embed/jesuswordsonly
1
0
Fork 0
Code Issues Pull requests Wiki Activity

initial backup of github.com/jesuswordsonly/jesuswordsonly.github.io

Browse source
This commit is contained in:
embed@git.macaw.me 2023-08-31 11:16:13 +00:00
commit 14edd76594
1931 changed files with 1103754 additions and 0 deletions
Download patch file Download diff file Expand all files Collapse all files

463
component/content/article/16-hebrew-matthew/222-rapture-in-hebrew-matthew.html Normal file
View file

@ -0,0 +1,463 @@
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en-gb" lang="en-gb" >
<head>
<base href="http://www.jesuswordsonly.com/component/content/article/16-hebrew-matthew/222-rapture-in-hebrew-matthew.html" />
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" />
<meta name="robots" content="index, follow" />
<meta name="keywords" content="Jesus Words, Jesus Words Only, Jesus Words on Salvation, Did Calvin Murder Servetus, Flaws of Young Earth Science, Ingenious Design, Apostle Paul, False Apostle Paul, Faith Alone, Dispensationalism, Ebionites, Commands of Jesus, Original Gospel of Matthew, Hebrew Matthew" />
<meta name="title" content="Rapture in Hebrew Matthew" />
<meta name="author" content="18ptTR" />
<meta name="description" content="Jesus' Words as Primary Focus for Christians" />
<meta name="generator" content="Joomla! 1.5 - Open Source Content Management" />
<title>Rapture in Hebrew Matthew</title>
<script type="text/javascript" src="/media/system/js/mootools.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="/media/system/js/caption.js"></script>
<link rel="shortcut icon" href="/images/favicon.ico" />
<link rel="stylesheet" href="/templates/system/css/system.css" type="text/css" />
<link rel="stylesheet" href="/templates/system/css/general.css" type="text/css" />
<link href="/templates/js_relevant/css/template_css.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" media="screen" />
<link href="/templates/js_relevant/css/nav.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" media="screen" />
<link href="/templates/js_relevant/css/style1.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" media="screen" />
<!--[if IE]>
<link href="/templates/js_relevant/css/ie.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" media="screen" />
<![endif]-->
<!--[if IE]>
<link href="/templates/js_relevant/css/ie.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" media="screen" />
<![endif]-->
<!--[if lte IE 6]>
<style type="text/css">
img { behavior: url(/templates/js_relevant/js/iepngfix.htc); }
</style>
<![endif]-->
</head>
<body>
<div id="main-wrapper">
<div id="header_graphic">
<div class="inside">
<div id="newsflash"> <div class="moduletable">
<table class="contentpaneopen">
<tr>
<td valign="top" ><p><span>“If you believe, unbelievable things can sometimes be possible.” Tim Tebow 2011</span></p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" >
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</div>
</div>
<h1><a href="http://www.jesuswordsonly.com/" title="Relevant">Relevant</a></h1>
<h2>A Joomla! Template for the Rest of Us</h2>
</div>
</div>
<div class="menubar">
<div id="navmenu">
<script type="text/javascript" src="/templates/js_relevant/js/barmenu.js"></script>
<ul class="menu"><li><a href="http://www.jesuswordsonly.com/"><span>Home</span></a></li><li class="haschild"><a href="/books.html" class="haschild"><span>Books</span></a><ul><li><a href="/books/jesuswordsonly.html"><span>Jesus' Words Only</span></a></li><li><a href="/books/jesuswordssalvation.html"><span>Jesus' Words on Salvation</span></a></li><li class="haschild"><a href="/books/didcalvinmurderservetus.html" class="child"><span>Did Calvin Murder Servetus?</span></a><ul><li><a href="/books/didcalvinmurderservetus/background-material-did-calvin-murder-servetus.html"><span>Background Material</span></a></li></ul></li><li><a href="/books/hownottosudythebible.html"><span>How Not to Study the Bible</span></a></li><li><a href="/books/flawsofyoungearthscience.html"><span>Flaws of Young Earth Science</span></a></li><li><a href="/books/jesusorpaul.html"><span>Jesus or Paul</span></a></li><li><a href="/books/unintended-disservice.html"><span>Unintended Disservice</span></a></li><li><a href="/books/original-gospel-of-matthew.html"><span>Original Gospel of Matthew</span></a></li><li><a href="/books/commands-of-jesus.html"><span>Commands of Jesus</span></a></li><li><a href="/books/gospel-of-john.html"><span>Gospel of John</span></a></li></ul></li><li><a href="/recommendedreading.html"><span>Further Reading</span></a></li><li><a href="/media.html"><span>Media</span></a></li><li class="haschild"><a href="/reviews.html" class="haschild"><span>Reviews</span></a><ul><li><a href="/reviews/jwo-reviews.html"><span>Jesus Words Only</span></a></li><li><a href="/reviews/jwos-reviews.html"><span>Jesus Words on Salvation</span></a></li></ul></li><li><a href="/contactus.html"><span>Contact Us</span></a></li><li><a href="http://www.jesuswordsonly.com/topicindex/753-bookstore.html"><span>Bookstore</span></a></li><li><a href="/topicindex.html"><span>Topic Index</span></a></li><li><a href="/aboutauthor.html"><span>About Author</span></a></li><li><a href="/newsletters.html"><span>Newsletters</span></a></li></ul>
</div>
</div>
<div id="mainbody">
<div id="showcasetop">&nbsp;</div>
<table width="940" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center">
<tr>
<td id="leftcol" valign="top" width="200">
<div class="inside">
<div class="moduleS1">
<div>
<div>
<div>
<h3>Questions?</h3>
Please enter your questions, and we will get back to you as soon as possible. As an anti-spam measure, we ask that you re-type the code you see in the box below, prior to clicking "Send Message"<br /><br />
<form name="s5_quick_contact" method="post" action="">
<input class="inputbox" id="namebox" onclick="s5_qc_clearname()" onfocus="s5_qc_clearname()" style="font-size:11px; font-family:arial; width:80%" type="text" value="Name..." name="name"></input><br />
<input class="inputbox" id="emailbox" onclick="s5_qc_clearemail()" onfocus="s5_qc_clearemail()" style="font-size:11px; font-family:arial; width:80%" type="text" value="Email..." name="email"></input><br />
<input class="inputbox" id="subjectbox" onclick="s5_qc_clearsubject()" onfocus="s5_qc_clearsubject()" style="font-size:11px; font-family:arial; width:80%" type="text" value="Subject..." name="subject"></input><br />
<textarea id="messagebox" rows="" cols="" class="inputbox textarea" onclick="s5_qc_clearbody()" onfocus="s5_qc_clearbody()" style="font-size:11px; font-family:arial; overflow:auto;width:80%; height:55px" name="message">Your Message...</textarea><br />
<input class="inputbox" id="spambox" onclick="s5_qc_clearspam()" onfocus="s5_qc_clearspam()" style="font-weight:bold; font-size:11px; font-family:arial; width:80%" type="text" value="Enter The Code 3128" name="verif_box"></input><br />
<input id="email_address" type="hidden" value="" name="email_address"></input>
<input class="button" type="button" onclick="s5_qc_submit()" value="Send Message" ></input>
</form>
<script language="javascript" type="text/javascript">
// <![CDATA[
var s5_qc_spam_text = document.getElementById("spambox").value;
function s5_qc_clearbody() {
if (document.getElementById("messagebox").value == "Your Message...") {
document.getElementById("messagebox").value="";
}
if (document.getElementById("namebox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("namebox").value = "Name...";
}
if (document.getElementById("emailbox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("emailbox").value = "Email...";
}
if (document.getElementById("subjectbox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("subjectbox").value = "Subject...";
}
if (document.getElementById("spambox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("spambox").value = s5_qc_spam_text;
}
}
function s5_qc_clearname() {
if (document.getElementById("namebox").value == "Name...") {
document.getElementById("namebox").value="";
}
if (document.getElementById("messagebox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("messagebox").value = "Your Message...";
}
if (document.getElementById("emailbox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("emailbox").value = "Email...";
}
if (document.getElementById("subjectbox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("subjectbox").value = "Subject...";
}
if (document.getElementById("spambox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("spambox").value = s5_qc_spam_text;
}
}
function s5_qc_clearemail() {
if (document.getElementById("emailbox").value == "Email...") {
document.getElementById("emailbox").value="";
}
if (document.getElementById("namebox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("namebox").value = "Name...";
}
if (document.getElementById("messagebox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("messagebox").value = "Your Message...";
}
if (document.getElementById("subjectbox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("subjectbox").value = "Subject...";
}
if (document.getElementById("spambox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("spambox").value = s5_qc_spam_text;
}
}
function s5_qc_clearsubject() {
if (document.getElementById("subjectbox").value == "Subject...") {
document.getElementById("subjectbox").value="";
}
if (document.getElementById("namebox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("namebox").value = "Name...";
}
if (document.getElementById("emailbox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("emailbox").value = "Email...";
}
if (document.getElementById("messagebox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("messagebox").value = "Your Message...";
}
if (document.getElementById("spambox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("spambox").value = s5_qc_spam_text;
}
}
function s5_qc_clearspam() {
if (document.getElementById("spambox").value == s5_qc_spam_text) {
document.getElementById("spambox").value="";
}
if (document.getElementById("namebox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("namebox").value = "Name...";
}
if (document.getElementById("emailbox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("emailbox").value = "Email...";
}
if (document.getElementById("messagebox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("messagebox").value = "Your Message...";
}
if (document.getElementById("subjectbox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("subjectbox").value = "Subject...";
}
}
function s5_qc_isValidEmail(str_email) {
if (str_email.indexOf(".") > 2 && str_email.indexOf("@") > 0) {
alert('Your email is now being submitted - Thank you!');
document.s5_quick_contact.submit();
}
else {
alert('Your email address is not valid, please check again - Thank you!');
}
}
function s5_qc_submit() {
if (document.getElementById("spambox").value == s5_qc_spam_text || document.getElementById("subjectbox").value == "Subject..." || document.getElementById("namebox").value == "Name..." || document.getElementById("emailbox").value == "Email..." || document.getElementById("messagebox").value == "Your Message...") {
alert('All fields are required, please complete the form - Thank you!');
return false;
}
if (document.getElementById("spambox").value != "3128") {
alert('Your spam verification answer is incorrect.');
return false;
}
var s5_message_holder = document.getElementById("messagebox").value;
var s5_first_message_char = s5_message_holder.charAt(0);
var s5_second_message_char = s5_message_holder.charAt(1);
var s5_third_message_char = s5_message_holder.charAt(2);
var s5_fourth_message_char = s5_message_holder.charAt(3);
if (s5_first_message_char == "<") {
return false;
}
if (s5_first_message_char == "w" && s5_second_message_char == "w" && s5_third_message_char == "w") {
return false;
}
if (s5_first_message_char == "h" && s5_second_message_char == "t" && s5_third_message_char == "t") {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
else {
document.getElementById("email_address").value = "info@jesuswordsonly.com";
var email_str = document.getElementById("emailbox").value;
s5_qc_isValidEmail(email_str);
}
}
// ]]>
</script>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</td>
<td id="maincol" valign="top">
<div id="breadcrumbs">
<span class="breadcrumbs pathway">
Home</span>
</div>
<table class="contentpaneopen">
<tr>
<td valign="top">
<h1><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;">Rapture in Hebrew Matthew</span></strong></span></h1>
<p><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">In the Greek Matthew reflected in the King James, NASB, NIV, etc., we read in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2024:40-41">Matthew 24:40-41</a>:</span></p>
<p style="margin-left: 30px;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times; font-size: 18pt;"><span id="en-NASB-23998" class="text Matt-24-40" style="color: #000000; line-height: 24px;"><span class="woj"><span class="versenum" style="line-height: 22px; position: relative; vertical-align: top; top: 0px; font-weight: bold;">40&nbsp;</span>Then there will be two men in the field; one&nbsp;<span class="footnote" style="line-height: 22px; position: relative; vertical-align: top; top: 0px;" data-fn="#fen-NASB-23998a" data-link="[&lt;a href=&quot;#fen-NASB-23998a&quot; title=&quot;See footnote a&quot;&gt;a&lt;/a&gt;]">[<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2024:40-41#fen-NASB-23998a" style="color: #b34b2c; cursor: pointer; vertical-align: top; background: transparent;" title="See footnote a">a</a>]</span>will be taken and one&nbsp;<span class="footnote" style="line-height: 22px; position: relative; vertical-align: top; top: 0px;" data-fn="#fen-NASB-23998b" data-link="[&lt;a href=&quot;#fen-NASB-23998b&quot; title=&quot;See footnote b&quot;&gt;b&lt;/a&gt;]">[<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2024:40-41#fen-NASB-23998b" style="color: #b34b2c; cursor: pointer; vertical-align: top; background: transparent;" title="See footnote b">b</a>]</span>will be left.</span></span><span style="color: #000000; line-height: 24px;"></span><span id="en-NASB-23999" class="text Matt-24-41" style="color: #000000; line-height: 24px;"><span class="woj"><span class="versenum" style="line-height: 22px; position: relative; vertical-align: top; top: 0px; font-weight: bold;">41&nbsp;</span><span class="crossreference" style="line-height: 22px; position: relative; vertical-align: top; top: 0px;" data-link="(&lt;a href=&quot;#cen-NASB-23999A&quot; title=&quot;See cross-reference A&quot;&gt;A&lt;/a&gt;)" data-cr="#cen-NASB-23999A"></span>Two women&nbsp;<em>will be</em>&nbsp;grinding at the&nbsp;<span class="footnote" style="line-height: 22px; position: relative; vertical-align: top; top: 0px;" data-fn="#fen-NASB-23999c" data-link="[&lt;a href=&quot;#fen-NASB-23999c&quot; title=&quot;See footnote c&quot;&gt;c&lt;/a&gt;]">[<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2024:40-41#fen-NASB-23999c" style="color: #b34b2c; cursor: pointer; vertical-align: top; background: transparent;" title="See footnote c">c</a>]</span><span class="crossreference" style="line-height: 22px; position: relative; vertical-align: top; top: 0px;" data-link="(&lt;a href=&quot;#cen-NASB-23999B&quot; title=&quot;See cross-reference B&quot;&gt;B&lt;/a&gt;)" data-cr="#cen-NASB-23999B"></span>mill; one&nbsp;<span class="footnote" style="line-height: 22px; position: relative; vertical-align: top; top: 0px;" data-fn="#fen-NASB-23999d" data-link="[&lt;a href=&quot;#fen-NASB-23999d&quot; title=&quot;See footnote d&quot;&gt;d&lt;/a&gt;]">[<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2024:40-41#fen-NASB-23999d" style="color: #b34b2c; cursor: pointer; vertical-align: top; background: transparent;" title="See footnote d">d</a>]</span>will be taken and one&nbsp;<span class="footnote" style="line-height: 22px; position: relative; vertical-align: top; top: 0px;" data-fn="#fen-NASB-23999e" data-link="[&lt;a href=&quot;#fen-NASB-23999e&quot; title=&quot;See footnote e&quot;&gt;e&lt;/a&gt;]">[<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2024:40-41#fen-NASB-23999e" style="color: #b34b2c; cursor: pointer; vertical-align: top; background: transparent;" title="See footnote e">e</a>]</span>will be left. (NASB)</span></span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1">Professor Howard in 1989 published <em>The Hebrew Gospel of Matthew</em>. This ground-breaking work proved that the&nbsp;Hebrew Shem Tob Matthew from the 1300s contains part of the original Hebrew substratum by apostle Matthew of what was translated into Greek in our current Matthew New Testament. Hence, a variant in the Shem Tob could always represent a possible original portion of the inspired Gospel that in copying was simply dropped out early on. In the Shem Tob Hebrew Matthw, we read in Matthew 24 the following addtional language in bold:</span></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1">40 Then if there shall be two ploughing in a field, <strong><em>one righteous and the other evil</em></strong>, the one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding at a mill; one will be taken and the other left. <strong><em>This is because the angels at the end of the world will remove the stumbling blocks from the world and will separate the good from the evil.</em></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">The bolded portion is the portion omitted in the Greek translation with which we are familiar. What is the consequence?</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1">As can be seen, in Shem Tob Jesus explains who is raptured. One is righteous, the other evil. The Greek text in verses 40-41 makes no such clear identification. The Greek text still provides support for the view in the Shem Tob because Jesus is drawing a parallel to the time of Noah when the<strong><em> evil are all swept away</em></strong>, leaving the earth to the righteous Noah and his family. Hence, the Shem Tob variant perfectly matches the Greek text's implication from mention of Noah's time that it is the evil who are taken away from the earth, and not the righteous.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1">In addition, we should also realize that if we look at the Greek-based King James in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+13%3A41-43%2C+49-50&amp;version=NASB">Matthew 13:41-43 and 49-50</a>, we shall see these additional words in 40-41 in the Shem Tob match what Jesus two more times says in Matthew 13. Combined, these passages all make perfectly clear who is first raptured / seized away from earth: the unrighteous, not Christians.</span></p>
<p style="margin-left: 30px;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1">41&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1"></span>The Son of Man&nbsp;<span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1"></span>will send forth His angels, and they will <em><strong>gather out of His kingdom&nbsp;<span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1">[<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+13%3A41-43%2C+49-50&amp;version=NASB#fen-NASB-23581a" style="color: #b34b2c; cursor: pointer; vertical-align: top; background: transparent;" title="See footnote a">a</a>]</span>all&nbsp;<span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1"></span>stumbling blocks</strong></em>, and those who commit lawlessness,</span></span><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1"></span><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1">42&nbsp;</span>and<span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1"></span>will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place&nbsp;<span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1"></span>there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.</span></span><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1"></span><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1">43&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1"></span>Then&nbsp;<span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1">the righteous will shine forth as the sun</span>&nbsp;in the kingdom of their Father.&nbsp;<span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1"></span>He who has ears,&nbsp;<span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1">[<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+13%3A41-43%2C+49-50&amp;version=NASB#fen-NASB-23583b" style="color: #b34b2c; cursor: pointer; vertical-align: top; background: transparent;" title="See footnote b">b</a>]</span>let him hear. <span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1">49&nbsp;</span>So it will be at&nbsp;<span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1"></span>the&nbsp;<span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1">[<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+13%3A41-43%2C+49-50&amp;version=NASB#fen-NASB-23589a" style="color: #b34b2c; cursor: pointer; vertical-align: top; background: transparent;" title="See footnote a">a</a>]</span>end of the age; the angels will come forth and&nbsp;<span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1">[<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+13%3A41-43%2C+49-50&amp;version=NASB#fen-NASB-23589b" style="color: #b34b2c; cursor: pointer; vertical-align: top; background: transparent;" title="See footnote b">b</a>]</span><strong><em>take out the wicked from among the righteous</em></strong>,</span></span><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1"></span><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1">50&nbsp;</span>and&nbsp;<span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1"></span>will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place&nbsp;<span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1"></span>there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.&nbsp;</span></span>(NASB)</span></span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1"></span></p>
<h2><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1">Shem Tob Analysis</span></strong></span></h2>
<p><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1">The Shem Tob is certainly clear who is taken away in Matthew 24, verse 41. It refers to "stumbling blocks": they are the evil people who will be removed, paralleling 'evil' identified in verse 40. Hence, it is not the good who will be "taken" to heaven when Christ returns, but instead the evil will be taken away, leaving the good to inherit the Earth. Notice the same words appear in Matthew 13:41 -- the "stumbling blocks" are removed first, highlighting the accuracy of the Shem Tob variant to Matthew 24:40.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1">Why would anyone resist this variant from the Shem Tob, given the corroborative evidence in other passages in the Greek-based Matthew?</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">A scholar explains this Shem-Tob variance reverses the common perception based upon Paul's statement in Thessalonians. This scholar is William L. Petersen of&nbsp;Pennsylvania State University, Netherlands Institute for Advanced Studies. He comments about this in the following expert article on the Shem Tob Matthew:<em> Some Observations on a Recent Edition of and Introduction to Shem-Tob's "Hebrew Matthew" </em>(available at&nbsp;<a href="http://rosetta.reltech.org/TC/vol03/Petersen1998a.html">http://rosetta.reltech.org/TC/vol03/Petersen1998a.html</a>)</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">Hence, the resistance is due to a preconceived notion that Paul -- the one difficult to understand per Second Peter in 2 Peter 3:17 -- trumps our Lord's words repeatedly spoken on the same topic.</span></p>
<h2><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;">What About John 17:15?</span></strong></span></h2>
<p><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">Yet, there is more corroboration than simply the Greek Matthew at 13:40-43, 49-50.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">The Shem Tob Hebrew Matthew is also very much in accord with Apostle John's account in John <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=john%2017:11-15&amp;version=KJV">17:15</a>:</span></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">I pray <strong><em>not that thou shouldest take (Gk. ares, lifting) them out of the world</em></strong>, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1">Jesus' desire not to take out of the world the faithful Christians is, to repeat, explained clearly in the Greek-based version of Matthew <a href="http://bible.cc/matthew/13-41.htm">13:41</a>&nbsp;which reads that is the fate of the wicked:</span></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1">The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall <strong><em>take</em></strong> /&nbsp;<em><strong>gather out (Gk. paralambano) of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity</strong></em>;</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">The Shem Tob Hebrew Matthew is also compatible with the Greek in this passage. The word "taken" in the Greek of Matthew 13:41 is <em>paralambano</em>.&nbsp;Dr. John Walvoord points out this is the word to describe how Jesus was arrested. Thus, it can have bad connotations. However, it can also have neutral connotations, as when Jesus says he took with himself Peter and John to the transfiguration in Matthew 17:1.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">Yet, in Matt. 13:41, it is clear "taken" has a bad connotation. They are taken up and away with a negative connotation, while Jesus says He would not pray his followers are "lifted away" from the world, but rather are strengthened to endure evil.</span></p>
<h2><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;">Conclusion</span></strong></span></h2>
<p><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">It appears Jesus' original words teach that the righteous inherit the earth as the New Jerusalem descends in multiple passages, including the Shem Tob of Matthew 24:40-41. It is the evil who are removed. There is no rapture of Christians. Only the evil and wicked are raptured. En route to Earth, Jesus will gather the elect from the four winds of heaven -- those who previously died but whose spirits, like the thief's, were "this day in Paradise -- and come to earth after reaping the earth of the evil ones, thereby removing via the angels all the wicked. Paul evidently heard the topic, but heard it the wrong way, and thus relayed incorrectly that it was the good who were removed first.</span></p>
<hr />
<p><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">EMAIL COMMENTS</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">Steve 8/7/2015</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">While researching all the controversy between the different Rapture theories, my sister and I who have read the verse many times where two will be in the field one will be taken the other left. At some point we realized that the wicked are taken first and Professor Howards' Hebrew Matthew confirmed that fact very clearly. Now the parable of the wheat and tares makes sense. The separation of the Sheep and the goats makes sense, and the only rapture is of the wicked, goats or tares. I have tried several times in the past to get to the bottom of those rapture beliefs, but gave up in frustration. &nbsp;I also believe this is part of Satan's deceivableness and lying wonders, and many of those who believe the deception will perish, I do believe. &nbsp;So I found confirmation from Howard's Shem Tob translation of a scripture which is weak in my KJV.&nbsp;</span><br style="color: #000000; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal;" /><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">Have a GREAT!! day</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"></span></p> </td>
</tr>
</table>
<span class="article_separator">&nbsp;</span>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<div class="bottom_top"></div>
<div id="bottom">
</div>
</div>
<div id="footer"><strong>Content View Hits</strong> : 14510915<br />
<script type="text/javascript">
var pv = new Array(1,0,0,0,1);
var trdlname = "/downloads";
//<![CDATA[
