What a happy building this is!
It's a local crematorium. And there's an open house there today. How appropriate!
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Happy Halloween!
What a happy building this is!
It's a local crematorium. And there's an open house there today. How appropriate!
Monday, October 26, 2009
Who Taught Jesus? The Pharisees?
Was Jesus taught by Pharisees?
At first the answer to this question seems trivial. Jesus hated them so obviously he wasn't one of them. But that doesn't mean he couldn't at some time have been studying under them especially since they controlled the education system in Israel in his time, right from the elementary schools to the Academy of Sages. As I stated in the previous post, money wasn't an object, because Mary was probably rich,and even if she wasn't she had at least one rich relative who would have wanted to help her out.
Jewish legend says a Jesus of Nazareth studied under a Rabbi but they had a falling out because of an offhand remark Jesus made to him. The Rabbi exclaimed how beautiful an Inn was, Jesus misunderstood and thought he was referring to the Innkeeper and protested that her eyes were too narrow. The Rabbi took offence and excommunicated him. Jesus apologized many times, but the Rabbi refused to take him back so Jesus gave up and started teaching on his own. When the Rabbi later wanted to take him back, Jesus said it was too late.
Could this legend be referring to the Jesus of Nazareth of Christianity?
Well, offhand we could say no. The legend is set in the time of King Jannaeus, who reigned about 103-76 B.C.E. before Jesus was even born. However, the Talmud does have a habit of referring to Jesus in code (He's often called Balaam for instance) and they may have changed the year of the incident to disguise the real name of the Rabbi.
If it was the Jesus of the New Testament that would explain why he was so hard on people who wouldn't forgive:
Matthew 6:14-15 (NIV)
For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
Matthew 18:32-35 (NIV)
"Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
"This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart."
It would also explain his severe hatred of the Pharisees and Teachers of the Law. If you read some of his diatribes against them with this perspective, you could almost see how he could have had a single person in mind. For instance, look at this speech:
..........
Matthew 23:1-7, 13-33 (NIV)
Seven Woes
Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: "The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy loads and put them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.
"Everything they do is done for men to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have men call them 'Rabbi.'
"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.
"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.
"Woe to you, blind guides! You say, 'If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.' You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? You also say, 'If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gift on it, he is bound by his oath.' You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? Therefore, he who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. And he who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it. And he who swears by heaven swears by God's throne and by the one who sits on it.
"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.
"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.
"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. And you say, 'If we had lived in the days of our forefathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.' So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of your forefathers!
"You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?
............
Even if this particular Jesus was different to Jesus of Christianity, the Jesus of the New Testament could still have been taught by the Pharisees. He certainly seemed to know some of their teachings:
Matthew 23:16 (NIV)
"Woe to you, blind guides! You say, 'If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.'
Matthew 15:4-6 (NIV)
For God said, 'Honor your father and mother' and 'Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.'But you say that if a man says to his father or mother, 'Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is a gift devoted to God,' he is not to 'honor his father with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition.
We can also say he knew the Old Testament quite well, because he knew that the law about washing hands and dishes did not come from the Old Testament.
........
Mark 7:1-8 (NIV)
The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus and saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were "unclean," that is, unwashed. (The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders. When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles.)
So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, "Why don't your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with 'unclean' hands?"
He replied, "Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:
" 'These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
They worship me in vain;
their teachings are but rules taught by men.'You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men."
..........
If you think about it, all three of these things are pretty obscure and not something an ordinary person would know about.
But those aren't all the teachings he mentions. He's taken a lot of the teachings of the Pharisees, (which weren't written down at that time) and passed them down to his disciples. We know this because this Oral Law of the Pharisees was written down in the Talmud after the destruction of the Temple.
For instance:
‘Abodah Zarah Folio 19a:7-9
That delighteth greatly in His commandments, was explained by R. Eleazar thus: 'In His commandments,' but not in the reward of His commandments. This is just what we have learnt. 'He used to say, Be not like servants who serve the master on the condition of receiving a reward; but be like servants who serve the master without the condition of receiving a reward.'
Compare that to
Luke 17:7-10 (NIV)
"Suppose one of you had a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Would he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, 'Come along now and sit down to eat'? Would he not rather say, 'Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink'? Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.' "
Yebamoth 63b: 64-65
Do not worry about to-morrow's trouble, for thou knowest not what the day may beget. To-morrow may come and thou wilt be no more and so thou hast worried about a world which is not thine.
Luke 12:25 (NIV)
Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life ?
Baba Bathra 10b: 7-8
A similar remark was made by Joseph the son of R. Joshua. He had been ill and fell in a trance. [After he recovered], his father said to him: 'What vision did you have?' He replied, 'I saw a world upside down, the upper below and the lower above.' He said to him: 'You saw a well regulated world.'
Luke 16:25 (NIV)
"But Abraham replied, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.
Matthew 19:29-30 (NIV)
And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.
Baba Bathra 11a: 3-8
Our Rabbis taught: It is related of King Monobaz that he dissipated all his own hoards and the hoards of his fathers in years of scarcity. His brothers and his father's household came in a deputation to him and said to him, 'Your father saved money and added to the treasures of his fathers, and you are squandering them.' He replied: 'My fathers stored up below and I am storing above, as it says, Truth springeth out of the earth and righteousness looketh down from heaven. My fathers stored in a place which can be tampered with, but I have stored in a place which cannot be tampered with, as it says, Righteousness and judgment are the foundation of his throne. My fathers stored something which produces no fruits, but I have stored something which does produce fruits, as it is written, Say ye of the righteous [zaddik] that it shall be well with them, for they shall eat of the fruit of their doings. My fathers gathered treasures of money, but I have gathered treasures of souls, as it is written, The fruit of the righteous [zaddik] is a tree of life, and he that is wise winneth souls. My fathers gathered for others and I have gathered for myself, as it says, And for thee it shall be righteousness [zedakah]. My fathers gathered for this world, but I have gathered for the future world, as it says, Thy righteousness [zedakah] shall go before thee, and the glory of the Lord shall be thy rearward.'
Matthew 6:19-20 (NIV)
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.
Nedarim 22a: 6-7
He who speaketh [a vow] is worthy of being pierced by the sword, but that the tongue of the wise [i.e., absolution] health. Nor do we suggest the following, viz., what was taught, R. Nathan said: One who vows is as though he built a high place, and he who fulfils it is as though he sacrificed thereon.
Matthew 5:34-37 (NIV)
But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God's throne; 35or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.
Nedarim 22a: 12-14
R. Samuel b. Nahmani said in the name of R. Jonathan: He who loses his temper is exposed to all the torments of Gehenna, for it is written, Therefore remove anger from thy heart,' thus wilt thou put away evil from thy flesh. Now 'evil' can only mean Gehenna, as it is written, The Lord hath made all things for himself yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.
Matthew 5:22 (NIV)
But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, 'Raca, ' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell.
There are many many more examples.
Now in the time of Jesus there were two different kinds of Pharisees- those who followed the School of Hillel and those who followed the School of Shemaiah.If Jesus WAS taught by one of these, which would it have been?
Well,they did have different entrance requirements. Jewishencyclopedia says:
The first bet ha-midrash [High School] of which there is authentic record is the one in which Shemaiah (Sameas) and Abtalion (Pollion) taught, and which Hillel, when a youth, could attend only after having paid admission-fee to the janitor. Whether or not this charge of a fee, so contradictory to the maxim of the men of the Great Synagogue, "Raise many disciples," was a political measure of the time, it seemingly stands in connection with a principle pronounced by the Shammaites, that "only those who are wise, humble, and of goodly, well-to-do parentage should be taught the Law." On the other hand, the Hillelites insisted that "all, without exception, should partake of the privilege, inasmuch as many transgressors in Israel, when brought nigh to the Law, brought forth righteous, pious, and perfect men.
