Paul or Shaul?
Why would you ask a question to which you already knew the answer?
Like Daniel J. Boorstin once said, the great obstacle to progress is not ignorance but the illusion of knowledge. While reading James White’s article regarding the gospel of Matthew (or Matityahu, as was his name), I was surprised to learn that the first gospel in the apostolic scriptures was probably written in Hebrew. I understood that my sense of surprise came from my assumption that I already knew what there was to know about the origins of the “New Testament”. I thought I already had the answer, so I never asked the question.
Spurred on by his article, I wanted to see what else ancient historians - people who were much closer to the events than modern biblical scholars - had to say regarding the Jewishness of the language of the apostles. I discovered that, in addition to Matityahu’s account of Yeshua, there are reasons to believe that the Book of Hebrews was written originally in Hebrew, as well. And by no less a person than the apostle Paul, or, as his contemporaries knew him, Rabbi Shaul.
EUSEBIUS, JEROME, AND CONTEXT
Eusebius refers to Clement’s Hypotyposes when stating in Church History 6.14.2:
“He says that the Epistle to the Hebrews is the work of Paul, and that it was written to the Hebrews in the Hebrew language; but that Luke translated it carefully and published it for the Greeks, and hence the same style of expression is found in this epistle and in the Acts.”
Earlier, in Church History 3.38.2-3, Eusebius states:
“Wherefore it has seemed reasonable to reckon it with the other writings of the apostle. For as Paul had written to the Hebrews in his native tongue, some say that the evangelist Luke, others that this Clement himself, translated the epistle.”
And then there’s Jerome who, in the fifth chapter of his On Illustrious Men, wrote that Rabbi Shaul, “being a Hebrew wrote Hebrew, that is his own tongue and most fluently”, and goes on to hypothesize that perhaps the reason the Book of Hebrews is in such a different style than Shaul’s is because it was translated into Greek from Hebrew.
To say nothing of the indirect evidence that arises when you translate the Greek texts into Hebrew, such as the wordplay that Jewish writers are so fond of, as well as those “secondary layers of meaning” James mentioned in his article.
We know from Scripture and archaeological evidence (contemporaneous letters, coins, et al.) that Hebrew was a living and hallowed language at the time of Yeshua, and that Yeshua spoke it. The common Jew under Roman rule was very adamant about resisting syncretism and assimilation into Hellenistic culture, including and especially the Greek language (as the Maccabean revolt and the Bar Kochba rebellion can testify to).
WORLDVIEW AND HUMILITY
It would make sense. Why would a Jew write in Greek if he were writing for a Jewish audience regarding inherently Jewish topics, topics best related in the Hebrew language? Hebrew had already developed terms to deal with concepts like the messiah, salvation, and the unity of justice and mercy. A writer needs to write with an audience in mind. The audience for the Book of Hebrews were Hebrews.
It can be humbling, to say the least, for a person raised with a Hellenistic, Western worldview to learn that the scriptures they’ve been studying were written by people with Jewish, Eastern worldviews for people with Jewish, Eastern worldviews. The differences between Eastern and Western mentalities are considerable, and the negative effects of trying to grasp Jewish concepts through translations of translations of a text written in an age long gone by a person with a radically different outlook on life can be seen in any account of church history.
Even if all of the apostolic scriptures were originally written in Koine Greek, weren’t they still written by Jews? About Jews? To Jews? The entire Bible is a Jewish book, and to claim “mastery” of it with a Hellenistic worldview is misguided at best.
Which is only to say what should always be said: we all need to take a step back, conform our minds to Yeshua’s model, and look at scripture with a fresh Jewish perspective.
E. English
Interview: Brian Roes
Last month I had the opportunity to sit down with Brian Roes, founder and director of Camp Bara’, a Messianic Jewish children’s drama camp that takes place every summer at Beth Israel Messianic Synagogue in Jacksonville, Florida. The camp focuses on teaching principles of scripture through drama and other creative means. Over the two weeks that the kids are there, they write, design, produce, and perform a play from scratch, almost entirely from the children’s creative minds. Our conversation took place just days before the camp’s final performance, which is always something incredibly unique and entertaining. I wanted to know more about Brian’s approach to creativity in his work.
First of all, thanks for taking the time to meet with me in the midst of everything you have going on with the Camp.
I’m glad we could do it, and thank you. Its nice to take a coffee break.
Jumping right in, what made you want to start writing and directing? What got you into it?
When I was 10 or so, I wrote a little skit for a Vacation Bible School performance. I remember my classmates really enjoyed themselves, and I had a lot of fun doing it. Also, my sister and I used to make music videos with our family’s video camera. After I became a professional music and drama teacher, I began to see firsthand that children and adults alike love to tell and hear stories in creative ways. After some professional development and a lot of getting over myself, I began to turn the stories in my imagination into scripts. Then I was challenged by some mentors to go a step further give that process over to the children.