var regex = /\.(?:doc|eps|jpg|png|svg|xls|ppt|pdf|xls|zip|txt|vsd|vxd|js|css|rar|exe|wma|mov|avi|wmv|mp3)($|\&|\?)/;
//]]>
var trlkname = "/external/";
var trmlname = "/mailto/";
</script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.jesuswordsonly.com/modules/mod_analytics/gatr.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript">
var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "http://www.");
document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E"));
</script>
<script type="text/javascript">
try {
var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-3747914");
pageTracker._initData();
pageTracker._trackPageview();
} catch(err) {}
</script>
</div>
<div class="copyright"></div>
</div>
</body>
</html>

513
component/content/article/16-hebrew-matthew/235-hebrew-matthew-baptismal-account.html Normal file
View file

@ -0,0 +1,513 @@
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en-gb" lang="en-gb" >
<head>
<base href="http://www.jesuswordsonly.com/component/content/article/16-hebrew-matthew/235-hebrew-matthew-baptismal-account.html" />
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" />
<meta name="robots" content="index, follow" />
<meta name="keywords" content="Jesus Words, Jesus Words Only, Jesus Words on Salvation, Did Calvin Murder Servetus, Flaws of Young Earth Science, Ingenious Design, Apostle Paul, False Apostle Paul" />
<meta name="title" content="Hebrew Matthew - Baptismal Account" />
<meta name="author" content="18ptTR" />
<meta name="description" content="Jesus Words Only focuses on the words of Jesus as the inspired portion of the New Testament Scripture" />
<meta name="generator" content="Joomla! 1.5 - Open Source Content Management" />
<title>Hebrew Matthew - Baptismal Account</title>
<script type="text/javascript" src="/media/system/js/mootools.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="/media/system/js/caption.js"></script>
<link rel="shortcut icon" href="/images/favicon.ico" />
<link rel="stylesheet" href="/templates/system/css/system.css" type="text/css" />
<link rel="stylesheet" href="/templates/system/css/general.css" type="text/css" />
<link href="/templates/js_relevant/css/template_css.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" media="screen" />
<link href="/templates/js_relevant/css/nav.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" media="screen" />
<link href="/templates/js_relevant/css/style1.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" media="screen" />
<!--[if IE]>
<link href="/templates/js_relevant/css/ie.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" media="screen" />
<![endif]-->
<!--[if IE]>
<link href="/templates/js_relevant/css/ie.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" media="screen" />
<![endif]-->
<!--[if lte IE 6]>
<style type="text/css">
img { behavior: url(/templates/js_relevant/js/iepngfix.htc); }
</style>
<![endif]-->
</head>
<body>
<div id="main-wrapper">
<div id="header_graphic">
<div class="inside">
<div id="newsflash"> <div class="moduletable">
<table class="contentpaneopen">
<tr>
<td valign="top" >"You hear the cry of my heart. Only Jesus! Lord I am tired of all the rest when my heart knows you are best. Only Jesus." Big Daddy <em>Only Jesus </em>(song 2006)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" >
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</div>
</div>
<h1><a href="http://www.jesuswordsonly.com/" title="Relevant">Relevant</a></h1>
<h2>A Joomla! Template for the Rest of Us</h2>
</div>
</div>
<div class="menubar">
<div id="navmenu">
<script type="text/javascript" src="/templates/js_relevant/js/barmenu.js"></script>
<ul class="menu"><li><a href="http://www.jesuswordsonly.com/"><span>Home</span></a></li><li class="haschild"><a href="/books.html" class="haschild"><span>Books</span></a><ul><li class="haschild"><a href="/books/jesuswordsonly.html" class="child"><span>Jesus' Words Only</span></a><ul><li><a href="/books/jesuswordsonly/jesus-words-only-amazon.html"><span>Purchase from Amazon.com</span></a></li></ul></li><li class="haschild"><a href="/books/jesuswordssalvation.html" class="child"><span>Jesus' Words on Salvation</span></a><ul><li><a href="/books/jesuswordssalvation/jesus-word-on-salvation-amazon.html"><span>Purchase from Amazon.com</span></a></li></ul></li><li class="haschild"><a href="/books/didcalvinmurderservetus.html" class="child"><span>Did Calvin Murder Servetus?</span></a><ul><li><a href="/books/didcalvinmurderservetus/download-e-book.html"><span>Download e-Book</span></a></li><li><a href="/books/didcalvinmurderservetus/background-material-did-calvin-murder-servetus.html"><span>Background Material</span></a></li><li><a href="/books/didcalvinmurderservetus/purchase-from-amazoncom.html"><span>Purchase from Amazon.com</span></a></li></ul></li><li class="haschild"><a href="/books/hownottosudythebible.html" class="child"><span>How Not to Study the Bible</span></a><ul><li><a href="/books/hownottosudythebible/download-e-book.html"><span>Download e-Book</span></a></li></ul></li><li class="haschild"><a href="/books/flawsofyoungearthscience.html" class="child"><span>Flaws of Young Earth Science</span></a><ul><li><a href="/books/flawsofyoungearthscience/download-e-book.html"><span>Download e-Book</span></a></li></ul></li><li><a href="/books/unintended-disservice.html"><span>Unintended Disservice</span></a></li><li><a href="/books/original-gospel-of-matthew.html"><span>Original Gospel of Matthew</span></a></li><li><a href="/books/commands-of-jesus.html"><span>Commands of Jesus</span></a></li><li><a href="/books/gospel-of-john.html"><span>Gospel of John</span></a></li></ul></li><li><a href="/recommendedreading.html"><span>Further Reading</span></a></li><li><a href="/media.html"><span>Media</span></a></li><li class="haschild"><a href="/reviews.html" class="haschild"><span>Reviews</span></a><ul><li><a href="/reviews/jwo-reviews.html"><span>Jesus Words Only</span></a></li><li><a href="/reviews/jwos-reviews.html"><span>Jesus Words on Salvation</span></a></li></ul></li><li><a href="/contactus.html"><span>Contact Us</span></a></li><li><a href="http://astore.amazon.com/jwoogm-20"><span>Amazon Shop</span></a></li><li><a href="/topicindex.html"><span>Topic Index</span></a></li><li><a href="/aboutauthor.html"><span>About Author</span></a></li><li><a href="/newsletters.html"><span>Newsletters</span></a></li></ul>
</div>
</div>
<div id="mainbody">
<div id="showcasetop">&nbsp;</div>
<table width="940" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center">
<tr>
<td id="leftcol" valign="top" width="200">
<div class="inside">
<div class="moduleS1">
<div>
<div>
<div>
<h3>Questions?</h3>
Please enter your questions, and we will get back to you as soon as possible. As an anti-spam measure, we ask that you re-type the code you see in the box below, prior to clicking "Send Message"<br /><br />
<form name="s5_quick_contact" method="post" action="">
<input class="inputbox" id="namebox" onclick="s5_qc_clearname()" onfocus="s5_qc_clearname()" style="font-size:11px; font-family:arial; width:80%" type="text" value="Name..." name="name"></input><br />
<input class="inputbox" id="emailbox" onclick="s5_qc_clearemail()" onfocus="s5_qc_clearemail()" style="font-size:11px; font-family:arial; width:80%" type="text" value="Email..." name="email"></input><br />
<input class="inputbox" id="subjectbox" onclick="s5_qc_clearsubject()" onfocus="s5_qc_clearsubject()" style="font-size:11px; font-family:arial; width:80%" type="text" value="Subject..." name="subject"></input><br />
<textarea id="messagebox" rows="" cols="" class="inputbox textarea" onclick="s5_qc_clearbody()" onfocus="s5_qc_clearbody()" style="font-size:11px; font-family:arial; overflow:auto;width:80%; height:55px" name="message">Your Message...</textarea><br />
<input class="inputbox" id="spambox" onclick="s5_qc_clearspam()" onfocus="s5_qc_clearspam()" style="font-weight:bold; font-size:11px; font-family:arial; width:80%" type="text" value="Enter The Code 8293" name="verif_box"></input><br />
<input id="email_address" type="hidden" value="" name="email_address"></input>
<input class="button" type="button" onclick="s5_qc_submit()" value="Send Message" ></input>
</form>
<script language="javascript" type="text/javascript">
// <![CDATA[
var s5_qc_spam_text = document.getElementById("spambox").value;
function s5_qc_clearbody() {
if (document.getElementById("messagebox").value == "Your Message...") {
document.getElementById("messagebox").value="";
}
if (document.getElementById("namebox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("namebox").value = "Name...";
}
if (document.getElementById("emailbox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("emailbox").value = "Email...";
}
if (document.getElementById("subjectbox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("subjectbox").value = "Subject...";
}
if (document.getElementById("spambox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("spambox").value = s5_qc_spam_text;
}
}
function s5_qc_clearname() {
if (document.getElementById("namebox").value == "Name...") {
document.getElementById("namebox").value="";
}
if (document.getElementById("messagebox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("messagebox").value = "Your Message...";
}
if (document.getElementById("emailbox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("emailbox").value = "Email...";
}
if (document.getElementById("subjectbox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("subjectbox").value = "Subject...";
}
if (document.getElementById("spambox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("spambox").value = s5_qc_spam_text;
}
}
function s5_qc_clearemail() {
if (document.getElementById("emailbox").value == "Email...") {
document.getElementById("emailbox").value="";
}
if (document.getElementById("namebox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("namebox").value = "Name...";
}
if (document.getElementById("messagebox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("messagebox").value = "Your Message...";
}
if (document.getElementById("subjectbox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("subjectbox").value = "Subject...";
}
if (document.getElementById("spambox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("spambox").value = s5_qc_spam_text;
}
}
function s5_qc_clearsubject() {
if (document.getElementById("subjectbox").value == "Subject...") {
document.getElementById("subjectbox").value="";
}
if (document.getElementById("namebox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("namebox").value = "Name...";
}
if (document.getElementById("emailbox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("emailbox").value = "Email...";
}
if (document.getElementById("messagebox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("messagebox").value = "Your Message...";
}
if (document.getElementById("spambox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("spambox").value = s5_qc_spam_text;
}
}
function s5_qc_clearspam() {
if (document.getElementById("spambox").value == s5_qc_spam_text) {
document.getElementById("spambox").value="";
}
if (document.getElementById("namebox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("namebox").value = "Name...";
}
if (document.getElementById("emailbox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("emailbox").value = "Email...";
}
if (document.getElementById("messagebox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("messagebox").value = "Your Message...";
}
if (document.getElementById("subjectbox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("subjectbox").value = "Subject...";
}
}
function s5_qc_isValidEmail(str_email) {
if (str_email.indexOf(".") > 2 && str_email.indexOf("@") > 0) {
alert('Your email is now being submitted - Thank you!');
document.s5_quick_contact.submit();
}
else {
alert('Your email address is not valid, please check again - Thank you!');
}
}
function s5_qc_submit() {
if (document.getElementById("spambox").value == s5_qc_spam_text || document.getElementById("subjectbox").value == "Subject..." || document.getElementById("namebox").value == "Name..." || document.getElementById("emailbox").value == "Email..." || document.getElementById("messagebox").value == "Your Message...") {
alert('All fields are required, please complete the form - Thank you!');
return false;
}
if (document.getElementById("spambox").value != "8293") {
alert('Your spam verification answer is incorrect.');
return false;
}
var s5_message_holder = document.getElementById("messagebox").value;
var s5_first_message_char = s5_message_holder.charAt(0);
var s5_second_message_char = s5_message_holder.charAt(1);
var s5_third_message_char = s5_message_holder.charAt(2);
var s5_fourth_message_char = s5_message_holder.charAt(3);
if (s5_first_message_char == "<") {
return false;
}
if (s5_first_message_char == "w" && s5_second_message_char == "w" && s5_third_message_char == "w") {
return false;
}
if (s5_first_message_char == "h" && s5_second_message_char == "t" && s5_third_message_char == "t") {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
else {
document.getElementById("email_address").value = "info@jesuswordsonly.com";
var email_str = document.getElementById("emailbox").value;
s5_qc_isValidEmail(email_str);
}
}
// ]]>
</script>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</td>
<td id="maincol" valign="top">
<div id="breadcrumbs">
<span class="breadcrumbs pathway">
Home</span>
</div>
<table class="contentpaneopen">
<tr>
<td valign="top">
<h1>Baptismal Account in Hebrew Matthew</h1>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">In the Hebrew Matthew of 38 AD, there are two variants to the baptismal account which are different from the later Greek text tradition. As we shall see below, this is validated by two quotes from Hebrews in the NT and numerous quotes by the early commentary preachers who relied upon the earliest Greek translation. First, as Epiphanius recorded near 400 AD, this original Hebrew Matthew had God speak from heaven "today I have begotten thee."</span></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="font-size: large; font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1">After saying many things, this Gospel continues: “After the people were baptized, Jesus also came and was baptized by John. And as Jesus came up from the water, Heaven was opened, and He saw the Holy Spirit descend in the form of a dove and enter into Him. And a voice from Heaven said, ‘You are my beloved Son; with You I am well pleased.’ And again, ‘<em><strong>Today I have begotten You</strong></em>.’ “Immediately a great light shone around the place; and John, seeing it, said to Him, ‘Who are you, Lord? And again a voice from Heaven said, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.’ Then John, falling down before Him, said, ‘I beseech You, Lord, baptize me!’ But He forbade him saying, ‘Let it be so; for thus it is fitting that all things be fulfilled.’” (Epiphanius, <em>Panarion</em> 30.13.7) [<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Authentic_Gospel_of_Matthew">Wikipedia</a>]</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">Second, God refers to Jesus as his "first-begotten Son."</span></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="font-size: large; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">In the <strong><em>Gospel written in the Hebrew script</em></strong> that the Nazarenes read, the whole fount of the Holy Spirit descends upon Him, for God is Spirit and where the Spirit resides, there is freedom. Further in the Gospel which we have just mentioned we find the following written: “When the Lord came up out of the water the whole fount of the Holy Spirit descended upon Him and rested on Him saying, ‘My Son, in all the prophets was I waiting for You that You should come and I might rest in You. For You are My rest. You are <em><strong>My first begotten Son</strong></em> that prevails forever.’ ” (Jerome, <em>Commentary on Isaiah</em> 4) [<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Authentic_Gospel_of_Matthew">Wikipedia</a>]</span></p>
<h1>Historical Evidence That "This Day I have begotten thee" is Correct</h1>
<h3><span style="color: #333399;">A. Old Mss. of Matthew</span></h3>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">Also, “this day I have begotten thee” appears in the following Greek of Matthew: D (Greek) and the Old Latin. (E.B. Nicholson, <em>The Gospel according to the Hebrews</em> (1879) at <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=QVAVAAAAYAAJ&amp;dq=some%20things%20out%20of%20the%20Gospel%20according%20to%20the%20Hebrews%20and%20the%20Syriac&amp;pg=PA40#v=onepage&amp;q=juda&amp;f=false">40</a>.) Also, in "Codex Bezae and most of the old Latin manuscripts...the voice instead cites Psalm 2:7: <em><strong>'This day I have begotten thee.</strong></em>" (Barbara Aland, Joël Delobel,&nbsp;<em>New Testament textual criticism, exegesis, and early church history</em> (Peeters, 1994) at <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=Z4xXSlE_ZvcC&amp;lpg=PA121&amp;ots=K380wpl4Fq&amp;dq=juvencus%20this%20day%20i%20have%20begotten%20thee&amp;pg=PA120#v=onepage&amp;q&amp;f=false">120</a>.)</span></p>
<h3><span style="color: #333399;">B. Luke 3:22 In Old Manuscripts</span></h3>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">The baptismal account of Jesus in Luke 3:22 in old manuscripts likewise had this account that the Father spoke from heaven to Jesus: "This day I have begotten you."</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">A modern study Bible comments on Luke 3:22: "Other ancient authorities read You are my Son,<strong><em> today I have begotten you</em></strong>." (Wayne A. Meeks, Jouette M. Bassler, <em>The HarperCollins Study Bible: New Revised Standard Version</em> (HarperCollins: 1997) at <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=aMkEa-Z4shEC&amp;lpg=RA1-PA1962&amp;ots=SWWdDM1c0V&amp;dq=%22Other%20ancient%20authorities%20read%20You%20are%20my%20Son%22&amp;pg=RA1-PA1962#v=onepage&amp;q=%22Other%20ancient%20authorities%20read%20You%20are%20my%20Son%22&amp;f=false">1962</a>.)</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">The New American commentary reads: “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased: this is the best attested reading in the Greek manuscripts. The <strong><em>Western</em></strong> reading, ‘You are my Son, this day <strong><em>I have begotten you</em></strong>,’ is derived from Psalm 2:7.” <a href="http://www.usccb.org/nab/bible/luke/luke3.htm">http://www.usccb.org/nab/bible/luke/luke3.htm</a> (last accessed 2005.)</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">This reference to a "Western" text that reads "begotten thee" is because it appears in the Greek Western type text known as Codex D. It also appears in many other texts of Luke 3:22.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">Throckmorton in <em>Gospel Parallels</em> (1992) explains that &nbsp;this variant (“this day I have begotten thee”) exists in some of the oldest versions of Luke such as P4, meaning Paris Papyrus, “third century” (<em>id</em>., x, xviii, 14); S, meaning Sinaiticus, “middle fourth century” (<em>id</em>., xiv, 14); A B, Codex Alexandrinus, “5th century” and Codex Vaticanus, “4th Century” (id., x, 14), and W Manuscript (5th century).</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">Interestingly, Matthew’s version of the baptism at Matthew 3:17 in the same Codex D reads differently than it does today. It mentions the Holy Spirit descending as a dove upon Jesus. It is interesting that Epiphanius says the Hebrew version of Matthew of the Ebionites had that language too. This reading is also present in the DuTillet Hebrew Matthew. Hence, Codex D which contains Luke's 'begotten thee' language also contains other language in Matthew that matches the Hebrew Matthew but varies from our current Lucan language,<em> i.e.</em>, the mention of the dove in the Matthew tradition.</span></p>
<h3><span style="color: #333399;">C. The Epistle to the Hebrews</span></h3>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">The original baptism language of "this day I have begotten thee" is quoted in the NT in Hebrews 1:5 and 5:5.</span></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="font-size: large; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son,<em><strong> this day have I begotten thee</strong></em>? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son? (Heb. <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=hebrews%201:5&amp;version=KJV">1:5</a>, KJV)</span></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="font-size: large; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son,<em><strong> today have I begotten thee</strong></em>. (Heb. 5:5, KJV)</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">A more vague allusion is seen in Acts. “God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son,<strong><em> this day have I begotten thee</em></strong>.” (Acts 13:33 KJV.)</span></p>
<h3><span style="color: #333399;">D. Patristic Sources 95-325 AD Repititiously Quote 'this day I have begotten thee'</span></h3>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">There is no doubt how the original baptism-of-Jesus once read to include the quote from Psalm 2:7. As quoted at length below, the original version is <em><strong>quoted numerous times</strong></em> in the following early ‘patristic’ writings between 96 A.D. and 325 A.D.: <em>First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians</em>;<em> Dialogue of Justin with Tryphon, A Jew</em>; <em>The Instructor</em>; <em>The Banquet of the Ten Virgins; or, Concerning Chastity</em>; and <em>Acts of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul</em>. The Luke version is specifically quoted in the 300s by the heretic Faustus but without dispute on the validity of the Lucan quote when Augustine does a point-by-point rebuttal to Faustus. Faustus also insisted it was in Matthew's account, which indeed it was clearly in the Hebrew Matthew.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">Let's review these proofs, and provide a link to the online versions of the original sources.</span></p>
<div><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">&nbsp;</span></div>
<p><strong><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: 'times new roman', times; color: #0000ff;">160 AD, Clement</span></strong></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">First, the original baptism-of-Jesus account is quoted in Book One, Chapter VI of The Instructor, a work of 160 A.D. by Clement of Alexandria: “For at the moment of the Lord’s baptism there sounded a voice from heaven, as a testimony to the Beloved, ‘Thou art My beloved Son,<strong><em> to-day have I begotten Thee.</em></strong>’” “Ante-Nicene Fathers/Volume II/CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA/The Instructor/Book I/Chapter VI,” at <a href="http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Ante-Nicene_Fathers/Volume_II/CLEMENT_OF_ALEXANDRIA/The_Instructor/Book_I/Chapter_VI.">wikisource</a></span></p>
<div><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">&nbsp;</span></div>
<p><strong><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: 'times new roman', times; color: #0000ff;">300 AD, Methodius</span></strong></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">Methodius (A.D. 260-312), in Part 9, chapter IX in his work, The Banquet of the Ten Virgins; or, Concerning Chastity, is similarly quoting the original baptism-of-Jesus account when we read: “Now, in perfect agreement and correspondence with what has been said, seems to be this which was<strong><em> spoken by the Father from above to Christ</em></strong> when He came to be baptized in the water of the Jordan, ‘Thou art my son: <strong><em>this day have I begotten thee</em></strong>.’” “Ante-Nicene Fathers/Volume VI/Methodius/Banquet of the Ten Virgins/Thekla/Part 9,” <a href="http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Ante-Nicene_Fathers/Volume_VI/Methodius/Banquet_of_the_Ten_Virgins/Thekla/Part_9">wikisource</a> (Schaff)</span></p>
<div><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">&nbsp;</span></div>
<p><strong><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: 'times new roman', times; color: #0000ff;">300 AD, Lactantius</span></strong></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">Again, in the words of Lactantius (A.D. 260-330), in his The Divine Institutes, book IV, chapter XV, he quotes the original uncorrupted version of the baptism-of-Jesus account: “Then a voice from heaven was heard: ‘Thou art my Son,<strong><em> today have I begotten Thee</em></strong>.’ Which voice is found to have been foretold by David. And the Spirit of God descended upon Him, formed after the<strong><em> appearance of a white dove</em></strong>.” .“Ante-Nicene Fathers/Volume VII/Lactantius/The Divine Institutes/Book IV/Chap. XV,” <a href="http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Ante-Nicene_Fathers/Volume_VII/Lactantius/The_Divine_Institutes/Book_IV/Chap._XV">wikisource</a> (from Schaff).</span></p>
<div><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">&nbsp;</span></div>
<p><strong><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: 'times new roman', times; color: #0000ff;">234 AD, Acts of...Peter and Paul</span></strong></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">In the Acts of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul (234 A.D.), it says: “Him therefore to whom the Father said, Thou art my Son, <strong><em>this day have I begotten</em></strong> Thee, the chief priests through envy crucified.” .“Ante-Nicene Fathers/Volume VIII/Apocrypha of the New Testament/Acts of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul/Acts of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul,” <a href="http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Ante-Nicene_Fathers/Volume_VIII/Apocrypha_of_the_New_Testament/Acts_of_the_Holy_Apostles_Peter_and_Paul/Acts_of_the_Holy_Apostles_Peter_and_Paul">wikisource</a></span></p>
<p><strong><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: 'times new roman', times; color: #0000ff;">230 AD (est.), Origen</span></strong></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">The same verse also once apparently existed in John’s gospel. In Origen’s Commentary on the Gospel of John, section 32, Origen (died 254) writes evidently quoting John’s gospel upon which he was commenting: “None of these testimonies, however, sets forth distinctly the Savior’s exalted birth; but when the words are addressed to Him, ‘<strong><em>Thou art My Son, this day have I begotten Thee</em></strong>,’ this is <strong><em>spoken to Him by God</em></strong>.” <a href="http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/origen-john1.html">(Early Christian Writings</a>)</span></p>
<p><strong><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: 'times new roman', times; color: #0000ff;">96 AD, Clement</span></strong></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">In the <a href="http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf01.ii.ii.html">First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians</a> from 96 A.D., written by Clement—a man who was a direct disciple of the Apostle Peter—it says: “But concerning His Son the Lord spoke thus: <strong><em>‘Thou art my Son, to-day have I begotten Thee</em></strong>.’” &nbsp;(<a href="http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf01.ii.ii.html">Ccel.org</a>)</span></p>
