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!  

 

Watchers and Gen. 6 ‘Sons of God’ (2)

This is the conclusion to “Watchers and Gen. 6 ‘Sons of God’ (1)”.  Part 1 identified the “Watchers” (Da.4:13-17, 23), and tied the Watcher angels that sinned in the intertestamental book of 1Enoch to 2Pe.2:4 & Jude 1:6, 14-15.  Material from Part 1 isn’t repeated here in Part 2; Part 1 should be read first.

Part 2 mostly focuses on the expression “sons of God”, as seen in the Old Testament (OT) scriptures.

Ge.6:2 “The sons of God saw the daughters of men were beautiful, and took wives for themselves.”

Who were those very ancient “sons of God”?  Some commentaries interpret them as human men.  But earlier sources interpreted them as supernatural beings (also reflected in various Bible translations).

The OT Septúagint/LXX is older than the Masoretic text.  Ge.6:2 Alexandrian LXX “The angels of God, having seen the daughters of men were beautiful, took to themselves wives of all they chose.”  Ge.6:2 Good News Trans “Some of the heavenly beings saw that these young women were beautiful.”  Ge.6:2 ISV “Some divine beings noticed how attractive human women were.”  Ge.6:4 CEV “The children [the giants] of the supernatural beings who had married women became famous heroes and warriors.”

Let’s examine the occurrences of “sons of God” in the OT, and then cite early interpretive views.

The expression “sons of God”, bene haElohím (Strongs h1121 h430, Hebrew), is also found in the OT Job 1:6 and 2:1. “There was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them.”  Ellicott Commentary Ps.89:6-7 “Sons of God’ – i.e. angels. For a picture of the court of heaven see Job 1:6.”  The Job.1:6 & 2:1 “sons of God” refers to heavenly beings.

The Lord questioned Job in Jb.38:4-7. “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth…When the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?”  The Jb.38:7 “sons of God” didn’t mean humans.  No humans were created yet when God “laid the foundation of the earth”.  Pulpit Commentary Jb.38:7 “Sons of God’ here must necessarily be the angels, since there were no men as yet in existence.”  Jb.38:7 LXX “…All My angels praised Me with a loud voice.”

Da.3:25 King Nebuchadnézzar perceived four men (not three!) in the blazing furnace and exclaimed, “Behold! The appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods [h426, Aramaic]!”  v.28 God’s angel.

In the OT, there are no human individuals named who were called “sons of God/god”, bene haElohim.  Rather, the expression referred to supernatural beings…created, unbegotten.

Ps.89:6 “Who in the skies can compare with the Lord? Who among the heavenly beings is like the Lord?”  Some older translations literally read “sons of the mighty”.  1599 Geneva Bible Ps.89:6 note “Meaning, the angels.”  Gill Exposition Ps.89:6 “None of the angels [can compare].”  Cambridge Bible Ps.89:6 “Denotes angels….Synonymous with Job 1:6, 2:1, 38:7.”  Celestial beings, not human beings.

Ps.29:1 “Ascribe to the Lord, you heavenly beings, glory and strength.”  Some older translations literally read “you sons of the mighty.”  JFB Commentary Ps.29:1 “Sons of the mighty’. Heavenly beings, as angels.”  Barnes Notes Ps.29:1 “The allusion is undoubtedly to the angels, as being in an eminent sense the sons of God.”  (also see the topic “Heavenly Host Authorities and Powers”.)

Ho.1:10 “Yet the number of the sons of Israel will be like the sands of the sea….It will be said to them, ‘You are the sons of the living God.”  However, Hosea’s prophecy refers to Israelites becoming sons of God in the future.  Poole Commentary Ho.1:10 “God will bring it about in His time.”  Barnes Notes Ho.1:10 “Sons of the living God.’ God adopts us as sons (Rom.8:15).”  Gill Exposition Ho.1:10 “The Jews will be converted, and all Israel saved, Rom.11:25.”  According to the apostle Paul, humans become adopted sons of God now via the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit.  But only Jesus is Son of God conceived by the Holy Spirit (Mt.1:20)!  Other celestial spirit beings were created sons of God.

The New Testament Lk.3:38 indicates Adam the first human was a “son of God”.  But Adam was a created son of God (Ge.1:27); he wasn’t begotten.  And God is the Father of created spirits, He.12:9.

Again, there are no humans named in the OT who are called “sons of God”, bene haElohim (Hebrew).

The Book of Jubilees (also known as Little Genesis) was written in Hebrew ca 150–100 BC.  It told of the very ancient “sons of God” who had relations with the “daughters of men” in Ge.6:1-4.  Jub.4:15, 22 “Jared [Enoch’s father, Ge.5:18-19]. In his days the angels of the Lord descended on the earth, those who are named the Watchers….He [Enoch] testified to the Watchers who had sinned with the daughters of men.”  Jub.7:21-22 “The Watchers, against the law of their ordinances, went whoring after the daughters of men and took themselves wives. They begat sons the Naphidim, and they devoured one another…the Giants.”  This ancient Jewish work says that some angels/Watchers sinned and fathered evil giants.  See “Watchers and Gen. 6 ‘Sons of God’ (1)” about the Watchers in the book of 1Enoch.

The term incubus relates to a spirit lusting after and having sex with a human woman.  (also cf. Tobit 6:14 “A wicked spirit loves her”; Ge.19:1, 4-7 sex with a different kind of being.)

The fragmentary Book of Giants is an apocryphal Jewish work, dated ‘before the 2^nd century BCE’.  Aramaic copies were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls (DSS) at Qumrán.  It tells of the birth of the hybrid giants.  Wikipedia: The Book of Giants “This book tells of the background and fate of these ante-diluvial giants and their fathers, the Watchers, the ‘sons of God’ or ‘holy ones’ (Dan.4:13, 17) who rebelled against heaven when…they commingled, in lust, with the ‘daughters of men’. Their even more corrupt offspring, the giants, were variously called thereafter nephilim, gibborim, rephaim, being the earthly half-breed races that fought against God and His followers.”  Interestingly, one of the giants named in this work is Gílgamesh.  That may be a polemic against the Epic of Gilgamesh; it is uncertain.

Also part of the DSS is the Damascus Document (4Q271), dated ca 100 BC. “The watchers of heaven fell. And their children whose height was like the loftiness of cedars fell [cf. Amos 2:9]. All flesh that was on dry land perished.”  That alluded to Noah’s Flood.

The Jewish philosopher Philo Judaeus of Alexandria (c 25 BC – c 50 AD) used the Alexandrian Codex version of the Greek OT text (forerunner of our LXX/Septuagint).  Philo quoted Ge.6:2 in his On The Giants (De Gigantibus) 2:6. “When the angels of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, they took unto themselves wives of all them who they chose.’ Those beings whom other philosophers call demons.”  In Philo’s view, those fallen angels who fathered the giants/Nephilim were demons.

Josephus Antiquities of the Jews 1:3:1 “Many angels of God accompanied with women, and begat sons that proved unjust, and despisers of all that was good, on account of the confidence they had in their own strength. The tradition is that these men did what resembled the acts of those whom the Grecians call giants.”  Josephus’ translator William Whiston added, “That the fallen angels were, in some sense, the fathers of the old giants, was the constant opinion of antiquity”.  Most ancients thought it to be so.

