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Understanding 1Corinthians Part 4 The Mind of Messiah

Understanding 1Corinthians Part 4
The Mind of Messiah
By
James Scott Trimm

In Part 1 we demonstrated that the Assembly at Corinth was having a problem common to Second Temple Era Judaism, factionalism. In Part 2 we established that the first four chapters of 1Corinthians are formatted in a formal form of Midrash known as a Proem Homiletic Midrash, and that this Midrash is a compound and extended Proem Homilatic Midrash. In part 3 we explored the meaning of the first part of the midrash (comprising 1Cor. 1:18-31) and especially Paul’s use of Isaiah 29:14 from a Jewish perspective.

The problem at Corinth is factionalism, a problem plaguing Second Temple Era Judaism. Second Temple Era had been fractured into various sects and factions that could not agree on halacha. As we saw in part 3, the Talmud says “They will not find a clear halachah or a clear Mishnah in any place.” and as the Nazarene Commentary on Isaiah refers to “very bad decrees” (גזרות רע מאוד). Paul cited Isaiah 29:14 because Isaiah 29 is a prophecy that Israel would suffer exactly this fate.

In his second Midrash in this compound Proem Homiletic Midrash, Paul will tell us about the solution to this problem. This second sub-midrash comprises 1Corinthians 2:6-16 and expounds upon Isaiah 64:3(4) in light of Isaiah 40:13-14.

The Prophet Isaiah writes:

And whereof from of old men have not heard,
nor perceived by the ear, neither has the eye seen
an Elohim beside You, who works for him that
waits for Him.
(Is. 64:3(4))

There is a Baraita on this verse that appears twice in the Talmud once in the Midrash Rabbah and four times in the Zohar.

The following is the Baraita as it appears in the Talmud:

What is the meaning of “Eye has not seen” (Is. 64:3)
Rabbi Joshua ben Levi said:
This is the wine that has been kept
in its grapes from the six days in the beginning.
(b.Berakot 34b; b.Sanhedrin 99a)

The phrase “wine that has been kept” in the Hebrew is Yayin HaMeshumar “wine of keeping”. The tradition of the Yayin HaMeshumar runs deep in traditional Judaism. It is the wine that will be served at the Messianic Feast when the Messiah re-establishes the Kingdom of Israel on earth.

In his first letter to the Corinthians Paul also quotes, or perhaps we should better say paraphrases Is. 64:3(4) as follows:

But as it is written:
The eye has not seen, and the ear has not heard,
and into the heart of a son of man has not entered
that which Eloah had prepared for those who love Him.
(1Cor. 2:9 HRV)

Note that Paul’s citation is influenced by the Baraita as the actual text of Isaiah says that “eye has not seen… an Elohim beside you” but Paul says “Eye has not seen… that which Eloah has prepared for those who love Him.” And the Baraita has “Eye has not seen… the wine which has been kept…”.

Now lets look at Paul’s quote in context:

But we speak the wisdom of Eloah
in a mystery that was hidden
And [that] Eloah had before separated
from before the ages for our glory.
That not one of the authorities of this world knew,
for if they had known it,
they would not have crucified the Adon of glory.
But as it is written:
The eye has not seen, and the ear has not heard,
and into the heart of a son of man has not entered
that which Eloah had prepared for those who love Him.
(1Cor. 2:7-9 HRV)

When we look at Paul’s context we see an even greater influence from the Baraita of the Yayin HaMeshumar “…a mystery that was hidden and that Eloah had before separated from before the ages… eye has not seen… that which Eloah has prepared for those who love Him.”

It is clear that Paul here must be referring to the Yayin HaMeshumar as his audience is, no doubt, familiar with this Baraita to Is. 64:3.

It is the Yayin HaMeshumar that Yeshua refers to when we read:

And afterwards he took the cup, and blessed,
and gave to them, saying,
“Drink you all of it,
for this is my blood of the New Covenant,
which is shed for many to atone for sinners,
And I tell you, hereafter I will not drink of the fruit of the vine,
until that day when I drink it new with you in the kingdom
of my Father which is in heaven.”
(Mt. 26:27-29)

The Yayin HaMeshumar is the blood of the New Covenant. At the Passover Sader the wine represents the blood of the lamb. Note that we read in Revelation that Messiah is the lamb slain “before the foundation of the world.” (Rev. 13:8) his blood is the wine kept in its grapes from the six days in the beginning.

In the Apocryphal Gospel of Thomas Yeshua is quoted as saying:

Yeshua said, “I shall give you what no eye has seen
and what no ear has heard and what no hand has touched
and what has never occurred to the mind of man.
(Gospel of Thomas 17)

Note that in 1Cor. 1:18-20 the same “wisdom” of which we are later told is “…in the mystery that was hidden … before separates from before the ages… which Eloah had prepared for those who love him.” (1Cor. 2:7-9) is also the “wisdom” which “takes away the wisdom of the wise” in 1Cor. 1:19 quoting Isaiah 29:14. In Isaiah 29:15 this wisdom is the contents of the sealed book (Is. 29:11-12, 14, 18). In Revelation this book is opened by the “lamb as if it was slain” (Rev. 5:6) a lamb slain “before the foundation of the world.” (Rev. 13:8).

This is the wine that will be served at the “marriage supper of the lamb” (Rev. 19:7) the great Messianic Banquet and Passover Sader.

In 1Corinthians, Paul has brought up the Yayin HaMeshumar at the beginning of his letter because he will be addressing this wine throughout his letter. In 1Cor. 5 he will discuss the recent Passover Sader at Corinth. In 1Cor. 11:23-34 he addresses the significance of the Passover and especially being worthy to drink the wine which is the Yayin Hameshumar.

In 1Cor. 15:54 he cites Isaiah 25:8 a passage of Isaiah which immediately follows the description of the Messianic Banquet in Isaiah 25:6-7:

6 And in this mountain shall YHWH of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined.
7 And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations.
8: He will swallow up death in victory; and the Adonai YHWH will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for YHWH has spoken it.

Notice that the Yayin HaMeshumar is something which “from of old men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither has the eye seen” (Is. 64:3) elsewhere Isaiah writes:

So shall he sprinkle many nations, kings shall shut their mouths
because of him, for that which had not been told them shall they see
and that which they have not heard shall they perceive.
(Is. 52:15)

Thus the “suffering servant” song of Isaiah 53 is the message that “eye has not seen”, it is the Yayin HaMeshumar.

The Midrash Rabbah to Num. 13:2 (500) says:

Because he bared his soul unto death (Is. 53:12)
and bruised themselveswith the Torah which is sweeter than honey,
the Holy One, blessed be He, will hereafter give them to drink
of the wine kept in its grapes since the six days in the beginning….
(Midrash Rabbah to Numbers 13:2 (500))

Thus Paul writes:

Not only is the Yayin HaMeshumar the blood of the Messiah, but it is more. It is the “mystery” of which the blood of Messiah is only part:

The Zohar says:

The Tzadik (The Righteous) is the Yesod (foundation) in Yah,
the mystery (SOD) which is the wine which has been kept
in its grapes from the six days in the beginning.
(Zohar; Roeh M’haimna on Pinchas; 3:236a)

And in regards to the banquet for the righteous in the time to come, the Zohar says:

It has been taught: Rabbi Yose said, “The wine preserved in it’s grapes since the six days of creation– ancient matters not revealed to anyone since the day the world was created, but destined to be revealed to the righteous in the time to come. This is the significance of the drinking and the eating; certainly it is so!
(Zohar; Midrash Ha-Ne’lam 1:135b)

There is a clear connection here because SOD (“mystery”) has a gematria (numerical value) of 70 which is also the gematria of YAYIN (“wine”). Just as the Zohar identifies the “mystery” with the Yayin HaMeshumar, so does Paul in 1Corinthians.

For Paul goes on to further identify the Yayin HaMeshumar as follows:

10 But Eloah has revealed [it] to us by his spirit, for the spirit searches into everything, even the deep things of Eloah.
11 For who is the son of man who knows what is in a son of man except the spirit of the son of man that [is] in him? So also, that which is in Eloah, no man knows except the Spirit of Eloah.
12 Now we have not received the spirit of the world, but the spirit that is from Eloah, so that we might know the gifts that were given to us from Eloah;
13 Which also we speak, not in the teaching of words of the wisdom of sons of men, but in the teaching of the spirit, and to spiritual men we compare spiritual things.
14 For the son of man who is in the nefesh does not receive spiritual things, for they are foolishness to him, and he is not able to know that which is judged spiritually.
15 Now the spiritual man judges all things, and is not judged from man.
16 For who knows the mind of YHWH that he might instruct him? (Is. 40:13) But we have the mind of the Messiah.
(1Cor. 2:10-16)

Paul identifies the Yayin HaMeshumar with the “words of wisdom” (2:13) as well as the “mind of YHWH” or the “mind of Messiah” (1Cor. 2:16) and with the spiritual “gifts” (1Cor. 2:10-16) which he will elaborate upon later in the letter (1Cor. 12-14).