<p><strong><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: 'times new roman', times; color: #0000ff;">165 AD, Justin</span></strong></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">Lastly, in a writing by Justin (died 165 A.D.) known as the Dialogue of Justin with Tryphon, A Jew, in chapter LXXXVIII, Justin writes about Jesus, clearly referencing the Gospels’ baptism accounts:</span></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="font-size: large; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">He was in the habit of working as a carpenter when among men, making ploughs and yokes; by which He taught the symbols of righteousness and an active life; but then the Holy Ghost, and for man’s sake, as I formerly stated, lighted on Him in the<em><strong> form of a dove</strong></em>, and there came at the same instant from the heavens a voice, which was uttered also by David when he spoke, personating Christ, what the Father would say to Him: ‘Thou art My Son:<strong><em> this day have I begottenThee</em></strong>.’ (Justin, <a href="http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/justinmartyr-dialoguetrypho.html">Trypho</a>)</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">Justin then goes on to explain to Trypho the Jew—once more obviously quoting the original form of Matthew 3:17 and Luke 3:22:</span></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="font-size: large; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">For this devil, when [Jesus] went up from the river Jordan, at the time when the voice spake to Him, “Thou art my Son: <strong><em>this day have I begotten Thee</em></strong>,” is recorded in the memoirs of the apostles to have come to Him and tempted Him, even so far as to say to Him, “Worship me;” and Christ answered him, “Get thee behind me, Satan: thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.” Id., ch. CII.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">Other Christian writers predating 400AD who found the same passage in Matthew are Juvencus, Evangeliorum Libri Quattor, I 360-64 and Hilary, De Trinitate, VIII, 25, Tyconius, Reg. 1</span></p>
<h3><span style="color: #333399;">E. Christians Quote Matthew and Luke Against Church Orthodox Views But Quote Accepted As Fact From Luke</span></h3>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">Similarly, the phrase ‘this day I have begotten thee’ was quoted by Faustus ca. 400 AD from both Matthew and Luke’s Gospel as having been uttered at Jesus’ baptism. Faustus was made to appear unorthodox as this verse was being removed from Matthew's Gospel post Nicea 325 AD, and yet Faustus held on to the view that Jesus, the Son of David, was not born Son of God but became Son of God at his baptism.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">This also ran afoul of the late doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church that Jesus was the 'eternal' Son of God, which doctrine emerged at Nicea in 325 AD under Emperor Constantine's influence. (His goal was to alter Jesus to match Constantine's favored deity - Sol Invictus. See our "<a href="/component/content/article/4-recommendedreading/239-council-of-nicea-of-325-ad.html">Council of Nicea</a>".)</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">Augustine in his point-by-point rebuttal in 400 A.D. does not dispute this is how Luke read. In 400 AD approximately, he disputes only how Matthew then read. (Remember, however, the Hebrew Matthew originally had the 'This day I have begotten thee" at Jesus' baptism. See above.)</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">We find this Faustus-Augustine exchange in Schaff’s Augustin: <a href="http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf104.iv.ix.xxv.html?highlight=this%20day%20i%20have%20begotten%20thee#highlight">The Writings Against the Manicheans and Against the Donatists</a>, in Book XXIII (1890) at 313. Schaff recounts Faustus’ points about the Matthew passage when read in light of Luke:</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">Faustus recurs to the genealogical difficulty and insists that even according to Matthew Jesus was not Son of God until His baptism. Augustin sets forth the Catholic view of the relation of the divine and the human in the person of Christ.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">[Faustus wrote]</span></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="font-size: large; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">2. I will, for the present, suppose that this person was right in saying that the son of David was born of Mary. It still remains true, that in this whole passage of the generation<strong><em> no mention is made of the Son of God till we come to the baptism</em></strong>; so that it is an injurious misrepresentation on your part to speak of this writer as making the Son of God the inmate of a womb. The writer, indeed, seems to cry out against such an idea, and in the very title of his book to clear himself of such blasphemy, asserting that the person whose birth he describes is the son of David, not the Son of God. And if you attend to the writer’s meaning [<em>i.e.</em>, Matthew's meaning]&nbsp;and purpose, you will see that what he wishes us to believe of Jesus the Son of God is not so much that He was born of Mary, as that <strong><em>He became the Son of God by baptism at the river Jordan</em></strong>. He [<em>i.e.</em>, Matthew] tells us that the person of whom he spoke at the outset as the son of David was baptized by John, and <strong><em>became the Son of God on this particular occasion</em></strong>, when about thirty years old, according to Luke, when also the voice was heard saying to Him, “Thou art my Son; <em><strong>this day have I begotten Thee</strong></em>.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">Schaff provides Augustine’s complete reply. <em>Id</em>., at 318 et seq. Augustine disputes only how Matthew read but not how Luke read. Augustine quotes only Matthew back at Faustus: “when He was baptized by John, a voice from heaven, saying, ‘This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’” Augustine says these words do not “imply that He was not the Son of God before.” <em>Id</em>., at 315. Augustine ignores the quote from Luke which made Faustus’ case. (For further discussion of this portion of Faustus, see&nbsp;Barbara Aland, Joël Delobel,&nbsp;<em>New Testament textual criticism, exegesis, and early church history</em> (Peeters, 1994) at <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=Z4xXSlE_ZvcC&amp;lpg=PA121&amp;ots=K380wpl4Fq&amp;dq=juvencus%20this%20day%20i%20have%20begotten%20thee&amp;pg=PA121#v=onepage&amp;q&amp;f=false">121</a>.)</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">Based on Epiphanius and Jerome's account of the Hebrew Matthew, Matthew's Gospel must have been altered instead of Luke's Gospel by that time. Only after Augustine did not want to cope with Faustus's argument any longer, Catholic authorities also erased the Luke 3:22 version as well.</span></p>
<h3><span style="color: #333399;">When And Why Did This Change Happen?</span></h3>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">It takes no genius to figure out why this text was deleted about "this day I have begotten thee." It conflicted with a doctrine first adopted in 325 AD at Nicea that Jesus was the '<strong><em>eternal son</em></strong> of God.' While no verse expressly supports that idea, it became fixed dogma. Hence, it is no coincidence that all the texts prior to that era have 'this day I have begotten thee' in the baptism account and all those after 325 AD are missing it.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">This is demonstrable simply by examining Charles Hodge's SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY (1871) Vol. 1. He addresses what would be the problem if this verse were in Scripture. He says if this language from Psalm 2:7 could be applied to Jesus, it is a "more plausible" objection to the 'eternal son' doctrine. He says:</span></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="font-size: large; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">More plausible objections are founded on certain passages of the Scriptures. In Psalm 2:7, it is said, “Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.” From this it is argued that Christ or the Messiah was constituted or <strong><em>made the Son of God in time, and therefore was not the Son of God from eternity.</em></strong> (Vol. 1<a href="http://www.ccel.org/ccel/hodge/theology1.iv.vi.vi.html"> section 6</a> at ccel.org.)</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">Initially, notice that Hodges only has to address that it exists in a Psalm. He does not have to cope with the fact that the authentic version of Matthew's Gospel ascribed this to the voice of Yahweh from heaven at Jesus' baptism.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">Hence, certainly this verse once was present in Matthew, and most certainly it was deliberately removed.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">But this is not an isolated incident.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">Professor Bart D. Ehrman (Christian background; professor on Christianity) catalogs a whole series of similar alterations (some small, but some big) to the New Testament in his book<em> The Orthodox Corruption of Scripture</em> (Oxford University Press, 1993). There he warns us that: “...theological disputes, <em><strong>specifically disputes over Christology</strong></em>, prompted Christian scribes to alter the words of scripture in order to make them more serviceable for the polemical task. Scribes modified their manuscripts to make them more patently ‘orthodox’ and less susceptible to ‘abuse’ by the opponents of orthodoxy.” <em>Id</em>., at 4.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">The Fourth Century church became embarassed that Jesus's sonship took place at his baptism. Proof of this embarassment comes from Jerome. Even though he is aware of the variant 'this day I have begotten thee,' Jerome appears to believe it is the valid version, but then in <em>Enchiridion </em>49 Jerome "explains that <strong><em>J</em></strong><strong><em>esus did not really become God's 'Son' on that day</em></strong>; the 'today' is instead<em><strong> an eternal day</strong></em>."&nbsp;(Barbara Aland, Joël Delobel,&nbsp;<em>New Testament textual criticism, exegesis, and early church history</em> (Peeters, 1994) at <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=Z4xXSlE_ZvcC&amp;lpg=PA121&amp;ots=K380wpl4Fq&amp;dq=juvencus%20this%20day%20i%20have%20begotten%20thee&amp;pg=PA121#v=onepage&amp;q&amp;f=false">121</a> n. 14 (quoting Jerome.)</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">Thus, from some misapprehension of what it meant to say Jesus was begotten by God as His Son at Jesus’ baptism, pious Fourth Century Christians rewrote Luke 3:22. They also removed the original ‘begotten’ language from the baptism account in Matthew. (Our oldest complete versions of Luke and Matthew date to the Fourth Century.)</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">The fact this verse was originally present is too well-attested from too many sources, including the Epistle to the Hebrews in our very own NT of today, to deny it once was what it originally said. Accordingly, it matters little that the oldest surviving manuscripts do not agree. All of the original texts pre-existing the Fourth Century have been lost (or were deliberately destroyed). Only fragments survive. We thus can recover the original and older text by resort to the much earlier sources such as the Epistle to the Hebrews and the ‘patristic’ writings.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">What can we say of those early church leaders who did not think it wrong to change the text? They were forgerers and hence sadly willing to use guile. They deserve our censure. As the orthodox church leader Tertullian said about Marcion in 200 AD and his followers who changed the earlier gospel accounts:</span></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="font-size: large; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">[W]e take up arms against heretics for the faith of the gospel, maintaining... that<em><strong> a late date is the mark of forgers</strong></em>, and...<strong><em>truth must needs precede the forgery</em></strong>, and proceed straight from those by whom it has been handed on. (Tertullian, Agains Marcion, Bk. 4, ch. <a href="http://www.gnosis.org/library/ter_marc4.htm">5</a>.)</span></p>
<h1>Arian Controversy and Council Of Nicea Explains Alterations</h1>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">It was only post 325 A.D. that the standard texts of Matthew and Luke were revised to omit "today I have begotten thee" from Jesus' baptism by John-the-Baptist. You will not find it any longer in the KJV, ASV, NIV, etc. This was because of the controversy with Arius in 306 A.D. who claimed the 'begotten' passages meant Jesus was not the "Eternal Son of God." However, the Roman Catholic church by 325 A.D. felt it was imperative to assert this about Jesus even though no verse in the NT ever calls Jesus the 'eternal Son of God.' For background, see Wayne A. Grudem, <em>Systematic theology: an introduction to biblical doctrine</em> (Zondervan, 1994) at <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=DA8xl4eagDcC&amp;lpg=PA243&amp;dq=arius%20col.%201%3A15&amp;pg=PA243#v=onepage&amp;q=arius%20col.%201:15&amp;f=false">243</a>.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">Hence, words from the original account were let slip in reproductions, to the point we do not any longer see them in our NT.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">But it never made any sense. To say Jesus was the "Eternal Son" begotten of God, as was developed in the 300s and beyond, was a contradiction in terms. As Adam Clarke, a Methodist, explained in his commentary:</span></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="font-size: large; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">"…it is demonstrated that the doctrine of the <strong><em>eternal Sonship of Christ</em></strong> is<strong><em> absolutely irreconcilable to reason</em></strong>, and contradictory to itself. ETERNITY is that which has had no beginning, nor stands in any reference to time: <em><strong>SON supposes time, generation, and father</strong></em>; and time also antecedent to such generation: therefore the rational conjunction of these two terms, Son and eternity, is absolutely impossible, as they imply <strong><em>essentially different and opposite ideas</em></strong>" (<a href="http://bible.cc/acts/13-33.htm">Adam Clarke Commentary</a>).</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">Hence, at Jesus's water baptism, God-the-Father gave Jesus a new birth as Son of God (a unique status), declaring from heaven "This day I have begotten thee." This was an example of how baptism would have similar effects on ourselves although obviously we would not become Divine as Jesus uniquely was indwelled by the Father/Word. (John 1:1, 14:10.)</span></p>
<h2>End.<hr /></h2>
<h2>Email On This Topic</h2>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">Amy wrote me on November 3, 2010 as follows:</span></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="font-size: large; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">The original gospel of Matthew clearly had Jesus being told by YHWH "this day I have begotten thee" and the holy spirit in the form of a dove descended, and entered Jesus. At that point, Jesus became the Son of God indwelled in a unique SHekinah sense by God Himself. Jesus was a man, and continued to be a man despite that experience. Every word or act he saw heard from the Father, he repeated / acted out, as Jesus says in John's Gospel. God knew our feebleness and used a man whom we can see in person, hear in person, who would uniquely be filled by God whom we would listen to....Daniel in Daniel 7 speaks of the Son of Man (a human) coming to earth in time of judgment on clouds of glory, holding God's power in his hands.....but his title and the passage makes it clear this is a MAN -- a man on "clouds of glory" (a synonymn for God's presence)</span></p>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<p>&nbsp;</p> </td>
</tr>
</table>
<span class="article_separator">&nbsp;</span>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<div class="bottom_top"></div>
<div id="bottom">
</div>
</div>
<div id="footer"><strong>Content View Hits</strong> : 5527054<br />
<script type="text/javascript">
var pv = new Array(1,0,0,0,1);
var trdlname = "/downloads";
//<![CDATA[
var regex = /\.(?:doc|eps|jpg|png|svg|xls|ppt|pdf|xls|zip|txt|vsd|vxd|js|css|rar|exe|wma|mov|avi|wmv|mp3)($|\&|\?)/;
//]]>
var trlkname = "/external/";
var trmlname = "/mailto/";
</script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.jesuswordsonly.com/modules/mod_analytics/gatr.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript">
var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "http://www.");
document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E"));
</script>
<script type="text/javascript">
try {
var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-3747914");
pageTracker._initData();
pageTracker._trackPageview();
} catch(err) {}
</script>
</div>
<div class="copyright"></div>
</div>
</body>
</html>

449
component/content/article/16-hebrew-matthew/414-naming-of-jesus-in-hebrew-matthew-by-gordon.html Normal file
View file

@ -0,0 +1,449 @@
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en-gb" lang="en-gb" >
<head>
<base href="http://jesuswordsonly.com/component/content/article/16-hebrew-matthew/414-naming-of-jesus-in-hebrew-matthew-by-gordon.html" />
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" />
<meta name="robots" content="index, follow" />
<meta name="keywords" content="Jesus Words, Jesus Words Only, Jesus Words on Salvation, Did Calvin Murder Servetus, Flaws of Young Earth Science, Ingenious Design, Apostle Paul, False Apostle Paul" />
<meta name="title" content="Naming of Jesus in Hebrew Matthew by Gordon" />
<meta name="author" content="coilone" />
<meta name="description" content="Jesus Words Only focuses on the words of Jesus as the sole inspired portion of the New Testament Scripture" />
<meta name="generator" content="Joomla! 1.5 - Open Source Content Management" />
<title>Naming of Jesus in Hebrew Matthew by Gordon</title>
<script type="text/javascript" src="/media/system/js/mootools.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="/media/system/js/caption.js"></script>
<link rel="shortcut icon" href="/images/favicon.ico" />
<link rel="stylesheet" href="/templates/system/css/system.css" type="text/css" />
<link rel="stylesheet" href="/templates/system/css/general.css" type="text/css" />
<link href="/templates/js_relevant/css/template_css.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" media="screen" />
<link href="/templates/js_relevant/css/nav.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" media="screen" />
<link href="/templates/js_relevant/css/style1.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" media="screen" />
<!--[if IE]>
<link href="/templates/js_relevant/css/ie.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" media="screen" />
<![endif]-->
<!--[if IE]>
<link href="/templates/js_relevant/css/ie.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" media="screen" />
<![endif]-->
<!--[if lte IE 6]>
<style type="text/css">
img { behavior: url(/templates/js_relevant/js/iepngfix.htc); }
</style>
<![endif]-->
</head>
<body>
<div id="main-wrapper">
<div id="header_graphic">
<div class="inside">
<div id="newsflash"> <div class="moduletable">
<table class="contentpaneopen">
<tr>
<td valign="top" ><span>“I am not talking as the Lord would, but as a fool” (Paul, 2 Cor 11:17)</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" >
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</div>
</div>
<h1><a href="http://jesuswordsonly.com/" title="Relevant">Relevant</a></h1>
<h2>A Joomla! Template for the Rest of Us</h2>
</div>
</div>
<div class="menubar">
<div id="navmenu">
<script type="text/javascript" src="/templates/js_relevant/js/barmenu.js"></script>
<ul class="menu"><li><a href="http://jesuswordsonly.com/"><span>Home</span></a></li><li class="haschild"><a href="/books.html" class="haschild"><span>Books</span></a><ul><li class="haschild"><a href="/books/jesuswordsonly.html" class="child"><span>Jesus' Words Only</span></a><ul><li><a href="/books/jesuswordsonly/jesus-words-only-amazon.html"><span>Purchase from Amazon.com</span></a></li></ul></li><li class="haschild"><a href="/books/jesuswordssalvation.html" class="child"><span>Jesus' Words on Salvation</span></a><ul><li><a href="/books/jesuswordssalvation/jesus-word-on-salvation-amazon.html"><span>Purchase from Amazon.com</span></a></li></ul></li><li class="haschild"><a href="/books/didcalvinmurderservetus.html" class="child"><span>Did Calvin Murder Servetus?</span></a><ul><li><a href="/books/didcalvinmurderservetus/download-e-book.html"><span>Download e-Book</span></a></li><li><a href="/books/didcalvinmurderservetus/background-material-did-calvin-murder-servetus.html"><span>Background Material</span></a></li><li><a href="/books/didcalvinmurderservetus/purchase-from-amazoncom.html"><span>Purchase from Amazon.com</span></a></li></ul></li><li class="haschild"><a href="/books/hownottosudythebible.html" class="child"><span>How Not to Study the Bible</span></a><ul><li><a href="/books/hownottosudythebible/download-e-book.html"><span>Download e-Book</span></a></li></ul></li><li class="haschild"><a href="/books/flawsofyoungearthscience.html" class="child"><span>Flaws of Young Earth Science</span></a><ul><li><a href="/books/flawsofyoungearthscience/download-e-book.html"><span>Download e-Book</span></a></li></ul></li><li><a href="/books/unintended-disservice.html"><span>Unintended Disservice</span></a></li><li><a href="/books/original-gospel-of-matthew.html"><span>Original Gospel of Matthew</span></a></li></ul></li><li><a href="/recommendedreading.html"><span>Further Reading</span></a></li><li><a href="/media.html"><span>Media</span></a></li><li class="haschild"><a href="/reviews.html" class="haschild"><span>Reviews</span></a><ul><li><a href="/reviews/jwo-reviews.html"><span>Jesus Words Only</span></a></li><li><a href="/reviews/jwos-reviews.html"><span>Jesus Words on Salvation</span></a></li></ul></li><li><a href="/contactus.html"><span>Contact Us</span></a></li><li><a href="http://astore.amazon.com/jwoogm-20"><span>Amazon Shop</span></a></li><li><a href="/topicindex.html"><span>Topic Index</span></a></li><li><a href="/aboutauthor.html"><span>About Author</span></a></li></ul>
</div>
</div>
<div id="mainbody">
<div id="showcasetop">&nbsp;</div>
<table width="940" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center">
<tr>
<td id="leftcol" valign="top" width="200">
<div class="inside">
<div class="moduleS1">
<div>
<div>
<div>
<h3>Questions?</h3>
Please enter your questions, and we will get back to you as soon as possible. As an anti-spam measure, we ask that you re-type the code you see in the box below, prior to clicking "Send Message"<br /><br />
<form name="s5_quick_contact" method="post" action="">
<input class="inputbox" id="namebox" onclick="s5_qc_clearname()" onfocus="s5_qc_clearname()" style="font-size:11px; font-family:arial; width:80%" type="text" value="Name..." name="name"></input><br />
<input class="inputbox" id="emailbox" onclick="s5_qc_clearemail()" onfocus="s5_qc_clearemail()" style="font-size:11px; font-family:arial; width:80%" type="text" value="Email..." name="email"></input><br />
<input class="inputbox" id="subjectbox" onclick="s5_qc_clearsubject()" onfocus="s5_qc_clearsubject()" style="font-size:11px; font-family:arial; width:80%" type="text" value="Subject..." name="subject"></input><br />
<textarea id="messagebox" rows="" cols="" class="inputbox textarea" onclick="s5_qc_clearbody()" onfocus="s5_qc_clearbody()" style="font-size:11px; font-family:arial; overflow:auto;width:80%; height:55px" name="message">Your Message...</textarea><br />
<input class="inputbox" id="spambox" onclick="s5_qc_clearspam()" onfocus="s5_qc_clearspam()" style="font-weight:bold; font-size:11px; font-family:arial; width:80%" type="text" value="Enter The Code 5676" name="verif_box"></input><br />
<input id="email_address" type="hidden" value="" name="email_address"></input>
<input class="button" type="button" onclick="s5_qc_submit()" value="Send Message" ></input>
</form>
<script language="javascript" type="text/javascript">
// <![CDATA[
var s5_qc_spam_text = document.getElementById("spambox").value;
function s5_qc_clearbody() {
if (document.getElementById("messagebox").value == "Your Message...") {
document.getElementById("messagebox").value="";
}
if (document.getElementById("namebox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("namebox").value = "Name...";
}
if (document.getElementById("emailbox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("emailbox").value = "Email...";
}
if (document.getElementById("subjectbox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("subjectbox").value = "Subject...";
}
if (document.getElementById("spambox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("spambox").value = s5_qc_spam_text;
}
}
function s5_qc_clearname() {
if (document.getElementById("namebox").value == "Name...") {
document.getElementById("namebox").value="";
}
if (document.getElementById("messagebox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("messagebox").value = "Your Message...";
}
if (document.getElementById("emailbox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("emailbox").value = "Email...";
}
if (document.getElementById("subjectbox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("subjectbox").value = "Subject...";
}
if (document.getElementById("spambox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("spambox").value = s5_qc_spam_text;
}
}
function s5_qc_clearemail() {
if (document.getElementById("emailbox").value == "Email...") {
document.getElementById("emailbox").value="";
}
if (document.getElementById("namebox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("namebox").value = "Name...";
}
if (document.getElementById("messagebox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("messagebox").value = "Your Message...";
}
if (document.getElementById("subjectbox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("subjectbox").value = "Subject...";
}
if (document.getElementById("spambox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("spambox").value = s5_qc_spam_text;
}
}
function s5_qc_clearsubject() {
if (document.getElementById("subjectbox").value == "Subject...") {
document.getElementById("subjectbox").value="";
}
if (document.getElementById("namebox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("namebox").value = "Name...";
}
if (document.getElementById("emailbox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("emailbox").value = "Email...";
}
if (document.getElementById("messagebox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("messagebox").value = "Your Message...";
}
if (document.getElementById("spambox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("spambox").value = s5_qc_spam_text;
}
}
function s5_qc_clearspam() {
if (document.getElementById("spambox").value == s5_qc_spam_text) {
document.getElementById("spambox").value="";
}
if (document.getElementById("namebox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("namebox").value = "Name...";
}
if (document.getElementById("emailbox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("emailbox").value = "Email...";
}
if (document.getElementById("messagebox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("messagebox").value = "Your Message...";
}
if (document.getElementById("subjectbox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("subjectbox").value = "Subject...";
}
}
function s5_qc_isValidEmail(str_email) {
if (str_email.indexOf(".") > 2 && str_email.indexOf("@") > 0) {
alert('Your email is now being submitted - Thank you!');
document.s5_quick_contact.submit();
}
else {
alert('Your email address is not valid, please check again - Thank you!');
}
}
function s5_qc_submit() {
if (document.getElementById("spambox").value == s5_qc_spam_text || document.getElementById("subjectbox").value == "Subject..." || document.getElementById("namebox").value == "Name..." || document.getElementById("emailbox").value == "Email..." || document.getElementById("messagebox").value == "Your Message...") {
alert('All fields are required, please complete the form - Thank you!');
return false;
}
