OUR GLOSSARY – THE BIBLICAL REASON WE USE THE TERMS WE DO
We wish, after saying welcome (!), that we are here to serve the LORD by serving you, in the name of Yeshua Hamashiach, that you start with our glossary. Why? There are some abbreviations and terms we use in our writings, and you may hear them also in our audio teachings, including “Learning and Conversations with Our Jewish Brother”.
Beginning with the glossary then, hopefully, none of our abbreviations or terms will be unclear. We also explain for you the Biblical reason why we use the terms we do, or why they are more accurate or authentic.
May the LORD richly bless your study, learning, and growth in Him, and draw you closer to Him!
List of Abbreviations & Terms
Assembly –
We use the words ‘Assembly/assembly’ rather than ‘Church/church’. Why? Assembly is a much much more accurate – and intellectually honest – translation of the Koine ‘Common’ Greek (also explained ahead) ekklesia.
One of the foremost Greek scholars of the last few decades, Frederick William Danker, defines ekklesia in part in his The Concise Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament as “…. assembly, assembly, congregation”. Danker ends the entry with: “(the gloss ‘church’ is frequently used to render ekklesia, with the result that connection with usage in the LXX and connection with Israel is lost)”. (LXX is shorthand for the Septuagint, the first translation of the Hebrew Bible, done (basically) in Koine Greek).
We should note particularly Danker says “… connection with Israel is lost”. Danker was a professor at a Lutheran Seminary in Chicago. Lutheranism is not known for being particularly “Hebrew/ Jewish Roots” friendly. We applaud Danker’s intellectual honesty!
‘Church/church’ is etymologically (word root) based in old European languages.
The first followers of Yeshua were all Jews – in Israel. The languages in Israel were Hebrew and its very close sister language Aramaic. Koine Greek was a tertiary (third) language for those Jews in Israel who spoke it. It is more than extremely extremely crucial and important to understand: Yeshua’s first followers, and the Twelve he personally chose, were all his fellow Jews from the Galil, the northernmost part of Israel (‘Galilee’; only Judas was from Judea, the middle part of Israel).
They weren’t even Jews from the Diaspora, i.e. lands outside of Israel. Neither Yeshua – nor the Twelve – spoke Koine Greek as a first or primary language. We don’t even know for sure if Yeshua knew Koine Greek or spoke it. In Acts 26:14-15, Paul explains to Jewish officials that Yeshua called to him in Hebrew. We explain the great significance of this in our teaching. This means that both Yeshua and Paul are very very deeply rooted in Hebrew; not Greek, Latin, or any – any – form of English; be it Olde or new!
We explain ahead in this Glossary that Koine Greek is very different from what’s called Attic Greek, the classical Greek of the philosophers and Greek writers. The Jewish followers of Yeshua, in writing to those outside of Israel in the first-century Roman Empire, have to write to them in Koine Greek. Koine Greek (I use KG for short) was the most commonly spoken language of the 1st-century Roman Empire. Much like English is common in much of the world today.
KG unfortunately does not have the depth of Hebrew or in a number of critically important instances, words for a number of keywords from Hebrew. However, ekklesia basically has the same meaning, though not the depth of the Hebrew word used for ‘assembly’.
Assembly in Hebrew is from a verb which more deeply means “assemble for a (single) higher spiritual purpose”. Ekklesia was the closest Greek word the Israeli Jewish leaders and followers of Yeshua had to use.
Why Didn’t They Use “Synagogue”
Synagogue ironically is a Greek word. It means a place of gathering together. The KG prefix is one of the Greek words ‘with’ and is defined as ‘with’ with (no pun intended!) the idea of “gathering together in fellowship”. The synagogue began in ancient Israel first as a place of gathering together to study, then later became a place also to gather together to pray and worship.
Ekklesia was used in the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible for the Hebrew ‘assembly’, and again with a deeper meaning in Hebrew “assemble for a (single) higher spiritual purpose”.
The first Jewish leaders Yeshua personally appointed obviously did not see what they were doing as that of what the synagogue was in their time. They saw it along the lines of their ancestors the Israelites being assembled together before the LORD.
Since synagogue would not have captured the Bigger Picture meaning of what was going on, they used the Greek word for assembly.
We must quickly point out; Jacob – not ‘James’, as we explain in our teaching (please see ahead in this Glossary) does use the KG synagogue in Jacob 2:2. In context, Jacob’s Letter is written to Jews following Yeshua who live in the Diaspora, the lands outside of Israel. Cf. the opening of the Letter.
Jacob 2:2 is extremely extremely important – Why? It tells us that the first Jewish followers saw their local assemblies as synagogues – not ‘churches’!
As we explain elsewhere in our teaching; Western Religious System translations translate the KG synagogue in Jacob 2:2 ironically as ‘assembly’. Then they anachronistically and in revisionist fashion translate ekklesia near the end of the letter (chapter 5) as ‘church’).
What Is the Meaning & Significance of this for Followers of Yeshua?
The meaning and significance for followers is exactly as Danker states at the end of his lexicon entry on ekklesia; the loss of connection with Israel!
