Matthew – Uniqueness Among the Gospels

Posted on by K.B. Vogelman

Matthew’s Gospel is surrounded by many questions – who, when, what, how – making it a target rich environment for those who wish to challenge its credibility. Parallel passages, dates, authorship and variation from other Gospels are all called into question.

Much of the details of the ministry of Jesus of Nazareth are found only in Matthew. Less than a third of Matthew’s content is common to Mark. Slightly more than a third of the content of Matthew is not in common with Luke … Matthew’s subject matter is in many ways unique.^[1]

Variation actually enhances the authenticity and credibility of Matthew. In the world of investigations, written statements that too closely resemble each other are immediately suspect of deception.^[2]

Truthful, credible statements are expected to be consistent with key evidence as well as with other witness statements, yet characteristic variation is most certainly expected. A basic investigative principal: the more details, the harder to cover a deception; conversely, a deceptive statement lacks details making it more difficult to validate.

“There must, therefore, naturally arise great differences among writers, when they had no original records to lay for their foundation, which might at once inform those who had an inclination to learn, and contradict those that would tell lies…” – Josephus ^[3]

Distinct diversity from Luke can be seen immediately in Matthew with the genealogy of Jesus listed in reverse order along with some generational variations.^[4] Three miracles and at least 10 parables found in Matthew do not appear in any other Gospel.^[5]

Joseph‘s personal circumstances are told only in Matthew such as his contemplation of divorcing Mary for becoming pregnant by another man. His mind was changed by an angel’s visitation message that Mary’s childbirth would fulfill the Isaiah 7:14 prophecy of a virgin birth and instructed Joseph to name the baby “Jesus.”

Any question about “Bethlehem of Judea” being the birthplace of the Messiah was addressed by Herod’s own Jewish religion experts. Herod asked where Christos could be found and they cited the Micah 5:1/2 prophecy.

Exclusive to Matthew are the unusual circumstances of the mystic Magi; their astronomy perspective; King Herod’s treachery and the King’s death shortly after the birth of Jesus. Details of Herod’s chaotic final days are described by historian Josephus.

Combined with Luke’s Nativity account, Matthew’s historical and astronomy attributions raises the bar of Gospel answerability to the highest degree.

Established is a narrow timeline window for the birth of Jesus with five date markers – the rules of Augustus, Herod, and Quirinius; a Roman Empire registration plus “his Star.” The Gospel also names secular historical figure Archelaus, Herod’s son, who ruled in Judea after the King died.^[6]

Literary analysis and literary criticism are among important scientific methodologies used to assess credibility.^[7] Integrity of the Gospel alone can be evaluated entirely based on assessing just its content.

One of the most famous teachings of Jesus, unique to Matthew, is the famed “Sermon on the Mount” including nine verses of Beatitudes, all beginning with “Blessed are…” Covering 106 verses through three chapters, the sermon’s details required an eyewitness.^[8]

Perhaps the biggest clue from Matthew to the divine nature of Jesus is from his personal perspective as One who watched Jerusalem throughout its history. The author of Luke chose to include Matthew’s quoted statement of Jesus in his own investigative report:^[9]

^{MT 23:37} “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!” _(NKJV)

Moving to the crucifixion, burial and the Resurrection, Matthew solely recounts details surrounding the death of Jesus. Described by the Gospel are an earthquake, stones split in two, and tombs being opened with bodies coming back to life.^[10]

Precluding several conspiracy claims, Matthew uniquely describes the chain of custody over the body of Jesus – the crucifixion by Rome; burial by a member of the Jewish Council; the Jewish leadership’s request for Pilate to secure the tomb exclusively using the Greek word koustodia; and the early morning events of Sunday.^[11]

Morning of the Resurrection, Matthew includes the lone accounts of several key happenings – the angel rolling away the stone from the empty tomb; the earthquake; the proclamation of the angel; dereliction of the Guards and their report to the chief priests. Later that same day, Matthew includes the resurrected appearance of Jesus to women of Galilee.

Use of common reference materials evidenced by the parallel passages, sometimes verbatim, appears in all three synoptic Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke.^[12] Parallel passages cited as alleged credibility issues can be attributed to legitimate literary protocols of the day.