So on that basis, chances are that Jesus would have gone to the School of Hillel. The probability is even higher if you look at the character of the founders of the Schools and what their Schools' philosophies were. Jewishencyclopedia says:
.....
The "School (literally, "house") of Hillel" and the "School of Shammai" are names by which are designated the most famous antagonistic schools that flourished in Palestine during the first century, and which more than others contributed to the development of the oral law.
The Hillelites were, like the founder of their school, quiet, peace-loving men, accommodating themselves to circumstances and times, and being determined only upon fostering the Law and bringing man nearer to his God and to his neighbor. The Shammaites, on the other hand, stern and unbending like the originator of their school, emulated and even exceeded his severity. To them it seemed impossible to be sufficiently stringent in religious prohibitions. The disciples of Hillel, "the pious and gentle follower of Ezra", evinced in all their public dealings the peacefulness, gentleness, and conciliatory spirit which had distinguished their great master; and by the same characteristic qualities they were guided during the political storms which convulsed their country. The Shammaites, on the contrary, were intensely patriotic, and would not bow to foreign rule. They advocated the interdiction of any and all intercourse with those who either were Romans or in any way contributed toward the furtherance of Roman power or influences.
............
So the Philistine that tried to trap Jesus on the matter of taxation was probably a Shammaite:
.........
Matthew 22:15-21 (NIV)
Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words. They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. "Teacher," they said, "we know you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren't swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are. Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"
But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, "You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? Show me the coin used for paying the tax." They brought him a denarius, and he asked them, "Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?"
"Caesar's," they replied.
Then he said to them, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's."
...........
So Jesus seemed to agree with the teachings of the school of Hillel on this matter as well as others. This can be seen if you look at the teachings of Hillel. Jewishencyclopedia says:
.........
The saying of Hillel which introduces the collection of his maxims in the Mishnaic treatise Abot mentions Aaron as the great model to be imitated in his love of peace, in his love of man, and in his leading mankind to a knowledge of the Law. In mentioning these characteristics, which the Haggadah then already ascribed to Moses' brother, Hillel mentions his own most prominent virtues. Love of man was considered by Hillel as the kernel of the entire Jewish teaching. When a heathen who wished to become a Jew asked him for a summary of the Jewish religion in the most concise terms, Hillel said: "What is hateful to thee, do not unto thy fellow man: this is the whole Law; the rest is mere commentary". With these words Hillel recognized as the fundamental principle of the Jewish moral law the Biblical precept of brotherly love. Almost the same thing was taught by Paul, a pupil of Gamaliel, the grandson of Hillel; and more broadly by Jesus when he declared the love of one's neighbor to be the second great commandment beside the love of God, the first. It may be assumed without argument that Hillel's answer to the proselyte, which is extant in a narrative in the Babylonian Talmud, was generally known in Palestine, and that it was not without its effect on the founder of Christianity.
It has been remarked that Hillel did not, like Jesus, state the love of God to be the principal commandment of the Jewish teaching; but it must not be forgotten that Jesus gave his answer to a scribe, whereas Hillel answered the question of a prospective proselyte, to whom it was necessary first of all to show how the teachings of Judaism are to be practised by him who wishes to accept them. That the love of God had also a central position in Hillel's conception of religion needs not to be proved; this position had long been assigned to it in Judaism—since the Scripture passage in which this precept is joined immediately to the confession of the unity of God had been made the principal portion of the daily prayer. Moreover, the Pharisaic scribes who approved of Jesus' answer evidently belonged to Hillel's school. Hillel seems to have connected the precept of brotherly love with the Biblical teaching of man's likeness to God, on which account he calls the love of man "love of creatures"; and it is worthy of note that the term "creatures" for men was then already the common property of the language.
........................
So you can see the similarity between what Jesus taught and what Hillel taught and it is not unreasonable to assume that he could have learned these teaching in the School of Hillel and then passed these teachings to his disciples. It's what a Rabbi would do, and his disciples did call him a Rabbi sometimes.
Mark 11:21(NIV)
Peter remembered and said to Jesus, "Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!"
So for the most part, it wasn't the teachings he was hostile to, it was the teachers. You can see this from
Matthew 23:1-3 (NIV)
Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: "The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.
So he could very well have been taught by a Rabbi in the school of Hillel who he disapproved of. Which Rabbi? I'll try and find out for my next post.
Of course maybe he wasn't taught by Pharisees at all, maybe he was taught by Essenes. That will be another post as well.
...............................................................
First Post in this series: Who Taught Jesus? A Priest?
Talmud Passages are from http://www.come-and-hear.com/tcontents.html
Note the numbers given are not passage numbers, they are footnote numbers- I put them in so the passage would be easier to find.
All NIV Bible quotes are from:
New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica
taken from http://www.biblegateway.com
Jewishencyclopedia passages are from http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/
At first the answer to this question seems trivial. Jesus hated them so obviously he wasn't one of them. But that doesn't mean he couldn't at some time have been studying under them especially since they controlled the education system in Israel in his time, right from the elementary schools to the Academy of Sages. As I stated in the previous post, money wasn't an object, because Mary was probably rich,and even if she wasn't she had at least one rich relative who would have wanted to help her out.
Jewish legend says a Jesus of Nazareth studied under a Rabbi but they had a falling out because of an offhand remark Jesus made to him. The Rabbi exclaimed how beautiful an Inn was, Jesus misunderstood and thought he was referring to the Innkeeper and protested that her eyes were too narrow. The Rabbi took offence and excommunicated him. Jesus apologized many times, but the Rabbi refused to take him back so Jesus gave up and started teaching on his own. When the Rabbi later wanted to take him back, Jesus said it was too late.
Could this legend be referring to the Jesus of Nazareth of Christianity?
Well, offhand we could say no. The legend is set in the time of King Jannaeus, who reigned about 103-76 B.C.E. before Jesus was even born. However, the Talmud does have a habit of referring to Jesus in code (He's often called Balaam for instance) and they may have changed the year of the incident to disguise the real name of the Rabbi.
If it was the Jesus of the New Testament that would explain why he was so hard on people who wouldn't forgive:
Matthew 6:14-15 (NIV)
For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
Matthew 18:32-35 (NIV)
"Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
"This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart."
It would also explain his severe hatred of the Pharisees and Teachers of the Law. If you read some of his diatribes against them with this perspective, you could almost see how he could have had a single person in mind. For instance, look at this speech:
..........
Matthew 23:1-7, 13-33 (NIV)
Seven Woes
Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: "The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy loads and put them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.
"Everything they do is done for men to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have men call them 'Rabbi.'
"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.
"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.
"Woe to you, blind guides! You say, 'If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.' You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? You also say, 'If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gift on it, he is bound by his oath.' You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? Therefore, he who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. And he who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it. And he who swears by heaven swears by God's throne and by the one who sits on it.
"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.
"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.
"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. And you say, 'If we had lived in the days of our forefathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.' So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of your forefathers!
"You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?
............
Even if this particular Jesus was different to Jesus of Christianity, the Jesus of the New Testament could still have been taught by the Pharisees. He certainly seemed to know some of their teachings:
Matthew 23:16 (NIV)
"Woe to you, blind guides! You say, 'If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.'
Matthew 15:4-6 (NIV)
For God said, 'Honor your father and mother' and 'Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.'But you say that if a man says to his father or mother, 'Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is a gift devoted to God,' he is not to 'honor his father with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition.
We can also say he knew the Old Testament quite well, because he knew that the law about washing hands and dishes did not come from the Old Testament.
........
Mark 7:1-8 (NIV)
The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus and saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were "unclean," that is, unwashed. (The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders. When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles.)