In short: instead of an understanding of assembly, using the word “Church/church” does the following. It is a way post-Biblical Gentile leadership uses to lose for you your connection and connectedness with the overwhelming Hebrew and Jewish basis of the Bible, as well as with the Jewish People – and your Jewish Brothers (also explained ahead, in this Glossary), the Jewish followers of Yeshua).
That connectedness is usurped and replaced by use of the word ‘Church/church’.
If Christians realize and learn the actual Biblical model of their relationship, connectedness – and obligation – cf. esp. Rom 15:27 etc., to the Jewish People and their Jewish Brothers, that is an existential threat to the post-Biblical Western Gentile Religious System! That is a key reason traditionally that the Hebrew Bible, Hebrew, and Jewish basis of things – which is overwhelmingly the case – have to be removed, hidden, and replaced for Christians.
Again, one key way to do that is instead using the word assembly is to use the term ‘church’. Another way, quickly for here, is to repeatedly repeat the one reference by Yeshua to the Universal Assembly, and then make it seem as though Yeshua is talking about the ‘Church’.
You are not told that that is the only single reference to the Universal Assembly by Yeshua in the Gospel. You are also not told that in the Gospel there are 111 references to the Kingdom (according to a Greek concordance). Why? The Religious System cannot control the Kingdom. However, it thinks that if it emphasizes the Church, then sets up local churches, that they can control.
Incidentally overall in the Renewed Covenant Scriptures – please see in the Glossary ahead – a much more accurate name than “New Testament” as we explain, the references to the Kingdom and the universal assembly are 137 to less than 30.
The reason an exact amount can’t be given is because in some of Paul’s uses regarding assembly, it’s not clear if he’s referring to the universal assembly, the local assembly, or both.
Again please – in the Gospel it is 111 to 1.
Thus based on the above information we provided you in part, we use ‘Assembly/assembly’.
Cf. –
‘Compare for example’ or ‘see’. We use it for this though technically there is another meaning-use. We use cf. frequently regarding Scriptural citations.
Et al. –
Means a couple/few examples or Biblical citations are listed but that there is a plethora of material on the subject.
Hebrew Scriptures –
Obviously refers to the Hebrew Bible, known in Acts as “the Word of the God” (Acts 18:11, 19:20, etc., KG “ton logon tou Theou” “(very) specifically the Word of the God”) but unfortunately in English known primarily by what became a pejorative term ‘OT’, ‘Old Testament’. We explain this in our teaching. It is a fact that one can easily look up in an English concordance, that the term ‘OT’ is never on the lips of Yeshua – period.
It is also a fact that the ‘OT-NT’ dichotomy emphasized by post-Biblical Western Tradition, also is never on the lips of Yeshua either. If Yeshua intended an ‘OT-NT’ dichotomy, why didn’t he do so at the Last Seder cf. Lk. 22?
Cf. Also Lk. 24:44 where Yeshua teaches about himself from the Jewish order of the Hebrew Bible, to his beloved Taught Ones, post Resurrection. That is, the Torah, the Prophets, and the Writings.
Jacob –
There is no name ‘James’ in Hebrew. The Jacob of the Renewed Covenant Scriptures – a much more accurate name than ‘New Testament’, as we explain in our teaching (and please see ahead), is named for the Patriarch Jacob of Gen. 25-50.
In KG – my (Jacob’s) shorthand for Koine Greek (explained in our teaching and ahead) – Jacob is called Iakobus, for the Hebrew Ya’akov. (“Reward (of the) LORD (?) Heelcatcher”). Unfortunately, post-Biblical Western Tradition leadership changed Jacob to ‘James’, as part of the de-Hebraizing and de-Judaizing of Yeshua (explained ahead) and the Renewed Covenant Scriptures (also explained ahead; a much more accurate name than ‘New Testament’).
The translators of the KJV (King James Version of the Bible) knew that King James was not the nicest of men. So, they figured if they found a way to work his name into their translation of the Bible, they had a better chance of keeping their heads! By the 1600s when the KJV translation was done, the Western Tradition System had long since abandoned the fundamental and foundational Hebrew and Jewish dynamic of the Bible.
In short for here: that Hebrew and Jewish that overwhelmingly things are Hebrew and Jewish, had to be abandoned. If Christians realized that everything they have came through the Jewish People and Jewish Brothers (see ahead) – and that everything was basically fundamentally and foundationally Hebrew & Jewish – most of all Yeshua – that posed an existential threat to Gentile leadership…
JC –
This is obviously short for the English form of the Latin name Jesus Christ. For a variety of Biblical reasons, we use the Hebrew name the Messiah called himself, Yeshua, Acts 26:14-15, etc. Cf., also Dt. 17:14-16 v. 15 regarding what the King of the Jewish People must be – and what he cannot be.
We delve into this and open up the original languages in depth we hope, in our teaching.
Mashiach is Hebrew for Messiah but uniquely in Hebrew, has much greater significance and meaning. In Hebrew (or its close sister language Aramaic, the language of the Jewish People in ancient Exile) Yeshua would have been known as Yeshua Hamashiach, Yeshua “the” Mashiach (‘Messiah’), from the verb ‘anoint’; but also in Hebrew with much deeper meaning.
We explain the deeper meaning in our teaching.
