This is an argument I am hearing very often among Gentile followers of Yeshua : « I am not interested in learning Hebrew, why would I ? All the Bibles have the same content and I am able to understand the main message that it conveys »...or « Hebrew is too difficult to learn... ».
A special relationship with the Sacred language.
Well, my friends, I seriously hope that you will all change your minds after reading this article, because there are some serious reasons behind my advocacy of « sfat hakodesh », the holy language also known as Hebrew.
The Aleph and the Tav, not the « Alpha » and the « Omega »-the obvious relationship to Torah
Aleph and Tav, the first and the last of the Hebrew alphabet are intimately linked with the Torah. Our Messiah being the fulfilling of the Torah (or Law), He is the Aleph and the Tav.
You will find more precisions about our Messiah's relationship with Torah here.
Yeshua, not "Jesus"
I've been hated for using the Name Yeshua by people who claim to be "Christians".
The first reason why I am using the Name Yeshua is because Yeshua Himself asked me to do so. Yeshua pointed out to me that no statue had been elevated in the Name of Yeshua and that it wasn't linked to any atrocity, unlike His popular, greek Name.
The second reason why my mouth utters the Name Yeshua is that it has the FULL MEANING of Salvation, "Jesus" being an English transliteration from the Greek, Iesous, which has absolutely no signification. Moreover, Yeshua is our Lord's original, Aramaic Name. This is how people used to call Him in the 1st Century. Nobody ever called Him "Jesus" in His entourage.
Maschiach, not "Christ"
You might not like what I have to say, but I will state it anyway. Since Yeshua encountered my path, I walk in truth with Him.
Why am I reluctant to use the term "Christ"? Well-unlike a common opinion-, the term "Christos" in Greek does not correspond exactly to "Messiah". The notion of "Christos", anointed is a very weakened one. Anointed? Any of us could be "anointed" without being the Messiah.
The Maschiach in Hebrew is THE Anointed of Hashem, which makes a WHOLE difference!
Yeshua ha Maschiach is a powerful Name!
Aleph and Tav, the first and the last of the Hebrew alphabet are intimately linked with the Torah. Our Messiah being the fulfilling of the Torah (or Law), He is the Aleph and the Tav.
You will find more precisions about our Messiah's relationship with Torah here.
Yeshua, not "Jesus"
I've been hated for using the Name Yeshua by people who claim to be "Christians".
The first reason why I am using the Name Yeshua is because Yeshua Himself asked me to do so. Yeshua pointed out to me that no statue had been elevated in the Name of Yeshua and that it wasn't linked to any atrocity, unlike His popular, greek Name.
The second reason why my mouth utters the Name Yeshua is that it has the FULL MEANING of Salvation, "Jesus" being an English transliteration from the Greek, Iesous, which has absolutely no signification. Moreover, Yeshua is our Lord's original, Aramaic Name. This is how people used to call Him in the 1st Century. Nobody ever called Him "Jesus" in His entourage.
Matthew 1:21
" And you shall call His Name Yeshua , for He will save His folks from their sins"
Maschiach, not "Christ"
You might not like what I have to say, but I will state it anyway. Since Yeshua encountered my path, I walk in truth with Him.
Why am I reluctant to use the term "Christ"? Well-unlike a common opinion-, the term "Christos" in Greek does not correspond exactly to "Messiah". The notion of "Christos", anointed is a very weakened one. Anointed? Any of us could be "anointed" without being the Messiah.
The Maschiach in Hebrew is THE Anointed of Hashem, which makes a WHOLE difference!
Yeshua ha Maschiach is a powerful Name!
The New Testament in Greek is a translated version of Hebrew originals
How can I be so sure when we don't possess the Hebrew originals of the New Testament?
Yeshua our rabbi did have that special connection with Hebrew. The way He speaks throughout the Gospels enlighten His very Jewish vision of life (How could it be otherwise ? How could a child of Israel not think like a Hebrew?)
My point is following: Yeshua's first disciples were all Jewish. The context of the Gospel and the spirit that it conveys comes out of Jewish thinking and culture. The New Testament in Greek is a translation of a prior, original text, that has probably been hidden because of the persecutions Yeshua's first disciples were experiencing.
The fact that the first disciples wanted to reach out to a Jewish audience at first appears to me as a mere evidence, Yeshua being the Messiah of Israel.
A language conveys people's culture
You don't express things in the same way from one country to another. Therefore a New Testament in Greek or in another language will not render you the initial picture. Let me take an example from the three languages I master better: German, French and English.
Let's assume somebody is getting on your nerves.
A German person would say: "Er fällt mir auf den Schlips", literally "he is falling upon my tie". The German language insists on the idea of strangulation, the inability to breathe. This person is falling upon your tie and strangles you.
A French person is likely to express the same idea within the following sentence: "Il me casse les pieds", literally, " he is breaking my feet". He broke my feet and I am unable to walk.
An English speaking person is more likely to say: "He is getting on my nerves", so the point of attack is centered on the nervous system.
Do you get my point?
"Sons" and "stones": Yeshua's subtle wordplay in Luke 8
My point is following: Yeshua's first disciples were all Jewish. The context of the Gospel and the spirit that it conveys comes out of Jewish thinking and culture. The New Testament in Greek is a translation of a prior, original text, that has probably been hidden because of the persecutions Yeshua's first disciples were experiencing.
The fact that the first disciples wanted to reach out to a Jewish audience at first appears to me as a mere evidence, Yeshua being the Messiah of Israel.
A language conveys people's culture
You don't express things in the same way from one country to another. Therefore a New Testament in Greek or in another language will not render you the initial picture. Let me take an example from the three languages I master better: German, French and English.
Let's assume somebody is getting on your nerves.
A German person would say: "Er fällt mir auf den Schlips", literally "he is falling upon my tie". The German language insists on the idea of strangulation, the inability to breathe. This person is falling upon your tie and strangles you.
A French person is likely to express the same idea within the following sentence: "Il me casse les pieds", literally, " he is breaking my feet". He broke my feet and I am unable to walk.
An English speaking person is more likely to say: "He is getting on my nerves", so the point of attack is centered on the nervous system.
Do you get my point?
"Sons" and "stones": Yeshua's subtle wordplay in Luke 8
לָכֵן עֲשׂוּ פְרִי רָאוּי לַתְּשׁוּבָה וְאַל־תְּדַמּוּ בְנַפְשְׁכֶם לֵאמׂר אַבְרָהָם הוּא אָבִינוּ כִּי אֲנִי אׂמֵר לָכֶם אֲשֶׁר מִן־הָאֲבָנִים הָאֵלֶּה יָכׂל הָאֱלׂהִים לְהָקִים בָּנִים לְאַבְרָהָם׃
"Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of Teshuva ( repentance) and begin not to say ( literally: within your souls), we have Avraham to our father, for I say to you that Elohim is able of these stones to raise up children to Avraham. (Luke 3:8). This precise part of Scripture is a subtle teaching from rabbi Yeshua, based on consonantal resemblance between the word " banim", " sons" and "haavanim", the stones. In addition, the word"even, stone, (alef, bet, noun) has the same root as "Avinu" (aleph, bet yod,noun,vav), so that "even" is contained in "Avinu".
Isn't it fascinating how Yeshua raises concrete images from His sayings that totally match with His folks' culture?
Copyright© by Isabelle Esling
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