Revealing the Lost Roots of the Original Hebrew Gospel
Shalom chaverim,
I want to share with you a remarkable insight that has emerged from our ongoing project to reconstruct the lost Gospel according to the Hebrews — the original Gospel cherished by the earliest followers of Yeshua, the Netzerim (Nazarenes). This Gospel was in Hebrew and read by the emissaries themselves, including Matthew and James, and it is the true source behind our synoptic Gospels, later abridged into what we now call the Gospel of Matthew.
One particular verse — Matthew 12:42 — offers a perfect example of how restoring the Hebrew text sheds new light on the meaning and context of Yeshua’s words.
📜 The Mystery of the Queen of the South
In the familiar verse, Yeshua says:
“The queen of the South shall rise up in the judgment with this generation and shall condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon.”
— Matthew 12:42 (cf. Luke 11:31)
In Greek and English, this “queen of the South” is commonly identified with the Queen of Sheba, who visited King Solomon in 1 Kings 10. But early sources reveal something deeper — something that may have been preserved in the original Hebrew Gospel.
🏺 A Lost Name Recovered
According to several medieval commentaries, the Gospel according to the Hebrews included the name of the queen — and it wasn’t “Sheba.” It was Meroe.
This puzzled scholars for centuries. But in the course of our research, we’ve discovered that this is not a mistake — it’s a relic of the original Hebrew Gospel.
In our reconstruction of GH 12:43 (the verse numbering in the restored Hebrew Gospel), we read:
מ״ג מַלְכַּת מְרֹאָה תָּקוּם בַּמִּשְׁפָּט עִם זֶה הַדּוֹר וְתַרְשִׁיעֶנּוּ כִּי־בָאָה מִקְצֵה הָאָרֶץ לִשְׁמוֹעַ אֶת חָכְמַת שְׁלֹמֹה וְהִנֵּה יוֹתֵר מִשְּׁלֹמֹה פֹה
“The Queen of Meroë shall rise in the judgment with this generation and shall condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon — and behold, one greater than Solomon is here.”
📖 Who Was the Queen of Meroë?
Ancient sources help us understand who this queen really was:
- Josephus says the Queen of Sheba was the queen of Egypt and Ethiopia, and that the capital of Ethiopia was formerly called Seba but was renamed Meroë by Cambyses of Persia.
- The Book of Acts mentions Candace, a dynastic title for queens of Meroë, showing the region’s ongoing royal lineage.
- The Kebra Nagast, Ethiopia’s national epic, calls her Makeda, queen of Cush, and says she bore Solomon a son — Menelik I, father of the Ethiopian dynasty.
- The Talmud, Targum Sheni, and Midrash ha-Hefez all preserve fascinating riddles and mystical interactions between Solomon and the queen, affirming her spiritual insight and royal authority.
All these traditions point to a single region: Meroë — the capital of the Kingdom of Kush, in modern-day Sudan, between the Blue and White Nile.
🔍 Why the Confusion?
In Hebrew, the phrase מַלְכַּת מְרֹאָה (Malkat Meroe) can mean either:
- “The Queen of Meroë,”
or - “Queen Meroe” (interpreting the place as her name).
Because Hebrew doesn’t use capital letters and the original manuscripts lacked punctuation, it’s easy to see how later readers misunderstood the text — assuming Meroë was her personal name, when in fact it was the name of her kingdom.
This discovery is more than linguistic nuance — it’s a living example of how restoring the original Hebrew text brings clarity and truth to the teachings of Yeshua.
🔨 Help Us Restore the Original Gospel
We are now nearing completion of a full reconstruction of the lost Gospel according to the Hebrews, restored in its original Hebrew and accompanied by a literal English translation and critical notes. This is the Gospel that predates the Greek manuscripts and forms the earliest record of Yeshua’s words — written not for Rome, but for the faithful remnant of Israel.
Our work is part of a broader mission: the Restoration of Nazarene Judaism, the ancient faith of the original disciples — Torah-observant Jews who believed in Yeshua as the promised Messiah.
This vital work takes time, prayer, scholarship, and resources. If you believe in what we’re doing — if you want to be part of restoring the authentic Jewish Gospel and preserving the original faith of the apostles — we need your support.
💙 Partner with Us
Your donations help us:
- Translate and restore ancient Hebrew and Aramaic texts.
- Publish scholarly and accessible editions of Scripture.
- Preserve and teach the theology and halakhah of the original Netzerim.
- Defend the historical truth of the Hebrew New Testament.
🎯 You can give today via PayPal:
donations@wnae.org
Or visit: https://nazarenespace.com/blog/donate/
Even a small gift helps preserve great treasures.
Together, we can recover what was lost.
Together, we can restore the Gospel in its original light.
Together, we can bring truth to a generation that needs it.
Shalom and blessings in Yeshua HaMashiach,
James Scott Trimm
Restoration Scholar & Founder, World Nazarene Assembly of Elohim
NazareneSpace.com