As in, letting them take creative control?
Yeah. I began to give them the freedom, but also the structure, they needed to create their own productions without their ideas needing to be filtered through my creative process first.
Was it challenging making that transition? Letting go of the creative process in that way?
I think the biggest challenge for me was letting go of the end result. A lot of directors, when dealing with a production where the cast is comprised of children, have a somewhat static and pre-defined end in mind. They purchase or write a script and then think to themselves “if I can just get them to do what’s written down here I’ll be safe and we won’t have a disaster on our hands.” So the whole production becomes an exercise in trying to get kids to fit into the director’s ideas. I’ve developed a method of directing children that’s very different. I start with a general framework, but let most of creativity come from the kids. My job is to guide their creativity, but not try to cut it short if it veers from what I had in mind. That’s the biggest challenge I think. Letting go of the outcomes.
You’ve touched on a really interesting point there with regard to letting go. That’s seems applicable to almost any creative medium.
I think so. All art inherently has some element of risk, I think, whether it be trying something you’ve never done before, or just putting yourself out there creatively for people to see.
How would you define creativity?
Man, that’s a doosie. My best attempt…the ability to use one’s own imagination to create a new and original product by reworking and reinventing the basic elements of an idea.
It sounds like you’ve been asked that before.
Ha! Well, I think that’s what all of the great inventors, philosophers, thinkers, and motivators do. It’s also what most children do when they’re immersed in constructive play. Creativity is taking elements of something that already exists, playing with those elements in different ways, and making them into something else.
Essentially, there’s nothing new under the sun?
Right, in the sense that the ultimate source of our creativity is the God of Israel, and he’s the only one who has ever created something from nothing. As human beings we’re limited in our ability to create because we have to first start with elements that already exist. Scripture says that the Son, Yeshua, is the image of the invisible God and in him all things have been created “through him and for him.” Whatever it is we happen to stumble upon during our own creative musings are really just a speck of something HaShem has already created. But still, I think the Lord loves it when we do create.
For you, what’s the biggest hurdle to get over during the creative process? What gets in your way?
Trying to do more than one project at a time will kill my ability to be productive. I have gotten to the point where I will only work on my current project regardless of the start date of my next project. If that means I’m really crunched when the next thing starts, then that’s how it is. Trying to separate creative energies in multiple directions gets me nowhere. I have learned how to multitask the menial details that prepare me to move on to the next project, but the creative elements just need to wait. Otherwise I seem to botch up both projects.
Are there any fears that you have to get over when writing and directing? In other words, are there things internally that you have to overcome?
Oh, you bet. Most of my fears though have to do with what I mentioned earlier, the idea of letting go of my perceived right to control the final product of what I write and direct…especially when working with children. I think I’m learning my lesson and getting over this fear more as time goes on. It’s pretty humbling when time after time six-year-olds come up with better ideas than me.
Do you ever take credit for a kid’s good idea and then kick him or her out of the play so that no one is the wiser?
Ha! That’s a good idea. I’ll need to try that sometime…don’t tell anyone!
Rapid fire question. What sort of things inspire you?
The scriptures. There’s an endless amount of awesome themes and literary concepts to be inspired by, and the coolest thing is that they’re true stories. Thinking about the love of Adonai. More obscurely…recordings of children singing beautiful, unusual songs. My Rabbi. Underdog stories. Friends who have tried and tried and tried again, and are still trying. They inspire me. Also, really nice notebooks and pens help the ideas flow better.
Camp Bara’ serves many Jewish children, but also non-Jews as well. Is it challenging creating content for kids with widely different backgrounds?
Not really, though there are sometimes widely different experiences on both sides. There are some Jewish children that have had a lot of exposure to Jewish lifestyle, like the holidays and Torah, but very little or no New Covenant concepts. For those kids it seems like it’s an easier transition, because Yeshua fits so perfectly into those things. On the other side, there are those kids that have been raised in church, who have a lot of knowledge of Yeshua, but for them Camp Bara’ is their first experience with Jewish world. It’s all new to them. But that can be a positive, as they’re not coming in with preconceived notions as to what Jewish culture is. I always try to remember that these children are going to grow up to be doctors, lawyers, intellectuals, teachers, politicians, and philanthropists. Even if Camp Bara’ was their only experience with Jewish culture and heritage, they’ll remember it as a positive experience in their life. We are building an emotional and personal connection in their hearts with the Jewish people and the God of Israel. Those are the kinds of things that stay with a kid as he or she grows up.
Well said. Final question. If you could travel to any planet, what food would you eat when you got back?
Uhh. Taco salad?
Sorry. The correct answer was baked beans.
Ha! I should have known.
