Aramaic in the Bible (2) – New Testament

This Part 2 is the continuation and conclusion to “Aramaic in the Bible (1) – Old Testament”.  Material covered in (1) won’t be repeated here in (2); I suggest you read Part 1 first.

Prior to being taken captive by Assyria (721 BC) and Babylon (586 BC), Israelites & Jews had spoken Old Hebrew or Judahite (Jehudíth Strongs h3066) in the Land of Canáan.  But when Jews returned to the Land from captivity in the days of Zerubabbél (530s BC), and with Ezra & Nehemiah (c 450 BC), they spoke the Aramáic language.  They’d learned it in the East, during the time of the Neo-Assyrian, Neo-Babylonian (Chaldéan), and Persian empires.  Aramaic was the língua fránca of those empires.

Most Israelites & Jews no longer spoke Judahite ‘Hebrew’, the old “lip of Canaan”.  Ne.13:24 “As for their children…none of them was able to speak in the language of Judah [Jehudith h3066].”  Benson Commentary Ne.13:24 “The language which the [common] Jews then spoke was Cháldee; this language they learned in their captivity, and after their return never assumed their ancient Hebrew tongue.” 

The returnees and their descendants spoke Aramaic.  Some of the later chapters in the Old Testament (OT) timeline were written in Aramaic: Da.2:4b–7:28, Ezr.4:8–6:18, 7:12-26.  see Part 1.

Then Greek became the language of commerce for the Grecian and Roman empires.  Most historians say that at the New Testament (NT) time of Jesus/Yeshúa, Aramaic (also called Chaldee and Sýriac) was still the language spoken by the majority of common Jews in Judea.  In most Judean synagogues, the OT scriptures were read from Hebrew scrolls, and interpreters (meturganim) translated them into Aramaic for the hearers.  cf. Ne.8:8.  But there was no Aramaic text of the entire OT (there was an old Greek text).  So the Aramaic Tárgums were written. 

The Targums are OT paraphrases.  They were written in Aramaic, beginning in the 1^st century AD.  With them, Aramaic-speaking people could understand the OT text.  The Targum of Ónkelos (the Law) and the Targum of Jonathán (the Prophets) were composed prior to 200 AD.  They are official.  Another Targum of the Law/Torah/Péntateuch is the Jerusalem Targum (also known as the Targum Pseudo-Jonathan).  There’s also the Targum Neofití, for the Pentateuch.  And a few others.

Perhaps the Aramaic Targums wouldn’t have been necessary if most Jews still knew Hebrew.  But most no longer knew Hebrew.  They spoke Aramaic or Greek.  Bruce Metzger The Jewish Targums “Such versions were needed when Hebrew ceased to be the normal medium of communication among Jews.”

Whenever the Targums came to passages where YHVH was anthropomorphized or seen (appearing human), or where plural YHVHs are indicated…Targums substituted the “Word of YHVH” for “YHVH”!  The Aramaic term for “Word” is Mémra.  In Greek, “Word” is Lógos g3056, e.g. Jn.1:1.  The Targum Neofiti was written in Palestine before 200 AD.  Targ Neofiti Ge.1:1 “From the beginning with Wisdom the Memra [Word] of the Lord created and perfected the heavens and the earth.”  (Of note also is Targ Jonathan Is.52:13, “Behold My Servant the Messiah…!”  Disbelieving medieval rabbis claim “My Servant” here was the nation of Israel…but this earlier Targum indicated Is.52–53 refers to the Messiah an individual.) 

Again, a few chapters of the OT were written in Aramaic.  Ezr.5 is in Aramaic.  Ezr.5:2 “Yeshúa the son of Jozadák.”  Yeshua (a common male name) is also Messiah Jesus’ name in Aramaic.

The gospel writers record Jesus speaking Aramaic in red-letter text of our Bible, and they record places in Judea with Aramaic names.  Following are some of the Aramaic words in the NT:

Jesus called the brothers in Mk.3:17, “Boanergés, that is, ‘Sons of Thunder”.  Expositor’s Greek Testament “As pronounced by Galileans, in Syrian.”  Jesus said to the dead girl in Mk.5:41, “Taleetháh koómee (which translated means ‘Little girl, arise!’)”.  JFB Commentary “The words are Aramaic, or Syro-Chaldáic, the then language of Palestine.”  Jesus said to the deaf man in Mk.7:34, “Éffathah!’, that is, ‘Be opened!”  Cambridge Bible “The actual Aramaic word used by our Lord.”  Jesus prayed in Mk.14:36, “Abbáh! Father!”  Geneva Study Bible “The word Abba is a Syrian word.”  (The Hebrew word for Father is Awb h1, the Aramaic is Ab h2, also Abbah g5.)  Abbah is also seen in Ro.8:15 and Ga.4:6 of Paul’s epistles.  The above verses reflect (Western) Aramaic words.

Luke wrote, Ac.1:19 “In their own language that field was called Hakeldamáh, the Field of Blood.”  Luke recorded the Aramaic name of the field at Jerusalem purchased by Judas…“in their language”!  Poole Commentary Ac.1:19 “The Syriac language then in use after the Babylonish captivity.”

The Jewish historian Josephus (37-100 AD) was a priest born in Jerusalem.  His language was Aramaic.  Wikipedia: Language of Jesus “Josephus differentiated Hebrew from his language and that of 1^st century Israel. Josephus refers to Hebrew words as belonging to ‘the Hebrew tongue’ but refers to Aramaic words as belonging to ‘our tongue’ or ‘our language’ or ‘the language of our country.”

John recorded places at Jerusalem with Aramaic/Syriac names.  Jn.5:2 Bethesdáh.  Ellicott Commentary “Bethesda means ‘house of mercy’. The ‘Hebrew tongue’ is…what we ordinarily call Aramaic, or Syro-Chaldaic.”  Jn.19:13 ESV “A place called the Stone Pavement, which in Aramaic [Hebraistí g1447 adverb] is Gabbatháh.”  Gill Exposition “The Jews, who at this time spoke Syriac.”  Jn.19:17 CSB “The Place of the Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotháh.”  The NASB center margin notes the (bold) above terms as “Jewish Aramaic”…not Hebrew.  Strong’s Dictionary of terms, and the commentaries quoted above, say these NT words are Aramaic/Syriac/Chaldaic…not Hebrew.

Wikipedia: Aramaic “The Christian New Testament uses the Koine Greek phrase Ἑβραϊστί Hebraïstí to denote ‘Aramaic’, as Aramaic was at that time the language commonly spoken by the Jews.”

Jesus said to Peter, “Blessed are you Simon BarJonáh” (Mt.16:17).  Bar-Jonah means ‘son of Jonah’.  Cambridge Bible “Bar is Aramaic for ‘son.”  bar h1247.  But the Hebrew term for “son” is ben h1121.  So here Matthew records Jesus speaking Aramaic, not Hebrew.  The Aramaic BarAbbás = son of Abbáh (Mt.27:16).  Wikipedia op. cit. “Barabbas is a Hellenization of the Aramaic Bar Abba, literally ‘son of the father.”  Also: BarTholomew = son of Tolmai/Ptolemy (Lk.6:14); BarTimaeus = son of Timaeus (Mk.10:46); BarSabas = son of Sabas (Ac.1:23 & 15:22 – two men); Barnabas = son of encouragement (Ac.4:36); Barjesus = son of Yeshua (Ac.13:6).  Wikipedia ibid “The most prominent feature in Aramaic names is bar, meaning ‘son of’. Its Hebrew equivalent, ben, is conspicuous by its absence.”  Those NT personal names are strong internal evidence that Aramaic language use was predominant!

Aramaic too is a language used by God!  Stephen Missick The Language of Jesus, p.60 “Jesus is God incarnate and He spoke Aramaic.”  The hand from God wrote in Aramaic the “handwriting on the wall” in 539 BC…‘MÉNE, MÉNE, TÉKEL, UPHÁRSIN’ (Da.5:24-28)!

{Sidelight: We don’t know what language Jesus wrote at the scene of the woman taken in adultery, writing on the ground with His finger (Jn.8:6).  Jesus could’ve written in the common Aramaic, or perhaps He quoted the OT Hebrew or old Greek version.  Jn.8:6 “Jesus with His finger wrote on the ground.”  Maybe Jesus quoted or referred to Je.17:13 as He wrote the names of her accusers?  Je.17:13 “Those who depart from Me shall be written in the dirt.”}

Jesus and 11 of His 12 disciples were from Galilee (Judas Iscariót likely was from Keriot in Judea).  Galileans had a noticeable accent in their Aramaic dialect.  ccaugusta.org “Jesus principally spoke a Galilean dialect of Aramaic.”  A dialect of regional Western Aramaic.  aramaicnt.com “Early Galilean Aramaic, the mother tongue of Jesus.”  Ac.2:7 “Are not all these which speak Galileans?”  Pulpit Commentary Ac.2:7 “The Galilean accent was peculiar and well known.”  It is thought that their accent was more guttural or the gutterals (throat articulations) were blurred.  One of the bystanders said to Peter in Mt.26:73 NET, “You really are one of them; even your accent gives you away”.  Meyer NT Commentary Mt.26:73 “The natives were unable to distinguish especially the gutterals properly.”

Jn.11:1 the NT name Lázarus was Eleázar in Hebrew and Alázar in Aramaic.  The ‘A’ was dropped and the Latin declension ‘us’ was added, resulting in Lazarus in our NT.  Comparably, Englishmen today pronounce ‘Henry’ as ‘Enry’ (dropping the ‘H’).  An older occasion of pronunciation difference in Israel is in Jg.12:6, where the Ephraimites said sibbóleth, but couldn’t say shibbóleth (with the ‘h’).

Aramaic is called a metallic-sounding language.  The Lord’s Prayer in Aramaic (Mt.6:9-13):

“Abwoon d’Bwashmaya, Neet Kah Schmaakh

Teh Teh Malkutah, Neyweh Tzevyanah Aikhanah,

d’Bwashmayah Aph Buh Arh Ah Howlahn Lakhmah d’Soonkhanan Yaow Manah,

Wash Boh Klahn Kaow Behn, Wahktahehn,

Aikhanah Daph Knanahn Soobwoh-Khan Lahkhai Ah-Ben                                   

Welah Tahlah Le Nesyunah, Elah Patzan Min Bishah                                                 

Metohl Delakhih Malkutah, Whyallah Wateshbuktah, Lah-Allam, Allmin.”

It is said that Jesus’ red-letter words in the gospel accounts are powerful when they’re retroverted from Greek manuscripts into Aramaic!  But that they don’t back-translate as well into Hebrew.  John’s gospel is thought to have the strongest Aramaic flavor or substratum (underlying layer) of any gospel account, especially Jesus’ sayings.

In the gospel quotes above, Jesus spoke Aramaic words.  Also He likely spoke Greek in “Galilee of the gentiles” (Mt.4:15), and with Greek-speaking business clients there.  In the Nazareth synagogue (Lk.4:16-21), Jesus read from the scroll of Isaiah, either from the Hebrew OT or the old Greek version.  

Ac.21:40-ff Paul, in making his own defense, chose to address the crowd of Jews in Jerusalem in Aramaic (not Greek).  The NASB center margin notes the language Paul spoke here as “Jewish Aramaic” (Hebraís g1446 noun).  Robertson’s NT Word Pictures Ac.21:40 “The Araméan which the people in Jerusalem knew better than the Greek.”  

Interestingly, the OT never refers to the ancient language of the Israelites or Jews as the ‘Hebrew language’!  Rather, in the OT their tongue was called the “language of Canaan” (Is.19:18) or Judahite (Jehudíth: 2Ki.18:26-28, Is.36:11-13, 2Ch.32:18, Ne.13:24).  see Part 1.

Wikipedia op. cit. “A small minority believes that most of the New Testament was originally written in Aramaic.”  The Aramaic Primacy view.  At this point, that is speculation.

