Tag Archives: New Testament

Was the New Testament Originally Written in Aramaic? NO!

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In this discussion, Nehemia Gordon gives proof that the Aramaic Peshitta New Testament was translated from the Greek, not the other way around. For the video version of Nehemia Gordon’s discussion with Michael Rood, go to:

Hebrew Voices #130 – Was the New Testament Originally Written in Aramaic

The following is the transcript of this discussion between Nehemia Gordon and Michael Rood:

Michael: And then I was talking to him about the Peshitta, he said, “We don’t use the Peshitta. The Peshitta, Aramaic text…”

Nehemia: Let me stop you. This is the head scholar of the Aramaic…

Michael: Syrian Orthodox…

Nehemia: Aramaic-speaking church in Jerusalem.

Michael: And the head scholar of the Syrian Orthodox Church.

Nehemia: In Jerusalem.

Michael: In Jerusalem.

Nehemia: Wow.

Michael: He is the top of the entire school, okay? He is an old man, he’s in his 80s. And he said, “We don’t use the Peshitta. The Peshitta is a later Aramaic translation from the Greek.

Nehemia: Look, I’ve spoken to scholars about this. In fact, I sat down with a scholar at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and I told him, “You know, people have suggested that this Aramaic Peshitta is the original Aramaic that Jesus, that Yeshua, spoke and taught, and the Greek is a translation from the Aramaic,” and this guy was an Aramaic scholar, specifically of Syriac-Aramaic, which the Peshitta’s written in. Actually, when I walked into his office, he was looking at this giant… it was like this big, this dictionary of Peshitta Aramaic. And I asked him for some proof, so I said, “Well, how can we know? You’re telling me…” I mean, look, people will tell you that this Hebrew Matthew, that this isn’t the original Matthew, it was written in Greek, so why would I believe you when you tell me that the Aramaic isn’t the original? The Greek is the Aramaic? I said, “I need some proof. I can’t trust your word for it.”

And this was just for me, I don’t think I’ve ever even shared this. I really just wanted to know for myself. And so, he started off, he told me a bunch of linguistic things about how the Aramaic that Yeshua spoke was completely different than the Aramaic that the Peshitta is written in. It’s a completely different dialect of Aramaic. He said, “It would be like the difference between German and Dutch.” Dutch is the language they speak in Holland. I don’t speak either of those languages, I read a little German. German is called in their language, “Deutsch”, and you have “Dutch”, which is the language of Holland. Originally, they were obviously a single language, but now they’re incomprehensible to one another, unless you’re from the border area there. But the German people can’t understand Dutch. But they’re that similar. The Aramaic that Yeshua spoke and the Aramaic the Peshitta is written in are similar, but they’re also different enough to be, essentially, he said if it was any other language, they’d be called two different languages. But for Aramaic, we consider all these different, very vastly different dialects, one language.

And he gave me specific examples I won’t go into, but you could look up at any Peshitta grammar, it’ll tell you what those differences are. They’re profound differences. But then he gave me some really powerful examples. I’m like, “This is it, it’s the end of the story. We’re done.” I wanted to know, and he answered me. Here’s an example of one of the things he showed me.

So, the Hebrew word for “covenant” is “brit”. Now, in American Jewish-speak we call it a “bris”, and that’s because the Hebrew letter Tav when it has a dot in it, it’s a tuh. When it doesn’t have a dot, it’s a thuh or in some dialects, suh. So, “brit, bris, brees.” It’s the same word, different pronunciations of Hebrew. So, the word is “brit” or “bris”, like I had my “bris” on the eighth day, the covenant, the circumcision, in that case.

Genesis 6:18 says, “I will establish My covenant with you.” The word is “diatheke”. “Diatheke” is the Greek word for “covenant”. Aramaic has a perfectly good word for covenant. The Aramaic word for covenant is “kiyam”. It comes from the Hebrew word, the Semitic root, “lakum, lehakim”, “to establish”. That word also appears, a form of that, in the Hebrew connected to covenant, but the actual word for covenant is “brit”, and you say, “lehakim brit”. And so, Aramaic takes that and it’s “kyam”, that’s the word for “covenant”.

So let’s look in the Targum, that’s the ancient Jewish translation of the Tanakh. And there, in the very same verse, Genesis 6:18 it says, “Ve’akeim yatkiami,” “And I established My kiyam,” “My brit, My covenant”. If you looked in the Peshitta, if it was the original Aramaic, you would expect the word “kiyam” to be used all over the place as the word for “covenant.”

