Welcome Page (Continued)
Continuing discussion of the Hebrew language, there is proof Yeshua spoke Hebrew (as well as Aramaic).
Consider this from Skip Moen, D. Phil:
"In spite of the common theological idea that Jesus spoke [only] Aramaic, and that the Greek New Testament was a translation from Aramaic, I have discovered that this is a mistake. It's amazing what you can learn when you get old enough to admit your mistakes. But my confession to you has a much bigger implication than just that the teacher learned something new. The implication changes a great deal about how we understand the New Testament - and the teachings of Jesus. So, bear with me. We are about to make some startling corrections.
Consider this from Skip Moen, D. Phil:
"In spite of the common theological idea that Jesus spoke [only] Aramaic, and that the Greek New Testament was a translation from Aramaic, I have discovered that this is a mistake. It's amazing what you can learn when you get old enough to admit your mistakes. But my confession to you has a much bigger implication than just that the teacher learned something new. The implication changes a great deal about how we understand the New Testament - and the teachings of Jesus. So, bear with me. We are about to make some startling corrections.
This word, Elijah, is the interpretation that people placed on the words of Jesus spoken from the cross. According to Mark 15:34, Jesus said, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani." Mark tells us that this is translated as "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" We often take this to be an Aramaic phrase. That's why we think it needs translation. But if it were in Aramaic, then it would have been impossible for the crowd to confuse Jesus' words with the name for Elijah, since only in Hebrew does the word Eli have the double meaning of "my God" and the shortened name for Elijah. If Jesus spoke the words in Aramaic, no one would have been confused at all. But Mark records that they were confused. They thought Jesus was calling Elijah. That means that Jesus must have uttered the words in Hebrew, not Aramaic.
You may say, "So what? What's the big deal?" The big deal (and it is a very big deal) is that if Jesus conversed in Hebrew as His native tongue [which would make sense because He was a Hebrew and a Jew], then it is simply impossible to understand what He taught without knowing the culture and grammar of Hebrew, not Greek or Aramaic. We already know that Jesus used Scripture (the Old Testament) exhaustively. But if He commonly spokeHebrew, then all of His thought forms, expressions and idioms will have to be understood from a Jewish [Hebrew] perspective. That is a very big deal.
It means that Christians are [need to be] much closer to Jewish [Hebrew] thinking than we have commonly believed. It means that Jesus was the greatest rabbi who ever lived, and that He taught in the fashion of the rabbis. It means that if we are going to practice what Jesus commanded, we will have to enter into the Jewish worldview in order to understand what those commands really mean. We will have to throw away centuries to [of] segregation between Jewish thought and Christian thought and re-discover the Judaism beneath the soil of Christianity [being careful not to get caught in the mistruths within Judaism]. This will rock our world!
Concepts of the church, evangelism, discipleship, tithing, prayer, blessing, confession, repentance and many, many more will have to be reconsidered from an Old Testament perspective. When Jesus said that He did not come to abolish the Law, we will see this in a radically new light. God has not changed. The plan is the same as it has always been from before the foundation of the world. Jesus came to open our eyes to what God had already been doing for thousands of years with a nation of Israel. The Christian Bible starts in Genesis, not Matthew [or John]. We have so much to learn - again. Are you with me?" - Skip Moen, D. Phil.
To discover the real meaning of words mistranslated or missunderstood in our western bibles, (one word each day) visit Skip Moen's website at: http://skipmoen.com/todays-word/
*comments in [ ] added by the author of this website.
Hebrew reveals the true intent our Father in Heaven
What is available to us in understanding when we look at scripture that we have read and glanced over for years, is quite a revelation when looked at with a Hebrew perspective or translated properly from the Hebrew. For example; the word “offering” in the context of the Torah (first five books of The Bible), is synonymous with the word “sacrifice”, so the idea is we have to appease God with a sacrifice. With this view, the entire meaning and intent of certain scriptures is lost.
The word translated as “offering” means “to draw near to”. This changes our perspective entirely. Instead of appeasing God with a “sacrifice” because He demands it, He wants us to be able to draw close to him, but sinful flawed man cannot get near a holy perfect God. The natural consequence is death to the sinful, flawed one.
Because of His intense love for His children, He found a temporary way to “protect” them from death by allowing man to transfer his sins to an innocent animal, thus the animal being the one to die in the man’s place so man is protected; sheltered if you will, which leads me to another word whose meaning and intent is lost in translation; the word is “atonement”. Atonement is a covering of sorts. In the Hebrew, it goes one step further. With the context of transferring sins to an innocent animal, and thus being protected from dying (by sinful man drawing near to a holy God), the word translated as “atonement” actually comes from the Hebrew word meaning: “proprietary shelter”
According to Websters Dictionary, the word “proprietary” means: one that possesses, owns, or holds exclusive right to something; specifically.
According to Websters Dictionary, the word “proprietary” means: one that possesses, owns, or holds exclusive right to something; specifically.
In other words, to allow us to “draw near” to Him (because He wants us to) He provides a means (which includes protection) that only He can give, to keep us alive when we do so. Now doesn’t that sound a little better and indeed provide much greater understanding of a God that loves His children and wants to be near to them than a God demanding sacrifices to appease Him? Of course it does.
Another example of this is the book of Leviticus. The book of Leviticus describes the yucky “sacrifice” system in detail and is not an easy book to read because of it, but when we realize the proper context provided by proper translation, our perspective should change. The word translated “Leviticus” is “Vayikra” in Hebrew. It means “and He called”.
What is His call? It is in Hebrew; "shuva eylai, ki g'al'ticha - return to me (repent), and I will redeem you."
I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake; and I will not remember your sins. -
Isaiah 43:25 (emphasis mine)
I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake; and I will not remember your sins. -
Isaiah 43:25 (emphasis mine)
Did you catch that? He provides a way for us to draw near to Him for His own sake!
Our Father in Heaven who loves us and wants to be with us provided a way that only He could provide, but it was a temporary imperfect way, so He provided a perfect permanent way, by giving up His one and only begotten son (the sacrificial Lamb) to take the place of the innocent animal which had to die, so by His Son’s death on the cross (execution stake), God can draw near to His children. Why? Because He loves them and wants to be with them. This is an amazing revelation, but equally amazing is the revelation of His Name.
His Name
In our Western Bibles, wherever the real authentic name of our Heavenly Father/Creator occurs (over 6,800 places) it has been removed and replaced (by man) with the words "LORD" and "God". You will notice throughout most of this website, these terms are seldom used. That is because I have chosen to use His real authentic Hebrew Name; (the one that occurs in all the most ancient, authentic scrolls of scripture) instead.
Even our Savior/Messiah speaking to His Father in Heaven, said this:
John 17:6
6 “I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.
John 17:6
6 “I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.
Joel 2:32
And it shall come to pass, [that] whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord* shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord* hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord* shall call. (emphasis mine)
And it shall come to pass, [that] whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord* shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord* hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord* shall call. (emphasis mine)
*authentic scrolls have His real name here instead of "Lord".
“For then I will give to the peoples purified* lips,That all of them may call on the name of the Lord** To serve Him shoulder to shoulder." Zephaniah 3:9
*another meaning of the word "Hebrew" in Hebrew is "pure"
**Again, authentic scrolls have His real name here instead of "Lord".
**Again, authentic scrolls have His real name here instead of "Lord".