Rabbinic Literature: A Spiritual Treasure for Christians

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.), “The day is short and the work is great, but the workers are lazy; however the wages are high since the owner is in a hurry” (Avot 2:15), is very similar to Jesus’ saying in Matthew 9:37-38, “The harvesting is great and the workers are few. …

Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 7:24-27 that good deeds are necessary along with knowledge (“Everyone who hears these words of mine and does them is like…. … (Avot 2:4)

There is a striking similarity between this saying and the sayings of Jesus in Matthew 6:10 (“Let your will be done in heaven and on earth”)For a discussion of the rabbinic background to the entreaty, “Let your will be done in heaven and on earth,” see Brad Young, “The Lord’s Prayer (6): ‘Thy Will Be Done,'” Jerusalem Perspective 14 (Nov. 1988): 1-2.

The Major Importance of the “Minor” Agreements

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Revised: 8-April-2015

Cataloging the Gospels’ Hebraisms: Part Two (Luke 9:51-56)

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This variation occurs twice in Mark (Mark 1:9; 4:4); 5 times in Matthew (Matt. 7:28; 11:1; 13:53; 19:1; 26:1); 22 times in Luke (Luke 1:8, 23, 41, 59; 2:1, 6, 15, 46; 7:11; 9:18, 28, 33, 37; 11:1, 14, 27; 17:14; 19:29; 20:1; 24:30; 24:51). 2) subjectless ἐγένετο + time phrase (as here, in Luke 9:51: “when the days were fulfilled”) + kai (and) + finite verb (as here, in Luke 9:51: “he set”). This variation occurs once in Matthew (Matt. 9:10) and 11 times in Luke (Luke 5:1, 12, 17; 8:1, 22; 9:51; 14:1; 17:11-12; 19:15; 24:4; 24:15).

Cataloging the Gospels’ Hebraisms: Part Four (Parallelism)

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Here is a sampling of the many doublets and parallelisms we find in the sayings of Jesus: “The wise and understanding” (Luke 10:21); “prophets and apostles” (Luke 11:49); “kings and governors” (Luke 21:12); “two men will be in the field…two women will be grinding with a hand mill” (Matt. 24:40-41); “look at the birds of the heaven…consider the lilies of the field” (Matt. 6:26, 28); “they make their phylacteries wide…and their tassels long” (Matt. 23:5); “when you see a cloud rising in the west…when you see the south wind blowing” (Luke 12:54, 55); “a reed shaken by the wind…a man dressed in fancy clothes” (Matt. 11:7-8; Luke 7:24-25); “eating and drinking…a glutton and a drunkard…tax collectors and sinners” (Matt. 11:19; Luke 7:34); “you are the salt of the earth…you are the light of the world” (Matt. 5:13, 14); “as it was in the days of Noah…as it was in the days of Lot” (Luke 17:26, 28); and “nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom” (Matt. 24:7; Mark 13:8; Luke 21:10)….

  • “Foxes have holes, and the ______ ______ ______ ______ have ______” (Matt. 8:20; Luke 9:58)…. A sensitivity to Hebrew parallelism allows scholars to interpret correctly a number of Jesus’ sayings, e.g., “Do not give the holy to the dogs, and do not throw your pearls before the pigs, lest they trample them with their feet, and turning, rend you” (Matt. 7:6).

    • Narrow Gate

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    — wp:heading {“level”:3,”className”:”has-text-align-center”} –> (Matt. 7:13-14; Luke 13:22-24) Matt. 7:15), virtuous fruit vs. evil fruit (Matt. 7:16-20), lip service vs. obedience (Matt. 7:21-23), and hearing Jesus’ word and doing vs. hearing Jesus’ word and not doing (Matt. 7:24-27). … Thus Matthew’s version of Narrow Gate occurs in Matt. 7:13-14, at the beginning of the final section of the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew’s version of Closed Door occurs in Matt. 7:22-23, where it is embedded in Houses on Rock and Sand, and Matthew’s version of Coming From All Directions occurs in Matt. 8:11-12, where it is embedded in his version of Centurion’s Slave.

