An Almost Unknown Hanina ben Dosa Story and Jesus: Exemplars of First-century Galilean Hasidic Judaism

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Some time ago, I happened upon an amazing story about the miracle-worker Hanina ben Dosa that is almost unknown and sheds new light on the Jewish background of the Christian gospels. In the last 50 years or so, Gospel scholars, particularly Jewish scholars, have increasingly seen the importance of Jesus’ Jewish origins and his Galilean roots. Further, they have come to understand that Jesus was part of a Galilean branch of Judaism that was more rural and relaxed, and distinctively hasidic (pietistic).See Safrai, “Jesus and the Hasidim.”

Teaching with Authority: The Development of Jesus’ Portrayal as a Teacher within the Synoptic Tradition

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For the synoptic development of the Capernaum Synagogue narrative (Luke 4:31-37; Mark 1:21-28; cf. … (Luke 4:36)

Luke 4:32 is a kind of doublet to Luke 4:22. … Only in this way can we explain why he used the Greek word logos, which properly means “thing” in Luke 4:36, in the sense of “word” in Luke 4:32. But is “he was teaching them” in Luke 4:31 (cf.

A Synoptic Approach to ‘Lord of the Sabbath’

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Lindsey on October 14, 1990, Lindsey discusses how his solution to the Synoptic Problem can lead to a better understanding of the Gospel account of the disciples picking grain on the Sabbath (Matt. 12:1-8; Mark 2:23-28; Luke 6:1-5)…. Read: Luke 6:1-5]: parallel stories about Jesus going through the wheat fields and his disciples, picking up or rubbing, grains of the wheat on the Sabbath and then eating them.

Inspiration, History and Bible Translation

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מְתֻרְגְּמָן (me⋅tur⋅ge⋅MĀN) 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.

Evidence of an Editor’s Hand in Two Instances of Mark’s Account of Jesus’ Last Week?

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The word appears six times in Mark (Mark 3:5, 34; 5:32; 9:8; 10:23; 11:11), but only once in the rest of the New Testament (Luke 6:10, parallel to Mark 3:5).

Let Him Who Is Without Sin…

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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).

A Time To Fast?

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(Luke 5:33-39. … Therefore let us take another look at the observation made about Jesus’ disciples, and also his response as it is recorded in Luke 5:33-39, to see whether we can make any more sense of it. … Instead, arguing for the unity of Luke 5:33-39, we shall attempt to prove that Jesus’ reply was pertinent to the issue raised, and dealt with it in such a way as to reveal Jesus’ skill and subtlety as a teacher. … In which case, we might conclude that Luke condensed the episodes by including the disciples of John in the dinner guest’s observation (Luke 5:33) while Matthew condensed the episodes by having John’s disciples show up at the banquet, or at least immediately after the banquet narrative.

The Didache and its Relevance for Understanding the Gospel of Matthew

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The image featured above, intended to symbolize the Two Ways of Life and Death, which are of central importance to the Didache, was photographed by Imen Bouhajja in Ghar Elmelh, Tunisia (courtesy of Wikimedia Commons).

How to cite this article: Huub van de Sandt, “The Didache and its Relevance for Understanding the Gospel of Matthew,” Jerusalem Perspective (2016) .