Reading Matthew in Hebrew - I October 26 2018 (others above, on same page)
The Layers of Matthew (I through X) Oct. 31 2018 through November 23 2018
The Book of Psalms and its Various Translations May 19 2019
The Lost Sheep of the House of Israel May 29 2019
The Earlier Forms of the Pater Noster May 30 2019
The Beatitudes - A Trajectory Through Time May 31 2019
Notes on the Synoptic Problem and the Antiquity of Hebrew Matthew June 16 2019
The Layered Matthew Hypothesis (Revised) June 17 2019
New Testament Translations into Hebrew June 20 2019
Synoptica I - Semitisms in Shem-Tob's Hebrew Matthew June 24 2019
Synoptica II - Hebrew Matthew and the Formation of Canonical Matthew June 25 2019
Synoptica III - Hebrew Matthew and the Formation of Canonical Matthew June 26 2019
Synoptica IV - Hebrew Matthew and the Formation of Canonical Matthew June 26 2019
Synoptica V - Hebrew Matthew and the Formation of Canonical Matthew June 27 2019
Synoptica VI - Hebrew Matthew and the Formation of Canonical Matthew June 27 2019
Synoptica VII - Omissions and Interpolations and What They Can Tell Us July 5 2019
Synoptica VIII - Further Thoughts on the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) July 10 2019
Synoptica IX - "Minor" or "Major" Agreements? July11 2019
Synoptica X - Stumbling Blocks, Confusion, and Woe July 18 2019
Synoptica XI - Of Talents, Minas, and Goldens July 21 2019
Synoptica XII - Unexpected Support for the Layered Matthew Hypothesis July 22 2019
Synoptica XIII - The Beatitudes, Revisited July 23 2019
Synoptica XIV - The Beatitudes Revisited, Part 2 July 23 2019
Synoptica XV - The Pater Noster, and What It Can Tell Us July 24 2019
Synoptica XVI - More on the "Unexpected Support" for the Layered Mt. Hypothesis Aug 16 2019
Synoptica XVII - John's Black Leather Belt October 14 2019
Synoptica XVIII - "Carry" or "Unfasten?" October 16 2019
Excursus Synopticus I - "ακοη" in Mt. 4:24 - A New Translation Variant November 17 2019
Synoptica XIX - A Closer Look at the Beatitudes November 21 2019
Synoptica XX - Rabbi Yeshua's Defense of the Law November 23 2019
Synoptica XXI - The Lost Sheep of the House of Israel November 24 2019
Matthew Ten Twenty-Six November 29 2019
Synoptica XXII - Some Background December 11 2019
Synoptica XXIII - Doing the Work (or trying to) December 12 2019
Synoptica XXIV - Excursus on Mt. 5:30 December 13 2019
Synoptica XXV - Excursus on Mt. 5:25 December 20 2019
Commentary on the Teaching of Rabbi Yeshua - I (Defense of the Law) January 2 2020
Commentary on the Teaching of Rabbi Yeshua - II (The Antitheses) January 3 2020
Commentary on the Teaching of Rabbi Yeshua - Mt. 10:24-25 January 31 2020
Commentary on the Teaching of Rabbi Yeshua - V - First Matthaean Beatitude February 7 2020
Commentary on the Teaching of Rabbi Yeshua - VI - Second Matthaean Beatitude February 8 2020
Commentary on the Teaching of Rabbi Yeshua - VII - Third Matthaean Beatitude February 10 2020
Commentary on the Teaching of Rabbi Yeshua - VIII - Mt. 5:6, 7, 8 February 11 2020
Commentary on the Teaching of Rabbi Yeshua - IX - Mt. 5:9-12 February 14 2020
Commentary on the Teaching of Rabbi Yeshua - X - Mt. 5:13-15 February 26 2020
Commentary on the Teaching of Rabbi Yeshua - XI - Mt. 6:9-13 February 27 2020
Commentary on the Teaching of Rabbi Yeshua - XII - What's in a Name? Mt. 1:21 Feb. 28 2020
GTh Logion 37/P. Oxy 655/cf. Mt. 6:28 March 8 2020
Mt. 6:28-29 (heb, en, fr, es, pt) March 19 2020
Notes on the Transmission of the Gospel of Matthew from Hebrew to Greek I - Mt. 21:3 Mar 26 2020
Notes on the Transmission of the Gospel of Matthew from Hebrew to Greek II: Mt. 7:6 Mar 28 2020
Synoptica XXVI - Mt. 3:11-12 and Hebrew Matthew June 3 2020
Pointing the Text of Shem-Tob's Hebrew Matthew - Chapter 5 June 6 2020
Synoptica XXVII - Mt. 5:9: Those Who Pursue Peace June 10 2020
Synoptica XXVIII - Still More on the Beatitudes June 11 2020
Synoptica XXIX - More Yet on the Beatitudes June 12 2020
Synoptica XXX - Even More on the Beatitudes June 28 2020
Synoptica XXXI - The Beatitudes per Codex Bezae ("D") June 29 2020
The Pater Noster: A Trajectory through Time - Part I July 3 2020
The Pater Noster: A Trajectory through Time - Part II July 4 2020
Further Thoughts on the Pater Noster July 5 2020
Copyright © 2020 by Donald C. Traxler aka Donald Jacobson Traxler.
Sunday, June 14, 2020
Friday, June 12, 2020
Synoptica XXIX - More Yet on the Beatitudes
Here is a graphical representation of my Layered Matthew Hypothesis:
Matthew I still lacked most of the Sayings material. Some of the narrative, including that concerning John the Baptist, is also scantier than in Matthew and Luke.
Matthew IIa has its best surviving witness in Luke. Some of the Sayings material (e.g. the Beatitudes) is in a less-developed form than in Matthew IIb and in Canonical Matthew. One must also keep in mind that Luke was written for Paul's Gentile audience, editing as needed to make it more palatable (and in some cases less offensive) to an audience of non-Jews.