‘The’ in Hebrew is not merely ‘the’ definite article, it too has much richer meaning than in English and Greek. ‘The’ in Hebrew includes the deeper meaning “positive bearer of existence – actuality”, not just ‘the’. The Jewish Mashiach, promised to the Jewish People according to the Jewish Scriptures in a Jewish Land, obviously cannot be a Greek, Latin, Western European, Englishman, or American Gentile.
People are perfectly free to refer to or use any designation for the Mashiach they wish. We do not use Yeshua Hamashiach because it is “culturally Jewish”, we do so because Yeshua is what he called himself, and again, for other Biblical reasons we teach about. Lastly for here, as we explain, the name Yeshua Hamashiach in Hebrew tells us far far far more about who and what he is, than any other language!
Our concern is not necessarily what name followers of Yeshua use to refer to him; but rather, what is in the heart. Our concern is whether a heart that rejects Yeshua Hamashiach and will only accept ‘JC’, is, said with concern not judgment, (cf. Mt. 7:1-2, Lk. 6:38), “is it the most honoring to the LORD and the best way, so to speak, to have prayer answered”?
Jewish Brethren or Jewish Brothers –
Our way of designating those Jews who were or are followers of Yeshua.
Scripture nowhere – nowhere – calls them ‘Christians’ ‘Jewish Christians’, etc. Those are, anachronistic terms imposed post-Biblically in order to de-Hebraicize and de-Judaize them to conform to the Traditions of Men (cf. Mk. 7:5-13!). ‘Christians’ in fact, is only used 3 times – in the entire Bible!
Paul in fact never used Christianos PERIOD. Paul does use forms of ‘adelphoi’, ‘brothers’, etc. 125-150 times according to our Greek concordance. In short, even an English concordance shows no use of ‘Christian’ by Paul – period – neither for the ‘adelphos-adelphoi’ – ‘brothers’, or about himself. Cf. Acts 21-28 specifically Acts 22:1-3, 23:6, 24:17-18, 25:8, 28:17; cf. chronologically Gal. 2:15, 2 Cor. 11:22, Phpn. 3:5.
It should be noted that Galatians is Paul’s first Letter, Philippians one of his later Letters and 2 Corinthians somewhat in the middle (after 1 Corinthians but before Romans for example).
If Paul thinks of himself as “an ex-Jew ex-Pharisee converted to Christianity and now a Christian” as Christians are taught, where – exactly – is this?
In Greek, forms of ‘brothers’ are used 370 times, and ‘Xristianos’, ‘Christians’ 3 times.
As above, Paul uses forms of ‘adelphoi’, ‘brothers’ 125-150 times, and ‘Xristianos’, zero. You decide where the Scriptural emphasis is – and why…
As a quick but very ‘key’ note; Biblically, the Renewed Covenant Scriptures as a whole and Acts in particular shows Jews are referred to as Jews – period.
Acts 18:2 correlates the historical fact of the Jews being booted out of Rome for the second time in 20 years. The historical-cultural situation that we read about in Acts 18:2, is the Jewish brothers who Roman historical sources point out “set the city on fire about this man Chrestus”, that is, the Mashiach Yeshua.
The Jewish brothers were not seen as, ‘Christians’ or, ‘Jewish-Christians’; as again later in Ephesus in Acts 19:33-34, they were seen as Jews.
Acts 21-28 – which reflects the decades immediately after Yeshua’s Ascension — shows the Jewish brothers continue as Jews. This is not only striking but validates the authentic historicity of Luke, whose purpose in writing Acts is not at all to show the Jewish brothers as Torah observant Jews, but rather is an apologetic, a defense for the inclusion of the Gentiles!
Why have we written so much here on this? In short, the attempts post-Biblically by Western Gentile leadership to oppress, repress, suppress and sublimate the Jewish brothers as ‘Christians’ i.e., to ‘Gentilize’ them, is completely contrary to the LORD’s Plan-Council of the Jew having a “mission – function – purpose”, and the Gentile having their “mission – function – purpose” cf. Rom. 11:11, Phpn. 4:3 (which we explain from the Greek elsewhere).
Mt. 28:18-20 “teach the Nations”, was never intended by Yeshua to be taken and usurped from the Jewish brothers – as the Renewed Covenant Scriptures show!
The real issue for Jew-Gentile is whether they together can have shalom which more deeply means in part “not just the absence of negatives but deep positive peace… “restoration of relationship” and “not just a superficial co-existence but a harmony and an organic interaction”.
As we explain in our teaching on shalom, shalom in Hebrew is related organically to ‘dream’, which more deeply means “to bring disparate elements together”.
We explain in our teaching the, in Greek, “renewed-new in quality Man” (KG “kainon anthropon”) of Eph. 2:15 is not “the brand-new Christian Man”, but rather the death of the ‘exthrus’, ‘enmity’ between Jew-Gentile and their shalom – mentioned 4 times in Eph. 2:14-17. This is affected through the physical death ‘thanatos’ of Yeshua.
Why spend so much time here on this? The shalom of Jew-Gentile, ‘shalom‘ also meaning more deeply “restoration of relationship”, is key to honoring the work of Yeshua on the Cross Eph. 2:14-17 again.
