The hebrew gospel of matthew with nehemia gordon nehemia. Another interesting point raised in this article is as follows which points to q really the original hebrew matthew. In 1995 when i offered at the semi nary a seminar on the shem tob text, dr. Whats more there was no publication as no separate book titled gospel of matthew shem tobtovs matthew or any such as it was a construct of george howard and rather a work of editing in that. As far as the evan bohan shem tov gospel of matthew tradition regarding the gospel of matthew, several things must be said. The vorlage of shemtobs hebrew matthew1 new testament. Pdf hebrew gospel of matthew by george howard part one. He asserted that an old gospel of matthew, presumed to have been written in hebrew or rather in aramaic and taken to lie behind the nazarene gospel, was the protogospel. I need to study the word of adonai from the original text that has not been tampered with, a lot of the translation has been either added to or taken away, mostly added to. The evan bohan does not represent an original hebrew manuscript of the gospel of matthew. The hebrew gospel of matthew the gospel of matthew is a gospel of law and differs radically from pauls gospel which is based of faith.
Similarly, there are also some other hebrew manuscripts for the gospel of matthew. Anyone here think that shemtobs hebrew matthew predates the 14th century and might reflect either matthews original gospel in hebrew or reflect the theology and traditions of an ebionite community. For example, the greek new testament always says amen a hebraism for truly, as in matt 5. Sebastian munster 20 january 1488 26 may 1552 the munster matthew is a mediaeval manuscript containing a version of the gospel of matthew, written in the hebrew language. Shemtob, a jewish physician writing in the 80s, included a hebrew gospel of matthew as the last book in his polemic against christianity. Conclusion about shem tovs matthew internal evidence o methods. Early witnesses to the hebrew version of matthew o church fathers. The shem tov matthew translation never identifies jesus as the messiah, gives john the baptist an exalted role, jesus role in forgiving sins is omitted, and jesus ability to save all his people from their sins is also eliminated. The problem however, is that the shem tov version was copied by people who denied yeshua, rejected him as messiah. You will find pdfs of original copies of the shemtob there. It was compiled and completed around the year 85, by the jewish doctor ben shem tov ben isaac shaprut, in. For the first time in modern history the text of matthew 28. Matthew evidence for a hebrew autograph mark haughwout. But no original hebrew or aramaic manuscripts of the gospels have ever been.
The evan bohan was used as a polemical tool against christians, as is evidenced by ibn sharputs vehement. In the gospel of matthew it is clear that the law halakha is the expression of yauhahs will. Some observations on a recent edition of and introduction to shemtobs hebrew matthew. The shem tov hebrew gospel of matthew and the authority of. There has been a lot of talk in the movement in recent years about hebrew matthew, and having studied the various hebrew texts of matthew for a quarter of a century, i thought i would set the story straight about the various versions. The textual nature of shemtobs hebrew matthew george howard university of georgia, athens, ga 30602 in 1986 i published an appraisal of the hebrew matthew issued by jean du tillet in 1555. Koch was a weekly participant and the respected authority on the greek texts of the gospels. Shem tov book 1 through 11, book 12 of yeshu mashiach hebrew. Shemtobs hebrew matthew forums at eliyahs home page.
George howard has argued that shem tov s matthew comes from a much earlier hebrew text that was later translated into greek and other languages. The occurenace of the divine name in shem tobs matthew. The shem tov matthew translation never identifies jesus as the messiah, gives john the baptist an exalted role, jesus role in forgiving sins is omitted, and jesus ability to save all his people from their sins is. The jewish roman world of jesus the hebrew gospel of matthew. In howards book on page 231, paragraph 2, howard qoute. Learn the lords prayer in hebrew nehemias wallnehemia. Shem tov book 1 through 11, book 12 of yeshu mashiach hebrew matthew mattityah page 2. Previously, the most highly attested hebrew version of matthew was the shem tov version as it solves several contradictions in the greek tradition of matthew. Chapter iii on the shem tob hebrew gospel of matthew also includes dr. A critical apparatus, noting manuscript variation, accompanies the. Shem tob, a jewish physician writing in the 80s, included a hebrew gospel of matthew as the last book in his polemic against christianity. Quoting professor george howard, translator of shem tob.