Matthew IIb was intermediate between the version used by Luke and that on which canonical (Greek) Matthew is based.
[Although not yet shown in the graphic, there must have been another intermediate stage (Matthew IIc), represented by the oldest manuscripts of the so-called "Western" (Syro-Latin) textual tradition, especially the oldest Old Latin (Afra), best exemplified by Codex Bobiensis ("k"), which is unfortunately incomplete for Matthew, only covering Mt. 1:1 through 15:36. This Latin translation is closer to the Shem-Tob Hebrew Matthew than any other surviving text (but not the same as it).]
Matthew III is the canonical, Greek Matthew with which we are familiar. There is abundant evidence that it was translated from an original written in Hebrew.
This theory thus requires no hypothetical texts, and no texts without witnesses.
We now return to our examination of the Beatitudes.
In chronological order:
LUKE
Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
Blessed are you that hunger now, for you shall be satisfied.
Blessed are you that weep now, for you shall laugh.
Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you and revile you and cast out your name as evil, on account of the Son of man!
Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets.
[Total Beatitudes (including "Rejoice") = 5. Two connected by "now," but other catchwords have been lost in the translation process.]
SHEM-TOB'S HEBREW MATTHEW
Blessed are those who wait [s/b "weep," probable scribal error] for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the innocent of heart, for they shall see GOD.
Blessed are those who PURSUE peace, for they shall be called sons of GOD.
Blessed are those who are PERSECUTED for righteousness for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when they PERSECUTE and revile you and say against you kinds of evil for my sake, but speak falsely.
Rejoice and be glad for your reward is very great in heaven, for thus they PERSECUTED the prophets.
[Total Beatitudes (including "Rejoice") = 6, of which 5 are connected by catchwords.]
[NOTE: The catchword series "pursue-persecute-persecuted-persecute-persecuted" is all one verb, רדפ, in Hebrew. where it means both "pursue" and "persecute." I don't know if this would work in any other language, but the entire catchword series is lost in Luke's Greek.]
CODEX BOBIENSIS ("k")
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens.*
Blessed are the meek, who shall inherit the earth,
Blessed are those who are weeping, for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they shall be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see the Lord.
Blessed are the peaceful, for they shall be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who have suffered PERSECUTION for the cause of justice,
for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens.*
Blessed shall you be when you are PERSECUTED and maligned and they say all evil against you in the cause of justice.
Rejoice and exult, for your reward is great in heaven, for so their brothers PERSECUTED the prophets who were before you.
[Total: 10 Beatitudes, of which 3 are connected by catchwords.]
CANONICAL (GREEK) MATTHEW
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens.*
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see GOD.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of GOD.
Blessed are those who are PERSECUTED for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens.*
Blessed are you when men revile you and PERSECUTE you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.
Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in the heavens,* for so men PERSECUTED the prophets who were before you.
[Total = 10 Beatitudes (including "Rejoice"), of which 5 (2+3) are connected by catchwords.]
Progression of the totals: Luke = 5, Shem-Tob = 6, "k" =10, Grk. Mt. = 10. From this we can see that the list of Beatitudes grew longer with time.
Where I have marked asterisks, modern translations tend to have "heaven" in the singular, which is more idiomatic in modern European languages. I have translated these instances literally from the Latin and Greek, where they are in the plural. In Hebrew, the word for "heaven/heavens/sky" normally appear in the plural (שמים), and it is likely that these plurals in Latin and Greek are artifacts of the process of translation from Hebrew.
Text and image © 2020 by Donald C. Traxler aka Donald Jacobson Traxler.
Matthew IIa has its best surviving witness in Luke. Some of the Sayings material (e.g. the Beatitudes) is in a less-developed form than in Matthew IIb and in Canonical Matthew. One must also keep in mind that Luke was written for Paul's Gentile audience, editing as needed to make it more palatable (and in some cases less offensive) to an audience of non-Jews.
Matthew IIb was intermediate between the version used by Luke and that on which canonical (Greek) Matthew is based.
[Although not yet shown in the graphic, there must have been another intermediate stage (Matthew IIc), represented by the oldest manuscripts of the so-called "Western" (Syro-Latin) textual tradition, especially the oldest Old Latin (Afra), best exemplified by Codex Bobiensis ("k"), which is unfortunately incomplete for Matthew, only covering Mt. 1:1 through 15:36. This Latin translation is closer to the Shem-Tob Hebrew Matthew than any other surviving text (but not the same as it).]
Matthew III is the canonical, Greek Matthew with which we are familiar. There is abundant evidence that it was translated from an original written in Hebrew.
This theory thus requires no hypothetical texts, and no texts without witnesses.
We now return to our examination of the Beatitudes.
In chronological order:
LUKE
Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
Blessed are you that hunger now, for you shall be satisfied.
Blessed are you that weep now, for you shall laugh.
Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you and revile you and cast out your name as evil, on account of the Son of man!
Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets.
[Total Beatitudes (including "Rejoice") = 5. Two connected by "now," but other catchwords have been lost in the translation process.]
SHEM-TOB'S HEBREW MATTHEW
Blessed are those who wait [s/b "weep," probable scribal error] for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the innocent of heart, for they shall see GOD.
Blessed are those who PURSUE peace, for they shall be called sons of GOD.
Blessed are those who are PERSECUTED for righteousness for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when they PERSECUTE and revile you and say against you kinds of evil for my sake, but speak falsely.
Rejoice and be glad for your reward is very great in heaven, for thus they PERSECUTED the prophets.
[Total Beatitudes (including "Rejoice") = 6, of which 5 are connected by catchwords.]
[NOTE: The catchword series "pursue-persecute-persecuted-persecute-persecuted" is all one verb, רדפ, in Hebrew. where it means both "pursue" and "persecute." I don't know if this would work in any other language, but the entire catchword series is lost in Luke's Greek.]
CODEX BOBIENSIS ("k")
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens.*
Blessed are the meek, who shall inherit the earth,
Blessed are those who are weeping, for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they shall be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see the Lord.