if (document.getElementById("spambox").value != "5676") {
alert('Your spam verification answer is incorrect.');
return false;
}
var s5_message_holder = document.getElementById("messagebox").value;
var s5_first_message_char = s5_message_holder.charAt(0);
var s5_second_message_char = s5_message_holder.charAt(1);
var s5_third_message_char = s5_message_holder.charAt(2);
var s5_fourth_message_char = s5_message_holder.charAt(3);
if (s5_first_message_char == "<") {
return false;
}
if (s5_first_message_char == "w" && s5_second_message_char == "w" && s5_third_message_char == "w") {
return false;
}
if (s5_first_message_char == "h" && s5_second_message_char == "t" && s5_third_message_char == "t") {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
else {
document.getElementById("email_address").value = "info@jesuswordsonly.com";
var email_str = document.getElementById("emailbox").value;
s5_qc_isValidEmail(email_str);
}
}
// ]]>
</script>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</td>
<td id="maincol" valign="top">
<div id="breadcrumbs">
<span class="breadcrumbs pathway">
Home</span>
</div>
<table class="contentpaneopen">
<tr>
<td valign="top">
<h2>The Naming of Jesus in Hebrew Matthew by Nehemiah Gordon</h2>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">Book Review</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">Mr. Gordon is the author of Hebrew Yeshua v. Greek Jesus. He identified a verse in the Shaprut Shem-Tob Matthew that helped resolve the incongruous notion that Jesus told us to obey all that the Pharisees say. Instead, a small slip of a Hebrew pen was involved. Two mss. of the Shem-Tob show Jesus said obey what "he" (Moses) says not what "they" (Pharisees) say, which resolved the problem. It is a great short book, and worthy of study.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">In this book, <em>The Naming of Jesus</em>, Gordon $4 (<a href="http://astore.amazon.com/jwoogm-20">amazon lnk</a>) provides us another short book with important information.</span><img style="float: right;" alt="naming of jesus in hebrew matthew graphic" height="300" width="300" src="/images/stories/JWOBook/naming of jesus in hebrew matthew graphic.jpg" /></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">Gordon reminds us that Matthew originally wrote his gospel in Hebrew, as the early church recorded. Gordon says that the Shem-Tob Matthew was thought to be a Hebrew translation fo a Latin Gospel. However, in 1987 Professor George Howard of Mercer University "wrote a monumental book proving that Hebrew Matthew was not a translation at all but an original work written in Hebrew." (Page 4.) With that background, he says the Shem Tob was transformed in transmission, yet "it serves as a witness to the original Hebrew gospel and preserves much of the flavor and character of the Hebrew message preached by Jesus of Nazareth some two thousand years ago." (Page 4.)</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">One of the 28 manuscripts of the Shem-Tob is in the British library and designated Add.26964. The cover of the book contains a reproduction of that manuscript at Matthew 1:18-25.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">Gordon contends that this manuscript contains "the original form of Jesus of Nazareth's Hebrew name: Yeshua." (Page 5.) (I contend it is pronounced Yashua.)</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">According to the Hebrew Matthew of the Shem-Tob, Joseph is told "you shall call him Yeshua for he will yoshia (save) my people from their iniquities." (Matt. 1:21.) Gordon says this is a word pun between Yeshua and Yoshia. (It is equally a pun between Yashua and Yoshia.)</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">Gordon explains Yeshua is a variant of Joshua which in Hebrew is Yehoshua.  He was also known as Yeshua son of Nun. (Nehemiah 8:17.)  The second temple priest Yehoshua was sometimes called Yeshua. (Page 6.)</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">Gordon also marshalls proof from the Shem-Tob that it must have originally contained the divine name YHVH -- the Tetragrammaton (4 characters). The Shem-Tob uses the well-known abbreviation used by scribes of a single H with a double apostrophe symbol to signify originally the text had YHVH. But out of a concern of loose treatment of the text (e.g., being thrown in the garbage or burned), it would not be written out.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">Interestingly, Gordon shows that the Shem-Tob Matthew 1:21 has "for he will save my people from their iniquities" which differs from the Greek which says "his people." The scribe had originally written "his" people, and then crossed it out, and corrected it to "my people." Gordon explains his interpretation: "This probably happened because the scribe was familiar with the Greek version and had a tendency to 'assimilate' Hebrew Matthew to match the Greek." (Page 13.) The scribe in other words fixed his own mistake.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">The Shem-Tob also has Jesus described as a "first-born" son while the Greek standard text does not. (Page 14.) (The Latin Vulgage, Syriac and many Greek texts do have 'first-born.')</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times;">All in all, this book is very good to have as further background on the Hebrew Matthew, and is highly recommended to acquire.</span></p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p> </td>
</tr>
</table>
<span class="article_separator">&nbsp;</span>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<div class="bottom_top"></div>
<div id="bottom">
</div>
</div>
<div id="footer"><strong>Content View Hits</strong> : 1237228<br />
<script type="text/javascript">
var pv = new Array(1,0,0,0,1);
var trdlname = "/downloads";
//<![CDATA[
var regex = /\.(?:doc|eps|jpg|png|svg|xls|ppt|pdf|xls|zip|txt|vsd|vxd|js|css|rar|exe|wma|mov|avi|wmv|mp3)($|\&|\?)/;
//]]>
var trlkname = "/external/";
var trmlname = "/mailto/";
</script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://jesuswordsonly.com/modules/mod_analytics/gatr.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript">
var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "http://www.");
document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E"));
</script>
<script type="text/javascript">
try {
var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-3747914");
pageTracker._initData();
pageTracker._trackPageview();
} catch(err) {}
</script>
</div>
<div class="copyright"></div>
</div>
</body>
</html>

531
component/content/article/16-hebrew-matthew/633-matthew-28-19-in-original-gospel-of-matthew.html Normal file
View file

@ -0,0 +1,531 @@
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en-gb" lang="en-gb" >
<head>
<base href="https://jesuswordsonly.com/component/content/article/16-hebrew-matthew/633-matthew-28-19-in-original-gospel-of-matthew.html" />
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" />
<meta name="robots" content="index, follow" />
<meta name="keywords" content="Jesus Words, Jesus Words Only, Jesus Words on Salvation, Did Calvin Murder Servetus, Flaws of Young Earth Science, Ingenious Design, Apostle Paul, False Apostle Paul, Faith Alone, Dispensationalism, Ebionites, Commands of Jesus, Original Gospel of Matthew, Hebrew Matthew" />
<meta name="title" content="Matthew 28 19 in Original Gospel of Matthew" />
<meta name="author" content="18ptTR" />
<meta name="description" content="Jesus' Words as Primary Focus for Christians" />
<meta name="generator" content="Joomla! 1.5 - Open Source Content Management" />
<title>Matthew 28 19 in Original Gospel of Matthew</title>
<script type="text/javascript" src="/media/system/js/mootools.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="/media/system/js/caption.js"></script>
<link rel="shortcut icon" href="/images/favicon.ico" />
<link rel="stylesheet" href="/templates/system/css/system.css" type="text/css" />
<link rel="stylesheet" href="/templates/system/css/general.css" type="text/css" />
<link href="/templates/js_relevant/css/template_css.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" media="screen" />
<link href="/templates/js_relevant/css/nav.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" media="screen" />
<link href="/templates/js_relevant/css/style1.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" media="screen" />
<!--[if IE]>
<link href="/templates/js_relevant/css/ie.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" media="screen" />
<![endif]-->
<!--[if IE]>
<link href="/templates/js_relevant/css/ie.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" media="screen" />
<![endif]-->
<!--[if lte IE 6]>
<style type="text/css">
img { behavior: url(/templates/js_relevant/js/iepngfix.htc); }
</style>
<![endif]-->
</head>
<body>
<div id="main-wrapper">
<div id="header_graphic">
<div class="inside">
<div id="newsflash"> <div class="moduletable">
<table class="contentpaneopen">
<tr>
<td valign="top" ><span>Thus says YHWH, "Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths, Where the good way is, and walk in it: And you shall find rest for your souls...." </span>(Jer. 6:16)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" >
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</div>
</div>
<h1><a href="https://jesuswordsonly.com/" title="Relevant">Relevant</a></h1>
<h2>A Joomla! Template for the Rest of Us</h2>
</div>
</div>
<div class="menubar">
<div id="navmenu">
<script type="text/javascript" src="/templates/js_relevant/js/barmenu.js"></script>
<ul class="menu"><li><a href="https://jesuswordsonly.com/"><span>Home</span></a></li><li class="haschild"><a href="/books.html" class="haschild"><span>Books</span></a><ul><li><a href="/books/jesuswordsonly.html"><span>Jesus' Words Only</span></a></li><li><a href="/books/jesuswordssalvation.html"><span>Jesus' Words on Salvation</span></a></li><li class="haschild"><a href="/books/didcalvinmurderservetus.html" class="child"><span>Did Calvin Murder Servetus?</span></a><ul><li><a href="/books/didcalvinmurderservetus/background-material-did-calvin-murder-servetus.html"><span>Background Material</span></a></li></ul></li><li><a href="/books/hownottosudythebible.html"><span>How Not to Study the Bible</span></a></li><li><a href="/books/flawsofyoungearthscience.html"><span>Flaws of Young Earth Science</span></a></li><li><a href="/books/jesusorpaul.html"><span>Jesus or Paul</span></a></li><li><a href="/books/unintended-disservice.html"><span>Unintended Disservice</span></a></li><li><a href="/books/original-gospel-of-matthew.html"><span>Original Gospel of Matthew</span></a></li><li><a href="/books/commands-of-jesus.html"><span>Commands of Jesus</span></a></li><li><a href="/books/gospel-of-john.html"><span>Gospel of John</span></a></li></ul></li><li><a href="/recommendedreading.html"><span>Further Reading</span></a></li><li><a href="/media.html"><span>Media</span></a></li><li class="haschild"><a href="/reviews.html" class="haschild"><span>Reviews</span></a><ul><li><a href="/reviews/jwo-reviews.html"><span>Jesus Words Only</span></a></li><li><a href="/reviews/jwos-reviews.html"><span>Jesus Words on Salvation</span></a></li></ul></li><li><a href="/contactus.html"><span>Contact Us</span></a></li><li><a href="http://www.jesuswordsonly.com/topicindex/753-bookstore.html"><span>Bookstore</span></a></li><li><a href="/topicindex.html"><span>Topic Index</span></a></li><li><a href="/aboutauthor.html"><span>About Author</span></a></li><li><a href="/newsletters.html"><span>Newsletters</span></a></li></ul>
</div>
</div>
<div id="mainbody">
<div id="showcasetop">&nbsp;</div>
<table width="940" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center">
<tr>
<td id="leftcol" valign="top" width="200">
<div class="inside">
<div class="moduleS1">
<div>
<div>
<div>
<h3>Questions?</h3>
Please enter your questions, and we will get back to you as soon as possible. As an anti-spam measure, we ask that you re-type the code you see in the box below, prior to clicking "Send Message"<br /><br />
<form name="s5_quick_contact" method="post" action="">
<input class="inputbox" id="namebox" onclick="s5_qc_clearname()" onfocus="s5_qc_clearname()" style="font-size:11px; font-family:arial; width:80%" type="text" value="Name..." name="name"></input><br />
<input class="inputbox" id="emailbox" onclick="s5_qc_clearemail()" onfocus="s5_qc_clearemail()" style="font-size:11px; font-family:arial; width:80%" type="text" value="Email..." name="email"></input><br />
<input class="inputbox" id="subjectbox" onclick="s5_qc_clearsubject()" onfocus="s5_qc_clearsubject()" style="font-size:11px; font-family:arial; width:80%" type="text" value="Subject..." name="subject"></input><br />
<textarea id="messagebox" rows="" cols="" class="inputbox textarea" onclick="s5_qc_clearbody()" onfocus="s5_qc_clearbody()" style="font-size:11px; font-family:arial; overflow:auto;width:80%; height:55px" name="message">Your Message...</textarea><br />
<input class="inputbox" id="spambox" onclick="s5_qc_clearspam()" onfocus="s5_qc_clearspam()" style="font-weight:bold; font-size:11px; font-family:arial; width:80%" type="text" value="Enter The Code 2416" name="verif_box"></input><br />
<input id="email_address" type="hidden" value="" name="email_address"></input>
<input class="button" type="button" onclick="s5_qc_submit()" value="Send Message" ></input>
</form>
<script language="javascript" type="text/javascript">
// <![CDATA[
var s5_qc_spam_text = document.getElementById("spambox").value;
function s5_qc_clearbody() {
if (document.getElementById("messagebox").value == "Your Message...") {
document.getElementById("messagebox").value="";
}
if (document.getElementById("namebox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("namebox").value = "Name...";
}
if (document.getElementById("emailbox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("emailbox").value = "Email...";
}
if (document.getElementById("subjectbox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("subjectbox").value = "Subject...";
}
if (document.getElementById("spambox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("spambox").value = s5_qc_spam_text;
}
}
function s5_qc_clearname() {
if (document.getElementById("namebox").value == "Name...") {
document.getElementById("namebox").value="";
}
if (document.getElementById("messagebox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("messagebox").value = "Your Message...";
}
if (document.getElementById("emailbox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("emailbox").value = "Email...";
}
if (document.getElementById("subjectbox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("subjectbox").value = "Subject...";
}
if (document.getElementById("spambox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("spambox").value = s5_qc_spam_text;
}
}
function s5_qc_clearemail() {
if (document.getElementById("emailbox").value == "Email...") {
document.getElementById("emailbox").value="";
}
if (document.getElementById("namebox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("namebox").value = "Name...";
}
if (document.getElementById("messagebox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("messagebox").value = "Your Message...";
}
if (document.getElementById("subjectbox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("subjectbox").value = "Subject...";
}
if (document.getElementById("spambox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("spambox").value = s5_qc_spam_text;
}
}
function s5_qc_clearsubject() {
if (document.getElementById("subjectbox").value == "Subject...") {
document.getElementById("subjectbox").value="";
}
if (document.getElementById("namebox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("namebox").value = "Name...";
}
if (document.getElementById("emailbox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("emailbox").value = "Email...";
}
if (document.getElementById("messagebox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("messagebox").value = "Your Message...";
}
if (document.getElementById("spambox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("spambox").value = s5_qc_spam_text;
}
}
function s5_qc_clearspam() {
if (document.getElementById("spambox").value == s5_qc_spam_text) {
document.getElementById("spambox").value="";
}
if (document.getElementById("namebox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("namebox").value = "Name...";
}
if (document.getElementById("emailbox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("emailbox").value = "Email...";
}
if (document.getElementById("messagebox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("messagebox").value = "Your Message...";
}
if (document.getElementById("subjectbox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("subjectbox").value = "Subject...";
}
}
function s5_qc_isValidEmail(str_email) {
if (str_email.indexOf(".") > 2 && str_email.indexOf("@") > 0) {
alert('Your email is now being submitted - Thank you!');
document.s5_quick_contact.submit();
}
else {
alert('Your email address is not valid, please check again - Thank you!');
}
}
function s5_qc_submit() {
if (document.getElementById("spambox").value == s5_qc_spam_text || document.getElementById("subjectbox").value == "Subject..." || document.getElementById("namebox").value == "Name..." || document.getElementById("emailbox").value == "Email..." || document.getElementById("messagebox").value == "Your Message...") {
alert('All fields are required, please complete the form - Thank you!');
return false;
}
if (document.getElementById("spambox").value != "2416") {
alert('Your spam verification answer is incorrect.');
return false;
}
var s5_message_holder = document.getElementById("messagebox").value;
var s5_first_message_char = s5_message_holder.charAt(0);
var s5_second_message_char = s5_message_holder.charAt(1);
var s5_third_message_char = s5_message_holder.charAt(2);
var s5_fourth_message_char = s5_message_holder.charAt(3);
if (s5_first_message_char == "<") {
return false;
}
if (s5_first_message_char == "w" && s5_second_message_char == "w" && s5_third_message_char == "w") {
return false;
}
if (s5_first_message_char == "h" && s5_second_message_char == "t" && s5_third_message_char == "t") {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
else {
document.getElementById("email_address").value = "info@jesuswordsonly.com";
var email_str = document.getElementById("emailbox").value;
s5_qc_isValidEmail(email_str);
}
}
// ]]>
</script>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</td>
<td id="maincol" valign="top">
<div id="breadcrumbs">
<span class="breadcrumbs pathway">
Home</span>
</div>
<table class="contentpaneopen">
<tr>
<td valign="top">
<p><span style="color: #0000ff; font-size: 24pt;"><strong><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1">Matthew 28:19 In Original Gospel of Matthew: </span></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #0000ff; font-size: 24pt;"><strong><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1">Trinitarian Formula or Not?</span></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1">A recent<a href="http://www.apostolicfriendsforum.com/showthread.php?p=1378956"> comment</a> at Apostolic Friends Forum of June 12, 2015, noted Rives' <em>Original Gospel of Matthew</em> provides another example where Matthew 28:19 has been restored to an original version that lacks the trinitarian baptismal formula.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><a href="/images/OGM_on_Matt28_19.jpg"><br /></a><img src="/images/OGM_on_Matt28_19.jpg" alt="OGM on Matt28 19" width="691" height="109" /></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1">Here is an excerpt from Standford Rives' volume 2 of the <em>Original Gospel of Matthew</em> (2014 version, purchaseable in <a href="http://astore.amazon.com/jwoogm-20">our store</a>) which discusses the reason why a repair is justified to this passage:</span></p>
<p class="Appendix" style="text-align: center; margin: 0pt 0pt 20pt; font-size: 24pt; font-style: italic; color: #000000; vertical-align: baseline; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;">Appendix J: The Trinitarian Baptismal Formula</span></p>
<div style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;">
<h1 class="Heading1" style="text-indent: 0pt; margin: 14pt 0pt 6pt; font-size: 14pt; color: #000000; vertical-align: baseline; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size: 18pt;">A Baptismal Formula At Variance With NT</span></h1>
<p class="BodyAfterHead" style="text-indent: 36pt; margin: 0pt; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;">The&nbsp;Trinitarian Baptismal Formula appears in only one place in the New Testament: in the canonical Greek Matthew at 28:19. The parallel in&nbsp;Mark 16:15 is otherwise identical except it lacks any trinitarian baptismal formula.</span></p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead" style="text-indent: 36pt; margin: 0pt; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;">Indeed, every surviving Greek manuscript of Matthew 28:19 has the trinitarian formula. The only non-Greek texts which have a variant that omits it are the Shem-Tob Hebrew Matthew and some old Latin and Syriac texts. </span></p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead" style="text-indent: 36pt; margin: 0pt; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;">Is it possible Matthew 28:19 was fraudulently changed to vindicate trinitarianism because very conveniently every surviving Greek text of Matthew [28:19] dates from 340 AD or later? It clearly could be modified and no one would be the wiser. Only quotes by the church commentators from an earlier time could betray the truth, as indeed <strong>seventeen such quotes exist</strong> and do so&mdash;each one omitting the trinitarian baptismal formula in their direct quotes from Matthew 28:19.<a href="file:///C:/Users/doug/Dropbox/Writings%20in%20Process/OGM%20Final%20Files/2014%20Final%20Framemaker%20Files/Excerpts/Appendix%20J%20Trinitarian%20Baptismal%20Formula.htm#pgfId-627942" class="footnote">1</a>&nbsp;[See Footnote 1 at end.]</span></p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead" style="text-indent: 36pt; margin: 0pt; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;">So how strong is the evidence? </span></p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead" style="text-indent: 36pt; margin: 0pt; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;">The consensus of even the most conservative scholars is that the trinitarian formula at Matthew 28:19 was added to the original Matthew at a very late point in time: after the adoption of the trinity doctrine. The book of Acts and Paul&rsquo;s epistles repeatedly show the original baptismal formula was to baptize into only Jesus&rsquo; name. See Acts 2:38; 8:16; 10:43; 19:5; Gal. 3:27; Rom. 6:3; 1 Cor. 1:13-15. </span></p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead" style="text-indent: 36pt; margin: 0pt; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;">The Protestant authority <strong>The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge</strong> (Funk &amp; Wagnalls, 1908) at <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_New_Schaff_Herzog_Encyclopedia_of_Re/l-oVAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&amp;gbpv=1&amp;pg=RA1-PA435&amp;printsec=frontcover&amp;bsq=Trinitarian%20order%20of%20baptism">435</a> agrees that Matthew 28:19&rsquo;s trinity formula is a false addition:</span></p>
<p class="Quote" style="text-indent: 0pt; margin: 7pt 18pt 6pt 43.199997pt; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><a name="pgfId-623259"></a>Jesus, however, <strong>cannot have given His disciples this Trinitarian order of baptism after His resurrection;</strong> for the New Testament knows only one baptism in the name of Jesus (Acts 2:38; 8:16; 10:43; 19:5; Gal. 3:27; Rom. 6:3; 1 Cor. 1:13-15), which still occurs even in the second and third centuries, while the Trinitarian formula occurs only in Matt. 28:19, and then only again (in the) Didache 7:1 and Justin, Apol. 1:61...Finally, the distinctly liturgical character of the formula...is strange; it was not the way of Jesus to make such formulas... [T]he formal authenticity of Matt. 28:19 must be disputed....</span></p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead" style="text-indent: 36pt; margin: 0pt; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><a name="pgfId-623260"></a>An equally important Protestant authority agrees. In <em>The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia</em> (ed. James Orr)(1915) Vol. 4 at 2637, under &ldquo;Baptism,&rdquo; it says:</span></p>
<p class="Quote" style="text-indent: 0pt; margin: 7pt 18pt 6pt 43.199997pt; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><a name="pgfId-597471"></a>Matthew 28:19 in particular only canonizes a later ecclesiastical situation,...and its Trinitarian formula (is) foreign to the mouth of Jesus.</span></p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead" style="text-indent: 36pt; margin: 0pt; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><a name="pgfId-597502"></a>Even Roman Catholicism&rsquo;s <em>Jerusalem Bible</em> (N.Y.: 1966), a scholarly Catholic work, confesses at page 64 note g:</span></p>
<p class="Quote" style="text-indent: 0pt; margin: 7pt 18pt 6pt 43.199997pt; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><a name="pgfId-597454"></a>It may be that this formula, [<em>i.e</em>., the Trinitarian Baptismal Formula of&nbsp;Matthew 28:19] so far as the fullness of its expression is concerned, is a reflection of the liturgical usage established later in the primitive community. It will be remembered that Acts speaks of baptizing &lsquo;in the name of Jesus,&rsquo;....</span></p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead" style="text-indent: 36pt; margin: 0pt; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;">Similarly, a Catholic scholar, Bernard Henry Cuneo, in his <em>The Lord&rsquo;s Command To Baptize: An Historical Critical Investigation</em> (Catholic University:1923), says at page 27:</span></p>
<p class="Quote" style="text-indent: 0pt; margin: 7pt 18pt 6pt 43.199997pt; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><a name="pgfId-597500"></a>The passages in Acts and the Letters of St. Paul... seem to point to the earliest form as baptism in the name of the Lord....Had Christ given such a [threefold-name] command, it is urged, the Apostolic Church would have followed him, and we should have some trace of this obedience in the New Testament. <strong>No such trace can be found.</strong></span></p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead" style="text-indent: 36pt; margin: 0pt; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><a name="pgfId-623354"></a>Likewise, the <em>Encyclopedia Brittanica</em> (1911) Vol. 26 explains Matthew 28:19 clearly did not originally have the Trinitarian baptismal formula which we see today. It says:</span></p>
<p class="Quote" style="text-indent: 0pt; margin: 7pt 18pt 6pt 43.199997pt; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><a name="pgfId-597528"></a>There are traces in the New Testament of a baptismal confession simply of the name of Christ (<a name="marker-597748"></a>1 Cor 1:13, 15;&nbsp;<a name="marker-597749"></a>Rom 6:2; cf. even the late verse&nbsp;<a name="marker-597747"></a>Acts 8:37), not of the threefold name. Moreover, textual criticism points to an early type of reading in Matt 28:19 without the threefold formula. Id. at 774.</span></p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead" style="text-indent: 36pt; margin: 0pt; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><a name="pgfId-597335"></a>How far back can we find the&nbsp;<a name="marker-597785"></a>trinitarian baptismal formula in Scripture sources? It can only be found in those dated after the church in the 300s first adopted the&nbsp;<a name="marker-597765"></a>trinity doctrine. We can trace an earlier different reading through the patristic writers until that same period in the 300s. As the <em>Methodist Review</em> (January 1906) Vol. 88 at 148 points out:</span></p>
