In Hebrew, the name “Jesus” rhymes with “save” and the word “shook.” The rhyme appears twice in Matthew – before his birth and during the crucifixion where the poem ends with the earthquake when the stone was rolled back:
Matthew 1:21 And she will give birth to a son, and you shall call his name Jesus {“Jesus” (ישוע)}, for he will save {“Save” (יושיע)} his people {“People” (עמי)} from their sins {“Sins” (מעונותם)}.” [The Passion: The Poetry of God]
Matthew 27:49 The rest said, “Let him alone. Let us see if Elijah will come to save {“Save” (יושיע)} him.” 50 And Jesus {“Jesus” (ישוע)} cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up his spirit. 51 And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook {“Shook” (ורעשה)}. [The Passion: The Poetry of God]
Matthew 28:2 And behold, there was a great earthquake {“Shook” (ורעשה)}; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. [The Passion: The Poetry of God]
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Friday, July 12, 2013
Thursday, July 11, 2013
Luke 07:18-23 Are you the One who is to come?
Have you ever wondered why Jesus gave the response that he did to the disciples of John the Baptist when they asked, “Are you the One who is to come, or shall we look for another?” A passage in the Dead Sea Scrolls parallels the response that Jesus gave. The Dead Sea Scroll community was less than ten miles from where John performed his baptisms. Perhaps John and his disciples were familiar with the passage from the Dead Sea Scrolls that described what the Messiah would do. The comparison below is based on the cross reference notes in the Comprehensive New Testament:
18 Then the disciples of John told him about all these things. And John, calling to him two of his disciples, 19 sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are you the One who is to come, or shall we look for another?” 20 When the men had come to him, they said, “John the Baptist sent us to you, saying, ‘Are you the One who is to come, or shall we look for another?’” 21 In that hour he cured many of their diseases and afflictions and evil spirits, and to many that were blind he gave sight. 22 And he answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have the good news preached to them. 23 And blessed is he who is not offended because of me.” [Luke 07:18-23 Comprehensive New Testament]
[For the heav]ens and the earth will listen to his Messiah, [and all] that is in them will not turn away from the holy precepts. Be encouraged, you who are seeking the Lord in his service! Will you not, perhaps, encounter the Lord in it, all those who hope in their heart? For the Lord will observe the devout, and call the just by name, and upon the poor he will place his spirit, and the faithful he will renew with his strength. For he will honor the devout upon the throne of eternal royalty, freeing prisoners, giving sight to the blind, straightening out the twisted. Ever shall I cling to those who hope. In his mercy he will jud[ge,] and from no one shall the fruit [of] good [deeds] be delayed, and the Lord will perform marvelous acts such as have not existed, just as he sa[id] for he will heal the badly wounded and will make the dead live, he will proclaim good news to the meek give lavishly [to the need]y, lead the exiled and feed the hungry. [The Dead Sea Scrolls, 4QMessianic Apocalypse (4Q521) Frag. 2 Col. II 1-13]
18 Then the disciples of John told him about all these things. And John, calling to him two of his disciples, 19 sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are you the One who is to come, or shall we look for another?” 20 When the men had come to him, they said, “John the Baptist sent us to you, saying, ‘Are you the One who is to come, or shall we look for another?’” 21 In that hour he cured many of their diseases and afflictions and evil spirits, and to many that were blind he gave sight. 22 And he answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have the good news preached to them. 23 And blessed is he who is not offended because of me.” [Luke 07:18-23 Comprehensive New Testament]
[For the heav]ens and the earth will listen to his Messiah, [and all] that is in them will not turn away from the holy precepts. Be encouraged, you who are seeking the Lord in his service! Will you not, perhaps, encounter the Lord in it, all those who hope in their heart? For the Lord will observe the devout, and call the just by name, and upon the poor he will place his spirit, and the faithful he will renew with his strength. For he will honor the devout upon the throne of eternal royalty, freeing prisoners, giving sight to the blind, straightening out the twisted. Ever shall I cling to those who hope. In his mercy he will jud[ge,] and from no one shall the fruit [of] good [deeds] be delayed, and the Lord will perform marvelous acts such as have not existed, just as he sa[id] for he will heal the badly wounded and will make the dead live, he will proclaim good news to the meek give lavishly [to the need]y, lead the exiled and feed the hungry. [The Dead Sea Scrolls, 4QMessianic Apocalypse (4Q521) Frag. 2 Col. II 1-13]