Blessed are the peaceful, for they shall be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who have suffered PERSECUTION for the cause of justice,
for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens.*
Blessed shall you be when you are PERSECUTED and maligned and they say all evil against you in the cause of justice.
Rejoice and exult, for your reward is great in heaven, for so their brothers PERSECUTED the prophets who were before you.
[Total: 10 Beatitudes, of which 3 are connected by catchwords.]
CANONICAL (GREEK) MATTHEW
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens.*
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see GOD.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of GOD.
Blessed are those who are PERSECUTED for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens.*
Blessed are you when men revile you and PERSECUTE you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.
Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in the heavens,* for so men PERSECUTED the prophets who were before you.
[Total = 10 Beatitudes (including "Rejoice"), of which 5 (2+3) are connected by catchwords.]
Progression of the totals: Luke = 5, Shem-Tob = 6, "k" =10, Grk. Mt. = 10. From this we can see that the list of Beatitudes grew longer with time.
Where I have marked asterisks, modern translations tend to have "heaven" in the singular, which is more idiomatic in modern European languages. I have translated these instances literally from the Latin and Greek, where they are in the plural. In Hebrew, the word for "heaven/heavens/sky" normally appear in the plural (שמים), and it is likely that these plurals in Latin and Greek are artifacts of the process of translation from Hebrew.
Text and image © 2020 by Donald C. Traxler aka Donald Jacobson Traxler.
Thursday, June 11, 2020
Synoptica XXVIII - Still More on the Beatitudes
I've written about the Beatitudes several times in this series, and now I'm going to do it again. There is a reason. First of all, the Beatitudes are part of the oldest kernel of the Gospel of Matthew. We know this because their catchword connections are a feature of the stage of oral transmission. They are also a good illustration of the way in which Matthew built his Gospel in layers (see my Layered Matthew Hypothesis, in earlier blog posts). Witnesses to this trajectory through time are 1) the Gospel of Luke, 2) Shem-Tob's Hebrew Matthew, as preserved by the medieval Jewish community, 3) the Syro-Latin textual tradition in the Gospel of Matthew, and 4) the canonical, Greek textual tradition, especially in Matthew and Luke. When we consider all these witnesses, an interesting picture emerges, one that I think is decisive for the solution of the Synoptic Problem, and also clears up many wrong readings in the canonical texts.
As reflected both in Luke and in the Shem-Tob Hebrew Matthew, the list of Beatitudes in Matthew was originally shorter than it is in the canonical, Greek-based texts.
There is also an inversion of the order of verses 5:4 and 5:5 in the texts belonging to the earlier, Syro-Latin textual tradition as compared to the manuscripts of the canonical, Greek textual tradition. Unfortunately, we cannot say on which side of this divide Shem-Tob would fall, Since it does not have our Mt. 5:5 at all. George Howard prints it in his translation, but eight of the nine mss. used in his apparatus do not have it. The only one that does have it is his "A," which as he says, is the most edited to harmonize with the canonical texts.
In 5:4 ("those who mourn" in the canonical, Greek texts), corresponds to "those who wait" in Shem-Tob, and "those who "weep" in Codex Bobiensis ("k"), the oldest Old Latin that we have, and also a specimen of the "Afra" text stream, which is older than the European Latin. It is very similar, if not identical, to the text-type used by St. Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage, in his third-century writings, and it has been determined, on paleographic grounds, to be a copy of a second-century papyrus. It is older than the Vulgate, and older than the Alexandrian Greek texts that we consider "the best."
The reading "weep," as attested in "k," would be הבוכים in Hebrew. The reading "wait," which we find in Shem-Tob's Hebrew Matthew , has a very similar appearance: החוכים. I think it most likely that "wait" was caused by an error in copying the Hebrew manuscripts, and that "weep," as attested in "k," is the original reading. "Mourn" in the Greek texts would then be mere synecdoche, and the "wait" of Shem-Tob would be incorrect. See p. 226 in the 1995 edition of Professor Howard's book for his take on this variant.
The reading "weep" also has some support from Luke 6:21, where we read "Blessed are you who weep, for you shall laugh."
(to be continued)
Text © 2020 by Donald C. Traxler aka Donald Jacobson Traxler.
As reflected both in Luke and in the Shem-Tob Hebrew Matthew, the list of Beatitudes in Matthew was originally shorter than it is in the canonical, Greek-based texts.
There is also an inversion of the order of verses 5:4 and 5:5 in the texts belonging to the earlier, Syro-Latin textual tradition as compared to the manuscripts of the canonical, Greek textual tradition. Unfortunately, we cannot say on which side of this divide Shem-Tob would fall, Since it does not have our Mt. 5:5 at all. George Howard prints it in his translation, but eight of the nine mss. used in his apparatus do not have it. The only one that does have it is his "A," which as he says, is the most edited to harmonize with the canonical texts.
In 5:4 ("those who mourn" in the canonical, Greek texts), corresponds to "those who wait" in Shem-Tob, and "those who "weep" in Codex Bobiensis ("k"), the oldest Old Latin that we have, and also a specimen of the "Afra" text stream, which is older than the European Latin. It is very similar, if not identical, to the text-type used by St. Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage, in his third-century writings, and it has been determined, on paleographic grounds, to be a copy of a second-century papyrus. It is older than the Vulgate, and older than the Alexandrian Greek texts that we consider "the best."
The reading "weep," as attested in "k," would be הבוכים in Hebrew. The reading "wait," which we find in Shem-Tob's Hebrew Matthew , has a very similar appearance: החוכים. I think it most likely that "wait" was caused by an error in copying the Hebrew manuscripts, and that "weep," as attested in "k," is the original reading. "Mourn" in the Greek texts would then be mere synecdoche, and the "wait" of Shem-Tob would be incorrect. See p. 226 in the 1995 edition of Professor Howard's book for his take on this variant.
The reading "weep" also has some support from Luke 6:21, where we read "Blessed are you who weep, for you shall laugh."