Both Philo and Josephus thought the “sons of God” in Gen.6 were (fallen) angels of God.  But it seems that Josephus thought demons were the spirits of deceased wicked humans.  Josephus Wars of the Jews 7:6:3 “Demons…are the spirits of the wicked which enter into men which are alive, and kill them.”

Some people think demons are the earthbound spirits of deceased evil humans, malevolent ghosts.  Others think demons are fallen angels.  Or they’re spirits of the hybrid Nephilim offspring of Watchers (1Eno.15:8).  Or demons are aliens created by God who came here from other worlds, trespassers.

Justin Martyr (ca 100–165 AD) was a gentile Samaritan Christian.  He wrote in Second Apology, Chpt 5 “Angels transgressed this appointment, and were captivated by love of women, and begat children who are those that are called demons”.  This prominent early martyr believed angels were the fathers.

Irenáeus (ca 130–202 AD) was a leading early Greek bishop (in Lyons) who developed Christian theology.  He wrote in A Discourse in the Demonstration of Apostolic Preaching, 18 “Illicit unions took place upon the earth, since angels were united with the daughters of the race of mankind. And they bore to them sons who for their exceeding greatness were called giants”.  This prominent early theologian too believed that angels fathered those giants.

The Aramaic Targum Neofití and Targum Jonathán also indicate that fallen angelic beings mated with human women.  Legend ties the Watchers or their giant offspring to the Titans of Greek mythology.

Natan Lawrence The ‘Sons of Elohim’ and ‘the Giants’ “The idea that fallen angels were the fathers of the giants is the general opinion of antiquity.”  Belief that those fathers were human men is more recent.

The pseudepigráphical Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs (T12P, the sons of Jacob) is a late 2^nd century BC Jewish biographical work, thought to also now contain early ‘Christian additions’.  Testament of Reuben 5:6-7 “They [women] allured the Watchers who were before the flood; they lusted after them and conceived the act in their mind. For they changed themselves into the shape of men, and appeared to them when they were with their husbands. And the women lusting in their minds after their forms, gave birth to giants, for the Watchers appeared to them as reaching even to heaven.”  Deliriums Realm: Watchers/Nephilim comments, “He says the real fathers were humans, but giants were conceived from mutual passions of angels and women.”  Testament of Naphtali 3:5 “The Watchers also changed the order of their nature, whom the Lord cursed at the flood.”  Wikipedia: Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs “A copy of the Testament of Naphtalí was discovered at Qumran among the DSS taken from Cave 4 (4Q215).”  It is thought the original T12P possibly was an Essene writing.

However, the (supposed) Book of Jasher differed on who were those Ge.6:1-4 very ancient “sons of God”.  Jash.4:18 “Their judges and rulers went to the daughters of men and took their wives by force from their husbands according to their choice.”  In Jasher, those “sons of God” were human men, not angels.  This view differs from that of more ancient sources.  Ken Ammi Book of Jasher on the Nephilim “The fact that this text doesn’t offer an Angelic interpretation of the Gen.6 affair is evidence that it isn’t an ancient text, as the earliest Jewish (as well as Christian for that matter) interpretation was that the sons of God weren’t humans in any capacity, but were Angels (see Jude 6-7 and 2Peter 2 specifically).”  The Book of Jasher we have today dates from only a few hundred years ago.

Biblical Archaeology Society: The Nephilim and the Sons of God “Though centuries of rabbinical and church tradition would say otherwise, the audience to whom the text [Ge.6:1-4] was intended would have understood the ‘sons of God’ to be members of the divine assembly mentioned throughout the literature of the ancient Near East, including the Bible. In the Biblical texts, the ‘sons of God’ are usually described as lesser heavenly beings in the service of the Most High.”

International Bible Standard Encyclopedia: Sons of God “Most scholars…interpret ‘sons of God’ as referring to supernatural beings. The intent of the original writer [of Ge.6:1-4] was to account for the rise of the giant race of antiquity by the union of demigods with human wives. This interpretation accords with Enoch [1Enoch] chapters 6-7, etc., and with Jude 1:6.”  (again, see Part 1.)

ReasonsForHopeJesus: Who Were the Nephilim & Sons of God in Genesis 6? “Fallen Angels. This interpretation is probably the most probable and credible, but it is also the most controversial.”

This is a controversial topic.  My focus hasn’t been on what may or may not seem logical to our modern minds, or accord with our church’s belief.  In OT verses, “sons of God” always meant supernatural beings, not humans.  The bulk of surviving applicable ancient writings reflect that the “sons of God” or Watchers who sinned were celestial beings…falling in their illicit desire for human women.

Jewish Sects of the 1st Century (2)

This Part 2 is the continuation and conclusion to “Jewish Sects of the 1^st Century (1)”.

Harvard scholar Jacob Neusner wrote that there were several ‘Judaisms’.  We’re identifying seven Jewish religious sects & groups that were extant in the Holy Land in the 1^st century…when Jesus lived as a Jew and the temple still existed.  Part 1 discussed: #1 Scribes, #2 Pharisees, #3 Sadducees.  Material in Part 1 won’t be repeated here in Part 2.  We’ll resume the discussion now with group #4.

#4 HERODIANS: Herodianói Strongs g2265, Greek noun; it occurs 3 times in the New Testament (NT).  This party of Hellenistic Jews was partisan to Herod and submitted to Rome.  Herodiáns wielded political power.  They may have been religious Sadducees (see Part 1).

In 40 BC Rome had appointed an Edomite, Herod 1 the Great, as ‘King of Judea’.  (Ending 100 years of Jewish Hasmónean rule, from 140 BC.)  Herod the Great died soon after Christ’s birth (Mt.2:19).  Herod’s kingdom was divided upon his death; his three sons became tetrarchs of provinces in the area.

Herodians are mentioned in Mt.22:16, Mk.3:6, Mk.12:13.  Mk.3:6 “The Pharisees went out and began conspiring with the Herodians against Him [Jesus], how they might destroy Him.”  It seems that tetrarch Herod Ántipas viewed Jesus as a ‘formidable rival’, so Herod’s devotees even joined with Pharisees in wanting to get rid of Jesus.  (Alfred Edersheim The Life And Times of Jesus the Messiah, p.739.)  Jesus warned His disciples in Mk.8:15, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod”.

Ro.16:11 the believer Herodíon (g2267), whom Paul noted, was a relative Jew possibly from Herod’s family.  The Iduméan Herod 1 the Great had been raised as a Jew.  Barnes Notes Ro.16:7 “These persons [Andrónicus and Junías] and Herodian Ro.16:11, it seems probable they were remote relatives of the apostle [Paul].”  Aristóbulus 5 of Chálcis was Herod 1’s grandson (Ro.16:10?).

The Herodians, though Hellenistic (like the Sadducees), wanted Jewish rule in Judea.  As did the Pharisees.  But the Herodians sought this via a Herodian dynasty on the throne, whereas the Pharisees wanted a restored Davidic dynasty to rule.

Wikipedia: Herodian Dynasty “The Herodian was a royal dynasty of Idumean (Edomite) descent, ruling the Herodian Kingdom and later the Herodian Tetrárchy, as vassals of the Roman Empire.”

Some scholars think there may have been Herodians who regarded Herod himself as a Messiah.  (cf. Ac.12:20-23 the 44 AD death of the showy tetrarch Herod Agríppa 1, grandson of Herod the Great.)