<p class="Quote" style="text-indent: 0pt; margin: 7pt 18pt 6pt 43.199997pt; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><a name="pgfId-597574"></a>And there is reason to believe that originally the commandment in Matthew referred only to baptism in the name of Christ. This reading [i.e., lacking a trinitarian formula], which can be traced down as far as the fourth century, would correspond with the fact that in the apostolic age and beyond baptism was administered in the name of Christ.</span></p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead" style="text-indent: 36pt; margin: 0pt; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><a name="pgfId-627964"></a>Canney in <em>Encyclopedia of Religion</em> (Routledge, 1921) at 53 explains that the change to Matt 28:19 followed rather than preceded changes in doctrine:</span></p>
<p class="Quote" style="text-indent: 0pt; margin: 7pt 18pt 6pt 43.199997pt; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><a name="pgfId-597618"></a>Persons were baptized at first in the &lsquo;name of Jesus Christ&rsquo; (Acts 2:38, 48) or in the &lsquo;name of the Lord Jesus.&rsquo; (Acts 8:16;19:5.) Afterwards, with the development of the doctrine of the Trinity, they were baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost.</span></p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead" style="text-indent: 36pt; margin: 0pt; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><a name="pgfId-597336"></a>There is no earlier surviving Greek text of Matthew than post-325 AD at this verse. From prior to the 300s, only fragments of papyri of the Greek Matthew survived.<a href="file:///C:/Users/doug/Dropbox/Writings%20in%20Process/OGM%20Final%20Files/2014%20Final%20Framemaker%20Files/Excerpts/Appendix%20J%20Trinitarian%20Baptismal%20Formula.htm#pgfId-597384" class="footnote">2</a>&nbsp;[See footnote 2 at bottom.]</span></p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead" style="text-indent: 36pt; margin: 0pt; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><a name="pgfId-597397"></a>In addition to Shem-Tob,&nbsp;<a name="marker-602487"></a>two old orthodox Latin and Syriac texts corroborate 28:19 did not have the trinitarian formula. We read in <em>Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics</em>: &ldquo;In all extant [Greek] versions the text is found in the traditional form, though it must be remembered that the African old Latin and of the old Syriac versions are defective at this point,&rdquo; i.e., &lsquo;defective&rsquo; meaning this African old Latin and old Syriac omit the trinitarian baptismal formula.</span></p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead" style="text-indent: 36pt; margin: 0pt; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><a name="pgfId-597638"></a>Likewise,&nbsp;<a name="marker-597410"></a>Mark 16:15 omits it.</span></p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead" style="text-indent: 36pt; margin: 0pt; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><a name="pgfId-597419"></a>Finally, Eusebius in the 320s referenced the Gospel of the Hebrews&mdash;GATHM&mdash;as stating likewise: &ldquo;They went to all nations, teaching their message in the power of Christ, for He had commanded, saying, &ldquo;Go and make disciples of all nations in My name.&rdquo; (Eusebius, <em>Eccl. Hist</em>., 3.5.2.)</span></p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead" style="text-indent: 36pt; margin: 0pt; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><a name="pgfId-597332"></a>Hence, the fact this&nbsp;<a name="marker-597786"></a>Shem-Tob lacks an obvious adulteration&mdash;the trinitarian baptismal formula&mdash;enhances the likely antiquity and veracity of the Hebrew Matthew of&nbsp;<a name="marker-597811"></a>Shem-Tob.</span></p>
<p class="Body" style="text-indent: 0pt; margin: 9pt 0pt; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold; color: #007f7f; vertical-align: baseline; font-family: Georgia;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;">&nbsp;FOOTNOTES&nbsp;</span></p>
</div>
<hr style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;" />
<div class="footnotes" style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;">
<div class="footnote">
<p class="Footnote" style="text-indent: -12pt; margin: 2pt 0pt 0pt 12pt; font-size: 10pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1"><span class="footnoteNumber" data-mce-mark="1">1.</span>&nbsp;<a name="pgfId-627942"></a>Incidentally, the command to baptize in &ldquo;my name&rdquo; is omitted in the Shem-Tob. Here, Eusebius trumps the Shem-Tob because Eusebius is quoting how GATHM and the Greek version earlier read.</span></p>
</div>
<div class="footnote">
<p class="Footnote" style="text-indent: -12pt; margin: 2pt 0pt 0pt 12pt; font-size: 10pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1"><span class="footnoteNumber" data-mce-mark="1">2.</span>&nbsp;<a name="pgfId-597384"></a>Koester, <strong>The Ancient Christian Gospels</strong> (1990) at 314.</span></p>
<p class="Footnote" style="text-indent: -12pt; margin: 2pt 0pt 0pt 12pt; font-size: 10pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1"></span></p>
<hr />
<p class="Footnote" style="text-indent: -12pt; margin: 2pt 0pt 0pt 12pt; font-size: 10pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1"></span></p>
<h1 class="Footnote" style="text-indent: -12pt; margin: 2pt 0pt 0pt 12pt; font-size: 10pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times; color: #0000ff;" data-mce-mark="1">Pages 44-45 of Vol. 2 of Original Gospel of Matthew</span></strong></span></h1>
<p class="Footnote" style="text-indent: -12pt; margin: 2pt 0pt 0pt 12pt; font-size: 10pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1">Rives discusses the trinitarian formula also on pages 44-45 in OGM volume 2 with more proof on the original reading.</span></p>
<p class="Footnote" style="text-indent: -12pt; margin: 2pt 0pt 0pt 12pt; font-size: 10pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1"></span></p>
<p class="Footnote" style="text-indent: -12pt; margin: 2pt 0pt 0pt 12pt; font-size: 10pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1"></span></p>
<div style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;">
<h2 class="Heading2" style="text-indent: 0pt; margin: 12pt 0pt 3pt; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold; color: #000000; vertical-align: baseline; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size: 18pt;">Shem-Tob Confirms The Correct Name To Baptize In</span></h2>
<p class="BodyAfterHead" style="text-indent: 36pt; margin: 0pt; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><a name="pgfId-585560"></a>There is no variant in the Greek text tradition that predates 325 AD which covers&nbsp;<a name="marker-585564"></a>Matthew 28:19. This is the verse that tells us to baptize in the name of the &ldquo;Father, Son and Holy Spirit.&rdquo;</span></p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead" style="text-indent: 36pt; margin: 0pt; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><a name="pgfId-535553"></a>However, all scholars insist, even Roman Catholic ones, that the RCC tampered with the&nbsp;<a name="pgfId-535553"></a>verse and added a&nbsp;<a name="pgfId-535553"></a>trinitarian formula.<a href="file:///C:/Users/doug/Dropbox/Writings%20in%20Process/OGM%20Final%20Files/2014%20Final%20Framemaker%20Files/Excerpts/page%2044-45%20baptismal.htm#pgfId-622349" class="footnote">1</a>&nbsp;[See Footnote 1 at end.]&nbsp;</span></p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead" style="text-indent: 36pt; margin: 0pt; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;"></span></p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead" style="text-indent: 36pt; margin: 0pt; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><a name="pgfId-535553"></a>This is bolstered by the fact that in Acts, the baptismal formula is consistently different than in the&nbsp;<a name="marker-585569"></a>Greek version of Matthew 28:19. First,&nbsp;<a name="marker-585568"></a>Acts 19:3-5 teaches: &ldquo;On hearing this, they were baptized <em><strong>into the name of the Lord Jesus</strong></em>.&rdquo; Likewise in&nbsp;<a name="marker-585570"></a>Acts 2:39, Peter teaches: &ldquo;Repent and be baptized, every one of you, <em><strong>in the name of Jesus Christ</strong> </em>for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.&rdquo; In&nbsp;<a name="marker-585571"></a>Acts 8:16 &ldquo;because the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them; they had simply been baptized<em><strong> into the name of the Lord Jesus</strong></em>.&rdquo; In&nbsp;<a name="marker-585572"></a>Acts 10:48, we read: &ldquo;So he ordered that they be baptized <em><strong>in the name of Jesus Christ</strong></em>.&rdquo; In&nbsp;<a name="marker-585573"></a>Acts 22:16, we read: &ldquo;And now why do you delay? Arise, and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.&rdquo; Thus, the Greek-Matthew 28:19 has Jesus command use of a trinitarian formula which, if valid, would implausibly mean the apostles and early church <em><strong>disobeyed Jesus</strong></em> and improperly baptized in only Jesus&rsquo; name. Hence, the trinitarian formula is highly doubtful.</span></p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead" style="text-indent: 36pt; margin: 0pt; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><a name="pgfId-525426"></a>Further proof is we have the parallel passage in Mark that also lacks the trinitarian formula. Thus, both the Shem-Tob Matthew and the parallel Marcan text lack a trinitarian baptismal formula. We find Matthew 28:19 in the Shem-Tob reads simply&mdash;just as simply as Mark&rsquo;s Gospel reads:</span></p>
<div>
<h4 class="Quote" style="text-indent: 0pt; margin: 7pt 18pt 6pt 43.199997pt; font-size: 11pt; color: #000000; vertical-align: baseline; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><a name="pgfId-525487"></a>Go<a href="file:///C:/Users/doug/Dropbox/Writings%20in%20Process/OGM%20Final%20Files/2014%20Final%20Framemaker%20Files/Excerpts/page%2044-45%20baptismal.htm#pgfId-525473" class="footnote">2</a></span></h4>
<p class="BodyAfterHead" style="text-indent: 36pt; margin: 0pt; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><a name="pgfId-535627"></a>Thus, the Shem-Tob allows us to confidently tell our brothers and sisters in Christ that the name in which to baptize is simply the name of the Lord Jesus Christ: Yahshua.</span></p>
<p class="Body" style="text-indent: 0pt; margin: 9pt 0pt; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold; color: #007f7f; vertical-align: baseline; font-family: Georgia;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;"></span></p>
</div>
</div>
<p class="Footnote" style="text-indent: -12pt; margin: 2pt 0pt 0pt 12pt; font-size: 10pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1"></span></p>
<hr style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;" />
<p class="Footnote" style="text-indent: -12pt; margin: 2pt 0pt 0pt 12pt; font-size: 10pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1"></span></p>
<div class="footnotes" style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;">
<div class="footnote">
<p class="Footnote" style="text-indent: -12pt; margin: 2pt 0pt 0pt 12pt; font-size: 10pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span class="footnoteNumber" data-mce-mark="1">1.</span>&nbsp;<a name="pgfId-622349"></a>Eusebius pre-325 AD seventeen times fully quoted this passage, and every time it did not have the trinitarian baptismal formula. However, his post-325 AD / Nicea quotes all contained the trinitarian formula. Professor Tabor comments: &ldquo;Lack of Trinitarian formula for baptism in Matt 28:19-20 is unique [to Shem-Tob] but seems to be in codices that Eusebius found in Caesarea: he quotes (H.E. 3.5.2): &lsquo;They went on their way to all the nations teaching their message in the power of Christ for he had said to them, &ldquo;Go make disciples of all the nations in my name.&rsquo;&rdquo; (Tabor, supra.) See also&nbsp;<a href="file:///C:/Users/doug/Dropbox/Writings%20in%20Process/OGM%20Final%20Files/2014%20Final%20Framemaker%20Files/Excerpts/page%2044-45%20baptismal.htm#23433" class="XRef"></a>et seq infra.</span></p>
</div>
<div class="footnote">
<p class="Footnote" style="text-indent: -12pt; margin: 2pt 0pt 0pt 12pt; font-size: 10pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;">2.</span>&nbsp;<span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"></span>Mark 16:15 says: &ldquo;Go you into all the world, and preach the gospel to the whole creation.&rdquo;</span></p>
<p class="Footnote" style="text-indent: -12pt; margin: 2pt 0pt 0pt 12pt; font-size: 10pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;"></span></p>
<p class="Footnote" style="text-indent: -12pt; margin: 2pt 0pt 0pt 12pt; font-size: 10pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;"></span></p>
<hr />
<p class="Footnote" style="text-indent: -12pt; margin: 2pt 0pt 0pt 12pt; font-size: 10pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><strong>Rives' Supplemental Notes 9/3/2015</strong></span></p>
<p class="Footnote" style="text-indent: -12pt; margin: 2pt 0pt 0pt 12pt; font-size: 10pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1"></span></p>
<p class="Footnote" style="text-indent: -12pt; margin: 2pt 0pt 0pt 12pt; font-size: 10pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1">In addition, Eusebius apparently was relying upon the original Hebrew Matthew either directly or indirectly when his first 17 quotes from Matthew's ending omitted the Trinitarian formula. For Eusebius lived in Caesarea, and Eusebius mentions one Pamphilus as his source for Matthew. Then when we compare that fact against a contemporary writing from Jerome ca 400 AD about the original Hebrew Matthew that "most believe" was written by Matthew, we read that Jerome said it was in the Library at Caesarea, and one Pamphilus had carefully "collected it" -- apparently meaning made well-known extracts from it. These sources below prove these facts. Hence, most likely Eusebius was reading Pamphilus' extract from the Hebrew Matthew written by Apostle Matthew, and hence Matthew 28 originally lacked the trinitarian formula.</span></p>
<p class="Footnote" style="text-indent: -12pt; margin: 2pt 0pt 0pt 12pt; font-size: 10pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1">Here are the 2 key facts that when tied together prove this:</span></p>
<p class="Footnote" style="text-indent: -12pt; margin: 2pt 0pt 0pt 12pt; font-size: 10pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1"></span></p>
<p class="Footnote" style="text-indent: -12pt; margin: 2pt 0pt 0pt 12pt; font-size: 10pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1">First, Conybeare in&nbsp;<em>Hibbert Journal</em> in 1902 said that Eusebius said he relied upon for his quote from Matthew 28 (without the trinitarian formula) on the manuscript of Origen and Pamphilus.</span></p>
<p class="Footnote" style="text-indent: -12pt; margin: 2pt 0pt 0pt 12pt; font-size: 10pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1">Second, Jerome says in <em>De viris inlustribus / &nbsp;Illustrious Men</em> ch. III that Pamphilus was one who carefully "collected" quotes from the original Gospel of Matthew written in Hebrew by Apostle Matthew which was kept at the Library of Caesarea:</span></p>
<p class="Footnote" style="text-indent: -12pt; margin: 2pt 0pt 0pt 12pt; font-size: 10pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1">&ldquo;Moreover, the Hebrew itself&nbsp; IS PRESERVED TO THIS DAY IN THE LIBRARY AT CAESAREA,which <strong><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1">the martyr Pamphilus</span></strong> so diligently collected&hellip;..&rdquo;</span><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1">&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p class="Footnote" style="text-indent: -12pt; margin: 2pt 0pt 0pt 12pt; font-size: 10pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;">The full quote is that Jerome said that&nbsp;</span></span><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;">Matthew "composed a Gospel of Christ &nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;">in Judaea in the Hebrew language and characters for the benefit of those&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;">of the circumcision who had believed. . . . Moreover, the Hebrew itself &nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;">IS PRESERVED TO THIS DAY IN THE LIBRARY AT CAESAREA,&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;">which the martyr Pamphilus so diligently collected. I also WAS ALLOWED&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;">by Nazarenes who use this volume in the Syrian city of Beroea TO COPY&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;">IT.&rdquo; </span></span></p>
<p class="Footnote" style="text-indent: -12pt; margin: 2pt 0pt 0pt 12pt; font-size: 10pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1">This is the translation from Jerome's Latin text which can be found in Ernest C. Richardson's portion of </span><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1">the series <em>Texte ind Untersuchungen zur Geschichte der </em></span><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1"><em>altchristlichen Literatur </em>(Leipzig, 1896) Vol. 14, at pages 8-9.</span></span></p>
<p class="Footnote" style="text-indent: -12pt; margin: 2pt 0pt 0pt 12pt; font-size: 10pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1">The Latin from Jerome is:&nbsp;</span></p>
<p class="Footnote" style="text-indent: -12pt; margin: 2pt 0pt 0pt 42px; font-size: 10pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1">Porro ipsum Hebraicum habetur usque hodie in C&aelig;sariensi bibliotheca,&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1">quam Pamphilus martyr studiosissime confecit. Mihi quoque a Nazarenis,&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1">qui in Beroea, urbe Syri&aelig;, hoc volumine utuntur, describendi facultas fuit.&nbsp; &nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p class="Footnote" style="text-indent: -12pt; margin: 2pt 0pt 0pt 42px; font-size: 10pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #0000ff;"><strong><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1">NOTE</span></span></strong></span></p>
<p class="Footnote" style="text-indent: -12pt; margin: 2pt 0pt 0pt 42px; font-size: 10pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1">Here is a link to a comprehensive review of the issue whether Matthew 28:19 was modified in the 300s - <a href="http://www.trinitytruth.org/matthew28_19addedtext.html">Does Matthew 28:19 Have Added Text?</a>&nbsp; Here is <a href="http://www.trinitytruth.org/matthew28_19bible-translations.pdf">a PDF </a>from the same website that lists every Bible that omits the added text to Matthew 28:19.</span></span></p>
<p class="Footnote" style="text-indent: -12pt; margin: 2pt 0pt 0pt 12pt; font-size: 10pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1"></span></p>
<p class="Footnote" style="text-indent: -12pt; margin: 2pt 0pt 0pt 12pt; font-size: 10pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" data-mce-mark="1"></span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"></span></p>
<p class="Footnote" style="text-indent: -12pt; margin: 2pt 0pt 0pt 12pt; font-size: 10pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;"></span></p>
</div>
</div>
<p class="Footnote" style="text-indent: -12pt; margin: 2pt 0pt 0pt 12pt; font-size: 10pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times;" data-mce-mark="1"></span></p>
</div>
</div> </td>
</tr>
</table>
<span class="article_separator">&nbsp;</span>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<div class="bottom_top"></div>
<div id="bottom">
</div>
</div>
<div id="footer"><strong>Content View Hits</strong> : 19460516<br />
<script type="text/javascript">
var pv = new Array(1,0,0,0,1);
var trdlname = "/downloads";
//<![CDATA[
var regex = /\.(?:doc|eps|jpg|png|svg|xls|ppt|pdf|xls|zip|txt|vsd|vxd|js|css|rar|exe|wma|mov|avi|wmv|mp3)($|\&|\?)/;
//]]>
var trlkname = "/external/";
var trmlname = "/mailto/";
</script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="https://jesuswordsonly.com/modules/mod_analytics/gatr.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript">
var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "http://www.");
document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E"));
</script>
<script type="text/javascript">
try {
var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-3747914");
pageTracker._initData();
pageTracker._trackPageview();
} catch(err) {}
</script>
</div>
<div class="copyright"></div>
</div>
</body>
</html>

634
component/content/article/16-hebrew-matthew/726-history-of-the-hebrew-version-of-matthew.html Normal file
View file

@ -0,0 +1,634 @@
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en-gb" lang="en-gb" >
<head>
<base href="https://www.jesuswordsonly.com/component/content/article/16-hebrew-matthew/726-history-of-the-hebrew-version-of-matthew.html" />
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" />
<meta name="robots" content="index, follow" />
<meta name="keywords" content="Jesus Words, Jesus Words Only, Jesus Words on Salvation, Did Calvin Murder Servetus, Flaws of Young Earth Science, Ingenious Design, Apostle Paul, False Apostle Paul, Faith Alone, Dispensationalism, Ebionites, Commands of Jesus, Original Gospel of Matthew, Hebrew Matthew" />
<meta name="title" content="History of the Hebrew Version of Matthew" />
<meta name="author" content="18ptTR" />
<meta name="description" content="Jesus' Words as Primary Focus for Christians" />
<meta name="generator" content="Joomla! 1.5 - Open Source Content Management" />
<title>History of the Hebrew Version of Matthew</title>
<script type="text/javascript" src="/media/system/js/mootools.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="/media/system/js/caption.js"></script>
<link rel="shortcut icon" href="/images/favicon.ico" />
<link rel="stylesheet" href="/templates/system/css/system.css" type="text/css" />
<link rel="stylesheet" href="/templates/system/css/general.css" type="text/css" />
<link href="/templates/js_relevant/css/template_css.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" media="screen" />
<link href="/templates/js_relevant/css/nav.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" media="screen" />
<link href="/templates/js_relevant/css/style1.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" media="screen" />
<!--[if IE]>
<link href="/templates/js_relevant/css/ie.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" media="screen" />
<![endif]-->
<!--[if IE]>
<link href="/templates/js_relevant/css/ie.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" media="screen" />
<![endif]-->
<!--[if lte IE 6]>
<style type="text/css">
img { behavior: url(/templates/js_relevant/js/iepngfix.htc); }
</style>
<![endif]-->
</head>
<body>
<div id="main-wrapper">
<div id="header_graphic">
<div class="inside">
<div id="newsflash"> <div class="moduletable">
<table class="contentpaneopen">
<tr>
<td valign="top" ><p>"Rather&hellip;we commend ourselves in every way&hellip;through glory, bad report and good report, yet regarded as impostors."&nbsp; (2 Cor. 6:3, 4 and 6.)</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" >
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</div>
</div>
<h1><a href="https://jesuswordsonly.com/" title="Relevant">Relevant</a></h1>
<h2>A Joomla! Template for the Rest of Us</h2>
</div>
</div>
<div class="menubar">
<div id="navmenu">
<script type="text/javascript" src="/templates/js_relevant/js/barmenu.js"></script>
<ul class="menu"><li><a href="https://jesuswordsonly.com/"><span>Home</span></a></li><li class="haschild"><a href="/books.html" class="haschild"><span>Books</span></a><ul><li><a href="/books/jesuswordsonly.html"><span>Jesus' Words Only</span></a></li><li><a href="/books/jesuswordssalvation.html"><span>Jesus' Words on Salvation</span></a></li><li class="haschild"><a href="/books/didcalvinmurderservetus.html" class="child"><span>Did Calvin Murder Servetus?</span></a><ul><li><a href="/books/didcalvinmurderservetus/background-material-did-calvin-murder-servetus.html"><span>Background Material</span></a></li></ul></li><li><a href="/books/hownottosudythebible.html"><span>How Not to Study the Bible</span></a></li><li><a href="/books/flawsofyoungearthscience.html"><span>Flaws of Young Earth Science</span></a></li><li><a href="/books/jesusorpaul.html"><span>Jesus or Paul</span></a></li><li><a href="/books/unintended-disservice.html"><span>Unintended Disservice</span></a></li><li><a href="/books/original-gospel-of-matthew.html"><span>Original Gospel of Matthew</span></a></li><li><a href="/books/commands-of-jesus.html"><span>Commands of Jesus</span></a></li><li><a href="/books/gospel-of-john.html"><span>Gospel of John</span></a></li></ul></li><li><a href="/recommendedreading.html"><span>Further Reading</span></a></li><li><a href="/media.html"><span>Media</span></a></li><li class="haschild"><a href="/reviews.html" class="haschild"><span>Reviews</span></a><ul><li><a href="/reviews/jwo-reviews.html"><span>Jesus Words Only</span></a></li><li><a href="/reviews/jwos-reviews.html"><span>Jesus Words on Salvation</span></a></li></ul></li><li><a href="/contactus.html"><span>Contact Us</span></a></li><li><a href="http://www.jesuswordsonly.com/topicindex/753-bookstore.html"><span>Bookstore</span></a></li><li><a href="/topicindex.html"><span>Topic Index</span></a></li><li><a href="/aboutauthor.html"><span>About Author</span></a></li><li><a href="/newsletters.html"><span>Newsletters</span></a></li></ul>
</div>
</div>
<div id="mainbody">
<div id="showcasetop">&nbsp;</div>
<table width="940" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center">
<tr>
<td id="leftcol" valign="top" width="200">
<div class="inside">
<div class="moduleS1">
<div>
<div>
<div>
<h3>Questions?</h3>
Please enter your questions, and we will get back to you as soon as possible. As an anti-spam measure, we ask that you re-type the code you see in the box below, prior to clicking "Send Message"<br /><br />
<form name="s5_quick_contact" method="post" action="">
<input class="inputbox" id="namebox" onclick="s5_qc_clearname()" onfocus="s5_qc_clearname()" style="font-size:11px; font-family:arial; width:80%" type="text" value="Name..." name="name"></input><br />
<input class="inputbox" id="emailbox" onclick="s5_qc_clearemail()" onfocus="s5_qc_clearemail()" style="font-size:11px; font-family:arial; width:80%" type="text" value="Email..." name="email"></input><br />
<input class="inputbox" id="subjectbox" onclick="s5_qc_clearsubject()" onfocus="s5_qc_clearsubject()" style="font-size:11px; font-family:arial; width:80%" type="text" value="Subject..." name="subject"></input><br />
<textarea id="messagebox" rows="" cols="" class="inputbox textarea" onclick="s5_qc_clearbody()" onfocus="s5_qc_clearbody()" style="font-size:11px; font-family:arial; overflow:auto;width:80%; height:55px" name="message">Your Message...</textarea><br />
<input class="inputbox" id="spambox" onclick="s5_qc_clearspam()" onfocus="s5_qc_clearspam()" style="font-weight:bold; font-size:11px; font-family:arial; width:80%" type="text" value="Enter The Code 103" name="verif_box"></input><br />
<input id="email_address" type="hidden" value="" name="email_address"></input>
<input class="button" type="button" onclick="s5_qc_submit()" value="Send Message" ></input>
</form>
<script language="javascript" type="text/javascript">
// <![CDATA[
var s5_qc_spam_text = document.getElementById("spambox").value;
function s5_qc_clearbody() {
if (document.getElementById("messagebox").value == "Your Message...") {
document.getElementById("messagebox").value="";
}
if (document.getElementById("namebox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("namebox").value = "Name...";
}
if (document.getElementById("emailbox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("emailbox").value = "Email...";
}
if (document.getElementById("subjectbox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("subjectbox").value = "Subject...";