The Tálmud of rabbinic Judaism was written in Aramaic (200–500 AD).  Yehuda Shurpin Why is the Talmud in Aramaic? “The Western Aramaic languages were used largely in the area that was under Roman (and later Byzantine) rule. The Jerusalem Talmud, composed in Israel, is written in a Western Aramaic dialect. The Eastern Aramaic languages flourished in the Persian Empire, and as a result the Babylonian Talmud, written in Persian-dominated Babylon, is in Eastern Aramaic. The Talmud was written in Aramaic, the language of the masses, so that it would be accessible to all. ”

Aside from the sectarian Dead Sea Scrolls (DSS) religious community, to date most surviving inscriptions of Jesus’ period on artifacts, tombs (Caiáphas’ tomb too), ossuáries/bone boxes, etc. in the Holy Land…are in Aramaic or Greek.  Some are in Hebrew.  Pieter van der Horst Jewish Funerary Inscriptions “In Jerusalem itself about 40 percent of the Jewish inscriptions from the first-century period (before 70 CE) are in Greek.”  (cf. Ac.6:1-5 Stephen was a Greek-speaking Jew in Jerusalem.)

Breakdown of DSS text scripts: Old/Paleo Hebrew 1%, Hebrew/Áshuri square 78%, Aramaic square 17%, Greek 3%, other 1%.  Historians say that some Hebrew language usage was redeveloping in Christ’s day in pocket areas (e.g. the DSS at Qumrán).  Some was known by the educated and priests.  Shurpin op. cit. “Hebrew was used for ‘holy’ matters, such as prayer, and not for ordinary activities.”      

Wikipedia: Language of Jesus “According to DSS archaeologist Yigael Yadin, Aramaic was the language of Hebrews until Simon Bar-Kókhba’s revolt [132-135 AD in Judea]. Yadin noticed the shift from Aramaic to Hebrew in the documents which had been written during the time of the revolt. Yadin said, ‘It seems that this change came as a result of the order that was given by Bar Kokhba, who wanted to revive the Hebrew language and make it the official language of the state’. Yadin points out that Aramaic was the lingua franca [common language] at the time.” 

Both Aramaic and Hebrew are classed as NW Semític Áfro-Asiátic languages; Hebrew is sub-classed a Canaanite language.  Much later, c 800 AD, vowel points were added to the Hebrew language.

Prior to 1948, (Ashkenázi) Yíddish was the language of most Jews.  The national language in modern Israel today is called ‘Hebrew’.  It’d been near 2,500 years since Judahite/Hebrew was the language of common people (am-harétz) in the Land!  But Modern Hebrew (Ivrít) has been influenced by Yiddish.  Yiddish is classed a Germanic Indo-European language, not a Semitic.  The tongue spoken today in Israel isn’t the ancient Canaanite/Hebrew “language of Canaan” (Is.19:18).  Amir Zeldes wrote, “Modern Hebrew is a hybrid language. Modern Hebrew never was exactly Biblical Hebrew, and in many ways it has been a very different language for as long as it has existed.”  Jewish Agency Jewish Languages “Only a minority of the Jewish people today can speak Hebrew…It is more common to use English.”

Aramaic was gradually superceded by the Semitic sister language Arabic during the Moslem conquest (c 700–1300 AD).  Arabic is the liturgical language of Íslam. 

Very few Aramaic dialects are spoken today.  It is an endangered language.  Some Christian groups in areas of Iraq, Syria, Iran, SE Turkey, speak an Aramaic dialect called Syriac.  Churches in the East still use Aramaic as their liturgical language.  Some refer to themselves as Assyrians or Chaldeans.

The prophecy of Zep.3:9 NASB, “I will give to the peoples purified lips [h8193], that all of them may call on the name of the Lord. From beyond the rivers.”  Including heathens too, outside the Holy Land.  Ge.11:9 the penalty for the sin at Babel was the confusion of the language/lip/shore (h8193).  But eventually there’ll be no more ‘idol’ tongues speaking idolatry.  Zec.14:9 “The Lord will be King over all the earth in that day.”  

In the tongues miracle of Ac.2:1-11, pilgrim visitors at Jerusalem heard them speaking in their own languages.  In many dialects.  v.11 “We hear them speaking the mighty deeds of God.”  In a sense, this heals the breach which occurred back in Ge.11!  The penalty is removed.  Words may be spoken from a pure heart/lips in any language.  Ps.22:27 “All the ends of the earth will turn to the Lord. All the kindreds of the nations will worship before Thee.”  Praise the Lord!  

 

Aramaic in the Bible (1) – Old Testament

Our Bible books were written in (at least) three ancient languages; Hebrew, Aramáic, koine Greek.  This two-part topic is about Aramaic.  Part 1 discusses Aramaic in Old Testament (OT) times, BC. 

Noah and his family survived the Flood (Ge.7:13, 8:15-16).  Ge.9:18 “The sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham and Jápheth; and Ham was the father of Canáan.”  Ge.10:22, “The sons of Shem were Elám, Asshúr, Arphaxad, Lud and Arám.”  Aram and Canaan were grandsons of Noah.

Josephus Antiquities of the Jews 1:6:4 “Asshur lived at the city of Nineveh, and named his subjects Assyrians. Arphaxad named…the Chaldéans. Aram…called Syrians.” 

Semític languages are named from Shem.  The Aramaic language is named from Shem’s son Aram.  Cambridge Bible “The people denoted by Aram were destined to exercise great influence. The Araméan language gradually prevailed over the other Semitic dialects, even Hebrew.”

Ge.10:24 Septúagint/LXX “Arphaxad begot Kaínan [not Canaan], Kainan begot Shélah; Shelah begot Éber.”  The Hebrew people were named after Eber.  Josephus ibid “Eber, from whom they originally called the Jews, Hebrews.”  Eber was the great-grandson (or grandson) of Aram’s brother Arphaxad.

Much later, a language in the “Land of Canáan” Holy Land would be called Hebrew.  Tel Aviv’s Bar-Ilan Univ: Daf Parashat Hashavua (No.112) “It’s clear from extant epigraphic material that Hebrew is a Canaaníte language.”  Aramaic and Canaanite are classed as NW Semitic languages.  Hebrew and Phoenícian are sub-classed as NW Semitic Canaanite languages.  All four are primary-classed as Áfro-Asiátic languages.  Aramaic would become widely used geographically in the Near East.

Wikipedia: Aramaic “Ancient Aram, now called Syria, is considered the linguistic epicenter of Aramaic, the [later] language of the Arameans who settled the area during the Bronze Age. Aramaic is a Semitic language. By around 1000 BC, the Arameans had a string of kingdoms in what is now part of Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and the fringes of southern Mesopotamia [Ac.2:9, 7:2] and Anatólia [Turkey]. Aramaic rose to prominence under the Neo-Assyrian Empire (911–605 BC), under whose influence Aramaic became a prestige language after being adopted as the língua fránca [common tongue] of the empire. Its use spread throughout Mesopotamia, the Levánt and parts of Asia Minor. At its height, Aramaic, having gradually replaced earlier Semitic languages, was spoken in several variants all over what is today Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, E. Arabia, Bahrain, Sinai, parts of SE and south central Turkey, and parts of NW Iran.”  Aramaic became the language of Mesopotamia.

Wikipedia: History of Mesopotamia “Mesopotamia literally means ‘between the rivers’ in ancient Greek. The oldest known occurrence of the name Mesopotamia dates to the 4^th century BC, when it was used to designate the land east of the Euphrates in north Syria. Later it was more generally applied to all the lands between the Euphrates and the Tigris, thereby incorporating not only parts of Syria but also almost all of Iraq and SE Turkey. The neighboring steppes to the west of the Euphrates and the western part of the Zágros Mountains are also often included under the wider term Mesopotamia. A further distinction is usually made between Upper or N. Mesopotamia and Lower or S. Mesopotamia. Upper Mesopotamia, also known as the Jazíra, is the area between the Euphrates and the Tigris from their sources down to Baghdad. Lower Mesopotamia is the area from Baghdad to the Persian Gulf.”

Prior to Aramaic, the main language of the ancient Near East was Akkádian, an East Semitic Afro-Asiatic language, now extinct.  Holman Bible Dictionary: Akkadian “Akkadian was the international language of diplomacy & commerce in the Near East before 1000 BC.”  Wikipedia: Akkadian Language “Its gradual replacement by Akkadian-influenced Old Aramaic among Mesopotamians.”  The ancient Old Aramaic period was c 1000–700 BC.  (Historians differ some in their period designations/dates.)

The OT term for “Aramaic language”, Aramíth Strongs h762 Hebrew (rendered “Syrian language” in the LXX), occurs 4 times: 2Ki.18:26, Is.36:11, Da.2:4, Ezr.4:7.  The term for a Syrian/Aramean person is Arammíy h761, 11 occurrences.  Aram h758 is both a man’s name and the Syrian region, occurring over 100 times.  Mesopotamia/Arám Naharáyim h763 (Aram-of-the-two-rivers, rendered Mesopotamia in the LXX), occurs 6 times: Ge.24:10, De.23:4, Jdg.3:8, 10, 1Ch.19:6, Ps.60:1.

Ge.12:5 Abrám (born c 2100 BC) migrated to the land of Canaan from Harrán (Akkadian “Harránu”), which was in the region of Aram.  Harran is in far south Turkey, 10 miles from the north Syrian border.

Abraham told his servant in Ge.24:2-4, “Don’t take a wife for my son from the Canaanites, among whom I live; but go to my country to my relatives and take a wife for Isaac”.  v.10 “He went to Aram-of-the-two-rivers, the city of Nahór.”  The city of Abraham’s brother Nahor was in N. Mesopotamian Syria, 400 miles distant.  The servant brought back Rebekah for Isaac.  Ge.25:20 “Isaac was 40 years old when he took Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuél the Aramean of Paddán-Arám, the sister of Labán the Aramean [Arammiy h761].”  Bethuel, the son of Nahor, was Abraham’s nephew (Ge.22:20-23).  Then Ge.28:5 “Isaac sent Jacob to Paddan-Aram,to Laban, son of Bethuel the Aramean.”  Jacob later brought back his wives, daughters of Laban on the Syrian “plain of Aram”…to the land of Canaan.

Of the Israelites’ ancestor, De.26:5 “My father was a wandering Aramean”.  Referring to the semi-nomad Abraham, or Jacob.  Abraham and grandson Jacob (born c 1950 BC) had spent several years in Aram/Syria.  Ge.14:13 Abram the “Hebrew” (Ibríy h5680) descended from Eber.  The term “Hebrew”, Ibriy h5680, occurs 34 times in the OT.  But that OT term always meant a people, not a language!

Circa 1865 BC, Laban and Jacob made a “heap of witness” at Mizpáh of Gilead, E. of the Jordan River (Jephtháh later lived there, Jg.11:34).  Ge.31:44-47 “They took stones and made a heap, and ate there. Laban called it Jegár–sahaduthá, but Jacob called it Galéed.”  Laban the Aramean called the memorial by a pre-Aramaic word, but Jacob called it by a pre-Hebrew word.  Jacob had learned both developing dialects growing up in Canaan, pre-Hebrew and his mother Rebekah’s pre-Aramaic.

Later, God’s nation of ancient Israel knew the developing Old Hebrew dialect (and Phoenician) in the Land of Canaan.  In 1954 AD, Solomon Birnbaum coined the term “Paleo-Hebrew alphabet” for the Old Hebrew.  The Old Hebrew script would be used from c 1000–500 BC to record Biblical texts.

There’s no evidence that Old/Paleo Hebrew was spoken in Mesopotamia.  Cambridge Bible Ge.11:1 “That Hebrew was the primitive language….has been disproved by the scientific comparative study of languages, and of Hebrew and the Semitic languages in particular.”  The ‘Old Hebrew’ alphabet script became a Canaanite language of (south) Canaan.  Is.19:18 “language of Canaan”, Israel’s language. 

Historians say the Phoenician language was spoken in north Canaan.  Phoenícia was a 150-mile coastal region.  (cf. Mk.7:26 “the woman was a Syrian-Phoenician”.)  Phoenicia included the cities of Tyre, Byblos, Sidón .  Ge.10:15 Sidon was the firstborn son of Canaan.  Old Hebrew and Phoenician were very similar; both contained the same 22 (consonantal) letters.  Aramaic too has 22.  Wikipedia: Paleo-Hebrew Alphabet “There is no difference between Paleo-Hebrew vs Phoenician letter shapes.”

Wikipedia: Old Aramaic “Emerging as the language of the city-states of the Arameans in the Levant in the early Iron Age [c 1000 BC]. From the 10^th century BC, the alphabet seems to be based on the Phoenician alphabet. From 700 BC, different dialects emerged in Assyria, Babylonia, the Levant and Egypt. The Akkadian-influenced Aramaic of Assyria, and then Babylon, started to come to the fore.”  Circa 800 BC, Aramaic was becoming the trade language of the Near East.  It generally was spoken by Syrians, Assyrians, Chaldeans, etc., E. of the Euphrates.  (cf. “Patriarchs’ Bronze Age Languages”.)

encyclopedia.com aramaic-language “Aramaic is the general name for various dialects often difficult to classify.” 

