just a word game.

Although there is no malicious intent, this is the same theology that our pulpits and theological seminaries are producing. Through both our bias and our misunderstanding of the Jewish nature of our Master’s teaching we have unintentionally (and sometimes intentionally) interpreted the words of Jesus in a way which contradicts the words of his Father. We translate Jesus’s “fulfill” of Matthew 5:17 to really mean “abolish,” even though we deny such a definition. Yet, when we reduce the meaning down to the practical, it has the same result. Our “fulfilling” really means “abolishing.”

More to come…

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At the beginning of his post, however, he links to Roman & Alaina, a messianic music group who have created melodies for the Avinu (the “Our Father”) in both Hebrew (based on the DHE) and English. As I listened to the sample of the English version I heard the following:

Our Father, Who is in Heaven
May we sanctify Your Name
Your Kingdome come
As Your will be done
In Heaven as it is on earth

Unfortunately, we see a problem immediately. The last line takes poetic license, and reverses the phrase from “On earth as it is in Heaven,” to become, “In Heaven as it is on earth.” I am definitely one for poetic license, but not when it reverses the sense of the text. So, now, rather than the will of the Almighty coming in perfection from His throne in Shammayim (“Heaven”) and bringing Ha’aretz (“the Earth”) into its submission, this top-down approach put forth by Yeshua has been turned on its head. In this version we see the will of Heaven submitting to that of Earth.

I see where they may have tried to work around this by changing a few of the conjunctions, but overall it has the same end result: the will of (perfect) Heaven being transformed into the image of what is done on (imperfect) Earth.

This goes against the entire mission and teaching of our Master. I would encourage Roman & Alaina to consider re-working the English version, even though they have probably sold many copies of their CD already, in order to maintain the integrity of the teachings of our MasterSimilar Posts:

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In this post, I would like to continue with another DSS fragment also related to the same passage of Isaiah. It is fragment 4Q521. It is know by a few titles, but I think Geza Vermes’s “A Messianic Apocalypse” is apt enough for our purposes. A correlation between this fragment and Luke 7 has already been made by Martin Abegg, Jr. (Wise, M. O., Abegg, J. M. G., & Cook, E. M. (1996). The Dead Sea Scrolls: A New Translation. HarperOne, p.420.). I would merely like to introduce my readers to this, and expound upon it briefly.

In this passage we find a glimpse into the author’s envisioning of the Messianic redemption of the future where the Messiah will rule, and the reign of God will be over all the earth. The author describes this time as follows:

. . . [the hea]vens and the earth will listen to His Messiah, and none therein will stray from the commandments of the holy ones.

Vermas, Geza (1998). The Dead Sea Scrolls in English. Penguin Books, p. 391.

A brief observation is in order here. During this time, not only will the earth “listen to His [the LORD's] Messiah, but the heavens as well. The reign of the Messiah during Messianic era is typically limited in scope to either a heavenly realm (as in much of Christian thought), or an earthly realm (as in much of Jewish thought). Here the author proclaims that both the spiritual and physical realms bend their will to the Messiah as they come under his leadership.

A second observation is that the subjects of the Kingdom will obviously have entered into the New Covenant spoken of by the prophet Jeremiah in which God “will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts” (Jeremiah 31:33, ESV). The problem of a unruly heart will have been cured, and we will submit ourselves to His lordship without any deficiency. However, in this text, the commandments of the Torah are said to come from “the holy ones,” rather than purely from God himself. I find this interesting, because it seems to attest to a tradition in the Apostolic Scriptures in which the New Testament authors declare that the Torah was administered by angels. This is too much information to insert here, so I will save this for a subsequent article.

Continuing on with our text, a few lines down we read:

For He will heal the wounded, and revive the dead and bring good news to the poor (Isa. lxi, I).

Ibid., p. 392.

The author links these events (healing the sick, reviving the dead, and bringing good news to the poor) to the time of the Messiah (whether through the Messiah or God himself is unclear), just as we have seen by Jesus. Yet there is something deeper in this text. Let’s take a look at another instance in which Jesus uses the text of Isaiah in a similar manner.

In Luke 7, Jesus is questioned by the disciples of John the Immerser as to whether he is “the one who is to come” or if they should “look for another.” Here is the full context:

And John, calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” And when the men had come to him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you, saying, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?’” In that hour he healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and on many who were blind he bestowed sight. And he answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me” (Luke 7:18b-23, ESV).

Again, we see Jesus using this same passage of Isaiah 61 as a prooftext of his Messianic appointment. He speaks to John’s disciples in what Daniel Lancaster terms as a “cryptic answer” (see FFOZ’s Torah Club Volume 4: Chronicles of the Messiah, 2010, Parashat Mishpatim, p. 458.). Rather than coming out and answering the question in direct terms, Jesus, the master of remez, couches his answer in scriptural allusions in order to allow the hearer to make several conclusions at once. But his answer brings us back yet again to Isaiah 61.