}
if (document.getElementById("spambox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("spambox").value = s5_qc_spam_text;
}
}
function s5_qc_clearname() {
if (document.getElementById("namebox").value == "Name...") {
document.getElementById("namebox").value="";
}
if (document.getElementById("messagebox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("messagebox").value = "Your Message...";
}
if (document.getElementById("emailbox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("emailbox").value = "Email...";
}
if (document.getElementById("subjectbox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("subjectbox").value = "Subject...";
}
if (document.getElementById("spambox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("spambox").value = s5_qc_spam_text;
}
}
function s5_qc_clearemail() {
if (document.getElementById("emailbox").value == "Email...") {
document.getElementById("emailbox").value="";
}
if (document.getElementById("namebox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("namebox").value = "Name...";
}
if (document.getElementById("messagebox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("messagebox").value = "Your Message...";
}
if (document.getElementById("subjectbox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("subjectbox").value = "Subject...";
}
if (document.getElementById("spambox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("spambox").value = s5_qc_spam_text;
}
}
function s5_qc_clearsubject() {
if (document.getElementById("subjectbox").value == "Subject...") {
document.getElementById("subjectbox").value="";
}
if (document.getElementById("namebox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("namebox").value = "Name...";
}
if (document.getElementById("emailbox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("emailbox").value = "Email...";
}
if (document.getElementById("messagebox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("messagebox").value = "Your Message...";
}
if (document.getElementById("spambox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("spambox").value = s5_qc_spam_text;
}
}
function s5_qc_clearspam() {
if (document.getElementById("spambox").value == s5_qc_spam_text) {
document.getElementById("spambox").value="";
}
if (document.getElementById("namebox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("namebox").value = "Name...";
}
if (document.getElementById("emailbox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("emailbox").value = "Email...";
}
if (document.getElementById("messagebox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("messagebox").value = "Your Message...";
}
if (document.getElementById("subjectbox").value.length < 1) {
document.getElementById("subjectbox").value = "Subject...";
}
}
function s5_qc_isValidEmail(str_email) {
if (str_email.indexOf(".") > 2 && str_email.indexOf("@") > 0) {
alert('Your email is now being submitted - Thank you!');
document.s5_quick_contact.submit();
}
else {
alert('Your email address is not valid, please check again - Thank you!');
}
}
function s5_qc_submit() {
if (document.getElementById("spambox").value == s5_qc_spam_text || document.getElementById("subjectbox").value == "Subject..." || document.getElementById("namebox").value == "Name..." || document.getElementById("emailbox").value == "Email..." || document.getElementById("messagebox").value == "Your Message...") {
alert('All fields are required, please complete the form - Thank you!');
return false;
}
if (document.getElementById("spambox").value != "103") {
alert('Your spam verification answer is incorrect.');
return false;
}
var s5_message_holder = document.getElementById("messagebox").value;
var s5_first_message_char = s5_message_holder.charAt(0);
var s5_second_message_char = s5_message_holder.charAt(1);
var s5_third_message_char = s5_message_holder.charAt(2);
var s5_fourth_message_char = s5_message_holder.charAt(3);
if (s5_first_message_char == "<") {
return false;
}
if (s5_first_message_char == "w" && s5_second_message_char == "w" && s5_third_message_char == "w") {
return false;
}
if (s5_first_message_char == "h" && s5_second_message_char == "t" && s5_third_message_char == "t") {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
if (s5_message_holder.indexOf("s5_qc_null") >= 0) {
return false;
}
else {
document.getElementById("email_address").value = "info@jesuswordsonly.com";
var email_str = document.getElementById("emailbox").value;
s5_qc_isValidEmail(email_str);
}
}
// ]]>
</script>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</td>
<td id="maincol" valign="top">
<div id="breadcrumbs">
<span class="breadcrumbs pathway">
Home</span>
</div>
<table class="contentpaneopen">
<tr>
<td valign="top">
<p><strong><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 24pt;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;">Appendix B: </span></span></strong></p>
<p><strong><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 24pt;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;">History of The Hebrew Version of Matthew </span></span></strong></p>
<p><strong><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 24pt;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;">[<a href="/images/stories/OGM/Appendix%20B%20Hebr%20Matt%20background.pdf">PDF version</a>]</span></span></strong></p>
<p><strong><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times; color: #0000ff;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Introduction </span></span></strong></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Excerpt from Standford Rives, <em>The Original Gospel of Matthew</em>, <a href="http://amzn.to/2g5z5PW">Vol. 2</a>&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Original-Gospel-Matthew-Appendices-Earliest/dp/1468156519/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1479585875&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=original+gospel+of+matthew&amp;linkCode=li2&amp;tag=wwwjesuswords-20&amp;linkId=447ff6a869cbddaa8a549427e48225b5" target="_blank"><img src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&amp;ASIN=1468156519&amp;Format=_SL160_&amp;ID=AsinImage&amp;MarketPlace=US&amp;ServiceVersion=20070822&amp;WS=1&amp;tag=wwwjesuswords-20" alt="" style="float: right;" border="0" /></a><img src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=wwwjesuswords-20&amp;l=li2&amp;o=1&amp;a=1468156519" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" border="0" /></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Ebionites and later the Nazarenes &mdash; the names earliest used by Christianity internally to identify followers of Jesus (Uhlhorn:684) &mdash; ended up as sects within Christianity. They claimed to preserve the original autograph of Apostle Matthew&rsquo;s Gospel in Hebrew. Epiphanius in the 300s said its title was &ldquo;The Gospel according to Matthew.&rdquo; (Epiphanius, Panarion 30, 13, 2-3.) Jerome referred to it as the &ldquo;Gospel according to the Hebrews&rdquo; by Matthew. We will refer to it here typically as GATHM&mdash;the Gospel according to the Hebrews by Matthew.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Eusebius in the 300s quoted Papias and Irenaeus from the 100s and Origen from the 200s as authorities for his statement that Apostle Matthew wrote his gospel first in Hebrew.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">For example, Papias, a reputed pupil of Apostle John, around 90 A.D. explained: &ldquo;Matthew put together the oracles [of the Lord] in the Hebrew language, and each one interpreted them as best he could.&rdquo; (Eusebius, <em>Hist. Eccl</em>. 3.39, quoting <em>Exposition of the Oracles of the Lord</em>, which in turn quotes Papias.) The latter remark has been interpreted to mean it was translated as best as could be done.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Irenaeus likewise says: &ldquo;Matthew also issued a written Gospel among the Hebrews in their own dialect while Peter and Paul were preaching the gospel at Rome, and founding the church there.&rdquo; (Irenaeus, <em>Against Heresies</em>, Bk III:I quoted in Eusebius, <em>Ecclesiastical History</em>, Book V, Chapter VIII.) This means GATHM was circulating by at least 54-58 A.D.</span></span></p>
<p><strong><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times; color: #0000ff;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Epiphanius in the 300s Refers to Nazarene Successors</span></span></strong></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Epiphanius (310-403 AD), Bishop of Salamis, tells us in the quote to follow that the Nazarenes maintained Matthew&rsquo;s Gospel in the Hebrew &ldquo;as it was originally written.&rdquo; This is his work <em>Medicine Chest</em> (&ldquo;Panarion&rdquo;) from 377 AD. In the same context, Epiphanius criticizes the Nazarenes for their persistence in following the Law given Moses, rejecting Paul while yet confessing Jesus as Son of God and as Messiah Christ. Epiphanius also notes the persecution they garnered from Jews for their maintenance of these positions:&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">But these sectarians... did not call themselves Christians&mdash;but Nazoreans [i.e., &lsquo;Nazarenes&rsquo;] <em><strong>who confess that Christ Jesus is the Son of God</strong></em>, but all of whose customs are in accordance with the Law.... Everyone called the Christian Nazoreans, as they say accuse Paul the apostle: &lsquo;We have found this man a pestilent fellow and a perverter of the people....&rsquo; They use not only the New Testament but the Old Testament as well, as the Jews do. For they do not repudiate the legislation, the prophets and the books which are called the Writings by the Jews and by themselves. They have no different view, but confess everything exactly as the Law proclaims it and like the Jews&mdash;except they are believers supposedly in Christ. For they <em><strong>acknowledge both the resurrection of the dead and the divine creation of all things</strong></em>, and declare that God is one, and that<em><strong> his son is Jesus Christ</strong></em>. They are perfectly versed in Hebrew. For among them <em><strong>the entire Law, the Prophets, and the so-called Writings</strong></em>&mdash;I mean the poetic books, Kings, Chronicles, Esther and all the rest&mdash;are read in Hebrew, as, of course, they are read by the Jews. They are different from the Jews, and different from Christians, only in the following. They disagree with Jews because of their belief in Christ, but they are not in accord with Christians because they are <em><strong>still fettered by the Law&mdash;circumcision, the Sabbath, and the rest</strong></em>. As to Christ, I cannot say whether they are too misled by the wickedness of Cerinthus and Merinthus, and regard him as a mere man&mdash;or whether, as the truth is, they affirm that he was born of Mary, by the Holy Spirit......[T]hey are nothing but Jews and nothing else. Yet to the Jews they are very much enemies. Not only do Jewish people bear hatred against them; they even stand up at dawn, at midday, and toward evening, three times a day when they recite their prayers in the synagogues, and curse and anathematize them&mdash;saying three times a day, &lsquo;God curse the Nazoraeans.&rsquo; They have the <em><strong>Gospel according to Matthew in its entirety in Hebrew</strong></em>. For it is clear that they still preserve this in the Hebrew alphabet, <em><strong>as it was originally written.</strong></em> But I do not know if they have excised the genealogies from Abraham till Christ. (Epiphanius, <em>Panarion</em>.) [From&nbsp;Epiphanius, <em>The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis</em> (trans. Frank Williams)(Netherlands: Brill, 2009) at 60, 127, 128, 129-30]</span></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #0000ff;"><strong><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Jerome&rsquo;s Repetition of This View</span></span></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Jerome (342 AD&ndash;420 AD) was requested by Pope Damasus in 382 AD to revise the Old Latin texts of the Bible. In particular, the pope asked Jerome to restore the best original of the four gospels from what Jerome would conclude was the best Greek texts. Based upon this, the pope asked Jerome to produce a new standard Latin version of the Bible. Within two years&mdash;by 384 AD, Jerome had revised the four New Testament gospels.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Because the scope of his mission was to find the best approximation of the original written by the gospel-writer, Jerome did not stop with the oldest Greek manuscript when it came to the gospel of Matthew. Jerome knew Matthew wrote his gospel originally in Hebrew, and it was later translated into Greek. Jerome was clear that he believed the Hebrew Gospel preserved by the Nazarenes (handed down by the Ebionites) kept in a Library of Caesarea was the authentic original. But modern Christian scholars worried this would impugn tradition have unreasonably sought to downplay this fact. They misinterpret, whether consciously or not, that when Jerome later said &ldquo;some supposed&rdquo; and &ldquo;most believe&rdquo; it was the authentic original that this implied a feeling on Jerome&rsquo;s part of less certainty than he previously expressed.&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">However, these scholars are reading these later passages too negatively. Rather, one can regard those later statements by Jerome as consistent with his earlier very positive view. Jerome was simply noting how others came to believe what Jerome had previously affirmed&mdash;that this Hebrew edition at Caesarea was the original edition of Matthew. What else explains Jerome saying he translated the Hebrew Matthew at Caesarea into Latin and Greek (now lost), and then throughout his adult life in numerous commentaries Jerome repetitiously quotes 22 times from the GATHM-Hebrew Matthew? He does so to reveal how it originally read, and thus as a corrective to later corruptions. Thus, how can that fact be neglected by these same Bible commentators?&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">To help the reader assess this matter, I will lay out Jerome&rsquo;s remarks in chronological order, Jerome in 393 AD in his work <em>The Lives of Illustrious Men</em> made the following points:&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Matthew first composed his gospel in Hebrew.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">It is not certain who translated the gospel of Matthew into Greek.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">A copy of the Hebrew Matthew is in the library at Caesarea Maritima.</span></span></li>
</ul>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Jerome made a copy of this Hebrew Matthew which he received from the Nazarenes.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Jerome&rsquo;s actual words from <em>Lives of Illustrious Men</em>, Chapter 3 are:</span></span></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Matthew also called Levi, apostle and aforetimes publican, composed a gospel of Christ at first published in Judea in Hebrew for the sake of those of the circumcision who believed, but this was afterwards translated into Greek though by what author is uncertain. The Hebrew itself has been <em><strong>preserved until the present day in the library at Caesarea which Pamphilus so diligently gathered</strong></em>. I have also had the opportunity of having the volume described to me by the Nazarenes of Beroea, a city of Syria, who use it. In this it is to be noted that wherever the Evangelist, whether on his own account or in the person of our Lord the Savior quotes the testimony of the Old Testament he does not follow the authority of the translators of the Septuagint but the Hebrew. Wherefore these two forms exist &ldquo;Out of Egypt have I called my son,&rdquo; and &ldquo;for he shall be called a Nazarene.&rdquo;</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">It is important to note that here Jerome says GATHM was written in Hebrew. When he inspected it, Jerome mentions at one point how he was interpreting <em>mahar</em>, a Hebrew word, to translate a passage. Thus, this destroys the unwarranted supposition by some scholars that GATHM was written in Aramaic. Rather, Jerome mentions it was also translated into Aramaic, but the version at Caesarea which he regarded as the original was written in Hebrew.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">We also learn in the above quote that by Jerome&rsquo;s day, the Nazarenes were the custodians of this original Matthew. Previously, however, it had been preserved by the first Ebionites. Irenaeus in the late 100s pointed out that the Ebionites only accepted the book of Matthew as authentic, and thus it was a special treasure to them. This was obviously a reference to the original Hebrew Matthew.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;"><strong style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times; color: #0000ff;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Jerome&rsquo;s Further References</span></span></strong></span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">In Jerome&rsquo;s Commentaries that date to 398 AD and later, Jerome links the original Hebrew Gospel of Matthew with the Gospel of the Hebrews which he says was then being used by the Nazarenes and Ebionites. This autograph was preserved on Israel&rsquo;s Mediterranean coast-city of Caesarea. His points in the next quote are:</span></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #0000ff;"><strong><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">The Nazarenes use the Gospel of the Hebrews.&nbsp;</span></span></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">The Gospel which the Nazarenes and Ebionites use (and which he had translated into Latin and Greek) is called by many or most the authentic original Gospel of Matthew.&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">The Gospel used by the Nazarenes is called the &ldquo;Gospel according to the Hebrews&rdquo; or the &ldquo;Gospel of the Apostles&rdquo; or as most term it, the &ldquo;Gospel According to Matthew.&rdquo; It is in the library of Caesarea.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Mention of this Hebrew Gospel of Matthew is often made in Jerome&rsquo;s commentaries after this point. First, Jerome in his Commentary on Isaiah, Preface to Book 18, writes: &ldquo;For when the apostles thought him to be a spirit or, in the words of the Gospel of the Hebrews which the Nazarenes read, &lsquo;a bodiless demon&rsquo; he said to them...&rdquo; This treats this alternative reading as canonical and valid.&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Then in his commentary on Matthew in 398 A.D., Jerome refers that &ldquo;many&rdquo; or &ldquo;most&rdquo; regard the Hebrew Matthew of the Nazarenes and Ebionites as the original. Jerome then uses this text as a positive corrective to the Greek text. Jerome, On Matthew 12:13 in 398 AD writes:&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">In the Gospel which the Nazarenes and Ebionites use (which I have lately translated into Greek from the Hebrew, and which is called by many (or most) people the original Matthew [Lat. quod vocatur a plerisque Matt. authenticum], this man who had the withered hand is described as a mason, who prays for help in such words as this: &lsquo;I was a mason seeking a livelihood with my hands. I pray thee, Jesus, to restore me mine health, that I may not beg meanly for my food.&rsquo;&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">The <em>Cyclopedia of Biblical literature</em> says regarding these statements:</span></span></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">[W]e may safely accept Jerome as an additional witness to the belief of the early church that St. Matthew&rsquo;s gospel was originally composed in Hebrew..., which he mentions as something universally recognized without a hint of a doubt....&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">According to competing translations into English, Jerome in 417 AD allegedly says instead that &ldquo;most suppose&rdquo; it is the authentic Gospel of Matthew. Based upon this word &ldquo;suppose&rdquo; in this translation, too many commentators have exaggerated this as Jerome&rsquo;s expression of doubt. In one translation where we find &lsquo;most supposed,&rsquo; Jerome says in the Dialogue against the Pelagians 3.2:&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">In the Gospel according to the Hebrews, written in the Syro-Chaldaic language, but with Hebrew letters, the Gospel which the Nazarenes use to the present day, and which is also the Gospel according to the Apostles, or, as most suppose, the, Gospel according to Matthew, and which is preserved in the library of Caesarea, it is narrated, etc.&rsquo;</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">But others do not render this as &ldquo;most suppose,&rdquo; but instead as &ldquo;most term it.&rdquo; This is a crucial difference. We find this as an alternate translation here:</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">In the Gospel according to the Hebrews which is indeed in the Chaldaean and Syriac speech but is written in Hebrew letters, which the Nazarenes use to this day, called &lsquo;according to the apostles,&rsquo; or, as most term it, &lsquo;according to Matthew,&rsquo; which also is to be seen in the library of Caesarea, the story tells, etc.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Which is the true translation? The Latin at issue is Ev. juxta Hebraos...secundum Apostolos sive ut plerique autumant juxta Matthaeum.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">This literally means that &ldquo;most claim the gospel of the Hebrews is of Matthew.&rdquo; Norton Andrews renders it as &ldquo;generally considered....&rdquo;</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">There is nothing in the actual words by Jerome which expresses any doubt. There is no sense of &lsquo;suppose&rsquo; in this sentence. Thus, Jerome continues to express affirmation in 417 AD that &ldquo;most term&rdquo; it is indeed the original gospel of Matthew. Jerome is not excluding himself.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">But Montague James takes this in completely the wrong way, saying this quote means Jerome no longer believed that the Hebrew Matthew was the authentic original.&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">What should we believe? In the modern era, there has been a great resistance to the acceptance of any authentic gospel but the Greek version. Then scholars of the 19th century formed a consensus that the Matthew spoken about by Jerome, Eusebius, Epiphanius, Papius and Origen was solely in Aramaic. (This was contrary to every early reference that GATHM was written in Hebrew except one reference by Jerome mentioning he heard of an Aramaic version at Caesarea&mdash;which is easily explainable.) This fed their view (now completely discredited) that Hebrew was not a spoken language in Jesus&rsquo; time. Hence, the opinions that read into &ldquo;plerique autumant&rdquo; a weakness of Jerome&rsquo;s commitment to GATHM reflects biases that wished to dismiss any Hebrew-original of Matthew rather than letting Jerome&rsquo;s words speak as they originally read.&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">The facts are incapable of any dispute: Jerome simply said in 417 AD&mdash;three years before he died&mdash;that most &ldquo;term&rdquo; (call) GATHM the original gospel of Matthew. Had Jerome any doubt, he would instead say something like, &ldquo;while most claim it is the original Matthew, it lacks x, y and z.&rdquo; Much scholarship has skewed a fair reading of this quotation. It is time to regard those scholars&rsquo; readings as too narrow and driven by other suppositions that now have been discredited.</span></span></p>
<p><strong><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times; color: #0000ff;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">What Did Jerome Mean By The Following Early Comment?</span></span></strong></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Jerome in 383 AD in his Preface to the Four Gospels &mdash;a work prior to his Lives of Illustrious Men of 393 AD&mdash; affirmed a positive belief in the Hebrew Matthew as the original:</span></span></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">I am now speaking of the New Testament. This was undoubtedly composed in Greek, with the exception of the work of Matthew the Apostle, who was the first to commit to writing the Gospel of Christ, and who published his work in Judaea in Hebrew characters. We must confess that as we have it [New Testament] in our language it is marked by discrepancies, and now that the stream is distributed into different channels we must go back to the fountainhead [the Hebrew Matthew he translated into Greek? Only others Greek manuscripts of the Gospels?]&hellip;I therefore promise in this short Preface to the four Gospels only, which are to be taken in the following order, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, as they have been revised by a comparison of the Greek manuscripts. Only early ones have been used.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Some scholars interpret Jerome to be saying at this very earliest mention of the GATHM / Hebrew Matthew that in preparing the Latin Vulgate he would examine only the Greek versions of the New Testament, even though here he squarely affirms Matthew did not write in Greek. Because Jerome is aware there are &ldquo;marked discrepancies&rdquo; among Greek manuscripts, he believes the only way to correct them is to go to the &ldquo;fountain-head.&rdquo; Jerome then mentions he would use &ldquo;only the early&rdquo; Greek translations. But in context, did this really exclude the Hebrew Matthew of GATHM if he could get his hands on it? Does it imply that he distrusted it at this point? It goes too far to say so since Jerome had not yet seen it, but some read Jerome in just that way.&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">The most that can be said is Jerome only had access to the Greek texts at that early juncture. Then Jerome was implying that if he obtained the Hebrew Matthew / GATHM at some point, he would have considered it as a &lsquo;fountainhead&rsquo; resource. This explains why years later he says he had found it at Caesarea and &lsquo;lately&rsquo; translated it into Latin and Greek. Why do so? Because Jerome believed it would have improved his Vulgate translation into Latin. From the quote above dated to 383 AD, there is no reason to infer Jerome meant any slight on the Hebrew Matthew / GATHM by not citing it as a source at that juncture. He had not yet obtained and translated the Gospel According to the Hebrews (GATHM) until &ldquo;circa 392 A.D.&rdquo;&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Moreover, the fact years later, in Lives of Illustrious Men from about 393 AD, Jerome squarely says the Hebrew Matthew / GATHM at Caesarea is, in his opinion, the original only confirms that he would likely have meant to use it as a fountain-head source if he had access to it at the earlier juncture of 383 AD.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Hence, those who read the last quote above as an earlier expression of doubt by Jerome about GATHM have again read far too much into his words which actually in context are very positive or hopeful.</span></span></p>