Returning to the word “sod” and the gematria of seventy. Seventy is also the number of the elders of the Sanhedrin, and the word “sod”can also mean “intimate union, circle, council” or “deliberation, counsel” (see A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature; Marcus Jastrow, PH. D. Litt. D.; p. 961).

Paul cites Isaiah 64:3(4) as the solution the the problem of “They will not find a clear halachah or a clear Mishnah in any place.” and as the Nazarene Commentary on Isaiah refers to “very bad decrees” (גזרות רע מאוד) derived from Isaiah 29:14 in the first part of the midrash. The “Yayin Meshumar” associated with the Jewish understanding of Isaiah 64:3(4) points to the blood of Messiah and to the SOD, the “mystery” which Paul identifies with the “mind of Messiah” and which is associated also with the council seventy elders of the Sanhedrin who deliberate and give counsel.

We read in the Torah:

Judges and officers shall you make you in all your gates, which YHWH your Elohim gives you, tribe by tribe. And they shall judge the people with righteous judgment.
(Deut. 16:18 HRV)

8 If there arise a matter too hard for you in judgment, between blood and blood, between plea and plea, and between stroke and stroke–even matters of controversy within your gates–then shall you arise, and get you up unto the place which YHWH your Elohim shall choose.
9 And you shall come unto the cohanim, the L’vi’im, and unto the judge that shall be in those days, and you shall inquire. And they shall declare unto you the sentence of judgment.
10 And you shall do, according to the tenor of the sentence, which they shall declare unto you from that place which YHWH shall choose, and you shall observe to do according to all that they shall teach you.
11 According to the Torah which they shall teach you, and according to the judgment which they shall tell you, you shall do. You shall not turn aside from the sentence which they shall declare unto you, to the right hand nor to the left.
12 And the man that does presumptuously, in not hearkening unto the cohen, that stands to minister there before YHWH your Elohim, or unto the judge, even that man shall die, and you shall exterminate the evil from Yisra’el.
(Deut. 17:8-12 HRV)

The phrase “According to the Torah” in the Hebrew is על פי התורה which could literally be translated “according to the Oral Torah”. The word על means “about, concerning, according to”; the word פי means “mouth” or “oral”. and the word התורה means “the Torah”. This phrase is the source of the Hebrew phrase תורה שבעל פה “Oral Law” (פי is the construct form of פה). (There are two kinds of Oral Law: Oral Law from Sinai and these Judgments of the Court.)

This sheds light on an event recorded by Matthew:

15 And Yeshua said to them: And you … who say you, that I am?
16 Then answered Shim’on Kefa, saying, You are Messiah, the Son of the Living Elohim.
17 And Yeshua said to him: Happy are you Shim’on Ben Yonah, for this was not revealed to flesh and blood
but to you, when it was revealed to you by My Father which is in heaven.
18 And I tell you, that you are Kefa, and upon this rock I will build My assembly, and the gates of takh’ti will not prevail against you.
19 And to you will I give the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, and whatever you shall prohibit on earth, shall be prohibited in heaven: and whatever you will permit on earth, has been permitted in heaven.
(Matthew 16:15-19 from DuTillet Hebrew)

The “Assembly” here refers the judges of the Torah court. Kefa is said to be given the “keys” because he is being appointed to the office of Av Beit Din (The Av Beit Din controlled who could enter the court and was said to hold the “keys”) . The Torah courts were headed by two individuals, a Nasi (president) and Av Beit Din (vice-president and sergeant of arms.) The words “prohibit” (אסור) and “permit” (מותר) are literally “bind” and “loose” and are idiomatic expressions in Hebrew used to refer to the authority of the judges to prohibit and permit activities.

We can see that this is the “assembly” to which Yeshua refers, by comparing with Matthew 18:

15 And if your brother sins against you, go and reprove him between you and him alone: and if he will hear you, you have won your brother.
16 But if he will not hear you, take to yourself one witness or two: that at the mouth of two or three witnesses, every word may be established.
17 And if he will not hear them, speak to him in the assembly: but if he neglects to hear in the assembly, let him be to you as a Goy or a transgressor.
18 Truly I tell you, all that you will prohibit on earth has been prohibited in heaven also, and all that you will permit on earth has been permitted in heaven also.
19 Again I tell you: If two of you might be worthy566 on earth567 as touching a thing that they will ask, it will be for them of My Father which is in heaven.
20 For in every place where two or three will assemble in My Name, there am I in the midst of them.
(Matthew 18:15-20 from DuTillet Hebrew)

Here again we see this “assembly” which has the power to “prohibit” (bind) and “permit” (loose). This time we see it in context of an assembly which receives the testimony of which “at the mouth of two or three witnesses, every word may be established.” quoting Deut. 19:15:

15 One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sins. At the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall a matter be established.
16 If an unrighteous witness rise up against any man, to bear perverted witness against him,
17 Then both the men, between whom the controversy is, shall stand before YHWH; before the cohanim and the judges that shall be in those days.
18 And the judges shall inquire diligently: and behold, if the witness be a false witness, and has testified falsely against his brother,
(Deut. 19:15-18 HRV)

This is the same “judges that shall be in those days” (Deut. 19:17) that we read about earlier in Deut 17:9 who give rulings that are על פי התורה i.e. תורה שבעל פה “Oral Law”.

In other words, Yeshua as Messiah designated his Emissaries as the “judges that shall be in those days” i.e. a Nazarene Sanhedrin.

We see this body meet, consider and make such a ruling In Acts 15. Here the Emissaries consider a matter of halacha (must gentiles be circumcised to be saved). We see that Ya’akov HaTzadik (James the Just) is presiding as Nasi, and Kefa is acting as Av Beit Din.

Paul is connecting the Yayin HaMeshumar to the “Mind of Messiah” and this Nazarene Sanhedrin, as the solution to the problem of factionalism.

Paul then extends the midrash (1Cor. 3:1-4:21) as described in Part 2, laying out his basis for presenting halacha to Corinth, and resolve the problem of factionalism. The second portion of the book (Chapters 5-16) deal with a variety of halachic issues, upon which Paul weighs in.

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Understanding 1Corinthians Part 3: Very Bad Decrees

Understanding 1Corinthians Part 3
Very Bad Decrees
By
James Scott Trimm

In Part 1 we demonstrated that the Assembly at Corinth was having a problem common to Second Temple Era Judaism, factionalism. In Part 2 we established that the first four chapters of 1Corinthians are formatted in a formal form of Midrash known as a Proem Homiletic Midrash, and that this Midrash is a compound and extended Proem Homilatic Midrash. In part 3 I want to explore Paul’s point in the first part of this compound Midrash (1Cor. 1:18-31) which is a midrash on Isaiah 29:14 connecting it to Jeremiah 9:23-24.

14 Therefore behold, I will again do a marvelous work among this people, even a marvelous work and a wonder. And the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the prudence of their prudent men shall be hid.
(Isaiah 29:14 HRV)

The Talmud relates an understanding of this verse taught by Rab (Abba Arikha (175–247 CE)) who taught:

…for Rab said: The Torah is destined to be forgotten in Israel, because it is said, Then the Lord will make thy plagues wonderful: (Dt. 28:59) now, I do not know what this wonder is, but when it is said, Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvelous work among this people, even a marvelous work and a wonder [and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish],(Is. 29:14) it follows that this wonder refers to Torah.
(b.Shabb. 138b)

Rab taught that this portion of Isaiah speaks of an apostasy from the Torah. The Talmud goes on to comment upon Rab’s teaching:

Our Rabbis taught: When our Masters entered the vineyard at Yabneh, they said, The Torah is destined to be forgotten in Israel, as it is said, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord. And it is said, And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east; they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it. (Amos 8:11f) ‘The word of the Lord’ means halachah,’ ‘the word of the Lord’ means ‘The End’; ‘the word of the Lord’ means prophecy. And what does ‘they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord’ mean? Said they, A woman is destined to take a loaf of terumah and go about in the synagogues and academies to know whether it is unclean or clean, and none will know whether it is clean or unclean. But that is explicitly stated, All food which may be eaten […shall be unclean]? (Lev. 11:34) Rather to know whether it is a first degree or a second degree [of uncleanness], and none will know. But that too is a Mishnah. For we learnt: If a [dead] creeping thing is found in an oven, the bread within it is a second, because the oven is a first? — They will be in doubt over what R. Adda b. Ahabah asked Raba: Let us regard this oven as though it were filled with uncleanness, and let the bread be a first? He replied, We do not say. Let us regard this oven as though it were filled with uncleanness. For it was taught: You might think that all utensils become unclean in the air space of an earthen vessel: therefore it is stated, whatsoever is in it shall be unclean… all food therein which may be eaten: food and liquids become unclean in the air space of an earthen vessel. It was taught. R. Simeon b. Yohai said: Heaven forfend that the Torah be forgotten in Israel, for it is said, for it shall not be forgotten out of the mouths of their seed. Then how do I interpret, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it? They will not find a clear halachah or a clear Mishnah in any place.
(b.Shabb. 138b)

So the Rabbis understood the apostasy of Isaiah 29 to be that mentioned in Amos 8:11-12 which reads:

11 Behold, the days come, says the Adonai YHWH, that I will send a famine in the land: not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of YHWH.
12 And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east: they shall run to and fro to seek the word of YHWH, and shall not find it.
(Amos 8:11-12 HRV)

And the Rabbis understood this not to refer to the written Torah but to the halachah derived from the written Torah. And this is exactly the way Yeshua understood Isaiah 29:13-14 as well!

