Not Everyone Can Be Yeshua’s Disciple

Matt. 8:19-22; Luke 9:57-62

(Huck 49, 138; Aland 89, 176; Crook 93, 195)^[189]

Updated: 16 March 2023

וַיִּקְרַב אָדָם אֶחָד וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ רַבִּי אֵלֵךְ אַחֲרֶיךָ אֶל אֲשֶׁר תֵּלֵךְ וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ יֵשׁוּעַ הַשּׁוּעָלִים יֵשׁ לָהֶם פִּּירִים וְעוֹף הַשָּׁמַיִם יֵשׁ לָהֶם מִשְׁכְּנוֹת וּבַר אֱנָשׁ אֵין לוֹ אֵיכָן לְהַנִּיחַ אֶת רֹאשׁוֹ וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ אַחֵר אֲדֹנִי הַנַּח אוֹתִי תְּחִילָה לָלֶכֶת וְלִקְבֹּר אֶת אָבִי וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ לֵךְ אַחֲרַי וְהַנַּח אֶת הַמֵּתִים לִקְבֹּר אֶת מֵתֵיהֶם וַיֹּאמֶר אַף אַחֵר אֵלֵךְ אַחֲרֶיךָ אֲדֹנִי וּתְּחִילָה הַנַּח אוֹתִי לִנְשֹׁק לְבֵיתִי וַיֹּאמֶר יֵשׁוּעַ כָּל הַנּוֹתֵן יָדוֹ עַל הַמַּחֲרֵשָׁה וּמַבִּיט אַחֲרָיו אֵינוֹ הָגוּן לְמַלְכוּת שָׁמַיִם

A certain individual approached Yeshua and said to him, “Rabbi, wherever you go, I’ll follow.” But Yeshua said, “Beasts and birds have homes, but those who join me won’t even enjoy that basic comfort.”

Someone else said, “Lord, I’ll follow you after I’ve seen my dad through to the end of his days.” But Yeshua said, “Come join my life-giving mission, and let those who have not been brought to life take care of everyday existence.”

Yet another said, “I’ll follow you, Lord, but first let me go say good-bye to my family.” But Yeshua said, “The person who commits himself and then takes it back isn’t fit for my band of disciples.”^[190]

Reconstruction

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• ^[1] On the Kingdom of Heaven as a designation for Jesus’ band of full-time itinerating disciples, see Rich Man Declines the Kingdom of Heaven, Comment to L64-65; David N. Bivin and Joshua N. Tilton, “LOY Excursus: The Kingdom of Heaven in the Life of Yeshua,” under the subheading “The Kingdom of Heaven in the Teachings of Jesus: Jesus’ Band of Itinerating Disciples." ↩
• ^[2] See Robert L. Lindsey, “Introduction to A Hebrew Translation of the Gospel of Mark,” under the subheading “Double Tradition”; idem, “Measuring the Disparity Between Matthew, Mark and Luke,” under the subheading “Collecting Further Evidence." ↩
• ^[3] Lindsey described FR as an epitome of Anth. that attempted to create a continuous narrative from Anth.’s literary fragments. The First Reconstructor (the creator of FR) also attempted to present Anth.’s material in a more polished Greek style, since Anth. preserved material that was written in a rather rough Hebraic-Greek. ↩
• ^[4] The non-canonical Gospel of Thomas (logion 86) also preserves a version of Jesus’ “foxes have dens” saying:

  Jesus said: [The foxes] [have] the[ir holes] and the birds [their] nest, but (δέ) the Son of Man has no place to lay his head and to rest. (Gos. Thom. §86 [ed. Guillaumont, 47])

  ↩

• ^[5] Lindsey suggested that Luke may have written πορευομένων (porevomenōn, “going”; L2) under the influence of πορευόμενον in his previous pericope (Samaritan Villagers; Luke 9:53).
  Lindsey observed a strange phenomenon related to the phrase “in the way” in the Synoptic Gospels, which is that Mark and Luke never agree to write ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ in parallel accounts. Lindsey also noticed that the Gospel of Mark sometimes has ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ where Matthew and Luke agree to omit this phrase (cf., e.g., Mark 8:27 [omitted in Matt. 16:13 and Luke 9:18]; 9:33 [omitted in Matt. 18:1 and Luke 9:46]; 9:34 [omitted in Matt. 18:1 and Luke 9:46]; 10:52 [omitted in Matt. 20:34 and Luke 18:43]). This observation led Lindsey to conclude that the author of Mark intentionally avoided using the phrase “in the way” wherever he saw it in Luke’s text, and yet inserted ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ at other points in his Gospel where it was absent in the Lukan parallel. The term Lindsey coined to refer to this phenomenon is “Markan pick-up.” On “Markan pick-ups,” see Robert L. Lindsey, “Introduction to A Hebrew Translation of the Gospel of Mark,” under the subheading “Sources of the Markan Pick-ups”; idem, “A New Two-source Solution to the Synoptic Problem,” thesis 2; Joshua N. Tilton and David N. Bivin, “LOY Excursus: Catalog of Markan Stereotypes and Possible Markan Pick-ups.” ↩
• ^[6] Cf. Harnack, 11. ↩
• ^[7] On καί + participle + aorist as the translation equivalent of vav-consecutive + vav-consecutive, see Return of the Twelve, Comment to L1. ↩
• ^[8] We find ἄνθρωπος εἷς as the translation of אִישׁ אֶחָד in Num. 14:15; 16:22; 3 Kgdms. 21:35; Isa. 4:1; Ezek. 33:2; Dan. 10:5. ↩
• ^[9] We find ἄνθρωπος εἷς as the translation of אָדָם אֶחָד in Eccl. 7:28. ↩
• ^[10] Cf. the baraita cited in the name of Rabbi Eleazar in b. Ber. 27b and in the minor tractate Kallah 1:24 [51b]. In the story about the man who attempted to anger Hillel, the man is rude and disrespectful in many ways, including by addressing Hillel by his first name, rather than as “Rabbi.” See Avot de-Rabbi Natan, Version A, 15:2 (ed. Schechter, 60); Avot de-Rabbi Natan, Version B, chpt. 29 (ed. Schechter, 60). ↩
• ^[11] See Rich Man Declines the Kingdom of Heaven, Comment to L7; and Preparations for Eating the Passover Lamb, Comment to L36. ↩
• ^[12] Kingsbury used these unfortunate descriptions for the technical sense of ἀκολουθεῖν meaning “become a disciple.” See Jack Dean Kingsbury, “The Verb Akolouthein (‘To Follow’) as an Index of Matthew’s View of His Community,” Journal of Biblical Literature 97.1 (1978): 56-73: “The difficulty one encounters in attempting to interpret the verb akolouthein in the first gospel is that it is not always immediately discernible whether it is to be understood in the strictly literal sense of ‘coming or going after a person in time, place, or sequence,’ or whether it is to assume theological or metaphorical significance in addition and hence to connote ‘coming or going after a person as his disciple’” (quotation on 57); idem, “On Following Jesus,” 46: “the figurative use of ἀκολουθεῖν appears to be almost the only matter in the interpretation of 8. 18-22 on which virtually all scholars seem able to agree.” ↩
• ^[13] As Vermes (Authentic, 6) stated, Jesus’ command “Follow me!” “simply means ‘Accompany me’ and not ‘Imitate my example’.” ↩
• ^[14] See Trommii, 1:55; Hatch-Redpath, 1:44. ↩
• ^[15] See 3 Kgdms. 19:20; Hos. 2:7; Isa. 45:14. ↩
• ^[16] The LXX translators rendered הָלַךְ אַחַר as πορεύεσθαι ὀπίσω in Deut. 4:3; 8:19; 28:14; Josh. 3:3; Judg. 2:12, 19; 9:4, 49; Ruth 3:10; 1 Kgdms. 6:12; 25:42; 30:21; 2 Kgdms. 3:31; 3 Kgdms. 11:10; 18:18, 21 (2xx); 19:21; 20:26; 4 Kgdms. 4:30; 7:15; 13:2; 17:15; 23:3; Hos. 2:15; Jer. 2:5; 7:9; 8:2; 9:13; 13:10; 25:6; 42[35]:15; 2 Esd. 22:32. ↩
• ^[17] The LXX translators rendered ἀκολουθεῖν in combination with ὀπίσω as הָלַךְ plus אַחַר in 3 Kgdms. 19:20; Hos. 2:7; Isa. 45:14. ↩
• ^[18] See Josh. 6:8; Prov. 7:22. ↩
• ^[19] Descriptions of disciples following their master are common in rabbinic literature. See, for example:

  כבר היה רבי ישמעאל ורבי אלעזר בן עזריה ורבי עקיבא מהלכין בדרך ולוי הסדר וישמעאל בנו של רבי אלעזר בן עזריה מהלכין אחריהם

  Once Rabbi Ishmael and Rabbi Eleazar ben Azariah and Rabbi Akiva were walking along the road and Levi the netmaker and Rabbi Eleazar ben Azariah's son Ishmael were walking behind them.... (Mechilta de-Rabbi Ishmael, Shabbata chpt. 1, on Exod. 31:13)

  מעשה ברבן יוחנן בן זכאיי שהיה רוכב על גבי החמור והיו תלמידיו מהלכים אחריו

  An anecdote about Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai, who was riding on a donkey and whose disciples were walking after him.... (Sifre Deut. § 305, on Deut. 31:14; cf. b. Ket. 66b)