Michael: Yeah, look in the…

Nehemia: In the New Testament.

Michael: Right, the New Testament, in Matthew, etc.

Nehemia: Right. So Matthew 26:28, I’m just choosing a verse here that has the word “covenant”. It says, Yeshua says here, “For this is My blood of the covenant.” Okay, so in the Greek, it has for covenant, “diatheke”, same word as when it translated “brit” in the Tanakh. So, we have Hebrew, “brit”, Aramaic, “kyam”, Greek, “diatheke”. What do you think you have in the Peshitta? The Peshitta’s Aramaic. Some people say it’s the original Aramaic that Yeshua spoke. Surely, you have the word “kiyam”, the Aramaic word for “brit”. And that would be a great word, because also, you get from that the word “lakum”, which means “to rise up”.

So, if the word “covenant” were connected to “rise up”, and Yeshua’s saying, “This is the blood of My rising up, of My covenant,” that would be a powerful message. But in the Peshitta, you don’t have “kiyam”, you have “diatheke”.

Michael: It’s Greek.

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The Prophetic Implications of the Sixty Six Books of the Bible in Isaiah

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Isaiah 1–66

This article was inspired by the comments made on this blog a few months back by John from Tasmania. He got me thinking about it, and I researched it out, and this article is a result of that. Thank you John!

A case can be made that the first 39 chapters of the Isaiah are representative of the 39 books of the Old Testament or Tanakh, and that the last 27 chapters of Isaiah focus more on the coming Messiah, the preaching of the gospel as contained in the 27 books of the New Testament or Testimony of Yeshua. 

Isaiah Part One (chapters 1–39) focuses on calling national Israel to repentance for its spiritual apostasy and predicts judgment upon her if she fails to turn from her wicked way. YHVH’s judgment against Israel largely comes at the hands of those heathen nations surrounding Israel. Isaiah devotes a many chapters pronouncing divine judgment upon those nations, who touched YHVH’s anointed Israel.

Amidst the woeful message of Israel’s apostasy and impending judgment, the prophet also offers many glimmers of hope for backslid Israel including giving prophecies concerning the coming Messiah, the return of Israel’s captive exiles, the Messianic Age or Millennium that will come upon the earth at the end of days, as well the coming of what has become known as the New Testament or the Testimony of Yeshua.

In Part Two of Isaiah (chapters 40–66), the central theme is the Messiah, his coming kingdom—in short, the message of the gospel. In fact, the term gospel or good news originates from the book of Isaiah. Also included in this section of the book are numerous prophecies concerning the regathering of the Israelite exiles back to the land of Israel, divine judgment against heathen nations, the Millennium, the New or Everlasting Covenant, the rebuilding of the temple and the rebirth of the nation of Israel in the end times.

It is evident that there is thematic overlap and commonality between part one and two of the book of Isaiah. This is because the message of repentance from sin, divine judgment against sin, the mercy of YHVH and redemption of his people are relevant universally applicable down through ages because people don’t change and neither do YHVH’s standards or righteousness. However, in my opinion, Isaiah part two seems to place more emphasis what gospel themes, hence it’s prophetic allusions to the Testimony of Yeshua.

Now, let’s make an overview list of the main themes of each section of Isaiah and with their corresponding chapters, so that you can see what we’re talking about.