The Talmud goes on to present a related teaching from Rabbi Jose ben Elisha:

It was taught. R. Jose b. Elisha said: If you see a generation overwhelmed by many troubles, go forth and examine the judges of Israel, for all retribution that comes to the world comes only on account of the Judges of Israel, as it is said, Hear this, I pray you ye heads of the house of Jacob, and rulers of the house of Israel, that abhor judgment, and pervert all equity. They build up Zion with blood and Jerusalem with iniquity. The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money; yet will they lean upon the Lord, etc. (Mic. 3:9-11) They are wicked, but they place their confidence in Him Who decreed, and the world came into existence. Therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, will bring three punishments upon them answering to the three sins which they cultivate, as it is said, Therefore shall Zion for your sake be ploughed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of a forest. (Mic. 3:12) And the Holy One, blessed be He, will not cause His Divine presence to rest upon Israel until the wicked judges and officers cease out of Israel, for it is said, And I will turn my hand upon thee, and thoroughly purge away thy dross, and will take away all thy tin. And I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counsellors as at the beginning, etc. (Is. 1:25f)
(Shabbat 139a)

So Rabbi Jose sees this apostasy of Isaiah 29:13-14 likewise as manifesting itself through apostate judges (members of the Sanhedrin) who give apostate rulings (and therefore apostate halacha).

There is much more written in this portion of Talmud on this subject which is worthy of study, but the key point I want to make here is that the sages of the Talmud and Yeshua both understood this portion of Isaiah to refer to an apostasy from true and correct halacha. The previous verse of Isaiah reads:

13 And YHWH said: Forasmuch as this people draw near, and with their mouth and with their lips do honor Me, but have removed their heart far from Me, and their fear of Me, is a commandment of men learned by rote,
(Isaiah 29:13 HRV)

Yeshua quotes Isaiah 29:13 in a debate he had with a certain group of Pharisees in Matthew 15. Many who attack Jewish tradition and the Oral Law cite Yeshua’s words in Matthew 15:1-9 (and paralleled in Mark 7:1-13) concerning the “traditions of men.” These commentators argue that the “traditions of men” which Yeshua speaks of in this passage are either the traditions of the Talmud, Oral Law, or Jewish traditions in general.

But lets examine these verses to see if they can accurately be applied to the Jewish traditions of the Talmud.

1 Then came near to Him scribes and P’rushim from Yerushalayim, saying,
2 Why do your talmidim transgress the decrees of the elders? For they clean not their hands when they eat bread.
3 But He answered them and said: And why do you transgress the commandments of Elohim–by means of your decrees?
4 Is it not written in your Torah from the mouth of Elohim, Honor your father and your mother?(Ex. 20:12; Deut. 5:16) And moreover written, And he that curses his father and his mother will surely die? (Ex. 21:17; Lev. 20:9)
5 But you say, Whoever says to father and mother, It is all an offering–[KORBAN] whatever of mine might profit you,
6 And he honors not his father and his mother. Thus have you made void the commandments of Elohim, on account of your judgments.
7 You hypocrites! Yesha’yahu did well indeed to prophesy concerning you, saying,
8 This people honors Me with their mouth and with their lips, but have removed their heart far from Me.
9 And their fear of Me, is a commandment learned of men.(Isa. 29:13)
(Matt. 15:1-9 HRV)

Now there are some important things we can immediately clean from these verses:

1. Yeshua is addressing a specific group of Pharisees whom he has encountered here, and not Phariseeism in general.
2. Yeshua is not criticizing “tradition” in general, but only “traditions of men” and specifically only “traditions of men” which conflict with the written Torah.

Now Yeshua gives us a very specific example of one of these “traditions of men,” a tradition that says that a man who makes a vow that his father or mother might not benefit from anything of his, even though this dishonors their mother or father.

Now interestingly exactly this question is dealt with in one of the many debates recorded in the Talmud. We read in the Mishna Nedarim 9:1:

R. Elieazar says: they open a vow for a man by reference to the honor of his father or mother. and the sages prohibit.
said R. Tzadok: before they open a vow for him by reference to his father or mother let them open his vow by reference to the honor of HaMakom.
If so there will be no vow.
But the sages concede to R. Elieazar, that in a matter that is between him and his mother or father they loose his vow by reference to his father or mother.”
(m.Nedarim 9:1)

Here the exact same question is here debated. (It is interesting to note that both Matthew 15 and the Talmud (m.Nedarim 9:1 and b.Nedarim 64a-64b) debate this same issue, but it is only the Talmud which gets criticized.)

The question is which commandment is weightier: the commandment to keep all of your vows (Num. 30:3(2)) or the commandment to honor your mother and father (Ex. 20:12; Deut. 5:16). What happens when there is a conflict between these two commandments and one must break one to keep the other?

Now for a complete understanding of this section of Talmud (m.Nedarim 9:1 and the Gemara at b.Nedarim 64a-64b) see my video “Talmud For Beginners Lesson One”.

It is sufficient here to show that the sages of the Talmud agreed that the type of vow that Yeshua discusses (one which involves “a matter that is between him and his mother or father”) is loosed (and therefore should not be kept) if it dishonors ones mother on one’s father.

So Yeshua and the Talmud agree with each other against the “traditions of men”. For anyone to try to identify the “traditions of men” of Matthew 15 (and Mark 7) with the traditions of the Talmud, the Oral Law, or Jewish tradition in general, is either dishonest or very shoddy scholarship.

Yeshua’s point here is that a tradition that conflicts with the written Torah should not be kept, a point with which any Orthodox Rabbi would agree.

The “Traditions of Men” spoken of in Matthew 15 (and Mark 7) are not the Oral Law, the Talmud or Jewish traditions in general. In this case the Sages of the Talmud stand with Yeshua in opposing “Traditions of Men” that conflict with the written Torah, even in the specific example Yeshua gives in these verses.

That the Rabbinic authorities themselves would apostatize from a true and proper understanding of the Torah.

One key difference is that Yeshua saw this apostasy from sound halacha as already taking root by his day. It was not Pharisaic traditions and oral law in general that he opposed, as his halacha in Matthew 15 concerning oaths agrees with the ruling we find in the Talmud. However he also saw and criticized bad halacha that certain Pharisees were teaching in his days. However the Rabbis that re-established the Pharisaic Sanhedrin at Yavneh (90 CE) saw it as yet future (b.Shabbat 138b). It is also interesting to note that even the Talmud sees an eventual apostasy of Rabbinic Judaism.

Isaiah continues:

15 Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from YHWH, and their works are in the dark. And they say, Who sees us, and who knows us?
16 O your perversity! Shall the potter be esteemed as clay, that the thing made should say of him that made it, He made me not: or the thing framed say of him that framed it, He has no understanding?
17 Is it not yet a very little while, and the L’vanon shall be turned into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field shall be esteemed as a forest?
18 And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of a book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity and out of darkness.
(Isaiah 29:15-18)

And then in verse 19 he says:

19 The humble also shall increase their joy in YHWH, and the neediest among men shall exult in HaKadesh of Yisra’el.
(Isaiah 29:15-19 HRV)

The Targum of Jonathan ben Uziel has in verse 19:

19 And those that have suffered affliction on account of the Word of YHWH shall increase their joy, and the poor of the sons of men shall rejoice in the Word of the Holy One of Israel.
(Targum Jonathan Isaiah 29:19)

So the Targum sees this apostasy as causing affliction to those who follow the “Word of YHWH” (the Memra) and that its end will mean a rejoicing for those who follow the “Word” (Memra).

Isaiah continues:

20 For the terrible one is brought to nought, and the scorner ceases, and all they that watch for iniquity are cut off:
21 That make a man an offender by words, and lay a snare for him that reproves in the gate, and turn aside the just with a thing of nought.
(Isaiah 29:20-21 HRV)

The Ancient Nazarene Commentary on Isaiah (c. 250 CE) says of these two verses:

פשרו על הסופרים והפרושים כי עבד התנאים אשר קדם הונה את העם ביד גזרות רע מאוד והם שקדו ביום ובלילה כדי להונות את הפשוטים אשר מחטיאי אדם בדבר אלוהים ומכחישים שמשיח הוא הבן

The interpretation is concerning the Scribes and Pharisees, for the tanna’im passed away, who earlier deceived the people with very bad decrees (and they watched day and night to deceive the simple ones), who made men sin against the Word of Elohim and that they should deny that Messiah was the Son.

Conclusion

Remember, the problem at Corinth is factionalism, a problem plaguing Second Temple Era Judaism. Second Temple Era had been fractured into various sects and factions that could not agree on halacha. As the Talmud says “They will not find a clear halachah or a clear Mishnah in any place.” and as the Nazarene Commentary on Isaiah refers to “very bad decrees” (גזרות רע מאוד). Paul cited Isaiah 29:14 because Isaiah 29 is a prophecy that Israel would suffer exactly this fate.