This is an english translation of the hebrew gospel of matthew. Indeed, it is now possible to recover much of this original hebrew composition from an extant manuscript. The hebrew version of matthew compiled by shem tov, is also available upon request, at the mercer university press, macon, georgia isbn 0865544700. The intrinsic difference between these lies in the fact that pauls audience were gentiles whereas matthew was preaching to hebrew believersin. There is another reason to believe the oldest layer of the hebrew matthew in shem tob is an original composition, not a translation. Whats more there was no publication as no separate book titled gospel of matthew shem tob tov s matthew or any such as it was a construct of george howard and rather a work of editing in that. There is convincing evidence that this old hebrew gospel is a revision passing through many copyists and editors of the hebrew gospel written by the apostle himself. Anyone here think that shem tobs hebrew matthew predates the 14th century and might reflect either matthew s original gospel in hebrew or reflect the theology and traditions of an ebionite community. Jun 23, 2015 17 the shem tov hebrew gospel of matthew shows that the authentic text of the ending of the gospel of matthew is this, and not the one that appears on the greek translation.
Members of the cavallero family were active in venice, ferrara and ancona mostly. Any work underway to include these manuscripts and translations. Hebrew text of matthew, extracted from shem tov ibn shapruts. The hebrew version of matthew shem tob matthew, shem tov. A hebrew vorlage of matthew by christian askeland at 4. But before explaining how this can be done, let me set the stage with a little background. The problem however, is that the shem tov version was copied by people who denied yeshua, rejected him as messiah, and deleted every instance in which matthew calls yeshua the messiah. The dutillet and shem tob texts compared by james scott trimm. Hebrew matthew shem tov with matthew 24, 25, 26 page 2. You may purchase a copy of hebrew gospel of matthew from many sources.
While there may be an ancient hebrew version of matthew, a stronger argument against such a version having been original is that it would force us to posit that two gospels of matthew existed in circulation prior to the formation of the 4gospel codex early in the 2nd century. This is the photograph of a page of the hebrew gospel of matthew, contained in a sephardic treaty known by the name of even bohan. Click for downloadable word files or pdf files with full font reproduction. In regard to theology, shemtobs hebrew matthew is heretical according to the. Assuming that the basic text of shemtobs hebrew matthew is old. There is another reason to believe the oldest layer of the hebrew matthew in shemtob is an original composition, not a translation. Shem tov book 1 through 11, book 12 of yeshu mashiach. Open door series part 2 features nehemia gordon speaking on the hebrew gospel of matthew. Matthew in hebrew was actually to an aramaic gospel or to a. Shem tov s hebrew matthew preaching to the gentiles is not mentioned in shem tov s hebrew matthew, and is even called the work of the antichrist in matt 24. Some observations on a recent edition of and introduction. Hebrew gospel of matthew compares 9 hebrew manuscripts including shem tov part one of the present volume contains the hebrew text of matthew found in shemtobs treatise. His insights on shem tobs hebrew text and the greek texts were d uly noted then. Although, if i remember correctly, he does not go so far as to imply that it is likely the original version.
The hebrew gospel according to matthew by shemtob ben isaac, ben shaprut. The following excerpts from george howards book, hebrew gospel of matthew dispels any idea that shemtobs matthew or anything written by professor howard provides justification for the actions taken by the watchtower. This book has both hebrew and english with proofs or footnotes in it to help you learn what matthew really said. Gospel of matthew according to a primitive hebrew text by george howard free download as pdf file. This is an english translation of the hebrew gospel of. Im not sure if my notes would open if you use another reader.