Copying from another source to serve as a “witness” was a respected form of citation and corroboration. It was common practice to copy from another source, even verbatim, without a citation. Abuses of this practice by the Greeks were the focus of Josephus in his work, Against Apion.^[13]

Authorship of Matthew is not claimed within the Gospel itself. Not penning a work was characteristic Jewish practice for reasons of humility, to avoid bringing fame or attention to the author. Examples of other Jewish works without authorship or a formal identify are the authors of books within the Old Testament, the Tenakh.^[14]

Customarily Matthew is believed, based on sources who lived in very close time proximity, to have been written by one of the 12 Disciples of Jesus for whom the Gospel is named – an eyewitness account.^[15] Other scholars and skeptics with differing views believe Matthew was written by someone else; is a collection of stories and oral traditions; or is even completely fictitious.^[16]

Which was written first, Mark or Matthew, is debatable although clearly Matthew is much longer with much more detail. Many religion authorities believe Matthew was written sometime between 55-75 AD; others view the date range from 90-100 AD.^[17]

Both Gospel timeframe possibilities are during the first century when some of the original Disciples were still alive as were probably some from the Sanhedrin who lived at the same time as Jesus of Nazareth. If any details of the information was found to be untrue, no evidence from these contemporaries refutes it.

Portions of Matthew were corroborated by the eyewitness account of John’s Gospel written independently from his prison cell; Luke’s investigative Gospel; and secular history.^[18] Considering the customary literary protocols, the allegation of literary misconduct is rendered to be a non-issue.

What remains to assess the credibility of Matthew is its believability. Are the Gospel’s detailed accounts fabrications… or do the unique details in Matthew indicate truthfulness and credibility?

Updated October 9, 2024.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

REFERENCES:

[1] “Matthew.” Easton’s 1897 Bible Dictionary. n.d. <http://www.ccel.org/e/easton/ebd/ebd/T0002400.html#T0002442> “Luke.” Easton’s 1897 Bible Dictionary. n.d. <http://www.ccel.org/e/easton/ebd/ebd/T0002300.html#T0002331> Carr. The Gospel Acco rding to Matthew, Volume I. pp XVIII – XIX. Gloag, Introduction to the Synoptic Gospels. p 32-33, 38-42. Sween, Don and Nancy. “Parable.” BibleReferenceGuide.com. n.d. <http://www.biblereferenceguide.com/keywords/parable.html> Swete. The Gospel According to St. Mark, 1902. p XVII, XXIV. Fairchild, Mary. “37 Miracles of Jesus.” ThoughtCo. 2017. <https://www.thoughtco.com/miracles-of-jesus-700158> Ryrie Study Bible. Ed. Ryrie Charles C. Trans. New American Standard. 1978. “The Miracles of Jesus.” Aune, Eilif Osten. “Synoptic Gospels.” Bible Basics. 2013. <www.bible-basics-layers-of-understanding.com/Synoptic-Gospels.html> “Matthew. Easton’s Bible Dictionary. 1897. <http://www.ccel.org/e/easton/ebd/ebd/T0002400.html#T0002443> Swete. The Gospel According to St. Mark, The Greek Text with Notes and Indices. p. XXIV. Gloag, Introduction to the Synoptic Gospels. p. 33 <https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=chi.090193322;view=1up;seq=25>
[2] Sapir, Avinoam. LSI Laboratory for Scientific Interrogation. Basics and advance courses. <http://www.lsiscan.com/id37.htm> “Scientific Content Analysis (SCAN).” Personal Verification LTD. 2018. <http://www.verify.co.nz/scan.php>
[3] Josephus, Flavius. The Complete Works of Josephus. “Against Apion.” 1850. Book I.5. <http://books.google.com/books?id=e0dAAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false>
[4] Matthew 1; Luke 3. Irenaeus of Lyons. Against Heresies. Book III. Chapter I.1, IX, XXI.3. Ante-Nicene Fathers. Volume I. n.d. <http://www.ccel.org/search/fulltext/Heresies> “New Testament – Historical Books.” Jewish Encyclopedia. Gloag, Introduction to the Synoptic Gospels. pp ix, 39. “PAPYRUS 104 P104 (P. Oxy. 4404) A Very Early Greek Fragment Copy of the Gospel of Matthew.” Christian Publishing House Blog. image. n.d. <https://christianpublishinghouse.co/2020/07/25/papyrus-104-p104-p-oxy-4404-a-very-early-greek-fragment-copy-of-the-gospel-of-matthew>
[5] Carr. The Gospel Accouding to Matthew. Volume I. pp XVIII – XIX. Gloag, Introduction to the Synoptic Gospels. pp 32-33. Gloag, The Synoptic Gospels. pp 38-42. Smith, Barry D. “The Gospel of John.” F. 5.3.3. 2015. <http://www.mycrandall.ca/courses/NTIntro/John.htm> Sween. “Parable.” Swete. The Gospel According to St. Mark. pp. XIX, XXIII. d<https://books.google.com/books?id=WcYUAAAAQAAJ&lpg=PA127&ots=f_TER300kY&dq=Seneca%20centurio%20supplicio%20pr%C3%A6positus&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=false> “Luke.” Easton’s 1897 Bible Dictionary. “Parable.” International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. 2018. <http://www.internationalstandardbible.com/P/parable.html> “The Parables of Jesus.” Ryrie Study Bible. “The Miracles of Jesus.” Ryrie Study Bible. Fairchild, Mary. “37 Miracles of Jesus.” ThoughtCo. 2017. <https://www.thoughtco.com/miracles-of-jesus-700158>
[6] Matthew 2; CR Luke 1.
[7] Carr, Frazier. The Gospel Accouding to Matthew. Volume I. p XVIII – XIX. <http://books.google.com/books?id=ZQAXAAAAYAAJ&dq=Swete%2C%20The%20Gospel%20According%20to%20St.%20Matthew&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q=Swete,%20The%20Gospel%20According%20to%20St.%20Matthew&f=false> Gloag, Introduction to the Synoptic Gospels. p 5. <http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/008728595> “Gospel of Matthew.” Theopedia.com. “Jesus.” “The Book of Matthew.” Quartz Hill School of Theology. Mareghni, Pamela. “Different Approaches to Literary Criticism.” 2014. <http://web.archive.org/web/20140628042039/http://www.ehow.com/about_5385205_different-approaches-literary-criticism.html> Preble, Laura. “Traditional Literary Criticism.” 2014. <http://www.ehow.com/info_8079187_approaches-literary-criticism.html>
[8] Matthew 5-7. CR Luke 6:20-22.
[9] Mathew 24; Luke 13:34.
[10] Matthew 27.
[11] Net.bible.org. Matthew 27:65. Greek text. “koustodia <2892>.” Lexicon-Concordance Online Bible. n.d. <http://lexiconcordance.com/greek/2892.html>
[12] Fausset, Andrew R. Fausset Bible Dictionary. 1878. “New Testament.” <http://classic.studylight.org/dic/fbd/view.cgi?number=T2722>