Canaanite is the general name/class for the Hebrew, Phoenician, Moabite, Edomite, Ammonite dialects; these developed gradually and were ‘mutually intelligible’. 

Presently, no Old Aramaic or Old Hebrew inscriptions have been discovered that predate 1000 BC; all are more recent!  No evidence has been found yet as proof either script existed prior to 1000 BC.

Ancient Jews called their language Judahite (Jehudíth h3066), not “Hebrew” (Ibriy h5680).  Jehudith occurs 6 times in the OT: 2Ki.18:26-28, Is.36:11-13, 2Ch.32:18, Ne.13:24.  2Ki.18:26-28 Jewish officials in Jerusalem wanted the threatening Assyrian commander Rabshakéh to speak to them in Aramaic (Aramith h762), not Judahite/Judean, so as not to frighten people on the wall.  In King Hezekiah’s day, 700 BC, common Jews in Judah didn’t speak Aramaic.  However, the Jewish officials understood Aramaic, the language of diplomacy in the Near East from c 800 BC (after Akkadian).

Nowhere in the OT is the language of Israelites/Jews called the ‘Hebrew language’!  James F. Driscoll Hebrew Language and Literature “The name Hebrew [Hebraistí g1447, Greek] as applied to the language is quite recent in Biblical usage, occurring for the first time in the Greek Prologue of Ecclesiásticus [Wisdom of Sirách], about 130 BC.”  Not occurring until that book in the Apócrypha.

In 721 BC, the northern kingdom of Israel was deported to Assyria.  2Ki.17:23-24 “Israel was exiled from their land to Assyria.”  Aramaic-speaking foreigners from Babylon etc. were brought into north Israel.  They’d assimilate as the “Samaritans”.  (see the topic “Israelite Deportations By Assyria”.)

In 597 BC, the southern kingdom of Judah was taken captive to Babylon, the next empire.  Je.10:11 is in Aramaic…Jeremiah was telling his Jewish people what to say to their Aramaic-speaking captors. 

Aramaic was the lingua franca of both the Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian (Chaldean) empires.  Israelites and Jews learned to speak Aramaic in their places of captivity beyond the Euphrates.  The Aramaic language was also called Cháldee (a misnomer?).  Easton’s Bible Dictionary “Chaldee is the Aramaic dialect, as it is sometimes called, as distinguished from the Hebrew dialect.”  Aramaic was also the official language of the Persian/Achaeménid Empire (559–333 BC), which followed.  The period of Old Aramaic (c 1000–700 BC) evolved into the period of Imperial/Official Aramaic (c 700–300 BC).

Wikipedia: Biblical Aramaic “King Darius the Great declared Imperial Aramaic to be the official language of the western half of his empire in 500 BC, and it forms the basis of Biblical Aramaic.”   

God inspired some scriptures of the OT from this time to be written in Aramaic.  The following chapters were written in Aramaic: Da.2:4b-7:28, Ezr.4:8-6:18, 7:12-26.

Of the total verses comprising Daniel & Ezra, 56% are written in Hebrew, 44% in Aramaic.  Jews then knew Aramaic.  Da.2:4 “The Chaldeans spoke to King Nebuchadnézzar in Aramaic [Aramith h762].”  Ezr.4:7 “The text of the letter was written in Aramaic [Aramith].”  To Artaxérxes, king of Persia.

{Sidelight: The Divine Name or Tetragrámmaton YHVH (h3068) occurs 6,500 times in the OT.  But the Name never occurs in any of the OT Aramaic chapters.  It seems that Daniel and Ezra weren’t ‘sacred name’ advocates who thought that God’s (Old Hebrew) Name must be commonly used!}

The hand from God even wrote in Aramaic the “handwriting on the wall” (539 BC)!  Da.5:24-28 “This is the written inscription: ‘MÉNE, MÉNE, TÉKEL, UPHÁRSIN.”  The words are monetary weights.  The wise men of Babylon spoke Aramaic, but Daniel could decipher the writing.  Wikipedia: Belshazzar’s Feast “The Chaldean wise men are unable to…interpret it. As Aramaic was written with consonants alone, they may have lacked any context in which to make sense of them.” 

Jews began returning to the Land of Canaan from captivity in 538 BC.  They returned with Zerubabbél, Ezra, Nehemiah.  These returnees brought the Aramaic language with them to the Land of Canaan. 

By the time of Nehemiah (450 BC), many Israelites and Jews no longer knew Judahite.  Ne.13:24  “As for their children…none of them was able to speak in the language of Judah [Jehudith h3066].”

The Holman Christian Standard Bible indicates they “could not speak Hebrew”.  Benson Commentary Ne.13:24 “The language which the Jews then spoke was Chaldee; this language they learned in their captivity, and after their return never assumed their ancient Hebrew tongue.”  Commoners didn’t resume the lip of Canaan or Judahite in Judea.  Pulpit Commentary Ne.13:24 “All the children [450 BC] spoke a jargon half Ashdódite and half Aramaic.”  (Áshdod was on the old Philistine coast.)

Ne.8:1-8 Ezra the priest-scribe read publically the Hebrew scriptures in Jerusalem on Rosh Hashánah.  v.8 “They read from the book of the law of God, translating so the people could understand.”  The returnees no longer could read the Judahite scriptures.  Pulpit Commentary Ne.8:8 “They translated the Hebrew words into the popular Aramaic or Chaldee.”  Ellicott Commentary “They naturally translated into the vernacular Aramaic dialect.”  Aramaic was the trade language of the then Persian Empire.

Some Bible scholars think that Ezra translated (or redacted) OT books into Aramaic/Chaldee.  Talmud: Sanhedrin 21b “In the times of Ezra, the Torah was given in Áshuri [Neo-Assyrian] script and Aramaic language.”  Juanjo Gabina How Similar Was the Phoenician Language to the Hebrew Language? “The ‘Paleo-Hebrew’ language is a Canaanite Phoenician language with writing. As evidenced by the Samaritan Torah that preserves these ancient [Old Hebrew] texts. According to tradition, Ezra adopted the square script of the Aramaic alphabet instead of the Canaanite Phoenician, nicknamed the Paleo-Hebrew [1954 AD], during the post-exile restoration of Israel in the 5^th century BC. When the Aramaic alphabet became the Hebrew alphabet, Hebrew parchments were written mainly in Aramaic characters.”

{{Sidelight: The Jewish philosopher Philo (c 20 BC – 50 AD) lived in Alexandria, Egypt.  Philo On the Life of Moses 2:5:26 “In olden time [450 BC?] the laws were written in the Chaldean language, and for a long time they remained in the same condition as at first, not changing their language.”  Then prior to 132 BC, Jewish scholars translated the OT into the old Greek version.  ibid 2:7:38-40 “In the case of this translation of the law, exactly corresponding Greek words were employed to translate literally the appropriate Chaldáic words, being adapted with exceeding propriety to the matters which were to be explained. If Chaldeans were to learn the Greek language, and if Greeks were to learn Chaldean, and if each were to meet with those scriptures in both languages, namely, the Chaldaic and the translated version, they would admire and reverence them both as sisters, or rather as one and the same….to go along with the most pure spirit of Moses.”  ibid 2:41:224 “The Passover is celebrated, which in the Chaldaic language is called páscha.”  Philo On the Embassy to Gaius 1:4 “This nation of the suppliants is in the Chaldaic language called Israel.”  Marg Mowczko The Septuagint “Philo refers to the original language of the Old Testament as Chaldean rather than Hebrew.”  Ezra had translated the OT into Chaldee?  (And Philo didn’t use the Greek term Hebraís, “Hebrew” g1446 noun, to refer to Aramaic.)}}

Omniglot: Paleo-Hebrew “By the 6^th century BC the Paleo-Hebrew alphabet was gradually replaced by the Imperial Aramaic alphabet, which developed into the Hebrew square script.”  The Ashuri script.

In 330 BC, Greece conquered the Persian Empire.  Greek became the trade language for the Grecian Empire.  No longer was it the Aramaic of the Persian Empire.  Koine/common Greek, a (Hellénic) Indo-European language, was now spoken.  Many Jews in the diáspora (dispersion) accepted Greek culture, becoming Héllenized and speaking Greek.  Some continued to speak Aramaic.  Most Jews in Judea kept speaking Aramaic.  During this period, regional dialects of Imperial Aramaic began to emerge.

Most Jews everywhere no longer knew the lip of Canaan, Old Hebrew Judahite.  So Jews translated all the OT scriptures into koine Greek.  This old Greek version was completed before 132 BC.  Literate Greek-speaking Jews in the diaspora could then read the OT text!  The old Greek version later became our Septuagint/LXX.  The LXX wouldn’t have been so needed if most Jews still knew Judahite.

The Grecian Empire lasted until the 1^st century BC.  The Roman Empire followed. The Greek language continued as the commercial language of the Roman Empire too.  (Latin would become the language of the Roman army and higher administration.)  Many Jews, Hellenists, spoke Greek.

This topic is continued and concluded in “Aramaic in the Bible (2) – New Testament”.  It notes the Aramaic Tárgums, Aramaic words seen in the gospel accounts, and traces Aramaic to the present day.

Watchers and Gen. 6 ‘Sons of God’ (1)

Several types and classes of spirits/spirit beings are seen within the pages of the Bible.

First, God is (a) spirit, Jn.4:24.  Of spirit essence.  God is holy.  The ascended Jesus is spirit, at Father God’s right hand in heaven (He.1:3).  God is the “Father of spirits” (He.12:9); His created heavenly host is composed of spirit beings.  God “makes His angels spirits” (Ps.104:4 Septúagint/LXX, He.1:7).  One class of spirit beings are the cherubim/cherúbs (Ge.3:24).  Another class is the seraphim/seráphs (Is.6:1-7).  Also there were 24 elders seen at God’s throne in heaven (Re.4:4).  And God has given each of us humans our human spirit (Is.42:5).  “There is a spirit in man” (Jb.32:8).  See the topic “Spirits – Made by God in Light” for description of those spirits/spirit beings.

The Watchers were another group of sprit beings.  Wikipedia: Watcher “Watcher is a term used in connection with Biblical angels.”  The Hebrew Old Testament (OT) term rendered “watcher” in our English Bibles is iyr, Strongs h5894.  It occurs only 3 times, all in Daniel chapter 4…Da.4:13-17, 23.

The term “watcher” may reflect their job description or ready alertness as a sentinel.  Da.4:13 LXX “I saw in the night vision a watcher, a holy one [hágios Strongs g39, Greek], came down from heaven.”  JFB Commentary Da.4:13 “Called a ‘watcher’, because ever on the watch to execute God’s will.”  Daniel calls this watcher a “holy one”, a saint.  Poole Commentary Da.4:13 “A watcher is meant an angel, the instrument of God…to execute His judgments, which they watch constantly to perform.”  Gill Exposition “One of the holy angels that never sinned, nor left their first estate [cf. Jude 1:6 KJV].”

Da.4:17 “This sentence is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand is a word of the holy ones.”  Watchers were given mandate to execute decrees.  JFB Commentary Da.4:17 “A solemn council of the heavenly ones is supposed (cf. Job 1:6, 2:1), over which God presides supreme. His ‘decree’ and ‘word’ are therefore said to be theirs (cf. Da 4:24 ‘decree of the Most High’).”  Barnes Notes Da.4:17 “The watchers…as entrusted with the execution of the high and important designs of God.”

Ps.89:6-7 “Who in the heavens compares to the Lord? Who among the sons of God [El h410] is like the Lord? A God [h410] greatly feared in the council of the holy ones, and awesome above all who are around Him.”  In God’s heavenly council are “sons of God” the “Father of spirits” (He.12:9).  Ellicott Commentary Ps.89:6-7 “Sons of God’ – i.e. angels. For a picture of the court of heaven see Job 1:6.”  Cambridge Bible Ps.89:6 “The angels form the council of the great King.”  JFB Commentary Ps.89:7 “The congregation of saints or holy ones; that is, angels.”  Watcher angels were among the holy ones.

