The deceptively simple petition from Matthew 6:11, “Give us this day our daily bread,” has been a matter of controversy for centuries. The unusual Greek word epiousion, which is translated “daily,” is the root of the controversy. Some scholars have suggested that the original phrase contained the similar-sounding Greek word epeimi, (the next), and so meant “bread for the next day.” Nevertheless, the Latin translation of the New Testament understood the word as meaning bread needed for sustenance.
The Lord’s Prayer 6: “Thy Will Be Done”
We noted in a previous article that “Thy will be done” parallels “Thy Kingdom come.” Both phrases mean, “May you continue establishing your Kingship.” Jesus does not instruct his disciples to pray “if it is your will.” It is within God’s purpose that all men should repent and become a part of God’s reign. “May your will be accomplished” is a strong affirmative appeal.
The Lord’s Prayer 5: “Thy Kingdom Come” (Part 2)
Like Jesus, the rabbis made frequent reference to “the Kingdom of Heaven.” A familiarity with the way “Kingdom of Heaven” is used in rabbinic literature is essential for understanding its use in the Gospels.
Gospel Translation
Hebrew words usually have many shades of meaning, and the Greek translator of the conjectured Hebrew “Life of Jesus” could convey only one sense of each Hebrew word’s meaning. When the standard Greek translation of a Hebrew word became fixed, Greek translators often employed this standard translation even when the Hebrew word it translated appeared with an obviously different meaning.
The Lord’s Prayer 4: “Thy Kingdom Come” (Part 1)
Probably no other aspect of Jesus’ teaching has been so greatly misunderstood as the Kingdom of Heaven. Certainly, few themes are more essential for understanding Jesus.
The Lord’s Prayer 2: “Our Father Who Art in Heaven”
The description of God as “father” is not coincidental. The father figure was of great significance in the Hebrew family.
The Queen of Teman
Why didn’t Jesus say “Queen of Sheba,” which is found in the Bible, instead of “Queen of the South”?
Jesus and the Oral Torah: The Hem of His Garment
The New Testament makes it clear that Jesus, like all observant Jews of the first century, wore tsitsiyot. These are the tassels that were attached to the four corners of one’s robe as commanded in Numbers 15 and Deuteronomy 22. Jesus’ observance of this commandment is dramatically illustrated by the story of the woman who suffered from a hemorrhage for twelve years.
Matthew 5:17: “Destroy” the Law
When a sage felt that a colleague had misinterpreted a passage of Scripture, he would say, “You are canceling (or, uprooting) the Torah!” In other words, “You are so misinterpreting Scripture that you are negating or canceling part of it.” Needless to say, in most cases, his colleague strongly disagreed. What was “canceling” the Torah for one teacher was “fulfilling” it for another.
The Syndicated Donkey
Randall Buth may have discovered a significant idiom in the Greek text of Luke. This idiom could help us in determining the original language of Jesus’ biography. In Luke 19:33, did the donkey that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday have more that one owner as the Greek text states?
Jesus’ Use of “Amen”: Introduction or Response?
It is not surprising to find the word “amen” attributed to Jesus in the Gospels. What is unusual is to find “amen” used as the beginning of a statement rather than as a response.
Discovering the Hebrew Undertext of the Synoptic Gospels
One may contend that there existed a basic text of Jesus’ life story written in Hebrew. One arrives at this assumption not merely on the basis of the church fathers’ writings, but because the Greek texts of the synoptic gospels show so much evidence of being “translation Greek,” that is, Greek that contains Hebrew idioms and sentence structures.
Hebrew Nuggets, Lesson 3: Jesus’ Hebrew Name (Part 3)
In this lesson we will learn the two sounds of the second syllable of Jesus’ Hebrew name. The first sound of the second syllable of יֵשׁוּעַ (ye·SHU·a‘) is the “sh” sound. This is represented by ש (shin), the twenty-first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Written with three points or teeth, it got its name from the Hebrew word for “tooth” because of the pictograph upon which it was based.
Semitic Background to the Nain Story
The short account of the resurrection of the widow’s son in Nain has a very Semitic feeling. If the Nain story was written originally in Greek, it is a very semitically flavored Greek. Several linguistic features of this story suggest that it may have been written originally in Hebrew.