In his second Midrash in this compound Proem Homiletic Midrash, Paul will tell us about the solution to this problem. And this will be the topic of part four in this series.

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Understanding 1Corinthians Part 2: The Formal Midrash Structure

Understanding 1Corinthians Part 2
The Formal Midrash Structure
By
James Scott Trimm

A major key to understanding 1Corinthians from a Jewish Perspective, is in recognizing that the opening portion of the book is written in a formal form of Midrash known as a “Proem Homiletic Midrash” (In Hebrew this is called a “Petihah” Midrash and in Aramaic a “Petihta” Midrash).

This form of Midrash makes use of the Second Rule of the Seven Rules of Hillel. The Seven Rules of Hillel are seven rules of Jewish hermeneutics first written by Hillel. The second of these rules is G’zerah Shavah (equivalence of expressions) in which an analogy is made between two separate texts on the basis of a similar phrase, word, or root.

In a Proem homiletic midrash, the expositor opens by citing a Scripture passage. He then gives an exposition based on key terms in that passage, ultimately connecting that passage to another passage that contains the same key terms.

It is not surprising that Paul, a student of Gamaliel, who was the grandson of Hillel, would use this formal form of Midrash. In the case of 1Corinthians, Paul’s Midrash is a complex. compound and extended Proem homiletic midrash.

The First Midrash

In 1Corinthians 1:18-31 Paul first Gives a Proem homiletic midrash connecting Isaiah 29:14 with Jeremiah 9:23-24 using the connecting terms “wise/wisdom” and “fool/foolishness” along with the key word “boasts”. The First Midrash is structured as follows:

Introductory Passage (1Cor. 1:18-19): Isaiah 29:14 (see also Isaiah 19:11f & 33:18)

Exposition (1Cor. 1:20-30): Connecting terms “wise/wisdom” and “fool/foolish” with keyword “boast”

Final Passage (1Cor. 1:31): Jeremiah 9:23-24 (while our current text only quotes Jer. 9:23(24) it is clear that Paul is referencing both verses, and either Paul, or a later hand, abbreviated the quotation).

The Second Midrash

In 1Corintians 2:6-16 Paul’s Second Midrash connects Isaiah 64:3(4) with Isaiah 40:13-14 using the connecting terms “son of man” and “know/knows” This Proem homiletic midrash is structured as follows:

Initial Passage (1Cor. 2:6-9): Isaiah 64:3-4 (see also Isaiah 65:16 LXX)

Exposition (1Cor. 2:10-15): Connecting terms “son of man/men” “know/knows”

Final Passage (1Cor. 2:16): Isaiah 40:13-14 (see also Wisdom 9:13) Here again our current text of 1Corinthians only quotes Isaiah 40:13, and as it appears in the LXX. However if Paul was citing more completely Isiah 40:13-14, the connecting words appear. Again, either Paul, or a later hand may have abbreviated the quotation. Also it is important to note that quotations that agree with the LXX may not have the LXX as their source, but may have come from Hebrew manuscripts which agreed with the LXX in that reading. Such Hebrew manuscripts that agree in places with the LXX against the Masoretic Text, have been found at Qumran.

The Extended Midrash

As I said, this is a compound extended Proem homiletic midrash. Paul expertly presents these two expositions, and then ties them together, extending his midrash by connecting his first midrash to two more passages (Job 5:13 & Ps. 94:11) s follows:

Extended Exposition (1Cor. 3:1-18): Connecting terms “wise” and “foolish”

Additional Passages (1Cor. 3:19-20): Job 5:13 and Psalm 94:11

Extended Exposition (1Cor. 3:21-4:21)

Now that we can plainly see that the first part of 1Corinthians (chapters 1-4) is written in the formal structure or an Extended Proem Homiletic Midrash, in Part three I will explore the meaning of the first part of this compound midrash from a Jewish perspective.

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Understanding 1Corinthians Part 1: The Problem of Factionalism

Understanding 1Corinthians Part 1
The Problem of Factionalism
By
James Scott Trimm

One of the great problems that plagued Second Temple Era Judaism was Sectarianism and Factionalism. Second Temple Era Judaism had fractured into a number of sects: the Pharisees, the Sadducees and the Essenes. And these sects further divided into factions. There were at least seven Pharisee factions, the two largest of which were the House of Hillel and the House of Shammai. And there were also factions of Essenes. One faction of Essenes were celibate, while another was not.

The factionalism between the School of Hillel and the School of Shammai at times broke into violence. As we read in the Talmud:

And another?-When one vintages [grapes] for the vat [I.C., to manufacture wine], Shammai maintains: It is made fit (to become unclean]; while Hillel ruled, It is not made fit. Said Hillel to Shammai: Why must one vintage [grapes] in purity, yet not gather [olives] in purity? If you provoke me, he replied, I will decree uncleanness in the case of olive gathering too. A sword was planted in the Beth Hamidrash and it was proclaimed, ‘He who would enter, let him enter, but he who would depart, let him not depart!’ And on that day Hillel sat submissive before Shammai, like one of the disciples, and it was as grievous to Israel as the day when the [golden] calf was made.
(b.Shabbat 17a)

And as we read in the Jerusalem Talmud:

Mishna: These are the laws they said in the attic of Hanania ben Hizkiya ben Gurion, when they went in to visit him. They voted and Beit Shammai was the majority over Beit Hillel, and they decreed eighteen things in that day.

Gemara: That day was as hard for Israel as the day the golden calf was made… Rabbi Joshua Onaya taught: The students of Beit Shammai stood at the bottom [of the stairs], and they killed the students of Beit Hillel. It was taught: Six of them went up [to the attic], and the rest of them attacked them with spears and swords. It was taught: For eighteen things they decreed, and in eighteen they were the majority.
(Jerusalem Talmud at Shabbat 1:4)

Paul writes to the Assembly at Corinth because they have a problem with factionalism:

10 Now I urge you, my brothers, in the Name of our Adon Yeshua the Messiah, that you have one word to all, and [that] there be no factions (פלגותא) among you: but [that] you be wholehearted, in one purpose and in one mind.
11 For they sent to me concerning you, my brothers, from the house of Chloe, that there are disputes among you.
(1Corinthians 1:10-11 HRV)

3 For you are yet in the flesh. For where there is among you envy, and contention, and factions (פלגותא): are you not carnal, and walking in the flesh?
(1Cor. 3:3)

Elsewhere Paul classes “factionalism” and “sectarianism” as “works of the flesh” along with murder:

In Galatians 5:19-21 Paul gives a list of the “works of the flesh”:

19 For the works of the flesh are known, which are: fornication, uncleanness, perversion,
20 worship of idols, magic, animosity, contention, over zealousness, anger, insolence, FACTIONALISM (פלגותא), SECTARIANISM,
21 envy, murder, drunkenness and reveling, and all that are similar to these.
(Gal. 5:19-21)

And in Romans he writes:

Now I beseech you, brothers, mark them which cause factions (פלגותא)
and offenses contrary to the doctrine which you have learned;
and avoid them.
(Rom. 16:17)

A related word from this same root (פלגאה) is used in the Talmud twice. where Mar Judah is accused of being a “disputer” or “controversialist” (b.Eruv. 61b; b.Gitt. 31b) i.e. he was accused of factionalism.

Notice that Paul says to “mark” such persons “and avoid them”. This is called in Judaism herem (excommunication).

The thing that separated these sects and factions of Judaism in the first century was halacha and the recognized authority to determine halacha.

The Pharisees, Sadducees and Essenes each had different governing bodies which dertermined halacha for their sects. And while at first Hillel and Shammai jointly led the Sanhedrin as Nasi and Av Beit Din, they ultimately parted ways, and established separate halachic “schools”. This ended the period of the Zuggot (pairs) and began the era of the Tannaim.

So the first thing to know is that in 1Corinthians Paul is addressing factionalism. In doing so he will begin by presenting an Extended Proem Homiletic Midrash laying down his authority to establish halacha (in Chapters 1-4) this is followed by a halachic section in Chapters 5-16 which is very similar to the Gemara in the Talmud, addressing various halachic disputes that have arisen in the Assembly at Corinth.

In Part 2 I will lay out the first four chapters of 1Corinthians as a formal structure of Midrash, expounding on certain passages of the Tanak.

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The Sin of Sectarianism

The Sin of Sectarianism
by
James Scott Trimm

Now I beseech you, brothers, mark them which cause divisions
and offenses contrary to the doctrine which you have learned;
and avoid them.
(Rom. 16:17)

One of the most under recognized and most serious sins is the sin of division of the Assembly.

In Galatians 5:19-21 Paul gives a list of the “works of the flesh”:

19 For the works of the flesh are known, which are: fornication, uncleanness, perversion,
20 worship of idols, magic, animosity, contention, over zealousness, anger, insolence, FACTIONALISM, SECTARIANISM,
21 envy, murder, drunkenness and reveling, and all that are similar to these.
(Gal. 5:19-21)

Notice the last two items in verse 20: “factionalism” and “sectarianism”. We will discuss exactly what these two words mean in a moment, but notice that Paul lists them on a par with such sins as “fornication”, “worship of idols” and “murder”.