But according to scripture (and other ancient sources), some angels or watchers committed trespass.

Jb.15:15 “Behold, He [the Lord] puts no trust in His holy ones; the heavens are not pure in His sight.”  Heavenly angels had sinned!  Pulpit Commentary Jb.15:15 “As in Job 5:1, speaks not of holy men, but of holy angels.”  Poole Commentary Jb.15:15 “His angels, as appears by comparing Job 4:18.”

Jb.4:18 “He [God] charges His angels [h4397 maláwk] with error.”  Compare Jb.4:18 in the LXX. “He perceives perverseness in His angels [g32 ággelos].”  This verse too shows that angels had committed folly.  JFB Commentary Jb.4:18 “Imperfection is to be attributed to the angels, in comparison with Him [God]. The holiness of some of them had given way (2Pet.2:4).”  Some angels were no longer “holy ones”.  Gill Exposition Jb.4:18 “They must be understood of angels, as the following clause explains it [Jb.4:19].”  Cambridge Bible Jb.4:18 “His [God’s] heavenly ministers.”  Not all the watchers had continued as “holy ones”.  Not all were good and righteous, entirely devoted to God.  Benson Commentary Col.1:16 “…Orders of angels, both those that stood and those that fell.”

New Testament (NT) writers also wrote of angels that had fallen from holiness, having sinned.  2Pe.2:4 “God did not spare the angels when they sinned, but cast them down to the abyss [Tártarus, Greek] in chains of darkness, to be held for judgment.”  When did their sin occur?  Ellicott Commentary 2Pe.2:4 “What sin is meant? Not that which preceded the history of the human race. More probably, to distinct and frequent statements in the Book of Enoch that certain angels sinned by having intercourse with women.”  Cambridge Bible 2Pe.2:4 “The degradation of their nature by sensual lust, as in Gen.6:2…it seems probable.”  Compare Ge.6:1-17, the prelude to Noah’s Flood.  Meyer NT Commentary 2Pe.2:4 “What sin the apostle refers to is only faintly hinted at…the example of the flood immediately follows [v.5]. It cannot be doubted that the sin meant here is the same as that of which Jude speaks.”

Here’s the parallel passage in Jude. Jde.1:6 “Angels who did not stay within their own principality, but abandoned their proper dwelling, He kept in eternal chains under darkness.”  This verse also is thought to relate to the watchers in 1Enoch.  (Jde.1:14-15 even quotes 1Eno.1:9!)  Expositor’s Greek Testament Jde.1:6 “Cf. Eno.12:4 of the Watchers (angels) who abandoned the high heaven and defiled themselves with women.”  Pulpit Commentary Jde.1:6 “The sin suggested by the context is… a sin against nature. That some angels, yielding to the beauty of the daughters of men, forsook their own kingdom, and entered into unnatural relations with them.”  Angel spirit beings are a different kind, not human flesh.

Scottish theologian William Barclay (1907-1978) said, “Some angels with the glory of heaven as their own had come to earth and corrupted mortal women with their lust (Gen.6:2). Indeed, if Jude and 2 Peter were not referring to Genesis 6, then, pray tell, to what are they referring?”  Barclay’s comment reflects the traditional majority view of Genesis 6 held in the early centuries of the church.

Barnes Notes Da.4:13 “He was one of the class of ‘watchers’ who were ranked as holy, as if there were others to whom the name ‘watcher’ might be applied who were not holy.”  A number of angels or watchers had sinned, according to other ancient writings too.

Cambridge Bible Da.4:13 “Watcher’…is of frequent occurrence in the Book of Enoch [1Enoch], where it is applied usually (1:5, 10:9, 15, 12:4, 13:10, 14:1, 3, 15:2, 16:1-2, 91:15) to the fallen angels, but it is also (12:3, and perhaps 12:2) used of the holy angels.”  The (somewhat fragmentary) book of 1Enoch is included in the Bible canons of the Ethiopian and Eritréan Orthodox churches (again, cf. Jude 1:14).

The book of 1Enoch contains 108 chapters.  Wikipedia: Book of Enoch “The older sections (mainly in the Book of the Watchers [chpts 1–36]) of the text are estimated to date from 300–200 BCE. A short section of 1 Enoch (1:9) is cited in the NT Jude 1:14-15, and is attributed to ‘Enoch the seventh from Adam.”  Jude numbered Enoch’s generation directly from 1Eno.60:8 where Noah said, “My grandfather [Enoch] was taken up, the seventh from Adam”.  Jude also said Enoch “prophesied” (Jde.1:14).

Let’s look at some of the verses in 1Enoch applicable to this issue.  1Eno.1:4-5 “The eternal God will tread upon the earth….The Watchers shall quake.”  1Eno.6:1-2, 6 “When the children of men had multiplied, in those days were born unto them beautiful daughters. The angels, the children of heaven, saw and lusted after them, and said to one another: ‘Come, let us choose us wives from among the children of men and beget us children….And they were in all 200; who descended in the days of Jared [Enoch’s father, Ge.5:18-19] on the summit of Mt. Hermon.”  200 Watchers took human ‘wives’.

1Eno.12:2-4 “His [Enoch’s] activities had to do with the Watchers, and his days with the holy ones. The Lord of majesty said to me: ‘Enoch, you scribe of righteousness, go declare to the Watchers who have left the high heaven, and have defiled themselves with women, and have done as children of earth do, and taken to themselves wives.”  Enoch said in 1Eno.14:1-3, “The holy Great One…has given me the power of reprimanding the Watchers, the children of heaven”.

Celestial beings weren’t to marry or beget children on earth.  In Mk.12:25, Jesus implied that angels in heaven aren’t to marry.  Compare Mk.12:25 with the Lord’s remark to sinful Watchers in 1Eno.15:6-7. “You were spiritual, living the eternal life…and therefore I have not appointed wives for you.”  But any capability of angels to have sexual relations with women isn’t addressed by Jesus.  It seems those Watchers engaged in a form of incubus with women.  (cf. Tobit 6:14 “A wicked spirit loves her”; Ge.19:1, 4-7 sex with a different kind.)

1Eno.7:1-6 “They [the Watchers’ human wives] became pregnant, and bare great giants. And when men could no longer sustain them, the giants turned against them and devoured mankind. They began to sin against birds, beasts, reptiles and fish, and to devour one another’s flesh and drink the blood.”  (Fee-Fi-Fo-Fum…the blood?!)  The watchers’ human wives bore hybrid children of mixed kind.

1Eno.88 relates to the punishment of those Watcher angels.  1Eno.88:3 “…Bound them all hand & foot and cast them in an abyss of the earth.”  Then 1Eno.91:15 “There shall be the great eternal judgment, in which He will execute vengeance among the angels.”  1Eno.20:2 “Uriel, one of the holy angels, is over the world and over Tartarus.”  1Eno.21:9-10 “Uriel answered me [Enoch]…This place is the prison of the angels.”  The Watchers who sinned were imprisoned in the Tartarus abyss.

Ref 2Pe.2:4 again. “For if God did not spare the angels when they sinned, but cast them down to the abyss [Tartarus, Greek] in chains of darkness, to be held for judgment.”  This verse ties to the account in 1Enoch.  We saw that Jde.1:6, 14-15 also ties to the book and prophecy attributed to Enoch.

But what of the Watchers’ offspring, the giants?  The Lord said to Enoch in 1Eno.15:8, “The giants, who are produced from the spirits [Watchers] and flesh [women], shall be called evil spirits upon the earth”.  v.11 “The spirits of the giants afflict…and work destruction upon the earth.”  The giants fate….

1Eno.10:1-2 “The Most High sent Uriel to the son of Lamech [Noah, Ge.5:28-29]…‘A deluge is about to come upon the earth.”  Noah’s Flood will drown the giant offspring of the union between Watchers and women.  v.9 “To Gabriel said the Lord, ‘Destroy the children of the Watchers from among men.”

Ge.6:1-4 relates to the giants.  v.4 “The Nephílim [LXX giants] were on the earth in those days, and also afterwards, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men.”  The Hebrew term “Nephilim” is Strongs h5303.  It meant ‘giant, bully, tyrant’.  The root term is naphál h5307, meaning ‘to fall’.  The term nephilim h5303 only occurs in Ge.6:4 and Nu.13:33.

The Jewish translators of the Hebrew OT into the Old Greek version (now the LXX) used the term “gigántes” Strongs g1095.2…“giant”.  It occurs 30 times in the LXX: Ge.6:4, 10:8-9, 14:5; Nu.13:33; De.1:28; Jsh.12:4, 13:12; 2Sa.21:18, 22; 1Ch.1:10, 11:15, 14:9, 13, 20:4-8; Jb.26:5; Ps.19:5, 33:16; Pr.21:16; Is.3:2, 13:3, 14:9; 49:24-25; Ezk.32:12, 21, 27, 39:18-20.

Cambridge Bible Nu.13:33 “If the Nephilim were thought of as superhuman or semi-divine beings, the spies may have used the name to heighten the effect of their description of the ‘sons of Anák’ (v.28).”  Josephus Antiquities of the Jews 3:14:2 “They [the spies] told them also that they found at Hebrón the posterity of the giants.”  Israelites viewing the land of Canáan were affrighted at the sight of them!

This topic is continued & concluded in “Watchers and Gen. 6 ‘Sons of God’ (2)”.  There we’ll examine more the expression “sons of God”, as found in the OT.  And we’ll look at surviving documentation from other ancient sources to see their interpretation.  Did they understand those “sons of God” to be human men…or angels?

 

Michael in the Bible

Who is Michaél?  Jewish Encyclopedia: Angelólogy “The 70 nations of Gen.10 each had their guardian angel in heaven; Michael, the guardian angel of Israel, ranks above the rest.”  ReligionWiki “Roman Catholic tradition calls [St] Michael, Gabriel and Raphael archangels.”  Wikipedia: Michael “Within Protestantism, Anglican and Methodist tradition recognizes four archangels: Michael, Raphael, Gabriel and Uriel.”

However, some Protestants and other groups don’t position Michael in the order of angels.  They don’t believe Michael is a created angel.  This topic examines their view from the Bible.

Writers of the Bible books occasionally would use a symbolic, poetic, secondary or changed name for a place, instead of its usual name.  For example, a poetic name for Israel is Jeshurún, meaning ‘upright one’.  De.33:5 “He was king in Jeshurun, the tribes of Israel together.”  It appears a poetic or symbolic name for Jerusalem is Ariel, ‘lioness of God’.  Is.29:1 “Woe to Ariel, the city where David dwelt.”  Jerusalem also came to be called Zion.  Ps.51:8 “Do good to Zion; build the walls of Jerusalem.”

And some Bible characters have more than one name.  For example: Abrám/Abrahám Ge.17:5 “Your name is no more called Abram, your name shall be Abraham.”   Jacob/Israel Ge.32:28 “Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel.”  Saul/Paul Ac.13:9 “Saul, who was also known as Paul.”

In the Bible, our Savior (Lk.2:11) has many, many titles and names.  e.g: Jesus/Yeshúa Mt.1:21, Emmanuél Mt.1:23, Christ/Messiah Mt.1:16/Jn.1:41, Word/Lógos Jn.1:1,14, Branch Je.23:5, Angel/Messenger Ga.4:14, Rock 1Co.10:4, Son of Man Mt.12:8, Son of God Mt.8:29.  And more.

A theóphany is an appearance of the Deity to man.  Many believe that Melchisedek, who appeared to Abram in Ge.14:18-20, is a theophany.  He.7:1-4 “Melchisedek, likened to the Son of God, how great this (one) was, to whom Abraham gave a tenth.”  He was even Abraham’s superior!  Many think the theophany or christophany Melchisedek was a manifestation of the Word/Logos before becoming Jesus.

The name “Michael” (Strongs h4317, Hebrew) occurs 13 times in the Old Testament (OT), 10 times as a theophóric (a human name with the name/title of God embedded in it).  The 3 verses where Michael doesn’t refer to a human are in Daniel 10:13, 21, 12:1.  There are 2 New Testament (NT) occurrences of this Michael (g3413, Greek); Jude 9, Re.12:7.  Michael means ‘Who is like God’.

