מְתֻרְגְּמָן Meturgeman is Hebrew for translator. The articles in this series illustrate how a knowledge of the Gospels’ Semitic background can provide a deeper understanding of Jesus’ words and influence the translation process. Atranslator must understand and interpret all the linguistic signals in his source, and use those signals in a way that is both natural in the target language and congruent to the original text. Every language has particular ways of putting a story together, and the more a translator knows about each language’s construction system, the better translation he will provide. In Hebrew events are joined together by -ְו (ve-, “and”), while in English we generally prefer not to have a conjunction.
“Verily” or “Amen”—What Did Jesus Say?
Matthew, in his general parallel to seven of the eleven passages in which Luke writes only “I say to you,” has in each, “Amen, I say to you” (Matt. 5:26; 8:10; 10:15; 11:11; 13:17; 16:28; 23:36).
Jesus’ Place in First-century Judaism and His Influence on Christian Doctrine
According to the Christian tradition (Mark 6:3; Matt. 13:55), it was stated—as being a matter of common knowledge—by Jesus’ contemporaries in his home town Nazareth in Galilee, that he was the son of a carpenter there, and he perhaps became a carpenter himself. In Jewish society in Jesus’ day, carpenters were reputed to be learnedJacob Levy, Wörterbuch über die Talmudim und Midraschim (Berlin: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 1924), 3:338. Cf. y. Avodah Zarah 3:1 where Ashian the carpenter reports a halachah in the name of R.
Jesus’ Jewish Command to Love
The same idea undergirds Jesus’ model prayer, “Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us” (Matt. 6:12). … Otherwise, “with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get” (Matt. 7:2).
Let Him Who Is Without Sin…
— /wp:paragraph –>
The same sentiment is heard in Jesus’ model prayer that he gave to his disciples: “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us” (Matt. 6:12). …
In the same vein on another occasion Jesus cautioned his followers, “The measure you give will be the measure you get” (Matt. 7:2). … His statement, instead, is a clear and unmistakable crystallization of the popular Jewish notion that we have already mentioned, “Be merciful as your father in heaven is merciful” (Luke 6:36), or “With the judgment you pronounce you will be judged” (Matt. 7:2).
The Kingdom of God: God’s Power Among Believers
Jesus spoke of the Kingdom with the same understanding in Matthew 7:21: “Not everyone who says ‘Lord, Lord’ to me will come into the Kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” … When Matthew 7:21 is translated back into Hebrew, one recognizes its proverbial form in which there is no real future tense. … Matthew 6:10 makes the same point: “Your Kingdom come, your will be done in heaven and on earth.”
Friend In Need Simile
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.
Healing Shimon’s Mother-in-law
Matt. 8:14-15; Mark 1:29-31; Luke 4:38-39
(Huck 13, 47; Aland 37, 87; Crook 61, 91)For abbreviations and bibliographical references, see “Introduction to ‘The Life of Yeshua: A Suggested Reconstruction.'”
A Woman’s Misplaced Blessing
., the response to the raising of the widow’s son in Nain , or the response to the healing of a paralyzed man ), or it might have come in response to particularly impressive preaching (cf., e.g., the response to Jesus’ preaching in Capernaum ). …
Brad Young and David Flusser noted the strong affinity between A Woman’s Misplaced Blessing and the Wise and Foolish Builders parable, which illustrates the necessity of doing as Jesus taught and not simply flattering Jesus with praise (Matt. 7:21; Luke 6:46).
The “How Much More” Rabbinic Principle of Interpretation in the Teaching of Jesus
Matt. 7:11 (= Luke 11:13); Matt. 10:25; Luke 12:28 (= Matt. 6:30); and Luke 23:31…. (Matt. 7:9-11)
There is another passage in which Jesus employs simple-to-complex logic to prove God’s reliable care for his children. … (Matt. 6:28-30)
The Householder A third example of Jesus’ use of simple-to-complex reasoning comes from Matthew 10:24-25, and is so Hebraic that in translating it from Greek to Hebrew, the syntax need not be altered except in the case of one word.