The rule of the Herods ended in the 90s AD, with the death of tetrarch Herod Agrippa 2 (before whom Paul had appeared decades earlier ca 60 AD, Ac.25:13-ff).

#5 ZEALOTS: The Zealots began as Jewish guerrilla bands, active in Galilee in the 1^st century.  They became the Nationalist political party.  Their purpose was to incite the people of Judea to rebel against the dominance of (gentile) Rome, and forcefully remove it from the Land.  The Zealots have been called the ‘extreme opposite’ of the Herodian party.

The Zealots aren’t mentioned in the Bible.  Though the Zealots weren’t a religious group, they favored the Pharisees (not the Sadducees).  Josephus Antiquities of the Jews 18:1:6 “These men [Zealots] agree in all other things with the Pharisaic notions; but they have an inviolable attachment to liberty, and say that God is to be their only Ruler and Lord.”  Josephus referred to the Zealots as the ‘fourth sect’  (after the Pharisees, Sadducees, Éssenes).

One of Jesus’ twelve original disciples was Simon the Cananaéan/zealot.  Simon is called a Cananaean (g2581) in Mt.10:4 & Mk.3:18.  Luke calls him a zealot (g2208 zelotés) in Lk.6:15 & Ac.1:13.  Jacobus de Voragine The Golden Legend “Zelotes is the equivalent of Cana, because cana means zeal.”  The New Theological Movement “St. Simon, ‘the Canaanite’ not from Canaan and ‘the Zealot’ who was no Zealot. Indeed, the name ‘Canaanite’ is closely related to the Hebrew word for ‘zealous.”  Simon the zealous disciple of Jesus likely wasn’t part of the violent Zealot political movement!

The Zealots followed John of Gischála during the Roman–Jewish War of 66–73 AD, taking control of Jerusalem and the temple…until Rome destroyed both Jerusalem and the temple in 70 AD.  Zealot holdouts took the Masáda fortress near the Dead Sea…until they were all found dead by suicide in 73 AD.

#6 ESSENES: The Essenes were a significant sect, though fewer in number than the Pharisees and the Sadducees.  The origin of the name ‘Essenes’ is uncertain.  They began to emerge 130–100 BC, as a devout group.  Many scholars think the Dead Sea Scrolls (DSS), discovered in 1947 at the Qumrán caves near the NW shore, were written by Essenes.

The Essenes were an ascetic sect.  Josephus Wars of the Jews 2:8:2 “There are three philosophical sects among the Jews. The followers of the first are the Pharisees; the second the Sadducees; the third who pretends to a severer discipline are called Essenes. These seem to have a greater affection for one another than other sects have.”  Essenes lived together communally.  Wikipedia: Essenes “Accounts by Josephus and Philo show the Essenes lived a strictly communal life, often compared to later Christian monasticism.”

Essenes were overly concerned with ritual purity.  The concept “works of the law” (Paul wrote against it, e.g. Ga.2:16) is found as Essene rituals in the DSS document 4QMMT.  It related to their sectarian solar calendar, purity regulations & cooking utensils, ceremony, the intermarriage of priests, etc.

Essenes were celibate.  Josephus ibid “They neglect wedlock, but choose out other persons’ children.”  Essenes adopted children.  Continuing in Wars 2:8:3, “These men are despisers of riches.”  Wars 2:8:5 “As for their piety towards God, it is very extraordinary.”  Wars 2:8:6 “They are eminent for fidelity.”  Josephus notes other characteristics and observations of Essenes throughout Wars Book 2: Chapter 8.

Essenes rejected the sacrificial system of the Jerusalem temple and the priesthood, which had become corrupt.  Antiquities of the Jews 18:1:5 “The doctrine of Essenes is: They teach immortality of souls. They do not offer sacrifices, because they have more pure lustrations [ceremonial purification rites] of their own. There are about 4,000 men that live this way, and neither marry wives nor keep servants.”  Philo wrote in Every Good Man Is Free 12:75-84, “They do not make armaments….They honor virtue”.  The writings of Josephus and Philo show an admiration for the Essenes.

Edersheim op. cit., p. 226 “One of their [Essenes] largest colonies being by the shore of the Dead Sea. They also had ‘houses’ in most cities of Palestine. In these houses they lived in common, under officials of their own. They partook of common meals, and devoted themselves to works of charity.”  It seems the moral conduct and good works of the Essene brotherhood resembled in some respects that of 1^st century Jewish Christians.

However, there are no direct Bible references to the Essenes.  Edersheim op. cit., p.225 “We may feel certain: neither John the Baptist…nor the teaching of Christianity, had any connection with Essénism.”  Yet there are scholars who think some Essenes became Jewish Christian Ebionites.  That is conjecture.

The Essene sect disappeared after 70 AD.  Their law interpretations weren’t brought into orthodox Judaism.

#7 NAZARENES: Nazoráios g3480 Greek noun.  It occurs 15 times in the NT, all but once (Ac.24:5) as “Jesus the Nazarene”.

Nazarénes were the new sect of Jewish Christians who believed Jesus/Yeshúa is their prophesied Messiah.  Nazarenes weren’t the same as Old Testament Nazarítes h5139 (who took consecration vows, Nu.6).  Ellicott Commentary Mt.2:23 “Any reference to Nazarite vows is out of the question.”

Why was the new sect of believers called the Nazarenes?  Following are the reasons:

Nazaréth [g3478, 12 occurrences] was the town in Galilee where Jesus grew up.  Lk.2:39 “their own city Nazareth.”  Mt.2:23 “He lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophets, ‘He shall be called a Nazarene [g3480].”  Dwellers of Nazareth were called Nazarenes or Nazoréans.  Thus Jesus the Nazarene.  Gill Exposition Mt.2:23 “Christ is often called Jesus of Nazareth, or the Nazarene, and His followers Nazarenes, from the place of his habitation.”

In Mt.2:23, Mathew referred to “prophets” in general, not one specifically by name.  Isaiah prophesied of Jesus as a figurative Branch.  Is.11:1-2 “A rod shall come forth out of the stem of Jesse [David’s father], a Branch shall grow out of his roots. And the Spirit of the Lord will rest upon Him.”  (cf. 60:21 branch).  The Hebrew term used by Isaiah for “branch” was náy-tser h5342.  Its sound resembled “Nazarene”.  Jews occasionally used a play-upon-words in their parlance.  Pulpit Commentary Mt.2:23 “It is evident that the Jews connected this name [náy-tser] closely with Jesus the Nazarene, and…saw a connection between it and ‘the Branch’ of Isaiah 11:1.”  Nazarenes were followers of “the Branch”.

Residents of the town Nazareth in Galilee were disliked in general.  Jn.1:46 “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth [g3478]?”  Furthermore, the Pharisees said to Nicódemus in Jn.7:52, “No prophet arises out of Galilee”.

The Jewish authorities disapproved of the new sect.  Benson Commentary Mt.2:23 “Now it is certain the Nazarene was a term of contempt and infamy put upon Christ [cf. Is.53:3], both by unbelieving Jews and Gentiles.”  They also rejected His followers, calling the sect “Nazarenes”.

The Jewish high priest’s attorney said to governor Felix, Ac.24:5, “We have found this man [Paul] to be a real pest, stirring up dissension among all the Jews, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes [g3480]”.  He charged Paul with being a heretical leader.  Gill Exposition Ac.24:5 “Nazarenes…so called by way of contempt and reproach.” “Nazarenes” was a term of reproach. (cf. 1Pe.4:14, Ro.15:3.)