(to be continued)
Text © 2020 by Donald C. Traxler aka Donald Jacobson Traxler.
Wednesday, June 10, 2020
Synoptica XXVII - Mt. 5:9: Those Who Pursue Peace
אשרי רודפי שלום שבני אלקים יקראו׃ 9
אשרי רדפי שלום כי־בני אלהים יקראו׃ 9
The meaning is the same in both cases:
"Blessed are the peace-pursuers for they shall be called sons of God."
The first line is Mt. 5:9 in Shem-Tob's Hebrew Matthew.
The second is the same verse in the nineteenth-century Delitzsch Hebrew New Testament (I've left out the pointing so that the similarity can be better seen.
Why is this significant? Well, these are the ONLY texts I could find that use the phrase רדפי שלום (pursuers of peace). Not the Greek, not the Old Latin, not the Vulgate. not the Peshitta, Not Ezekiel Margoliouth, not Münster, not Du Tillet, not Salkinson. Not any other known text (so far as I know), yet Delitzsch kept this phrase in place through all of his editions, and after his death in 1890 his successor, Dalman, did the same.
Why? Because he (and also Dalman) recognized its significance. Significance that is very great both for the original language and transmission history of the Gospel according to Matthew, and also for the proper evaluation of Shem-Tob's Hebrew Matthew.
The phrase in question is a reference to Psalm 34, verse 14:
"Depart from evil and do good;
seek peace, and pursue it."
Who are the peace-pursuers? They are the peaceful. Mt. 5:9 says nothing about "peaceMAKERS." That is a mistranslation into Greek, and it appears that all of the Greek mss reflect it (all of those in the apparatus to my NA25 do, at least). When I checked the oldest Old Latin that we have, Codex Bobiensis ("k"), I found "Baeati patifici (=pacifici, the peaceful) quoniam ipsi fili di uocabuntur." After that, I checked the Vulgate, and found "beati pacifici quoniam filii Dei vocabuntur." The spelling in "k" is more archaic, but both are correct (though not literal) translations of the Hebrew, as seen in the Shem-Tob Hebrew Matthew. The Greek, on the other hand, is NOT a correct translation.
Now, I don't think "peacemakers" occurs in the Old Testament (I searched two concordances and didn't find it), but it's perfectly possible to say "make peace" in Biblical Hebrew. In fact, Isaiah did it twice in 27:5. But the original Hebrew of the Gospel of Matthew did not say "peacemakers;" it said "peace-pursuers." How do we know that this is true? Read on.
The verses Mt. 5:8-12 are all connected by catchwords. Catchwords are a mnemonic device often connected with the stage of oral transmission. These verses are part of the oldest kernel of the Gospel of Matthew. Mt. 5:9 (peace-pursuers / peacemakers) is connected by catchwords to both the preceding verse and the following three verses by catchwords. Prominent among these catchwords is the verb רדף (Strong's #7291), which in Hebrew means both "to pursue" and "to persecute." If you mistranslate Mt. 5:9, as was done in the Greek manuscripts, you lose the catchword connection to the following three verses. This is, no doubt, why Delitzsch kept the correct Hebrew, as reflected in the Shem-Tob Hebrew Matthew, even though other texts did not share it. He understood its significance.
I am not surprised that Professor Delitzsch was aware of the Shem-Tob Hebrew Matthew. He was a very scholarly man, and was probably aware of many of the translations into Hebrew that had preceded him. When the British and Foreign Bible Society agreed to publish his work, they insisted that he follow the Textus Receptus (Received Text), not even allowing him to base his translation primarily on the Codex Sinaiticus, as he had done in his first (1877) edition. Even so, he allowed "peace-pursuers" to stay, knowing (for the reasons that I've stated above) that the phrase was correct, and that it was strong evidence for the original language of the Gospel of Matthew. On this, he never backed down.
Text © 2020 by Donald C. Traxler aka Donald Jacobson Traxler.
The second is the same verse in the nineteenth-century Delitzsch Hebrew New Testament (I've left out the pointing so that the similarity can be better seen.
Why is this significant? Well, these are the ONLY texts I could find that use the phrase רדפי שלום (pursuers of peace). Not the Greek, not the Old Latin, not the Vulgate. not the Peshitta, Not Ezekiel Margoliouth, not Münster, not Du Tillet, not Salkinson. Not any other known text (so far as I know), yet Delitzsch kept this phrase in place through all of his editions, and after his death in 1890 his successor, Dalman, did the same.
Why? Because he (and also Dalman) recognized its significance. Significance that is very great both for the original language and transmission history of the Gospel according to Matthew, and also for the proper evaluation of Shem-Tob's Hebrew Matthew.
The phrase in question is a reference to Psalm 34, verse 14:
"Depart from evil and do good;
seek peace, and pursue it."
Who are the peace-pursuers? They are the peaceful. Mt. 5:9 says nothing about "peaceMAKERS." That is a mistranslation into Greek, and it appears that all of the Greek mss reflect it (all of those in the apparatus to my NA25 do, at least). When I checked the oldest Old Latin that we have, Codex Bobiensis ("k"), I found "Baeati patifici (=pacifici, the peaceful) quoniam ipsi fili di uocabuntur." After that, I checked the Vulgate, and found "beati pacifici quoniam filii Dei vocabuntur." The spelling in "k" is more archaic, but both are correct (though not literal) translations of the Hebrew, as seen in the Shem-Tob Hebrew Matthew. The Greek, on the other hand, is NOT a correct translation.
Now, I don't think "peacemakers" occurs in the Old Testament (I searched two concordances and didn't find it), but it's perfectly possible to say "make peace" in Biblical Hebrew. In fact, Isaiah did it twice in 27:5. But the original Hebrew of the Gospel of Matthew did not say "peacemakers;" it said "peace-pursuers." How do we know that this is true? Read on.
