Gospel parables are probably the most widely identifiable teaching form of Jesus. However, readers seldom recognize Jesus’ sophisticated skill as a first-century Jewish parabolist. Indeed, many Christians are unaware that his use of story parables is one of the strongest links between Jesus and contemporary Jewish piety. His parables also demonstrate that Jesus taught in Hebrew.
Jesus’ Command to “Hate”
If any one comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. (Lk. 14:26, RSV)
The “Only Begotten” Son
As a small boy growing up in Alabama I had a deep love of God and a real hunger to know him better. By the age of eight I had read the entire Bible. But, like most people, I often struggled to understand what the Scriptures were saying. Many verses didn’t seem to make sense.
The Season of Redemption
Once while listening to some people praise the grandeur of the Temple, Jesus remarked, “The days are coming when there shall not be left here one stone upon another stone” (Lk. 21:6). Those who heard his sober remark could not help but to ask, “When will this be, and what will be the sign when this is about to take place?” Jesus’ answer to these questions is found in Luke 21:8-9, 20-24 and 28-31. Often Christians have missed the thrust of Jesus’ concluding parable about the fig tree (Lk. 21:29-31), because it includes a sophisticated Hebrew wordplay and is intricately interwoven with first-century Jewish ideas. Here, I hope to shed light on both the ingenuity of Jesus’ answer to the questions about the Temple’s demise and the meaning of his message of hope.
Haste Is of the Devil
Hebrew University professor, the late David Flusser once remarked that Jesus’ teachings could be summed up in one word: “Relax!” The more you think about that, the more you realize Flusser is right.
Noun Chains in the Gospels
Compared to Greek and English, Hebrew has few adjectives. As noted in “Hendiadys in the Synoptic Gospels,” one way Hebrew overcomes this scarcity of adjectives is by linking two nouns with the conjunction “and.” Grammarians call this usage “hendiadys,” two terms connected by “and” forming a unit in which one member is used to qualify the other. The Hebrew language developed a second way of overcoming its limited inventory of adjectives: the construct state. This grammatical structure is similar to hendiadys in that two nouns are juxtaposed. In contrast to hendiadys, where two nouns are linked together by the conjunction “and,” construct state nouns have no connective between them. They stand in a relationship of possession: the first of the nouns is possessed by the second. “House-family,” for instance, is understood in Hebrew to mean “house of a family,” that is, “a family’s house.”
The “Desert” of Bethsaida
The Feeding of the Five Thousand could not have taken place, as some English translations suggest, in a “desert place” because the text tells us there were villages nearby. By analyzing the meaning of the word translated “desert,” the topography at the scene of this miracle can be clarified.
Hendiadys in the Synoptic Gospels
Hebraisms are as ubiquitous in the Synoptic Gospels as cats in Jerusalem.
“And” or “In order to” Remarry
In the whole of Luke’s gospel, there is just one context in which the verbs “divorce” and “marry” appear together. That passage—only one verse—ought to contribute to a correct understanding of Jesus’ attitude toward divorce and remarriage; however, there exists no scholarly consensus on the passage’s meaning.
Unlocking the Synoptic Problem: Four Keys for Better Understanding Jesus
While translating the Gospel of Mark to modern Hebrew, pastor-scholar, the late Dr. Robert Lindsey was forced to conclusions that ran counter to his seminary training. If correct, his conclusions have the potential for revolutionizing New Testament scholarship. In this article, Lindsey condenses the results of a lifetime of research.
Matthew 16:18: The Petros-petra Wordplay—Greek, Aramaic, or Hebrew?
The pinnacle of the gospel story may be Jesus’ dramatic statement, “You are Petros and on this petra I will build my church.” The saying seems to contain an obvious Greek wordplay, indicating that Jesus spoke in Greek. However, it is possible that “Petros…petra” is a Hebrew wordplay.
“Do Not Resist Evil”: Jesus’ View of Pacifism
The idea that Jesus taught pacifism arose primarily due to the misunderstanding of a number of his sayings. When viewed from a Jewish perspective, the gospel passages on which pacifism is based point to a quite different conclusion.
That Small-fry Herod Antipas, or When a Fox Is Not a Fox
We need to start translating “fox” with its proper Hebraic cultural meaning.
A Body, Vultures and the Rapture (Luke 17:37)
“Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together” (Luke 17:37; KJV), is certainly one of the most enigmatic of Jesus’ sayings. Commentators have noted that Jesus employed a proverbial saying to reply to his disciples’ question; however, they differ about what the proverb means in this context.
“And” or “But”—So What?
Writings that were originally composed in Greek tend to have a higher ratio of de to kai than writings that have been influenced by a Semitic language.
Matthew’s Aramaic Glue
Knowledge of the different ways of joining stories in Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic can help us understand the history and relationships of the Synoptic Gospels. The three synoptic writers use different linguistic methods to glue their stories together. None of these is purely Greek, and all show Semitic influence. Matthew shows a specifically Aramaic influence, and in this article we will see how he uses an Aramaic conjunction as the glue to hold stories together.
The New Testament in Modern Hebrew
In this series Dr. Ray Pritz, head of the Bible Society in Israel, describes the challenges faced by the Society’s translation committee in rendering the synoptic Gospels into modern Hebrew, and some of the solutions it found.
Jesus and the Essenes
There is a vast difference between the approach of the Essenes toward unbelievers, and that of Jesus and his disciples. The Essenes practiced extreme separatism, particularly forbidding economic relations with outsiders. Whoever wanted to follow Jesus, however, had to live in brotherly love with the outside world and not withdraw from society. This emphasis on relations with others not only guaranteed Jesus’ followers friendship with outsiders, but helped open non-believers’ hearts to Jesus’ message of love.