Mark 07:03-04 Tradition of the Elders
The New Testament refers to Pharisees holding the tradition of the elders. Josephus provides some additional insight into the tradition of the elders in disputes between the Pharisees and other sects. The comparison below is based on the cross reference notes in the Comprehensive New Testament:
3 For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands with the fist, holding the tradition of the elders. 4 And, from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they dip themselves. And there are many other traditions which they observe, the washing of cups and pitchers and copper vessels [and beds]. [Mark 07:03-04 Comprehensive New Testament]
The Pharisees have delivered to the people a great many observances by succession from their fathers, which are not written in the laws of Moses; and for that reason it is that the Sadducees reject them, and say that we are to esteem those observances to be obligatory which are in the written word, but are not to observe what are derived from the tradition of our forefathers. And concerning these things it is that great disputes and differences have arisen among them… [Josephus, Antiquities (13.10.6 297)]
3 For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands with the fist, holding the tradition of the elders. 4 And, from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they dip themselves. And there are many other traditions which they observe, the washing of cups and pitchers and copper vessels [and beds]. [Mark 07:03-04 Comprehensive New Testament]
The Pharisees have delivered to the people a great many observances by succession from their fathers, which are not written in the laws of Moses; and for that reason it is that the Sadducees reject them, and say that we are to esteem those observances to be obligatory which are in the written word, but are not to observe what are derived from the tradition of our forefathers. And concerning these things it is that great disputes and differences have arisen among them… [Josephus, Antiquities (13.10.6 297)]
Matthew 04:18-22 Fishers of Men
Have you ever wondered why Jesus picked fishermen as some of his disciples? There is a hymn in the Dead Sea Scrolls that appears to indicate that the Messiah would lodge with many fishermen. The comparison below is based on the cross reference notes in the Comprehensive New Testament:
18 As he was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20 Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 21 Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. And he called them, 22 and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him. [Matthew 4:18-22 Comprehensive New Testament]
You made my lodging with many fishermen, those who spread the net upon the surface of the sea, those who go hunting the sons of iniquity. And there you established me for the judgment, and strengthened in my heart the foundation of truth. The covenant, therefore, for those looking for it. You closed the mouth of the lion cubs, whose teeth are like a sword, whose molars are like a sharpened spear, they are vipers’ venom, all their scheming is to lay waste. They lay in wait for me, but did not open their mouths against me. For you, my God, hid me from the sons of man, concealed your law in me, until the moment of revealing your salvation through me. [The Dead Sea Scrolls, 1QHymns (1QHodayoth [1QH]) Col. XIII 8-12]
18 As he was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20 Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 21 Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. And he called them, 22 and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him. [Matthew 4:18-22 Comprehensive New Testament]
You made my lodging with many fishermen, those who spread the net upon the surface of the sea, those who go hunting the sons of iniquity. And there you established me for the judgment, and strengthened in my heart the foundation of truth. The covenant, therefore, for those looking for it. You closed the mouth of the lion cubs, whose teeth are like a sword, whose molars are like a sharpened spear, they are vipers’ venom, all their scheming is to lay waste. They lay in wait for me, but did not open their mouths against me. For you, my God, hid me from the sons of man, concealed your law in me, until the moment of revealing your salvation through me. [The Dead Sea Scrolls, 1QHymns (1QHodayoth [1QH]) Col. XIII 8-12]
Matthew 02:16 - The Killing of the Innocents
Matthew 2:16 is very similar to Josephus, Antiquities (17.7.5 173-174) concerning Herod's behavior shortly before he died [comparison based on the cross reference notes in the Comprehensive New Testament]
Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, was in a furious rage. And he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all its region who were two years old or under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men. [The Comprehensive New Testament - Matthew 2:16]
…He [Herod] grew so choleric, that it brought him to do all things like a madman; and though her were near his death, he contrived the following wicked designs. He commanded that all the principal men of the entire Jewish nation wherever they lived, should be called to him…And now the king was in a wild rage against them all, the innocent as well as those that had afforded him ground for accusations. [Josephus, Antiquities (17.7.5 173-174)]
Saturday, April 24, 2010
John 01:14 and Philo Allegorical Interpretation III (173)
There is a strong agreement between these two passages that the bread given by God for the nourishment of the soul is the Word. Below are both passages:
(173) Therefore the souls inquire of one another, those, that is, that have clearly felt the influence of the word, but which are not able to say what it is. For very often, when sensible of a sweet taste, we are nevertheless ignorant of the flavor which has caused it, and when we smell sweet scents, we still do not know what they are. And in the same manner also the soul very often, when it is delighted, is yet unable to explain what it is that has delighted it; but it is taught by the hierophant and prophet Moses, who tells it, "This is the bread, the food which God has given for the Soul,"{Exodus 16:15.} explaining that God has brought it, his own word and his own reason; for this bread which he has given us to eat is this word of his.
Comparison: John 01:14, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” John 06:31-35, “Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven; but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” Then they said to him, “Lord, give us this bread always.” Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me shall never hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst.”
(173) Therefore the souls inquire of one another, those, that is, that have clearly felt the influence of the word, but which are not able to say what it is. For very often, when sensible of a sweet taste, we are nevertheless ignorant of the flavor which has caused it, and when we smell sweet scents, we still do not know what they are. And in the same manner also the soul very often, when it is delighted, is yet unable to explain what it is that has delighted it; but it is taught by the hierophant and prophet Moses, who tells it, "This is the bread, the food which God has given for the Soul,"{Exodus 16:15.} explaining that God has brought it, his own word and his own reason; for this bread which he has given us to eat is this word of his.
Comparison: John 01:14, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” John 06:31-35, “Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven; but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” Then they said to him, “Lord, give us this bread always.” Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me shall never hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst.”
Friday, April 23, 2010
Matthew 01:01 Son or Seed or Family of David?
Matthew 1:1 contains the phrase Son of David - υἱοῦ Δαυὶδ. However in Acts 13:23, Paul uses the word seed, σπέρμα, possibly derived from the Hebrew word זרַע. Revelation 22:16 employs yet another phrase, Family of David - γένος Δαυίδ. All three phrases are more or less synonymous. Justin Martyr used a word derived from γένος in Dialogue 43. Ignatius of Antioch uses seed in Ephesians 18 and Romans 7 and the word for family in Smyrneans 1 and Trallians 9. The texts listed above that employ the phrase “Family of David” were created in the late 1st and early 2nd centuries in Asia Minor.
Is it possible that the phrase “Family of David” is based on a textual tradition from an early form of the gospels that existed in the 1st and 2nd centuries in Asia Minor that was used by John, Ignatius, and Justin Martyr? The Pepysian Gospel Harmony (MS Pepys 2498) Section 1 can be translated as, “and he became a man of the kindred of Saint David and Saint Abraham, for that he was promised especially to him.” Perhaps an early harmony of the gospels used the term “Family of David.”
Is it possible that the phrase “Family of David” is based on a textual tradition from an early form of the gospels that existed in the 1st and 2nd centuries in Asia Minor that was used by John, Ignatius, and Justin Martyr? The Pepysian Gospel Harmony (MS Pepys 2498) Section 1 can be translated as, “and he became a man of the kindred of Saint David and Saint Abraham, for that he was promised especially to him.” Perhaps an early harmony of the gospels used the term “Family of David.”
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