  פעם אחת היה רבן יוחנן בן זכאי יוצא מירושלים והיה ר′ יהושע הולך אחריו וראה בית המקדש חרב

  One time Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai was going out of Jerusalem and Rabbi Joshua walked after him and he saw the Temple in ruins.... (Avot de-Rabbi Natan, Version A, 4:5 [ed. Schechter, 21])

  ר″ג הוה מטייל מן עכו לכזיב והיה טבי עבדו מהלך לפניו ורבי אלעאי מאחוריו

  R. Gamaliel was once walking from Acco to Chezib, Tabbai his servant walking in front, and R. Ila'i behind him. (Lev. Rab. 37:3; Soncino)

  רבה בר בר חנה אמר רבי יהושע בן לוי פעם אחת הייתי מהלך אחר ר′ אלעזר הקפר בריבי בדרך ומצא שם טבעת ועליה צורת דרקון

  Rabbah son of Bar Hanah said in the name of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi: “One time I was walking after the eminent Rabbi Eleazar Hakkappar in the road, and there he found a ring and on it was the form of a dragon.” (b. Avod. Zar. 43a)

  ↩

• ^[20] Cf. Lachs 258, 66 n. 2; Morton Smith, Tannaitic Parallels to the Gospels (Philadelphia: Society of Biblical Literature, 1951), 30, 44 n. 101. For a dissenting view, see Martin Hengel, The Charismatic Leader and His Followers (trans. James Greig; New York: Crossroads, 1981), 50-57.

  Smith mentions the story about Rabbi Yehoshua’s disciples where parallel versions equate אחריך רבי (“We are after you, Rabbi”) with תלמידיך (“We are your disciples”):

  מעשה בר′ יוחנן בן ברוקה ור′ אלעזר חסמא שבאו מיבנה ללוד והקבילו פני ר′ יהושע בפקיעין אמ′ להן מה חידוש היה לכם בבית מדרש היום אמרו לו תלמידיך

  An anecdote about Rabbi Yohanan ben Berokah and Rabbi Eleazar Hisma, who came to Lod from Yavneh and who greeted Rabbi Yehoshua of Pekiin. He said to them, “What was the innovation you had today in the bet midrash?” They said to him, “We are your disciples.” (t. Sot. 7:9)

  כבר שבתו תלמידים ביבנה ולא שבת שם רבי יהושע וכשבאו התלמידים אצלו אמר להם מה דבר חדש היה לכם ביבנה אמרו לו אחריך רבי

  Once the disciples spent the week in Yavneh, but Rabbi Yehoshua did not spend the week there, and when the disciples came to him, he said to them, “What new thing did you learn in Yavneh?” They said to him, “We are after you, Rabbi.” (Mechilta de-Rabbi Ishmael, Pisha chpt. 16 [ed. Lauterbach, 1:90])

  Evidently, then, being “behind” a sage meant the same thing as being his disciple.

  On the translation of שבת in this story, see Marc Hirshman, A Rivalry of Genius: Jewish and Christian Biblical Interpretation in Late Antiquity (trans. Batya Stein; Albany, N.Y.: State University of New York Press, 1996), 145-146 n. 44 and the literature cited there. ↩

• ^[21] The instances of ὅπου ἐὰν in the Gospels are Matt. 8:19; 24:28; 26:13; Mark 6:10; 9:18; 14:9, 14; Luke 9:57. ↩
• ^[22] The five examples of אֶל אֲשֶׁר in MT are Exod. 32:34; Num. 33:54; Ezek. 1:12; 42:14; Ruth 1:16. ↩
• ^[23] The only example of אֶל אֲשֶׁר we have located in DSS is found in 1QH^a XX, 27:

  ואני מעפר לקח[תני ומחמר ק]ורצתי למקור נדה וערות קולן מקוי עפר ומגבל [במים סוד רמ]ה ומדור חושך ותשובת עפר ליצר חמר בקץ [...י]שוב עפר אל אשר לקח משם

  And I, from dust [I] have been gathered, [and from clay] I have been [fo]rmed to be a source of impurity, and of filth, a pile of dust, mixed with [water, ...] a lodging of darkness. The creature of clay must return to the dust at the end of [... ] dust [w]ill return to the place from which he has been taken. (1QH^a XX, 24-27; DSS Study Edition [adapted])

  ↩

• ^[24] At b. Yev. 47b Ruth 1:16 is incorrectly cited as באשר תלכי אלך, which may suggest that the talmudic sages found אֶל אֲשֶׁר to be archaic. ↩
• ^[25] In rabbinic literature Ruth is regarded as a model proselyte. ↩
• ^[26] See Hatch-Redpath, 1:121-122. ↩
• ^[27] See Dos Santos, 48-49. ↩
• ^[28] Cf. m. Kid. 4:14; t. Kid. 5:13[15]; y. Kid. 4:11 [48a]; b. Kid. 82b. For a discussion of the different versions of this aggadic tradition, see David Flusser, "'Have You Ever Seen a Lion Toiling as a Porter?’" (Flusser, JSTP2, 331-342, esp. 336 n. 21). ↩
• ^[29] Cf. Bundy, 133. ↩
• ^[30] On the necessity for full-time disciples to leave behind property and give up their means of support, see Demands of Discipleship, Comment to L17. ↩
• ^[31] On the homelessness of Jesus’ full time disciples, see Gerd Thiessen, Social Reality and the Early Christians: Theology, Ethics, and the World of the New Testament (trans. Margaret Kohl; Minneapolis: Fortress, 1992), 37-38. ↩
• ^[32] On the rigorous lifestyle of first-century disciples, see David N. Bivin, “Jesus’ Yoke and Burden.” ↩
• ^[33] Cf. Bovon, 2:13: “He is assuredly not deprived of security, but his security resides not in material or human protection, but in God’s love and authority.” ↩
• ^[34] See F. S. Bodenheimer, Animal Life in Palestine: An Introduction to the Problems of Animal Ecology and Zoogeography (Jerusalem: L. Mayer, 1935), 111; Oded Borowski, Every Living Thing: Daily Use of Animals in Ancient Israel (Walnut Creek, Calif.: AltiMira, 1998), 203-204. ↩
• ^[35] See Tomson, If This Be, 142. ↩
• ^[36] Cf., e.g., m. Kid. 4:14; m. Avot 4:15; y. Shab. 10:5 [63b]. On the 300 fox parables of Rabbi Meir, see Notley-Safrai, 35-38. ↩
• ^[37] See Randall Buth, "That Small-fry Herod Antipas, or When a Fox Is Not a Fox." ↩
• ^[38] Cf. Judg. 15:4; 2 Esdr. 13:35; Ps. 62[63]:11; Song 2:15; Lam. 5:18; Ezek. 13:4. ↩
• ^[39] שׁוּעָל appears 9xx in the Mishnah. ↩
• ^[40] Examples of מְעוֹנָה in MT include Amos 3:4 (= μάνδρα); Nah. 2:13 (= κατοικητήριον); Ps. 104:22 (= μάνδρα [Ps. 103:22]); Job 37:8 (= κοίτη); 38:40 (= κοίτη); Song 4:8 (= μάνδρα). ↩
• ^[41] See Jastrow, 1170. ↩
• ^[42] According to H. B. Green (101), "Jesus’ reply [i.e., Foxes have holes etc.—DNB and JNT] has a proverbial ring, though no parallel to it has been discovered." ↩
• ^[43] On the translation of מַרְדֵּעַ (mardēa‘) as "ox-goad," see above, Comment to L36. ↩
• ^[44] Cf. Gen. 1:26, 28, 30; 2:19, 20, 6:7; 7:3, 23; Deut. 28:26; 1 Kgdms. 17:44, 46; 2 Kgdms. 21:10; 3 Kgdms. 16:4; 20[21]:24; Ps. 78[79]:2; 103[104]:12; Hos. 2:20; 4:3; 7:12; Zeph. 1:3; Jer. 4:25; 7:33; 15:3; 16:4; 19:7; 41[34]:20; Ezek. 29:5; 31:6; 31:13; 32:4; 38:20. ↩
• ^[45] In Gen. 40:17 τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ translates הָעוֹף (hā‘ōf, "the bird[s]"). In Ps. 8:9 τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ translates צִפּוֹר שָׁמַיִם (tzipōr shāmayim, "bird[s] of heavens"). In Ps. 49[50]:11 τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ translates עוֹף הָרִים (‘ōf hārim, "bird[s] of mountains"). In Isa. 18:6 τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ (2xx) translates עֵיט הָרִים (‘ēt hārim, "bird[s] of prey of mountains") and הָעַיִט (hā‘ayiṭ, "the bird[s] of prey"). There is no Hebrew or Aramaic equivalent for τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ in 3 Kgdms. 12:24; Judith 11:7; Hos. 2:14; Dan. 3:80. ↩
• ^[46] See David N. Bivin, "Noun Chains in the Gospels," where Bivin cites τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ as an example of the Greek text of the Gospels reflecting the Hebrew construct state. We have not found any examples of τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ in our searches of non-Jewish Greek authors who wrote prior to the Christian period. We have found occasional instances of τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ in the writings of Christian authors who were influenced by LXX and NT. ↩
• ^[47] The expression τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ("the birds of the heaven") is also found in the Mustard Seed parable (Matt. 13:32; Mark 4:32; Luke 13:19); the Four Soils parable (Luke 8:5; cf. Matt. 13:4 and Mark 4:4 [τὰ πετεινά]); and Yeshua’s Discourse on Worry (Matt. 6:26; cf. Luke 12:24 [τοὺς κόρακας and τῶν πετεινῶν]). ↩
• ^[48] In DSS we do find [עוף אשר[ יעופף בשמים‎ ("birds that [will fly in the sky]"; 4QJub^e [4Q220] 1 I, 2 [= Jub. 21:6]) and והעוף[ המעופף בשמי]נו ("and the birds [that fly in] our [skies]"; 4Q502 7-10 I, 8), but these phrases cannot account for τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ in Greek. ↩
• ^[49] We find צִפּוֹר שָׁמַיִם only once (Ps. 8:9), whereas the expression עוֹף הַשָּׁמַיִם appears 38xx in MT. ↩
• ^[50] Cf. LSJ, 912. ↩
• ^[51] Cf. Marshall, 411; Bovon, 2:13 n. 18. ↩
• ^[52] The instances of κατασκήνωσις in LXX are 1 Chr. 28:2; Tob. 1:4; Wis. 9:8; Ezek. 37:27. ↩
• ^[53] Biblical examples where the root ש-כ-נ describes the habits of birds include:

  וְיַנְשֹׁוף וְעֹרֵב יִשְׁכְּנוּ בָהּ

  ...the owl and the raven shall dwell in it. (Isa. 34:11; RSV)

  וְשָׁכְנוּ תַחְתָּיו כֹּל צִפֹּור כָּל כָּנָף בְּצֵל דָּלִיֹּותָיו תִּשְׁכֹּנָּה

  And under it will dwell every kind of bird; in the shade of its branches birds of every sort will nest. (Ezek. 17:23; ESV)

  עַל מַפַּלְתֹּו יִשְׁכְּנוּ כָּל עֹוף הַשָּׁמָיִם

  Upon its ruin will dwell all the birds of the air.... (Ezek. 31:13; RSV)

  וְהִשְׁכַּנְתִּי עָלֶיךָ כָּל עֹוף הַשָּׁמַיִם

  ...and [I] will cause all the birds of the air to settle on you.... (Ezek. 32:4; RSV)

  מִי יִתֶּן לִּי אֵבֶר כַּיֹּונָה אָעוּפָה וְאֶשְׁכֹּנָה

  O that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest.... (Ps. 55:7[6]; RSV)

  עֲלֵיהֶם עֹוף הַשָּׁמַיִם יִשְׁכֹּון

  By them the birds of the air have their habitation.... (Ps. 104:12; RSV)

  ↩

• ^[54] Examples in rabbinic literature of the root ש-כ-נ describing the habits of birds include:

  כל עוף למינו ישכון

  Every bird flocks with its kind. (b. Bab. Kam. 92b [quoting Sir. 13:15, which reads in Greek πᾶν ζῷον ἀγαπᾷ τὸ ὅμοιον αὐτῷ ("Every living thing loves what is like to it"; NETS)])

  שכן עם טמאים טמא עם טהורים טהור

  [A bird that] flocks with impure [birds] is [considered to be] impure; [if it nests] with pure [birds, then] pure. (b. Hul. 65a)

  ↩

• ^[55] See Barnabas Lindars, “Re-Enter the Apocalyptic Son of Man,” New Testament Studies 22 (1975): 52-72; Geza Vermes, “The Use of Bar Nash/Bar Nasha in Jewish Aramaic,” in Post-biblical Jewish Studies (Leiden: Brill, 1975), 147-165; idem, “The Present State of the ‘Son of Man’ Debate,” in Jesus and His Jewish Context (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2003), 81-90 and the literature cited there; George W. E. Nickelsburg, “The Son of Man in Judaism and Early Christianity,” in Resurrection, Immortality, and Eternal Life in Intertestamental Judaism and Early Christianity (rev. ed.; Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2006), 281-314. ↩
• ^[56] See Randall Buth, “‘Son of Man’: Jesus’ Most Important Title”; idem, “A More Complete Semitic Background for בר־אנשא, ‘Son of Man’,” in The Function of Scripture in Early Jewish and Christian Tradition (ed. Craig A. Evans and James A. Sanders; Sheffield: Sheffield, 1998), 176-189; R. Steven Notley, “Jesus and the Son of Man.” ↩
• ^[57] See Robert L. Lindsey, “The Hebrew Life of Jesus,” under the subheading "Jesus’ Interrogation by the Chief Priests.” ↩
• ^[58] See David N. Bivin and Joshua N. Tilton, “Introduction to ‘The Life of Yeshua: A Suggested Reconstruction’,” under the subheading "Goals of ‘The Life of Yeshua: A Suggested Reconstruction’.” ↩
• ^[59] While Bivin accepts Lindsey’s conclusion regarding “son of man” in the Gospels, Tilton finds himself more in agreement with the approach of Flusser, who interpreted some “son of man” sayings as applying to all human beings, and not exclusively to an eschatological figure. See Flusser, Jesus, 124-133. ↩
• ^[60] For our choice of אֵיכָן in preference to other Hebrew words meaning "where?" see Preparations for Eating the Passover Lamb, Comment to L17. ↩
• ^[61] Another example of a non-interrogative use of אֵיכָן is:

  תני מטמא כהן ויוצא חוצה לארץ...ללמוד תורה ולישא אשה רבי יהודה אומר אם יש לו מאיכן ללמוד אל יטמא רבי יוסי אומר אפילו יש לו מאיכן ללמוד תורה יטמא שלא מכל אדם זוכה ללמוד

  It was taught [in a baraita]: A priest may render himself impure by going outside the land [of Israel]...in order to study Torah or to marry a woman. Rabbi Yehudah says, "If he has someplace from which [יש לו מאיכן] to study [in the land of Israel] he may not render himself impure." Rabbi Yose says, "Even if he does have a place from which [יש לו מאיכן] to study Torah [in the land of Israel] he may render himself impure, since he may not be worthy to study under everyone." (y. Ber. 3:1 [23b])

  ↩

• ^[62] See Shmuel Safrai, “Home and Family” (Safrai-Stern, 2:736). ↩
• ^[63] Kλίνειν is the translation of נָטָה in Judg. 9:3; 16:30; 19:8; 2 Kgdms. 22:10; 3 Kgdms. 2:28 (2xx); 4 Kgdms. 20:10; Ps. 17[18]:10; 20[21]:12; 61[62]:4; 101[102]:12; 118[119]:112. ↩
• ^[64] Kλίνειν is the translation of הִטָּה in 3 Kgdms. 11:3 (Alexandrinus); 4 Kgdms. 19:16; 2 Esd. 7:28; 9:9; Ps. 16[17]:6; 30[31]:3; 44[45]:11; 48[49]:5; 70[71]:2; 77[78]:1; 85[86]:1; 87[88]:3; 101[102]:3; 114[116]:2; 118[119]:36; 143[144]:5; Prov. 21:1; Isa. 37:17 (Vaticanus); Jer. 17:22[23]; 41[34]:14; 42[35]:15; 51[44]:5; Dan. 9:18 [TH]. ↩
• ^[65] The same use of הִטָּה is found in a baraita:

  מעשה בר′ ישמעאל ובר′ אלעזר בן עזריה שהיו שרוין במקום אחד והיה ר′ ישמעאל מוטה ור′ אלעזר זקוף והגיע זמן ק″ש ונזקף ר′ ישמעאל והטה רבי אלעזר

  An anecdote about Rabbi Ishmael and Rabbi Eleazar ben Azariah who were staying in one place, and Rabbi Ishmael was reclining and Rabbi Eleazar was upright. When the time came for the reciting of the Shema, Rabbi Ishmael stood upright and Rabbi Eleazar reclined. (t. Ber. 1:6[4]; cf. y. Ber. 1:3 [8b]; b. Ber. 11a)