Isaiah Chapters 1–39

  • Holy or Set-Apart Spirit, The—Isa 27:13; 30:21; 32:15
  • Israel, Blessing Upon—Isa 32:15–20; 31:4–5
  • Judgment Upon Israel for Sin—1:7–9 , 15, 24–24; 2:10–21; 3:1–24; 4:4; 5:8–30; 6:11–13; 7:18–25; 8:5–10, 14–15, 22; 9:8–21; 10:10–14; 17:3–6; 22:1–25; 23:1–18; 24:1–23; 28:1–15; 28:1–15, 17–22; 29:1–8; 30:1–7; 31:1–3; 32:9–14; 33:1, 10–14; 
  • Judgment Upon Israel’s Enemies—Isa 10:5–19; 13, 14:3–32; 15:1–9; 16:1–14; 17:1–14; 18:1–7; 19:1–24; 20:1–5; 21:1–16; 23, 24; 25:10–12; 26:21; 30:27–33; 34:1–17
  • Messiah, The Coming—Isa 7:10–15; 8:13; 9:6–7; 11:1–5, 10; 12:1–3; 26:1, 18; 28:16–17; 29:16; 33:17–24; 35:1–10
  • Millennium or Messianic Age’s Coming Predicted, The—Isa 2:2–4; 4:3–6; 11:6–10; 33:17–24; 27:13; 35:6–8
  • Mercy Upon Israel, Divine—Isa 14:1–2
  • New Testament or Testimony of Yeshua Predicted—Isa 8:16–20 (v. 20 cp. Rev 1:2)
  • Prophetic Words or Instructions for People of That Day—Isa 7:1–9; 8:1–4; 36:1–22; 37:1–35; 38:1–20; 39:1–8
  • Remnant of Israelites to Return from Babylonian Exile—Isa 10:20–23
  • Redemption or Salvation—Isa 4:4; 25:9; 26:1, 10, 19; 29:17–24; 30:15–26; 31:4–5; 33:22–24
  • Repent, Call for Israel to—Isa 2:5–21; 12:1–3; 28:23–29; 30:6–17; 31:6; 32:9–15
  • Second Exodus, The—Isa 11:11–16; 27:13
  • Torah, Rebellion Against—Isa 30:9

Isaiah Chapters 40–66

  • Babylon Israel’s Enslavers, Judgment Upon—Isa 47:5–15; 48:14
  • Babylon, Come Out of—48:20; 52:11
  • Gentiles, Called to Salvation—Isa 60:1–16; 65:1; 66:18–21
  • Gospel Message Predicted, Preaching of—Isa 40:9; 41:27; 52:17; 60:1
  • Holy or Set-Apart Spirit Outpouring Promised—Isa 44:3–5; 59:21; 63:11, 14
  • Hope for and Blessings Upon Israel—Isa 41:15–20; 43:18–21; 44:1–5; 44:24–26; 49:14–26; 51:1–3; 52:1–13; 54:1–17; 55:1–13; 56:1; 57:1–2; 60:1–22; 61:4–11; 62:1–12; 63:7–14
  • Islam or Edom, Divine Judgment Against—Isa 63:1–6
  • Israel, End Times Restoration of the Nation of—Isa 48:1; 52:1–12
  • Lake of Fire, Last Days Judgment Against Unrepentant Sinner in the—Isa 66:14–17, 24
  • Messiah’s Coming Predicted—Isa 40:1–5; 41:4, 10; 42:1–7; 43:3; 44:6, 24–28; 45:15, 21; 47:4; 48:12; 49:1–13, 26; 50:4–9; 52:7, 13–15; 53:1–12; 56:1; 59:16–21; 60:16; 61:1–3 
  • Millennium or Messianic Age’s Coming Predicted, The—Isa 65:17–25; 66:10–13; 22–24
  • New or Everlasting Covenant Predicted—Isa 42:21; 55:3
  • New Heavens and New Earth Predicted—Isa 51:6; 65:17; 66:22
  • Redemption and Salvation Promised—Isa 43:25; 44:22–23; 45:8; 46:13; 49:24; 51:5–8; 52:3, 10; 53:1–12; 55:1–3; 61:10; 65:1
  • Repentance, A Call to—Isa 43:22–24; 48:1–22; 51:4–9; 55:6–7; 57:3–21; 58:1–14; 64:1–12; 65:2–7; 66:1–4
  • Righteousness, A Call to—Isa 56:1–8; 58:1–14
  • Second Exodus Predicted—Isa 43:1–7
  • Sin and Idolatry, Turn From—Isa 44:9–20; 46:1–12; 56:9–12
  • Temple Rebuilt for the Messiah to Come to Predicted, The—Isa 45:1
  • Torah, Return to—Isa 42:21–25
 

New Covenant or Renewed Covenant? What Are Its Terms and Conditions?

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Matthew 26:28, New testament. (Also see notes at Heb 8:8 and notes at Ps 50:5.) 

Did you ever wonder where the terms New Testament or New Covenant came from? Yes, you will find these phrases used in the Testimony of Yeshua portion of your English Bible in exactly nine places (Matt 26:28; Mark 14:24; Luke 22:20; 1 Cor 11:25; 2 Cor 3:6; Heb 8:8, 13; 9:15; 12:24), but does the English translation do justice to the Hebrew and Greek words behind them and to the biblical concept of the “New Covenant” as it is commonly called? 

Let’s begin to answer this question by first asking a question. When you think of the word new, what comes to your mind? A brand new car? A new house? A new pair of shoes? 