So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, "Why don't your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with 'unclean' hands?"
He replied, "Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:
" 'These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
They worship me in vain;
their teachings are but rules taught by men.'You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men."
..........
If you think about it, all three of these things are pretty obscure and not something an ordinary person would know about.
But those aren't all the teachings he mentions. He's taken a lot of the teachings of the Pharisees, (which weren't written down at that time) and passed them down to his disciples. We know this because this Oral Law of the Pharisees was written down in the Talmud after the destruction of the Temple.
For instance:
‘Abodah Zarah Folio 19a:7-9
That delighteth greatly in His commandments, was explained by R. Eleazar thus: 'In His commandments,' but not in the reward of His commandments. This is just what we have learnt. 'He used to say, Be not like servants who serve the master on the condition of receiving a reward; but be like servants who serve the master without the condition of receiving a reward.'
Compare that to
Luke 17:7-10 (NIV)
"Suppose one of you had a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Would he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, 'Come along now and sit down to eat'? Would he not rather say, 'Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink'? Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.' "
Yebamoth 63b: 64-65
Do not worry about to-morrow's trouble, for thou knowest not what the day may beget. To-morrow may come and thou wilt be no more and so thou hast worried about a world which is not thine.
Luke 12:25 (NIV)
Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life ?
Baba Bathra 10b: 7-8
A similar remark was made by Joseph the son of R. Joshua. He had been ill and fell in a trance. [After he recovered], his father said to him: 'What vision did you have?' He replied, 'I saw a world upside down, the upper below and the lower above.' He said to him: 'You saw a well regulated world.'
Luke 16:25 (NIV)
"But Abraham replied, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.
Matthew 19:29-30 (NIV)
And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.
Baba Bathra 11a: 3-8
Our Rabbis taught: It is related of King Monobaz that he dissipated all his own hoards and the hoards of his fathers in years of scarcity. His brothers and his father's household came in a deputation to him and said to him, 'Your father saved money and added to the treasures of his fathers, and you are squandering them.' He replied: 'My fathers stored up below and I am storing above, as it says, Truth springeth out of the earth and righteousness looketh down from heaven. My fathers stored in a place which can be tampered with, but I have stored in a place which cannot be tampered with, as it says, Righteousness and judgment are the foundation of his throne. My fathers stored something which produces no fruits, but I have stored something which does produce fruits, as it is written, Say ye of the righteous [zaddik] that it shall be well with them, for they shall eat of the fruit of their doings. My fathers gathered treasures of money, but I have gathered treasures of souls, as it is written, The fruit of the righteous [zaddik] is a tree of life, and he that is wise winneth souls. My fathers gathered for others and I have gathered for myself, as it says, And for thee it shall be righteousness [zedakah]. My fathers gathered for this world, but I have gathered for the future world, as it says, Thy righteousness [zedakah] shall go before thee, and the glory of the Lord shall be thy rearward.'
Matthew 6:19-20 (NIV)
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.
Nedarim 22a: 6-7
He who speaketh [a vow] is worthy of being pierced by the sword, but that the tongue of the wise [i.e., absolution] health. Nor do we suggest the following, viz., what was taught, R. Nathan said: One who vows is as though he built a high place, and he who fulfils it is as though he sacrificed thereon.
Matthew 5:34-37 (NIV)
But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God's throne; 35or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.
Nedarim 22a: 12-14
R. Samuel b. Nahmani said in the name of R. Jonathan: He who loses his temper is exposed to all the torments of Gehenna, for it is written, Therefore remove anger from thy heart,' thus wilt thou put away evil from thy flesh. Now 'evil' can only mean Gehenna, as it is written, The Lord hath made all things for himself yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.
Matthew 5:22 (NIV)
But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, 'Raca, ' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell.
There are many many more examples.
Now in the time of Jesus there were two different kinds of Pharisees- those who followed the School of Hillel and those who followed the School of Shemaiah.If Jesus WAS taught by one of these, which would it have been?
Well,they did have different entrance requirements. Jewishencyclopedia says:
The first bet ha-midrash [High School] of which there is authentic record is the one in which Shemaiah (Sameas) and Abtalion (Pollion) taught, and which Hillel, when a youth, could attend only after having paid admission-fee to the janitor. Whether or not this charge of a fee, so contradictory to the maxim of the men of the Great Synagogue, "Raise many disciples," was a political measure of the time, it seemingly stands in connection with a principle pronounced by the Shammaites, that "only those who are wise, humble, and of goodly, well-to-do parentage should be taught the Law." On the other hand, the Hillelites insisted that "all, without exception, should partake of the privilege, inasmuch as many transgressors in Israel, when brought nigh to the Law, brought forth righteous, pious, and perfect men.
So on that basis, chances are that Jesus would have gone to the School of Hillel. The probability is even higher if you look at the character of the founders of the Schools and what their Schools' philosophies were. Jewishencyclopedia says:
.....
The "School (literally, "house") of Hillel" and the "School of Shammai" are names by which are designated the most famous antagonistic schools that flourished in Palestine during the first century, and which more than others contributed to the development of the oral law.
The Hillelites were, like the founder of their school, quiet, peace-loving men, accommodating themselves to circumstances and times, and being determined only upon fostering the Law and bringing man nearer to his God and to his neighbor. The Shammaites, on the other hand, stern and unbending like the originator of their school, emulated and even exceeded his severity. To them it seemed impossible to be sufficiently stringent in religious prohibitions. The disciples of Hillel, "the pious and gentle follower of Ezra", evinced in all their public dealings the peacefulness, gentleness, and conciliatory spirit which had distinguished their great master; and by the same characteristic qualities they were guided during the political storms which convulsed their country. The Shammaites, on the contrary, were intensely patriotic, and would not bow to foreign rule. They advocated the interdiction of any and all intercourse with those who either were Romans or in any way contributed toward the furtherance of Roman power or influences.
............
So the Philistine that tried to trap Jesus on the matter of taxation was probably a Shammaite:
.........
Matthew 22:15-21 (NIV)
Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words. They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. "Teacher," they said, "we know you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren't swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are. Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"
But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, "You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? Show me the coin used for paying the tax." They brought him a denarius, and he asked them, "Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?"
"Caesar's," they replied.
Then he said to them, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's."
...........
So Jesus seemed to agree with the teachings of the school of Hillel on this matter as well as others. This can be seen if you look at the teachings of Hillel. Jewishencyclopedia says:
.........
The saying of Hillel which introduces the collection of his maxims in the Mishnaic treatise Abot mentions Aaron as the great model to be imitated in his love of peace, in his love of man, and in his leading mankind to a knowledge of the Law. In mentioning these characteristics, which the Haggadah then already ascribed to Moses' brother, Hillel mentions his own most prominent virtues. Love of man was considered by Hillel as the kernel of the entire Jewish teaching. When a heathen who wished to become a Jew asked him for a summary of the Jewish religion in the most concise terms, Hillel said: "What is hateful to thee, do not unto thy fellow man: this is the whole Law; the rest is mere commentary". With these words Hillel recognized as the fundamental principle of the Jewish moral law the Biblical precept of brotherly love. Almost the same thing was taught by Paul, a pupil of Gamaliel, the grandson of Hillel; and more broadly by Jesus when he declared the love of one's neighbor to be the second great commandment beside the love of God, the first. It may be assumed without argument that Hillel's answer to the proselyte, which is extant in a narrative in the Babylonian Talmud, was generally known in Palestine, and that it was not without its effect on the founder of Christianity.