  ↩

• ^[66] See Hatch-Redpath, 2:760-762. ↩
• ^[67] See Dos Santos, 199. ↩
• ^[68] Cf. Harnack, 11, 133; Davies-Allison, 2:54; Bovon, 2:11. ↩
• ^[69] In LXX ἕτερος is the translation of אַחֵר (’aḥēr, “other”) in Gen. 4:25; 8:10, 12; 17:21; 26:21, 22; 29:19, 27, 30; 30:24; 37:9; 41:19; 43:22; Exod. 20:3; 22:4; 23:13; 34:14; Lev. 14:42 (2xx); 27:20; Num. 14:24; 36:9; Deut. 5:7; 6:14; 7:4; 8:19; 11:16, 28; 13:3, 7, 14; 17:3; 18:20; 20:5, 6, 7; 24:2; 28:14, 30, 32, 36, 64; 29:25, 27; 30:17; Josh. 23:16; 24:2, 16; Judg. 2:10, 12, 17, 19; 10:13; Ruth 2:8, 22; 1 Kgdms. 8:8; 19:21; 21:10; 26:19; 28:8; 2 Kgdms. 18:26; 3 Kgdms. 3:22; 9:6; 11:10; 4 Kgdms. 5:17; 17:7, 35, 37, 38; 22:17; 1 Chr. 2:26; 16:20; 23:17; 2 Chr. 3:11 (2xx), 12 (2xx); 7:19, 22; 2 Esd. 1:10; Ps. 104[105]:13; 108[109]:8; Eccl. 7:22; Job 31:10; Joel 1:3; Zech. 2:7; Isa. 28:11; 42:8; 48:11; Jer. 3:1; 6:12; 8:10; 16:13; 18:4; 39[32]:29; 42[35]:15; 43[36]:28, 32; 51[44]:3, 5, 8, 15; Ezek. 12:3; 42:14; 44:19; Dan. 11:4; 12:5. By way of comparison, אַחֵר is translated ἄλλος in Gen. 41:3; Exod. 21:10; Lev. 6:4; Num. 23:13, 27; 1 Kgdms. 10:6, 9; 2 Kgdms. 18:20; 3 Kgdms. 13:10; 21:37; 4 Kgdms. 1:11; 7:8; 2 Chr. 30:23; 32:5; Prov. 5:9; Job 8:19; 31:8; Isa. 65:22 (2xx). ↩
• ^[70] See Brad Young and David Flusser, "Messianic Blessings in Jewish and Christian Texts" (Flusser, JOC, 290). Cf. Dalman, 327; Kingsbury, "The Verb Akolouthein," 60; idem, "On Following Jesus," 51. ↩
• ^[71] Cf. Metzger, 149. ↩
• ^[72] On the rationale for basing our reconstruction on a single NT manuscript, see the “Introduction to ‘The Life of Yeshua: A Suggested Reconstruction’,” under the subheading “Codex Vaticanus or an Eclectic Text?” ↩
• ^[73] Cf. Davies-Allison, 2:54; Nolland, Luke, 2:542. ↩
• ^[74] Cf. m. Sanh. 6:5; Acts 5:6, 10. On first-century Jewish burial and mourning customs, see Shmuel Safrai, "Home and Family" (Safrai-Stern, 2:773-787). ↩
• ^[75] Byron R. McCane, "'Let the Dead Bury Their Own Dead’: Secondary Burial and Matt 8:21-22," Harvard Theological Review 83.1 (1990): 31-43, quotation on 39. ↩
• ^[76] Buchanan (2:397) and Vermes (Authentic, 104) do mention ritual purity as posing difficulties for the common assumption that the aspiring disciple’s father had recently died. ↩
• ^[77] One way to salvage the interpretation that the conversation between the would-be disciple and Jesus took place after the father’s death but prior to his burial is to suppose that the man was informed of his father’s death while he was in the crowd listening to Jesus, or that he met Jesus on the way home having just been informed of his father’s death. ↩
• ^[78] Among the scholars who have accepted McCane's thesis, or who have at least regarded it as a credible explanation, are Nolland (Matt., 368); J. Green (408-409); Craig A. Evans, Jesus and the Ossuaries (Waco, Tex.: Baylor University Press, 2003), 13; and Eyal Regev, "Family Burial, Family Structure, and the Urbanization of Herodian Jerusalem," Palestine Exploration Quarterly 136.2 (2004): 109-131, esp. 114. ↩
• ^[79] See Rahmani, 24: "The limited use of ossuaries is evidenced in this period [i.e., 70-135 C.E.—DNB and JNT] in the Galilee. Here, too, the custom of ossilegium was most likely introduced after 70 CE and may have continued for a decade or two after 135 CE." ↩
• ^[80] Magness argues that burial in rock-cut tombs was a luxury enjoyed only by the upper classes in first-century Judea. See Jodi Magness, "Archaeologically Invisible Burials in Late Second Temple Period Judea," in All the Wisdom of the East: Studies in Near Eastern Archaeology and History in Honor of Eliezer D. Oren (ed. Mayer Gruber et al.; Fribourg: Academic Press; Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2012), 235-248. If Magness is correct, then according to McCane's scenario we would have to suppose that the aspiring disciple came from a wealthy family. However, we harbor some doubts regarding Magness' opinion. ↩
• ^[81] According to Berlin, "No cemeteries, not even single stray tombs, that date before 70 C.E. have yet been identified from Jewish settlements in Galilee or Gaulanitis.... The earliest that any...tombs can be dated is the late first century C.E., i.e., after the destruction of Jerusalem." See Andrea M. Berlin, "Jewish Life Before the Revolt: The Archaeological Evidence," Journal for the Study of Judaism: In the Persian Hellenistic & Roman Period 36.4 (2005): 417-470, quotation on 464. ↩
• ^[82] See Rahmani, 21-23. According to Berlin, "Over 800 [rock-cut burial caves—DNB and JNT] have been discovered around Jerusalem and over 100 in the Judean countryside." See Berlin, "Jewish Life Before the Revolt," 454. Cf. Jodi Magness, Stone and Dung, Oil and Spit: Jewish Daily Life in the Time of Jesus (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2011), 151-155. ↩
• ^[83] According to Rahmani (23-24), the practice of ossilegium probably spread to other parts of Judea and to the Galilee as a result of the displacement of Jerusalem's residents in 70 C.E. ↩
• ^[84] As Cohen explains, "A corpse was first buried temporarily in a cave and later transferred to a permanent burial-place in the family tomb. This is termed 'gathering the bones'" (emphasis ours). See Abraham Cohen, trans., The Minor Tractates of the Talmud (2 vols.; London: Soncino, 1965), 1:389 n. 5; cf. Zlotnick, 158 n. 1. ↩
• ^[85] See, for example, the following passages in which the practice of ossilegium is discussed and in which the verb קָבַר does not appear:

  הַשּׁוֹמֵעַ עַל מֵתוֹ וְהַמְ{ת}לַקֵּט בעֲצָמוֹת טוֹבֵל וְאוֹכֵל בַּקָּדָשִׁים

  A person who hears of the death [of a family member] and a person who gathers bones immerses and eats of the sacrifices. (m. Pes. 8:8)

  וְעוֹד אָמַ′ ר′ מֵאִיר מְלַקֵּט אָדָם עַצְמוֹת אָבִיו וְאִימּוֹ מִפְּנֵי שֶׁשִּמְחָה לוֹ ר′ יוֹסֵה אוֹ′ אֶבֶל הוּא לוֹ

  Rabbi Meir also said, "A man gathers the bones of his father or his mother [on an intermediate holy day] because it is a happy occasion for him." Rabbi Yose said, "It is a mournful occasion for him." (m. Moed Kat. 1:5)

  אמ′ ר′ אלע′ בר′ צדוק כך היו חבורות שבירושלם נוהגות אילו לסעודת אירוסין ואילו לסעודת נישואין אילו לשבוע הבן ואילו ללקט עצמות אילו לבית המשתה ואלו לבית האבל שבוע הבן ולקוט עצמות שבוע הבן קודם לליקוט עצמות

  Rabbi Eliezer bar Rabbi Zadok said, "This was the practice of the societies in Jerusalem: There were those for betrothal banquets, those for wedding banquets, those for the week of a son's birth, and there were those for gathering bones. There were those for the house of celebration, and those for the house of mourning." [If there occurred both] the week of a son's birth and the time for the gathering of bones, the week of a son's birth takes precedence over the gathering of bones. (t. Meg. 3:8[15]; cf. Semahot 12:5 [49a])

  ↩

• ^[86] ‎According to Jastrow (117) ברארין is a textual corruption that should read בארזין. Rahmani states that אֲרָזִין (’^arāzin) is a foreign word unrelated to the Hebrew term for cedar (אֶרֶז, ’erez). See Levi Yizḥaq Raḥmani, "Ossuaries and Ossilegium (Bone-Gathering) In the Late Second Temple Period," in Ancient Jerusalem Revealed (ed. Hillel Geva; Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society, 1994), 191-205, esp. 197. ↩
• ^[87] Rabbi Eliezer ben Zadok lived in the first century C.E. See S. Mendelsohn, "Eliezer (Eleazar) b. Zadok," JE 5:120. Cf. Rahmani, 53. ↩
• ^[88] For example, in the case of a person who was executed by the Jewish courts we read:

  וְלֹא הָיוּ קוֹבְרִין אוֹתָם בְּקִבְרוֹת אֲבוֹתֵיהֶין אֶלָּא שְׁנֵי קְבָרוֹת הָיוּ מוּתְקַנִין לְבֵית דִּין אֶחָד לַנִּיסְקָלִים וְלַנִּישְׂרָפִים וְאֶחָד לַנֶּהְרָגִים וְלַנֶּחְנָקִים: נִיתְאַבֵל הַבָּשָׂר הָיוּ מְלַקְטִין אֶת הָעֲצָמוֹת וְקוֹבְרִין אוֹתָן בַּמָקוֹם

  And they would not bury them [i.e., individuals who were executed—DNB and JNT] in the graves of their ancestors, rather, the court had two graves prepared: one for the stoned and the burned, and one for the beheaded and the strangled. After the flesh had decayed they would gather the bones and bury them in their own place [i.e., in the family tomb—DNB and JNT]. (m. Sanh. 6:5-6)

  Here we find "burial" in conjunction with ossilegium because the bones had to be reburied, having been removed from the grave belonging to the court. The Tosefta's parallel to m. Sanh. 6:6 reads:

  ניתעכל הבשר שלוחי בית דין מלקטין העצמות וקוברין אותן בארון

  After the flesh had decayed, representatives of the court gather the bones and bury them in a chest. (t. Sanh. 9:8 [ed. Zuckermandel, 429]; cf. y. Sanh. 6:10 [30a])

  If from this Tosefta passage we are to understand that the bones remained in the grave belonging to the court, then we do have an example of קָבַר used for the interment of bones in an ossuary. However, it is likely that the Tosefta does not contradict what we learn from the Mishnah, but rather supplements it by informing us that it was representatives of the court who would collect the bones and take them to the family of the condemned man for reburial.

