gospels

Who’s Who in the Gospels?

Who’s Who in the Gospels?

What was Judaism like in the Second Temple period? It was diverse. Very diverse. This week Pinchas Shir tells us about where that diversity came from and why we only talk about four of the more than ten divisions of Judaism from that time. We …

Did Thomas touch Jesus hand(s), or seeing was enough for him to believe?

Did Thomas touch Jesus hand(s), or seeing was enough for him to believe?

In John 20:24‭-‬25 one reads

But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.

Then, Thomas answered as if he really believed what was in front of him (John 20:28)

And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.

To which Jesus replied

Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

As Jesus only addresses the component of the vision, does it mean that for Thomas that was enough?


Notes:

Does Mark’s and Matthew’s use of Aramaic indicate Jesus spoke more than one language?

Mark and Matthew record Jesus speaking Aramiac from the cross:

And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34 ESV)

And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46 ESV)

All other times they record Jesus words using the Greek language. It is accepted that Aramaic was the language Jesus spoke. However, it is obvious that many, if not all of the Apostles were able to communicate in both Aramaic and Greek (and probably knew Latin). So it seems likely that Jesus also was able to speak in both Aramaic and Greek.

Mark and Matthew are purposeful to make the point that when Jesus quoted Psalm 22 He used Aramaic. Consequently they are purposeful to exclude any possible confusion or claim that Jesus quoted the Greek translation of the Psalm, which in the Septuagint is significantly different at that point: ὁ θεὸς ὁ θεός μου πρόσχες μοι (O God, my God, take heed to me). Quoting the Greek lacks the personal pronoun at the beginning and would also have Jesus asking God to take heed of Him, something the Aramaic precludes.

While the use of the Aramaic quotation can be seen as purposeful to ensure Jesus correctly quotes the Psalm, it also gives reason to question the assertion that all of the other sayings of Jesus were exclusively spoken in Aramaic and translated into Greek.

What is the evidence Jesus spoke exclusively in Aramaic and never used the Greek language?

Synoptic Gospels: Book Characteristics

Biblical eLearning (http://biblicalelearning.org) presents: Dr. Robert Newman on Synoptic Gospels Robert C. Newman is Emeritus Professor of New Testament at Biblical Theological Seminary, and…