    Rich Man Declines the Kingdom of Heaven

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    Matt. 19:16-30; Mark 10:17-31; Luke 18:18-30 (Huck 189; Aland 254-255; Crook 294-295)For abbreviations and bibliographical references, see “Introduction to ‘The Life of Yeshua: A Suggested Reconstruction.'” Preliminary research on the Rich Man Declines the Kingdom of Heaven incident was carried out in 1986-1987. Seventeen Jerusalem School seminar sessions were devoted to this pericope: eight seminars were held February-June 1986, and a further nine seminars between November 1986 and May 1987.

    Jerusalem School Seminar participants engaged in discussing the Rich Man Declines the Kingdom of Heaven incident.

    Four Soils Interpretation

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    Matt. 13:10, 18-23; Mark 4:10, 13-20; Luke 8:9, 11-15
    (Huck 91, 93; Aland 123, 124; Crook 145, 146)For abbreviations and bibliographical references, see “Introduction to ‘The Life of Yeshua: A Suggested Reconstruction.'” Updated: 23 May 2024

    וַיִּקְרְבוּ תַּלְמִידָיו וַיֹּאמְרוּ לוֹ מַה הוּא הַמָּשָׁל הַזֶּה וַיֹֹּאמֶר לָהֶם זֶה הוּא הַמָּשָׁל הַזֶּרַע זֶה דְּבַר אֱלֹהִים וְהֵם עַל הַדֶּרֶךְ אֵלּוּ הַשּׁוֹמְעִים אֶת הַדָּבָר וְאֵינָם מְקַבְּלִים אוֹתוֹ וּבָא הַשָּׂטָן וְעוֹקֵר אֶת הַדָּבָר מִלִּבָּם וְהֵם עַל הַסֶּלַע אֵלּוּ הַשּׁוֹמְעִים אֶת הַדָּבָר וּמְקַבְּלִים אוֹתוֹ בְּשִׂמְחָה וְעִקָּר אֵין לָהֶם וּבִשְׁעַת נִסָּיוֹן הֵם סָרִים וְהֵם בַּחוֹחִים אֵלּוּ הַשּׁוֹמְעִים אֶת הַדָּבָר וּמְקַבְּלִים אוֹתוֹ וְהִרְהוּרִים וְהוֹן וְתַעֲנוּגֵי הָעוֹלָם הַזֶּה הוֹלְכִים וְחוֹנְקִים אוֹתָם וְהֵם בָּאֲדָמָה הַטּוֹבָה אֵלּוּ הַשּׁוֹמְעִים אֶת הַדָּבָר וּמְקַבְּלִים אוֹתוֹ בְּלֵב טוֹב

    Yeshua’s disciples approached him and said, “What is the meaning of this parable?”

    So Yeshua replied, “The meaning of the parable is this: the seed represents the word of God.

    Four Soils Parable

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    Matt. 13:1-9; Mark 4:1-9; Luke 8:4-8
    (Huck, 90; Aland, 122; Crook, 144)For abbreviations and bibliographical references, see “Introduction to ‘The Life of Yeshua: A Suggested Reconstruction.'” Updated: 13 February 2025

    וַיְהִי בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא וְהִנֵּה אֻכְלוּסִים גְּדוֹלִים הוֹלְכִים אֵלָיו וַיִּמְשׁוֹל לָהֶם מָשָׁל לֵאמֹר יָצָא הַזּוֹרֵעַ לִזְרוֹעַ אֶת זַרְעוֹ וּבִזְרִיעָתוֹ זֶה נָפַל עַל הַדֶּרֶךְ וְנִדְרַךְ וְעוֹף הַשָּׁמַיִם אָכְלוּ אוֹתוֹ וְאַחֵר נָפַל עַל הַסֶּלַע וְעָלָה וְיָבֵשׁ מֵאֵין לֵחָה וְאַחֵר נָפַל בֵּין הַחוֹחִים וְעָלָה וְהַחוֹחִים חָנְקוּ אוֹתוֹ וְאַחֵר נָפַל בָּאֲדָמָה הַטּוֹבָה וְעָלָה וְעָשָׂה פְּרִי וּמָצָא מֵאָה שְׁעָרִים מִי שֶׁיֵּשׁ לוֹ אָזְנַיִם לִשְׁמוֹעַ יִשְׁמַע

    Later that day large crowds of people gathered and came to Yeshua, and he told them this parable: “A sower went out to sow his seed. As he sowed, some fell on a footpath. First it was trampled, then the birds of the sky ate it. Some fell on rock.