In Daniel 10, it is thought that the angel Gabriel (cf. Da.8:16, 9:21) came to help Daniel.  Gabriel said in Da.10:13 Youngs Literal Translation (YLT), “Michael, first of the chief heads [or princes h8269 sar], has come to help me”.  Barnes Notes Da.10:13 “The first in rank.”  The reformers’ Geneva Bible 1599 “Michael, that is, Jesus Christ the head of angels.”  Benson Commentary “Michael, whose name is sometimes given to Christ Himself.”  Matthew Poole Commentary “Michael, this we take to be Christ.”

Da.10:20-21 YLT “There is not one strengthening himself with me, concerning these, except Michael your head [h8269 prince].”  Gill Exposition Da.10:21 “Michael your Prince; Christ the Prince of the kings of the earth, he was the Prince, Protector, and Guardian of the people of the Jews; he is the Angel [of the Lord/YHVH] that went before them in the wilderness, their King and their God.”

The Hebrew “sar” (h8269) is translated as “head, prince, commander, chief, captain, ruler”.

Da.12:1-2 YLT “’At that time Michael the great head [h8269], is standing up for the sons of thy people. And the multitude of those sleeping in the dust of the earth do awake.”  He stands prior to resurrection.  Matthew Henry Commentary “Michael signifies the Divine Savior. Christ stood for the children of our people.”  Gill Exposition “The Archangel, the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, who is as God, as the name signifies, truly and really God.”  Benson Commentary “The Messiah, not…a created angel.”

The five commentaries above say Michael is another of Jesus’ names.  Let’s compare other scriptures to see if Michael could indeed have been another name of Jesus (Yeshua in Hebrew & Aramaic).

Is.9:6 is a messianic prophecy about the “Sar Shalom”, the Prince (h8269) of Peace.  “A Child will be born to us. His name will be called Wonderful, Mighty God, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace.”  Jesus is the prophesied Prince of Peace, the Sar Shalom.

We saw a mighty spiritual Prince/Head/Commander (sar h8269) in Da.10:13, 20-21.  Another passage about the “Commander” (or Prince/Head h8269) of the “host” (h6635) is Da.8:11. “The little horn even set itself up to be as great as the Commander [h8269] of the host of the Lord.”  Da.8:25 “He will even oppose the Prince of princes [Commander of commanders, all are h8269]. Yet he will be shattered, but not by human hands.”  The great Commander/Prince/Head of the Lord’s army does the shattering!

In Jsh.5:13-15, the Commander (Prince/Head/Chief h8269) of YHVH’s angelic host appeared to Joshua, saying, “I have come as Commander of the Lord’s army [host h6635]. Remove your sandals, for the place where you stand is holy”.  Orthodox Bible note, “The chief whom tradition holds to be the Archangel Michael.”  Pulpit Commentary “The majority supposed it to have been the archangel Michael. He who spoke to Joshua was a Divine Person.”  So it was mandatory that Joshua remove his sandals.  The place where the Commander stood was holy.  Joshua fell on his face in reverence.

Moses’ experience in Ex.3:1-6 is similar to Joshua’s in that respect.  “The Angel [Messenger h4397 malákh] of YHVH appeared to him in a blazing fire from a bush. God called to him from the midst of the bush. ‘Remove your sandals for you are standing on holy ground. I Am the God of your fathers.”  The Angel or Messenger of YHVH is also God!  Moses must remove his sandals, as Joshua must!

Alfred Edersheim The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Appendix 13, 1:2:b “Michael is also supposed to have been the Angel in the bush.”  Orthodox Bible “God the Word revealed Himself to Moses in the burning bush. He is called the Angel of the Lord because He is the Angel or Messenger of the Father.”  Is.9:6 Septúagint/LXX “His name will be called the Messenger of Great Counsel, and of His peace there is no end.”  Paul wrote of his own welcome in Ga.4:14. “You received me as an angel [or messenger g32 ángelos] of God, as Christ Jesus.”  Yet Jesus is God and not a created angel.

Humans aren’t to worship the angelic order.  John said regarding the angel in Re.19:10, “I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, ‘Don’t do this, I am a fellow-servant.”  Re.22:8-9 “I, John, fell down to worship at the feet of the angel. But he said to me, ‘Don’t do this.”  Yet God/Jesus is to be worshiped!  He.1:6 “Let all the angels of God worship Him.”  Joshua fell on his face and must remove his sandals in the presence of Commander Michael.  Again, Michael means ‘Who is like God’.

In scripture, a spiritual being of the angelic order is an attendant, agent, or messenger for God.  Jesus said in Re.22:16 YLT, “I, Jesus, did send [g3992 pémpo] My messenger [angel g32 angelos] to testify these things”.  But beings of the angelic order aren’t the only messengers.

Humans too can be messengers.  Ge.32:3 “Jacob sent messengers [malakh h4397] to Esau his brother.”  Homing pigeons are used as messengers.  There’s messenger dogs (e.g. German Shepherd, Doberman, Airedale).  The term angel/messenger/angelos doesn’t always refer to the angelic order (ref Ga.4:14).

Jesus is Father God’s Messenger!  Jesus said in Jn.8:16, “I and the Father who sent [g3992] Me”.

The Messenger of YHVH was sent by Father YHVH.  God’s Word transl Ge.16:7, 13 “The Messenger of the LORD found her by a spring in the desert….Hagar named the LORD, who had been speaking to her, ‘You Are the God Who Watches Over Me.”  The Messenger was God!  Jacob in Ge.31:11-13, “In a dream the Messenger of God called to me, ‘I Am the God who appeared to you at Bethél”.

In the Péntateuch, the Angel or Messenger of God…is God!  cf. Ex.13:21 & 14:19!  Zec.12:8 LXX “The house of David will be as the house of God, as the angel of the Lord before them.”

Zec.3:1-2 “He showed me Yehoshúa [Joshua] the chief priest standing in front of the Messenger of the Lord. Satan was standing at Yehoshua’s right side to accuse him. The Lord said to Satan, ‘The Lord rebuke you.”  The Messenger or Angel of the Lord who spoke was the Lord (YHVH)!

Those exact words (“The Lord rebuke you”) were spoken in only one other verse of the Bible.  Jude 9 “When Michael the archangel disputed with the devil over the body of Moses, he said, ‘The Lord rebuke you.”  Michael is the archangel or Chief Messenger, the great Head/Prince (Da.12:1).  Perhaps their dispute had to do with whether or not Moses was guilty for killing the Egyptian (Ex.2:11-15)?  Only Michael’s words in Jude 9 parallel the words of the Messenger/Angel of the Lord (“the Lord”) in Zec.3:1-2.  Gill Exposition Jude 9 “By whom is meant the Lord Jesus Christ, not a created angel, as appears from His name Michael, who is as God, the Son of God.”

The only archangel (g743 archángelos, Greek) named in our Bible is…Michael!  The term archangel is never plural in scripture.  Gabriel & Lucifer aren’t specifically called archangels in the Bible.  Edersheim op.cit. “The superiority of Michael over Gabriel [Strong Man of God] is asserted in Ber.4 b.”

Michael again opposes satan the devil/dragon in Re.12:7. “There was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought.”  Matthew Henry Commentary “The parties were Christ, the great Angel of the covenant, and his faithful followers; and Satan and his instruments.”  Michael is the Commander or leader of his angels (or host).  And in Mt.25:41, Jesus spoke of “The agelong [aiónios g166] fire prepared for the devil and his angels”.

Similar is Mt.13:41. “The Son of Man will send forth His angels.”  Both Michael and Jesus the Son of Man is Commander of the angelic order.  Mt.24:30-31 “The Son of Man will send forth His angels with a great trumpet blast.”  Do Jesus and Michael the Archangel command two separate groups of ‘good’ angels…or is it the same innumerable group?  And satan the devil/dragon commands over all the ‘bad’ angels.  From those verses, Jesus the Son of Man and Michael appear to be the same.

We saw back in Da.12:1-2 that Michael stands up and resurrection occurs.  “Many to everlasting life but others to shame and everlasting abhorrence.”  In Mt.24:30-31, the elect are gathered as that great trumpet sounds.  1Th.4:16 “The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel [g743], and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise.”  The Lord blows the great trumpet.  (cf. Zec.9:14 “The Lord God shall blow the trumpet.”)  At the time the dead rise (Da.12:1-2 Michael), we see whose voice is heard, who the Archangel or Chief Messenger is….

Jesus follows-up on Da.12:1-2 in Jn.5:25-29, where He said “The dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God. All who are in the tombs shall hear His voice, and shall come forth; those who have done good to a resurrection of life, those who done evil to a resurrection of judgment.”  Jesus said the voice heard is that of He Himself, the Son of God!  In 1Th.4:16, the voice heard is that of the archangel, the Lord Himself descending.  Jesus and the Archangel appear one and the same…Michael (in Da.12:1-2)!

The term archangel (archangelos g743) or Chief Messenger occurs only twice in the entire Bible, in 1Th.4:16 and Jude 9.  (The term doesn’t appear in the Greek OT LXX).

A broad angelology and demonology with ranks & functions emerged in Judaism during the time of the Babylonian and Persian periods.  Two angels of note are Raphael (‘God heals’) and Uriel (‘Flame of God’).  Tobit 12:15 “I am Raphael, one of the seven holy angels who report the prayers of the saints, and enter before the glory of the Holy One.”  2Esdras 4:1 “The angel Uriel had been sent to me.”  (The apocalyptic 2Esdras was written in the 100s AD, too late to be included in the old Greek version, written 270–132 BC.)  In the decades prior to Jesus’ human birth, near the time of the Greek translation (which became the LXX), the Jews developed the more detailed angelology with names and categories of angelic beings.  ref 1Eno.9:1 Michael, Uriel, Raphael, Gabriel.  1Eno.40:8-10 has Phanuel (‘Face of God’), not Uriel.  2Eno.22:6 (written late 1^st century AD), “Michael, the Lord’s greatest archangel”.

But to the Jewish philosopher Philo (20 BC – 50 AD), the Lord/Word/Logos is the one supreme archangel.  Philo On Dreams, Book 1:25:157 at the top of Jacob’s ladder [Ge.28:12-13] stood “The archangel, the Lord Himself; the living God stands above all things”.  In Philo, there’s no indication of plural archangels.  He didn’t subscribe to four or seven archangels, seen elsewhere in Jewish thought.

Philo Who is the Heir of Divine Things 42:205 “The Father who created the universe has given to His archangelic and most ancient Logos a pre-eminent gift. This same Word is continually a suppliant to the immortal God on behalf of the mortal race.”  That Archangel is Jesus.  In the Bible (e.g. Jn.1:1, 14), Jesus is referred to as the Logos in Greek, the Word in English (the Mémra in Aramaic Targums).

Philo On the Confusion of Tongues 28:146 “His firstborn Logos, the eldest of the angels, the great archangel of many names, for He is called the Authority, and the Name of God, and the Word.”  (Again, Jesus has well more than a dozen names/titles in scripture.)

Also, the Dead Sea Scrolls 11Q13 document has Melchisedek as the leader of God’s angels, instead of Michael.  This DSS passage refers to Melchisedek as Elohím (God).  Wikipedia: 11Q13 “11QMelch is a fragmentary manuscript among the DSS which mentions Melchisedek as leader of God’s angels in a war in heaven [cf. Re.12:7] against the angels of darkness instead of the more familiar Archangel Michael…date of composition is circa 100 BCE. (Isa. 52:7) Melchizedek is ‘Your Elohim’ who will deliver the sons of righteousness from Belial [satan].”  (see the topic “Melchisedek Order Priesthood”.)

To summarize, comparing the above passages in the light of each other, many similarities are apparent:

Jesus is the prophesied Prince of Peace, and the Prince or Commander of the (angelic) host.  Michael is the first chief head, Commander, the Prince of princes.  Michael is the great Prince.  Michael means ‘Who is like God’.  The Angel/Messenger of the Lord, often seen in the Pentateuch, is ‘like God’.

In Jsh.5:15 & Ex.3:5, there was holy ground around both the Commander of the host and the Angel/Messenger of the Lord (who is like God) theophany.

In Zec.3:1-2 & Jude 9, the Angel/Messenger of the Lord who is “the Lord” and Michael the archangel both said to satan the devil, “The Lord rebuke you”.

In Mt.24:30-31 & Re.12:7, Jesus the Son of Man & Michael are both the leader of (the ‘good’) angels.

In Jn.5:25 & 1Th.4:16, the Voice heard when the dead rise is that of both Jesus the Son of God and the Archangel.