Let’s return to the line from the Messianic Apocalypse. The text states that during the time of Messiah, “He will heal the wounded, and revive the dead and bring good news to the poor.” The incredible thing about this is how the author associates the resurrection of the dead with the events of Isaiah 61. Although this concept is never explicitly found in the Hebrew Scriptures, the author of 4Q521 associates the resurrection of the dead with the arrival of the Messiah. This is a rare glimpse into Messianic Jewish expectation of the Second Temple period which offers us a perspective we rarely see in today’s Judaism and its scriptural interpretation, which has been shaped over the last two millennia in reaction to Christian exegesis.

One can only assume that both Jesus and the author of 4Q521 view death as a time of captivity awaiting the final redemption, and interpret Isaiah’s use of “the opening of the prison to those who are bound” as glimpse into the time of this time in which all things will be restored, including life. In the presence of Messiah, not even death can hold his captive securely.Similar Posts:

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Melchizedek Scroll fragment

I’ve recently begun giving the Dead Sea Scrolls a closer examination, particularly in light of research I am doing on Jewish worship in the Second Temple Period. While researching this, I have read through a few different translations of the Melchizedek Scroll (11Q13), which is known by various titles.

There are several things that link this particular text to the New Testament, in that is paints Melchizedek in much the same light as the author of the Epistle of Hebrews. From this text I believe we can better understand and appreciate the Melchizedek imagery of the book of Hebrews. I believe the correlation in the Melchizedek Scroll also gives us solid evidence that the author of Hebrews’ interpretation of the Messiah’s role as a Divine High Priest was not limited to Christian interpretation or a late Christian-influenced theological development (I hope to share more on this later).

What I would like to share now is the scroll’s view of Melchizedek functioning as one who, in the year of Jubilee, proclaims not only a release from captivity, but from sin as well. Commenting on Deuteronomy 15:2 (which details the release of debts during the year of Jubilee), the Melchizedek Scroll states:

“[the interpretation] is that it applies [to the L]ast Days and concerns the captives, just as [Isaiah said: "To proclaim the jubilee to the captives" (Isa. 61:1) . . . . just] as [ . . . ] and from the inheritance of Melchizedek, f[or . . .  Melchize]dek, who will return them to what is rightfully theirs. He will proclaim to them the jubilee, thereby releasing th[em from the debt of a]ll their sins.” (emphasis mine)

Wise, M. O., Abegg, J. M. G., & Cook, E. M. (1996). The Dead Sea Scrolls: A New Translation. HarperOne, p.456.

In Luke 4:16-21 we find Jesus saying almost the exact same thing:

And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” (ESV, emphasis mine)

In the Melchizedek Scroll, the author has done exactly what Jesus does when he reads the text of Isaiah in the Nazareth synagogue. He links the text in Deuteronomy concerning the jubilee year and the release of debts to the passage in Isaiah where the speaker is “anointed” (Hebrew: mashach / מַשָׁח) in order to “proclaim liberty to the captives.” Many times Jesus couples his miracles of healing with the forgiveness of sin. In both the Melchizedek Scroll and in the thoughts of Jesus, bringing liberty to captives involved not only a physical release (and with Jesus, it began many times with healing and exorcism), but a spiritual release from the bondage of sin.

In the Melchizedek Scroll, however, it is not merely the Messiah who accomplishes this, but Melchizedek himself. We shall look at the scroll’s understanding of this Melchizedek figure more in subsequent articles.Similar Posts:

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As a brief introduction, Eerdman’s Bible Dictionary says this about it:

Clement, Epistles of. Two writings, a letter and a homily, included among the works of the Apostolic Fathers and traditionally attributed to Clement of Rome, the third bishop of Rome and mistakenly identified by some early writers as a disciple of Peter. Both works were appended to the New Testament in Codex Alexandrinus, and 1 Clement was regarded by some Church Fathers as canonical.

1 Clement, written ca. A.D. 96, was sent by the bishop of Rome to the church at Corinth, where a bitter dispute had resulted from the removal of certain presbyters. An important document regarding the development of ecclesiastical hierarchy, the letter exhibits great familiarity with the LXX text of the Old Testament and with various sayings of Jesus as well as the Pauline Epistles and the Letter to the Hebrews.

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I can easily see this representation in the rolling away of the stone of Yeshua’s burial site. When the stone was rolled away, Yeshua’s resurrection & his work of redemption & triumph over sin and death are realized, as Paul speaks about in 1 Corinthians 15:50-58:

I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:

“Death is swallowed up in victory.”

“O death, where is your victory?

O death, where is your sting?”

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

(1 Corinthians 15:50-58 ESV)

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Good Eye, Bad Eye, Lamp of the Body

Matthew 6:19-24 is one of the first passages I point out to people who want to know why it’s important to understand Yeshua’s teachings from its original context, particularly the Hebrew idioms & terminology behind his words. Let’s look at this entire passage. I’ve used the NKJV, and left the headers from the translators to show the misunderstanding even at the level of scholarly translation.