Not only that, as if that were not more than enough, the ‘key’ question is whether a ‘sxisma’ in KG, ‘split-divide’ between Jew-Gentile in the Body of Mashiach, is healthy for the Body?
In short for here, we have opened up extensively we hope in our very extended in-depth teaching on ‘tithing’, the virtually unknown 5 year – 5 year – effort by Paul in taking up a Collection from Gentile brethren to their Jewish brethren in Jerusalem (For much more on this very important topic, please go the 3rd of our 8 teaching windows. Please scroll to G Giving).
A worldwide Christian TV network offered its viewers, for a $1,000 donation during a fund-raising drive, “to have your prayer request taken to the Western Wall in Jerusalem”. Is this found anywhere in Scripture – especially in light of, 2 Cor. 9:14?
The answer should be very obviously – NO! 2 Cor. 9:14 as we explain in depth we hope in the section on the Collection in our teaching on tithing, in the larger context of Paul’s Collection effort, speaks of the recipients of the Collection, the Jewish brothers, offering in KG ‘densei’, ‘day’ is phonetically not ‘prayer’ in a general but specifically “petitioning prayer on behalf of you – plural – while they long in their hearts for you”.
Imagine the tremendously potentially positive impact for, Christians, if their Jewish brethren, especially those in Jerusalem, were to petition the LORD in the name of Yeshua Hamashiach, on behalf of the Gentile? Instead, very sadly and tragically, given how, speaking the truth in love Eph. 4:15, the Jewish brothers have been received very poorly in the West as a whole, they have “shaken the dust off their feet” – as Yeshua teaches them Mt. 10:12-15.
There, in Matthew, though in context the immediate application is within Israel, the ‘Jewish Jewish brothers’ today have applied this to Gentiles in the West. This very sadly is the case among the ‘Jewish Jewish’ brothers based both in Jerusalem and the West.
Whose loss is this? The Gentiles! The Jewish brothers are not losing the benefit of the Gentiles praying for them, 2 Cor. 9:14; the Gentile loses the benefit of petitioning prayer offered ‘uper umwn’, ‘on behalf of you – plural’ – i.e., the Gentiles.
There are according to our KG (Koine Greek; please see ahead in the Glossary) concordance, 370 uses of forms of ‘adelpho – adelophoi’, etc. ‘brother – brothers’, and 3 uses of, ‘Xristianos’, ‘Christians’.
Paul makes. as we explain on tithing, a 5-year effort in taking up a Collection – with the larger spiritual purpose of bringing Gentile together with Jew. Scholars estimate Paul goes 2,000 miles out of his way first, to bring the Collection to Jerusalem before going to the “end of the Earth” (at that time, Spain) Rom. 15:25, cf. Rom. 15:25-28.
If Paul insists on ‘Christian’ for all followers of Yeshua as Western Tradition insists historically and often in the West today, where is Paul’s five-year effort to do so – especially in light of 1 Cor. 7:17? Why does Paul in fact use ‘brothers’ 125-150 times but ‘Xristianos’ zero times? Where then, is his emphasis?
Again, given the universal ‘Big Picture’, we felt the need to elaborate a bit on ‘Jewish brethren’, given especially, the 370 uses of ‘brothers’ etc. in the KG text.
Our website is now an 11-year effort not to do what our Jewish brethren both in the West and in Jerusalem urged us to do; to, “shake the dust off your feet”, of the Gentiles in the West – but not the East where they are far better received…
We were repeatedly urged-encouraged to “leave the Gentiles in the West be, until either the Ruach Hakodesh does a ‘mighty move’ in them, or until they are so broken (God forbid), that that’s what it takes for them to finally listen to their Jewish brothers”.
(One other quick note; some Jewish brothers especially in Israel, reluctantly go to the West because their support is dependent on it. One internationally known leader told us in his office in Jerusalem, “When I can switch my support base from the U.S. to Japan, I’m never going back there! He urged us to basically do the same, as well as abandoning the Gentile brethren in the West as largely intractable… However, the love of God spurs us on! Cf. 2 Cor. 5:14 where Paul refers to in KG, “the love of the Mashiach gathered together in fellowship urges us” KG ‘sunexei emas’. We explain in our teaching the importance of Paul’s use of the ‘sun’ prefix, ‘with’ with the idea of “gathered together in fellowship”. Cf. Col. 3:1-5, which we teach on.)
Judah –
We use Judah (Hebrew ‘Thanks/Praise’) to refer to another of Yeshua’s brothers who, as unfortunately along with Jacob, is also de-Hebraized and de-Judaized. In this instance Judah, Greek rendering Iouda, is translated ‘Jude’. Judah of the RCS (Renewed Covenant Scriptures; a much more accurate name than ‘New Testament’), is named for one of the Patriarch Jacob’s twelve sons.
The Judah found in Genesis and Yeshua are closely linked. Cf. Mt. 1 esp. Rev. 5:5.
KG / Koine Greek –
I (Jacob) use KG as an abbreviation for Koine ‘Common’ Greek which we will not explain in part.