In Da.12:1-2 & Jn.5:27-29, both Michael & the Son of God connect to the rising of the just & unjust.

The 1^st century AD thought of Philo was…There exists only one supreme Archangel who is the Word or Logos, the Name of God, the Lord Himself.  The Bible passages support the Hellenist Philo’s view.

The DSS 11QMelch document refers to Melchisedek as God, and substitutes Melchisedek as leader of God’s angels instead of Michael (Re.12:7)/Son of Man (Mt.24:30-31).

Five Protestant commentaries were quoted (near the top) who endorsed the view that Michael is Jesus.  There’s more than those five.  conversationalfaith.org Michael the Archangel is Jesus “The belief that Michael is the Son of God is shared by many influential Protestants throughout history. John Calvin, Jonathan Edwards, Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole, Charles Spurgeon, John Gill, John Wesley all believed this to be true. As do the Geneva Study Bible and International Standard Bible Encyclopedia.”

Gill Exposition Da.10:13 “Michael…called in the New Testament an Archangel, the Prince of angels, the Head of all principality and power; is no other than Christ the Son of God; the first of the chief Princes; superior to angels in nature, name and office; the General of the armies in heaven.”  Jesus is God…He’s not an angelic being.  Jonathan Edwards Christ Exalted “This Michael is Christ (Da.10:21 and 12:1).”  John Wesley Notes Da.10:13, 21 “Michael here is commonly supposed to mean Christ. Michael-Christ alone is the protector of His church.”  According to Wesley, Protestants commonly believed Michael was Jesus Christ.  Charles Spurgeon Our Lord’s Transcendant Greatness “Our Lord, who is the true Michael, the only Archangel.”  Spurgeon The Angelic Life “Michael is the Lord Jesus.”

Jewish Encyclopedia: Michael “Michael is identified with Melchisedek. Michael, the high priest, is the standard-bearer of God. He announced to Sarah that she should bear a son (Gen.18:10). Michael prevented Isaac from being sacrificed by his father. It was Michael who wrestled with Jacob and afterward blessed him. Michael led the Israelites through their 40 years in the wilderness. Michael is on the right hand of God’s throne, at the right hand of God, occupying the first place near God.”

The above things attributed to Michael in the Jewish Encyclopedia are all attributed to God & Jesus in the Bible!  ref: Ge.14:18-19, He.7:1-4, 4:14 Jesus is high priest; Ge.18:1, 10 the announcement to Sarah was made by YHVH/the Lord; Ge.22:1, 10-12 the Angel of YHVH saved Isaac; Ge.32:24, 29-30 Jacob said he wrestled with God face-to-face; Ex.14:19 & 13:21 the Angel of God and YHVH in a pillar cloud led the Israelites; Ac.2:32-33 & Col.1:18 Jesus is at the right hand of God and is in first place.

Though our minds don’t fully comprehend theophanies/christophanies, the scriptural case can be made that supports the view…Michael is one of the many names/titles of Christ Jesus.  Again, one of Jesus’ names is Emmanu-el.  Micha-el is Jesus’ warrior name, as He fights & defeats the powers of darkness.

The scriptures (but not religious traditions/presuppositions) indicate that “Michael” may well be another or a symbolic or poetic name for Jesus the sole Archangel or Chief Messenger, who Father God sent.  also see the topics “Jesus Was the Old Testament God”, “Jesus Is God…Jesus Has a God”, “Heavenly Host Authorities and Powers”.

Lastly, this exposition isn’t based upon, nor did I utilize the literature of, any church or denominational teaching (such as Jehovah’s Witnesses or Seventh Day Adventist).

 

The Last Days

There are various eschatologies, interpretations and theories extant regarding the time of the “last days” referred to in the Bible.  And the time of the “last days” is also closely related to the Biblical “end of the age” (not the ‘end of the world/globe’) and the “coming” of Christ.

As we examine this topic…can we trust the Bible scriptures as being God-breathed?  2Ti.3:16 Paul wrote regarding the Old Testament (OT), “All scripture is inspired by God”.  God’s Holy Spirit (HS) doesn’t make mistakes.  But there are those who think not all scripture or Bible books are inspired by God.

Let’s look at New Testament (NT) writings about the last days, the end of the age, and Jesus’ coming.

Ac.2:16-17 “What you see was spoken by the prophet Joel, ‘It shall be in the last days.”  Circa (ca) 30 AD at Pentecost in Jerusalem, the apostle Peter indicated the HS outpouring they were seeing there was happening in the last days.

Ja.5:3 “In the last days you have stored-up your treasure.”  Writing in the 50s AD, Jesus’ relative James referred to that time as the last days.

He.1:1-2 “God in these last days has spoken to us by His Son.”  The writer to the Hebrews in the 60s AD called that time the last days.

He.9:26 “Now once in the end of the age [aión Strongs g165, Greek] has He [Christ] appeared.”  Christ’s 1^st century sacrifice (ca 30 AD) occurred in the end of the age.  (But which “age” or eon?)

1Co.10:11 “…things written for our admonition, upon whom the end of the age are come.”  Writing to the Corinthian church in the 50s AD, the apostle Paul thought that time was the end of an age.

Ja.5:8-9 “The coming of the Lord draws near; the Judge is standing right at the door.”  In the 50s AD, James said the Lord was even at the door…His coming in judgment was near!

He.10:37 “Yet a little while and He that shall come will come, and will not tarry.”  In the 60s AD, Jesus’ coming will occur in only a little while, and won’t delay.

Re.1:1 “To show things which must soon [táchos g5034, noun] come to pass.” KJV “shortly”.  Thayer’s Greek Lexicon says this term meant “quickness, speed”.  The same term was used in Ac.22:18 when Paul recounted how the Lord had urged him. “Hurry and go out in haste [g5034] from Jerusalem, for they will not receive your testimony about Me”.  Needless to say, Paul didn’t stay in Jerusalem for centuries…he departed soon (ref Ac.9:28-30)!

1Jn.2:18 “Children, it is the last hour [hóra g5610]; even now many antichrists have arisen; from this we know that it is the last hour.”  At the time John wrote that epistle, he and others knew it was then the final hour, so to speak!  It was then the last hour of the last day of the last days!  An end was very near.

This same Greek term is translated “hour” 89 times in the KJV.  For example, in John’s gospel.  Jn.1:39 “It was about the tenth hour [g5610].”  Jn.11:9 “Are there not twelve hours [g5610] in the day?”

Also of note, there were already many antichrists on the scene while the apostle John was still alive to write his epistles!  ref 1Jn.2:18, 22, 4:3; 2Jn.1:7.  (also see the topic “John Wrote Five Bible Books?”.)

Let’s pause here.  Again, the Holy Spirit doesn’t err.  Do we believe the HS spoke through John, Peter, the epistle to the Hebrews, James, Paul?  For that matter, do we believe the OT…what God said to Moses and the prophets?  Do we believe their prophecies about a Messiah?  Do we believe John and the other gospels about Jesus as Messiah?  If the NT writers quoted above regarding the last days, etc. were wrong, then what other portions or books of our Bible might also be untrustworthy?

John wrote in Re.1:3, “For the time is at hand [engús g1451, adverb]”.  Thayer’s engus “Near in time or position”.  Prophesied events were soon to begin.  Most Bible historians think the same John wrote Revelation and John’s gospel.  John used the identical Greek term in Jn.2:13. “The Jews’ Passover was at hand [g1451], and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.”  The time of that Passover was near, not centuries distant.  Mk.13:28 “When the branch of the fig tree puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near [g1451].”  And He.8:13 “The first covenant is growing old and near [g1451] to vanishing.”  The temple would soon be destroyed, and the Old Covenant ritualistic system vanished then (not 2,000 years later).

Time was short when John wrote Revelation.  The latter 2^nd century Muratorian Canon list indicates Revelation was written during the reign of Nero (54–68 AD).  The Syriac version Preface to the book of Revelation reads, “The Revelation which was made by God to John the evangelist in the island of Patmos, where he was placed by Nero Caesar”.  Historians say that after Nero died in June 68 AD, exiles would’ve been released.  The temple was still standing in 68-69 AD.  When Nero died, John would’ve left Pátmos.  So John wrote Revelation on Patmos ca 68 AD.  No NT book, not even Revelation, indicates the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple was a past event.  Re.11:1-2 the temple court (and Jerusalem, Lk.21:24) would be trampled by gentiles.  Accordingly, the temple was destroyed in 70 AD.

Re.22:10 “Don’t seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near/at hand [g1451].”   John again uses the same Greek term as in Re.1:3.  And in contrast to what God had told Daniel for his prophecy, John was instructed to not seal the book of Revelation…it’s a revealing, not a concealing!

God had instructed Daniel in Da.12:4-9, 13. “Go your way Daniel, for these words are concealed and sealed up until the time of the end.”  As Da.8:26, the fulfillment was to be kept secret and delayed until the distant future.  Da.12:7 “At the completion of shattering the power of the holy people, these events will be finished.”  Until God’s people/Daniel’s people, the Jews, are crushed.  To be delayed until Re.10:6. “There be delay no longer.”  The fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy is recorded in Revelation!

The 600 years from Daniel until John wrote Revelation is indicated as distant future.  So 2,000 years from John until now wouldn’t be termed…“at hand”!  The Lord doesn’t purposely confuse.  In the Bible, time is almost always denoted in man’s calendar terms of months, years, eras, etc.  And we saw in John’s gospel the manner in which John uses the koiné Greek term which meant “near/at hand”.

Jesus said in Re.22:7, “I AM coming quickly [tachú g5035, adverb]”.  In Jn.11:29, we see how John elsewhere used “quickly” g5035 (it’s not an idiom). “When Mary heard it, she arose quickly [g5035] and was coming to Him.”  It didn’t take her 2,000 years!  Also Mt.28:7 “Go quickly [g5035] and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead.”  As John concluded Revelation’s final chapter…Jesus was then coming soon!  This Greek adverb g5035 occurs 13 times in the NT…it meant quickly.

Mt.24:1-3 Jesus told His disciples privately that the temple would be destroyed.  “Not one stone here shall be left upon another.”  The disciples asked Jesus, “When will these things be, and what will be the sign of Your coming and of the end of the age?”  When will the destruction occur and the age end?

The parallel account in Mk.13 identified four disciples present; Peter, James, John, Andrew (Mk.13:1-4).  This identity of who Jesus was speaking to largely affects the understanding of Mk.13!

Again, He.9:26 & 1Co.10:11 (ref the top) indicated the 50s–60s AD were at the end of the age.  Mk.13:5 Jesus told Peter, James, John, Andrew, “See to it that no one misleads you. Many will come in My name. But when you hear rumors of wars, the end is not yet.”  Jesus cautioned Peter, James, John, Andrew not to be misled by rumors.  Mk.13:14 “But when you see the abomination of desolation, then let those in Judea flee to the mountains.”  Jesus is addressing Peter, James, John, Andrew…they’re the “you”.  Some or all of them in earshot would still be alive at the time of the abomination of desolation!

Josephus recorded the words of high priest Anánus (murdered in 68 AD) in Wars of the Jews 4:3:10. “I had seen the house of God full of so many abominations, filled with the feet of the blood-shedding villains.”  Also Josephus wrote of Roman general Titus in 70 AD.  ibid. 6:4:7 “He went into the holy place of the temple with his commanders, and saw what was in it.”  That was an act of abomination!

Mk.13:18-19 Jesus instructed Peter, James, John, Andrew to “Pray that it may not happen in winter, for those days will be a time of tribulation”.  v.23 “Take heed; I have told you everything in advance.”  Peter, James, John, Andrew were informed in advance that the abomination of desolation, Jesus’ coming and the end of the age would occur during their lifespan.  Again, Jesus is specifically talking to them.  (A careful reading or rereading of Mk.13 should make this apparent.)

Mk.13:29-30 is key!  Jesus continued telling Peter, James, John, Andrew, “Even so, you too, when you see these things happening, know that He is near [g1451], right at the door. Truly I say to you, this generation won’t pass away until all these things take place.”  The generation of Peter, James, John, Andrew, to whom Jesus was speaking!  And when Jesus’ relative James wrote in the 50s AD, he knew Jesus was standing right at the door then, to come in judgment as Judge (Ja.5:9 quoted near the top).  Jesus concluded His Mk.13 discourse by telling Peter, James, John, Andrew, “What I say to you I say to all, ‘Be alert!”  To Peter, James, John, Andrew and all that generation in Judea…you be alert!