Ray A. Pritz Nazarene Jewish Community, p.15 “The name Nazarenes was at first applied to all Jewish followers of Jesus. Until the name Christian became attached to the Antióchian non-Jews [Ac.11:26], this meant that the name signified the entire Church, not just a sect. So in Ac.24:5 the reference is not to a sect of Christianity, but rather to the entire primitive Church as a sect of Judaism.”  (For the early church being viewed as a sect of Judaism, see “Sabbath Day Became Sunday in Rome”.)

However, apostolic era Jews who believed Jesus/Yeshua is the Messiah referred to themselves as…“The Way” g3598.  Paul said to Felix in Ac.24:14, “I admit to you, that according to the Way which they call a sect [or heresy] do I serve the God of our fathers”.  (ref Ac.24:22, 9:2.)  “The way” g3598 is seen in the Greek Septúagint/LXX.  Is.40:3 LXX “The voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Prepare you the way [g3598] of the Lord, make straight the paths for our God.”  The Is.40:3 prophecy is tied to John the Baptizer in Jn.1:23, Mt.3:3, Mk.1:3-4, Lk.3:4.  Also, “the way” (g3598) back to the Tree of Life was guarded by cherubim in Ge.3:24 LXX.  Jesus is the figurative door (Jn.10:7) of the Way to eternal Life.

Church History: The Ancient Nazarenes “The early Church of God, referred to by some as the Nazarenes, left Jerusalem [for Pella, 66 AD] just before the Roman armies of Titus destroyed the city in AD 70. The Church of God then continued to settle and migrate throughout the areas of Asia Minor and later into Europe.”  Those Jewish Christians fled into Jordan, migrated to Syria…and beyond.  Their legacy is the Jewish Christians of today and Christianity.

Those who believed in Jesus became known as Christians, Christianós g5546, Greek noun.  Ac.11:26 “The disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.”  Greek was commonly spoken in Antioch.  In Ac.26:28, Herod Agrippa 2 referred to believers as Christians, ca 59 AD.  Peter wrote to a mixed group of Jew & gentile believers in Asia Minor (1Pe.1:1), ca 64–65 AD.  1Pe.4:16 they’re called Christians.

Conclusion to this two-part topic: The Herodians, the Zealot Nationalist party, and the Essenes…became extinct.  A remnant of the Sadducees may be the Karaíte Jews, which still exist.  Phárisaism is the basis of rabbinic or Talmúdic Judaism today.  Wikipedia: Pharisees “The Pharisees preserved the Pharisáical oral law in the form of the Talmud.”  That’s become normative Judaism.  Although the Talmud is meaningful for the Jewish people, it isn’t necessary for salvation.

Jesus/Yeshua said in Jn.14:6, “I Am the way (g3598), the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father but by Me.”  Jesus is The Way…the only way!  In no other name is there salvation for mankind (spoken by Peter in Ac.4:10-12)!

Chronology: Septuagint versus Masoretic Text

This topic shows approximate BC dates for the Old Testament (OT) Patriarchs.  It compares the Greek Septúagint/LXX timeline with the Hebrew Masorétic Text (MT) timeline.  Their timelines aren’t the same.  This topic, with the TABLE below, reflects the BCE period from Adam to Moses.

The MT is the Hebrew OT text in use today.  It was copied by Jewish scribes/Masorétes in Jerusalem and Tibérius between 500–1000 AD.  Masórah basically means ‘tradition’.  Wikipedia: Masoretes “The ben Ashér family was largely responsible for the production of the Masoretic Text, although there existed an alternative Masoretic Text of the ben Naphtalí Masoretes.”  The ben Asher version became authoritative, though some Jewish scholars (Saádia Gáon) preferred the ben Naphtali version.  Toráh scholar Rámbam (1135-1204 AD) approved the ben Asher codexes (bound handwritten manuscript volumes of scriptures).  The oldest complete MT manuscript (ms) is the Leningrad Codex of 1008 AD.

The OT in most of our English Bibles is the MT.  Such as: King James Version (KJV), New American Standard Bible (NASB), English Standard Version (ESV), Jewish Publication Society Tanákh (TNK), etc.

Wikipedia: Septuagint “It is the oldest and most important complete translation of the Hebrew Bible made by the Jews.”  The translation of the Hebrew OT into the Koiné old Greek version was done in stages by Jewish scholars in Alexandria, Egypt.  It was begun circa (c) 270 BC and completed by 132 BC.  S. Douglas Woodward Rebooting the Bible, Part 1, p.28 “The Alexandrian Septuagint, also known as the ‘Old Greek’.”  It has morphed into the LXXs of today.  The Codex Alexándrinus (Alex) of 400 AD is the oldest complete LXX ms we have.  The near complete Codex Vaticánus (Vat) dates from the 300s AD.  However, missing from Vat are the pertinent patriarchal genealogies shown in Ge.5 & Ge.11.

The LXX Alex and LXX Vat codexes both date 600 years (yrs) before the oldest MT codex of 1008 AD.

LXX manuscripts (mss) have differences too (so did MT families).  Today’s Septuagint editions use various old mss.  Following are four English editions of the LXX and Bibles that today contain the LXX:

1 A New English Translation of the Septuagint (Nets), edited by Pietersma & Wright, 2007.  Nets uses the German Gottingen Septuagint and Rahlf’s Septuagínta (1935), whose lead ms is Vat.

2 The Septuagint With Apocrypha: Greek and English (Bre), translated by Sir Lancelot Brenton, 1851.  Bre mainly used Vat, secondarily Alex, and other old mss.

3 The Apostolic Bible Pólyglot (Abp), by Charles Vanderpool, 1996, is a Greek interlinear LXX & New Testament with Strongs numbers.  Abp uses Vat, along with the Compluténsian Polyglot Bible (Madrid), the 1709 Greek OT edited by Lambert Bos (Dutch), the Áldine (Venice) text and Síxtine (Roman) text.

4 The Orthodox Study Bible (Ort), by the St. Athanásius Academy, 2008.  This Bible’s OT is the LXX.  Ort uses Rahlf’s Septuaginta (whose lead ms was Vat) and Bre.

Examining the timeline of the OT patriarchs helps us see God’s word in its historical context.  But LXX versus MT discrepancies are evident in verses which relate to the dating of those ancient patriarchs!  Exact dates for the births & deaths of the patriarchs are unknown.  The LXX dates in the following TABLE are approximated from the ancient Alexándrine codex.  All dates in the TABLE are BC.