Many Christians are taught “the Old Testament” (‘OT’ for short) is written in Hebrew and the ‘New Testament’ (‘NT’ for short) is written in Greek”. Though well intended, this is both incorrect and overly and incorrectly simplistic. First, ‘OT-NT’ is a term never found on the lips of Yeshua. As we have repeatedly repeated in our teaching, the term ‘OT’ is in fact, never used by Yeshua!
‘Testament’ in short is also incorrect. The KG should be translated ‘covenant’ (KG ‘diatheke’). Western Tradition scholars point out that the King James Bible (KJV for short, “King James Version”) translators were better versed in Latin than Greek. Thus ‘Testament’ from the Latin ‘Testamentum’.
There was more than one form of Greek in the ancient world. Attic Greek is the Greek of the classics and philosophers. Koine Greek from the Greek koinonia, meaning in part ‘common’, evolved from and over the centuries developed some ‘key’ differences from Attic Greek.
In short for here it is very ‘key’ to keep in mind that virtually all of the Gospel and RCS – our shorthand for “Renewed Covenant Scriptures” which we feel is much more accurate and closer to the original (please see ahead in the glossary) – writers are Jews. No native Greek nor English speaker writes a Letter of the RCS!
As we point out in our teaching, even if Luke is Gentile, he is totally dependent on Jewish sources, mostly within Israel for his human sources. This is especially so with his Gospel, which scholars think he received much firsthand material probably from Peter.
KG contains Hebraisms, especially most of all, in the Gospel. This is no surprise given that conversations were originally in Hebrew or Aramaic by Yeshua and the Jews in Israel – not Athens, Rome, Geneva, or the American Midwest.
Unfortunately, and this is ‘key’, the original Hebraic words of Yeshua and his beloved Taught Ones as they were originally known in Hebrew in their time, later in English ‘Disciples’, is very largely lost in Western translations, as we explain elsewhere.
Our work is very much about restoring not ‘Jewish roots’ but rather the fundamental and foundational Hebrew thought world and expression and intention of Yeshua. ‘Jewish roots’ without very substantive Hebrew is as inauthentically Jewish as the suburban pu pu platter Chinese restaurant is as inauthentic to how real Chinese eat!
In short also: it is ‘key’ to keep in mind that in fact KG is a tertiary (third) language for all of the RCS writers, especially Yochanon (“God is gracious” translated ‘John’) with the exceptions of possibly Luke and ironically, the author of the Book of Hebrews.
Another way to look at this; KG is a very distant third language for Yeshua, most of all if he knew KG, after Hebrew and Aramaic, as it is for Matthew, Mark and John, as well as Peter, Judah – not ‘Jude’ – and Paul also.
In Acts 22:1-3, Paul mentions he learned at the feet of Gamaliel, one of the greatest first century Pharisee teachers in Jerusalem. This would be akin today to an evangelist saying, “I learned evangelism at the feet of Billy Graham”.
In short, though Paul clearly has at least a solid middle level of KG if not better, Paul never mentions a Greek teacher – or, that he “learned from the Athenians”.
In short, as we have repeatedly repeated it is ‘key’ to understanding and applying to our lives, that Paul recounts that Yeshua spoke to him b’ivrit, in Hebrew – not Greek, Latin, English, or Spanish Acts 26:14-15.
KG not only is far more Hebraic than Attic Greek which contains no Hebraisms, all the authors of the Gospel and RCS, most of all Yeshua, are Jews and Jews of Israel, except possibly Luke, and Paul and the author of Hebrews (our guess based on the level of KG and style of the argument is Apollos (?) rather than Paul). Again, Luke is the only possible non-Jewish author of the RCS.
Throughout our teaching, we point out the very ‘key’ differences between the ‘Hebrew heart’, which is the heart of almost all of the main figures in Scripture – including Yeshua – and the ‘Greek mind’. We include we hope, much that will help you to better understand and apply, the ‘Hebrew heart’ of Yeshua, as well as a much better understanding of the thought world and expression and intentions and application of the Hebrew Scriptures!
We cannot stress enough that this is very critically lost in Western translations that seek to Westernize the Bible; most especially Yeshua, the Gospel, and the RCS as a whole. We explain this in more detail in our teaching.
In short for here, and very ‘key’, is the loss in the Gospel especially of the uses of ‘kai’ the main KG word ‘and’. Why is this ‘key’?
‘And’ is part and parcel of the Hebrew Bible and language, as we explain repeatedly Hebrew in part is about ‘connection – connectedness’ where Greek thinking is ‘separation and compartmentalization’ oriented. Cf. 1Cor. 3:1-5 for this among the Corinthians, and, sadly the history, especially post ‘Re-forming’, of the Body of Mashiach.
‘Kai’ ‘and’ according to our KG concordance is used over 9,000 times and is the 2nd most used KG word after forms of ‘the’. The very high number of uses of ‘kai’ is Hebraic and not at all characteristic of classic Greek.
In the KG Gospel Text many verses begin with, ‘kai’. This again is very characteristic of Hebrew. Western translations have now unfortunately dropped ‘and’ in order to make the Gospel more English sounding and thus resonate with English speakers. The NAS (New American Standard translation) did originally begin verses and sentences with ‘and’ as it occurred in KG, but in their 2011 revision unfortunately largely dropped it compared to their earlier editions.
