We
have unlocked the original meanings of two of Yeshua’s words in the verse
below. We used them to replace “jot” and “tittle” in the following translation:
For verily I say unto you, Till
heaven and earth pass, one yod
(the smallest Hebrew letter) or one qotz
(the smallest part of the smallest letter) shall in no wise pass from the law,
till all be fulfilled. (Matthew 5:18)
Now
let’s turn our attention to the word “verily.”
If we look it up in a dictionary we find the following definitions: in truth; really; indeed. Did
Yeshua mean:
● “For in truth I say unto you . . .”
● “For really I say unto you . . .”
● “For indeed I say unto you . . .”
As
pointed out before, Yeshua didn’t teach in English, so our first step to discovering
what he did say is to examine the Greek word that is translated “verily” – amhn. Before we find
out what it means, let’s review the options that translators have when they are
working with ancient Greek and Hebrew manuscripts. Translators have four
options: translate, transliterate, ignore
or insert.
● Translate
means to transport the meaning
of the word from the language they are translating to the language of the
people who will be reading their translation.
● Transliterate
means the transport the symbols
(letters) of the word from the language they are translating by finding the
closest equivalent symbols of the language of the people who will be reading
their translation.
● Omit
a word from their translation that is found in the ancient manuscript they are
translating by not translating or transliterating it.
● Insert
a word into their translation that has no equivalent word in the ancient manuscript
they are translating.
Make
sure you clearly understand the options translators have when they are
translating the ancient Greek and Hebrew manuscripts of the books of the Bible.
I suggest that you make a copy of them and put it in your Bible. It will come
in handy in your Bible studies.
Now
let’s transliterate the Greek word above. I am sure you have used it many
times. The equivalent English letters are below the Greek letters.
a
|
m
|
h
|
n
|
A
|
M
|
E
|
N
|
“Amen”
is a word we are all very familiar with and used many times in our lives. However,
when we use it, we usually use it at the end of what we are saying or praying,
not at the beginning, like in the verse we are studying:
For AMEN I say unto you, Till heaven
and earth pass, one yod (the
smallest Hebrew letter) or one qotz
(the smallest part of the smallest letter) shall in no wise pass from the law,
till all be fulfilled. (Matthew 5:18)
Are
you ready for a surprise? The ancient translators that produced the Greek
manuscripts also chose to transliterate a Hebrew word instead of translate it.
אָמֵן
In
Dr. Robert Lindsey’s important book, The
Jesus Sources: Understanding the Gospels, he provides some important
information about this Hebrew word:
In fact, in Hebrew literature . . . “amen” is always a response. You see, it
just grates on one’s nerves because if “amen”
is at the beginning of a sentence it is so odd that one just does not know what
to do with it. . . So what does one do? One day I began to look in the
Synoptics (Matthew, Mark & Luke) through all the places where this phrase
appears. I was reminded that in the Greek manuscripts there is no punctuation.
So suppose then that you put a period after the word “amen,” and you add the phrase “I
tell you.” . . . I said to myself, “That would really be true Hebrew!”[i]
Dr.
Lindsey recognized a three-fold pattern that Yeshua used in his teachings:
1. Significant
statement
2. Amen
3. Added
statement strengthening the Amen.
This
clue allows us to recognize that “Amen”
in the verse above was used by Yeshua to connect two important statements. This
would be easier to recognize if there were no verse breaks to deal with. By the
way, it would be over a thousand years after the books of the New Testament
were written before chapter and verse markers were inserted. Now we can
reconstruct the three-fold pattern Yeshua used.
1. Significant statement -- Do not think that I have come to abolish the
Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
2. Amen!
3. Added statement strengthening the Amen -- I
tell you till heaven and earth pass, not one yod or one qotz shall pass from
the Law till all be fulfilled.
The
point Yeshua made is – I have come to
fulfill the Law & Prophets – is becoming much more clear. But most
readers of English translations do not understand what Yeshua meant by “fulfill.”
We will unlock its meaning in the next blog.
If
you like our posts on The Real Yeshua Blog, please go to
Facebook and “Like” our page -- https://www.facebook.com/therealyeshua?ref=hl -- also
share it with your friends.
If you consider
this important and valuable information,
we would appreciate your help in funding the work to produce it. Donate at -- http://www.biblicalheritage.org/yeshua_donate.htm
[i] The
Jesus Sources: Understanding the Gospels, by Dr. Robert L. Lindsey © 1990 by HaKesher, Inc.,
Tulsa, OK; pp. 34-35.
Comments
Post a Comment