It has been remarked that Hillel did not, like Jesus, state the love of God to be the principal commandment of the Jewish teaching; but it must not be forgotten that Jesus gave his answer to a scribe, whereas Hillel answered the question of a prospective proselyte, to whom it was necessary first of all to show how the teachings of Judaism are to be practised by him who wishes to accept them. That the love of God had also a central position in Hillel's conception of religion needs not to be proved; this position had long been assigned to it in Judaism—since the Scripture passage in which this precept is joined immediately to the confession of the unity of God had been made the principal portion of the daily prayer. Moreover, the Pharisaic scribes who approved of Jesus' answer evidently belonged to Hillel's school. Hillel seems to have connected the precept of brotherly love with the Biblical teaching of man's likeness to God, on which account he calls the love of man "love of creatures"; and it is worthy of note that the term "creatures" for men was then already the common property of the language.
........................
So you can see the similarity between what Jesus taught and what Hillel taught and it is not unreasonable to assume that he could have learned these teaching in the School of Hillel and then passed these teachings to his disciples. It's what a Rabbi would do, and his disciples did call him a Rabbi sometimes.
Mark 11:21(NIV)
Peter remembered and said to Jesus, "Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!"
So for the most part, it wasn't the teachings he was hostile to, it was the teachers. You can see this from
Matthew 23:1-3 (NIV)
Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: "The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.
So he could very well have been taught by a Rabbi in the school of Hillel who he disapproved of. Which Rabbi? I'll try and find out for my next post.
Of course maybe he wasn't taught by Pharisees at all, maybe he was taught by Essenes. That will be another post as well.
...............................................................
First Post in this series: Who Taught Jesus? A Priest?
Talmud Passages are from http://www.come-and-hear.com/tcontents.html
Note the numbers given are not passage numbers, they are footnote numbers- I put them in so the passage would be easier to find.
All NIV Bible quotes are from:
New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica
taken from http://www.biblegateway.com
Jewishencyclopedia passages are from http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Treasure Hunt Clues Without Answers
Treasure Hunt Clues
I like to make treasure hunts for my kids on their birthdays, Easter and Halloween. Halloween is coming up so I thought I'd post this now. The hardest part is making up the clues. I figured I'd pass on some I've used so others can use them to make their own. First pick eight clues, then put them in the right order so each clue is found as far as possible from the next one. Then write on the back of each where that clue will be found.
For example, say you want the kids to go from the fridge to the washing machine to the mailbox.
The clue for the washing machine would be in the fridge, and the clue for the mailbox would be in the washing machine. If you write on the back of each clue where it's supposed to be hidden, then you won't get confused.
After you've done this and hidden the clues, do a dry run, just to make sure everything is in the right place and that you don't skip any clues. You can tell the kids which rooms are off limits and whether all the clues are inside, for instance. If it's done at a party, then have an adult lead each group so that everyone gets to hear (or see) the clues. Don't give hints unless they've taken more than fifteen minutes to get the answer.
Some of these clues seem easy, but that's OK- it's best if they aren't too hard- even adults enjoy these. I know because I've done treasure hunts for them too.
Clues:
Broken pictures
I know where everyone in the city lives.
If you throw things down here they will get clean instead of dirty.
Ask Mike for the next clue.
Boxes of hard water.
under a sea plus hair (hint: say it aloud)
I've got 4 legs and get plenty of food but I never eat any of it.
People are always feeding me junk.
No one can sneak up behind you if you are looking at me.
Unlike Mars, it's got channels.
You push my buttons.
I'm like a cloud that hides the sun, only I'm indoors.
I want to go for a walk!
I'm purrfect.
I look like a square spider web- but only clean things stick to me.
I'm nothing but a long string that people use over and over.
I've been framed!
Picture Clues:
.jpg)
Answers are here.
If you can suggest other clues, even if it's for the same locations, I'd love to hear them!
I like to make treasure hunts for my kids on their birthdays, Easter and Halloween. Halloween is coming up so I thought I'd post this now. The hardest part is making up the clues. I figured I'd pass on some I've used so others can use them to make their own. First pick eight clues, then put them in the right order so each clue is found as far as possible from the next one. Then write on the back of each where that clue will be found.
For example, say you want the kids to go from the fridge to the washing machine to the mailbox.
The clue for the washing machine would be in the fridge, and the clue for the mailbox would be in the washing machine. If you write on the back of each clue where it's supposed to be hidden, then you won't get confused.
After you've done this and hidden the clues, do a dry run, just to make sure everything is in the right place and that you don't skip any clues. You can tell the kids which rooms are off limits and whether all the clues are inside, for instance. If it's done at a party, then have an adult lead each group so that everyone gets to hear (or see) the clues. Don't give hints unless they've taken more than fifteen minutes to get the answer.
Some of these clues seem easy, but that's OK- it's best if they aren't too hard- even adults enjoy these. I know because I've done treasure hunts for them too.
Clues:
Broken pictures
I know where everyone in the city lives.
If you throw things down here they will get clean instead of dirty.
Ask Mike for the next clue.
Boxes of hard water.
under a sea plus hair (hint: say it aloud)
I've got 4 legs and get plenty of food but I never eat any of it.
People are always feeding me junk.
No one can sneak up behind you if you are looking at me.
Unlike Mars, it's got channels.
You push my buttons.
I'm like a cloud that hides the sun, only I'm indoors.
I want to go for a walk!
I'm purrfect.
I look like a square spider web- but only clean things stick to me.
I'm nothing but a long string that people use over and over.
I've been framed!
Picture Clues:
.jpg)
Answers are here.
If you can suggest other clues, even if it's for the same locations, I'd love to hear them!
Treasure Hunt Clues With Answers
Treasure Hunt Clues
I like to make treasure hunts for my kids on their birthdays, Easter and Halloween. The hardest part is making up the clues. I figured I'd pass on some I've used so others can use them to make their own. Just pick eight clues, put them in the right order so each clue is found as far as possible from the next one, then write on the back of each where that clue is going to be hidden- that way you won't get confused. Finally, do a trial run before the kids do it just so you know it works.
Some of these clues seem easy, but that's OK- it's best if they aren't too hard- even adults enjoy these. I know because I've done treasure hunts for them too.
If you want to try out the clues without the answers go here.
Clues:
Broken pictures: jigsaw puzzle
I know where everyone in the city lives: phone book
If you throw things down here they will get clean instead of dirty: washing machine
Ask Mike for the next clue: microwave
Boxes of hard water: ice cube tray
under a sea plus hair: under a chair
I've got 4 legs and get plenty of food but I never eat any of it: dining room or kitchen table
People are always feeding me junk: Mailbox
No one can sneak up behind you if you are looking at me: Mirror
Unlike Mars, it's got channels: television
You push my buttons.: phone
I'm like a cloud that hides the sun, only I'm indoors: lampshade
I want to go for a walk!: dog (stick the next clue on their dogtag)
I'm purrfect.: cat (stick the next message to their tag)
I look like a square spider web- but only clean things stick to me.: hill's hoist
I'm nothing but a long string that people use over and over.: washline
I've been framed!: picture, painting
Bluebottle: Leads to a perfume bottle or wine bottle that's blue.
Key + board: Computer keyboard
If you have any other suggestions for clues, I'd love to hear them.
I like to make treasure hunts for my kids on their birthdays, Easter and Halloween. The hardest part is making up the clues. I figured I'd pass on some I've used so others can use them to make their own. Just pick eight clues, put them in the right order so each clue is found as far as possible from the next one, then write on the back of each where that clue is going to be hidden- that way you won't get confused. Finally, do a trial run before the kids do it just so you know it works.
Some of these clues seem easy, but that's OK- it's best if they aren't too hard- even adults enjoy these. I know because I've done treasure hunts for them too.
If you want to try out the clues without the answers go here.