If we may, what needs to be done is to conform ourselves to ‘be and do’ as the LORD spoke and as Yeshua did, rather than trying to make them sound English so that a translation resonates with us…
As we have pointed out in our teaching, a very ‘key’ difference between the understanding, thinking, and action of the Israelites and the pagan religions of Yeshua’s time here on Earth and afterwards, is, that the Israelites were concretely demonstrating their submission to the will of the LORD; but the pagans tried to manipulate the will of their ‘god’ or ‘gods’ to give the pagan what he or she desired. Cf. Mt. 7:21-24!
Many fine Western Tradition scholars that we admire and use their technical commentaries as an aid to the Greek text, too often very mistakenly write “JC says such and such in Greek”. It surprises us – to say the least – that such scholars too often miss the obvious. That is, that the Gospel writers record conversations taking place in Israel by Jews – not Greeks in Greece or Athens instead of Jerusalem or in the Galilee (northern part of Israel). This leads to misunderstanding and confusion at times, as to what exactly Yeshua ‘says’ or ‘meant’ – because scholars forget their own statements.
A number of credible Western Tradition scholars think Matthew was originally written in Hebrew and later translated into KG. We have pointed out in our teaching that our Greek concordance lists 32 uses of “Kingdom of the Heavens” – which is exactly how Yeshua would have referred to it. (The Hebrew for ‘Heaven’ is plural).
Even the staunchest defenders of Western Tradition (such as William Hendriksen especially, and C. K. Barrett, both highly regarded) readily point out the very Semitic nature of Yochanon’s (‘God is gracious’, ‘John’ in English) Gospel. The highly Semitic nature of Yochanon’s Gospel especially, is also found in his 3 Letters – and Revelation.
In short: what is ‘key’ is:
- The RCS is written in Koine ‘common’ Greek because it is the language of the Roman Empire they write to at the time.
- It should be noted – as we explain elsewhere, Hebrew is the language of the Father – Hebrew only. Hebrew is the first language of Yeshua at least spiritually, and Hebrew is the language the Ruach Hakodesh no doubt called Paul and Barnabas in, Acts 13:2.
- We have explained elsewhere in more length that Revelation clearly shows an Hebraic original from the Father “given over” to Yeshua, through the angels to Yochanon Rev. 1:1…
If Yeshua speaks to Paul in Hebrew when calling him cf. Acts 26:14-15, why would the Father God use a language of ‘foreignness’? Is there any evidence to show the LORD at some point decided to stop speaking to Jews in Hebrew, and now start doing so, in KG?
It should be noted: the only non-Jews spoken to in the entire Bible by the LORD, are found in the Hebrew Scriptures – Balaam and Avimelech (Gen. 20). No non-Jew is spoken to by the LORD, in the entire RCS (Renewed Covenant Scriptures) – period. The Father only speaks 3 times in the entire RCS as we have pointed out elsewhere. They are the end of Mt. 3 and Yeshua’s immersion in the Jordan River, and Lk. 9 on the Mount of Transfiguration, where only Jews are spoken to.
Rev. 1:8, which is very Hebraic, is part of the Revelation Yochanon receives, but he does not hear this directly from the Father.
It must be noted that the LORD’s revelation about Himself directly spoken, are all in Hebrew to Jews in the Hebrew Scriptures. In short, the totally unprecedented Sinai experience, is heard by Jews in Hebrew. Cf. Ex. 19, 24, cf. Dt. 4-7; cf. Ex. 3:1-15 et al., et al.
Why have we emphasized and pointed out the above? Everything will flow from whether we see and apply the LORD to our lives according to how He reveals Himself and His Word; whether it is through Hebrew, or do we learn of God, through the Intellect of post-Biblical Western Man and his Greek, Latin, and English?
LORD –
We use this as an English way to refer to the Hebrew Name the Personal LORD calls Himself, and is called by cf. Ex. 3:13-15, 6:2-8, 15:3 et al.
In Hebrew it is a verb, not a noun, directly related to what is translated in Ex. 3:13-15 as “I AM that I AM”. In Hebrew it more deeply is “I will Individually Be and positively going forward and summing everything up that I will Individually Be.”
Nothing in Hebrew is simple or basic. ‘That’ in Hebrew is directly related organically by shared common root letters with ‘fortunate’, indicating not just ‘that’ grammatically, but something ‘positively going forward’. We open this up in our extensive teaching on Ps. 1 as it is the first word in the Hebrew Text of the Psalms.
Why is this ‘key’? Everything will flow from whether we see the LORD as ‘Be’, active, or, as a noun, ‘inanimate’ and/or a ‘concept-idea’.
We do not, out of Jewish tradition (cf. Mt. 23:3, 23:23, Acts 21:20, 28:17, etc.) based on great reverence for the Name of the LORD, use the ‘J’ name or refer to Him as some Christian scholars do, beginning with a ‘Y’. Cf. Ex. 20:1-2, cf. v. 6, as the Biblical basis of the Jewish tradition.
