Matthew – Questions

•      #1  What the original name of the Book of James? Who changed it and why?

 

•      #2  Bonus Question:

•      What was the original order of the New Testament books?  Why was it changed and by whom?

Matthew – Question 1

•      Strong’s Greek 2398 and Hebrew 3290

•       

Matthew – Question 2

•      Original Order of New Testament Books

•      In the oldest New Testament manuscripts including ancient Aramaic books, the books are in a different order than the New Testament of today.

•      James, not Romans, follows Acts as the first of the epistles. In the oldest manuscripts the “general Jewish epistles” of James, Peter, John, and Jude immediately follow Acts -- instead of Romans and Paul’s other letters to Gentile Churches, as in traditional Christian Bibles.

Matthew – Question 2

•      Latin Vulgate rearranged the order so that Paul and not the Jewish epistles came first.

•      The original manuscript order was important because it agreed with the precept that the message was to go first to the Jews and then to the Gentiles. 

•      The original order agrees that James (Jacob) Peter and John were emissaries that came before Paul (Gal. 1:17).

Matthew – Hebrew Sources

•               Many times anything written in Hebrew was destroyed during the many  persecutions against the Jews

–            70 to 120 AD revolts against Rome

–            Crusades starting in 1096

–            1290 all English Jews expelled

–            1100s by Muslims in Iberia (Spain)

–            1500s throughout Europe

–            1700 in Poland and then Russia

–            1920s in Germany and the countries they occupied during WW II

•               Pope Julius III banned the Talmud in Rome in 1553.  Jean DuTillet, Bishop of Brieu, France was astounded and took the Hebrew manuscript of Matthew and deposited it in the Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris.  It is still there today as MS. 132.  It is thought by some scholars that this version underlies our current Greek text.

•               Sebastian Munster, a Hebrew and Aramaic a language professor from Switzerland published in 1557 his version of the Hebrew Matthew from manuscript copies he had received from Jews.  It is very close to the DuTillet version and is considered of much greater value than it had due to a misunderstanding that the writer made in his dedication of the work.

 

Matthew – Hebrew Sources

5.      Cinquarbres Matthew.  Johannes Quin-Quarboreus of Aurila, a noted Hebrew teacher, provided marginal notes to the Munster version that were more sound than the “restorations” of missing portion that Munster had provided. 

 

6.      Shem Tob Matthew.  Was transcribed by Shem Tob Ben Yitzach Ben Shaprut into Bohan around the 1380.  It is much different than both the DuTillet, Munster and Cinquarbres (Traditional Version) but does appear to be based on an earlier Hebrew manuscript.  It also delivers a different theology than the Traditional Version and thus is consulted but not relied on very often. 

Matthew – Hebrew Sources

The Old Syriac Gospels:  Two ancient Aramaic manuscripts of the Four Gospels date back to the 4th Century. 

•            Discovered by William Cureton in 1842 in a monastery at the Naton Lakes Valley, Egypt.  Known as Codex Syrus Curetonianus and is in the British Museum ADD. No. 14451.

•            Second was discovered by Mrs. Agnes Smith Lewis in 1892 at St. Catherine’s Monastery at Mt. Sinai in Egypt.  Known as Codex Syrus Sinaiticus or Syriac Siniatic and catalogues as Ms. Sinai Syriac No. 30. 

Matthew – Hebrew Sources

Peshitta Bible: 

•             The new Testament Peshitta was created very early in the Christian era, pre-Nicean area (325).  It appears to experts as not being a translation of any Greek text but rather a revision of the Old Syriac version.  It includes all of the books except 2 Peter, 2 and 3rd John, Jude and Revelations. 

Matthew – Sources

•       Latin Vulgate Bible, Jerome 382.

•       1380:  John Wycliff, ;hand written; The commom man should have access to God’s word.

•       Johann Gutenberg; Latin 1450. Printing press.

•       1516  Erasmus, Textus Receptus; Clearly showed how corrupt the Latin Vulgage by Jerome had become. 

•       William Tyndale; first true English bible translation.  He was executed for his translation.

•       1535 Myles Coverdale followed Tyndale’s work.

•       1539 Thomas Cranmer printed The Great Bible for Henry VIII and the first to be authorized for public use.

•       1557 Geneva Bible first to use chapter numbers and verses and extensive marginal notes.

•       1582 Rheims New Testament Bible in English.

•       1611 King James Bible competed against the Protestant Geneva Bible.  

 

 

Matthew – Chapter 1

Mattitiyahu

(Matthew)

CHAPTER 1

•    1 These are the generations1 of Yeshua,2 the son of David, the son of Avraham.

•    2. Avraham begat Yitzchak, Yitzchak begat Ya’akov, Ya’akov begat Y’hudah and his brothers.