Clues:
Broken pictures: jigsaw puzzle
I know where everyone in the city lives: phone book
If you throw things down here they will get clean instead of dirty: washing machine
Ask Mike for the next clue: microwave
Boxes of hard water: ice cube tray
under a sea plus hair: under a chair
I've got 4 legs and get plenty of food but I never eat any of it: dining room or kitchen table
People are always feeding me junk: Mailbox
No one can sneak up behind you if you are looking at me: Mirror
Unlike Mars, it's got channels: television
You push my buttons.: phone
I'm like a cloud that hides the sun, only I'm indoors: lampshade
I want to go for a walk!: dog (stick the next clue on their dogtag)
I'm purrfect.: cat (stick the next message to their tag)
I look like a square spider web- but only clean things stick to me.: hill's hoist
I'm nothing but a long string that people use over and over.: washline
I've been framed!: picture, painting
Bluebottle: Leads to a perfume bottle or wine bottle that's blue.
Key + board: Computer keyboard
If you have any other suggestions for clues, I'd love to hear them.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Who Taught Jesus? A Priest? Part 1
In the following series I am going to explore who might have taught Jesus. Of course Bible Scholars say that his teachings are closest to that of the Essenes, but I want to start from scratch, looking at every possibility. I'm hoping I can get to the point where I could actually name his teacher. It is taking me ages to do this research, so I'll just give updates as I do it.
........................
In the New Testament it says that Jesus could read. We know this from
Luke 4:16-21 (NIV)
He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
"The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."
Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, and he began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."
Some scholars believe that in those days only the very richest 10% of the population could read so how could Jesus have afforded an education?
Well,Jewish legend has it that Mary was born into rich family but had a thing for working class men (Sanh 106a):
R. Papa observed: This is what men say, 'She who was the descendant of princes and governors, played the harlot with carpenters
Now if this is true, she may have had money of her own to pay for it. Is there any evidence in the New Testament that Jesus was born into a rich family? Why, yes!
2 Corinthians 8:9 (NIV)
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.
OK, so if this is true he could afford an education. Even if he couldn't though, the Oral Torah, which was explanations of the Old Testament taught in the time of Jesus says this (B.M. 85a):
He who teaches Torah to his neighbor's son will be privileged to sit in the Heavenly Academy, for it is written, If thou [sc. Jeremiah] wilt cause [Israel] to repent, then will I bring thee again, and thou shalt stand before me.22 And he who teaches Torah to the son of an 'am ha-arez,23 even if the Holy One, blessed be He, makes a decree, He annuls it for his sake, as it is written, and if thou shalt take forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as my mouth.
(An am ha-arez is an uneducated person).
This says that if you had a person who was immoral or if he was of questionable parentage or ignorant, you could redeem him by teaching him Torah. Remember, that even if Jesus was the literal son of God, while he was growing up people would have thought he was an illegitimate child. And the Old Testament is really harsh when it comes to bastards:
Deuteronomy 23:2 (King James Version)
A bastard shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to his tenth generation shall he not enter into the congregation of the LORD.
So teaching him Torah would lift this decree. You'd do this for a neighbor or a relative or a friend. So was there anyone who fit this category who could have taught Jesus?
Well, obviously we don't know who his neighbors were, but we do know that Mary was related to the wife of a priest. We know she was close to this family because she spent 3 months with this woman when she was pregnant. This woman was Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist.
Luke 1:5-6 (NIV)
In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. Both of them were upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord's commandments and regulations blamelessly.
Luke 1:36 (NIV)
Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month.
Luke 1:56 (NIV)
Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.
Elizabeth was John the Baptist's mother, and his father was a priest of the Temple, so you could see how they might want to help Mary out, and it suggests Jesus and John would have known each other growing up.
But if his mother did come from the ruling class and if he really was rich and he was educated by a priest you'd expect him to be a Sadducee. But he wasn't. Sadducee didn't believe in resurrection and Jesus did, so it is unlikely that he was taught by a priest. Also, Jesus knew some of the teachings of the Pharisees, so maybe he'd been taught by them? Jewish legend said he was. I explore that in my next post.
...................
Next Post in the Series: Who Taught Jesus? The Pharisees?
All NIV Bible quotes are from:
New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica
taken from http://www.biblegateway.com
The King James version comes from the same site but is Public Domain.
........................
In the New Testament it says that Jesus could read. We know this from
Luke 4:16-21 (NIV)
He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
"The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."
Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, and he began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."
Some scholars believe that in those days only the very richest 10% of the population could read so how could Jesus have afforded an education?
Well,Jewish legend has it that Mary was born into rich family but had a thing for working class men (Sanh 106a):
R. Papa observed: This is what men say, 'She who was the descendant of princes and governors, played the harlot with carpenters
Now if this is true, she may have had money of her own to pay for it. Is there any evidence in the New Testament that Jesus was born into a rich family? Why, yes!
2 Corinthians 8:9 (NIV)
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.
OK, so if this is true he could afford an education. Even if he couldn't though, the Oral Torah, which was explanations of the Old Testament taught in the time of Jesus says this (B.M. 85a):
He who teaches Torah to his neighbor's son will be privileged to sit in the Heavenly Academy, for it is written, If thou [sc. Jeremiah] wilt cause [Israel] to repent, then will I bring thee again, and thou shalt stand before me.22 And he who teaches Torah to the son of an 'am ha-arez,23 even if the Holy One, blessed be He, makes a decree, He annuls it for his sake, as it is written, and if thou shalt take forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as my mouth.
(An am ha-arez is an uneducated person).
This says that if you had a person who was immoral or if he was of questionable parentage or ignorant, you could redeem him by teaching him Torah. Remember, that even if Jesus was the literal son of God, while he was growing up people would have thought he was an illegitimate child. And the Old Testament is really harsh when it comes to bastards:
Deuteronomy 23:2 (King James Version)
A bastard shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to his tenth generation shall he not enter into the congregation of the LORD.
So teaching him Torah would lift this decree. You'd do this for a neighbor or a relative or a friend. So was there anyone who fit this category who could have taught Jesus?
Well, obviously we don't know who his neighbors were, but we do know that Mary was related to the wife of a priest. We know she was close to this family because she spent 3 months with this woman when she was pregnant. This woman was Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist.
Luke 1:5-6 (NIV)
In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. Both of them were upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord's commandments and regulations blamelessly.
Luke 1:36 (NIV)
Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month.
Luke 1:56 (NIV)
Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.
Elizabeth was John the Baptist's mother, and his father was a priest of the Temple, so you could see how they might want to help Mary out, and it suggests Jesus and John would have known each other growing up.
But if his mother did come from the ruling class and if he really was rich and he was educated by a priest you'd expect him to be a Sadducee. But he wasn't. Sadducee didn't believe in resurrection and Jesus did, so it is unlikely that he was taught by a priest. Also, Jesus knew some of the teachings of the Pharisees, so maybe he'd been taught by them? Jewish legend said he was. I explore that in my next post.
...................
Next Post in the Series: Who Taught Jesus? The Pharisees?
All NIV Bible quotes are from:
New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica
taken from http://www.biblegateway.com
The King James version comes from the same site but is Public Domain.
Sunday, October 04, 2009
List of My Posts on Religion
The Two Hells
the Son Of Man
Not Peace but a Sword
In the Beginning There Was the Oath
The Importance of 1 Enoch to Christianity
1 Enoch Summary Part 1: Angels on the Prowl
1 Enoch Summary Part 2: Angels Make a Living
1 Enoch Summary Part 3: Punishment of Angels, Birth of Demons
The Chosen Ones
Followers of the Way
Demons and Personal Hygiene
Will All Believers Be Saved?
The Moonies and Me
A Parable About Christianity
Is the Second Coming Late?
Why Did Jesus Want People To Drink His Blood?
The Two Messiahs
Does Revelations say Jesus is Lucifer?
What's Wrong With An Angry God?