  Another reference to the burial of bones is found in the Jerusalem Talmud's explanation of Rabbi Meir's opinion that the day of collecting bones was a happy occasion:

  ועוד א″ר מאיר מלקט אדם עצמות אביו ואמו מפני ששמחה היא לו. בראשונה היו קוברין אותן במהמורות נתאכל הבשר היו מלקטין את העצמות וקוברין אותן ברזים אותו היום היה מתאבל ולמחר היה שמח לומר שנינוחו אבותיו מן הדין.‏‎

  And Rabbi Meir also said, "When a man gathers the bones of his father or his mother [on an intermediate holy day], it is a happy occasion for him." In times past they would bury them [the person executed by the court] in mounds. After the flesh decayed, they would gather the bones and bury them in an ossuary [reading בארזים for ברזים; cf. Jastrow, 1464]. On that day he [the son] would mourn, but on the following day he would rejoice because his ancestors were at rest from the judgement. (y. Moed Kat. 1:5 [5a])

  This same tradition is repeated in another context (y. Sanh. 6:10 [30a]) where it is clear that Rabbi Meir's statement refers to the collection of bones belonging to a person executed by the Jewish courts (cf. Rahmani, 54), in which case the bones were removed from one grave to be buried in another. That the bones had to be reinterred is also indicated by the continuation of y. Moed Kat., which goes on to discuss the transportation of bones in a chest from one place to another.

  The only passage we have identified where the root ק-ב-ר may be used in connection with ossilegium, when removal of the bones from the tomb is not envisioned, is in y. Pes. 8:8 [63a]. ↩

• ^[89] Genesis 50:26, where LXX renders the phrase וַיַּחַנְטוּ אֹתוֹ ("and they embalmed him”) as καὶ ἔθαψαν αὐτὸν ("and they buried him"), is the sole exception. ↩
• ^[90] We further note that McCane does not refer to the rabbinic opinion that a person may perform the rite of ossilegium for anyone except his or her father and mother (Semahot 12:7 [49a]; cf. Semahot 12:9 [49b]). Not all sages accepted this opinion; nevertheless, it appears to have been the prevailing custom for someone other than the mourner to collect the bones of the deceased (cf. Zlotnick, 158 n. 1). This being the case, if McCane is correct that the man requested a deferral from following Jesus in order to perform the rite of ossilegium, then we would still have to reject McCane's conclusion that Jesus demanded that the father's bones be left ungathered, since it was customary for someone other than the children of the deceased to collect the bones. And likewise, we would still have to reject McCane's interpretation that by refusing the man's request Jesus set aside the obligation to honor one's parents, since the reason for the opinion that children were not permitted to perform ossilegium for their parents was precisely the desire to preserve the dignity of the deceased. ↩
• ^[91] See Lindsey, JRL, 67; Buchanan, 1:398; Vermes, Authentic, 104. Montefiore (TSG, 2:134) cites Rashdall in favor of this view (see Hastings Rashdall, Conscience and Christ: Six Lectures on Christian Ethics [London: Duckworth, 1916], 179). Bovon (2:16) notes that the view that the aspiring disciple's father was still alive goes back at least to Cyril of Alexandria (early fifth cent. C.E.). See Sermon 58 in R. Payne Smith, trans., A Commentary Upon the Gospel According to S. Luke, by S. Cyril, Patriarch of Alexandria (2 vols.; Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1859), 1:263. ↩
• ^[92] Marshall (411) entertains the possibility that "the father was old and on the point of death." Cf. Plummer, Luke, 266. ↩
• ^[93] One would expect an aspiring disciple to have at least as much faith in Jesus’ healing power as the centurion (Matt. 8:10; Luke 7:9), or the synagogue ruler (Matt. 9:18; Mark 5:22; Luke 8:41), or the members of Simon’s family (Shimon’s Mother-in-law; Mark 1:30; Luke 4:38). ↩
• ^[94] In the Hebrew Bible there are a few instances where a person's burial is anticipated long before the actual event. For example, God promised Abraham, at a time before he had even had children, that he would be buried at a good old age (Gen. 15:15), and Ruth promises Naomi, long before the death of either woman, that she would be buried with her (Ruth 1:17). ↩
• ^[95] See Demands of Discipleship, Comment to L5. ↩
• ^[96] Cf. Marshall, 411; Nolland, Luke, 2:541; Witherington, 188; Bovon, 2:11. ↩
• ^[97] Menahem Kister, “‘Leave the Dead to Bury their Own Dead’,” in Studies in Ancient Midrash (ed. James Kugel; Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2001), 43-56, esp. n. 23. ↩
• ^[98] Although Terah’s death is reported in Gen. 11:32, prior to the call of Abraham, Gen. 11:26 states that Terah was 70 years old when Abraham was born, while Gen. 12:4 states that Abraham set out from Haran at age 75. That would make Terah 145 years old at the time of Abraham’s call, yet according to Gen. 11:32 Terah died at the age of 205. Hence Terah was still living when Abraham set out for the land of Canaan. ↩
• ^[99] Rabbi Isaac's assumption about Terah's character is probably based on Josh. 24:2, which says, “Long ago your fathers lived beyond the river, Terah the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, and they served other gods.” ↩
• ^[100] According to Kister, “There are...reasons to suppose that R. Issac transmits an ancient solution to an old problem" (“‘Leave the Dead to Bury Their Own Dead’,” 46). ↩
• ^[101] Cf. Abbott, Fourfold, 3:139. ↩
• ^[102] Cf. Flusser, Jesus, 34-35. Jesus referred to his own band of full-time disciples as the Kingdom of Heaven, but he also referred to the Kingdom of Heaven as a divine activity specifically linked to the redemption of Israel. The call of Abraham was certainly a turning point in redemption history, and so, too, was the period that saw the Kingdom of Heaven being inaugurated through Jesus’ healing and teaching mission. On the multi-faceted concept of the Kingdom of Heaven, see David N. Bivin and Joshua N. Tilton, “LOY Excursus: The Kingdom of Heaven in the Life of Yeshua.” ↩
• ^[103] Cf. Fitzmyer, 1:836; Nolland, Luke, 2:543. ↩
• ^[104] See Kister, "'Leave the Dead to Bury Their Own Dead',” 48 n. 23. ↩
• ^[105] Ibid., 49 n. 23. ↩
• ^[106] See Manson, Teaching, 122. Cf. Marshall, 412; Bovon, 2:13. ↩
• ^[107] See M.D. Goulder, Midrash and Lection in Matthew (London: SPCK, 1974), 323; Michael G. Steinhauser, "Putting One's Hand to the Plow: The Authenticity of Q 9:61-62," Forum 5.2 (1989): 151-158, esp. 153. ↩
• ^[108] See Plummer, Luke, 90; Creed, 52. ↩
• ^[109] The NT instances of ἀποτάξασθαι are Mark 6:46; Luke 9:61; 14:33; Acts 18:18, 21; 2 Cor. 2:13. ↩
• ^[110] The verb ἀποτάξασθαι occurs 7xx in LXX, but only once is there a Hebrew equivalent. In Eccl. 2:20 ἀποτάξασθαι renders לְיַאֵשׁ, which is a rather free translation. ↩
• ^[111] We likewise attribute ἀποτάξασθαι in Luke 14:33 to Luke’s editorial activity. See Demands of Discipleship, Comment to L16. ↩
• ^[112] Among the scholars who recognize the influence of the Elijah-Elisha narrative on our pericope are: Fitzmyer, 1:214; Craig A. Evans, “Luke’s Use of the Elijah/Elisha Narratives and the Ethic of Election,” Journal of Biblical Literature 106.1 (1987): 75-83, esp. 81; Thomas L. Brodie, “Luke 9:57-62: A Systematic Adaptation of the Divine Challenge to Elijah (1 Kings 19),” in Society of Biblical Literature 1989 Seminar Papers (ed. David J. Lull; Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1989), 237-245. According to Kister, "The influence of the story about Elijah and Elisha (1 Kings 19:19-21) on Jesus’ saying has been recognized, and rightly so.... The similarity between the biblical Elijah-Elisha stories and some stories in rabbinic literature about 'the first hasidim’ was shown by G.B. Sarfatti, ‘Pious Men, Men of Deeds, and the Early Prophets,’ Tarbiz 26 (1957): 126-53 (in Hebrew). Jesus seems to be rather close to these circles (as has been shown). It is doubtful, therefore, whether such parallels point to ‘Jesus’ prophetic consciousness’ (Davies and Allison, 57)" (Kister, "'Leave the Dead to Bury Their Own Dead’,” 47, 48 n. 20). On the similarities between Jesus and the early Hasidim, see Shmuel Safrai, "Jesus and the Hasidim”; idem, “The Jewish Cultural Nature of Galilee in the First Century," under the subheading “Galilean Pietism and Jesus of Nazareth.” On the Hasidim in general, see Shmuel Safrai, “Teaching of Pietists in Mishnaic Literature,” Journal of Jewish Studies 16 (1965): 15-33; idem, "The Pharisees and the Hasidim,” Sidic: Journal of the Service Internationale de Documentation Judéo-Chrétienne 10.2 (1977): 12-16; idem, “Hasidim we-Anshei Ma’aseh” (“Pietists and Miracle-Workers”), Zion 50 (1985): 152-154. ↩
• ^[113] English is like Hebrew in this respect. In English we have to use phrases like "say good-bye," "bid farewell," or "take leave," because we, too, lack a verb for this action. ↩
• ^[114] In MT, there are over 20 instances of נ-ש-ק for "to kiss" in the pa‘al stem, but only 5 instances of נ-ש-ק for "to kiss" in the pi‘el stem. ↩
• ^[115] In a survey of the Mishnah, Tosefta and the Jerusalem Talmud, we identified 13 instances of נ-ש-ק for "to kiss" in the pa‘al stem (m. Rosh Hash. 2:9; t. Hag. 2:1; t. Naz. 4:6[7]; t. Sanh. 10:2[3]; t. Nid. 5:6[15]; y. Ber. 1:5 [10b]; 3:6 [29b]; y. Eruv. 3:2 [20a]; 7:9 [49b]; y. Hag. 2:1 [9a]; y. Naz. 1:5 [5a]; 4:6 [19b]; y. Hor. 3:5 [19b]), whereas we identified only 5 instances of נ-ש-ק for "to kiss" in the pi‘el stem (m. Sanh. 7:6; t. Sanh. 10:2[3]; t. Toh. 3:5[8]; y. Shab. 2:7 [20b]; y. Ket. 7:6 [45b]). ↩
• ^[116] It is possible that when the man asked permission to say good-bye to his "house" he meant to refer specifically to his wife, since occasionally “house” is equated with “wife” in rabbinic literature (cf. m. Yom. 1:1; b. Yom. 13a; b. Shab. 118a). On the nuances of בַּיִת, see Rich Man Declines the Kingdom of Heaven, Comment to L113. ↩
• ^[117] In LXX -נשק ל is rendered as καταφιλῆσαι + accusative in Gen. 31:28; 32:1; 45:15; Exod. 4:27; Ruth 1:9, 14; 2 Kgdms. 14:33; 15:5; 19:40; 20:9; 3 Kgdms. 19:20. ↩
• ^[118] See Hatch-Redpath, 2:973-982. ↩
• ^[119] See Dos Santos, 24-25. ↩
• ^[120] Hugh J. Blair, “Putting One’s Hand to the Plough: Luke ix. 62 in the light of 1 Kings xix. 19-21,” Expository Times 79.11 (1968): 342-343. Bovon (2:14 n. 33) dismisses Blair’s interpretation. ↩
• ^[121] Cf. Manson, Sayings, 73; Beare, 154; Marshall, 412; Fitzmyer, 1:834; Nolland, Luke, 2:540, 543; J. Green, 407. ↩
• ^[122] See Kister, "'Leave the Dead to Bury Their Own Dead'," 45 n. 9. ↩
• ^[123] This aggadic tradition assumes that Elisha plowed with all twelve yoke of oxen at once by himself and therefore concludes that he was exceptionally skilled at his labor. ↩
• ^[124] The translation follows the reading הפקיר (hifqir, "renounce ownership") as suggested by Braude-Kapstein (52 n. 32). ↩
• ^[125] Sowing a field with salt was a method of rendering it useless to anyone who might come later (cf. Judg. 9:45). See Weston Fields, “Salted with Fire.” ↩
• ^[126] See Rich Man Declines the Kingdom of Heaven, Comment to L112-113. ↩
• ^[127] Examples of -כָּל הַ followed by a participle in MT include Gen. 21:6; Exod. 19:12; Judg. 19:30; Zech. 5:3. ↩
• ^[128] For examples of -כָּל הַ followed by a participle in DSS, cf. CD VIII, 19; XI, 21; 1QS V, 7. ↩
• ^[129] Examples of -כָּל הַ followed by a participle in rabbinic literature, cf. m. Ber. 2:8; m. Shev. 10:9; m. Ter. 7:4; m. Shab. 2:3; 7:1; 12:1; 23:5; and the important baraita in b. Kid. 66a. ↩
• ^[130] 1QM I, 11; XIX, 3; 4Q492 1 I, 3. ↩
• ^[131] Further examples of נָתַן יָד עַל can be found in m. Nid. 5:8; Gen. Rab. 65:15; 96:5. ↩
• ^[132] See Hatch-Redpath, 2:1457-1467. ↩
• ^[133] See Dos Santos, 76. ↩
• ^[134] Cf. BDB, 88; Wilhelm Nowack, "Plowing," JE 10:90-91. ↩
• ^[135] Cf. BDB, 361. ↩
• ^[136] In 1 Sam. 13:20-21 מַחֲרֵשָׁה occurs 3xx. The second instance of מַחֲרֵשָׁה in 1 Sam. 13:20 may be due to a scribal error. See BDB, 361; P. Kyle McCarter, Jr., I Samuel: A New Translation With Introduction, Notes and Commentary (AB 8; Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1980), 234. ↩
• ^[137] The noun מַרְדֵּעַ does not occur in MT or DSS, however it is found in the Mishnah (m. Bab. Bat. 2:13; m. Kel. 9:7 [3xx]; 17:8; 25:2; m. Ohol. 16:1 [3xx]) and the Tosefta (t. Shab. 1:8[18]; t. Rosh Hash. 1:16[17]; t. Kel. Bab. Metz. 6:4[12]; t. Kel. Bab. Bat. 3:2[5]; t. Ohol. 7:1; 15:9[12], 10[14]). ↩
• ^[138] Compare the parallel tradition in Num. Rab. 14:4:

  א″ר תנחומא המשנה קראה אותו מרדע והמקרא קרא אותו דרבן ומלמד

  Rabbi Tanhuma said, "The Mishnah calls it mardēa‘, but the Bible calls it dorvān or malmēd." (Num. Rab. 14:4)

  ↩

• ^[139] דָּרְבָן occurs 2xx in MT (1 Sam. 13:21; Eccl. 12:11) and 3xx in the Mishnah (m. Kel. 9:6; 25:2; 29:7). מַלְמֵד occurs in MT in Judg. 3:31 and in the Mishnah in m. Kel. 9:6. ↩
• ^[140] On plows in the Second Temple and Talmudic periods, see K. D. White, Agricultural Implements of the Roman World (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1967), 123-145; Jehuda Feliks, "Agricultural Methods and Implements in Ancient Erez Israel: Plowing," in Encyclopaedia Judaica (ed. Cecil Roth and Geoffrey Wigoder; 16 vols.; Jerusalem: Keter, 1971-1972), 2:374-375; Safrai-Stern, 2:651. ↩
• ^[141] The phrase εἰς τὰ ὀπίσω appears in Mark 13:16; Luke 9:62; 17:31; John 6:66; 18:6; 20:14. ↩
• ^[142] We find εἰς τὰ ὀπίσω in the following LXX passages: Gen. 19:17, 26; 49:17; Josh. 8:2, 20; 1 Kgdms. 24:9; 2 Kgdms. 1:22; 2:20; 4 Kgdms. 9:18, 19; 20:10, 11; 1 Macc. 9:47; Ps. 9:4; 34:4; 39:15; 43:11; 43:19; 49:17; 55:10; 69:3; 77:66; 113:3, 5; 128:5; Prov. 25:9; Isa. 28:13; 42:17; 44:25; Lam. 1:13. ↩
• ^[143] In Josh. 8:20 καὶ περιβλέψαντες οἱ κάτοικοι Γαι εἰς τὰ ὀπίσω αὐτῶν = וַיִּפְנוּ אַנְשֵׁי הָעַי אַחֲרֵיהֶם; and in 2 Kgdms. 2:20 καὶ ἐπέβλεψεν Αβεννηρ εἰς τὰ ὀπίσω αὐτοῦ = וַיִּפֶן אַבְנֵר אַחֲרָיו. ↩
• ^[144] In Gen. 19:17 μὴ περιβλέψῃς εἰς τὰ ὀπίσω = אַל תַּבִּיט אַחֲרֶיךָ; in Gen. 19:26 καὶ ἐπέβλεψεν ἡ γυνὴ αὐτοῦ εἰς τὰ ὀπίσω = וַתַּבֵּט אִשְׁתּוֹ מֵאַחֲרָיו; and in 1 Kgdms. 24:9 καὶ ἐπέβλεψεν Σαουλ εἰς τὰ ὀπίσω αὐτοῦ = וַיַּבֵּט שָׁאוּל אַֽחֲרָיו. ↩
• ^[145] A verbal form of the root כ-ש-ר appears 3xx in MT (Eccl. 10:10; 11:6; Esth. 8:5), but adjectival forms are lacking in MT and DSS. However, in MH the adjective כָּשֵׁר is quite common, appearing over 400xx in the Mishnah. For the construction -כָּשֵׁר לְ (kāshēr l^e, "suitable for") compare the following examples:

