- Shopping Bag ( 0 items )
Available on NOOK devices and apps
Want a NOOK? Explore Now
Want a NOOK? Explore Now
Shuvyah
Posted September 20, 2011
Two thousand years ago, a Jewish teacher named Yeshua ben Yosef appeared in the hills of Galilee and shared his simple, heartfelt, brilliant interpretation of Torah with the many crowds of Jews and some others who flocked to hear him. He quickly gained a reputation as a great prophet and healer, and many believed him to be the promised Messiah -- the deliverer of Israel. In subsequent decades, Yeshua's followers wrote accounts of his words and deeds, as well as their own letters and visions. These texts have come down to us in a Jewish-Greek hybrid language heavily influenced by Hebrew (similar to Yiddish or Ladino). Such a dialect had been employed a couple centuries earlier in producing the Septuagint (LXX) translation of Hebrew Scripture, which at the time of Yeshua was widely used by Greek-speaking Jewish communities throughout the Mediterranean world.
The Messianic Writings as translated and annotated by Daniel Gruber represent, to my knowledge, the first attempt to render the texts about Yeshua (Jesus) into English from Jewish-Greek. Common translations erroneously operate as if these writings were originally written in a Christian, rather than a Jewish, idiom. However, an enormous and continually growing body of scholarship demonstrates that this was certainly not the case. Anyone familiar with the works of David Flusser, James Charlesworth, Daniel Boyarin, David Bivin, Oskar Skarsaune, or other leading researchers in the field will immediately recognize the validity and importance of translating from a first-century Jewish context instead of anachronistically and inappropriately from a Gentile Christian one. Today such an approach is widely accepted, at least in theory -- much more so than a century ago when Yosef Klausner began to urge studying Yeshua in his first-century Jewish context. Nonetheless, until now no one had actually made an English translation from the correct language or dialect: Hebraic or Judeo-Greek.
It is hard to overestimate the importance of this groundbreaking attempt at a translation from Jewish-Greek into English. Translations that fully recognize the Hebraic dimensions of the writings in question have previously appeared in Hebrew (e.g., Yitskhak Zalkinson) and French (André Chouraqui). Yet the vast majority of existent versions in all modern languages do not translate from the original language or context. As the back cover of The Messianic Writings notes, "This initial translation is not perfect, and will always stand in need of improvement, but it is faithful to the text and its context." That fundamental reorientation -- accepting the text in its own historical setting, rather than through the prism of later theologies and biases -- makes a world of difference. This translation opens up vast areas for future discoveries and refinements. It is a new starting point for all those who are willing to encounter profound and revelatory Jewish faith of the first century on its own terms.
Anonymous
Posted September 12, 2011
the Messianic Writings suggest a new reformation.
Benjamin Franklin's invention of the lightning rod was a new way to understand how to harness the power of electricity and in the same manner the Messianic Writings help us to better harness the power that comes from the Bible. According to the book of Acts, the disciples were called Christians or "Chrestians" first at Antioch. Instead of translating the Bible from a Christian perspective, the Messianic Writings are translated from the perspective of a disciple, that is, a student of the God of Israel - in other words, from before terms like "Christian" started in Antioch. Historically, new translations and reforming ideas have frequently been introduced through a single translator, from Jerome's translation into the common Latin of the day to Luther's and Tyndale's translations that helped spark the Reformation. The revolutionary thinker Copernicus brought a major institutional change when he taught the church that the universe does not revolve around the Earth. The Messianic Writings are a new way of looking at the "New Testament" and will greatly challenge and improve common views that many Jews and Christians hold today - hopefully in a positive way. Some of my own views have been challenged and re-oriented but ultimately this experience has changed some of my spiritual practices and strengthened my faith journey.
The Messianic Writings explain that the "church" as we think of it is not actually in the Bible! According to the commentary, the word commonly translated as "church" in the Bible, should be "congregation" or "community". The original Greek word for church is "ekklesia" which is a translation of the Hebrew "kahal" or "edah", often signifying "kahal Israel" or congregation of people who worship the God of Israel. William Tyndale's translation correctly used the word "congregation". Tyndale was burned at the stake by the authorities who were then inspired to produce King James' "authorized" version of the Bible. The Messianic Writings begs the question - who should be the authority on God's word, King James or the original text itself? Perhaps, this illusion of the church is part of the reason so many churches see themselves as separate from Israel and thus miss out on various blessings and lack a vibrant and positive connection to either Jesus' homeland, Israel, or with his fellow Jewish people. How many educated church leaders have had a basic experience such as visiting or learning about the local synagogue - even though that is one of the places where Jesus taught. The Messianic Writings also have some interesting commentary on what the word "synagogue" meant in the time of Jesus as a meeting place for worship. In the book of Exodus, God calls Israel his firstborn son and then in Joshua says he will never leave or forsake his people Israel, so why does the "church" try to separate itself from the commonwealth of Israel? If the community who professes to follow Israel's Messiah is in some sense part of the community of Israel, as the Bible attests, what does that mean for Christians, disciples and Jews today? What does the "commonwealth of Israel" really mean as Rabbi Shaul (Paul the Apostle) mentions in his letter to the Ephesians? These are questions that seem to have clearer answers with the more accurate understanding that the Messianic Writings offers.
LendMe™
Overview
These are Jewish writings about Hebrew Biblical concepts, employing corresponding ways of thinking and reasoning. They present themselves as completely dependent upon and flowing from Tanakh, i.e. the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings.Traditional translations of these first-century Jewish scriptures perpetuate systematic errors of immense magnitude — errors which significantly distort their message and are inextricably linked to horrific historical
consequences. This initial translation is not perfect, and will always stand in need of improvement, but it is faithful to the text and its context.