The Covenant of Paul: Series Part 1 of 3
The Covenant of Jesus: Series Part 2 of 3
The REAL New Covenant: Series Part 3 of 3
What Was Jesus' Relationship With His Mother?
Was Jesus the ONLY Son of God?
The Best of Christianity
The Worst of Christianity
Jesus, the perfect sacrifice? Yes, but not in the Way You Think
Prophecy and Divine Intervention
Relgion's Role in Society
The Book of Daniel: Going against Science is Going against God?
Keeping the Sabbath
The Brainwashing of Kindergarten Christians
The Olt Testament God vs the New Testament God
Window into another world- Pagan Full Moon Ritual
Lamb Sacrifices in the Temple Jesus Attended
Window into Another Culture
Great Fudges in Religion
A Request To Religious Instructors
The First Christmas Revisited
Garden of Eden revisited
Did the Old Testament really prophesy about Jesus?
the Son Of Man
Not Peace but a Sword
In the Beginning There Was the Oath
The Importance of 1 Enoch to Christianity
1 Enoch Summary Part 1: Angels on the Prowl
1 Enoch Summary Part 2: Angels Make a Living
1 Enoch Summary Part 3: Punishment of Angels, Birth of Demons
The Chosen Ones
Followers of the Way
Demons and Personal Hygiene
Will All Believers Be Saved?
The Moonies and Me
A Parable About Christianity
Is the Second Coming Late?
Why Did Jesus Want People To Drink His Blood?
The Two Messiahs
Does Revelations say Jesus is Lucifer?
What's Wrong With An Angry God?
The Covenant of Paul: Series Part 1 of 3
The Covenant of Jesus: Series Part 2 of 3
The REAL New Covenant: Series Part 3 of 3
What Was Jesus' Relationship With His Mother?
Was Jesus the ONLY Son of God?
The Best of Christianity
The Worst of Christianity
Jesus, the perfect sacrifice? Yes, but not in the Way You Think
Prophecy and Divine Intervention
Relgion's Role in Society
The Book of Daniel: Going against Science is Going against God?
Keeping the Sabbath
The Brainwashing of Kindergarten Christians
The Olt Testament God vs the New Testament God
Window into another world- Pagan Full Moon Ritual
Lamb Sacrifices in the Temple Jesus Attended
Window into Another Culture
Great Fudges in Religion
A Request To Religious Instructors
The First Christmas Revisited
Garden of Eden revisited
Did the Old Testament really prophesy about Jesus?
Friday, October 02, 2009
The Two Hells Mentioned in NT and 1 Enoch
Did you know there are two hells mentioned in the New Testament? Luke tells of a rich man who is caught in one kind:
............
Luke 16:19-31 (Young's Literal Translation)
`And -- a certain man was rich, and was clothed in purple and fine linen, making merry sumptuously every day, and there was a certain poor man, by name Lazarus, who was laid at his porch, full of sores,and desiring to be filled from the crumbs that are falling from the table of the rich man; yea, also the dogs, coming, were licking his sores.
`And it came to pass, that the poor man died, and that he was carried away by the messengers to the bosom of Abraham -- and the rich man also died, and was buried;
and in the hades having lifted up his eyes, being in torments, he doth see Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom, and having cried, he said, Father Abraham, deal kindly with me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and may cool my tongue, because I am distressed in this flame.
`And Abraham said, Child, remember that thou did receive -- thou -- thy good things in thy life, and Lazarus in like manner the evil things, and now he is comforted, and thou art distressed;
and besides all these things, between us and you a great chasm is fixed, so that they who are willing to go over from hence unto you are not able, nor do they from thence to us pass through.
`And he said, I pray thee, then, father, that thou mayest send him to the house of my father,
for I have five brothers, so that he may thoroughly testify to them, that they also may not come to this place of torment.
`Abraham saith to him, They have Moses and the prophets, let them hear them;
and he said, No, father Abraham, but if any one from the dead may go unto them, they will reform.
And he said to him, If Moses and the prophets they do not hear, neither if one may rise out of the dead will they be persuaded.'
........
But the rich man is only there temporarily until Judgment Day. We know this because the parable mentions that Lazarus is nearby in the Bosom of Abraham. What does this term mean?
Wikipedia says:
The phrase "Bosom of Abraham" refers to the place of comfort in sheol (Greek: hades) where the Jews said the righteous dead awaited Judgment Day. The phrase "Bosom of Abraham" occurs in the Bible only in the New Testament in Luke 16:22-23 in Jesus' story of Lazarus and the Rich Man.
The Old Testament doesn't refer to this, but according to Wikipedia 1 Enoch does:
Book of Enoch
The Book of Enoch (ca. 160 BCE) purportedly records Enoch's vision of the cosmos. The author describes Sheol as divided into four sections: one where the faithful saints blissfully await Judgment Day (see Bosom of Abraham), one where the moderately good await their reward, one where the wicked are punished and await their Judgment at the resurrection (see Gehenna), and the last where the wicked who don't even warrant resurrection are tormented.
Here's the passage it is talking about:
............
1 Enoch CHAPTER XXII: 1-13
And thence I went to another place, and he showed me in the west ⌈another⌉ great and high mountain [and] of hard rock.
And there were †four† hollow places in it, deep and very smooth: †three† of them were dark and one bright; and there was a fountain of water in its midst. And I said: '†How† smooth are these hollow places, and deep and dark to view.'
Then Raphael answered, one of the holy angels who was with me, and said unto me: 'These hollow places have been created for this very purpose, that the spirits of the souls of the dead should assemble therein, yea that all the souls of the children of men should assemble here. And these places have been made to receive them till the day of their judgement and till their appointed period ⌈till the period appointed⌉, till the great judgement (comes) upon them.'
I saw the spirits of the children of men who were dead, and their voice went forth to heaven and made suit. Then I asked Raphael the angel who was with me, and I said unto him: 'This spirit--whose is it whose voice goeth forth and maketh suit?'
And he answered me saying: 'This is the spirit which went forth from Abel, whom his brother Cain slew, and he makes his suit against him till his seed is destroyed from the face of the earth, and his seed is annihilated from amongst the seed of men.'
Then I asked regarding all the hollow places: 'Why is one separated from the other?'
And he answered me saying: 'These three have been made that the spirits of the dead might be separated. And this division has been made for the spirits of the righteous, in which there is the bright spring of water. And this has been made for sinners when they die and are buried in the earth and judgement has not been executed upon them in their lifetime. Here their spirits shall be set apart in this great pain, till the great day of judgement, scourgings, and torments of the accursed for ever, so that (there maybe) retribution for their spirits. There He shall bind them for ever. And this division has been made for the spirits of those who make their suit, who make disclosures concerning their destruction, when they were slain in the days of the sinners. And this has been made for the spirits of men who shall not be righteous but sinners, who are godless, and of the lawless they shall be companions: but their spirits shall not be punished in the day of judgement nor shall they be raised from thence.
................
So in Jesus time they believed that after you died you could suffer in torment in the temporary hell, (a section of Hades) then, after Judgment Day, you'd be physically resurrected and your body (as well as your soul) could suffer permanently in Gehenna.
Matthew 10:28 (Young's Literal Translation)
`And be not afraid of those killing the body, and are not able to kill the soul, but fear rather Him who is able both soul and body to destroy in gehenna.
Wikipedia says this about it:
The New Testament thus seems to draw a distinction between Sheol and "Gehinnom" or Gehenna. The former is regarded as a place where the dead go temporarily to await resurrection (according to some traditions, including Jesus himself), while the latter is the place of eternal punishment for the damned.
You can see the two contrasted in Revelation 20:13-15 (NIV):
The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
This lake is also described in 1 Enoch CHAPTER LXVII: 4-13
..........