•    3 Y'hudah begat Peretz and Zerach by Tamar, Peretz begat Chetzron, Chetzron begat Ram,

•    4 And Ram begat Amminadav, Amminadav begat Nachshon, Nachshon begat Salmon,

•    5 Salmon begat Bo'az by Rachav, Bo'az begat Oved by Rut, And Oved begat Yishai,

•    6 Yishai begat David the king. David begat Shlomo by the wife of Uriyah,

•    7 And Shlomo begat Rechav'am, Rechav'am begat Aviyah, And Aviyah begat Asa,

Matthew Chapter 1

•    8 And Asa begat Y'hoshafat, Y'hoshafat begat Y'horam, Y'horam3 begat Uziyahu,

•    9 Uziyahu begat Yotam, Yotam begat Achaz, Achaz begat Chizkiyahu,

•    10 Chizkiyahu begat M'nasheh, M'nasheh begat Ammon, Ammon begat Yoshiyahu,

•    11 Yoshiyahu begat Y'khanyah and his brothers in the Babylonian exile.

•    12 Y'khanyah begat Sh'altiel, Sh'altiel begat Z'rubavel,

•    13 Z'rubavel begat Av'ichud, Av'ichud begat Av'ner,4 Av'ner begat Elyakim, Elyakim begat Azur,

•    14 Azur begat Tzadok, Tzadok begat Ammon,5 Ammon begat El'ichud,

•    15 El'ichud begat El'azar, El'azar begat Mattan, Mattan begat Ya'akov,

•    16. Ya'akov begat Yosef, the husband6 of Miriam, of whom was born Yeshua, who is called Messiah.

Matthew Chapter 1

•      17. And all the generations from Avraham to David are fourteen generations,

•      and from David to the Babylonian exile are fourteen generations,

•      and from the Babylonian exile to the Messiah are fourteen generations.

Matthew Chapter 1

Abraham – David          David – Babylon           Babylon – Messiah

 

•              Abraham           Solomon                    Salathiel

•              Isaac                  Roboam                     Zorobabel

•              Jacob                 Abia                            Abiud

•              Judas                 Asa                             Eliakim

•              Phares               Jehosaphat               Azur

•              Esrom                Joram                         Sadoc

Matthew – Chapter 1

Abraham – David          David – Babylon           Babylon – Messiah

 

7.      Aram                   Ozias                           Achim

8.      Aminadab            Joatham                       Eluid

9.      Naasson              Achaz                           Eleazar

10.    Salmon                Ezekias                        Matthan

11.    Boaz                    Manases                       Jacob

12.    Obed                   Amon                           Joseph

13.    Jesse                   Josias                          Yeshua

•               David                   Jehonias                      ?

        

         “and from the Babylonian exile to the Messiah are fourteen generations.”  ?

Matthew – Chapter 1

Mt. 1:3, 5, and 6:  Tamar, Rachav, Rut, the wife of Uriyyah

•              Females are not normally listed in ancient Jewish genealogies.  Were these listed to specify the mothers in cases polygamous marriagtes.  Solomon’s?

•              Highlight a history of unusual mothers in Messiah’s pedigree.  “the wife of Uriyyah (2 Sam. 11) Matthew does not call her the wife of David or name her…. Reminds us of David’s shortcoming by calling her the wife of Uriah. 

Matthew – Chapter 1

Mt. 1:8  Y’horam begat Uziyahu

•      The names of three kings are omitted here.  This was not unusual for ancient Hebrew genealogies to be abbreviated and omit names.  (Ezra 7:1-5 with Chron. 6:4-15, Chron. has omitted names.

•      The Duillet Hebrew ma nuscript of Matthew contains the missing 14th name, Abner. 

 

 

Matthew – Chapter 1

•      Matt. 1:17 – 14, 14, 14 generations

•      Three sets of 14 and the son of fourteen because he is the son of David.  The gematris (numerical value) of the word David (in Hebrew) is 14.

•      Why 3 sets of 14?  Three times 14 equals 42.  The Messiah is also shown to be the Son of Eloah with a gematria value of 42. 

Matthew3 – Chapter 1

Behold, a virgin (ALMA) shall conceive and bear a son (Is. 7:14)

•      Alma refers to a young unmarried woman one of whose characteristics is virginity.  There is no instance where the word ALMA is used to refer to a non-virgin (young woman).  He didn’t use BETULAH (Hebrew) which can mean a young married woman, but instead used ALMA. In Aramaic the word B’TTULTA is used and means virgin, not a young lady. 

 

Matthew -- Question

What does this mean?  It appears 6,828 times in the Hebrew Testament plus when quoted in the New Testament.  Not found once in our current bibles, why?

   

   Yodh (y)     Hey (H)    Waw (W)   Hey (H)

 

Matthew  

Contacts:

 

–   Tim Farnham  706-238-7850

•    tfarnham@berry.edu

 

–   Dr. Jay Riley

•    rile9995@comcast.net