Let’s
continue with Yeshua’s teaching on anger (Part 6):
Agree with your adversary quickly while you are still on the road with him;
lest at any time your adversary deliver you to the judge, and the judge deliver
you to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. Amen! I tell you, you will not come out of there until you
have paid the last kodranthn (KODRANTEN).
(Matthew 5:25-26)
The
three key terms in the closing of Yeshua’s lesson on anger are adversary, amen and kodranthn. Let’s begin by discovering the meaning
of the Greek word kodranthn. A number of English translators
chose to use the word “farthing” -- “until you have paid the last farthing.”
Their decision to use “farthing” reveals something important about the
influence of their culture on their translation of the Bible. They chose a familiar
English word from their culture that readers would have clearly understood –
but the word they chose no longer is used or familiar to American English readers.
What
is a farthing? Farthing is derived from the Anglo-Saxon feorthing,
a fourthling or fourth
part, or “quarter.” Farthing is also the name of a British coin,
which was first minted in 1714.[i]
“Farthing” is the translation they chose for the Greek word found in the
ancient manuscripts -- kodranthn -- which is a transliteration of the
Latin word quadrantarius, which
means “quarter-, of, relating to a
quarter.” A quadran was a Roman copper coin (click here to see
pictures & more info). A good translation for American readers
today would be penny -- “until you have paid the last penny!”
The
Greek words translated “adversary”
are tw
antidikw. They may also be translated – enemy or opponent at law
(when a law suit is involved). Here, Yeshua was saying, “Agree with the one who is an opponent in a law suit.”
The
third word is “Amen!” In a previous blog,
we learned that when Yeshua used the word “Amen!” he was making an important
point (the earlier blog is What
does “Verily” mean & why did Yeshua use it so much?). Dr. Robert Lindsey
explained that the use of “Amen!” was part of a three-fold pattern Yeshua often
used in his teachings to make important points. The three-fold pattern Yeshua
skillfully used consisted of the following:
1. Significant
statement
2. Amen
3. Added
statement strengthening the Amen.
Now
let’s use this information to reconstruct the three-fold patter Yeshua used
here.
1. Agree
with the one who is your opponent in a law suit while you are still on the road
to the court with him; lest at any time your opponent delivers you over to the
judge, who will hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. (significant statement)
2. Amen!
3. You
will not come out of the prison until you have paid the last penny you owe your
opponent and the court! (added statement strengthening the Amen!).
The
point Yeshua made:
Settle things
with your brother while you are walking on the road of life, while you still
have the option to do so. If you don’t, then a judge will resolve the issue in
a human court or on the Great Day of Judgment!
As
we saw in the previous blog (Would
God Not Accept His Sacrifice?), God cannot forgive a person until the brother
he or she has offended forgives the person first. The importance of restoring
one’s relationship with his or her brother is absolutely essential for
receiving God’s forgiveness. Yeshua’s primary focus in this lesson, as well as many
other lessons, was the importance of one’s relationship with his or her brother
(neighbor). This is the cornerstone principle of Yeshua’s religion and the
original salvation message he taught.
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