In the Greek text these two words are “hairesis” (Strong’s Gk 139) and “dichostasia” (Strong’s 1370).

The Greek word “hairesis” means “a party or disunion”. The NAS and NIV versions translate this word to mean “factions” the RSV has “party spirit” the NEB has “party intrigues”, Beck has :divisions”. The TEV has “They Separate into parties and groups.” The Complete Jewish Bible has “factionalism” while ISR has “dissensions.”

The word that appears in the Original Aramaic here is SEDAKA. Jastro defines this word as “split, slit, rent” The Syriac Dictionary (Lewis) has “a rent, tear, division, schism, sect” while the Lexicon to the Syriac New Testament (Jennings) has “a rent, tear, rupture, schism” from the root meaning “rived, split asunder, tore”. Murdock and the Way version have “discords”

The Greek word “dichostasia” means “disunion, dissention, division, sedition”. The NIV, NAS and RSV translate the word “dissention(s) the Complete Jewish Bible has “intrigue”. ISR has “factions”.

The word that appears here in the original Aramaic is P’LUGGOTA (Aramaic cognate of Strong’s Heb. 6392) meaning “divisions” as Murdock translates the word “divisions”. The Way version has “divisions”

These last two words in Gal. 5:20 each refer to those who split congregations and divide them! And Paul counts this as a “work of the flesh” along with fornication, idol worship and murder!

Paul writes to the Corinthians:

“for you are in the flesh. For there are among you, envy and
contention and FACTIONS, (P’LUGGOTA) are you not carnal and walking in the flesh? For when each man of you says, I am of Paul and another says, I am of Apollos, are you not carnal?”
(1Cor. 3:3-4)

“But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly
bring in destructive sects (Gk: hairesis = Aramaic sedaka)…”
(2Kefa 2:1)

This could also be translated “bring in destructive DIVISIONS”.

And Paul warns the Romans to “beware of those who cause DIVISIONS (P’LUGGOTA)” (Rom. 16:17)

Dividing up a congregation into factions is a very serious sin.

It is Elohim’s desire that his people be at unity. When Yeshua was speaking to his talmidim over his last earthly Passover sader, he took the time to specifically pray for the unity of the believers

17 Father, sanctify them by your truth, for your word is truth.
18 As you sent me into the world also I send them into the world.
19 And for their sakes, I sanctify my nefesh that they also might be sanctified in truth.
20 And I do not ask for the sake of these alone, but also for the
sake of those who will have faith in me through their word,
21 That ALL MIGHT BE ONE as you are, my Father, in me, and I am in you that they also might BE ONE in us, that the world might believe that you sent me.
22 And the glory that you gave me I gave to them, that they might BE ONE as we are one.
23 I am in them and you are in me, that they be perfected into one, and that the world might know that you sent me, and that you have loved them as also you loved me.
24 Father, I want that those whom you gave me might also be with me wherever I am so that they might see my glory, which you gave me because you loved me from before the foundations of the world.
25 My righteous Father, the world has not known you but I know you and they know that you sent me.
26 And I have made known to them your name and will make known so that the love with which you loved me might be in them and I might be in them.:
(John 17:17-26)

Three times in this short prayer, Yeshua faced with his eminent death, concerns himself, not with his own welfare, but with our unity as believers.

Many times the Scriptures emphasize the importance of being unified as believers:

” and be diligent to keep the UNITY of the Spirit in the bond of
shalom, that you be ONE body and one spirit, even as you are called in ONE hope of your calling. For YHWH is one and the faith is one and the immersion is one, And one Eloah is the Father of all, and above all, and through all, and in us all.”
(Eph. 4:3-6)

“So also we who are many are ONE body in the Messiah and each of us are MEMBERS OF ONE ANOTHER.”
(Rom. 12:5)

“Now I urge you, my brothers, in the name of our Adon Yeshua the Messiah, that you have ONE word to all and [that] there be no FACTIONS (P’LUGGOTA) among you, but [that] you be whole hearted in ONE purpose and in ONE mind.”
(1Cor. 1:10)

“For as the body is ONE, and there are in it many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are ONE body, so also the Messiah. For all of us also are immersed by ONE spirit into ONE body, whether Jew or Aramaean, whether slave or son of freedom. And all of us drank of ONE spirit.”
(1Cor. 12:12-13)

“Nevertheless, this that we have attained, let us follow in one path and with ONE ACCORD.”
(Phil. 3:16)

“But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have FELLOWSHIP ONE WITH ANOTHER…”
(1Jn. 1:7)

Beware of those who cause divisions in congregations. Creating such divisions is a “work of the flesh” comparable to fornication, idolatry and murder. Elohim’s will is for believers is that we be in fellowship with one another, in one accord, and endeavoring for the unity of the spirit in the bond of Shalom.

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The Ancient Nazarene Sanhedrin and the Talmud

The Ancient Nazarene Sanhedrin and the Talmud
By
James Scott Trimm

We read in the Torah:

Judges and officers shall you make you in all your gates, which YHWH your Elohim gives you, tribe by tribe. And they shall judge the people with righteous judgment.
(Deut. 16:18 HRV)

This sheds light on an event recorded by Matthew:

We can see that this is the “assembly” to which Yeshua refers, by comparing with Matthew 18:

In other words, Yeshua as Messiah designated his Emissaries as the “judges that shall be in those days” i.e. a Nazarene Sanhedrin.

Having established that Yeshua transferred the authority to “bind and loose” to the Nazarene Sanhedrin somewhere around 30 C.E. Where do we as Nazarenes draw the line between rulings that we generally accept on the authority of the court prior to that time, verses after that time? This matter is made simple by history.

I have said many times that Yeshua was a teacher of the School of Hillel, and that Yeshua agreed with the school of Hillel in most of his teachings (the matter of cause for divorce being an unusual exception.) Hillel served as Nasi until about 10 CE when his son Shimon became Nasi. Hillel’s son Shimon was almost certainly the Shimon that blessed the infant Yeshua (Luke 2:25-35) Shimon served as Nasi from around 10 CE to about 20 CE when his son Gamaliel became Nasi. (This Pharisaic Sanhedrin should not be connfused by a Political Sanhedrin by the same name, headed by the High Priest, which convicted Yeshua). Interestingly the Rabbinic literature preserves very little information about Shimon, and not one of the rulings of the Sanhedrin under his leadership. This creates a convenient buffer zone for Nazarene Judaism. Rulings of the Torah Courts up thru and including the Court of Hillel are binding (unless they come into direct conflict with a ruling by Yeshua and the Emissaries, in which case we have a case of Horayot (errant rulings) as is the case with the question of legitimate cause for divorce.

However with the Pharisaic and Rabbinic Rulings of the Pharisaic Sanhedrin and Rabbinic Sages beginning with Gamaliel, we should not reject them out of hand, but scrutinize them. Fortunately the Talmuds (which contain the rulings and deliberations of these courts and later Rabbinic sages) lay out the logic of the arguments and preserve the minority opinions, even exploring the logic and nuances of the minority views to their fullest conclusion.

We can then analyze these arguments in light of the methodology Yeshua and the Emissaries used in making halachic determinations. (I have written a detailed analysis of this methodology which you can read by clicking here.)

I am often asked if Nazarenes should “keep the Talmud”. The answer is that the Talmud is not “kept” it is studied. Here we as Nazarenes can certainly follow the admonition of the late Talmud Scholar Adin Steinsaltz:

Voicing doubts is not only legitimate in the Talmud, it is essential to study. To a certain degree, the rule is that any type of query is permissible even desirable; the more the merrier. No inquiry is regarded as unfair or incorrect as long as it pertains to the issue and can cast light on some aspect of it. This is true not only of the Talmud itself but also of the way in which it is studied and perused. After absorbing the basic material, the student is expected to pose questions to himself and to others and to voice doubts and reservations. From this point of view, the Talmud is perhaps the only sacred book in all of world culture that permits and even encourages the student to question it.
(The Essential Talmud by Adin Steinsaltz p. 8)

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Enoch Was Not The Son of Man in 1Enoch 71:14

Enoch Was Not The Son of Man in 1Enoch 71:14
By
James Scott Trimm

Near the end of the Book of Parables in the Book of Enoch, a section in which Enoch ascends to heaven and sees many visions involving a figure it calls “The Son of Man” we read:

And he (i.e. the angel) came to me and greeted me with His voice, and said unto me ‘This is the Son of Man who is born unto righteousness, and righteousness abides over him, and the righteousness of the Ancient of Days forsakes him not.
(1Enoch 71:14 Book of Enoch Study Edition by James Scott Trimm)

Why have I translated this passage as I have above?

This verse of 1Enoch has survived only in the Ethiopic version. The phrase “This is the Son of Man” in the Ethiopic of this verse is walda be’si.