Note – Hebrew has multiple Names for God. ‘KG’, our abbreviation for ‘Koine Greek’, the Greek of the Renewed Covenant Scriptures, only has one name for God, Theos (hence ‘theology’) and one name for both LORD and Lord. Thus, at times in the Renewed Covenant Scriptures (‘NT’ explained ahead) it is not always clear whether kurios is being used for LORD the Personal LORD the Father, or Lord, and referring to Yeshua as Lord. In the Hebrew Bible it is clear whether the Personal Name LORD is used or the Hebrew for ‘Lord’.
Lord in Hebrew comes from a verb, as most things in Hebrew do. It means ‘sustain-sustaining’, ‘master’, is used for ‘God’ and the root word for the base of a pillar.
Lord in Hebrew has the same first two root letters as ‘Adam’ which is used to refer to Mankind, as well as on occasion an individual Jewish male.
Lord however, the word that is, is ‘one letter higher’ than that of Adam. That letter, a Hebrew ‘n’ is the first letter of ‘Prophet’ and in short for here, is what in Hebrew is a hint of the Mashiach.
The meaning of the letter, Hebrew letters having meaning as well as being used as numerals, is ‘kingdom’, ‘inherits the throne’, and ‘fish’.
The main Hebrew word ‘fish’ has a number value of 7, which we explain in our teaching on Lk. 5:1-11, when Yeshua calls his fellow Galilean Jews as his ‘Taught Ones’. Seven is well known for having great spiritual significance, and as the rabbis astutely point out “is not a number that can be evenly divided”.
Mashiach –
Hebrew typically translated Messiah. We use it in place of Christ, which is a form of Latin and obviously not Hebrew or Jewish. We use Mashiach, because that’s what he was called when he was here. Said sensitively; as shocking as it may seem, Yeshua never heard himself called Christ, unless it was possibly by Roman soldiers. He most certainly never heard that from his fellow Jews in Israel!
Mashiach comes from a verb which means ‘anoint’, but more deeply in Hebrew “smear with insoluble substance”. It also means ‘drawn from’ and ‘separated out from’. One of the great Torah teachers astutely points out why oil and not water was used for anointing. Water readily accepts any admixture, a foreign substance. Oil, we know, does not. Those anointed in the Bible – Yeshua most of all – could not have teaching that was not of the LORD and had foreign spirituality mixed in to it.
In Hebrew, Mashiach and Moshe (‘Moses’) are also closely connected. Moshe means ‘drawn from the water’. Moshe and Eliyahu “(the) God of me (the) LORD (is) He”, ‘Elijah’ are the two greats of Israel who speak with Yeshua at the Mount of Transfiguration Lk. 9:28-36.
Miriam –
Once again unfortunately, the Gentile Religious System de-Hebraized and de-Judaized Yeshua’s mother Miryam (‘Bitter’), Greek text transliterated as Mariam, as ‘Mary’.
Thus – instead of Yeshua’s family being in part Miriam, Jacob, and Judah, they wind up as the very decidedly non-Jewish ‘Mary’, ‘James’, and ‘Jude’. This is done to distance you from the truth and to distance you again, from the Jewish People and especially your Jewish Brothers!
Renewed Covenant Scriptures –
Our term instead of ‘New Testament’, because based actually on Scripture, it is much more accurate term.
‘Testament’ comes from the Latin ‘Testamentum’. Evangelical scholars point out the translators of the King James Bible were actually better versed in Latin than Koine Greek.
We repeatedly point out the following in our teaching: Luke’s KG (Koine Greek) rendering of the Last Passover Seder (‘Order’) Lk. 22:19-20, extremely significantly shows us the following:
Luke draws from a Jewish source; Luke is not at the Last Passover Seder. In short if the Jewish source Luke draws from thought Yeshua was making a ‘brand New Covenant’, rather than a ‘renewed new quality Covenant’, we would have found this.
Luke, regarding the word ‘new’, what have you used a form of neos, ‘new in time’, i.e., ‘brand new’. Luke however does not; Luke uses a form of ‘kainos’, ‘renewed, new in quality, in Lk. 22:19-20 for the Covenant Yeshua makes. For this latter term kainos, think of the new moon we get every month. We don’t get a ‘brand new moon’ in place of the previous month’s moon. Rather each month the same moon is ‘renewed’.
Further, Yeshua would no more have used the term ‘Testament’, then William Shakespeare would have used Hebrew! Thus, based on the actual Biblical language, we use Renewed Covenant Scriptures. We often use the abbreviation RCS.
Steadfast/ steadfastness/ steadfast trustworthiness –
We use this in place of ‘faith’. Hebrew actually has no word faith because Hebrew is concrete oriented. Faith is a translation of the Greek pistis, ‘faith’. We repeatedly point out in our teaching: Hebrew is concrete-oriented, Greek is concept oriented. Faith is a concept which does not exist in Hebrew because it’s a concept.
The Hebrew word means ‘steadfast/ steadfastness’. There’s a beautiful word picture associated with it. It is “like a nail secure on a wall you can hang something on”. Unfortunately, as with at least several key Hebrew words if not more, Koine Greek has no equivalent or lacks a word with the same depth.