TABLE:
	LXX	LXX Age	LXX		MT	MT Age	MT
Patriarch	Born	Begetting	Died	Lifespan	Born	Begetting	Died
Adam	5451	230	4521	930	4065	130	3135
Seth	5221	205	4309	912	3935	105	3023
Enosh	5016	190	4111	905	3830	90	2925
Cainan 1	4826	170	3916	910	3740	70	2830
Mahalalel	4656	165	3761	895	3670	65	2775
Jared	4491	162	3529	962	3605	162	2643
Enoch	4329	165	3964	365	3443	65	3078
Methuselah	4164	187	3195	969	3378	187	2409
Lamech 2	3977	188	3224	753/777	3191	182	2414
Noah	3789	500	2839	950	3009	500	2059
Japheth	3289		?	?	2509		?
Shem	3287	100	2687	600	2507	100	1907
Ham	3285		?	?	2505		?
Flood	3189		3189		2409		2409
Arphaxad	3187	135	2622	565/438	2407	35	1969
Cainan 2	3052	130	2592	460	absent	absent	absent
Shelah	2922	130	2462	460/433	2372	30	1939
Eber	2792	134	2288	504/464	2342	34	1878
Peleg	2658	130	2319	339/239	2308	30	2069
Reu	2528	132	2189	339/239	2278	32	2039
Serug	2396	130	2066	330/230	2246	30	2016
Nahor 1	2266	79	2058	208/148	2216	29	2068
Terah	2187	70	1982	205	2187	70	1982
Abraham	2117	100	1942	175	2117	100	1942
Sarah	2107		1980	127	2107		1980
Ishmael	2031		1894	137	2031		1894
Isaac	2017	60	1837	180	2017	60	1837
Esau	1957		?	?	1957		?
Jacob	1957		1810	147	1957		1810
Reuben	1878		1753	125	1878		1753
Simeon	1877		1757	120	1877		1757
Levi	1875		1738	137	1875		1738
Judah	1873		1754	119	1873		1754
Dan	1872		1747	125	1872		1747
Naphtali	1871		1739	132	1871		1739
Gad	1870		1745	125	1870		1745
Asher	1869		1744	125	1869		1744
Issachar	1870		1748	122	1870		1748
Zebulun	1869		1755	114	1869		1755
Dinah	1869		?	?	1869		?
Joseph	1867		1757	110	1867		1757
Benjamin	1857		1732	125	1857		1732
Kohath	1830		1697	133	1830		1697
Amram	1811		1675	136/137	1811		1674
Manasseh	1833		?	?	1833		?
Ephraim	1833		?	?	1833		?
Moses	1692		1572	120	1692		1572

As seen in the TABLE, the LXX Alex timeline shows that Adám was created c 5451 BC; whereas the MT shows Adam was created c 4065 BC.  That’s a difference of 1,386 yrs!  The difference is due to the patriarchs’ Begetting Ages and (post-Food) Lifespans…in the LXX versus the MT.

According to the LXX, Adam was age 230 when he begat Seth, c 5221 BC.  But according to the MT, Adam was age 130 when he begat Seth, c 3935 BC.  The difference in Adam’s begetting age is 100 yrs!

A 100-year discrepancy in Begetting age in the LXX versus the MT continues with each patriarch until Methusélah, the 8^th patriarch.  Both the LXX and MT show that he begat Lámech 2 at age 187.

However, the Lifespans of the pre-Flood patriarchs (all but Lamech 2) are the same in the LXX and MT.

Methuselah lived 969 yrs; he died before the Flood.  LXX mss differ in regards to the number of yrs Methuselah lived before and after he begat Lamech 2.  (Lamech 1 was a descendant of Cain, Ge.4:18-24.)  Alex, Abp, Ort say Methuselah begat Lamech 2 at age 187 and then lived 782 yrs afterwards (as does the MT).  Nets & Bre say Methuselah begat Lamech 2 at age 167 and lived 802 yrs afterwards.  A 20-yr difference.  But 167 yrs plus 802 yrs would have Methuselah living 14 yrs past a 3209 BC Flood!

Henry B. Smith Methuselah’s Begetting Age in Gen.5:25 and the Primeval Chronology of the Septuagint “We can firmly claim that the 167 reading for Methuselah’s begetting age in some LXX MSS of Gen.5:25 is an early scribal error, and was not part of the original [Alex] LXX translation.”

St. Augústine (354–430 AD) City of God 15:13 “There are three Greek manuscripts, one Latin and one Syriac…in all of these [five mss] Methuselah is said to have died 6 years before the Deluge.”

My TABLE reflects 187 yrs & 782 yrs (total = 969); its date of 3195 BC for Methuselah’s death is 6 yrs before the Flood of c 3189 BC.  But if Lamech 2 had begat Noah 20 yrs earlier…the Flood is 3209 BC.

Also the Lifespan of the pre-Flood Lamech 2, son of Methuselah, differs in the LXX versus the MT.  The LXX says his lifespan is 753 yrs, whereas the MT says his lifespan is 777 yrs.

Concerning the Begetting ages of patriarchs born after the Flood, there is a 100-yr discrepancy in the LXX versus the MT for all patriarchs from Arphaxad/Arpachshad down through Serúg.  John van Tuyl A New Chronology for Old Testament Times, p.117 “The LXX numbers (Alex and Sistine) for fatherhood of the patriarchs after the Flood are always the same as the MT numbers, plus exactly 100 years…until Nahór is reached.”  Nahor 1, that is, Ge.11:22.  (Nahor 2 was one of Abraham’s brothers, Ge.11:26.)

The LXX says Nahor 1 was age 79 when he begat Térah; the MT says Nahor 1 was age 29 when he begat Terah…that’s only a 50-yr discrepancy, not a 100-yr.  (Among the LXXs referenced, Bre alone says the begetting age of Nahor 1 was 179 and his lifespan was 304 yrs, not 79 and 208 yrs.)

Another discrepancy is in Ge.11:12-13.  The LXX shows Arphaxad begat Cainán 2 his firstborn at age 135, and Cainan 2 then begat Sheláh.  Luke too says Cainan 2 was the son of Arphaxad (Lk.3:35-36).  But the Ge.11:12 MT says Arphaxad (not Cainan 2) fathered Shelah.  Cainan 2 is absent in the MT.

Ge.11:26, 31-32 Terah begat Abraham (his younger son) at age 70, and Terah’s lifespan was 205 yrs.  Josephus Antiquities of the Jews 1:6:5 “Terah begat Abrám in his 70^th year. Terah died when he had lived to be 205 years old.”  Ac.7:2-4 after Terah died, God removed Abraham into the land of Canáan.  Andrew Sibley Was Terah Dead When Abraham Left Harran?: “There is a chronological difficulty regarding the date of Abraham’s birth in relation to the age of Terah. If the period recorded in the Old Testament from Terah’s birth to Abram’s birth (70 years) is integrated with the time Abram left Harrán [at age 75, ref Ge.12:4], a period of only 145 years for the life of Terah would be established. But Terah died at age 205, leaving a gap of 60 years.”  How may this ‘60-yr gap’ (205 – 145 = 60) be resolved?

Abraham legally obtained land in Canaan “when his father was dead” (Ac.7:4).  Ge.23:1 Abraham’s wife Sarah died at age 127.  Ge.23:17-20 for her burial, Abraham purchased land in Canaan.  He’d lived nearly 30 yrs in the land of the Philistines, prior to Beershéba (Ge.21:34, 22:19).  ISBE: Abraham “The death of Sarah became the occasion for Abraham’s first acquisition of the first permanent holding of Palestine soil, the nucleus of his promised inheritance.”  He purchased the land from Hittites.  Diana Edelman TheTorah.com “The field and cave are Abraham’s first acquired land rights in Canaan.”  In the year Sarah died and Abraham acquired the field, he was age 137.  cf. Ge.17:17.  Terah had died two yrs before, at age 205, when Abraham was 135.  (Terah preceded his son by 70 yrs.)  Augustine op. cit. 31, 35 “His [Abraham’s] settlement in the land of Canaan, not his going from Harran, took place after his father’s death….He was settled in that land, entering then on actual possession of it; that is, after the death of his father, who died two years before.”  That rationale resolves the seeming ‘60-yr gap’.