This passage has created a great deal of confusion. In Hebrew the phrase “son of man” is an idiomatic expression for a human being. However there is also an important figure called “The Son of Man” spoken of in Dan. 7:13 and through-out the Book of Parables.

Confusion is created by this passage which has resulted in a variety of English translation options. R.H Charles translates “This is the Son of Man”; Laurance translates “Thou art offspring of man”. Matthew Black translates “You are the Son of Man”; Isaac translates “You, son of man”.

Isaac has a foot-note stating that if this referred to “The Son of Man” the Ethiopic should be [walda] sab’e “son of people” or eg-wula-’emma heyyaw “son of the mother of the living” which are normally used in Enoch for “The Son of Man” and that the use of be’si in this verse for “man” indicates only the idiom for a human being.

However the same word is used in 46:3; 62:5 and 69:29 for “The Son of Man.” Certainly Enoch is not the “Son of Man” in these passages because in these passages Enoch sees the Son of Man.

The misunderstanding of this passage as identifying Enoch as being “The Son of Man” (as in Black’s translation) may have led to the identification of Enoch with “Metatron” who is in the Zohar identified as the “Son of Yah” and the Middle Pillar of the Godhead” and in some ancient sources called the “Lesser YHWH”. This may also have led to the deification of Enoch in paganism as the false Egyptian god Thoth (as well as Hermes and Mercury).

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The Zohar Reveals the Key to Understanding: The Concealed Word is the Son

The Zohar Reveals the Key to Understanding:
The Concealed Word is the Son
By
James Scott Trimm

Last night, while studying the Zohar, I found something very interesting in one of it’s opening passages. The passage in question is commenting upon the opening words of the Torah בראשית ברא אלוהים “In the beginning created Elohim…” The Zohar (1:3b) reads:

בראשית (Be-reshit), In the beginning. Rabbi Yudai said, “What is בראשית (Be-reshit)? With Wisdom.

There is a very early tradition that interprets (reshit) as wisdom. Targum Yerushalmi to Gen. 1:1 reads “With wisdom God created…” The Zohar continues:

This is the Wisdom on which the world stands– through which one enters hidden, high mysteries. Here were engraved six vast, supernal dimensions, from which everything emerges, from which issued six springs and streams, flowing into the immense ocean. This is ברא שית (bara shit), created six, created from here. Who created them? The unmentioned, the hidden unknown.

Here Rabbi Yudai is giving a sod level interpretation of בראשית as ברא שית. Or “in the beginning” as “created six”, referring to the six dimensions of space (three dimensions in six opposing directions). (There is much about these three/six dimensions in the Sefer Yetzirah). The Zohar continues:

Rabbi Hiyya and Rabbi Yose were walking on the way. As they reached the site of a certain field, Rabbi Hiyya said to Rabbi Yose, “What you have said– ברא שית (bara shit)– is certainly true, for there are six supernal days in the Torah, not more; the others are concealed. But the Secrets of Creation we have discovered this:

“The holy hidden one engraved an engraving in the innards of a recess, punctuation by a thrust point. He engraved that engraving, hiding it away, like one who locks up everything under a single key, which locks everything within a single palace. Although everything is hidden away within that palace, the essence of everything lies in that key, which closes and opens. Within that palace lie hidden treasures, one greater than the other. Within that palace stand gates built cryptically, fifty of them. Carved into four sides, they were forty-nine.

These forty nine “gates” represent the relationship between each of the seven sefirot as the interact with one another (7*7 = 49). In the Sidur for the counting of the omer for the 49 days between the Firstfruits offering and Shavaot, each day is marked by noting one of these 49 combinations each day. The Zohar continues:

One gate has no side. No one knows whether it is above or below, it is shut. In those gates is one lock and one precise place for inserting the key, marked only by the impress of the key, known only to the key. Concerning this mystery it is written: בראשית ברא אלהים (Be-reshit bara Elohim), In the beginning God created. בראשית (Be-reshit) is the key enclosing all. closing and opening. Six gates are contained in the key that closes and opens.

Up to this point, I have been quoting the Zohar in English from the Pritzker Edition. But there is much to learn from studying the Zohar in the original Aramaic. So as I continue, I will now quote the Aramaic, and provide my own literal translation of the Aramaic:

ושית תרעין כלילן ביה בההוא מפתחא דסגיר ופתח כד סגיר אינון תרעין וכליל לון בגויה כדין ודאי כתיב בראשית מלה גליא בכלל מלה סתימאה ובכל אתר ברא מלא סתימאה איהו סגיר ולא פתח

And six gates are contained in that key that closes and opens. When it closes those gates, enclosing them within itself, then indeed בראשית (Be-reshit) is a revealed Word combined with a concealed Word. The Son (ברא) is always concealed, closing, not opening.

Here I have translated ברא as “The Son”. Ancient Aramaic was written without vowels. One may vocalize ברא as “Creator” or “Create” or in Aramaic as “The Son”. In his book Studies in the Zohar p. 146-152, Jewish Israeli academic Yehudah Liebes argues that the meaning here is “The Son”. The Zohar several times refers to the Son of Yah and to a Divine Son (see my previous blog The Son of Yah in the Zohar) This is the same spelling of the Aramaic word for “Son” used in the Old Syriac and Peshitta. The seventeenth century Rabbi Shlomo Meir Ben Moshe, who came to the conclusion that Yeshua was the Messiah, saw in the word בראשית the phrase בר אשית I will appoint, set up, or place the Son. The Zohar continues:

אמר רבי יוסי ודאי הכי הוא ושמענא לבוצינא קדישא דאמר הכי דמלה סתימאה איהו ברא סגיר ולא פתח ובעוד דהוה סגיר במלה דברא עלמא לא הוי ולא אתקיים והוה חפי על כלא תה”ו שלטא האי תה”ו עלמא לא הוה ולא אתקיים

Rabbi Yose said, Certainly so. I have heard the Holy Lamp [i.e. Rabbi Shimon], say that the concealed Word is the Son, closing and not opening. As long as it was shut by the Word of the Son, the world could not be and not be established. Complete chaos would have prevailed covering all that was. And when chaos prevailed, there would not have been a world, and it would not have been established.

This statement in the Zohar definitely recalls the words of Yochanan as preserved in the Aramaic Old Syriac text of Yochanan 1:1-3

ברשית איתוהי הוא מלתא והו מלתא איתוהי הוא לות אלהא ואלהא איתוהי הוא הו מלתא הנא איתוהי הוא ברשית לות אלהא כלמדם בה הוא ובלעדוהי אף לא חדא הות הו דין מדם דהוא

In the beginning was the Word; and He, the Word, was with Elohim; and He, the Word, was Elohim. This [Word] was in the beginning with Elohim. Everything came to be by him, and apart from him not even one thing came to be.

Then in verse 14

ומלתא פגרא הות ואגנת בן וחנין שובחה איך שובחא דיחידא דמן אבא כד מלא טיבותא ושררא

And the Word became a body and it dwelt among us, and we say his glory as the glory as an only one from the Father full of grace and truth..

Then in verse 18

לאלהא מן מתום אנש לא חזיהי יחידא ברא דמן עובה דאבוהי הו אשתעי לן

Elohim, never has any man seen him; an only one, a Son from the bosom of his Father, he has declared him to us.

(See also my previous blog The Only Begotten Light)

The imagery of forty nine gates and a key that opens and shuts, reminds us of Revelation 1:13 where Yochanon sees a vision in which we read that Yochanon saw the Son in the midst of seven menorahs (Rev. 1:12f). Of course a menorah has seven branches, so this is a total of forty nine lights. In this vision Yochanan is told to write “he that has the keys of David, he that opens, and no man shuts, and shuts and no man opens.” (Rev. 3:7). (Citing Isaiah 22:22).

This key also recalls the key mentioned in our Zohar passage above. The commentators on the Zohar recognize this key as Understanding, which unlocks a lock which represents Wisdom. In the Zohar passage above, this is the Concealed Word which may be identified with “The Son”. And this recalls the words of Luke as preserved in the Aramaic of the Old Syriac text, where Yeshua says:

וי לכון ספרא דטשיתון אקלידא דאידעתא אנתון לא עלתון ולאילין דעלין כליתון

Oy to you scribes, who have concealed the keys of knowledge. You yourselves have not entered and they that are entering you have hindered. (Luke 11:52)

This key is the concealed Word, the Son, who is revealed to us in the Messiah, Yeshua.

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Understanding the New Covenant

Understanding the New Covenant
By
James Scott Trimm

One of the most misunderstood topics in Christendom and even in Messianic Judaism, is that of the “New Covenant”. Many in Messianic Judaism refer to the books of the so-called “New Testament” as the “Brit Chadashah” (New Covenant) which plays into this fallacy. The compilation of books written by Yeshua’s Emissaries, were named the “New Testament” in Christendom, but this collection of books in no way is that which the Scriptures call the “New Covenant” (“Testament” and “Covenant” are the same word in biblical languages). Not only does this detract from a real understanding of what the “New Covenant” in the Scriptures actually is, but it plays into a theology that identifies the Tanak as the “Old Testament” or “Old Covenant”, relegating the Tanak to irrelevance. A better name for the compilation of books known as the “New Testament” is “Ketuvim Netzarim” (Writings of the Nazarenes).