And He will imprison those angels, who have shown unrighteousness, in that burning valley which my grandfather Enoch had formerly shown to me in the west among the mountains of gold and silver and iron and soft metal and tin. And I saw that valley in which there was a great convulsion and a convulsion of the waters. And when all this took place, from that fiery molten metal and from the convulsion thereof in that place, there was produced a smell of sulphur, and it was connected with those waters, and that valley of the angels who had led astray (mankind) burned beneath that land. And through its valleys proceed streams of fire, where these angels are punished who had led astray those who dwell upon the earth.
But those waters shall in those days serve for the kings and the mighty and the exalted, and those who dwell on the earth, for the healing of the body, but for the punishment of the spirit; now their spirit is full of lust, that they may be punished in their body, for they have denied the Lord of Spirits and see their punishment daily, and yet believe not in His name. And in proportion as the burning of their bodies becomes severe, a corresponding change shall take place in their spirit for ever and ever; for before the Lord of Spirits none shall utter an idle word. For the judgement shall come upon them, because they believe in the lust of their body and deny the Spirit of the Lord. And those same waters will undergo a change in those days; for when those angels are punished in these waters, these water-springs shall change their temperature, and when the angels ascend, this water of the springs shall change and become cold. And I heard Michael answering and saying: 'This judgement wherewith the angels are judged is a testimony for the kings and the mighty who possess the earth.' Because these waters of judgement minister to the healing of the body of the kings and the lust of their body; therefore they will not see and will not believe that those waters will change and become a fire which burns for ever.
................
Jesus said the Judgment Day was going to happen soon and people should do all they could to avoid going to Gehenna. He said to avoid it, they had to leave their families behind and give up all their wealth and possessions and give them to the poor. They had to repent and acknowledge him as Christ. They had to to be diligent in following the Law. They had to love God, and love all people as well, even if they were mean.
In the Sermon on the Mount he said they had to be be meek, humble pure of heart, full of faith, merciful and be peacemakers. They had to be servants to one another and to others without expecting a reward. They should do to others what they would want others to do for them, forgive people with all their heart no matter how often they got hurt, secretly pray and fast,and give to the poor and do other good deeds such as helping strangers in need.
They shouldn't divorce, remarry, or marry a divorced woman, They shouldn't swear oaths, They shouldn't call themselves Rabbi, Father or teacher.They shouldn't judge or condemn anyone, They shouldn't cause anyone to sin. They shouldn't be mean. They shouldn't lust. They shouldn't be angry. They shouldn't defend themselves or retaliate when someone's mean to them, and shouldn't hold grudges.
Their actions words and their thoughts had to be perfect. Jesus said that then their names would be written in heaven.
The Teachers of the Law also believed in Judgment day and this Lake of Fire in Gehenna and they also wanted to protect people from it. We know this because they had an Oral Law which was written down about the same time as the Gospels were. It's interesting to notice the similarities of their advice. Jewish Encyclopedia jewishencyclopedia.com says this:
...............
It is frequently said that certain sins will lead man into Gehenna. The name "Gehenna" itself is explained to mean that unchastity will lead to gehenna so also will adultery, idolatry, pride, mockery, hypocrisy, anger, etc. (Soṭah 4b, 41b; Ta'an. 5a; B. B. 10b, 78b; 'Ab. Zarah 18b; Ned. 22a). Hell awaits one who indulges in unseemly speech (Shab. 33a; Enoch, xxvii.); who always follows the advice of his wife (B. M. 59a); who instructs an unworthy pupil (Ḥul. 133b); who turns away from the Torah (B. B. 79a; comp. Yoma 72b). For further details see 'Er. 18b, 101a; Sanh. 109b; Ḳid. 81a; Ned. 39b; B. M. 19a.
On the other hand, there are merits that preserve man from going to hell; e.g., philanthropy, fasting, visiting the sick, reading the Shema' and Hallel, and eating the three meals on the Sabbath (Giṭ. 7a; B. B. 10a; B. M. 85a; Ned. 40a; Ber. 15b; Pes. 118a; Shab. 118a). Israelites in general are less endangered (Ber. 10a) than heretics, or, according to B. B. 10a, than the heathen. Scholars (Ḥag. 27a; comp. Men. 99b and Yoma 87a), the poor, and the pious (Yeb. 102b) are especially protected. Three classes of men do not see the face of hell: those that live in penury, those suffering with intestinal catarrh, and those that are pressed by their creditors ('Er. 41b). It would seem that the expressions "doomed to hell" and "to be saved from hell" must be interpreted hyperbolically. A bad woman is compared to Gehenna in Yeb. 63b.
The sinners in Gehenna will be filled with pain when God puts back the souls into the dead bodies on the Day of Judgment, according to Isa. xxxiii. 11 (Sanh. 108b).
.................................
Interesting! So could Jesus have gotten his teachings from the Oral Law?
That's my next post.
...................
1 Enoch quotes are from www.sacred-texts.com. To get to a particular chapter, add 3 to the one you want. ie To get to Chapter 11, go to http://www.sacred-texts.com/bib/boe/boe014.htm.
All Bible quotes are from:
New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica
taken from http://www.biblegateway.com
The Importance of 1 Enoch to Christianity.
............
Luke 16:19-31 (Young's Literal Translation)
`And -- a certain man was rich, and was clothed in purple and fine linen, making merry sumptuously every day, and there was a certain poor man, by name Lazarus, who was laid at his porch, full of sores,and desiring to be filled from the crumbs that are falling from the table of the rich man; yea, also the dogs, coming, were licking his sores.
`And it came to pass, that the poor man died, and that he was carried away by the messengers to the bosom of Abraham -- and the rich man also died, and was buried;
and in the hades having lifted up his eyes, being in torments, he doth see Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom, and having cried, he said, Father Abraham, deal kindly with me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and may cool my tongue, because I am distressed in this flame.
`And Abraham said, Child, remember that thou did receive -- thou -- thy good things in thy life, and Lazarus in like manner the evil things, and now he is comforted, and thou art distressed;
and besides all these things, between us and you a great chasm is fixed, so that they who are willing to go over from hence unto you are not able, nor do they from thence to us pass through.
`And he said, I pray thee, then, father, that thou mayest send him to the house of my father,
for I have five brothers, so that he may thoroughly testify to them, that they also may not come to this place of torment.
`Abraham saith to him, They have Moses and the prophets, let them hear them;
and he said, No, father Abraham, but if any one from the dead may go unto them, they will reform.
And he said to him, If Moses and the prophets they do not hear, neither if one may rise out of the dead will they be persuaded.'
........
But the rich man is only there temporarily until Judgment Day. We know this because the parable mentions that Lazarus is nearby in the Bosom of Abraham. What does this term mean?
Wikipedia says:
The phrase "Bosom of Abraham" refers to the place of comfort in sheol (Greek: hades) where the Jews said the righteous dead awaited Judgment Day. The phrase "Bosom of Abraham" occurs in the Bible only in the New Testament in Luke 16:22-23 in Jesus' story of Lazarus and the Rich Man.
The Old Testament doesn't refer to this, but according to Wikipedia 1 Enoch does:
Book of Enoch
The Book of Enoch (ca. 160 BCE) purportedly records Enoch's vision of the cosmos. The author describes Sheol as divided into four sections: one where the faithful saints blissfully await Judgment Day (see Bosom of Abraham), one where the moderately good await their reward, one where the wicked are punished and await their Judgment at the resurrection (see Gehenna), and the last where the wicked who don't even warrant resurrection are tormented.
Here's the passage it is talking about:
............
1 Enoch CHAPTER XXII: 1-13
And thence I went to another place, and he showed me in the west ⌈another⌉ great and high mountain [and] of hard rock.