The verses Mt. 5:8-12 are all connected by catchwords. Catchwords are a mnemonic device often connected with the stage of oral transmission. These verses are part of the oldest kernel of the Gospel of Matthew. Mt. 5:9 (peace-pursuers / peacemakers) is connected by catchwords to both the preceding verse and the following three verses by catchwords. Prominent among these catchwords is the verb רדף (Strong's #7291), which in Hebrew means both "to pursue" and "to persecute." If you mistranslate Mt. 5:9, as was done in the Greek manuscripts, you lose the catchword connection to the following three verses. This is, no doubt, why Delitzsch kept the correct Hebrew, as reflected in the Shem-Tob Hebrew Matthew, even though other texts did not share it. He understood its significance.
I am not surprised that Professor Delitzsch was aware of the Shem-Tob Hebrew Matthew. He was a very scholarly man, and was probably aware of many of the translations into Hebrew that had preceded him. When the British and Foreign Bible Society agreed to publish his work, they insisted that he follow the Textus Receptus (Received Text), not even allowing him to base his translation primarily on the Codex Sinaiticus, as he had done in his first (1877) edition. Even so, he allowed "peace-pursuers" to stay, knowing (for the reasons that I've stated above) that the phrase was correct, and that it was strong evidence for the original language of the Gospel of Matthew. On this, he never backed down.
Text © 2020 by Donald C. Traxler aka Donald Jacobson Traxler.
Sunday, June 7, 2020
vlenidohv / Life (Udugi, en, fr, es, pt)
vlenidohv gesvase gvnilanete doyegi
aqua kayugadine
ale adisadadisdase
aqua gasohiine,
aseno nasgi tla yeliquase alitii
aqua nulinigvgvhi didaniyvdone.
ᎥᎴᏂᏙᎲ ᎨᏒᎠᏎ ᎬᏂᎳᏁᏖ ᏙᏰᎩ
ᎠᏆ ᎧᏳᎦᏗᏁ
ᎠᎴ ᎠᏗᏌᏓᏗᏍᏓᏎ
ᎠᏆ ᎦᏐᎯᎢᏁ,
ᎠᏎᏃ ᎾᏍᎩ Ꮭ ᏰᎵᏆᏎ ᎠᎵᏘᎢ
ᎠᏆ ᏄᎵᏂᎬᎬᎯ ᏗᏓᏂᏴᏙᏁ.
Life is knocking my teeth out
and bending my back,
but it cannot escape
my strong embrace.
La vie frappe mes dents
et plie mon dos,
mais elle ne peut pas échapper
ma forte étreinte.
La vida me está sacando los dientes
y dobla mi espalda,
pero no puede escapar
mi fuerte abrazo.
A vida está batendo nos meus dentes
e dobra minhas costas,
mas não pode escapar
meu forte abraço.
Text and image © 2020 by Donald C. Traxler aka Donald Jacobson Traxler, ꮨᏺꭽꮅ.
aqua kayugadine
ale adisadadisdase
aqua gasohiine,
aseno nasgi tla yeliquase alitii
aqua nulinigvgvhi didaniyvdone.
ᎥᎴᏂᏙᎲ ᎨᏒᎠᏎ ᎬᏂᎳᏁᏖ ᏙᏰᎩ
ᎠᏆ ᎧᏳᎦᏗᏁ
ᎠᎴ ᎠᏗᏌᏓᏗᏍᏓᏎ
ᎠᏆ ᎦᏐᎯᎢᏁ,
ᎠᏎᏃ ᎾᏍᎩ Ꮭ ᏰᎵᏆᏎ ᎠᎵᏘᎢ
ᎠᏆ ᏄᎵᏂᎬᎬᎯ ᏗᏓᏂᏴᏙᏁ.
Life is knocking my teeth out
and bending my back,
but it cannot escape
my strong embrace.
La vie frappe mes dents
et plie mon dos,
mais elle ne peut pas échapper
ma forte étreinte.
La vida me está sacando los dientes
y dobla mi espalda,
pero no puede escapar
mi fuerte abrazo.
A vida está batendo nos meus dentes
e dobra minhas costas,
mas não pode escapar
meu forte abraço.
Text and image © 2020 by Donald C. Traxler aka Donald Jacobson Traxler, ꮨᏺꭽꮅ.
Saturday, June 6, 2020
Pointing the text of Shem-Tob's Hebrew Matthew - Chapter 5
Last night I was preparing to again take up the task of adding the vowel points to Chapter 5 of Shem-Tob's Hebrew Matthew. First I had to find the blog post where I left off (11/18/2019). I was reminded by that post that there was a verse missing near the end. I had mislabeled it, but the verse missing is 47. This is very interesting, but I had forgotten just how interesting. There are only two other manuscripts of Matthew that omit this verse, and they are among the most ancient. Neither of them would have been available to Shem-Tob ibn Shaprut in fourteenth-century Spain. Both of them belong to the "Western" (Syro-Latin) text type, which is older than the Alexandrian Greek text-type of our "best" manuscripts. This, I think, is extremely significant.
The two manuscripts that Hebrew Matthew agrees with in omitting verse 47 are "k" (Codex Bobiensis) and Sinaiticus Syriacus (Syr-s). These are, respectively, the oldest Old Latin, and the oldest Old Syriac that we have. Bobiensis is a manuscript of the fourth or fifth century, similar to the type of text that Cyprian, bishop of Carthage, used in his writings in the third century. Further, it has been determined on paleographic grounds to be a copy of a second-century papyrus.
Syr-s, the Sinaitic Palimpsest, is a late fourth-century text that was over-written in the the seventh century with a biographical text of no great importance. It was discovered in the Monastery of St. Catherine on Mt. Sinai, in the late nineteenth century. It took all the technology of the late nineteenth century to transcribe and photograph the text. It is one of only two manuscripts of the Old Syriac text type to have survived, and it is the older of the two by about a century. It, too, would have been unavailable to Shem-Tob ibn Shaprut in the fourteenth century.