[13] Josephus. Against Apion. Book I.1-2, 4-6, 10, 17, 19, 23, 26. Josephus. The Complete Works of Josephus. “Antiquities of the Jews.” 1850. “Preface.” Reed, Annette Yoshiko. Pseudepigraphy, Authorship, and ‘The Bible’ in Late Antiquity. 2008. p 478. <http://www.academia.edu/1610659/_Pseudepigraphy_Authorship_and_the_Reception_of_the_Bible_in_Late_Antiquity> “Custom Cheating and Plagiarism essay paper writing service.” ExclusivePapers.com. n.d. <http://exclusivepapers.com/essays/Informative/cheating-and-plagiarism.php> Cummings, Michael J. “Did Shakespeare Plagiarize?” Cummings Study Guides. 2003. <http://cummingsstudyguides.net/xPlagiarism.html>
[14] Reed. Pseudepigraphy, Authorship, and ‘The Bible’ in Late Antiquity. p 476-479. “Hebrew Bible: Torah, Prophets and Writings.” MyJewishLearning.com. <https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/hebrew-bible> Benner, Jeff, Ancient Hebrew Research Center. 2018. “The Authors of the Torah.” <http://www.ancient-hebrew.org/articles_authors.html>
[15] Luke 13:34. Luke 13:34. Papias. “Papias.” Fragment I & VI. <http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf01.vii.html> Gloag, Paton James. Introduction to the Synoptic Gospels. p 168. <https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=chi.090193322;view=1up;seq=25> Irenaeus of Lyons. Against Heresies. Book III, Chapter I.1, IX, XXI.3. <http://www.ccel.org/search/fulltext/Heresies> Swete. The Gospel According to St. Mark, 1902. p XIX. <https://books.google.com/books?id=WcYUAAAAQAAJ&lpg=PA127&ots=f_TER300kY&dq=Seneca%20centurio%20supplicio%20pr%C3%A6positus&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=false>
[16] Fausset, Andrew R. Fausset Bible Dictionary. 1878. “Matthew, The Gospel According to.” <http://classic.studylight.org/dic/fbd/view.cgi?number=T2722> Didymus, John Thomas. “The Biblical Evidence For a Conspiracy Theory of the Resurrection.” 2010. <http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Biblical-Evidence-For-a-Conspiracy-Theory-of-the-Resurrection&id=4205050> “New Testament – Historical Books.” Jewish Encyclopedia. 2011. <http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/11498-new-testament> Smith, Ben C. The Synoptic Project. 2018. <http://www.textexcavation.com/synopticproject.html> Gloag, Introduction to the Synoptic Gospels. pp. 4-5, 48, 63-64, 106-108. “Gospel of Matthew.” Theopedia.com. “The Lives.” Quartz Hill School of Theology. “New Testament – Historical Books.” Jewish Encyclopedia. 2011. <http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/11498-new-testament> Kirby, Peter. “Gospel of Matthew.” EarlyChristianWritings.com. 2018. <http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/matthew.html> Vick, Tristan D. “Dating the Gospels: Looking at the Historical Framework.” Carr, A. The Gospel According to Matthew, Volume I. 1881. pp XVIII – XIX. Smith, B. D. “The Gospel of Matthew.”
[17] “Gospel of Matthew.” Theopedia.com. n.d. <https://www.theopedia.com/gospel-of-matthew> “The Lives.” Quartz Hill School of Theology. n.d. <http://www.theology.edu/biblesurvey/matthew.htm> Vick, Tristan D. “Dating the Gospels: Looking at the Historical Framework.” Advocatus Atheist. 2010. <http://advocatusatheist.blogspot.com/2010/01/dating-gospels-looking-at-historical.html> Shamoun, Sam. “The New Testament Documents and the Historicity of the Resurrection.” Answering-Islam.org. 2013. <http://www.answering-islam.org/Shamoun/documents.htm> Kirby, Peter. Index. EarlyChristianWritings.com. 2018. <http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/index.html> Smith, Barry. D. “The Gospel of Matthew.” n.d. <http://www.mycrandall.ca/courses/NTIntro/Matt.htm> Etinger, Judah. Foolish Faith. Chapter 6. 2012. <http://www.foolishfaith.com/book_chap6_history.asp> Shamoun, Sam. “The New Testament Documents and the Historicity of the Resurrection.” 2013. <http://www.answering-islam.org/Shamoun/documents.htm>
[18] Smith, Barry D. “The Gospel of John.” “The Book of John.” Quartz Hill School of Theology. “Gospel of John.” Theopedia.com. “Gospel of John Commentary: Who Wrote the Gospel of John and How Historical Is It?” Biblical Archeology Society. 2019. https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-topics/new-testament/gospel-of-john-commentary-who-wrote-the-gospel-of-john-and-how-historical-is-it/>