Lay Up Treasures in Heaven

19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

The Lamp of the Body

22 “The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

You Cannot Serve God and Riches

24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

I begin by having the person read verses 19-21 and then interpret Yeshua’s message. Then I do the same with verses 22-23, which often results in a confession of not knowing what he is talking about. Then I have them read verse 24, and they are able to interpret this just as easily as verses 19-21. Then I point out the theme of the three sections of this passage as such:

• Verses 19-21: Money, things & stuff
• Verses 22-23: Unclear
• Verse 24: Money, things & stuff

From there, they usually see a pattern, and that verses 22-23 “should” fit back into the context.

They are then able to realize why it is so important is that we know the intended meaning of his teachings. It is easy for them to see how we will totally miss the point of what he is trying to convey if we don’t understand the original sense of the message, which hinges upon a Hebraic . And without this information, we will invariably make up a meaning that has absolutely nothing to do with his original teaching. For generations, Yeshua’s teaching in Matthew 6:22-23 has been interpreted in ways that are completely unrelated to the context of his subject, and stripped of its context (even at the pashat level).

Often this text is used as a prooftext for moral purity and guarding the eyes. Although this is indeed a principle that Yeshua advocates (cf. Matthew 5:28), it is not at all what he is talking about here. However, this passage, if understood as being Hebraic in nature, fits completely within the context of the surrounding verses (19-24). And, unlike many instances of passages found within the Apostolic Scriptures, we do not have to turn to an outside source (such as non-canonical or rabbinic works), Scripture actually illuminates this passage itself.

Put it back in Hebrew

First, we need to put this passage back into Hebrew. From there we can begin comparing it to other Scriptures in the Hebrew Bible, the Tanach (or the “Old Testament”). The Bible Society in Israel translates the phrase “your eye is good” in Matthew 6:22 as “עֵינְךָ טוֹבָה”, (ein’ka tovah) literally corresponding to our English (some texts translated the eye as being “single” or “clear” verses “good”). When we focus on the phrase “your eye is good” and we come across a passage in Proverbs.

In Proverbs 22:9, we have almost this exact phrase in the form of, “טֹֽוב־עַיִן” (tov eiyn) or “good eye.” Since this passage is being translated by Hebrew linguists, all dynamic English translations understand the meaning of this quite easily. Why? Because it is obvious in the Hebrew. However, when we are presented with a Greek text, such as the Apostolic Scriptures (the “New Testament”), translators try to impose a Greek understanding of the text, since it has been delivered to us in the Greek language. But this approach fails, as we will clearly see in this passage. But back to our correlation in Proverbs. The NASB translates this verse as follows:

“He who is generous will be blessed, for he gives some of his food to the poor.” (Proverbs 22:9)

From here we can see it is obvious that the one with a “good eye” is a generous person. Now, let’s put this new terminology & understanding back into Yeshua’s teaching in Matthew and remove the last two inserted headers (modifications in bold italics):

Lay Up Treasures in Heaven

19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

22 “The lamp of the body is generosity. If therefore you are generous, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if you are miserly, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

With our new understanding in place, it completely changes our understanding of the words of our Master. Rather than three separate teachings, we see a cohesive unit of teaching by which he warns against being attached to wealth and the “things” of this world and encourages us to create spiritual “wealth” in its place. This reading completely fits the context of verses Matthew 6:19-24, telling us this is indeed the intended meaning of Yeshua’s words.

Look for my upcoming post, “Yeshua’s Use of ‘Righteousness’” which will give another example of insights gained from looking at the Hebrew beneath the Greek skin of the NT. It will elucidate more of Yeshua’s teachings, and expound upon many of the things discussed in this post.

Upcoming Resource

Do you want a resource to help you see these things in the Apostolic Scriptures?

One is on its way. Have you heard of the new, DHE (Delitzsch Hebrew English) translation of the Apostolic Scriptures from Vine of David (First Fruits of Zion)? Vine of David is in the process of taking Delitzsch’s Hebrew text of the Apostolic Scriptures and putting them into English for the first time. Here is some brief info on the project. I will be posting more thoroughly on this project soon:

Franz Delitzsch (1813 – 1890) was known as a “Christian Hebraist” he was a pioneer in the area of Jewish studies of the New Testament. Delizsch was a prolific writer, translator, and biblical commentator. His greatest and most noted work was is his New Testament translation into Hebrew. Deliztzsch re-contextualized the Gospels back into their Hebraic foundations. He understood and revealed the Hebrew / Jewish underpinnings of the Gospels. He devoted his entire life to restoring Yeshua back his people. The primary goal of this translation was to create “an edition of the Gospels that is sensitive to and reveals the Jewish essence of the teachings of the New Testament is vital to helping God’s people connect with the Jewish foundations of the Christian faith.”

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It’s interesting to see how vehemently opposed to the Gospels and the Gospel message Bart is, and how he seethes with anger as he speaks.

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