    Friend In Need Simile

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    — /wp:heading –> Matt. 7:7-8; Luke 11:5-10 (Huck 38, 147, 148; Aland 70, 186, 187;
    Crook 53, 211, 212)For abbreviations and bibliographical references, see “Introduction to ‘The Life of Yeshua: A Suggested Reconstruction.'”…

    The author of Matthew omitted all but the conclusion of the Friend in Need simile, with the result that many scholars regard the “Ask, Seek and Knock” saying (Matt. 7:7-8 ∥ Luke 11:9-10) as an independent logion. … — wp:block {“ref”:18046} /–> Conjectured Stages of Transmission

    The portion of Friend in Need that appears in Matthew agrees so closely with Luke’s version that Matt. 7:7-8 ∥ Luke 11:9-10 must be classified as Type 1 Double Tradition (DT). … Given the evidence that the author of Luke copied the conclusion of the Friend in Need simile (Matt. 7:7-8 ∥ Luke 11:9-10) from Anth., it follows that he copied the rest of the pericope from the same source.

    Sending the Twelve: “The Harvest Is Plentiful” and “A Flock Among Wolves”

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    — wp:heading {“textAlign”:”center”,”level”:3} –> Matt. 9:37-38; 10:16a; Luke 10:2-3 Matt. 9 and 10, whereas the placement of these sayings in Luke 10 makes good sense.

    Sending the Twelve: Conduct on the Road

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    Matt. 10:5b-10; Mark 6:8-9; Luke 9:3; 10:4 (Huck 58, 139; Aland 99, 142, 177; Crook 104-106, 162, 199)For abbreviations and bibliographical references, see “Introduction to ‘The Life of Yeshua: A Suggested Reconstruction.'” Updated: 14 December 2023

    אֶל דֶּרֶךְ הַגּוֹיִם אַל תֵּלְכוּ וּלְעִיר הַשֹּׁמְרֹנִים אַל תִּכָּנְסוּ אֲבָל לְכוּ לַצּאֹן הָאֹבְדוֹת שֶׁלְבֵית יִשְׂרָאֵל אַל תִּשְׂאוּ כְּלוּם לַדֶּרֶךְ לֹא מַקֵּל וְלֹא תַּרְמִיל וְלֹא לֶחֶם וְלֹא כֶּסֶף וְלֹא מִנְעָלִים וְלֹא שְׁנֵי חֲלוּקוֹת וְאִישׁ בַּדֶּרֶךְ אַל תִּשְׁאֲלוּ בִּשְׁלוֹמוֹ

    “Don’t go to the Gentiles or the Samaritans. Instead, go to the lost sheep who belong to the people of Israel. Don’t take along gear for your mission, not even a walking stick, or a pack, or food, or money, or shoes, or extra clothes. And don’t greet anyone on the road.

    LOY Excursus: Greek Transliterations of Hebrew, Aramaic and Hebrew/Aramaic Words in the Synoptic Gospels

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    Matt. 5:18, 26; 6:2, 5, 16; 8:10; 10:15, 23, 42; 11:11; 13:17; 16:28; 17:20; 18:3, 13, 18, ; 19:23, 28; 21:21, 31; 23:36; 24:2, 34, 47; 25:12, 40, 45; 26:13, 21, 34; Mark 3:28; 8:12; 9:1, 41; 10:15, 29; 11:23; 12:43; 13:30; 14:9, 18, 25, 30; ; Luke 4:24; 12:37; 18:17, 29; 21:32; 23:43

    ἠλί (ēli) = אֵלִי (‘ēli, “my God”)

    Matt. 27:46 (2xx)

    λαμά (lama) = לָמָּה (lāmāh, “why?”)

    LOY Excursus: The Kingdom of Heaven in the Life of Yeshua

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    How to cite this article:
    David N. Bivin and Joshua N. Tilton, “LOY Excursus: The Kingdom of Heaven in the Life of Yeshua,” The Life of Yeshua: A Suggested Reconstruction (Jerusalem Perspective, 2014) .

    The Origin of the Gospels

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    Calming of the Storm Perhaps we may illustrate the subject better if we take a particular passage of some length in detail, for example, the incident of the storm on the lake (Mark 4:35-41; Matt. 8:18-27; Luke 8:22-25), which will hardly be claimed as forming part of Q, as this source is usually explained.