<p><strong><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times; color: #0000ff;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Hebrew Matthew: Any Significant Heretical Differences?</span></span></strong></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Is there any reason to believe this original Matthew / GATHM is significantly unlike our current Greek Matthew? Between Jerome and Epiphanius, we have twenty-eight quotes. From all sources, we have forty-nine quotes spanning through 410 AD.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Jerome is always intrigued by the differences and makes no charge of unorthodoxy against GATHM. He quotes the Gospel According to the Hebrews of Matthew with great respect and admiration. You can find Jerome&rsquo;s full quotes in footnotes to Matthew in the Gospel Parallels edited by Throckmorton. (He often identifies the source as Gospel of the Ebionites but Jerome referred to it typically as either the Hebrew Matthew or the Gospel According to the Hebrews of Matthew held by the Ebionites and Nazarenes. Read together, Jerome appears to always be talking of the same work.)</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">In 1879, Edward Nicholson wrote The Gospel According to the Hebrews&mdash;a scholarly collection and defense of the orthodoxy of the forty-nine quotes from that gospel in the early church. He synopsizes that the early church overwhelmingly accepted this gospel as an authoritative and canonical fifth gospel. He explains:</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">The Fathers of the Church, while the Gospel according to the Hebrews was yet extant in its entirety, referred to it always with respect, often with reverence: some of them unhesitatingly accepted it as being what tradition affirmed it to be&mdash;the work of Matthew&mdash;and even those who have not put on record their expression of this opinion have not questioned it. Is such an attitude consistent with the supposition that the Gospel according to the Hebrews was a work of heretical tendencies? This applies with tenfold force to Jerome. After copying it, would he, if he had seen heresy in it, have translated it for public dissemination into both Greek and Latin, and have continued to favour the tradition of its Matthaean authorship? (Nicholson: 82.)&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #0000ff;"><strong><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Two Charge Heresy Over Jesus Being A Man</span></span></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Epiphanius in the 4th Century attacked the Ebionites (who were custodians of GATHM) for believing Jesus was a true human being, not having flesh divine from birth due to a virgin birth. Initially, Epiphanius did not know if the genealogy was entirely missing in their Matthew. However, later Epiphanius confirmed a genealogy from Abraham, but that the virgin birth was missing and that instead Joseph begat Jesus: &ldquo;The Ebionites, following these, assert that He was begotten by Joseph....&rdquo; (See page 65 infra.) Epiphanius claimed this final begat made the Hebrew version of Matthew thereby &ldquo;incomplete, corrupt, [and] mutilated.&rdquo;&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Similarly, Eusebius circa 325 AD claimed that the Ebionites heretically believed Jesus was &ldquo;a common man, who was justified only because of his superior virtue, and who was the fruit of the intercourse of a man with Mary.&rdquo; (History of the Church ch. XXVII.) Eusebius noted that the Ebionites &ldquo;used only the so-called Gospel according to the Hebrews.&rdquo; Id. Obviously GATHM had Joseph begetting Jesus, and there was no virgin birth story.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">However, scholars now realize the absence of the virgin birth and other parts of the genealogy, especially the extended genealogy beginning at verse 17 of chapter one, would enhance the validity of our gospel of Matthew. It would make GATHM therefore an honest resource for Christians to defend criticism over the critically problematical verses in the surviving Greek Matthew.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">What confirms that GATHM is more original on the virgin birth issue is that Christian scholars have pointed out that the virgin birth account (a) conflicts with the earliest NT manuscript (Syriac Sinaiticus from 340 AD), as well as early-church &lsquo;fathers&rsquo; from the 100s and 200s&mdash;which all say that Joseph begat Jesus; (b) is not mentioned in any church literature until post-150 AD; (c) it conflicts with the prophecy in the Book of Samuel of a human lineage of the Messiah from the flesh of David; and (d) presents a docetic Christ who did not have true human flesh&mdash;a gnostic idea that Apostle John said in his epistle was the message of the Anti-Christ. (Incidentally, the virgin birth account in Luke rests on the presence of one single verse other than the &lsquo;begat verse,&rsquo; suggesting that the virgin birth in Luke was also an addition.)&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Why should we consider the omission of the virgin birth account in the genealogy as more valid? The most Biblical reason to reject the account (even if one did not have to consider the GATHM) is simple: genealogy runs from the father (Numbers 1:18; 2:2). Then how could Jesus be a descendant of David if Joseph is not in his bloodline?&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">We read in 2 Sam. 7:8-16:</span></span></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">&lsquo;The LORD declares to you that the LORD himself will establish a house for you: 12 When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands. 15 But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. 16 Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.&rsquo; (2 Sam. 7:8-16 NIV 2010)</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">This passage from Second Samuel is referenced by Peter in Acts as fulfilled in Jesus:</span></span></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">29 David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is among us unto this day; 30 a prophet, therefore, being, and knowing that with an oath God did swear to him, out of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, to raise up the Christ, to sit upon his throne.... (Acts 2:29-30, YLT.)&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">The only passage Peter has in mind is 2 Sam. 7:8-16. It prophesies Messiah has David&rsquo;s flesh. This matches the GATHM which depicts Jesus as a man born of Joseph in the Davidic line. Specifically, Second Samuel makes these statements that necessitate Jesus was a true man from birth:</span></span></p>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">&ldquo;But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you.&rdquo; (v. 15)&nbsp;</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">&ldquo;When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands.&rdquo;</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">&ldquo;I will be his father, and he will be my son.&rdquo; (v. 14.)</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">&nbsp;&ldquo;I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.&rdquo;&nbsp;</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">&ldquo;I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom.&rdquo; (v. 13)&nbsp;</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">&ldquo;Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.&rdquo; (2 Sam. 7:13-16 NIV 2010.)</span></span></li>
</ul>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Certainly, God wanted us to know the Messiah would come from David&rsquo;s &ldquo;flesh and blood&rdquo; (verse 13), yet he would be called &ldquo;God&rsquo;s Son&rdquo; and not David&rsquo;s son (verse 14). Then even though Jesus is depicted in the GATHM as sinless, God&rsquo;s prophecy told us this &ldquo;son&rdquo; would be born entirely human: &ldquo;when he does wrong, I will punish him....&rdquo; This prophecy contemplates that there was no divine flesh that would guarantee Jesus the victory over sin. Jesus had to always obey His Father to become at 35 years of life indwelled by the Father at His baptism.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">If we persist in not letting the original Matthew challenge us to accept changes more consistent with Second Samuel, we give needless grounds to scoff at Christianity. Here is an example of such scoffing:&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">But what is most surprising is, that those very Evangelists, who labor to prove his hereditary Right to the Kingdom, as lineally descended from David, assure us at the same time, that he had no natural human descent at all; but that Mary conceived him by the Holy Ghost, or Immediate Power of God, while she was a pure Virgin. (Thomas Morgan, <em>Moral Philosopher</em> (1740) at 197.)</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Jewish critics quite sensibly refute Jesus is Messiah based upon the virgin birth claim:</span></span></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">The Messiah must be descended on his father&rsquo;s side from King David (see Genesis 49:10 and Isaiah 11:1). According to the Christian claim that Jesus was the product of a virgin birth, he had no father&mdash; and thus could not have possibly fulfilled the messianic requirement of being descended on his father&rsquo;s side from King David!</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">We will discuss in more depth later the many technical reasons why the virgin birth account is entirely flawed in the canonical gospels. For example, Isaiah did not prophesy about a &ldquo;young virgin&rdquo; would give birth to Messiah; instead, Isaiah prophesied about a &ldquo;young maiden&rdquo; who would do so. The Greek Septuagint of 257 BC mistranslated Isaiah to be speaking of a &ldquo;young virgin,&rdquo; and the Greek translator of Matthew obviously felt obliged to add details to fit that erroneous Greek translation which he incorporated into the Greek Matthew&mdash;oblivious how this would break the prophecy of Second Samuel.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">While there are many reasons to doubt the virgin birth account is authentic, I trust that among evangelicals the most important concern is that Jesus would be invalidated as Messiah if Jesus did not have the flesh of David in His genealogy.&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #0000ff;"><strong><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Dilemma About First Chapter of Greek Matthew</span></span></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Here is how a scholar discusses the problem presented by the Greek Matthew&rsquo;s first chapter. Michaelis demonstrates how the GATHM version without the virgin birth account and several genealogical misstatements would solve several textual dilemmas.&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Specifically, there is internal evidence that a portion of chapter one is not originally written by Matthew. For example, to prove a prophecy of a &ldquo;virgin&rdquo; birth existed in the OT, the Greek Matthew quotes the Greek Septuagint translation of Isaiah rather than the Hebrew original of Isaiah. But the word for <em>virgin</em> in the Greek Septuagint translation of 257 BC was a mistranslation of the original Hebrew of Isaiah which spoke about a &ldquo;young woman&rdquo; who shall give birth, etc. Nowhere else in Matthew does Matthew side with the Greek Septuagint over the Hebrew original when they differ significantly in meaning. Michaelis explains how the original Hebrew Matthew could serve to purge chapter one of this error and many more errors: &nbsp; &nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">To illustrate its critical use [i.e. the use of the Nazarene / Ebionite gospel of Matthew], in determining the authenticity or spuriousness of doubtful passages, we may apply it to the two first chapters of St. Matthew&rsquo;s Gospel, on which doubts are entertained, whether they really proceeded from the pen of the Evangelist. It appears from the accounts of Epiphanius, which have been already quoted, that in the Hebrew Gospel used by the Ebionites, the genealogy was certainly wanting; and perhaps the whole of the two first chapters. Tatian likewise, who is said to have used the Hebrew Gospel omitted the genealogy: in two Capitulations and a Breviary published by Martianay it is wholly unnoticed [i.e., omitted]....&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">No two chapters, in the whole New Testament are pressed with so many difficulties, as the two in question: not so much on account of the apparent contradictions to the genealogy given by St. Luke, which may be very satisfactorily reconciled, as on account of the quotations contained in them from the Old Testament, which I am wholly unable to explain.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Michaelis then says that the Nazarene Gospel / GATHM can allow us to remove doubts about the Greek Matthew&rsquo;s validity. Michaelis said GATHM might one day erase these doubts, but at that time, we had an imperfect record:</span></span></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Doubts of this kind might be either removed or confirmed by the Nazarene Gospel, were it now extant, and were we absolutely certain that it contained the original text of St. Matthew. But our imperfect accounts of this Gospel make it difficult to determine whether it began in the same manner as our Greek Gospel....</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">However, textual discoveries have indeed grown. We believe we are now ready to propose GATHM to help repair these textual problems in our current Matthew.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Then Michaelis, a Christian scholar, says he would not criticize anyone who would propose deleting the problematical aspects of chapters one and two of Matthew based upon Epiphanius&rsquo; claim that these elements were missing in GATHM:&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Should any critic therefore, in consequence of these difficulties be disposed to separate the two first chapters from the rest of St. Matthew&rsquo;s Gospel, in order to prevent the objections which may be made to them from affecting the credibility and inspiration of the whole Gospel, I should not censure him for his conduct, though for my own part I am unable to come to a positive decision, whether they ought to be separated or not.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Thus, if scholars say we should not be censured for eliminating the problems in chapter one, we have good reason to turn to the Ebionites whose chapter one did not have a virgin birth account (<em>i.e</em>., from verse 17 to the end of the chapter). The Ebionites like the Greek Matthew trace Jesus&rsquo; lineage to Joseph&rsquo;s Davidic lineage, but they did not stop one person short. Joseph too is in the lineage of Jesus. As this enhances the credibility of the whole, this would tend to prove the Ebionite version is the more original and authentic version of Matthew.&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Otherwise, what explains it appearing the Apostle Matthew made the mistakes that scholars of sincere Christian profession otherwise recognize in the Greek Matthew in chapter one? The answer is obvious: the <em><strong>Greek translator of Matthew is the source of these errors</strong></em> including the editorial addition of a virgin birth account, driven by the translator&rsquo;s erroneous reliance on the Greek Septuagint version of Isaiah 7:14. The Septuagint of 250 BC mistranslated &ldquo;young woman&rdquo; as &ldquo;virgin.&rdquo; This Greek Septuagint error was adopted by the Greek translator into his Greek Matthew. Then one error led to the next. As a result, a birth tale never written by Matthew now appears in the Greek Matthew.&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #0000ff;"><strong><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Outside Chapter One, Differences Are Small</span></span></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Putting aside this one difference, all the other differences raised by Epiphanius are slight. In fact, what is often overlooked is that Epiphanius was nit-picking at just a few slight differences. Otherwise, the verses he quotes from the Ebionite Matthew in Hebrew read identical to our Greek Matthew. This demonstrates the balance of the Gospel of the Hebrews according to Matthew must have been virtually identical to the Greek version we all have now. Otherwise Epiphanius would have skewered them on those variances as well. Epiphanius&rsquo; failure to do so allows an inference the Hebrew Matthew of the Ebionites otherwise largely matches our current Greek version.&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">But if one insists that the mere fact that the Gospel According to the Hebrews does not contain any mention of the virgin birth account means it is entirely heretical, then this would equally impugn John&rsquo;s Gospel and Mark&rsquo;s Gospel, and even Paul, James, Jude, and the Book of Revelation. None of those sources mention it. So that cannot be a valid criticism of the Gospel according to the Hebrews.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Thereby, Nicholson makes a very pointed rejoinder to Epiphanius&rsquo; charge of heresy. He asks &lsquo;What if we assumed Mark too was favored by the Nazarenes?&rsquo; Would we find heresy on the very same score that Epiphanius found with the Gospel According to the Hebrews? Nicholson aptly writes:</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Or let us suppose Mark to have been the Nazarene Gospel. From the fact that it began with the Baptism, we should forthwith conclude that it was designed to support the heresy that Jesus was mere man until the divine Christ descended into him in the shape of a dove. And for [Mark] xiii. 32, &ldquo;Of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father,&rdquo; we should have found no [in]sufficient justification. (Nicholson, The Gospel According to the Hebrews, supra, at 83.)</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Hence, there is nothing inherently heretical omitting the virgin birth account in the Gospel According to the Hebrews. At least it is no more heretical than the impression than what the book of Mark would leave if you read it apart from the other gospels.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #0000ff;"><strong><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Ebionite-Nazarene Matthew&mdash;More Valid Than The Greek</span></span></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">There are more reasons to believe this Hebrew Matthew of the Ebionites and Nazarenes is a true autograph of the apostle Matthew.&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">By contrasting to the Greek Matthew, let&rsquo;s see whether the GATHM is correct where the Greek is wrong. Jerome in his Commentary on Matthew 23:35 says: &ldquo;In the [Hebrew] gospel [of Matthew] which the Nazarenes use, for &lsquo;son of Barachiah&rsquo; we find written, &lsquo;son of Jehoiada.&rsquo;&rdquo;&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">The Nazarene-Ebionite version of Matthew (GATHM) is the correct account. Zechariah was not the son of Barachiah who was killed prior to Jesus&rsquo; birth. In fact, Zechariah, the son of Barachia, was a person who died in 68 AD. The Greek version of Jerome&rsquo;s day and our own is clearly incorrect, as Jerome noted. The Greek translator simply picked a name with which he was recently familiar.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Thus, this demonstrates the Ebionites-Nazarenes must have been preserving the original autograph of the apostle Matthew himself. And the Greek translation was near 68 AD.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #0000ff;"><strong><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">The Lucan Connection</span></span></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">It is theorized by many scholars that the &ldquo;eyewitnesses&rdquo; upon whom Luke relied predominantly included the Gospel According to the Hebrews of Matthew (GATHM). Luke heard and too believed the tradition that Matthew wrote it. So he borrowed freely from it.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">One of the reasons for believing this claim, of which Edwards is the most recent proponent, is that many semitisms appear in Luke&rsquo;s text. A Semitism is a distinctly Hebrew way of phrasing or writing. For example, when you see sentences begin with &ldquo;And&rdquo; repeatedly, these collectively are regarded as Semitisms.&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">In fact, there are direct links between GATHM and Luke. Specifically, there are several unique parallels between only Luke and the Gospel According to the Hebrews. Nicholson explained one in 1879:</span></span></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Fragment 5 (Ebionite)...introduces mention, peculiar to Luke, of the parentage of John the Baptist and the priesthood of Caiaphas. (Nicholson: 92.)</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">While Nicholson ascribes this connection to &ldquo;the certainty that they [i.e., the Ebionites] used Luke or a similar Gospel...&rdquo; (id.), Edwards recently demonstrated that it is more likely that Luke borrowed from the Gospel According to the Hebrews which the Ebionites passed on to the Nazarenes.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Nicholson continues. He says Fragment 6 which has a Nazarene source uses &ldquo;Behold.&rdquo; This is a word &ldquo;specially characteristic of Matthew and Luke.&rdquo;</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Nicholson then makes several similar observations and concludes: &ldquo;Altogether the verbal analysis suggests relations to Luke.&rdquo; (Nicholson: 93.) However, Edwards&rsquo; explanation makes more sense. The semitisms in Luke are because Luke is borrowing from the Gospel according to the Hebrews written by Matthew. It is not the Ebionites borrowing from Luke.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #0000ff;"><strong><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Two Primary Hebrew Versions Of Matthew</span></span></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">There are generally two competing texts today that scholars put forth as potentially close to the original Matthew in Hebrew. Jerome&rsquo;s translation of the Gospel according to the Hebrews has been lost, so the best test is unfortunately unavailable.&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Nevertheless, there does appear to be a clear winner between the two texts. There is another clear error in our Greek Matthew which one of these two texts does not perpetuate. However, one of the two persists in the same error as in the Greek Matthew. This helps us discriminate between the two which is closer to the original Hebrew Matthew.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Let&rsquo;s explore the background of these two versions of the Hebrew Matthew.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #0000ff;"><strong><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">The Shem-Tob Matthew by Shaprut</span></span></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">In 1380 AD, a Hebrew Matthew was preserved in an appendix / chapter entitled Shem Tob belonging to a book entitled Eben Bochan. Its author was Yitschak ben Shaprut of Tudela in Castle, Spain. This was a polemical work against Christianity. To make his case, in one chapter / appendix, Shaprut incorporates Matthew in Hebrew. Eben Bocham was revised again in 1385 and 1400 AD, with several intermediate revisions. Then in 1987, two of the nine revisions of the Hebrew Matthew of Shaprut were combined into a single text by a responsible Bible scholar, George Howard. He published this collation as The Gospel of Matthew According To A Primitive Hebrew Text (Macon: Georgia: Mercer University Press, 1987). The 1995 reprint fixes various errors and is the preferred text. Shaprut&rsquo;s text is commonly known as the Shem-Tob or Shem Tov. We call it here by the name Shem-Tob.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">The Shem-Tob is basically written in Biblical Hebrew with a mixture of Midrashic Hebrew. It also has some later rabbinic vocabulary and idiom. In addition, there has been significant revision to make it conform to the standard Greek and Latin Gospel texts. Yet, it no doubt has an underlying authentic Hebrew composition that could have been written in Christ&rsquo;s era. It does have unique variants but not for any agenda-driven rationale. Many are simply interesting. Professor Tabor notes:</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">The underlying text, however, reflects its original Hebrew composition, and it is the most unusual text of Matthew extant in that it contains a plethora of readings not found in any other codices of Matthew. It appears to have been preserved by the Jews, independent from the Christian community.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Significantly, the Shem-Tob&rsquo;s Hebrew has the look-and-feel of Hebrew mixed with Aramaicisms from the first century&mdash;the latest date estimate for the Dead Sea Scrolls. As Professor Howard opined:</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Moreover, the most primitive layer of Shem-Tob&lsquo;s Matthew is written in an unpolished style and is filled with ungrammatical constructions and Aramaicized forms and idioms. In these characteristics it resembles many of the Dead Sea Scroll fragments and gives the appearance of belonging to the same time frame. Reading Shem-Tob&rsquo;s Matthew is often like reading one of the Dead Sea Scrolls.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">What verifies the Shem-Tob, however, is that it is consistent with early versions of the gospels and Christ&rsquo;s saying which were lost by 1380 AD. That was the year when the Shem-Tob was published. Shem-Tob could not have plumbed some history book and found these variants to garner legitimacy. Thus, because these sayings uniquely are found in the Shem-Tob, we know a separate tradition&mdash;one among Jews&mdash;kept alive the original manuscript which Shaprut borrowed in 1380 AD.&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">For example, one of these post-1380 discoveries was the misplaced Sinaiticus of 340 AD&mdash;found in 1892 AD&mdash;containing variants of Matthew which were unknown in print except in the Shem-Tob of 1380 AD. Another example is the Gospel of Thomas from 100 AD&mdash;found in 1945. Thomas similarly has variants to Matthean-parables which were unknown in church manuscripts until the Shem-Tob of 1380 AD happened to be published. Then scholars found Thomas had valid variants still preserved in the Shem-Tob.&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Hence, both the Sinaiticus and Gospel of Thomas validate the ancient-quality of the unique tradition found in the Shem-Tob of 1380 AD. Only happenstance proved this by two discoveries more than five centuries later:&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">[Shem-Tob] sometimes agrees in odd ways with Codex Sinaiticus [of 340 AD but only found 1892 AD]. It contains some striking readings in common with the Gospel of John, but in disagreement with the other Gospels....ST also often agrees with the Lukan version of Q. ST also contains 22 agreements with the Gospel of Thomas [found in 1945].</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">These parallels with modern discoveries make the Shem-Tob &ldquo;all the more remarkable,&rdquo; says Dr. Tabor.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">There are other parallels found between the Shem-Tob and obscure church quotes of Matthew from the first two centuries yet which are dropped in our current Matthew:</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">The Pseudo-Clementine writings (Recognitions and Homilies) [ca. 200s] when quoting or referring to Matthew occasionally agree with ST Hebrew Matthew against the canonical Greek versions.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">An important point in favor of the Shem-Tob is that its version has Matthew 27:9 correctly attributing the prophecy about the 30 pieces of silver to Zechariah. (Zechariah 11:10-13.) However, all Greek manuscripts have it erroneously only ascribed to Jeremiah. For more background, see our footnotes to Matthew 27:9.