You see, in English there is one common word for new, while Greek and Hebrew have more than one word for new. While English speakers are limited to one word, they nuance the meaning of new by adding qualifiers to the word new (e.g. brand new as opposed to used but it’s new to me) to differentiate between brand new versus new to me, or refurbished or repaired new. 

In the Testimony of Yeshua, there are two Greek words for new: neos and kainos, and each one has a different connotation. Neos more often means “brand new or numerically new,” while kainos means “renewed, refreshed or repaired or qualitatively new.” When you see the term New Covenant or New Testament used, in eight of nine time the authors use kainos. Only in Hebrews 12:24 is neos used in reference to the new covenant.

The Testimony of Yeshua’s preference over using the Greek word for renewed over the word (brand) new is exactly consistent with the author of the Epistle to the Hebrew’s usage of the word in Hebrews 8:8, 

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The Torah Is the Elephant in the Room of the Testimony of Yeshua

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Though the primary theme of the Testimony of Yeshua (the name John gives to the New Testament in the Book of Revelation—e.g. Rev 1:2; 6:9; 12:17; 20:4) is the testimony of Yeshua the Messiah, the Torah is, nevertheless, the elephant in the room. 

Though not mentioned outrightly as often as one would think in the Testimony of Yeshua, the Torah is implied, assumed, or referred to in on countless occasions using coded Hebraisms. Why, one might ask, is this the case with the apostolic writers? The answer is simple: They were writing to Jews as well as to non-Jewish people who either already operated within a Torah-centric religious paradigm or were being brought into it. The obvious didn’t have to be mentioned over and over again, for Torah was not a strange or foreign thing to the first century believers as it is to most in the church today. The Torah was their way of life and frame of reference for all that they thought and did! 

The word law as used in the Testimony of Yeshua is the first aspect of this “elephant” we need to examine. It is the Greek word nomos which in the Septuagint (the third century B.C. Greek translation of the Tanakh [Old Testament Scriptures]) is used in place of the Hebrew word Torah. Therefore, we know that the Jewish scholars who translated the Tanakh into the Greek language considered the words Nomos and Torah to be equivalent. Also, contextually, in the Testimony of Yeshua, we can see that the word law means Torah. To the Messianic Jews who wrote the entire Testimony of Yeshua, when the Greek word nomos is used this is not a reference to Roman, Greek or Babylonian law, but to the biblical Hebrew law or the Torah, or Torah-law of Moses. 

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Does the Epistle to the Hebrews Belong in the New Testament Canon?

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(For a pdf version of this article, and to view the footnotes, go to https://www.hoshanarabbah.org/pdfs/heb_nt_canon.pdf.)

The Uniqueness of the Bible

The Bible. There has never been any book like it. Its authors included kings and peasants and it was written over a span of 1500 years and 40 generations by 40 authors writing from palaces to jail cells. It was first translated into a foreign language circa 250 B.C. and has since, in whole or in part, been translated into several thousand languages or dialects. It has survived time. Though printed on perishable materials and recopied countless times over the past 2000 years by hand and by press, the main style and message of this book has never changed. The Bible has withstood vicious attacks of its enemies as no other book. Since Roman times, governmental and religious authorities have tried to ban it, burn it and outlaw it, but to no avail. It is still the most widely published and read book of all time (McDowell, pp. 13–24). Why?

Many have willingly given their lives to translate it, smuggle it, distribute it, preach its message or even simply possess a copy of it. Why? More than two billion people on earth today, about one-third of earth’s population claim to be followers of the Bible. Why? Nearly 50,000 people are currently martyred each year for refusing to budge from their faith in the Bible’s message. Why? 

The answer is simple. Regardless of the language into which the Bible has been translated, regardless of the liberal or conservative biases of the translators, one thing is certain: The redemptive and salvation message of the Bible always comes through. It is a life-changing message of hope. Why? Because its pages contain words that have the power to change lives dramatically for good, for eternity. Why? Because these words are not the words of men, but of the Creator of men—of YHVH Elohim, the God of the Bible. As such, they carry the full force, power and anointing of divine origination. If not, how else can one explain the biblical phenomena? There is no human explanation for it other than the divine hand of YHVH Elohim has been on the Bible from its beginning until this very moment!

Can We Trust the Bible?

