blog #26

blog# 26,... Jesus and his bible version

Have you ever stopped to consider; what bible Jesus read? Given the sense of urgency placed upon bible reading by many fundamental Christians, and the emphasis placed on particular English language versions, it might help to know which bible Jesus would have read. Of course you realize by now, that I’ve presented a loaded question, which is designed to make one think. The truth is, no matter what you or I think, the man Jesus has never read any Christian Bible Version.

We must recognize that all he learned or knew from boyhood to manhood, was learned from study and meditation upon the words of his Heavenly Father, combined with the instruction of parents and teachers, and interaction with other knowledgeable Jews.

It is common knowledge in the Jewish community about the memorization capacity of sages and scholars. Some of them had memorized every verse in the 5 Torah books, and could have written by memory alone, an entire Pentateuch Scroll. But that was forbidden, since each scribe was to have a Torah copy before him to look at for precision, when making a new Torah scroll. Nothing was left to chance, and every copy must be made according to very rigid rules, which assured accuracy and sanctification regarding the Divine Name.

I recall reading about the Vilna Gaon, (Elijah Ben Solomon), who as a child prodigy had memorized every letter and word in the Talmud. When one realizes the vast and broad scope of Talmudic material, it’s remarkable indeed that a thirteen year old was able to commit it all to memory. Especially when one considers that the 5 books of Torah, with all its words contain 304, 805 letters. Comparing that detail about the Talmud and the 63 tractates therein, we can appreciate the work and effort required to memorize both the Tanakh and the Talmud.

The explanations of the Oral Torah had been memorized over all of 1,500 years, before it was finally permitted to be written down. And, much biblical information was also committed to memory by Godly parents, who passed it down to children. Surely, Jesus had learned many things through his own studious efforts, as well as what was passed down by sages and family. Today, it is known that the Babylonian Talmud contains 20 volumes.

Even during times of extreme testing and confrontation, he often cited the phrase, “it is written.” Those references were to verses written by Moses. Before and during the times of Jesus, generations of students, had memorized, studied, and passed down volumes of information from the Torah (law), the prophets, and the writings. How could he have possibly known what was written if he never read it?

Jewish tradition has a very interesting way of making reference to the Hebrew Bible. By defining the 3 sections (divisions), of the Hebrew scrolls, and giving them their Hebrew names, a new name is gained which represents the Jewish body of sacred scripture which we call “bible.” The first word is TORAH, which specifies the first five books of Moses. Torah is generally rendered law, teaching, or instruction. That word begins with the letter T. So, we set aside the “ T,” to help form the new word, and soon add the next letter from another section of Jesus’ bible.

The second section of the Jewish Bible is called NAVIIM, and means prophets. So lets add that letter to the letter “ T.” Now with TN, we have 2 Hebrew consonant letters which represent 2 sections of the Jewish writings, Torah and Naviim (law and prophets). In a moment by taking the first three letters of the Hebrew names for 3 sections of scripture, we will have a new name for the Jewish scripture which Jews everywhere understand.

The third section is called Ketuvim, which means “writings.” The three sections of the Jewish bible then, are law, prophets, and writings. Now, let’s put each first letter of each Hebrew word on the same line and form the representative term for the Jewish bible; TNK.

When our Jewish friends refer to the Hebrew Bible, or what Christians claim is the Old Testament, they use the 3 letters which represent the Hebrew names of the 3 sections of their bible; TNK. It is vocalized by means of various spellings: Tenach, Tanakh, Tanach.

Jesus referred to the Tanakh in Luke 24:44, which wrote in part: “that all things might be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and the prophets, and in the Psalms concerning me.” The Psalms are part of the section considered “writings.”

At this point in our lesson, it is necessary to inform Christian readers that among Jewish educators, the section called the TORAH, has been considered given a higher position of honor and greater inspiration then the other 2 sections of the inspired Hebrew scriptures.

Where is authority for this? It’s based on verses in Deuteronomy 34:10-11, with Divine revelation and confirmation granted him by the Lord: “And there never arose a prophet again in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, for all the signs and wonders, which the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and his servants, and to all his land.”

Those verses, when compared to Numbers 12:6-8, show that Moses was not inferior in any way to any prophet, seer, visionary, or dreamer. Whether awake or asleep, Moses could speak to God face to face (panim el panim), or mouth to mouth (peh el peh). He didn’t need a dream or vision or trance. I suggest it was possible, because of his extreme humility as noted in Numbers 12:3.

It has a nagging oddity about it, that one section has a higher degree of inspiration, but after all, if Moses was the greatest of all prophets ever to rise in Israel, it makes sense that since Torah wrote this about Moses, those teachings come from a man who did not see or prophesy in part, and are complete.

I have wondered at times why Christians don’t attach more honor to the words of Jesus in theology. The 4 Gospels contain all that he said and done, and he personally stated: “heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away” (Matthew 24:35). Yet, it seems on many matters, that the letters and epistles to churches are held in higher esteem then the words of the one whom Christians have called “Lord.” Perhaps, many theological hangups would have been avoided, if the words of Jesus had been given priority. After all, why call we him Lord, Lord, and do not the things which he said?

Jesus emphasized the law of Moses, and always upheld it. That is why he could say heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. He knew that scripture could not be broken. He knew that Gods word was forever established in the heavens. As best I know, Jesus never tried to change or refute anything that Moses taught. However, in certain circumstances he openly disagreed with some Pharisaic INTERPRETATIONS of the words of Moses.

We can be assured that Jesus knew the entire Tanakh (from Genesis to Malachi). The gospel narratives show him often quoting or referencing verses from those sources. But, we also recognize after much study and comparisons, that Jesus seemed to be quite familiar with all the oral explanations of the Hebrew Bible, and evidently was able to discuss it intelligently with experts at the Temple, when he was only 12 years old (see Luke 2:42-52).