&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Hence, the Shem-Tob is a more legitimate version than the Greek at that juncture, avoiding as it does an error by Matthew but inconceivably planted by Shaprut. He authored the Shem-Tob to criticize Christianity / Matthew rather than sparing Matthew from criticism by this helpful variance.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #0000ff;"><strong><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Du Tillet Matthew</span></span></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">After the Shem-Tob of 1385 AD, another version of a Hebrew Matthew was found in the 1550s and published in 1555. It was ostensibly brought forth by a Catholic bishop, Jean du Tillet, Bishop of Brieux, France. It had a similar story as the Shem-Tob. It was a copy maintained by Jews in polemical books critical of Christianity. During the Roman Catholic church purge of the Talmud in the 1500s, it was found at Rome. Bishop Tillet published it for the sake of preservation. Centuries later&mdash;in 1927&mdash;it was reprinted as An Old Hebrew Text of St. Matthew&rsquo;s Gospel by Hugh J. Schonfield (Edinburgh: 1927).&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">While Bishop Tillet was the discoverer of the text and first publisher of it in 1555, we should know something of the one who translated it into English&mdash;Schonfield. Who was Hugh Schonfield (1901-1988)?</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Schonfield was a Jew who termed himself a &lsquo;Nazarene,&rsquo; meaning that he believed, as a Jew, that the Messiah, as predicted in Judaism&rsquo;s Hebrew Bible, had come in the person of Jesus.&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">The Tillet has greater validity in containing the portion of Matthew 27:9-10 which includes what turns out to be the quotation of an apocryphon of Jeremiah. The Shem-Tob contains only the portion that comes from Zechariah.&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Tillet helps explain the textual confusion between Zechariah and Jeremiah in the hands of the Greek translator. See Matthew 27:9-11 in Vol. I of OGM. What happened is the Greek translator erased reference to Zechariah (recovered from the Shem-Tob) in verse 9. The Greek texts only reference Jeremiah. But then the Greek translator dropped it was a reference to words in verse 10 (not 9), and then dropped the words of Jeremiah in verse 10 which the Tillet allows us to recover. Thus, while Shem-Tob helps restore verse 9, the Tillet helps restore the original of verse 10.&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Likewise, at other points, it appears the Tillet version preserves verses that were original. These are noticeable because without them the text is choppy. Thus, many of our suggestions are to use Tillet to restore verses familiar to us in the Greek tradition which we believe Shem-Tob inadvertently failed to copy.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">There are also many interesting variant readings in the Tillet that are more concrete and realistic than the Shem-Tob. They are provided for comparison when thought helpful.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #0000ff;"><strong><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Shem-Tob Differences From Original Hebrew Matthew</span></span></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">The Shem-Tob version does not appear to be 100% identical to the original Hebrew Matthew. The virgin birth account is missing in the original Matthew which Epiphanius identifies in the 300s. Yet Shem-Tob has it. Also, the Shem- Tob version does not contain the correct description of Zechariah&rsquo;s father in Matthew 23:35. Shem -Tob follows the Greek text&rsquo;s error in that regard. Yet, we know from Jerome that the original Hebrew Matthew / GATHM had Zechariah&rsquo;s father correct in Matthew 23:35.&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Thus, someone tampered with the Hebrew Matthew that Shem-Tob used. They frequently changed it to fit the Greek Matthew, even when the Greek text was wrong. The Shem-Tob was otherwise more correct such as in Matthew 27:9 which correctly cites Zechariah as the source of the 30-pieces-of-silver-as-wages prophecy. If Shem-Tob were altering the text to fit errors in our Greek text, it could have changed Matthew 27:9 as well to match our Greek texts that all incorrectly say Jeremiah is the source of the prophecy Matthew quotes about the 30 pieces of silver. Thus, the error in Matthew 23:35 most likely was because someone altered the Hebrew Matthew / GATHM upon which the Shem-Tob relied so as to fit the canonical Greek Matthew.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Despite there being some unfortunate reversions to the errors in the Greek text, the Shem-Tob Gospel of Matthew in Hebrew once more proves the Greek Matthew is flawed and not fully inspired. This also highlights that the original Hebrew version was inspired and 100% accurate.&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #0000ff;"><strong><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">A Third Version Of The Hebrew Matthew</span></span></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">This is not to say there are no other versions of Matthew in Hebrew to consider. Sebastian M&uuml;nster (1488-1552) of Basel in 1537 published in Latin a version of Matthew from a Hebrew text discovered that same year. &ldquo;He had received the text from Spanish Jews he had converted to Christianity in the 1530s.&rdquo; Apparently, these Jews had previously been using the text to understand the Christian religion in order to counter it. There were several reprints of this text during the 16th century, e.g., at Paris in 1551 by Jean Cinqarbres<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>, and at Basle in 1557 and 1582. However, the original Hebrew manuscript is lost. Yet M&uuml;nster copied the Hebrew text into the left column.&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">M&uuml;nster is often erroneously dismissed as irrelevant due to a misinterpretation of something he said. M&uuml;nster is interpreted as saying he filled in gaps in his manuscript. This statement supposedly minimizes any use of his work for critical analysis because this was misread to imply he made concocted inserts.&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Horbury pointed out the error in this interpretation, arguing M&uuml;nster has been misunderstood when he says that he had to make alterations. Horbury contends M&uuml;nster meant he found Matthew had been cut in pieces by earlier critics who laid out their critical statements in the middle of gospel-passages. M&uuml;nster extracted those criticisms and grouped them together at the end of each chapter. This in turn left the gospel-chapters behind which now could be read chapter-by-chapter in one unbroken narrative. Thus, Horbury contends nothing was added or embellished to the gospel.&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Looking at the original of M&uuml;nster&rsquo;s work which books.google fortunately makes possible, Horbury is obviously correct. M&uuml;nster clearly portrayed the Hebrew text in the left column, and it was being word-for-word translated into Latin within the right column. The impression he intended to give was certainly that nothing was added by himself to our gospels. M&uuml;nster then placed the Hebrew commentary extracts on the left separate from the gospel-chapters. Finally, M&uuml;nster on the right column provided a Latin translation&mdash;but again separated from the Gospel text.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Thus, Horbury is self-evidently correct. M&uuml;nster found the Hebrew Matthew mixed with anti-Christian polemics. He painstakingly separated out the gold from the dross, thereby restoring our treasured gospel into the familiar shape of a chapter-by-chapter reading.&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Incidentally, contrary to what some claim, the M&uuml;nster version is not the same as the Shem-Tob version. This was pointed out by Alexander Marx. After reading it, it is very similar to the Tillet and Vulgate yet differs from both at various times.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Thus, is this M&uuml;nster version an edition to consider? I believe yes, but Christian scholar Michaelis in 1823 said no, and here is his explanation:</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">We have two editions of a Hebrew Gospel in print: but it is certain that neither of them is St. Matthew&rsquo;s original, and that neither of them was used either by the Nazarenes or by the Ebionites. Of M&uuml;nster&rsquo;s edition I can make this assertion from actual examination, for I have found that it has none of the distinguishing passages of the Nazarene Gospel: and they who have examined Tillet&rsquo;s edition, say the same.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">But I disagree. The fact it is missing any of the 49 quotes of GATHM in the early church is not a sufficient reason to reject the M&uuml;nster Gospel. Our Greek texts lack those 49 quotes as well, but it does not mean none of our Greek text is valid. There could be treasures likewise in the M&uuml;nster Gospel.&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Regardless, there are only a few M&uuml;nster Gospel variants that are important to consider. First, Yahweh frequently appears as God&rsquo;s name in M&uuml;nster when the other competing Hebrew Matthew&rsquo;s use familiar substitutes of either HaShem or three yods. &ldquo;The M&uuml;nster Hebrew text of Matthew actually contains the name off YHWH spelled out where it belongs.&rdquo;&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">In the 1537 edition, YHWH is at Matt 1:20, 22, 24, 4:4, 7, 10; 5:33; 21:42; 23:39. It is noted that in the 1551 edition YHWH is also at Matt 2:19; 3:3; 21:9; 22:44; 23:39; 27:10; &amp; 28:2.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">This usage appears more valid, as explained in a later appendix. See &ldquo;Appendix I: Importance of The Divine Name&rdquo; on page 123 et seq. The other Hebrew manuscripts reflect the unbiblical late oral doctrine that Yahweh&rsquo;s name should not be written down, and substitutes had to be used instead.&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">The other significant alteration M&uuml;nster provides is that it confirms the Hebrew word translated as carpenter (talking of Joseph) was actually black-smith. (This is also true of Tillet and Shem-Tob.) See Matt 13:55 in OGM Vol. I.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Thus, other than that these two important changes, the others provided by M&uuml;nster are simply interesting and clarifying. The M&uuml;nster text often reads smoother than our Greek text.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Thus, I will treat as largely irrelevant the M&uuml;nster version. It infrequently plays a part in our effort to recover the Original Gospel of Matthew. It only serves primarily to confirm the proper use of Yahweh in Matthew and the term carpenter in Matthew was a mistranslation of black-smith.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #0000ff;"><strong><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Shem-Tob Is Closer To The Original</span></span></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">What the Shem-Tob Gospel of Matthew represents is the closest to the original Matthew that we will find in terms of total words. It reads almost identical to our Matthew, but with minor and subtle differences. There is nothing heretical.&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #0000ff;"><strong><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Howard&rsquo;s Unsubstantiated Claims</span></span></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Professor George Howard, a leading translator of the Shem-Tob, tries to find significant differences in the Shem-Tob Hebrew Matthew and our Greek Matthew. These assertions have caused others to rely upon his claims without examining whether these assertions are true or mere speculation.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">For example, Howard claims that the Hebrew Matthew never claims Jesus is Messiah (&ldquo;never equated with Jesus.&rdquo;) (Howard, The Hebrew Matthew, supra, at 212.) Yet, this is incorrect. To do this, Howard makes much of the fact the Greek Matthew has five times the word Christ used with Jesus&rsquo; name, but this is missing in the Hebrew. (Matt. 1:1, 1:17, 1:18, 11:2 and 16:21). Yet, the label Christ each time is itself likely an addition by the Greek translator of the word &ldquo;Christ&rdquo; to the original. No one can draw reliable conclusions that the mention of Jesus without adding &ldquo;Christ&rdquo; in the Hebrew version implied anything about a disbelief in Jesus as Messiah.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Moreover, the Shem-Tob includes the clear assertion that Jesus is Messiah in Matthew 16:16. This is Peter&rsquo;s declaration that Jesus is Messiah. Howard acknowledges this, but then claims it was &ldquo;clearly&rdquo; an addition. (Id. at 218.) He cites as proof his own page 183. When you go there, you find speculation of how Shaprut&rsquo;s comments on the Shem-Tob should be interpreted to imply an original text missing Peter&rsquo;s confession that Jesus was Messiah. No substantial proof is offered.&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Howard&rsquo;s claim that Shem-Tob &ldquo;never equated [Messiah] with Jesus&rdquo; clearly runs also afoul of many other passages in the Shem-Tob. Specifically, the Shem-Tob contains the account that John through his disciples asks Jesus whether He is Messiah, and Jesus responds positively&mdash;telling John&rsquo;s disciples to see the lame walking, etc. (Matt 11:1-5.) The Davidic genealogy and the account of the Bethlehem birthplace are further proofs the Shem-Tob Matthew endorses Jesus as the promised Messiah.&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #0000ff;"><strong><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Messianic References In Shem-Tob&nbsp;</span></span></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">In fact, let&rsquo;s review the overwhelming proof that Shem-Tob (&ldquo;S-T&rdquo;) affirms Jesus is Messiah even if you ignored Matthew 16:16.&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">First, numerous Messianic prophecies are cited in the Shem-Tob Hebrew Matthew as in the Greek Matthew, but there are many other clear references. For example, John the Baptist tells Jesus he should be baptized by Jesus, obviously because Jesus was on a higher level. (Matt 3:14 S-T.) Jesus is the light to shine to the Gentiles. (Matt 4:16 S-T.) Jesus is &ldquo;worshipped&rdquo; or &ldquo;given obeisance&rdquo; worthy of a King-Messiah without comment. (Matt 8:2 S-T.) John the Baptist&rsquo;s followers ask if Jesus is the Christ, to which Jesus gives an implicit affirmative, citing the blind see, the lame walk, etc. (Matt. 11:1-5 S-T.) The Son of God is not merely akin to us. He alone knows the Father. (Matt 11:22 S-T.) And a unique variant of the Shem-Tob gives Jesus a divine omniscience, saying &ldquo;Jesus knows everything in regard to any matter done....&rdquo; (Matt. 26:10 S-T.) And on and on it goes. See also Matt 21:9 S-T (&ldquo;savior of the world&rdquo;); Matt 23:10 S-T (&ldquo;one is your Rabbi, Messiah.&rdquo;)&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Howard&rsquo;s reason for not acknowledging the pervasive appearance in the Shem-Tob of a Messianic identification is unclear. Regardless, his conclusion that the Shem-Tob does not endorse Jesus as Messiah is unsustainable. This affirmation appears repeatedly in the Shem-Tob.&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #0000ff;"><strong><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Higher Position of Christ In Shem-Tob&nbsp;</span></span></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">In fact, in two respects the Shem-Tob elevates Jesus&rsquo; nature over that presented in the Greek version.&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">First, in the Greek Matthew 24:36, it says that the time of the tribulation no one knows, &ldquo;neither the Son,&rdquo; but only the Father. (Matt. 24:36 NIV, etc.) If Jesus is divinely in-dwelled by the Father (as Jesus claimed in John 14:10-11), how can He not also know the time? As a result, critics who do not believe Jesus was truly indwelled by the Father, as He claimed, cite 24:36 to prove Jesus was not divinely indwelled. While most reply the Father restricted this knowledge from the Son (which is plausible), the knock on Jesus&rsquo; own knowledge is not present in the Shem-Tob.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Instead, in the Hebrew Matthew of Shem-Tob, it says &ldquo;there is none who knows, not even the angels, but the Father only.&rdquo; Jesus does not exclude himself (indwelled by the Father) from knowing in the Hebrew Matthew. Because in John&rsquo;s Gospel, Jesus says the Father in-dwells Jesus, such intimacy would seemingly impart naturally such knowledge. See John 14:10-11. Thus, the Hebrew version of Shem-Tob has a text more open to Jesus being indwelled fully by God-the-Father than does the Greek text, in conformity with Jesus&rsquo; own depiction of the Father as indwelling Himself.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">A similarly troublesome verse in the Greek is Matthew 19:17 (KJV): &ldquo;Why callest me good? There is none good but one, that is God.&rdquo; This implies Jesus says it is wrong to call him good. God is alone good. However, the Hebrew Matthew of Shem-Tob has it: &ldquo;Why do you ask about good? No man is good because God alone is good.&rdquo; Jesus does not exclude himself in the Hebrew Matthew from being called good. Yet, in the Greek Matthew, Jesus denies being good at all. &ldquo;Why call me good?&rdquo;</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Thus, we see our Greek Matthew has two passages that seriously undermine Jesus&rsquo; divinity as He explained it, but the Hebrew Matthew of Shem-Tob lacks these problems.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #0000ff;"><strong><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Benefits of Recognizing Antiquity and Authenticity Of Shem-Tob Hebrew Matthew</span></span></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">The proof that portions of the Shem-Tob must have pre-existed our Greek text are both fascinating and encouraging. By realizing a possible Hebrew original, we can compare this to the Greek majority text of Matthew, and see it made translation errors by mistaking a single letter from the Hebrew original. Specifically, in over eight places the Greek translator mistook a single letter in Hebrew and then rendered the Greek equivalent. (Howard, <em>Hebrew Gospel of Matthew</em> (1995) at 226-28.)&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #0000ff;"><strong><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Beatitude Repair: Small Yet Significant</span></span></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">For example, Jesus actually says in Hebrew &ldquo;blessed are those who wait&rdquo; but if you mistakenly read just one little letter of Hebrew, it comes out &ldquo;blessed are those who mourn.&rdquo; (Matt 5:4.) Likewise, Jesus at the Last Supper says one of them will &ldquo;sell me&rdquo; in Hebrew, but if you mistake just one little letter, it comes out &ldquo;betray me.&rdquo; (Matt 26:23.) The Shem-Tob Matthew clearly demonstrates it is more original than the Greek version upon which we depend today. (See Howard, <em>The Hebrew Gospel of Matthew</em>.) One could not easily forge innocuous variants like this into Hebrew that has a paired Greek word which is one letter apart from the final Greek we have today. (And why forge such a Hebrew variant when the variants are theologically neutral and innocuous?) </span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Hence, the odds are astronomical that our Greek text would have such proximity to the Shem-Tob Hebrew word if you just changed one Greek letter before translating from Hebrew to Greek (but not the other way around). This leaves only one explanation: the original text was Hebrew. The Greek Matthew is a translation. As Professor Howard deduces, in eight places, the translator mistook a single Hebrew letter and rendered the Greek of that wrongly-read Hebrew word into the Greek text we have today. This fact verifies the Hebrew of the Shem-Tob contains in those eight instances the original Matthew used by the Greek translator.&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Thus, the Shem-Tob Matthew contains an obvious original substratum upon which our Greek Matthew is based. At least in several demonstrable places. This means the Shem-Tob is closer to the Apostle Matthew&rsquo;s writing than any other version of which we know.&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #0000ff;"><strong><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Shem-Tob Confirms The Correct Name To Baptize In</span></span></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">There is no variant in the Greek text tradition that predates 325 AD which covers Matthew 28:19. This is the verse that tells us to baptize in the name of the &ldquo;Father, Son and Holy Spirit.&rdquo;&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">However, all scholars insist, even Roman Catholic ones, that the RCC tampered with the verse and added a trinitarian formula. See also our note on Matthew 28:19 supra, at OGM Vol. 1 at page 219 et seq.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">This is bolstered by the fact that in Acts, the baptismal formula is consistently different than in the Greek version of Matthew 28:19. First, Acts 19:3-5 teaches: &ldquo;On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus.&rdquo; Likewise in Acts 2:39, Peter teaches: &ldquo;Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.&rdquo; In Acts 8:16 &ldquo;because the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them; they had simply been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus.&rdquo; In Acts 10:48, we read: &ldquo;So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.&rdquo; In Acts 22:16, we read: &ldquo;And now why do you delay? Arise, and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.&rdquo; Thus, the Greek-Matthew 28:19 has Jesus command use of a trinitarian formula which, if valid, would implausibly mean the apostles and early church disobeyed Jesus and improperly baptized in only Jesus&rsquo; name. Hence, the trinitarian formula is highly doubtful.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Further proof is we have the parallel passage in Mark that also lacks the trinitarian formula. Thus, both the Shem-Tob Matthew and the parallel Marcan text lack a trinitarian baptismal formula. We find Matthew 28:19 in the Shem-Tob reads simply&mdash;just as simply as Mark&rsquo;s Gospel reads:&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Go</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Thus, the Shem-Tob allows us to confidently tell our brothers and sisters in Christ that the name in which to baptize is simply the name of the Lord Jesus Christ: Yahshua.&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #0000ff;"><strong><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Dating The First Publication of GATHM</span></span></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">The date in which the &ldquo;Hebrew Gospel of Matthew [was] composed&rdquo; is given in Blair&rsquo;s <em>Chronological Tables</em> (1856) as 38 A.D. It then says in 62 AD &ldquo;the Hebrew gospel of Matthew is rendered into Greek by an unknown translator.&rdquo;&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Subsequently, scholars began to doubt such early dating of Matthew. This arose when the notion that Mark&rsquo;s Gospel came first began to gain traction. However, in 1995 Jewish scholars brought again to light that the Talmud records a Jewish teacher who lived no later than 72 A.D. who quotes Jesus from a passage that appears only in Matthew&mdash;Matthew 5:16-19&mdash;which also includes a unique portion we find in the Shem-Tob Hebrew Matthew of the 1300s. This has convinced modern scholars that indeed Matthew came very early in church history.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">In the 1999 book, Passover and Easter: Origin and History to Modern Times (Notre Dame Press), Israel J. Yuval of Jerusalem&rsquo;s Hebrew University revived attention to this particular Talmudic passage. It states that Rabbi Gamaliel, a leader of rabbinical scholars who died around 72 AD, parodied the Pauline reading of Jesus&rsquo; gospel. Craig Blomberg, a professor of the New Testament at Denver Theological Seminary, comments that if Gamaliel quoted the Gospel of Matthew, then Matthew &ldquo;had to be before 70 AD.&rdquo; Nicholson nudges the date so this gospel is no later than 72 AD. &nbsp;&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">In Rabbi Gamaliel&rsquo;s story, a daughter whose father had died offers a golden lamp as a bribe to a Christian judge known for his honesty, seeking a decision that would allow her to share her father&rsquo;s estate with her brother. When the judge suggests that dividing the estate would be proper on the basis of the &ldquo;Gospel [being] given in the place&rdquo; of Torah to supersede it, Gamaliel argues that the son should inherit over the daughter, relying upon Numbers 27:8 from the Law given Moses. (Herford:149.) Second, Gamaliel quotes a statement exclusively attributed to Jesus&rsquo; Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew. It also includes a portion of what we now know belongs to the Shem-Tob Hebrew Matthew at 6:2. Gamaliel says: &ldquo;Look further in the book [i.e., the Gospel], and it is written in it, &lsquo;I have not come to take away from the Law of Moses nor add to the Law of Moses.....&rdquo; The first part is in both the Greek and Shem-Tob Hebrew Matthew, but <em>nor add to the Law</em> is only in the Shem-Tob Hebrew Matthew at 6:2. (See Matt 6:2 OGM Vol. 1.) Based on this argument, Gamaliel wins before the Christian judge.&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">The late English scholar, R. Travers Herford, discussed this Talmud passage in his book C<em>hristianity in Talmud and Midrash</em> (Williams &amp; Norgate: 1903) at 148 et seq. He infers from it that Matthew&rsquo;s text was obviously well-known by 72 A.D. And we now know the Hebrew version was being quoted.</span></span></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p> </td>
</tr>
</table>
<span class="article_separator">&nbsp;</span>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<div class="bottom_top"></div>
<div id="bottom">
</div>
</div>
<div id="footer"><strong>Content View Hits</strong> : 18878058<br />
<script type="text/javascript">
var pv = new Array(1,0,0,0,1);
var trdlname = "/downloads";
//<![CDATA[
var regex = /\.(?:doc|eps|jpg|png|svg|xls|ppt|pdf|xls|zip|txt|vsd|vxd|js|css|rar|exe|wma|mov|avi|wmv|mp3)($|\&|\?)/;
//]]>
var trlkname = "/external/";
var trmlname = "/mailto/";
</script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="https://jesuswordsonly.com/modules/mod_analytics/gatr.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript">
var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "http://www.");
document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E"));
</script>
<script type="text/javascript">
try {
var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-3747914");
pageTracker._initData();
pageTracker._trackPageview();
} catch(err) {}
</script>
</div>
<div class="copyright"></div>
</div>
</body>
</html>