It is no coincidence that Shem-Tob's Hebrew Matthew agrees in this instance with the oldest Old Latin and the oldest Old Syriac. It is based on a Hebrew text that is of a type that is older still. All manuscripts of these very ancient text types were suppressed in favor of the Vulgate for Latin and the Peshitta for Syriac, ca. 400 CE, an effort to bring all scriptural texts into harmony with the Greek texts. This was a watershed event, and it served to obscure the Semitic roots of Christianity. It is a miracle that even one copy of Hebrew Matthew survived.
Text © 2020 by Donald C. Traxler aka Donald Jacobson Traxler.
The two manuscripts that Hebrew Matthew agrees with in omitting verse 47 are "k" (Codex Bobiensis) and Sinaiticus Syriacus (Syr-s). These are, respectively, the oldest Old Latin, and the oldest Old Syriac that we have. Bobiensis is a manuscript of the fourth or fifth century, similar to the type of text that Cyprian, bishop of Carthage, used in his writings in the third century. Further, it has been determined on paleographic grounds to be a copy of a second-century papyrus.
Syr-s, the Sinaitic Palimpsest, is a late fourth-century text that was over-written in the the seventh century with a biographical text of no great importance. It was discovered in the Monastery of St. Catherine on Mt. Sinai, in the late nineteenth century. It took all the technology of the late nineteenth century to transcribe and photograph the text. It is one of only two manuscripts of the Old Syriac text type to have survived, and it is the older of the two by about a century. It, too, would have been unavailable to Shem-Tob ibn Shaprut in the fourteenth century.
It is no coincidence that Shem-Tob's Hebrew Matthew agrees in this instance with the oldest Old Latin and the oldest Old Syriac. It is based on a Hebrew text that is of a type that is older still. All manuscripts of these very ancient text types were suppressed in favor of the Vulgate for Latin and the Peshitta for Syriac, ca. 400 CE, an effort to bring all scriptural texts into harmony with the Greek texts. This was a watershed event, and it served to obscure the Semitic roots of Christianity. It is a miracle that even one copy of Hebrew Matthew survived.
Text © 2020 by Donald C. Traxler aka Donald Jacobson Traxler.
Friday, June 5, 2020
Matthew Chapter 3 in Udugi (complete)
ᎠᏯᏙᎸᎢ 3 ayadolvi 3
2 ale hineganete, agatahvsdu, igvnisisgi galvladi ehi ugvwiyuhi gesvase navnige.
3 hiano gesvase nasgi na gesvise kanegvita aniyelvsgv adelohosgi isaya gvdodi, hineganete, kanegv-unoyvgv nasgi vhnai atloyasdanete inagei hawina, advnvisdodu nvnohine unelanvhi vhnai, gatsinosdigu utseli nvnohidine.
4 ale utloyitsani uhise utseli dinuwone gemili-usdiyegu vhnai, ale ganotsi adatlosdine utseli udatlosdv yvwaduwidv; ale utseli hawiya gesvise vledi ale geyatahi wadulisi.
5 nahiyui anagisdise doyegi nasgi didla tsilusalimi, ale nigadv tsudiyi, ale nigadv utanidigadohi tsodani yvwaduwidv,
6 ale gesvise didawosdita atsvyv gvdodi tsodani hawina, gohiyudodanete unatseli asganidine.
7 aseno hilayvi atsvyai gowatise na ugodidi ani-qualisi ale ani-sadusi nvlise utseli didawosgi didla, atsvyai hinegise nasgidv didla, "yo! nihi inadv uwetsidi! gagouyotsvhise nihine ulatisdi utalawosgvne na nvlose?"
8 ayohisdu gasadoyasdi nasgi-igvnisisgi udatanv-agisdine dinadolagi dewadanvdv nasgihai.
9 ale tla adanvtesgu hinegi nihvsadi hawiniditlv, itsula uha equahamine aquatseli edoda nasgihai: igvnisisgi ayv hinegase nihi-didla, na unelanvhi yeliquase nasgi-hia nvyadi nidvlenvda advhisdodi ayotlidine equahami nasgihai.
10 ale noquu galuyasdi gesvase atlodita unasdetlv nahnai tlugvdi vhnai: nasgi-igvnisisgi nigadv tlugv na tla ayohisdase gasadoyasdi osdv udatanvne gesvase ayelasdita eladi ale wadinvdita atsilv nahnai.
11 ayv udohiyui didawosdase nihine ama gvdodi dewadanvdv nasgihai: aseno atsvyai na nvlase ayvulosonv gesvase nulinigvgvhige sinv ayv, ale alasulodi atsvyai vhnai ayv tla gesvase tsugvwalodiya awidvdi: atsvyai didawosdose nihine galvquodiyu adanvdo ale atsilv gvdodi.
12 utseli atanoyo gesvase utseli uwoyeni hawina, ale atsvyai kaliwohi ganvgalvdose utseli ayatanohine, ale gatlisodose utseli utsaledine utseli ugata-adi nahnai; aseno atsvyai agohvsdose soine nalisquadisgvna atsilv gvdodi.
13 nahiyui nvlase tsisa gelili nidvlenvda tsodani didla, tsani didla, gesvi didawosdita atsvyv gvdodi.
14 aseno tsani unvsdodise nasgine, hineganete, ayv uduladase gesvi didawosdita nihi gvdodi, ale nihi nvlase ayv didla?
15 ale tsisa gawohiliyvdanete hinegise nasgi didla, alisgolvdodu nasgine gesvi hia-iyv noquu: igvnisisgi hia-iyv gesvase dinadolagi na itsula akalisoduse nigadv duyugodvne. nahiyui atsvyai alisgolvdodise nasgine.
16 ale tsisa, hilayvi atsvyai gesvise didawosdita, natlegvquo anagisdise galvladi ama doyegi ale, gvniyuquo, galvloidi gesvise asduidita nasgi didla, ale atsvyai gowatise adanvdone unelanvhi vhnai nvlasanete eladi gule-disgonihi tsilv, ale uweyalvtsanete nasgi nahna.