In spite of the impact the Bible has had on the lives of billions of souls over the past 2000 years, a question remains: Can you put your trust in every word contained therein? This is an important question, for if the Bible is correct, then whether you live again or not after your physical death will depend on how you orient your life with respect to the biblical message. So can we trust our lives with the words of Scripture—specifically, the message of Yeshua the Messiah as recorded in the Apostolic Scriptures (New Testament)? Are the 27 books which comprise the Apostolic Scriptures in our Bible the true and accurate accounts of the words of Yeshua and his directly commissioned apostles? 

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New Covenant or Renewed Covenant? What Are Its Terms and Conditions?

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Matthew 26:28, New testament. 

Did you ever wonder where the terms New Testament or New Covenant came from? Yes, you will find these phrases used in the Testimony of Yeshua portion of your English Bible in exactly nine places (Matt 26:28; Mark 14:24; Luke 22:20; 1 Cor 11:25; 2 Cor 3:6; Heb 8:8, 13; 9:15; 12:24), but does the English translation do justice to the Hebrew and Greek words behind them and to the biblical concept of the “New Covenant” as it is commonly called? 

Let’s begin to answer this question by first asking a question. When you think of the word new, what comes to your mind? A brand new car? A new house? A new pair of shoes? 

You see, in English there is one common word for new, while Greek and Hebrew have more than one word for new. While English speakers are limited to one word, they nuance the meaning of new by adding qualifiers to the word new (e.g. brand new as opposed to used but it’s new to me) to differentiate between brand new versus new to me, or refurbished or repaired new. 

In the Testimony of Yeshua, there are two Greek words for new: neos and kainos, and each one has Continue reading →

 

The Deity of Yeshua

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The Preeminence and Deity of Yeshua

Phinehas, the grandson of Aaron the high priest, thrust a spear through Zimri the Israelite man and Cozbi the Midianite woman as they were bringing the curse of YHVH upon the nation of Israel by fornicating with each other within the camp of Israel. With the same righteous zeal as Phinehas, today’s righteous spiritual leaders must rise up and stand against secular philosophies that threaten to bring YHVH’s judgment upon redeemed Israel. In the face of evil in his day, David asked, “Who will rise up for me against the evildoers, or who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity?” (Ps 94:16) The present issue relates to the dangerous and damnable trend within the body of redeemed Israelites believers to question and even deny the deity of Yeshua.

You’ve all heard the Christian axiom, “In essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, and in everything else, charity.” What are the essentials of our faith that we must unite in, and around which we must draw the line in the sand and defend that turf until death?

As one who has been walking in the Torah for more than 40 years, who has spent time fellowshipping and ministering in both traditional Sunday Christian as well as Sabbatarian churches, and then pastoring and teaching in pro-Torah/Hebrew roots congregation for many years, it has become clear to me which issues are essential, and which are not. Those biblical truths that are salvational in nature are the essentials. These are the hills on which we must plant the flag of truth and be willing to defend at all costs! What are these immutable essentials?

  • YHVH Elohim (in Hebrew a plural word) is the Sovereign of the universe and the God of the Bible. He is one (Heb. echad, i.e. a compound unity), yet the Bible reveals the Godhead is comprised of three spiritual entities: the Father, the Spirit and the Son.
  • The Bible is the Word of Elohim from Genesis to Revelation.
  • The Torah is for all believers for all time.
  • Yeshua the Messiah, the Word of Elohim, is Elohim and is the Son of Elohim who was manifested incarnate on this earth being born of the virgin Mary. 
  • Yeshua lived a sinless life, died on the cross as an atonement for the sins of man, was buried and resurrected on the third day where he is now at the right hand of Elohim, and at the same time is on the throne of Elohim as Elohim.
  • Salvation is by the grace of Elohim through faith in Yeshua the Son of Elohim. As a result of one’s salvation, one will love Yeshua by keeping his commandments or word (the Torah), which will produce in his life the fruits of righteousness as defined by the Torah.

These are the essentials of our faith on which there can be no compromise. To take a weakened position on any of these issues is to begin down a spiritually slippery slope that can only lead to eternal separation from YHVH Elohim! Leaders must be quick to lift up the spiritual sword of the Word of Elohim against those who teach otherwise. In this brief treatise, I will deal with the major issues raised by those who want to diminish or eliminate the deity status of Yeshua the Messiah.

“The Earth Did Quake”

When the life of Yeshua, the divine Light of Elohim that pierced the spiritual darkness of this world, was being poured out while he was hanging dying on the cross, the earth was plunged into darkness (Matt 27:47). After Yeshua yielded up his spirit and died, the veil in Continue reading →