Mt.23:13-ff Jesus pronounced seven woes against those leading scribes & Pharisees who opposed Him.  v.33-36 “You serpents, you brood of vipers. Truly I say to you, all these things shall come upon this generation [geneá g1074, noun].”  The generation of those who opposed Him!  Jesus told His disciples in Lk.17:25 that “He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation”.  Pulpit Commentary Lk.17:25 “The generation then living.”  Greek Bible scholar Spiros Zódiates on the meaning of the term geneá (g1074) here: “A multitude of contemporaries. Genea literally means a space of time. Jesus was telling them that this generation would not pass until all these things occurred, which has proven to be true. He was prophesying the destruction of their nation.”  Here genea didn’t refer to race, nativity.

The NT writers (quoted near the top) believed Jesus’ words…“generation” related to a space of time!  What would happen?  Jesus would come in judgment as Judge.  Mk.13:24-26 “The sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light. The stars will be falling from heaven and the powers will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds.”  Such language to the ancient Hebrews meant the Lord’s judgment.

In OT times there were other such ‘day(s) of the Lord’, His comings in judgment.  Is.13:1, 9-10, 13, 17 described a previous “day of the Lord” (v.9), when He came in judgment against Babylon.  v.10 “The stars of heaven will not flash forth their light; the sun will be dark, and the moon will not shed its light.”  Subsequently, Babylon (v.1) fell to the Medes (v.17) in 539 BC.  Notice the language similarity of the heavenly signs in Mk.13:24-26 above!

Also, apocalyptic language was used in Is.34:4-6 to describe the Lord’s judgment upon Edom.  Edom fell to Babylon in 583 BC.  Je.27:6 Nebuchadnézzar of Babylon was God’s servant.  God used human armies with human nature to perform His judgment upon peoples.

Also Ezk.32:2, 7-12 “Take up a lament over Pharaoh, king of Egypt. When I extinguish you, I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give its light. All the shining lights in the heavens I will darken over you.”  Accordingly, Egypt fell to Babylon in the 580s BC.

Also ref Am.8:8-11, 14 about the doom/captivity of Samaria in 722 BC.  Also in Je.21:7 God said Judea would be besieged/destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar.  Je.4:16 “Besiegers come from a far country…against the cities of Judah.”  v.27-28 “I looked and the heavens had no light, the mountains were quaking, and the heavens above are dark.”  The first temple, built by Solomon, was destroyed in 586 BC.

Also Jg.5:1, 4-5, 20 “The mountains quaked at the presence of the Lord. The stars fought from heaven against Siserá.”  Sisera and the Canaanítes were defeated.

Even Ps.18:6-17, when David was saved from his enemy Saul by God’s hand. “The earth shook and quaked. He bowed the heavens. Hailstones and coals of fire. The foundations of the world were laid bare. He delivered me from my strong enemy.”

That’s enough examples to illustrate the point.  In the above passages, the language of apocalyptic hyperbole with heavenly signs and earth upheaval indicated such judgments/overthrow wasn’t of man’s devising.  Since mankind doesn’t have control over the heavenly bodies or earth shakings, such language showed the judgments were God’s doing (also using human agents/armies).  Those historical occurrences, as recorded in scripture and by historians…didn’t mean the end of the globe or of time!

In Revelation, John used apocalyptic language similar to that in the above OT passages.  John’s 4^th gospel doesn’t contain an account of Jesus’ Olivet prophecy (found in Mt.24, Mk.13, Lk.17 & 21 of the three synoptics).  John’s book of Revelation is like the Olivet Prophecy expanded extensively; about the destruction of Jerusalem and the end of that age.  (also see “Babylon The Great’ in Revelation”.)

Murdering the Son of God has been called history’s worst crime!  Between the 40-year generation of 30–70 AD, two covenants existed simultaneously in the Land…both the Old and the New.  It was the last days of the Old Covenant/Levitical priesthood/temple age.  It was the end of the age pertaining to God’s theocracy that had existed for 1,600 years!  It ended in 70 AD with the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple.  Le.26:14-46, De. 28 recorded the end of the Old Covenant age, 1,600 years in advance.

The Jewish Alfred Edersheim’s The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, pp.444-5: “Judgment on their city and state, this destruction of their polity, was the ‘Coming of the Son of Man’ in judgment. The second appearance would be invisible but real. There were those standing there who would not taste death, till they had seen the destruction of the city and state. ‘This generation should not pass away.”

In Mt.16:27-28, Jesus told His disciples that He would come with His angels.  “There are some of those standing here who shall not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming.”  Some disciples would see His coming before they died, others would die prior to His coming.  Pulpit Commentary Mt.16:28 “This advent is doubtless the destruction of Jerusalem.”  Cambridge Bible “The fall of Jerusalem…best fits the conditions of interpretation.”  (If Jesus had in mind His Transfiguration which took place only a week later, Mt.17:1-8, it’d be senseless to contrast that some of His disciples wouldn’t die before then!)

In Jn.21:20-23, Jesus indicated to Peter that John might still be alive when He comes. “If I want him [John] to remain until I come, what is that to you?”  (Peter wouldn’t remain, v.17-19, 2Pe.1:14-15.)  Gill Exposition Jn.21:22 “Till He should come and take vengeance on the Jewish nation, in the destruction of their city and temple by the Romans…till which time John did live.”  Bengel’s Gnomen “The time of the Lord’s coming succeeds immediately after the destruction of Jerusalem…which advent John obtained the privilege of describing in the Apocalypse [Revelation].”  Also, Re.1:7 indicated that some who “pierced Him” (put Jesus to death) will still be alive at His “coming”.

Note: Paul didn’t walk with Jesus; Paul came along later (1Co.15:8).  It seems Paul wrongly thought that in his lifetime Jesus would return to earth in glory to fully rule and change the kósmos (g2889).  So Paul even advised saints in Greece not to marry!  What!?  Because Paul thought time was “short….the form of this world is passing away” (1Co.7:27-31).

Some Bible prophecies are open-ended concerning the time of their fulfillment.  Some prophecy and scenes of Revelation extend far into the future (e.g. Re.20-22).  But others do give time constraints.  Many books of the Bible were someone else’s mail, written to them specifically.  Revelation made imminent sense for seven churches of that era (Re.2-3).

Jesus warned one of those seven churches, Ephesus, in Re.2:5 KJV. “Repent, or I will come to you quickly [tachu g5035], and will remove your candlestick out of its place.”  The same Greek adverb tachu was examined above.  Today the site of Ephesus is abandoned ruins.  Jesus came to judge Ephesus many centuries ago.  He removed it!  The vanishing of the Ephesian church is mute testimony to the meaning of tachu/“quickly” in the book of Revelation!

Although moral principles of scripture do have universal application, not all prophecies pertain to all nations in all ages.  Prophecy concerning the age-ending destruction of the temple/Jerusalem, with Jesus coming in judgment against them…happened.  (By the way, I’m not a ‘full/hyper preterist’!)

Again, did the original apostles who spent 3 years with Jesus misinform the early church by saying the 1^st century AD was the last days and the end of an age?  Did the indwelling HS inspire their words?

In regards to the coming of Christ, a present-day church leader said, “We can forgive the disciples for thinking this was an event that would come in their lifetime”.  That man thought the disciples erred!

Scholars & intellectuals, such as Bertrand Russell, Albert Schweitzer, and others, understood the NT grammar did clearly reflect Jesus saying He would return during His disciples’ generation!  Those skeptics weren’t Christians; they just thought Jesus was a false prophet and NT writers had erred.

But Jesus wasn’t a false prophet.  He did as He said!  Jesus’ final red-letter words in our Bible are at the end of Revelation.  Re.22:20 “Surely I AM coming quickly [g5035].”  He came quickly, just as He said!  Jesus’ coming, in the sense understood by the apostles who walked with Jesus in the Land, who heard His Olivet prophecy…happened, as written.  1Jn.2:18 John wrote, it was then even the “last hour” (of the Old Covenant age).  John was correct.  That 11^th hour came and went nearly 2,000 years ago.

Theologian R.C. Sproul isn’t a full preterist.  The Last Days According to Jesus, p.169, 30 “…What is at stake here is the authority of Jesus, and we must be consumed with maintaining His authority. I am convinced that the substance of the Olivet Discourse was fulfilled in 70AD and that the bulk of Revelation was likewise fulfilled in that time-frame….No matter what view of eschatology we embrace, we must take seriously the redemptive-historical importance of Jerusalem’s destruction in 70AD.”

God’s judgment on Jerusalem/Judea and the destruction of the temple in 70 AD, as foretold by Jesus in the gospels…is proof that Jesus was a true prophet!  Jesus and primitive Christianity are for real!

Many churches and teachers could at least modify their eschatology, so they don’t make it seem that Jesus or His original apostles or the HS were in error.  Surely, God doesn’t make mistakes.  We can have trust and confidence that the written words inspired by the HS are true!

However, all the above (e.g. God’s judgment) isn’t to say that history can’t repeat itself, or that Jesus won’t come again (Jn.14:3, Ac.1:9-11, 3:19-21).  And we believe our God is a just Judge, and He is merciful!  Praise God!

 

‘Babylon The Great’ in Revelation

The book of Revelation originated with Father God (Re.1:1), who gave it to Jesus Christ, who revealed it to the apostle John.  John wrote it to seven (persecuted) 1^st century churches located along a mail route in Asia Minor (Re.1:4), western Turkey today.

The word of God is true (Jn.17:17)!  In Re.2:1-5, Jesus warned His church at Ephesus to repent, else He would remove it…Ephesus harbor is now a plain!  He removed it.  Re.3:14-19 Jesus warned the church at Laodicéa to repent.  It didn’t.  Consequently, the ruins of Laodicea are seen today.  Jesus does what He says He will do!

When John wrote Revelation, he used the apocalyptic method.  That is, to take predictions/prophecies which were unfulfilled in the literal sense, and recast or reinterpret them in hidden or symbolic terms.  (That was unlike the rabbinic methods.)  Identifying the original text of the book of Revelation (Rev) is difficult, as there are 500 variant terms in early manuscripts.  The book has been described as a revised Ezekiel and a commentary on Daniel.

The main text for this topic is Re.17:5-7. “Mystery Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots and abominations.”  Who was this symbolic or encoded mystical Babylon?  Babylon the Great originally wasn’t: New York City (with the woman Statue of Liberty in the harbor waters, as some view Re.17:1, she “who sits on many waters”), nor the USA, nor European Union nations, nor an Islamic block, nor modern Iraq, nor the Holy Roman Empire of the Middle Ages…nor ancient Rome.

Historically, in 586 BC King Nebuchadnézzar of Babylon (Chaldéan Empire) conquered Jerusalem and destroyed the first temple.  Jews were taken captive to Babylon.  Babylon was later judged, conquered by the Medes/Persians in 539 BC, and King Belshazzár was killed.  Is.47:1-3 the Medes exposed Babylon’s shame.  Je.51:6-9 relates to the ancient exit of Jews fleeing Babylon.  In 538 BC, Jews began returning to Jerusalem, bringing Babylonian influences with them.  Christian author Ron Dart wrote, “Roman Catholicism wasn’t the only gateway by which Babylonian mystery religions found their way among God’s people”.  The Jewish Babylonian Talmud, e.g., also contains religious traditions.

Da.7:1-3 while in Babylon, the Jewish prophet Daniel envisioned four Beasts, which represented gentile kingdoms.  Bible historians identify these as Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome.  v.7 the 4^th Beast or empire, Rome, having 10 horns, was dreadfully strong.  Re.13:1 John sees this 4^th Beast, having 10 horns, on the scene 600 years later.  This Beast, Rome, direly affects the harlot in Re.17-18!

It is recorded in the Old Testament (OT) where some nations committed spiritual harlotry: Tyre (Is.23:17), Assyria/Nineveh (Na.1:1, 3:4), Egypt, Ephráim/Israel (Ho.5:3-4).  The northern kingdom of Israel’s adulterous harlotry resulted in God sending them into captivity to Assyria (721 BC).

Also, Judah/Jerusalem committed adulterous harlotry…ref Je.2:20, 28, 3:1-3.  God/Christ was spiritually ‘married’ to Israel and Judah.  Is.54:5 “Your Maker is your husband.”  The grievous end of that relationship was foretold in Ezekiel 16 & 23.  Especially note Ezk.16:1-2, 8-45, 23:1-5, 11-19, 45-49 (Sodom); as these two chapters will resolve in Re.17–18.