  אָב וּבְנוֹ וְכָל הַקְּרוֹבִים כְּשֵׁרִים לְעֵדוּת הַחוֹדֶשׁ

  A father and his son and all their relatives are suitable for testimony about the new moon (m. Rosh Hash. 1:7)

  הַכֹּל כְּשֵׁירִים לִקְרוֹת אֶת הַמְּגִילַּה חוּץ מֵחֵרֵשׁ שׁוֹטֶה וְקָטָן

  Everyone is suitable for reading the megilah except for one who is deaf, someone who is intellectually impaired, or a minor. (m. Meg. 2:4)

  כָּל הַיּוֹם כָּשֵׁר לקְרִיאַת [[הַ]]מְּגִילָה וְלִקְרִיאַת [[הַ]]הַלּל

  The entire day is suitable for reading [the] megilah and for reading [the] hallel. (m. Meg. 2:5)

  הַכֹּל כְּשֵׁירִים לִכְתוֹב אֶת הַגֵּט אֲפִילּוּ חֵרֵשׁ שׁוֹטֶה וְקָטָן

  Everyone is suitable for writing a writ of divorce, even a person who is deaf, a person who is intellectually impaired, and a minor. (m. Git. 2:5)

  בִּתוֹ כְּשֵׁירָה לִכְהוּנָּה

  His daughter is suitable for the priesthood. (m. Kid. 4:6, 7)

  ↩

• ^[146] See, for example, the numerous examples in b. Taan. 7a:

  אם תלמיד חכם הגון הוא כטל, ואם לאו עורפהו כמטר

  If a disciple of the sages is fit [הָגוּן] he is like dew, but if not drop him like rain [Deut. 32:2].

  אם תלמיד חכם הגון הוא ממנו תאכל ואתו לא תכרת, ואם לאו אתו תשחית וכרת

  If a disciple of the sages is fit [הָגוּן], eat from him and do not cut him down [Deut. 20:19], but if not destroy him and cut him down [Deut. 20:20].

  אם תלמיד הגון הוא לקראת צמא התיו מים, ואי לא הוי כל צמא לכו למים

  If he is a fit [הָגוּן] disciple, then, To the thirsty bring water [Isa. 21:14], but if not, then, Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters [Isa. 55:1].

  אם תלמיד הגון הוא יפוצו מעינתיך חוצה, ואם לאו יהיו לך לבדך

  If he is a fit [הָגוּן] disciple, then scatter your springs abroad [Prov. 5:16], but if not, let them be for yourself alone [Prov. 5:17].

  ↩

• ^[147] That is, an idolator. A Merkulis is a heap of stones erected in honor of the god Mercury. Passers-by who wished to honor the god would add a stone to the pile. See David Flusser, “Paganism in Palestine” (Safrai-Stern, 2:1065-1100, esp. 1087-1088). ↩
• ^[148] See the full discussion of this problem in David N. Bivin and Joshua N. Tilton, “LOY Excursus: The Kingdom of Heaven in the Life of Yeshua,” under the subheading “Which is correct: 'Kingdom of Heaven' or 'Kingdom of God'?” ↩
• ^[149] Manson (Sayings, 73) wrote: “‘Fit for the Kingdom of God’ means here fit for its tasks, rather than worthy of its rewards.” ↩
• ^[150] See Kutscher, 81 §121; Hurvitz, 165-170. ↩
• ^[151] See Dos Santos, 113. ↩
• ^[152] See Hatch-Redpath, 1:192-194. ↩
• ^[153] This statement excludes the Aramaic portions of the Bible. See Hatch-Redpath, 2:1031-1034. ↩
• ^[154] See Dos Santos, 212. ↩
• ^[155] On the term “Kingdom of Heaven” in ancient Jewish sources and in the New Testament, see David N. Bivin and Joshua N. Tilton, “LOY Excursus: The Kingdom of Heaven in the Life of Yeshua,” and the literature cited there. ↩
• ^[156]

  Not Everyone Can Be Yeshua’s Disciple
  Luke’s Version		Anthology’s Wording (Reconstructed)
  καὶ πορευομένων αὐτῶν ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ εἶπέν τις πρὸς αὐτόν ἀκολουθήσω σοι ὅπου ἐὰν ἀπέρχῃ καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ [ὁ] Ἰησοῦς αἱ ἀλώπεκες φωλεοὺς ἔχουσιν καὶ τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ κατασκηνώσεις ὁ δὲ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου οὐκ ἔχει ποῦ τὴν κεφαλὴν κλείνῃ εἶπεν δὲ πρὸς ἕτερον ἀκολούθει μοι ὁ δὲ εἶπεν ἐπίτρεψόν μοι πρῶτον ἀπελθόντι θάψαι τὸν πατέρα μου εἶπεν δὲ αὐτῷ ἄφες τοὺς νεκροὺς θάψαι τοὺς ἑαυτῶν νεκρούς σὺ δὲ ἀπελθὼν διάγγελλε τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ θεοῦ εἶπεν δὲ καὶ ἕτερος ἀκολουθήσω σοι κύριε πρῶτον δὲ ἐπίτρεψόν μοι ἀποτάξασθαι τοῖς εἰς τὸν οἶκόν μου εἶπεν δὲ ὁ Ἰησοῦς οὐδεὶς ἐπιβαλὼν τὴν χεῖρα ἐπ᾿ ἄροτρον καὶ βλέπων εἰς τὰ ὀπίσω εὔθετός ἐστιν τῇ βασιλείᾳ τοῦ θεοῦ		καὶ προσελθὼν ἄνθρωπος εἷς εἶπεν αὐτῷ διδάσκαλε ἀκολουθήσω σοι ὅπου ἐὰν ἀπέρχῃ καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς αἱ ἀλώπεκες φωλεοὺς ἔχουσι καὶ τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ κατασκηνώσεις ὁ δὲ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου οὐκ ἔχει ποῦ τὴν κεφαλὴν κλείνῃ ἕτερος δὲ εἶπεν αὐτῷ κύριε ἐπίτρεψόν μοι πρῶτον ἀπελθεῖν καὶ θάψαι τὸν πατέρα μου εἶπεν δὲ αὐτῷ ἀκολούθει μοι καὶ ἄφες τοὺς νεκροὺς θάψαι τοὺς ἑαυτῶν νεκρούς εἶπεν δὲ ἕτερος ἀκολουθήσω σοι κύριε πρῶτον δὲ ἐπίτρεψόν μοι καταφιλῆσαι τὸν οἶκόν μου εἶπεν δὲ ὁ Ἰησοῦς πᾶς ὁ ἐπιβαλὼν τὴν χεῖρα αὐτοῦ ἐπ᾿ ἄροτρον καὶ βλέπων εἰς τὰ ὀπίσω αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἔστιν εὔθετος τῇ βασιλείᾳ τῶν οὐρανῶν
  Total Words:	113	Total Words:	104
  Total Words Identical to Anth.:	85	Total Words Taken Over in Luke:	85
  Percentage Identical to Anth.:	75.22%	Percentage of Anth. Represented in Luke:	81.73%

  ↩

• ^[157] Cf. Bovon, 2:11. ↩
• ^[158] See Jack Dean Kingsbury, “On Following Jesus: The ‘Eager’ Scribe and the ‘Reluctant’ Disciple (Matthew 8. 18-22),” New Testament Studies 34 (1988): 45-59, esp. 45. ↩
• ^[159]

  Not Everyone Can Be Yeshua’s Disciple
  Matthew’s Version		Anthology’s Wording (Reconstructed)
  καὶ προσελθὼν εἷς γραμματεὺς εἶπεν αὐτῷ διδάσκαλε ἀκολουθήσω σοι ὅπου ἐὰν ἀπέρχῃ καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς αἱ ἀλώπεκες φωλεοὺς ἔχουσι καὶ τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ κατασκηνώσεις ὁ δὲ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου οὐκ ἔχει ποῦ τὴν κεφαλὴν κλείνῃ ἕτερος δὲ τῶν μαθητῶν εἶπεν αὐτῷ κύριε ἐπίτρεψόν μοι πρῶτον ἀπελθεῖν καὶ θάψαι τὸν πατέρα μου ὁ δὲ Ἰησοῦς λέγει αὐτῷ ἀκολούθει μοι καὶ ἄφες τοὺς νεκροὺς θάψαι τοὺς ἑαυτῶν νεκρούς		καὶ προσελθὼν ἄνθρωπος εἷς εἶπεν αὐτῷ διδάσκαλε ἀκολουθήσω σοι ὅπου ἐὰν ἀπέρχῃ καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς αἱ ἀλώπεκες φωλεοὺς ἔχουσι καὶ τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ κατασκηνώσεις ὁ δὲ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου οὐκ ἔχει ποῦ τὴν κεφαλὴν κλείνῃ ἕτερος δὲ εἶπεν αὐτῷ κύριε ἐπίτρεψόν μοι πρῶτον ἀπελθεῖν καὶ θάψαι τὸν πατέρα μου εἶπεν δὲ αὐτῷ ἀκολούθει μοι καὶ ἄφες τοὺς νεκροὺς θάψαι τοὺς ἑαυτῶν νεκρούς εἶπεν δὲ ἕτερος ἀκολουθήσω σοι κύριε πρῶτον δὲ ἐπίτρεψόν μοι καταφιλῆσαι τὸν οἶκόν μου εἶπεν δὲ ὁ Ἰησοῦς πᾶς ὁ ἐπιβαλὼν τὴν χεῖρα αὐτοῦ ἐπ᾿ ἄροτρον καὶ βλέπων εἰς τὰ ὀπίσω αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἔστιν εὔθετος τῇ βασιλείᾳ τῶν οὐρανῶν
  Total Words:	69	Total Words:	104
  Total Words Identical to Anth.:	62	Total Words Taken Over in Matt:	62
  Percentage Identical to Anth.:	89.86%	Percentage of Anth. Represented in Matt.:	59.62%

