The Major Importance of the “Minor” Agreements

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Revised: 8-April-2015

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.

Yeshua’s Immersion

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Matt. 3:13-17; Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-22 (Huck 6; Aland 18; Crook 21)For abbreviations and bibliographical references, see “Introduction to ‘The Life of Yeshua: A Suggested Reconstruction.'”

Quieting a Storm

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— wp:heading {“level”:3,”className”:”has-text-align-center”} –> Matt. 8:18, 23-27; Mark 4:35-41; Luke 8:22-25 Matt. 8:5-13), Healing Shimon’s Mother-in-law (Matt. 8:14-15) and Healing at Evening (Matt. 8:16-17), all of which are presented as having taken place in Capernaum.

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. 11:7-8Luke 7:24-25); “eating and drinking…a glutton and a drunkard…tax collectors and sinners” (Matt. 11:19Luke 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 13:8Luke 21:10)….

  • “Foxes have holes, and the ______ ______ ______ ______ have ______” (Matt. 8:20Luke 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).
  • Jesus and the Son of Man

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    The Hebraic parallelism (man/Son of Man) of the saying helps us to understand that Jesus was not speaking exclusively of himself, but as a representative of humanity (see also Matt. 8:20; 9:6-8).

    Measure For Measure

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    Transcribed and Edited Jerusalem Bible Study As the topic for this Bible study, I have chosen Midah KeNeged Midah, which means “measure for measure.” A longer version of this mishnaic Hebrew idiom is במידה שאדם מודד בה מודדין לו (Bamidah she’adam moded ba, modedin lo; m. Sotah 1:7, Codex Kaufmann), which may be translated “by the measure that a man measures, they measure to him.” In Jewish literature the rabbis often referred to this principle simply as מידה כנגד מידה (Midah KeNeged Midah). In English, people say, “What goes around comes around,” or “He reaped what he sowed.”

    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: 25 October 2023

    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.

    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.

    Jesus’ Yoke and Burden

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    Revised: 25-Nov-2014″Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matt. 11:28-30; NIV). Although extraordinarily beautiful, Jesus’ saying recorded in Matthew 11:28-30 is enigmatic. What is this saying’s meaning, and what were Jesus’ “yoke” and “burden”?

    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?”)

    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. 7:7-8Luke 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. 7:7-8Luke 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. 7:7-8Luke 11:9-10) from Anth., it follows that he copied the rest of the pericope from the same source.

    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).