Skip to main content

Discovering What “Christ” Means

 


In my previous email I explained how we know the word “Christ” is a transliteration of a Greek word and what a transliteration is. (Click here if you have not read it.) You understand that there is a big difference between a transliteration and a translation. A transliteration does not tell us what the Greek word that was transliterated meant. The graphic above traces the journey of English word “Christ” back to the Greek word “Christos” and provides its translation -- “anointed.”

 

In another email I explained how we know that Jesus spoke and taught in the Hebrew language. (Click here to read it.) Someone wrote down the Hebrew words of Jesus spoke, someone else translated them into Greek, others copied and recopied the Greek translations, and some of those copies were used by the people that made English translations of the New Testament. The next step is identifying the Hebrew words behind those Greek translations.

 

We used the Septuagint, a Greek translation of the Jewish Hebrew Scriptures, to find verses in it with Greek words related to “Christos.” Then, we went to the Hebrew Bible and found those verses and were able to locate the corresponding Hebrew words. In the graphic above you can see the Hebrew word behind the word “Christos.” It is transliterated “mashiach” and translated “anointed.” “Christos” and “mashiach” are both translated into English as “anointed.”

 

Our next project was discovering what “mashiach” meant in the first century CE Jewish culture in which the Jesus Movement took place. The “anointing” of persons and objects was a widespread ritual in ancient Israel. It played a central role in the ceremonies in which kings were inaugurated and high priests were consecrated. The ultimate source of the anointment was God. Those who were anointed acquired the title “Mashiach” ("Anointed One").

 

Anointing conferred the "Spirit of Yahweh" only upon kings. The king received Yahweh’s support, strength, and wisdom. The anointment of high priests conferred neither the Spirit of Yahweh nor any other divine attribute on them because they had different functions. Other concepts related to the title “Anointed One” appear in the Second Temple Period.

 

● The “Anointed One” will be a great political leader descended from King David. (Jeremiah 23:5)

 

● The “Anointed One” will be well-versed in Jewish law and observant of its commandments (Isaiah 11:2-5).

 

● The “Anointed One” a charismatic leader, inspiring others to follow his example; a great military leader, who will win battles for Israel; a great judge who makes righteous and just decisions (Jeremiah 33:15).

 

● The “Anointed One” will appear at the End of Days when God judges all mankind.

 

Now we can update the first two words from Mark 1:1 -- “Jesus Christ Son of God” to reflect the information we gathered above. Instead of calling him Jesus Christ, we should call him:

 

Jesus the Anointed One

 

This allows us to view him the role he saw himself, and the way people saw him. In first century CE Judea and Galilee, when people heard the words “Jesus the Anointed One,” two questions would have immediately popped into their minds:

 

● What was Jesus anointed to do?

 

● When was he anointed?

 

Those questions will be answered in my next email. Thank you for exploring biblical heritages with me.

 

Shalom,

Jim Myers

 

● Donate and to Help Fund These Emails -- Click Here.

 

● Subscribe and Receive these Email (FREE) -- Click Here.

 

● “Like” and Share our Facebook Page -- Click Here.

 

● Visit the BHC Bookstore & Shop

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

It’s a Yod -- NOT a Jot and Tittle!

Not only did Yeshua read and speak Hebrew, so did his followers and disciples! Two very well known, but not accurately understood words in the Gospel of Matthew prove it – jot and tittle . For some reason jot and tittle stick in the minds of Christian Bible readers. But when you ask them what jot or tittle mean, you get a lot of conflicting and some really weird answers. Today, you are going to get the facts about what Yeshua originally said and how they ended up in English translations of the Bible as jot and tittle . Let’s begin by reading Matthew 5:18 from the King James translation: For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. If you have not read the article “ From Yeshua to Jesus ” in Yeshua’s Kingdom Handbook please take a moment to read it online by clicking here before you continue. In it you will see how we began with the name “ Jesus ” and traced it through Lati...
Post a Comment
Read more

Do Not Say RAQA! - Yeshua on Anger (Part 2)

In the last blog, we covered the first part of Yeshua’s lesson on Anger -- An Angry Person Should be Tried in Court like a Murderer – keep in mind that “anger” is the focus of Yeshua’s lesson. “Whoever says to a brother, ‘ RAKA ,’ shall be answerable to the Sanhedrin.” [i] Yeshua reveals that the seriousness of the offense has become greater by elevating the crime to the next highest court – the Sanhedrin . It is the highest court in the nation and would be the equivalent of our Supreme Court. What makes this offense more serious than murder, to keep things in the context established by Yeshua? It is because of what the angry person said out of anger – “ RAKA !” RAKA is the English transliteration of the Greek word found in the ancient manuscripts of Matthew. Interestingly, the Greek word is also a transliteration of a Hebrew word into Greek. Keep in mind that when a translator working on a translation of a Greek manuscript transliterates a Greek word, he only finds ...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Prayer Yeshua Prayed Twice Every Day

One of Jesus’s earliest memories was no doubt watching and listening to his family when they gathered to pray the Shema at sunrise before the day’s work began and after the working work day was over at sunset . He also heard and participated in praying the Shema at their synagogue. He was surrounded by neighbors who also prayed the same prayer in their homes every day. The Hebrew word for prayer is tefilah . It is derived from the root Pe-Lamed-Lamed and the word l'hitpalel, meaning “ to judge oneself .” This surprising word origin provides insight into the purpose of Jewish prayer. The most important part of any Jewish prayer, whether it be a prayer of petition, of thanksgiving, of praise of God, or of confession, is the introspection it provides, the moment that we spend looking inside ourselves, seeing our role in the universe and our relationship to God. [1] Most of Jewish prayers are expressed in the first person plural, "us" instead of "me," an...
Post a Comment
Read more