The Green Tree and the Dry Tree:
By
James Scott Trimm
There are many cases of ambiguous Hebrew and Aramaic words which the Greek translator seems to have mistranslated. This type of mistranslation is very common and a clear evidence that a document has been translated. The reason this occurs is that a translator often works much like a typist, translating word for word without actually comprehending the context of the words. This often, but not always results in the translator choosing the most common meaning of an ambiguous word despite the fact that another meaning was intended. This problem is compounded when translating from Hebrew and Aramaic which anciently had no vowels, thus increasing the number of ambiguous words.
One of the more difficult sayings of our Messiah is found in Luke 23:21. The KJV translates the Greek as follows:
For if they do these things in a green tree,
what shall be done in the dry?
(Lk. 23:31 KJV)
Contrary to a common misconception, this verse does NOT mean that Yeshua was crucified in/on a tree, green or dry.
Now in Hebrew and Aramaic the “b-” preposition (which appears in the Aramaic text of this verse) can mean “in” but it can also mean “with” in the sense of “to.” In this verse the passage is best rendered:
For if they do these things with a green tree,
what will be done with the dry?
(Lk. 23:31 HRV)
In the original Aramaic the passage is a clear allusion to the parable of the greet tree and the dry tree as found in the Tanak in Ezekiel 20:45-21:7:
1 (20:45) And the word of YHWH came unto me, saying:
2 (20:46) Son of man, set your face toward the South, and proclaim toward the South, and prophesy against the forest of the field in the South,
3 (20:47) And say to the forest of the South, Hear the word of YHWH, Thus says the Adonai YHWH: Behold, I will kindle a fire in you, and it shall devour every green tree in you, and every dry tree; it shall not be quenched–even a flaming flame, and all faces from the south to the north, shall be seared thereby.
4 (20:48) And all flesh shall see, that I YHWH have kindled it; it shall not be quenched.
5 (20:49) Then said I, Ah Adonai YHWH! They say of me, Is he not a maker of parables?
6 (21:1) Then the word of YHWH came unto me, saying:
7 (21:2) Son of man, set your face toward Yerushalayim, and proclaim toward the sanctuaries, and prophesy against the land of Yisra’el,
8 (21:3) And say to the land of Yisra’el, Thus says YHWH: Behold, I am against you, and will draw forth My sword out of its sheath, and will cut off from you, the righteous and the wicked.
9 (21:4) Seeing then that I will cut off from you the righteous and the wicked, therefore shall My sword go forth out of its sheath against all flesh: from the south to the north.
10 (21:5) And all flesh shall know, that I YHWH have drawn forth My sword out of its sheath; it shall not return any more.
11 (21:6) Sigh therefore, you son of man. With the breaking of your loins and with bitterness, shall you sigh before their eyes.
12 (21:7) And it shall be, when they say unto you: Wherefore sigh you? That you shall say, Because of the tidings, for it comes…. And every heart shall melt, and all hands shall be slack, and every spirit shall be faint, and all knees shall drip with water. Behold, it comes, and it shall be done, says the Adonai YHWH.
(Ezekiel 21:1-12 (20:45-21:7) HRV)
In these verses the “green tree” represents the “righteous” and the “dry tree” represents the “wicked.” The parable of the green tree and the dry tree shows that both righteous and wicked face the judgment.
Yeshua uses a kol v’khomer statement here. Kol V’chomer is the First Rule of Hillel, it is a method of exegesis that involves presenting an argument from one of even greater weight. For example if X is true or Y then it must also be true of Z because Z is of even greater weight than Y. Yeshua is saying:
If they do this with a righteous one,
What will happen to the wicked man?
In other words:
If they do this with me,
What will happen to them?
Today (5/18/23) I need to pick up prescriptions for my wife totaling $250, but currently we are broke! Any donation will help, and any donation is better than no donation!
I want to thank all of you supporting this work. I literally could not do it without you!
This work takes hours of my time. As many of you know, my wife is very ill, and I spend most of my time at home as her caretaker. I work at a desk less than six feet from her bed. So I am in a position to dedicate many hours to this important work that I have been directed to do.
But I also realize that it is not the activity of James Trimm alone who is responsible to do this work, it is all of us together who are charged with the responsibility of accomplishing this work. I very much look on the efforts of this restoration work as a cooperative one with each one of you. We are all joint heirs with Messiah and should always be about our Father’s business. I am honored to be able to be partnered with truth seekers as this restoration of Scripture moves forward in fulfillment of prophecy.