Is.1:1, 21 “The faithful city [Jerusalem] has become a harlot.”  The Lord is just, even in judging His wives – adulterous Israel & Judah!  Je.13:27 “As for your adulteries…Woe to you, Jerusalem.”  God wouldn’t allow her idolatry and abominations to forever go unpunished.  In De.28:49-68, Moses had warned Israel in prophecy that disobedience to their Lord would result in terrible consequences!

The expression “great city” (mégas pólis, Strongs g3173 g4172, Greek), is crucial to us understanding the identity of Babylon the Great, Re.17:5.  Re.11:8 “The great city, which mystically is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified.”  Here the great city is Jerusalem, recast as Sodom and Egypt.  Besides Re.11:8, other Rev verses which refer to mystical Babylon the great city/harlot are: 14:8, 16:19, 17:1, 5, 18, 18:2, 10, 16, 18-19, 21, 19:2.  (Finally, in 21:10, the great city is again identified as Jerusalem, but now she’s the holy new Jerusalem!…more on this aspect at the end.)

Jeremiah too had referred to Jerusalem as the “great city”!  Je.22:6-9 Septúagint/LXX “Why has the Lord done thus to this great city (g3173 g4172)?”  Josephus Wars of the Jews 7:8:7 “Where is not that great city, the metropolis of the Jewish nation.”  And ibid 7:1:1 “Jerusalem…a city of great magnificence, mighty of fame among all mankind.”  Jerusalem was renowned as a great city!

Re.17:9 “Seven mountains on which the woman sits.”  The woman/harlot/city is on seven mountains.  Historians say that Jerusalem and Rome both contained seven literal mounts or hills.  The seven hills of Jerusalem have been identified as: Acra, Antonio, Bezétha, Millo, Ophel, Moriah, Zion.  (Of note, the Vatican area was a later addition across the Tiber River from the traditional seven hills of Rome, which are on the east side.  The state of Vatican City doesn’t fit in Re.17:9.)

Re.17:16-18 “The Beast will make her desolate and burn her with fire.”  The Beast destroys the harlot city.  From this verse, it’s evident that the Beast and the harlot aren’t the same entity.  (Rome was never God’s wife anyway.)  The Beast/Rome/abomination who makes desolate…burned the harlot city with fire in 70 AD.  cf. again Ezk.16:41, 23:47, Je.22:7-8, where Ezekiel and Jeremiah prophesied that Jerusalem would be burned with fire!  Also Jesus’ parable of Mt.22:7. “The king sent his armies…and set their city on fire.”  Pulpit Commentary Mt.22:7 “The Romans, under Vespasian and Titus.”  (Also in Le.21:9, a Levitical priest’s harlot daughter in Israel was to be burned with fire!)

Rome, the Beast of Da.7:7 and Re.13:1, destroyed the harlot Jerusalem during the 3 ½ year period of 66–70 AD.  ref Re.12:6, Mt.24:15-16, 21 for this time of great tribulation!

That which Jesus said in the book of Revelation did happen to Ephesus and Laodicea, e.g….and most significantly to Jerusalem and Judea!  (This isn’t to say that prophecy can’t repeat itself.)  Re.18 detail:

Re.18:1-4 traditionally the saints in Jerusalem fled 60 miles east to Pella in 66 AD.  In Lk.21:11, 20-21, Jesus had said there’d be great signs and, “When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, flee”.

In Wars of the Jews 6:5:3, Josephus recorded the amazing event of angelic armies seen in the clouds surrounding Jerusalem in 66 AD!  So did the Roman historian/senator Tacitus in The Histories 5:13, “There had been seen hosts joining battle in the skies, the fiery gleam of arms, the temple illuminated by a sudden radiance from the clouds.”  That’s historical evidence!  It’s reminiscent of when the Syrians attacked Israel around 800 BC. In 2Ki.6:15-17 the Lord opened the eyes of Elisha’s servant and, “Behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots all around Elisha”.  Heavenly hosts were seen by human eyes!

Babylon the harlot said in Re.18:5-7, “I sit as queen and am not a widow”.  Israel/Judah/Jerusalem was the figurative ‘wife’ of YHVH!  cf. Je.3:8.  A wife or queen can become a widow, but an unmarried woman cannot.  (The Tyndale translation also rendered Re.17:6 as “wife”).  Re.18:8-10 woes to the great city.  cf. Ezk.16:22-23 & Je.13:27 which reflect woes to Jerusalem.

Re.18:11-16 the harlot city’s wealth & adornment.  cf. Ezk.16:13-14 Jerusalem’s fame & adornment.  Jewish scholar Jacob Neusner of Harvard University wrote, “The only city which is differentiated from all other cities is the metropolis, the mother of cities, Jerusalem”.

Re.18:17-18 again, her burning.  Ge.38:24 the patriarch of the Jewish people, Judah, had declared against the woman who was pregnant with his own posterity…“Let her be burned!”

Re.18:19-23 & Je.7:32-34 glad voices of the bridegroom and bride would cease in Jerusalem/Judea.  In Wars of the Jews 5:12:3, the Gehenna valley was heaped with Jewish corpses from the Roman siege.

Re.18:24 when the autopsy was performed on the great harlot, the blood of prophets & saints was found in her!  The Greek term “ge”, g1093, can mean earth or Land.  Jesus had declared in Lk.13:33-34, “It cannot be that a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which kills the prophets.”  Stephen accused the Jerusalem court in Ac.7:52. “Which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute?”  Ac.7:58 Stephen was then stoned to death in Jerusalem.  James, Jesus’ relative, was thrown down from the Jerusalem temple in 62 AD and killed (prior to 70 AD).

{Sidelight: Re.2:9 Jesus/John warned the church at Smyrna about the “synagogue of Satan”.  Jn.8:44 Jesus had called the Pharisees the “children of the devil”.  Jesus had warned His disciples would be flogged, cast out of the synagogues, killed (Mk.13:9, Jn.16:2).  Judea was justly punished by God.}

Re.16:18-19 “A great earthquake” occurred.  Josephus Wars 4:4:5 there were “concussions and bellowings of the earth” at the time Jerusalem was besieged.  Re.16:21 “Huge hailstones the weight of a talent.”  In Wars 5:6:3, Josephus wrote that stones thrown by catapults of the 10^th Roman legion weighed…a talent!  (In the Bible, hail may also symbolize government change of cataclysmic magnitude.)  Some of Josephus’ statements in Wars of the Jews seem like a parallel historical account or detailed commentary on the book of Revelation!  Further verse-by-verse detail of the destruction in Revelation would make this too lengthy.  (also see the topics: “The Last Days”, “Two Witnesses in the Bible”, “Day of Atonement (2) – in Revelation”, “John Wrote Five Bible Books?”.)

Jesus had said of the temple in Lk.21:5-6, “There will not be left one stone upon another which will not be torn down”.  After burning the temple cedars in 70 AD, the Roman soldiers tore down the temple stones to get at the melted gold which had congealed in the cracks!  Roman General Titus even tried to stop the temple burning…but to no avail.  Jesus’ prophecy was not to be denied.  It happened!

Jesus opposed the corruption and intolerance of the Jewish religious leaders of His day, and their oral additions to His written Toráh.  These additions survive in normative Judaism today.  Interestingly, they prefer the Babylonian Talmud to the Jerusalem Talmud, and many value it above the written OT!

A corrupt Jewish priesthood is cited back in Mal.2:11.  Many high priests were actually selected by the Greeks & Romans.  The priestly line of succession was violated.  Harvard’s Frank Moore Cross Canaanite Myth and Hebrew Epic “The Éssenes of Qumrán were a priestly party. The community referred to itself as the sons of Zadók. They heaped scorn and condemnation upon the ungodly priests of Jerusalem who, they argued, were illegitimate.”  This is Jewish history, not a biased anti-Semitism.

In surveying the New Testament books, the chief persecutors of Jewish Christians were disbelieving Jews, not Romans or gentiles.  e.g. 2Th.2:14-15 the Jewish apostle Paul affirmed that disbelieving Jews had “killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets”.  The expression “(of) the Jews” occurs 15 times total in the synoptic gospels, but 50 times in John’s gospel!  And it was John who wrote Revelation.  The allusions to the temple throughout Revelation don’t relate to Rome or gentiles.  e.g. Re.16:15 “Keep your garments” alluded to sleeping temple guards whose clothes could be set afire.

Le.26:18, 21, 24, 28 Moses had warned there would be increasing sevenfold intensities of punishment upon Israel for disobeying the Lord!  Correspondingly, Re.5:1, 6:1-ff reveals seven seals, Re.8 then seven trumpets of destruction, Re.15:6 culminating in seven last plagues of the wrath of God!  Re.6:16 during the seven seals those afflicted will say “to the mountains and rocks, ‘Fall on us”.  Jesus foretold they would be the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Lk.23:28-30 “Daughters of Jerusalem…the days are coming when they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us.”  (Also ref Ho.10:1, 8-9 in regards to Israel. “They will say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us!’ You have sinned O Israel.”)  Not Rome’s church.

Then Re.19:1-2. “Hallelujah! God has judged the great harlot. He has avenged the blood of His bondservants upon her.”  The harlot city was burned, the temple destroyed in 70 AD.  God’s servants, including the faithful remnant of Judah, were avenged.  God is just.

Centuries before Jesus walked the earth, Jews had returned to Judea from Babylon.  The punishments in the book of Revelation primarily refer to Jerusalem the great harlot, and Judea.  Mic.3:12 prophesied “Zion will be plowed as a field, Jerusalem will become a heap of ruins.”  As fulfillment, the Romans plowed it over, and even refashioned Jerusalem as a gentile city in 135 AD.

Yet the book of Revelation has a glorious ending! Jerusalem/Yerushaláyim (h3389, Hebrew) is a plural term.  The book of Revelation is also…a tale of two cities!  F.M. Cross op. cit. “Essenes searched for prophecies of the end of days when they, the poor of the desert, would be reestablished in a new, transfigured Jerusalem.”  The older Jerusalem was made desolate.  But at the end of Revelation….

Re.21:1-2 “I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven.”  There’s another Jerusalem!  Re.21:9-10 “I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.’ And he carried me away in the Spirit and showed me the holy city Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven.”  Not the great city, old Jerusalem…but the holy city, new Jerusalem.  And there’s a new wife.  This new Jerusalem isn’t an adulterous harlot wife, but is a holy Bride.  The rest of Re.21 describes the glorious adornment of the Lamb’s faithful wife, new Jerusalem!

British historian Margaret Barker conveys a similar view of mystical Babylon in her book The Older Testament. “Jerusalem, restored Jerusalem [1^st century], was perpetuated in the apocalyptic tradition as Babylon, the place of great evil. The city of Rev.17 was not always Rome, for Rev.17:16 says that the ten horns of the beast, i.e. ten Roman rulers, would attack her. The image of the harlot city upon many waters had originally been applied to Jerusalem, drunk with the blood of earlier saints.”

Also Peter J. Leithart Between Babel and Beast, p.46 “The harlot-city of Revelation is not Rome, but Jerusalem….As in the Old Testament (cf. Ezk.16, 23; Hosea), Jerusalem has turned harlot.”

As for the Jerusalem temple doors, Josephus Wars 4:4:5 “Before these doors there was a veil of equal largeness with the doors. It was a Babylonian curtain, embroidered with blue & fine linen, and scarlet & purple. Nor was the mixture of colors without its mystical interpretation, but was a kind of image of the universe.” (ref the colors in Re.17:4.)  Amazingly, even the temple veil was mystical Babylon!

Old Jerusalem was mystical Sodom & Egypt (where our Lord was crucified, Re.11:8)…and Babylon.  The system is perpetuated in part by the Babylonian Talmud.  Talmuds are a mixture of good & bad.  Also the system may be churches that proclaim as God’s truth their own traditions which contradict or wrongly add to His written word.  And again, all this isn’t to say that prophecy can’t repeat itself.

Re.22:14 KJV “Blessed are they that do His commandments…that they may enter in through the gates into the city.”  The holy city, new Jerusalem.  By the grace of God, and through the sacrifice of Jesus/Yeshúa the Bridegroom…the saints will enter in!