So just what is the “New Covenant” and how was it understood by the original Jewish followers of Yeshua as the Jewish Messiah of Judaism? To answer this question we must look at three sources of material:

1. What is said about the “New Covenant” in the Tanak?

2. What is said about the “New Covenant” in the Ketuvim Netzarim?

3. How was the New Covenant understood by the Essenes in the Dead Sea Scrolls?

4. How is the New Covenant understood in the Rabbinic commentators?

The Tanak on the New Covenant

The “New Covenant” is mentioned by name only once in the Tanak (Jer. 31:30 in Jewish/Hebrew editions and 31:31 in other editions). Jeremiah writes:

30 (31) Behold, the days come, says YHWH, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:
31 (32) Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they broke, although I was a husband unto them, says YHWH:
32 (33) But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, says YHWH, I will put my Torah in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their Elohim, and they shall be my people.
33 (34) And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know YHWH: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, says YHWH; for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.
(Jer. 31 30-33 (31-34)

Now the first thing we should note is that the Hebrew for “new covenant” is ברית חדשה Brit Chadashah which can mean “New Covenant” but can also mean “Renewed Covenant”, as Jewish commentators understand it here.

The phrase “Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt” has a very strong parallel to the Torah phrase “besides the covenant which he made with them in Horev.” (Deut. 28:69 (29:1)) In Deut. 28:69 (29:1) this phrase is used to contrast the Covenant at Mt. Moab, made at the end of the forty years in the wilderness, with the covenant made at Mt. Horev (also known as Mt. Sinai) at the beginning of Israel’s time in the wilderness.

There are many parallels between the covenant at Moab and the “renewed covenant” mentioned by Jeremiah, when we compare this whole section of Jeremiah with this whole section of Deuteronomy:

Deuteronomy 28:69 (29:1) These are the words of the covenant, which the LORD commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, beside the covenant which he made with them in Horeb.	Jeremiah 30 (31) Behold, the days come, says YHWH, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: 31 (32) Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they broke, although I was a husband unto them, says YHWH:
30:2 And shalt return unto YHWH your Elohim, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command you this day, you and your children, with all your heart, and with all your soul; 30:6 And YHWH your ELohim will circumcise your heart, and the heart of your seed, to love YHWH your Elohim with all thine heart, and with all your soul, that you may live.	32 (33) But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, says YHWH, I will put my Torah in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; … 32:40 And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me.
29:12(13) That he may establish you to day for a people unto himself, and that he may be unto you an Elohim, as he has said unto you, and as he has sworn unto your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. 3 That then YHWH your Elohim will turn your captivity, and have compassion upon you, and will return and gather you from all the nations, where YHWH your ELohim has scattered you. 4 If any of you are driven out unto the outermost parts of heaven, from there will YHWH your Elohim gather you, and from there will he fetch you: (30:3-4)	…and will be their Elohim, and they shall be my people. (31:32(33)) And they shall be my people, and I will be their Elohim (32:38) Behold, I will gather them out of all countries, where I have driven them in my anger, and in my fury, and in great wrath; … (32:37)
30:5 And YHWH your Elohim will bring you into the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it; and he will do you good, and multiply you above your fathers.	…and I will bring them again unto this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely (32:37)

Jeremiah’s “New Covenant” appears to be synonymous with the Covenant at Moab, a return to Torah.

The New Covenant in the Ketuvim Netzarim

The references to the New Covenant in the Ketuvim Netzarim fall into three categories: The Last Supper (Matt. 26:28; Mk. 14:24; Luke 22:20 and 1Cor. 11:25) ; 2Cor. 3:6; and Hebrews (7:22; 8:8, 13; 9:15-20; 12:24)

In the accounts of the so-called “Last Supper” (Matt. 26:28; Mk. 14:24; Luke 22:20 and 1Cor. 11:25) Yeshua takes the cup of wine and identifies it as “my blood of the New Covenant which is shed for the remission of sins.” (Matthew 26:28).

The Last Supper was actually a Passover seder, and here Yeshua is identifying his blood with the “cup of deliverance”, the blood of the Passover Lamb and the Yayin HaMeshumar.

Of course Yeshua’s blood was the blood of the Lamb that was slain from the foundations of the earth (Rev. 13:8). As such the animal sacrifices were always merely symbolic, pointing forward to the death of Messiah. In this way. Yeshua’s blood was the true blood of the Torah covenant as well as the blood of the Renewed Covenant.

In 2Corinthians 3:4-18 Paul states that Messiah “has made us servants of the New Covenant, not of the letter, but of the spirit”. Paul emphasizes the spiritual nature of Torah renewal, probably to contrast it with the Essene “New Covenant” commitment, which included the “Works of the Law”. a group of purity regulations about which they believed the Pharisees and Sadducees were to lax, and by which they could purify their way to Salvation.

Finally the New Covenant is a primary topic of the Book of Hebrews (7:22; 8:8, 13; 9:15-20; 12:24). Hebrews deals with the inner meaning of the Yom Kippur service with Yeshua’s death being the sacrificial offering of the New Covenant as symbolized by the Yom Kippur service.

The Essenes and the New Covenant

As I have said many times before, the Nazarenes were an unlikely union of Essenes and Pharisees. The very first Nazarenes were people of an Essene background.

The New Covenant was a very important concept to the Essenes. The Damascus Document explains how the Essene Community was born when they went together to Damascus, and there they entered together into their understanding of the “New Covenant” and they considered themselves “members of the Covenant” (Damascus Document 2,2)

The Manual of Discipline, also called “The Community Rule” details the complete ritual by Which Essenes would enter the New Covenant (Manual of Discipline 1,16-2,18; 5, 7-13). The Levites would pronounce a blessing upon the initiates. Then the initiates would say:

נעוינו פשענו חטאנו הרשענו אנו ואבותינו מלפנינו בהלכתנו קרי חוקי אמת וצדק [אלהים] עשה משפטו בנו ובאבותינו ורחמי חסדו גמל עלינו מעולם ועד עולם

We have acted perversely, we have transgressed, we have sinned, we have done wickedly, ourselves and our fathers before us, in that we have gone counter to the truth. [Elohim] has been right to bring His judgment upon us and upon our fathers. Howbeit, always from ancient times He has also bestowed His mercies upon us all, and so will He do for all time to come.

After this pronouncement the Priests would invoke a blessing on all of those who “cast their lot with Elohim”, then the Levites would pronounce a curse for all of those who instead “cast their lot with Belial”.

This reference to casting of lots fits well with the book of Hebrews and it’s association of the New Covenant with the Yom Kippur ceremony, in which two goats are selected and lots are cast, one is appointed for YHWH and the other for Azazel.

Rabbinic Judaism and the New Covenant

Very little is said in the ancient Rabbinic literature about the “New Covenant”. The Targum to Jeremiah 31:30 (31:31) is just a literal Aramaic rendering of the Hebrew. There is no mention of the “New Covenant” in the Talmud, Midrash Rabbah or the Zohar. However, there are some very interesting insights from the classic Jewish commentators.

Speaking of the Covenant at Moab (Deut. 28:69 (29:1) RASHI writes of the words “besides the covenant” saying this refer to “the curses in Leviticus (26:14-39), which were proclaimed on Sinai.” Which reminds us of Paul’s contrast of the “letter of the Torah” and “spirit of the Torah” in relation to the “New Covenant” (2Cor. 3:4-18).

And a very insightful comment is made by RAMBAN (in his commentary to Deuteronomy 30:6). A comment that could almost have been written by a Nazarene:

And YHWH your Elohim will circumcise your heart (Deuteronomy 30:6) It is this which the Rabbis have said, “If someone comes to purify himself, they assist him” [from on High]. The verse assures you that you will return to Him with all your heart and He will help you.

This following subject is very apparent from Scripture: Since the time of Creation, man has had the power to do as he pleased, to be righteous or wicked. This [grant of free will] applies likewise to the entire Torah period, so that people can gain merit upon choosing the good and punishment for preferring evil. But in the days of the Messiah, the choice of their [genuine] good will be natural; the heart will not desire the improper and it will have no craving whatever for it. This is the “circumcision” mentioned here, for lust and desire are the “foreskin” of the heart, and circumcision of the heart means that it will not covet or desire evil.”

Man will return at that time to what he was before the sin of Adam, when by his nature he did what should properly be done, and there were no conflicting desires in his will, as I have explained in Seder Bereshit ( Gen. 2:9).

It is this which Scripture states in [the Book of] Jeremiah 31:30], ‘Behold, the days come,’ says YHWH, ‘that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah; not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers ..etc. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Eternal, I will put my Law in their inward parts, and in their heart will I write it.

This is a reference to the annulment of the evil instinct (yetzer ra) and to the natural performance by the heart of its proper function. Therefore Jeremiah said further, and I will be their Elohim, and they shall be My People; and they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying: ‘Know YHWH; ‘for they shall all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them.’

