In truth / I / say / to you / that / until / heaven / and earth / letter / one / and dot / one / not / will be annulled / from the Torah / or / the prophets / because everything / will be fulfilled.Įven Bohan‘s version of Matt. אמן אני אומר לכם עד שיבטלו שמים וארץ לא יבטל יוד אחד ולא קוץ אחד מן התורהĪmen! / I / say / to you / until / that are annulled / heaven / and earth / not / will be annulled / yod / one / and not / qotz / one / from / the Torah.īut compare this idiomatic reconstruction to Even Bohan‘s version of Matt. 5:18 after the elimination of Greek interference might read: Luke 16:17 where the formula is absent).Ī Hebrew retroversion of Matt. 24:34 and par., where the same formula appears, and cf. Greek interference is probably found in the γάρ (“for”) and in the final phrase ἕως ἂν πάντα γένηται (“until everything comes to pass” cf. Bivin, “ Matthew 5:17: ‘Destroy’ the Law”). Tilton, “ The Significance of Jesus’ Words ‘Not One Jot or One Tittle Will Pass from the Law’ (Matt. Hebraic features in this verse include “Amen,” “heaven and earth,” and “ iota and pen stroke” (probably a reference to a yod and its qotz, see David N. Matthew 5:18 offers an excellent test case because it contains both highly Hebraic features and signs of Greek editing. Even Bohan‘s Matthew, on the other hand, reflects this Greek interference (see below). We would expect a Hebrew Matthew from the first century to be free of such Greek interference. Other verses in Matthew look like they have been subjected to a certain amount of Greek editing. There are instances in Even Bohan that are less Hebraic (despite being written in Hebrew!) than Matthew’s Greek (see below). Some verses in Matthew are highly Hebraic in nature, preserving Hebraisms like “Amen” and other Hebraic idioms. Even Bohan‘s Matthew uses the latter expression (cf., e.g., Matt. For instance, in early rabbinic sources “to repent” is expressed as לעשות תשובה (“to do repentance”) whereas in late rabbinic and medieval Hebrew sources “to repent” is expressed as לחזור בתשובה (“to return in repentance”). We would expect a Hebrew Gospel composed in the first century to reflect first-century Hebrew idiom, but frequently Even Bohan shows signs of late Hebrew. The Even Bohan version of Matthew’s Gospel shows many signs of being of relatively late origin. Jerusalem Perspective dealt with the possible discovery of an ancient Hebrew Gospel in its first issue, which you can read on JP by clicking here. It appears to me that the text of Matthew found in Even Bohan is the translation of a fluent Hebrew writer of the medieval period, rather than a revision of an early Hebrew composition, as Howard claims. However, the title of his publication, The Gospel of Matthew According to a Primitive Hebrew Text (Mercer University Press, 1987), has again fueled rumors that an ancient Hebrew manuscript of the sayings of Jesus has been found. Howard’s work is an important contribution to the study of the Semitic background of the Gospels. The entire text of Matthew’s gospel is contained in Even Bohan, a fourteenth-century Hebrew work, and George Howard has published that text of Matthew. Has an ancient Hebrew gospel, which was the source of our canonical gospels, ever been discovered? David Bivin responds:Īlthough the church fathers testify that Matthew wrote the words of Jesus in Hebrew, not a single fragment of an early Hebrew manuscript containing Jesus’ sayings has survived from the first centuries of the Christian era.
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