Cataloging the Gospels’ Hebraisms: Part Six (Parallelism)
(Matt. 6:22-23; RSV)
The good man out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil man out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. … (Matt. 6:19-20; RSV)
A knowledge of Hebrew parallelism is one additional aid to investigators of the synoptic Gospels since, when two or more versions of a saying of Jesus have been preserved, the greater perfection of the parallelism in one version may be key in determining it is the earliest, the closest to the text of the conjectured lost Hebrew biography of Jesus of which early church sources speak. … Therefore, it is probable that Luke 12:33 is a revision of a text like Matthew 6:19-20. Jesus often taught using intricate antithetical parallelisms like Matt. 6:19-20. … (
Article SeriesBible TranslationCommentaryDavid BivinExposition of ScriptureGospel of LukeGospel of MarkGospel of MatthewHebrew LanguageIdioms (Hebraisms; Aramaisms; Grecisms)Sayings of JesusSemitisms
Iam very pleased at having this opportunity to write a foreword to a work which, for the first time, explains in much detail the results of Robert Lindsey’s long and painstaking research on the text of Mark and on the Synoptic Problem.Robert L. Lindsey, A Hebrew Translation of the Gospel of Mark (2nd ed.; Jerusalem: Dugith, 1973). For an update and emendation of Lindsey’s introduction to this work, see Robert Lindsey, “Introduction to A Hebrew Translation of the Gospel of Mark” and “The Hebrew Life of Jesus.”It seems clear that Lindsey’s observations have provided a decisive new clue to understanding the synoptic relationships and an equally important clue to the correct approach to the Gospel of Mark. 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?”) In this workshop, we will study many dramatic and exciting miracle stories from the life of Jesus, such as: Healing of Peter’s Mother-in-law (Mt 8:14-15; Mk 1:29-31; Lk 4:38-39; Crook, Parallel Gospels #61) Healing of a Leper (Mt 8:1-4; Mk 1:40-45; Lk 5:12-16; Crook, Parallel Gospels #65) Healing of a Paralytic (Mt 9:1-8; Mk 2:1-12; Lk 5:17-26; Crook, Parallel Gospels #96) Healing of Man with Withered Hand (Mt 12:9-14; Mk 3:1-6; Lk 6:6-11; Crook, Parallel Gospels #131) Stilling of the Storm (Mt 8:18, 23-27; Mk 4:35-41; Lk 8:22-25; Crook, Parallel Gospels #158) Healing of a Demon-possessed Man (Mt 8:28-34; Mk 5:1-20; Lk 8:26-39; Crook, Parallel Gospels #159) Raising of Jairus’ Daughter from the Dead (Mt 9:18-19; 23-26; Mk 5:21-24; 35-43; Lk 8:40-42; 49-56; Crook, Parallel Gospels #160) Healing of Woman with a Hemorrhage (Mt 9:20-22; Mk 5:25-34; Lk 8:43-48; Crook, Parallel Gospels #160) Feeding of the Five Thousand (Mt 14:13-21; Mk 6:30-44; Lk 9:10-17; Crook, Parallel Gospels #166) Healing of Epileptic Boy (Mt 17:14-21; Mk 9:14-29; Lk 9:37-43a; 17:5-6; Crook, Parallel Gospels #181) Healing of Blind Man (Mt 20:29-34; Mk 10:46-52; Lk 18:35-43; Crook, Parallel Gospels #301) Jesus raised the dead, healed the sick, cast out demons, calmed the violent waves of the Sea of Galilee, and miraculously fed the multitudes. Matt. 9:35; 10:1, 5a; Mark 6:6b-7; Luke 9:1-2; 10:1 (Huck 58, 72, 109, 139a; Aland 49, 98-99, 142, 177; Crook 72, 102-104, 162, 196)For abbreviations and bibliographical references, see “Introduction to ‘The Life of Yeshua: A Suggested Reconstruction.'” Revised: 21-Oct.-2015 From the early centuries of the Christian era to our day, expositors of the Gospels have wrestled with the temporal dimension of Jesus’ teachings on the Kingdom of Heaven. Will the Kingdom of Heaven appear one day in the future when the Son of Man suddenly comes? Or, has it been germinating like a seed with much potential for growth? Perhaps as C. H. How do we define Jesus within first-century Jewish society? To which of the various Jewish sects does he belong? Was he a Pharisee, an Essene? After years of painstaking research, Shmuel Safrai has identified a new stream within the Judaism of Jesus’ time: the Hasidic movement. This may be a major breakthrough in New Testament studies, as well, because the picture Safrai paints of the Hasidim is amazingly similar to what we know about Jesus. One of the most oft-quoted passages in the New Testament is The Lord’s Prayer (Matt. 6:9-13). … Matthew 6:11 is a remarkable verse from the prayer. … Compare Matt. 6:11 to its Lukan parallel: “Give us each day our daily bread.” … Interestingly, when Benjamin Franklin paraphrased the Lord’s Prayer, he rendered a blend of Matt. 6:11 and Luke 11:3 as “Provide for us this day as thou has hitherto daily done.” … (Matt. 6:33-34) The things to which Jesus referred were food, water, and clothing.
Foreword to Robert Lindsey’s A Hebrew Translation of the Gospel of Mark
LOY Excursus: Greek Transliterations of Hebrew, Aramaic and Hebrew/Aramaic Words in the Synoptic Gospels
Register Now for New David Bivin Workshop!
Sending the Twelve: Commissioning
Beyond an Inheritance
Jesus and the Hasidim
Over and Under-Familiarity with Matthew 6:11