Now, it is known that the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth and it is necessary to instruct them, but at that time it will not be necessary to instruct them [to avoid evil] for their evil instinct (yetzer ra) will then be completely abolished. And so it is declared by Ezekiel, ‘A new heart will I also give you, and a new spirit will I put within you; and I will cause you to walk in My statutes.’ ” (Ezekiel 36:26)

The new heart alludes to man’s nature, and the [new] spirit to the desire and will. It is this which our Rabbis have said : “And the years draw nigh, when you shall say: I have no pleasure in them; these are the days of the Messiah, as they will offer opportunity neither for merit nor for guilt,” for in the days of the Messiah there will be no [evil] desire in man but he will naturally perform the proper deeds and therefore there will be neither merit nor guilt in them, for merit and guilt are dependent upon desire.”

Here RAMBAN associates the New Covenant with the “days of the Messiah” and a process of overcoming the Yetzer Ra (evil inclination) and a man returning to “what he was before the sin of Adam“. This fits well with Yeshua’s statement concerning the wine representing the blood of the “New Covenant”:

But I say to you I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until the day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s Kingdom. (Matthew 26:29)

This process will not be complete until Messiah returns and the words of Jeremiah concerning the New Covenant will finally be fulfilled:

And they will teach no more every man his neighbor and every man his brother, saying, Know YHWH: for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, saith YHWH… (Jer. 31:33(34))

And as RAMBAN concludes:

there will be no [evil] desire in man but he will naturally perform the proper deeds and therefore there will be neither merit nor guilt in them, for merit and guilt are dependent upon desire.”

Conclusion

The so-called “New Covenant” is not the books known as the “New Testament” (which are better called the Ketuvim Netzarim, the Writings of the Nazarenes.) nor is it a brand new Christian Covenant. The New Covenant is actually a “Renewed Covenant” identifiable with the Covenant at Moab. In the Second Temple Era the Essenes had a ceremony recalling the Yom Kippur ceremony, whereby they would affirm their renewed commitment to YHWH’s Torah. Yeshua taught us that his blood, symbolized by the Passover wine (and the blood of the Passover Lamb) was the blood of this Renewed Covenant. We can be initiated into this Covenant in the present, however it is a process that will be completed upon the return of Messiah, when he will drink the cup with us in the Messianic Kingdom.

The restoration is upon us! But the Enemy will stop at nothing in his attacks! I am asking for your help, now more than ever. Our situation is dire. I need your support to continue this work! Donations are low and expenses are up. If donations don’t pick up very quickly, we are going to find ourselves homeless. I cannot make it any plainer than that.

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(Manual of Discipline 5, 7-13)

Cochin Revelation Cannot be the Original Hebrew of Revelation

Cochin Revelation Cannot be the Original Hebrew of Revelation
By
James Scott Trimm

I have spent close to forty years searching for manuscripts of the original Hebrew of books of the “New Testament”. Recently claims Have surfaced claiming that the Cochin Hebrew version of Revelation (Cambridge Hebrew Ms. 00.1.16 and copied in John Ryland’s Gaster Ms 1616) is the original Hebrew of the Book of Revelation.

The same group has also claimed that the Cochin Gospels are the original Hebrew of the Gospels. In my blog two years ago The “Cochin” Hebrew Gospels – Hebrew Translation of the Peshitta I demonstrated that the Cochin Hebrew Gospels are nothing more than Hebrew translations of the Syriac Aramaic Peshitta text.

The Aramaic Peshitta text of the “New Testament” is only a 22 book canon, which lacks 2Peter, 2 & 3 John, Jude and Revelation. Some Syriac manuscripts and Bibles have augmented the Peshitta text with Syriac versions of these extra-Peshitta books. In the case of Revelation this is usually the Harkleian Syriac version or the Crawford Syriac version. So the Cochin Hebrew Revelation cannot be a translation of the non-existent Peshitta version.

I have taken some time and effort to examine the Cochin version of Revelation, and have come to the conclusion that it absolutely cannot be the original Hebrew of this very important book. I have found dozens of evidences for my conclusion, but here I will share five of the most compelling examples, that could be understood even by the layman.

Just one of the many evidences that the Cochin Hebrew manuscripts version of Revelation is not the original Hebrew is the reading of Rev. 2:1. Here the Cochin Text has מהעדה של עפהיזוס “from the assembly of Ephesus” where the Greek reading has the highly unusual reading τω εν Εφεσω εκκλησιας literally “the in Ephesus assembly” which is completely unacceptable Greek, and obviously too literally translated from the same Hebrew construction we see in the Hebrew of Daniel 8:2 were we read בשושן הבירה literally “in Shushan the citadel” so that the original Hebrew clearly read באפסוס הקהל not מהעדה של עפהיזוס

In another example in Rev. 2:22. Here we have another compelling evidence for the original Hebrew of the book, which we can clearly see behind the bad Greek translation. Here the Greek reads ιδου βαλλω αυτην εις κλινην “Behold I am casting her into a bed [and the one’s committing adultery with her]” The use of κλινην “bed” here seems strange indeed until we realize that the Greek translator has mistranslated one of two possible Hebrew words here (מטה or ערש) either of which can mean either “bed” or “bier”. Of course Jezebel would like nothing better than to be thrown into κλινην “bed” with her adulterers, but the clear meaning here is that she is being thrown onto her funeral bier along with her adulterers. This is a place where we can clearly see that the Greek is a bad translation of one of two possible Hebrew words, demonstrating that the Greek was a translation. But when we look at the Cochin Hebrew Revelation, we do not see either of these two possible underlying Hebrew words used, instead the difficult passage is simply omitted. However this passage that is difficult in the Greek was not a gloss in the Greek, it was obviously the result of mistranslation from the ambiguous Hebrew original. Instead the Cochin translator omitted the passage because it did not really make sense in his Greek source.

Revelation 2:27 is quoting Psalm 2:9. However the Greek translator of Rev. 2:27 (as does the Greek Septuagint translator of Psalm 2:9 misread תְּרֹעֵם (“shall break them”) as we see in the Masoretic Text of Psalm 2:9 with the wrong vowels as תִּרְעֵם “shall shepherd them” or in Greek ποιμανει then the Cochin Hebrew translates the Greek ποιμανει into Hebrew as ינהג אותם “shall lead them” when one need only look at the Hebrew of Psalm 2:9 to see the original reading is תְּרֹעֵם “shall break them” and that the Cochin Hebrew is a Hebrew translation of the Greek misreading of the original Hebrew. Even if we accept the Septuagint/Greek Rev. 2:27/Psalm 2:9 reading of תרעם as תִּרְעֵם “shall shepherd them” the reading of the original Hebrew would still not be ינהג אותם .

Furthermore in Rev. 12:10 we find the Hebrew word “Satan” (שטן) for “accuser” However the Greek has κατηγορος in the Alexandrian and Byzantine type texts and κατηγωρ in the Western type manuscripts. It has long been pointed out that κατηγωρ is a Greek transliteration of the Rabbinical Hebrew word קטיגור which certainly is the word which appeared here in the original Hebrew, not שטן.

Another very clear evidence is in Rev. 16:16 In this text, we are told in Cochin that the place of the gathering for the end times battle הנקרא בלשון עברי הרמגדן ” is called in the Hebrew tongue ‘Harmegidon'” The original Hebrew would have no need to explain that “Har Megiddon” is “in the Hebrew tongue”.

The Cochin Hebrew version of Revelation simply cannot be the original Hebrew of Revelation. I wish it were, but it simply cannot be. The original Hebrew may yet be discovered. It may be sitting in a clay jar somewhere waiting to be discovered. However the Cochin Hebrew is not the original Hebrew, it is a Hebrew translation of some Greek, Latin of Syriac version and ultimately owes its ultimate origin to our Greek Revelation.

In the mean time perhaps the original Hebrew can be restored by using the types of criteria presented above, to pull the curtain on the Greek, to peak at the original Hebrew behind it.

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ברשית איתוהי הוא מלתא והו מלתא איתוהי הוא לות אלהא ואלהא איתוהי הוא הו מלתא הנא איתוהי הוא ברשית לות אלהא כלמדם בה הוא ובלעדוהי אף לא חדא הות הו דין מדם דהוא

ומלתא פגרא הות ואגנת בן וחנין שובחה איך שובחא דיחידא דמן אבא כד מלא טיבותא ושררא

לאלהא מן מתום אנש לא חזיהי יחידא ברא דמן עובה דאבוהי הו אשתעי לן

וי לכון ספרא דטשיתון אקלידא דאידעתא אנתון לא עלתון ולאילין דעלין כליתון

Donations can be sent by Paypal to donations@wnae.org or by Zelle or Go Fund Me.

Click HERE to donate

נעוינו פשענו חטאנו הרשענו אנו ואבותינו מלפנינו בהלכתנו קרי חוקי אמת וצדק [אלהים] עשה משפטו בנו ובאבותינו ורחמי חסדו גמל עלינו מעולם ועד עולם

Donations can be sent by Paypal to donations@wnae.org or by Zelle or Go Fund Me.

Click HERE to donate

Donations can be sent by Paypal to donations@wnae.org or by Zelle or Go Fund Me!

Click HERE to donate