17 ale gvniyuquo kanev-unoyvgv galvladi nidvlenvda, hineganete, hia gesvase aqua adageyudi uwetsi, nasgi ayv gesvase osi-ayelvsga.
1 ᎾᏍᎩ ᎢᎦᏗ ᎭᏫᎾ ᏅᎵᏎ ᏣᏂ ᏗᏓᏬᏍᎩ, ᎠᎵᏣᏙᏓᏁᏖ ᎢᎾᎨᎢ ᏧᏗᏱ ᎭᏫᎾ,
2 ᎠᎴ ᎯᏁᎦᏁᏖ, ᎠᎦᏔᎲᏍᏚ, ᎢᎬᏂᏏᏍᎩ ᎦᎸᎳᏗ ᎡᎯ ᎤᎬᏫᏳᎯ ᎨᏒᎠᏎ ᎾᎥᏂᎨ.
3 ᎯᎠᏃ ᎨᏒᎠᏎ ᎾᏍᎩ Ꮎ ᎨᏒᎢᏎ ᎧᏁᎬᎢᏔ ᎠᏂᏰᎸᏍᎬ ᎠᏕᎶᎰᏍᎩ ᎢᏌᏯ ᎬᏙᏗ, ᎯᏁᎦᏁᏖ, ᎧᏁᎬ-ᎤᏃᏴᎬ ᎾᏍᎩ ᎥᎿᎢ ᎠᏠᏯᏍᏓᏁᏖ ᎢᎾᎨᎢ ᎭᏫᎾ, ᎠᏛᏅᎢᏍᏙᏚ ᏅᏃᎯᏁ ᎤᏁᎳᏅᎯ ᎥᎿᎢ, ᎦᏥᏃᏍᏗᎫ ᎤᏤᎵ ᏅᏃᎯᏗᏁ.
4 ᎠᎴ ᎤᏠᏱᏣᏂ ᎤᎯᏎ ᎤᏤᎵ ᏗᏄᏬᏁ ᎨᎻᎵ-ᎤᏍᏗᏰᎫ ᎥᎿᎢ, ᎠᎴ ᎦᏃᏥ ᎠᏓᏠᏍᏗᏁ ᎤᏤᎵ ᎤᏓᏠᏍᏛ ᏴᏩᏚᏫᏛ; ᎠᎴ ᎤᏤᎵ ᎭᏫᏯ ᎨᏒᎢᏎ ᎥᎴᏗ ᎠᎴ ᎨᏯᏔᎯ ᏩᏚᎵᏏ.
5 ᏀᎢᏳᎢ ᎠᎾᎩᏍᏗᏎ ᏙᏰᎩ ᎾᏍᎩ ᏗᏜ ᏥᎷᏌᎵᎻ, ᎠᎴ ᏂᎦᏛ ᏧᏗᏱ, ᎠᎴ ᏂᎦᏛ ᎤᏔᏂᏗᎦᏙᎯ ᏦᏓᏂ ᏴᏩᏚᏫᏛ,
6 ᎠᎴ ᎨᏒᎢᏎ ᏗᏓᏬᏍᏗᏔ ᎠᏨᏴ ᎬᏙᏗ ᏦᏓᏂ ᎭᏫᎾ, ᎪᎯᏳᏙᏓᏁᏖ ᎤᎾᏤᎵ ᎠᏍᎦᏂᏗᏁ.
7 ᎠᏎᏃ ᎯᎳᏴᎢ ᎠᏨᏯᎢ ᎪᏩᏘᏎ Ꮎ ᎤᎪᏗᏗ ᎠᏂ-ᏆᎵᏏ ᎠᎴ ᎠᏂ-ᏌᏚᏏ ᏅᎵᏎ ᎤᏤᎵ ᏗᏓᏬᏍᎩ ᏗᏜ, ᎠᏨᏯᎢ ᎯᏁᎩᏎ ᎾᏍᎩᏛ ᏗᏜ, "Ᏺ! ᏂᎯ ᎢᎾᏛ ᎤᏪᏥᏗ! ᎦᎪᎤᏲᏨᎯᏎ ᏂᎯᏁ ᎤᎳᏘᏍᏗ ᎤᏔᎳᏬᏍᎬᏁ Ꮎ ᏅᎶᏎ?"
8 ᎠᏲᎯᏍᏚ ᎦᏌᏙᏯᏍᏗ ᎾᏍᎩ-ᎢᎬᏂᏏᏍᎩ ᎤᏓᏔᏅ-ᎠᎩᏍᏗᏁ ᏗᎾᏙᎳᎩ ᏕᏩᏓᏅᏛ ᎾᏍᎩᎭᎢ.
9 ᎠᎴ Ꮭ ᎠᏓᏅᏖᏍᎫ ᎯᏁᎩ ᏂᎲᏌᏗ ᎭᏫᏂᏗᏢ, ᎢᏧᎳ ᎤᎭ ᎡᏆᎭᎻᏁ ᎠᏆᏤᎵ ᎡᏙᏓ ᎾᏍᎩᎭᎢ: ᎢᎬᏂᏏᏍᎩ ᎠᏴ ᎯᏁᎦᏎ ᏂᎯ-ᏗᏜ, Ꮎ ᎤᏁᎳᏅᎯ ᏰᎵᏆᏎ ᎾᏍᎩ-ᎯᎠ ᏅᏯᏗ ᏂᏛᎴᏅᏓ ᎠᏛᎯᏍᏙᏗ ᎠᏲᏟᏗᏁ ᎡᏆᎭᎻ ᎾᏍᎩᎭᎢ.
10 ᎠᎴ ᏃᏊ ᎦᎷᏯᏍᏗ ᎨᏒᎠᏎ ᎠᏠᏗᏔ ᎤᎾᏍᏕᏢ ᏀᎾᎢ ᏡᎬᏗ ᎥᎿᎢ: ᎾᏍᎩ-ᎢᎬᏂᏏᏍᎩ ᏂᎦᏛ ᏡᎬ Ꮎ Ꮭ ᎠᏲᎯᏍᏓᏎ ᎦᏌᏙᏯᏍᏗ ᎣᏍᏛ ᎤᏓᏔᏅᏁ ᎨᏒᎠᏎ ᎠᏰᎳᏍᏗᏔ ᎡᎳᏗ ᎠᎴ ᏩᏗᏅᏗᏔ ᎠᏥᎸ ᏀᎾᎢ.