{Sidelight: The individual saints who wrote the books of the Bible didn’t always order their writings chronologically.  (Had they always wrote chronologically, it sometimes would’ve interrupted the story flow.)  For example, Ge.25:7-8 notes that Abraham died at age 175.  v.26 says his son Isaac begat the twins Jacob & Esau at age 60.  But when Isaac was 60, Abraham was still alive at age 160!  Yet several verses previous it noted that Abraham died at age 175.  Similarly, Ge.11:32 notes that Terah died at age 205, yet he was still alive while the story of events in Abraham’s life unfolded in Ge.12–Ge.21.}

The timeline for the patriarchs Abraham down through Moses is addressed with detail in the topic “Chronology: Abraham to the Exodus”.  See that topic; I won’t address its particulars here in this topic.

Source material for this topic is taken primarily from the book of Genesis, especially chapters 5, 10-11 (also Ge.25, 29-30).  Besides Genesis, a source for the lifespans of Jacob’s sons is Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs (T12P).  It was written in Aramaic and finalized between 140 BC and 150 AD.  Ref in T12P: Reuben 1:1; Simeon 1:1; Judah 12:12, 26:2; Dan 1:1; Naphtali 1:1; Gad 1:1; Asher 1:1; Issachár 7:1; Zebulún 1:1; Benjamin 12:2.  Another Jewish extra-Biblical source is the Book of Jubilees (or ‘Little Genesis’), written in Hebrew c 150 BC.  Jub.28:23, 30:2 refers to Jacob’s daughter Dinah, and Zebulun as her twin brother.  The Dead Sea Scrolls 4Q543-5 tells of Moses’ father Amrám.

Again, exact dates for the OT patriarchs are uncertain/unknown.  Some historians think it’s conceivable that the pre-Flood patriarch years may represent (old earth) unknown extended periods of time.

Jeremy Sexton Primeval Chronology Restored “According to the MT, God created Adam c 4000 BC; according to the LXX c 5500 BC. Jewish scribes in Egypt translated the Torah into Greek (c 280 BC).”

Demétrius (Jewish chronologer c 220 BC) calculated the creation of Adam at 5500, 5484, or 5451 BC.

Jewish Library: Eupólemus – This Jewish historian said 158 BC is “5,149 yrs from Adam” (5307 BC).

Wikipedia: Dating Creation “Early Christians calculated Creation…Clément of Alexandria [200 AD] 5592 BC, Theóphilus [180 AD] 5529 BC, Sextus Julius Africánus [230 AD] 5501 BC, Hippólytus [230 AD] 5500 BC, Pánodorus [412 AD] 5493 BC, Sevérus [403 AD] 5469 BC, Býzantine calendar [600s AD] 5509 BC.”

Irish Archbishop James Ussher (in 1654 AD) dated Adam at 4004 BC.  Jewish rabbis say 3761 BC.

Another relevant book sourced for the TABLE timeline was Dr. Martin Anstey’s The Romance of Bible Chronology, v.2.

My other topics on OT chronology: “Chronology: Abraham to the Exodus”, “Chronology: the Exodus to Samuel”, “Chronology: Samuel to Rehoboam”, “Skins Made For Adam Were Passed Down?”.

 

Paul the Apostle (1) – Law and Works

There are many Bible readers who view the apostle Paul’s epistles as unclear or controversial.  Some Christians who believe in Jesus even think Paul was a false apostle!  Did Paul mean it is necessary to maintain good works and obey God’s commandments/laws…or it isn’t necessary?

As Christians, our belief in Jesus, in salvation, in the veracity of scripture, etc., is to a large extent based upon the testimony of (eye) witnesses.  For example, the four gospels testify of Jesus.  Books of the Bible were composed by God’s servants, inspired by the Holy Spirit (HS).  2Ti.3:16 Paul wrote “All scripture is inspired by God, and is profitable for teaching, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness”.  And according to Ps.119:172, “All Thy commandments are righteousness”.

Our Bibles, both Testaments, contain numerous righteous commandments/laws of God.  Ps.119:142 “Thy law is truth.”  Yet Christians today reading Paul come to varying opinions about the continuing validity of God’s laws & commandments seen in scripture.  The true moral laws & principles God gave to ancient Israel…are they applicable today?  Should they be obeyed by Christians, by mankind?

Let’s fabricate, make believe, a trial to simulate how a court would ‘rule’ on this issue.  We’ll use the holy scriptures or their writers as the witnesses.  We won’t use the historical Roman Catholic Church or other denominations, or opinions of church ‘fathers’, theologians or other people.  A court ‘verdict’ can be delivered only after the witnesses have been heard.  Let’s now call the Bible witnesses.

Ge.26:5 “Abraham obeyed Me, kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, My laws.”  All that!  That indicates Divine laws were known by gentiles well before God’s codified law was given to Moses & Israel.  (see “Abraham Obeyed Which Commandments?” and “Genesis Principles Predate Moses”.)

Moses wrote in De.11:1, “Love the Lord your God, and always keep His charge, His statutes, His judgments, and His commandments”.  Also De.4:8 “What great nation is there that has statutes and judgments as righteous as this whole Law?”  Israel had such just laws, blessed beyond other peoples!

Joshua wrote of the Lord’s exhortation to him in Jsh.1:7-8. “Be careful to do according to all the law which Moses my servant commanded you. For then you will make your way prosperous and have good success.”  Obeying the laws God made known to ancient Israel would result in prosperity and success!

David was a man after God’s own heart (ref 1Ki.11:4, 34, 15:5; Ac.13:22).  David wrote in Ps.19:7-9, “The law of the Lord is perfect. His judgments are true, righteous altogether.”  That’s high acclaim!

The Preacher (Ec.12:9) taught in Ec.12:13, “The conclusion, when all has been heard: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind”.  After we’ve tried other things or other lifestyles, when all is said & done…obeying God’s commandments is the bottom line for right living!

Isaiah wrote in Is.8:20, “To the law and to the testimony! If they don’t speak according to this word, it is because they have no light.”  Anyone not speaking according to the Lord’s commandments/testimony is in some darkness, whether they realize it or not.

Josiah said in 2Ch.34:14-15, 19, 21, “Great is the wrath of the Lord because our fathers haven’t observed the word of the Lord, to do all that is written in this book”.  This king was grieved to find God’s book of the law had been disobeyed.  Josiah instituted reforms.

Jeremiah prophesied that eventually the Lord would even write His laws on peoples’ very hearts!  Je.31:31-33 “I will make a New Covenant. I will put My law within them, and on their heart I will write it.”  God’s living principles would thereby become internalized in man.

Ezekiel prophesied in Ezk.36:26-27, “I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes and observe My judgments”.  The day would come when the HS would enable people to live according to God’s statutes & justice.  (This passage resembles Je.31:33 above, regarding the New Covenant.)

Daniel lamented in Da.9:10-11, “All Israel has transgressed Thy law and turned aside, so the curse has been poured out on us”.  Wise Daniel understood that curses can result from violating God’s laws.

Malachi wrote the Lord’s warning in Mal.4:4-6. “Remember the law of Moses My servant, the statutes and judgments I commanded him. Lest I come and smite the Land with a ban of destruction.”  In the final verses of the Old Testament, future generations are exhorted & warned to remember God’s laws.