  ↩

• ^[160] Cf. Witherington, 188. ↩
• ^[161] See Robert L. Lindsey, "The Hebrew Life of Jesus," under the subheading "Jesus’ Interrogation by the Chief Priests." ↩
• ^[162] See Randall Buth, "'Son of Man': Jesus’ Most Important Title”; idem, “A More Complete Semitic Background for בר־אנשא, ‘Son of Man',” in The Function of Scripture in Early Jewish and Christian Tradition (ed. Craig A. Evans and James A. Sanders; Sheffield: Sheffield, 1998), 176-189. ↩
• ^[163] See R. Steven Notley, "Jesus and the Son of Man." ↩
• ^[164] Flusser, Jesus, 126. ↩
• ^[165] See F. Perles, "Zwei Übersetzungsfehler im Text der Evangelien," Zeitschrift für die neutest. Wissenschaft 19 (1919): 96-103, cited in Abrahams, 2:183; Montefiore, TSG, 2:134. Cf. Frank Zimmerman, The Aramaic Origin of the Four Gospels (New York: Ktav, 1979), 51. ↩
• ^[166] McCane, who argues that burial refers to ossilegium in this story, supposes that Jesus intended for the man to not bother about collecting his father's bones. See McCane, "'Let the Dead Bury Their Own Dead'," 40-41. ↩
• ^[167] So Manson, Sayings, 73. Cf. Nolland (Matt., 368), who writes, "Jesus’ words [are] absurd if taken literally. But it was never intended to be taken literally. The force of the words is, 'Let other arrangements be made; you have more pressing duties.’" According to Luz (2:18), Jesus formulated "an oxymoron: 'Let the dead make arrangements among themselves to bury themselves’." ↩
• ^[168] Cf. Thomas Robinson, The Evangelists and the Mishna: Illustrations of the Four Gospels Drawn From Jewish Traditions (London: James Nisbet, 1859), 58; Martin Hengel, The Charismatic Leader and His Followers (trans. James Greig; New York: Crossroad, 1981), 8; Fitzmyer, 1:386. ↩
• ^[169] Cf. Plummer, Luke, 267; Marshall, 411; H. B. Green, 101; Davies-Allison, 2:56; Buchanan, 2:399; Witherington, 188. ↩
• ^[170] On this view, see Crispin H. T. Fletcher-Louis, “‘Leave the Dead to Bury their own Dead’: Q 9.60 and the Redefinition of the People of God,” Journal for the Study of the New Testament 26.1 (2003): 39-68. ↩
• ^[171] See Rudolf Bultmann, “νεκρός, νεκρόω, νέκροσις,” TDNT 4:892-895. ↩
• ^[172] See Menahem Kister, “'Leave the Dead to Bury Their Own Dead',” 49-56. ↩
• ^[173] See Menahem Kister, “Divorce, Reproof, and Other Sayings in the Synoptic Gospels: Jesus Traditions in the Context of 'Qumranic' and other Texts,” in Text, Thought, and Practice in Qumran and Early Christianity: Proceedings of the Ninth International Symposium of the Orion Center for the Study of the Dead Sea Scrolls and Associated Literature, Jointly Sponsored by the Hebrew University Center for the Study of Christianity, 11-13 January, 2004 (ed. Ruth A. Clements and Daniel R. Schwartz; Leiden: Brill, 2009), 195-229, esp. 198-199. ↩
• ^[174] However, the fact that he was guilty would later play into the hands of homilists who wanted to make a point about spiritual death. See Kister, "'Leave the Dead'," 50. ↩
• ^[175] Cf. Albright-Mann, 96. ↩
• ^[176] See Michael A. Knibb, "The Exile in the Literature of the Intertestamental Period," Heythrop Journal 17.3 (1976): 253-272, and the essays contained in Exile: Old Testament, Jewish, and Christian Conceptions (ed. James M. Scott; Leiden: Brill, 1997). ↩
• ^[177] It is no accident that Jesus drew a connection between the miracles and expulsions of demons that characterized his mission and Israel’s redemption from Egypt (Luke 11:20; cf. Matt. 12:28). See R. Steven Notley, “By the Finger of God.” ↩
• ^[178] On Jesus’ disparaging remarks about his generation, see Matt. 12:38-42 and Luke 11:29-32 (Generations that Repented Long Ago); Matt. 11:16-19 and Luke 7:31-35 (Like Children Complaining); Matt. 23:34-36 and Luke 11:49-51 (Woes Against Scribes and Pharisees). Jesus was not unique in regarding his generation as suffering from moral decline. A similar sentiment is reflected in the teachings of John the Baptist, who called his generation to repentance. The Pharisaic-rabbinic tradition likewise reflects the attitude that the generations toward the end of the Second Temple period were sinful. See, for example, the story of the bat kol (heavenly voice) declaring that although Hillel was worthy to receive the Holy Spirit, the unworthiness of his generation prevented him from receiving this honor (t. Sot. 13:3), and Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai’s litany of annulments due to the moral decline of the generation leading up to the revolt against Rome (t. Sot. 14:1[1-4]). ↩
• ^[179] According to Hengel, "Jesus’ answer...expresses his sovereign freedom in respect of the Law of Moses" (Hengel, The Charismatic Leader, 11). ↩
• ^[180] See, for example, Sanders, who writes, "Despite the relative neglect of this pericope I regard it as being the most revealing passage in the synoptics for penetrating to Jesus’ view of the law, next only to the conflict over the temple.... The positive thrust—a call to discipleship which is urgent and which overrides other responsibilities—has been generally appreciated.... What is important here is to see the force of the negative thrust: Jesus consciously requires disobedience of a commandment understood by all Jews to have been given by God.... At least once Jesus was willing to say that following him superseded the requirements of piety and the Torah. This may show that Jesus was prepared, if necessary, to challenge the adequacy of the Mosaic dispensation" (E. P. Sanders, Jesus and Judaism [Philadelphia: Fortress, 1985], 252-255). ↩
• ^[181] See Chana Safrai, "The Kingdom of Heaven and the Study of Torah" (JS1, 169-189, esp. 187). ↩
• ^[182] Other scholars have reached similar conclusions, albeit on other grounds. Thus, according to Bockmuehl, “the notion of a special religious duty transcending even basic family obligations is one that would have been culturally familiar to Jesus’ audience, regardless of whether they agreed with him or not.” See Markus Bockmuehl, “‘Let the Dead Bury Their Own Dead’ (Matt. 8:22/Luke 9:60): Jesus and the Halakhah,” Journal of Theological Studies 49 (1998): 553-581, esp. 576-577. Cf. Vermes, Authentic, 104. ↩
• ^[183] See Isaac Newman, "Talmudic Discipleship," in Encyclopaedia Judaica Yearbook (Jerusalem: Keter, 1989), 33-40, esp. 38-39; David N. Bivin, "Was Jesus a Confirmed Bachelor?" ↩
• ^[184] Ben Azzai's opinion should be compared to that of the Apostle Paul, as articulated in 1 Cor. 7:25-35. ↩
• ^[185] Other scholars have argued that all three incidents were found in Matthew and Luke’s shared source. According to Marshall (408), “Since this third encounter is so closely parallel to the second, it is hard to see why Luke should have invented it, and it is more likely that it stems from Q.” Cf. Steinhauser, “Putting One’s Hand to the Plow,” 154. ↩
• ^[186] See, for instance, Gill, 82; K. H. Rengstorf, "μαθητής," TDNT 4:444. ↩
• ^[187] Both practices are attested in rabbinic literature. See, for example, the exhortation for sages to raise up many disciples in m. Avot 1:1, compared to Rabban Gamliel's dictum to "provide yourself with a teacher" in m. Avot 1:16. The former saying implies that the sage takes the initiative, whereas the initiative lies with the disciple in the latter. Note the statement in Avot de-Rabbi Natan, Version B, chpt. 18 (ed. Schechter, 39) that it is incumbent upon a man to get himself a teacher (חייב אדם לעשות לו רב). ↩
• ^[188] The influence of the Elijah-Elisha narrative on the second encounter is recognized by many scholars. Cf. Schweizer, 221; Davies-Allison, 2:54-55; Bovon, 2:13. ↩
• ^[189] For abbreviations and bibliographical references, see “Introduction to ‘The Life of Yeshua: A Suggested Reconstruction.’” ↩
• ^[190] This translation is a dynamic rendition of our reconstruction of the conjectured Hebrew source that stands behind the Greek of the Synoptic Gospels. It is not a translation of the Greek text of a canonical source. ↩