11 ᎠᏴ ᎤᏙᎯᏳᎢ ᏗᏓᏬᏍᏓᏎ ᏂᎯᏁ ᎠᎹ ᎬᏙᏗ ᏕᏩᏓᏅᏛ ᎾᏍᎩᎭᎢ: ᎠᏎᏃ ᎠᏨᏯᎢ Ꮎ ᏅᎳᏎ ᎠᏴᎤᎶᏐᏅ ᎨᏒᎠᏎ ᏄᎵᏂᎬᎬᎯᎨ ᏏᏅ ᎠᏴ, ᎠᎴ ᎠᎳᏑᎶᏗ ᎠᏨᏯᎢ ᎥᎿᎢ ᎠᏴ Ꮭ ᎨᏒᎠᏎ ᏧᎬᏩᎶᏗᏯ ᎠᏫᏛᏗ: ᎠᏨᏯᎢ ᏗᏓᏬᏍᏙᏎ ᏂᎯᏁ ᎦᎸᏉᏗᏳ ᎠᏓᏅᏙ ᎠᎴ ᎠᏥᎸ ᎬᏙᏗ.
12 ᎤᏤᎵ ᎠᏔᏃᏲ ᎨᏒᎠᏎ ᎤᏤᎵ ᎤᏬᏰᏂ ᎭᏫᎾ, ᎠᎴ ᎠᏨᏯᎢ ᎧᎵᏬᎯ ᎦᏅᎦᎸᏙᏎ ᎤᏤᎵ ᎠᏯᏔᏃᎯᏁ, ᎠᎴ ᎦᏟᏐᏙᏎ ᎤᏤᎵ ᎤᏣᎴᏗᏁ ᎤᏤᎵ ᎤᎦᏔ-ᎠᏗ ᏀᎾᎢ; ᎠᏎᏃ ᎠᏨᏯᎢ ᎠᎪᎲᏍᏙᏎ ᏐᎢᏁ ᎾᎵᏍᏆᏗᏍᎬᎾ ᎠᏥᎸ ᎬᏙᏗ.
13 ᏀᎢᏳᎢ ᏅᎳᏎ ᏥᏌ ᎨᎵᎵ ᏂᏛᎴᏅᏓ ᏦᏓᏂ ᏗᏜ, ᏣᏂ ᏗᏜ, ᎨᏒᎢ ᏗᏓᏬᏍᏗᏔ ᎠᏨᏴ ᎬᏙᏗ.
14 ᎠᏎᏃ ᏣᏂ ᎤᏅᏍᏙᏗᏎ ᎾᏍᎩᏁ, ᎯᏁᎦᏁᏖ, ᎠᏴ ᎤᏚᎳᏓᏎ ᎨᏒᎢ ᏗᏓᏬᏍᏗᏔ ᏂᎯ ᎬᏙᏗ, ᎠᎴ ᏂᎯ ᏅᎳᏎ ᎠᏴ ᏗᏜ?
15 ᎠᎴ ᏥᏌ ᎦᏬᎯᎵᏴᏓᏁᏖ ᎯᏁᎩᏎ ᎾᏍᎩ ᏗᏜ, ᎠᎵᏍᎪᎸᏙᏚ ᎾᏍᎩᏁ ᎨᏒᎢ ᎯᎠ-ᎢᏴ ᏃᏊ: ᎢᎬᏂᏏᏍᎩ ᎯᎠ-ᎢᏴ ᎨᏒᎠᏎ ᏗᎾᏙᎳᎩ Ꮎ ᎢᏧᎳ ᎠᎧᎵᏐᏚᏎ ᏂᎦᏛ ᏚᏳᎪᏛᏁ. ᏀᎢᏳᎢ ᎠᏨᏯᎢ ᎠᎵᏍᎪᎸᏙᏗᏎ ᎾᏍᎩᏁ.
16 ᎠᎴ ᏥᏌ, ᎯᎳᏴᎢ ᎠᏨᏯᎢ ᎨᏒᎢᏎ ᏗᏓᏬᏍᏗᏔ, ᎾᏞᎬᏉ ᎠᎾᎩᏍᏗᏎ ᎦᎸᎳᏗ ᎠᎹ ᏙᏰᎩ ᎠᎴ, ᎬᏂᏳᏉ, ᎦᎸᎶᎢᏗ ᎨᏒᎢᏎ ᎠᏍᏚᎢᏗᏔ ᎾᏍᎩ ᏗᏜ, ᎠᎴ ᎠᏨᏯᎢ ᎪᏩᏘᏎ ᎠᏓᏅᏙᏁ ᎤᏁᎳᏅᎯ ᎥᎿᎢ ᏅᎳᏌᏁᏖ ᎡᎳᏗ ᎫᎴ-ᏗᏍᎪᏂᎯ ᏥᎸ, ᎠᎴ ᎤᏪᏯᎸᏣᏁᏖ ᎾᏍᎩ ᏀᎾ.
17 ᎠᎴ ᎬᏂᏳᏉ ᎧᏁᎥ-ᎤᏃᏴᎬ ᎦᎸᎳᏗ ᏂᏛᎴᏅᏓ, ᎯᏁᎦᏁᏖ, ᎯᎠ ᎨᏒᎠᏎ ᎠᏆ ᎠᏓᎨᏳᏗ ᎤᏪᏥ, ᎾᏍᎩ ᎠᏴ ᎨᏒᎠᏎ ᎣᏏ-ᎠᏰᎸᏍᎦ.
Text and image © 2020 by Donald C. Traxler aka Donald Jacobson Traxler, ꮨᏺꭽꮅ.