Jesus the Lord confirmed in Jn.14:21, “He who has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me”.  God had promised Moses/Israel in Ex.20:6, “I, the Lord your God…showing mercy to thousands who love Me and keep My commandments.”  Jesus linked real love of God to obeying His commandments.  Jesus castigated those Pharisees & scribes who rejected His commandments in favor of Judaism’s oral law.  Mk.7:8-11 “You set aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition.”  Jesus attacked the rules & regulations of men, but never the written commandments of God, including those which He’d spoken to Moses/Israel.  Jesus wouldn’t contradict the Lord Himself!

Peter said in Ac.5:29, 32, “We must obey God rather than men…The Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.”  Rather than fearing man, obedience to God is necessary and is a key to being Spirit-filled. (see “Governmental Loyalty for Christians”.)  God commanded in Le.11:44-47 e.g., “I am the Lord your God. Be holy for I am holy. This is the law to make a distinction between the clean and the unclean.”  Peter said in Ac.10:14, “I have never eaten anything common or unclean.”  Later as an old man, Peter still advocates holiness, which pertained to the Lord’s command (Le.11:45) regarding clean/unclean, “It is written, Be holy for I am holy” (1Pe.1:16).  also see “Unclean versus Clean Food”.

James wrote in Ja.4:12, “There is One Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy”.  Jesus’ relative recognized God as the one and only genuine Lawgiver.  God’s laws & standards are intrinsically right!

John reiterated Jesus’ words about loving Him (Jn.14:21) in 1Jn.5:3. “This is the love of God, that you keep His commandments.”  The elderly apostle defined real love as keeping God’s commandments!  John wrote in Re.12:17, “The dragon was enraged and went off to make war with those who keep the commandments of God and hold the testimony of Jesus”.  Satan hates commandment-keepers!  And John also warned in 1Jn.2:3-4, “The one who says ‘I know Him’, and doesn’t keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him”.  Those opposed to Divine law may just pay lip-service to Jesus.

To inherit eternal life, in Lk.10:25-28 Jesus acknowledged a person should: (1) Love God…De.6:5 “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul [life], with all your might.”  (2) Love your neighbor…Le.19:18 “You shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the Lord.”  (see “Love – Godly Love”.)  The Lord had told these principles to Moses many centuries earlier.  They didn’t originate with Jesus in the 1^st century!  God’s laws all generally come within these two broad headings…love God and love your neighbor.  187 chapters of the Bible are attributed to Moses, many of them containing God’s commands & precepts.

Jesus again, at the very end of our Bible, Re.22:14 KJV “Blessed are they who do His commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life”.  Eternal life for both Jews and gentiles (e.g. the non-Jew Abraham in Ge.26:5) who do God’s commandments.

We’ve quoted and examined the Bible testimony/evidence of 15 witnesses.  Witnesses from Genesis to Revelation attest to the laws of God!  De.19:15 “A single witness shall not rise up…on the evidence of 2 or 3 witnesses a matter shall be confirmed.”  A minimum of two witnesses is necessary.  Jn.8:16-18 Jesus confirmed, “The testimony of two men is true”.  Jesus applied De.19:15 to disputes between church brothers in Mt.18:16. “By the mouth of 2 or 3 witnesses.”  (It’s not limited to murder cases.)

1Ti.5:19 Paul instructed Timothy, “Don’t receive an accusation against an elder except on the basis of 2 or 3 witnesses”.  He.10:28 “Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without pity on the testimony of 2 or 3 witnesses.”  Even God has His unique 2 witnesses!  Re.11:3 “I will grant authority to My 2 witnesses.”  So we see in both Testaments…at least 2 or 3 witnesses are necessary as evidence.

So again, we’ve read 15 witnesses who are in agreement about God’s laws, etc.  But, what if another single witness arises who disagrees or seems to disagree with the above 15 witnesses of scripture…whether he’s a Bible character, a church ‘father’, a modern ‘prophet’, whoever?  Or what if a single witness seems to agree with those 15 witnesses part of the time, and seems to disagree part of the time?

That’s how many Bible readers view the apostle Paul.  What many see in Paul’s writings is…he’s vacillating between obedience to God’s commandments/laws and indifference or laxity.

Let’s look at the question of whether or not good works (érgon Strongs g2041, Greek) are necessary for Christians.  Jesus said in Mt.5:16, “Let your light shine before men that they may see your good works [g2041]”.  Jesus says in Re.2:1-2, 18-19, 3:1, “I know your works [g2041]”.  Jesus rebuked and urged them to repent of dead works (also ref He.6:1).  James wrote in Ja.2:18, 26, “I’ll show you my faith by my works [g2041]….faith without works [g2041] is dead.”  Peter wrote in 1Pe.1:17, “The Father, who without respect of persons judges according to every man’s work [g2041]”.  Paul wrote in Ti.3:8, “Be thoughtful to be leading in good works [g2041]”.  Paul in Col.1:10, “That you might walk worthy of the Lord, being fruitful in every good work [g2041]”.  And Paul in Ro.2:5-6, “The righteous judgment of God, who will render to every man according to his works [g2041]”.  Confirming the need to maintain good works, here we’ve read 4 ‘witnesses’…Jesus, James, Peter, and Paul himself.

But Paul in Ro.4:6 (seemingly conversely against Ro.2:5-6) wrote of “the man to whom God reckons righteousness apart from works [g2041]”.  Also Ep.2:8-9 “By grace you have been saved through faith, not as a result of works [g2041].”  What?!  Taking these two passages at face value, Paul contradicts not only himself…but Peter, James, and even Jesus too!  Our wayward human nature may favor the Paul of Ro.4:6 & Ep.2:8-9…and dismiss the Paul of Ti.3:8, Col.1:10 & Ro.2:5-6, and the above words of Peter, James and Jesus!  But Peter warned of lawless men who twist Paul’s writings.  2Pe.3:15-17 “Our beloved brother Paul, in all his letters are some things which are hard to understand; which the unstable distort as they do also the rest of the scriptures, carried away by the error of lawless men.”  Peter indicated the lawless dislike God’s laws/commandments, and use Paul’s epistles to excuse themselves.

The phrase “works of the law” appears 7 times in Paul’s writings.  e.g.: Ro.3:20 “By the works [ergon g2041] of the law [nómos g3551] no flesh shall be justified in His sight.”  Ro.3:28 “A man is justified by faith, apart from works of the law.”  Ga.2:16 “A man isn’t justified by the works of the law.”  Ga.3:5 “Does He who gives you the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the law or the hearing of faith?” (also Ro.9:32, Ga.3:2, 3:10.)  What was this “works of the law”?

The concept “works of the law”, which Paul was against, is found as Esséne rituals in the Dead Sea Scrolls 4QMMT.  This related to their sectarian solar calendar, purity regulations & cooking utensils & ceremony, the intermarriage of priests with commoners, etc.  (Essene law concepts weren’t continued in rabbinic Judaism.  Neither’s oral law applies to Christians…they aren’t God’s commands.)

Dr. John Bergsma Dead Sea Scrolls: Paul and Works of the Law “4QMMT is a letter from the Essenes to the Pharisees about ritual purity. In 4QMMT, it’s the only use of the phrase ‘works of the law’ in ancient literature outside of Paul. These aren’t issues of eternal, moral principles; these are all issues of cultic purity. Not a reference to good works in general.”  They were ritualistic works.