Hebrews 11 is sometimes called the great chapter of faith. It speaks of the greats of the Hebrew Bible. However they didn’t have faith as we think of it. It didn’t exist in their language. What those greats of the Hebrew Bible had was steadfast trustworthiness in the LORD. Trustworthiness; like a nail secure in a wall they can hang something on.
Yeshua also did not call his fellow Jews to believe or have faith in him. What he said to them and what they heard was to have steadfastness in him. To hang their trust on him like hanging something on a nail secure in a wall. As we point out in our teaching; Hebrew is active, Greek is passive and position oriented.
Yeshua expected his fellow Jews, and by extension all his followers, not to be passive by believing in him; but rather that steadfast trustworthiness must lead to action. It must lead to a life in union with him lived accordingly!
Ruach Hakodesh –
Holy Spirit (in Hebrew, “Spirit the positive bearer of existence – actuality Holy”; Hebrew adjectives follow the noun. For example, ‘good man’ in Hebrew is ‘man good’. God forbid, we are not by any means describing the Ruach Hakodesh as an adjective, rather again, that that is the name in Hebrew).
Ruach comes from a verb ‘to force open space’ and ‘spread’. This is, exactly what happened the night before the Red Sea ‘spread open’ to allow my ancestors (the Jewish People that is) to pass between the walls of the Sea, on dry land, cf. Ex. 14:21-22. In short for here, the LORD worked through His Creation in doing so for the Israelites. The east wind in the Middle East is particularly strong, is its strongest wind, and east is the primary direction in the Bible.
Ruach basically means ‘wind, breath, spirit’ the same as the Greek pneuma. Automobiles have pneumatic tires because, rather than being solid rubber, they are filled with air.
For more on the names of the LORD, Yeshua, and the Ruach Hakodesh please see our forthcoming “Summary of Keys to Hebrew and Greek” and especially the one on Hebrew.
Torah –
Typically presented to Christians as ‘the Law’ as though it’s a ‘legal code of legal laws’; which 1,000% it isn’t! Torah refers to the first Five Books of the Bible, sometimes called the 5 Books of Moses. The LORD is Author; especially of the first four Books.
Torah means “teaching, direction, revelation, law, instruction”; the late Rabbi of Great Britain astutely points out it includes the idea of guidance. One of the Torah teachers points out in Hebrew that it’s related to the idea “absorb seed in order to promote growth”. Some Christian teachers do point out that Torah means teaching, but the rabbis correctly point out that’s too simplistic.
In short, this is a particularly key instance when the Greek of the RCS does not have a word that means what the Hebrew does or matches the depth of the Hebrew. KG has nomos which means ‘law’ but also means ‘customary way of doing things’. Unfortunately, with the Jewish Brothers eventually being pushed aside by greatly more numerous Gentile leadership, the idea of ‘customary way of doing things’ was lost.
Thus, Torah became seen as ‘the Law’ as though again, it was primarily a legal code of legal laws. That is decidedly Western; but it is not the Hebrew and not what Torah is about!
One of the great rabbinic commentators astutely points out that if the Torah were primarily a legal code, it should have begun with Exodus 12 rather than Genesis 1!
Yeshua –
We use this in place of the J name of the Mashiach. While we are very well aware of what the J name means to our very dear Christian brethren. It is an English form of a Latin name. Therefore, for us based especially on Dt. 17:15 cf. vss. 14-16, we do not use it. We understand what this name means to our dear Christian brethren, so we say they are free to use whatever name they like.
However, we do need to say and hope, said very sensitively, that while my dear Christian brethren may refer to Yeshua by the J name, he cannot be that name.
I. Howard Marshall, in his highly regarded commentary on the Greek test of Luke, astutely points out on Lk 1 that the name the angel gave to Yeshua’s mother Miriam (not ‘Mary’), was given by God.
The Torah is more than abundantly clear that the Israelites can have nothing to do with things sourced in foreignness. Cf. esp. Dt. 17:15, Gen. 35:1-5; cf. Ex. 34:8 on etc., etc.
Also, would we really expect that the angel, in reality speaking to a 15- or 16-year pious Torah observant Jewess – Miryam ‘Miriam’ – not ‘Mary’ in the northern part of first century Israel, would have her call her son by the English form of a Latin name?
Yeshua means not only ‘Savior’, from the verb ‘save’, but the verb also means ‘victory, deliverance, substance, there is’. The verb more deeply also means ‘grant essence of existence, grant vigorous existence’.
More deeply still, it means as much of the essence of God that Man can comprehend has been revealed. As far as the name as one of the great Torah teachers points out cf. Ex. 14:13. Cf. also Titus 2:11. In short Yeshua reveals all the essence of God that we can comprehend in Mk. 12:28-30. There Yeshua cites the Torah Dt. 6:4-5 that God is more deeply in Hebrew absolute compound Oneness absolute One. We know Scripture also says God is love.
Praise God we have more teaching on the name Yeshua in our Teaching Windows on the Teaching & Podcasts page.
For further valuable information, please refer to the essay titled “Scriptural Names of the Books of the Bible – And Two Key Questions”, found on the Teaching page window The Deeper Hebrew Roots & Jewish Roots of the Bible from A-Z window, under ‘B’ Bible.