——
In addition to his role at Camp Bara’, Brian is the Shabbat School Director at Beth Israel Messianic Synagogue as well as the music and drama instructor at Riverside Presbyterian Day School in Jacksonville, Florida. He has written multiple dramatic productions performed in venues ranging from outdoor stages to The Florida Theatre.
For more information on Camp Bara’, visit www.CampBara.com. Follow Brian on Facebook or Twitter.
*During my interview, Brian credited The American Orff-Schulwerk Association and their work as influential in his development in children’s education.
J. Burke
Matthew or Matityahu?
It’s common knowledge among believers of Messiah that the “New Testament” was written in Greek before being translated into Latin, German, and so on. But is the common knowledge correct knowledge? Is Greek the language these manuscripts were originally drafted in, or were the gospels and letters of the apostles first translated into Greek from yet another language? Evidence supports the idea that the gospel of Matthew, at least, was originally composed in the language of the Messiah himself: Hebrew.
I was introduced to this concept one yom shabbat morning when my rabbi glibly mentioned it during his drash. I was shocked and intrigued, wondering why I’d never heard this before. I looked into it and discovered that, while the debate goes on, most resources assert that the answer is clear: Matthew was originally written in Greek. Quoting from biblical scholars, they lay the old nine-out-of-ten-experts-agree card on the table.
So why was my rabbi so sure that the gospel of Matthew (or Matityahu, as he was known) was originally written in the Hebrew language? If biblical scholars disagree, where else can we look? How about the historians of the time? Wouldn’t they know more than any modern experts?
HISTORIANS SPEAK
Josephus, who was active during the first century CE, claims that the Jews at the time spoke Hebrew as well as Greek and Aramaic:
“And being sensible that exhortations are frequently more effectual than arms, [Titus] persuaded [the Jews] to surrender [Jerusalem], now in a manner already taken, and thereby to save themselves, and sent Josephus to speak to them in their own language; for he imagined they might yield to the persuasion of a countryman of their own.” Josephus, The Jewish War 5.9.2 (c. 75 CE)
Here are a few references to Matityahu’s gospel itself from other historians:
“So then Matthew wrote the oracles in the Hebrew language, and every one interpreted them as he was able.” Papias (150-170 CE) as quoted by Eusebius, Church History 3.39.16 (c. 324 CE)
“Matthew also issued a written Gospel among the Hebrews in their own dialect, while Peter and Paul were preaching at Rome, and laying the foundations of the Church.” Ireneus, Against Heresies 3.1.1 (c. 180 CE)
“Among the four Gospels, which are the only indisputable ones in the Church of God under heaven, I have learned by tradition that the first was written by Matthew, who was once a publican, but afterwards an apostle of Jesus Christ, and it was prepared for the converts from Judaism, and published in the Hebrew language.” Origen (c. 210 C.E.) as quoted by Eusebius, Church History 6.25.4 (c. 324 CE)
“For Matthew, who had at first preached to the Hebrews, when he was about to go to other peoples, committed his Gospel to writing in his native tongue, and thus compensated those whom he was obliged to leave for the loss of his presence.” Eusebius, Church History 3.24.6 (c. 324 CE)
“[The Nazarenes] have the Gospel according to Matthew quite complete in Hebrew, for this Gospel is certainly still preserved among them as it was first written, in Hebrew letters”. Epiphanius, Panarion 29:9:4 (c. 378 CE)
“Matthew, who is also Levi, and from a tax collector came to be an emissary first of all evangelists composed a Gospel of Messiah in Judea in the Hebrew language and letters, for the benefit of those of the circumcision who had believed, who translated it into Greek is not sufficiently ascertained. Furthermore, the Hebrew itself is preserved to this day in the library at Caesarea, which the martyr Pamphilus so diligently collected.” Jerome, On Illustrious Men (c. 392 CE)
This is not to say, however, that all of the texts of Matityahu’s gospel in Hebrew are legitimate. One in particular, the Shem-Tov, claims that gentiles will not be converted until the Thousand Year Reign of Messiah, and that any attempt to do so now is the work of Anti-Messiah (a contention which obviously does not conform with the rest of scripture, let alone history).
WHY DOES IT MATTER?
The testimony of the historians is just the beginning of our understanding of this topic. If these historians are to be believed, however, then we have to agree that the debate is over. Matityahu, a Jew writing for a Jewish audience, wrote his account of the Jewish messiah in the Jewish language: Hebrew.
So, why does this matter? The same reason that studying alI of scripture from the Jewish perspective matters: a deeper understanding of God’s Word. Scripture was written by Jews for Jews. It is Jewish from cover to cover. If Matityahu’s gospel was originally written in Hebrew, I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that it flows better and contains secondary layers of meaning that would otherwise be lost in a Greek translation.
But the debate goes on.
J. White