Martin Abegg 4QMMT, Paul, and Works of the Law “Works of the law’ in 4QMMT are extant precepts concerning acts which trespass the boundaries between the pure and the impure. Paul consciously reflected the term ‘works of the law’ which was used by the author of 4QMMT and, I would suggest, by Paul’s opponents in Galatians. MMT is couched in the exact language of what Paul was rebutting in his letter. It appears highly likely that Paul was reacting to the kind of theology espoused in 4QMMT, that a person was reckoned righteous by keeping ‘works of the law.”  Via purity regulations.

4QMMT C31 ending “It will be reckoned for you as righteousness, when you perform what is right and good [regulations herein] before Him, for your own good and for that of Israel.”  Ro.4:22 Paul wrote, “It was reckoned to him [Abraham] as righteousness”.  A likeness of expression to 4QMMT.

Barry F. Parker ‘Works of the Law’ and the Jewish Settlement in Asia Minor “It is not a case of Paul attacking the law in Galatians. Rather, he is attacking a particular understanding of the law. His assault is not on the law but on certain ‘works of the law’. There is no place whatsoever for a random selection of works of the law. 4QMMT’s ‘works of the law’ is the linguistic equivalent of Paul’s ‘erga nomou’ (e.g. Rom 3:20, 28; Gal 2:16; 3:2, 5, 10). Indeed, it seems to be the only extant equivalent. As such, it is crucial in the understanding of Paul’s use of the phrase ‘works of the law’. Rom.3:20-22, Paul makes the point that Christ adhered to the law in its entirety and not selectively. Paul’s opponents in Galatians have twisted the purpose of the law almost beyond recognition, and Paul has no tolerance for their view. Notably, he condemns their emphasis on ‘selective works of the law’ [MMT Miqsat Ma’ase ha-Toráh]. The more disparaging language concerning law in Galatians doesn’t refer to the Torah [written] per se, but to a perversion of it. The use of ‘works of the law’ there confirms both that Paul is in (indirect) dialogue with those familiar with Essene terminology and that selectivity is in view. Although he speaks to a different audience about a different problem regarding the law in Romans, when Paul uses the phrase ‘erga nomou’ in Romans 3, the immediate context is quite similar to what he addresses in Galatians.”  4QMMT promoted sectarian selected practices (non-scriptural).

‘Works of the law’ (ergon nomou) also related to temple sacrifices.  As per Le.6:1-7 – After confession, restitution, pay the fine, do animal sacrifice at the temple…for forgiveness, atonement, justification…only then did the offender become reconciled to God again.  This process for Old Covenant Israel was justification by works of the Torah.  And it was work!  Philo The Special Laws1, p.556 re Le.6:1-7: “Pardon shall be given to such a man, who shows the truth of his repentance, not by promises, but by works. Restoring the deposit he’d received, giving up what he’d stolen or found, paying in addition 1/5 of the value as an atonement for the evil he’d done. Also go to the temple and sacrifice a ram.”  The now obsolete system of ritually killing animals for expiation also was a “ministry of death” (2Co.3:7).

A closer look at the ‘inconsistent’ Paul of Ro.4:6 and Ep.2:8-9, Ferrar Fenton 1903 translation: Ro.4:6 “The man to whom God grants righteousness apart from rituals.”  Ep.2:8-9 “You are saved by a gift through faith, not from rituals.”  Paul here had in mind ritualistic works, not good deeds or morality.  Which makes sense, because Paul went on to say in v.10, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works”.  Would Paul contradict himself in consecutive verses; that works aren’t done in v.9, and yet the same works should be done in v.10?  Rather, Christians needn’t do rituals, but should do good deeds and moral obedience.  Thus, Paul in these two passages doesn’t contradict the Paul of Ti.3:8, Col.1:10 or Ro.2:5-6…nor does Paul contradict Peter, James, or Jesus regarding works.

Sacrificial & ritualistic works were not the Decalogue/10 Commandments, nor were they God’s dietary laws for health.  Obviously it requires no work to: rest on the sabbath day, refrain from murder or theft, refrain from eating pigs, mice, bats, cats, dogs, or from drinking blood!  A person can refrain from violations of those written principles even by staying in bed…no ‘works’ are involved whatsoever!

How did Paul view the written moral laws/commandments of God?  Paul wrote in Ro.3:31, “Do we nullify the Law through faith? By no means! On the contrary, we establish the law.”  Then in Ro.7:12-14, “The Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. For we know the Law is spiritual.”  (The Holy Spirit had given the Law to Moses.)   Paul goes on to say in v.22-25, “I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man…I myself with my mind am serving the law of God.”  It seems God was writing His laws upon the heart/mind of Paul too.  As Jeremiah prophesied.  Paul told gentile converts in Ep.6:2, “Honor your father and mother”, quoting the very Law of Ex.20:12, De.5:16.

The above verses are examples of Paul’s testimony not contradicting what the HS inspired the other 15 witnesses.  That is the true Paul.  Again, 2Ti.3:16 Paul himself wrote, “All scripture is inspired by God”.  Paul even says in Ro.8:7, “The carnal mind is hostile toward God, for it doesn’t subject itself to the Law of God, it is unable to do so”.  Folks may sit in church on Sunday morning, yet are unable to subject themselves to God’s laws.  According to Paul, that’s indicative of a carnal mind, unable to really obey God’s spiritual law.  Some may call Jesus “Lord, Lord” (Lk.6:46), but not really obey the Lord.

We ‘called the witnesses’ in our simulated trial…Gentile, Israelites, Jews…Prophets, Priests, Kings.  From Genesis to the final chapter of Revelation!  Jesus had said in Jn.17:17, “Thy word is truth”.  Since our Bibles include 13 letters (87 chapters) bearing the name of Paul, we tend to overlook the fact that he is solely just one witness!  And although Paul’s epistles aren’t essential for us to inherit eternal life, Christians would prefer a clear, consistent understanding of Paul.

Would a sound-minded judge throw out the testimony of 15 separate witnesses to side with 1 whose testimony seems inconsistent?  Needless to say, a just judge would side with 15 righteous witnesses, and disregard any (supposed) contrary testimony of merely 1 witness!  And we saw where Paul too acknowledged the need for 2 or 3 witnesses; and read where he agreed with the 15 Bible witnesses.

Also we saw verses where Paul exhorted good works.  And Paul’s reference to “works of the law” related to Jewish sectarianism/Éssenism which Paul opposed, and to sacrifices.

Finally, the writer to the Hebrews quoted Jeremiah in He.8:8-10. “Behold, I make a new covenant. I will put My laws in their minds and will write them upon their hearts.”  Here a final ‘witness’ confirms that God writes His laws within New Covenant believers.  The moral principles & laws which the Lord gave ancient Israel, the people He loved (e.g. De.7:7-8), are being written on yielded hearts. (also see “Two Covenants – Heart of the Matter”.)

We’ve heard/read the ‘witnesses’ of scripture.  Ladies and gentlemen of the jury…how will you decide?  As for me, I believe the verdict is…God’s moral laws/commandments and good works are valid for Israel, gentiles, Christians, all mankind!  Praise God, our Lawgiver (Ja.4:12)!

This series about Paul is continued in “Paul the Apostle (2) – The Chameleon?”.