Hebrew Tobit: A Clue to the Hebrew Origin of Matthew and Hebrews
By
James Scott Trimm
The Book of Tobit is one of the books of the “apocrypha”. These are books which were regarded as canon by the ancient Nazarenes and by the first Christians. They were used right along with the others by the so-called “Church Fathers”. Protestants later moved them to an appendix in the back and eventually removed them altogether.
The Book of Tobit is a book which originated in Judaism and was adopted into Christian usage. Eventually the book ceased to be used in Jewish circles and was only preserved by Christians in Greek, Latin and Syriac.
Of course this reminds us of the books of the New Testament such as Matthew and Hebrews which originated in Judaism and were adopted into Christian usage. Like Tobit they ceased to be used in Jewish circles and were only preserved by Christians in Greek, Latin and Syriac.
Scholars had debated about whether Tobit had been written in Hebrew or Aramaic. However the matter was settled when five fragmentary copies of Tobit at Qumran. Four of these were in Aramaic (4Q196; 4Q197; 4Q198; 4Q199) and one was in Hebrew (4Q200)). The Dead Sea Scrolls Bible states:
Before the discovery of copies of the book of Tobit among the Dead Sea Scrolls, scholars
debated whether the tale was originally written in Greek or perhaps a Semitic language (Hebrew or Aramaic).
(The Dead Sea Scrolls Bible p. 636)
In other words while the Book of Tobit was originally written in Hebrew and was used in Hebrew and Aramaic in Jewish circles, when the Jews ceased to use the book, the Hebrew was “lost” because the Christians only preserved the Greek, Latin and Syriac versions.
However the Hebrew of the Book of Tobit was not totally lost. In 1542 Sebastian Munster published the complete Hebrew text of the Book of Tobit. However until the discovery of the Hebrew of Tobit among the Dead Sea Scrolls there was question as to whether the Hebrew text of Tobit was the original or just a translation from the
Greek or Latin.
The parallel between the textual transmission of Hebrew Tobit and that of Hebrew Matthew and Hebrew Hebrews does not end here.
In 1537 Sebastian Munster also published the Hebrew text of Matthew and in 1557 a second edition of Munster’s Hebrew Matthew was published which also included the Hebrew text of Hebrews.
Now we have yet to find a “Dead Sea Scroll” type of find of Nazarene manuscripts but the “church fathers” do tell us that both Matthew and Hebrews were originally written in Hebrew. We may never make a “Dead Sea Scroll” type of find of ancient Nazarene manuscripts. However the Hebrew text of Matthew and Hebrews have been preserved
to us.
Emergency Alert! Our Rent is due in just 48 hours. And we do not have it!
My wife was originally to have surgery on Wednesday the second. I am sorry to say that surgery has had to be postponed for now. We found out there would be a co-pay for the surgery, of which we were not previously aware. The fact is that the rent is due Tuesday and we do not even know if we will be able to cover that at this point, so we had no choice but to postpone the surgery, whether we liked it or not.
I am telling you all this for two reasons. First of all the rent is due in just two days, and at this point we do not have it. Secondly to highlight just how serious things have become in the last few months financially. Over the summer, the person who had been our largest single contributor for the previous two years, notified us that they would have to drastically reduce their giving. Then just as their donations decreased, another long time contributor stepped up and started giving some large donations. Unfortunately this person has not been able to donate at all in about two months. These donations helped us pay off some bills to lower our monthly budget and even gave us a small safety net for a while. But that safety net has now been completely depleted. So much so that we have had to postpone my wife’s surgery and prioritize the rent (which even then, we still do not have the rent covered yet).
The time is short, and there is much work to be done. This is no time to pull back from the great work in front of us!
As you know we have been digging ourselves out of a budget shortfall. As I have said to you many times, I look on this work as a co-operative one with me, and all of you combining our resources together in order to get the job done of helping to teach this great truth to all in the world who will listen. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for your continued support, you are the ones who make it all possible by your contributions and your prayers for our work. I truly appreciate your help in every way.
If you can make a one time donation of $500 or $1,000 dollars to support this work.
If you can make a one time donation of $500 or $1,000 dollars to support this work.
Now is time to step up to the plate!
Does any of the Remaining Hebrew and Aramaic versions of the “Apacrypha” matches that of they’re Dead Sea Scroll fragments?
Yes. For example there is close agreement between Hebrew copies of Ben Sira found in the Dead Sea Scrolls and those found in the Cairo Geniza. Also of interest, a fragment of Hebrew Tobit found at the Cairo Geniza (Cairo Geniza Tobit (T-S A 45.26) (c. 1200 C.E.)
Two fragments covering 5:17-6:13 & 9:6-11:15), agrees with Munster’s Hebrew text of Tobit.
What a blessing