Is there a plan to include the even bohans hebrew text for the gospel of matthew. It provides a link to a du tillet version of matthew translated by schonfeld at this link to a pdf. The law of moshe moses is still in force matthew 23. He addresses the medieval commentary of shem tov and makes a tentative case that his hebrew text of matthew is ancient. Gospel of matthew according to a primitive hebrew text by george. Shemtobs matthew is a christian text in hebrew, appearing in a. Shem tobs hebrew gospel of matthew is the oldest extant hebrew version of the gospel of matthew. He asserted that an old gospel of matthew, presumed to have been written in hebrew or rather in aramaic and taken to lie behind. Shem tovs hebrew matthew preaching to the gentiles is not mentioned in shem tovs hebrew matthew, and is even called the work of the antichrist in matt 24. Nehemia gordon, a karaite jew and academic scholar, relates how he joined together with keith johnson, an african american methodist pastor to study an original hebrew version of the gospel of matthew. Nov 15, 2017 the analysis of the gospel of matthew in hebrew found in shem tov s writings, plus eight additional hebrew manuscripts and the gospel that we have in our bibles. Hebrew gospel of matthew by george howard professor of religion university of georgia a leaffrom shem tobs even bohan as it appears in ms.
Theological motifs of shem tovs hebrew matthew o preaching to the gentiles is not mentioned, and is even called the work of the antichrist in matt 24. And this gospel will be preached in all the earth for a witness concerning me to all the nations and then the end will come. His copy of hebrew matthew has antichristian polemical commentary by him throughout the text. If im right, shem tob use gods name in the book of matthew several times.
The real problem is that the greeks were not really fluent in hebrew, so parts of the translation are incorrect. New evidence indicates that the gospel of matthew was an original hebrew composition. The textual nature of shem tobs hebrew matthew george howard university of georgia, athens, ga 30602 in 1986 i published an appraisal of the hebrew matthew issued by jean du tillet in 1555. And it can also be obtained from the century publishers of california. Thank you very much, i can now say the lords prayer in hebrew, which is a lot different than the way they say it in english. While the autograph of shem tobs even bohan has been lost, several manuscripts dating between the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries still exist, complete with the transcribed text of hebrew matthew.
And some of judah are converting to the christian religion, this scribe used shem tov. Shem tobs hebrew matthew contains a number of variances from the greek text that have theological implications. Was the gospel of matthew originally written in hebrew. This includes the hebrew and english quotations from shemtobs matthew and.
Spionic, sptiberian this article is also available in transliteration and textonly formats see george howards response in tc 4 1999. Dec 11, 2011 even bohan shem tov hebrew matthew available. You should also get the book by nehemia gordon, the hebrew yeshua vs. A survey of the shem tob manuscripts confirms that this text is a hebrew translation of a greek text used by traditional antimissionary jews to defend judaism.
This leaf includes in late medieval hebrew script matthew 1o. The evidence from shemtobs comments 173 revised edition of. The analysis of the gospel of matthew in hebrew found in shem tovs writings, plus eight additional hebrew manuscripts and the gospel that we have in our bibles. The shem tov matthew or shem tobs matthew consists of a complete text of gospel of matthew in the hebrew language found interspersed among anticatholic commentary in the 12th volume of a polemical treatise the touchstone c.
Jul 01, 2005 the real problem is that the greeks were not really fluent in hebrew, so parts of the translation are incorrect. Hebrew gospel of matthew by george howard professor of religion university of georgia a leaffrom shemtobs even bohan as it appears in ms. Notes on shem tovs hebrew matthew the 14th century polemical treatise even bochan isaiah 28. Pictured above, a page from the dutillet hebrew matthew hebrew matthew. George howard translated a copy of shem tovs matthew hebrew gospel. Preaching to the gentiles is not mentioned in shem tov s hebrew matthew, and is even called the work of the antichrist in matt 24.
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