And there were †four† hollow places in it, deep and very smooth: †three† of them were dark and one bright; and there was a fountain of water in its midst. And I said: '†How† smooth are these hollow places, and deep and dark to view.'
Then Raphael answered, one of the holy angels who was with me, and said unto me: 'These hollow places have been created for this very purpose, that the spirits of the souls of the dead should assemble therein, yea that all the souls of the children of men should assemble here. And these places have been made to receive them till the day of their judgement and till their appointed period ⌈till the period appointed⌉, till the great judgement (comes) upon them.'
I saw the spirits of the children of men who were dead, and their voice went forth to heaven and made suit. Then I asked Raphael the angel who was with me, and I said unto him: 'This spirit--whose is it whose voice goeth forth and maketh suit?'
And he answered me saying: 'This is the spirit which went forth from Abel, whom his brother Cain slew, and he makes his suit against him till his seed is destroyed from the face of the earth, and his seed is annihilated from amongst the seed of men.'
Then I asked regarding all the hollow places: 'Why is one separated from the other?'
And he answered me saying: 'These three have been made that the spirits of the dead might be separated. And this division has been made for the spirits of the righteous, in which there is the bright spring of water. And this has been made for sinners when they die and are buried in the earth and judgement has not been executed upon them in their lifetime. Here their spirits shall be set apart in this great pain, till the great day of judgement, scourgings, and torments of the accursed for ever, so that (there maybe) retribution for their spirits. There He shall bind them for ever. And this division has been made for the spirits of those who make their suit, who make disclosures concerning their destruction, when they were slain in the days of the sinners. And this has been made for the spirits of men who shall not be righteous but sinners, who are godless, and of the lawless they shall be companions: but their spirits shall not be punished in the day of judgement nor shall they be raised from thence.
................
So in Jesus time they believed that after you died you could suffer in torment in the temporary hell, (a section of Hades) then, after Judgment Day, you'd be physically resurrected and your body (as well as your soul) could suffer permanently in Gehenna.
Matthew 10:28 (Young's Literal Translation)
`And be not afraid of those killing the body, and are not able to kill the soul, but fear rather Him who is able both soul and body to destroy in gehenna.
Wikipedia says this about it:
The New Testament thus seems to draw a distinction between Sheol and "Gehinnom" or Gehenna. The former is regarded as a place where the dead go temporarily to await resurrection (according to some traditions, including Jesus himself), while the latter is the place of eternal punishment for the damned.
You can see the two contrasted in Revelation 20:13-15 (NIV):
The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
This lake is also described in 1 Enoch CHAPTER LXVII: 4-13
..........
And He will imprison those angels, who have shown unrighteousness, in that burning valley which my grandfather Enoch had formerly shown to me in the west among the mountains of gold and silver and iron and soft metal and tin. And I saw that valley in which there was a great convulsion and a convulsion of the waters. And when all this took place, from that fiery molten metal and from the convulsion thereof in that place, there was produced a smell of sulphur, and it was connected with those waters, and that valley of the angels who had led astray (mankind) burned beneath that land. And through its valleys proceed streams of fire, where these angels are punished who had led astray those who dwell upon the earth.
But those waters shall in those days serve for the kings and the mighty and the exalted, and those who dwell on the earth, for the healing of the body, but for the punishment of the spirit; now their spirit is full of lust, that they may be punished in their body, for they have denied the Lord of Spirits and see their punishment daily, and yet believe not in His name. And in proportion as the burning of their bodies becomes severe, a corresponding change shall take place in their spirit for ever and ever; for before the Lord of Spirits none shall utter an idle word. For the judgement shall come upon them, because they believe in the lust of their body and deny the Spirit of the Lord. And those same waters will undergo a change in those days; for when those angels are punished in these waters, these water-springs shall change their temperature, and when the angels ascend, this water of the springs shall change and become cold. And I heard Michael answering and saying: 'This judgement wherewith the angels are judged is a testimony for the kings and the mighty who possess the earth.' Because these waters of judgement minister to the healing of the body of the kings and the lust of their body; therefore they will not see and will not believe that those waters will change and become a fire which burns for ever.
................
Jesus said the Judgment Day was going to happen soon and people should do all they could to avoid going to Gehenna. He said to avoid it, they had to leave their families behind and give up all their wealth and possessions and give them to the poor. They had to repent and acknowledge him as Christ. They had to to be diligent in following the Law. They had to love God, and love all people as well, even if they were mean.
In the Sermon on the Mount he said they had to be be meek, humble pure of heart, full of faith, merciful and be peacemakers. They had to be servants to one another and to others without expecting a reward. They should do to others what they would want others to do for them, forgive people with all their heart no matter how often they got hurt, secretly pray and fast,and give to the poor and do other good deeds such as helping strangers in need.
They shouldn't divorce, remarry, or marry a divorced woman, They shouldn't swear oaths, They shouldn't call themselves Rabbi, Father or teacher.They shouldn't judge or condemn anyone, They shouldn't cause anyone to sin. They shouldn't be mean. They shouldn't lust. They shouldn't be angry. They shouldn't defend themselves or retaliate when someone's mean to them, and shouldn't hold grudges.
Their actions words and their thoughts had to be perfect. Jesus said that then their names would be written in heaven.
The Teachers of the Law also believed in Judgment day and this Lake of Fire in Gehenna and they also wanted to protect people from it. We know this because they had an Oral Law which was written down about the same time as the Gospels were. It's interesting to notice the similarities of their advice. Jewish Encyclopedia jewishencyclopedia.com says this:
...............
It is frequently said that certain sins will lead man into Gehenna. The name "Gehenna" itself is explained to mean that unchastity will lead to gehenna so also will adultery, idolatry, pride, mockery, hypocrisy, anger, etc. (Soṭah 4b, 41b; Ta'an. 5a; B. B. 10b, 78b; 'Ab. Zarah 18b; Ned. 22a). Hell awaits one who indulges in unseemly speech (Shab. 33a; Enoch, xxvii.); who always follows the advice of his wife (B. M. 59a); who instructs an unworthy pupil (Ḥul. 133b); who turns away from the Torah (B. B. 79a; comp. Yoma 72b). For further details see 'Er. 18b, 101a; Sanh. 109b; Ḳid. 81a; Ned. 39b; B. M. 19a.
On the other hand, there are merits that preserve man from going to hell; e.g., philanthropy, fasting, visiting the sick, reading the Shema' and Hallel, and eating the three meals on the Sabbath (Giṭ. 7a; B. B. 10a; B. M. 85a; Ned. 40a; Ber. 15b; Pes. 118a; Shab. 118a). Israelites in general are less endangered (Ber. 10a) than heretics, or, according to B. B. 10a, than the heathen. Scholars (Ḥag. 27a; comp. Men. 99b and Yoma 87a), the poor, and the pious (Yeb. 102b) are especially protected. Three classes of men do not see the face of hell: those that live in penury, those suffering with intestinal catarrh, and those that are pressed by their creditors ('Er. 41b). It would seem that the expressions "doomed to hell" and "to be saved from hell" must be interpreted hyperbolically. A bad woman is compared to Gehenna in Yeb. 63b.
The sinners in Gehenna will be filled with pain when God puts back the souls into the dead bodies on the Day of Judgment, according to Isa. xxxiii. 11 (Sanh. 108b).
.................................
Interesting! So could Jesus have gotten his teachings from the Oral Law?
That's my next post.
...................
1 Enoch quotes are from www.sacred-texts.com. To get to a particular chapter, add 3 to the one you want. ie To get to Chapter 11, go to http://www.sacred-texts.com/bib/boe/boe014.htm.
All Bible quotes are from:
New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica
taken from http://www.biblegateway.com
The Importance of 1 Enoch to Christianity.
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