Conspiracy Theory – Christianity Is a Fiction

Posted on by K.B. Vogelman

Conspiracy Theory – Christianity Is a Fiction

Adversaries of Christianity sometimes argue against the reality of Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah, even that he is not a real historical figure, by claiming Christianity itself is a fictional story. One conspiracy theory claims Christianity and thus Jesus are the result of various groups colluding to invent a morphed deity image of a messiah:^[1]

“…Christianity and the story of Jesus Christ were created by members of various secret societies, mystery schools and religions in order to unify the Roman Empire under one state religion. …this multinational cabal drew upon a multitude of myths and rituals that existed long before the Christian era, and reworked them for centuries into the religion passed down to us today.” – Acharya S.

Challenges to create a fictional messiah figure would have been enormous at the beginning of the millennium, especially in an era without any means of electronic communication, media, even the printed word. Just the opposite occurred. Christianity rose so rapidly, Jewish leaders tried to snuff it out quickly and Rome tried to quell it by killing people who professed it.

Creating a Christian religion with a Jewish messiah ups the ante to the highest degree. Probably the most scorned, if not hated, ethnic group in the Roman Empire were Jews, yet at least one conspiracy theory ironically maintains the created fictitious messiah image was himself a Jew. Consider that Judaism, too, views Christianity as blasphemous for its belief that Jesus is the Messiah.

Espousing the theory that an alleged Christianity conspiracy theory began “centuries” earlier, “long before the Christian era,” but history provides a different reality. Centuries earlier in Biblical history, Jews themselves were warring against each other before being taken captive in Babylon. After being freed by the Persian overthrow, enemies still wanted to subvert the Jew’s efforts.^[2]

During the four centuries before the Roman Empire, cabals from three Empires – Babylonians, Persians and Greeks – with authority over Judea had to be complicit in the conspiracy.^[3] It then has to be accepted there was a long-term strategy “to unify the Roman Empire under one state religion” even though the concept of a Roman Empire was yet unknown.

Pilate had Jesus crucified and to refute that fact means declaring renowned Roman historians Tacitus, Suetonius, Josephus others as well as the religion of Judaism were wrong. The theory proposes that Jewish leadership was supporting Rome when, in fact, Rome was crucifying Jews by the thousands and eventually destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 AD.^[4]

For the invention of a fictional Jewish messiah, the image would call for a flawless ancestral background of pure Jewish lineage, not to mention an ancestral history free of unsavory or illegal activities. Alleged collaborators would then have to weave this complex lineage into a 2000 year timeline to create a messiah narrative.

Genealogy of Jesus of Nazareth was anything but pure and flawless. A perfect lineage of a made-up messiah was simply not possible as demonstrated time and again by Scriptural history.

Disgraceful accounts pulled straight from the Old Testament, the Tenakh, include deceptions, lies, a prostitute, Gentile intermarriages, voyeurism, adultery, murder, greed, lascivious pleasures, etc. The background lineage of Jesus involved the most ignoble examples of disobedience to God, turning lemons into lemonade where each involved blessings from God.

Grandson of Abraham, Jacob swindled his older twin brother’s inheritance blessing from his father, Isaac. Jacob was later renamed by God and became the father of the 12 tribes of Israel.^[5]

Jacob’s own conniving sons sold their younger brother, Joseph, into slavery and lied to their father saying he had been killed by a wild animal. Joseph went on to become the second most powerful ruler in Egypt under Pharaoh and eventually saved his same Hebrew family from a famine.^[6]

Rahab, a Gentile prostitute spared from the destruction of Jericho, married a Hebrew named Salmon and their son was named Boaz who became a wealthy resident of Bethlehem.^[7] Boaz married the Gentile Ruth, daughter-in-law of his Jewish relative Naomi, allowing Naomi to redeem her otherwise lost inheritance.^[8]

Jewish sage Rabbi Rashi professed his distaste of having a Gentile in the prophetic lineage of the Messiah. His disgust appears in his commentary on the Bethlehem prophecy of Micah 5:2:^[9]

“you should have been the lowest of the clans of Judah: [Rashi] You should have been the lowest of the clans of Judah because of the stigma of Ruth the Moabitess in you.” – The Complete Jewish Bible

Son of Boaz and Ruth was Jesse whose son, David, became the King of Israel.^[10] David committed some dastardly deeds that would be scandalous in any century.

King David’s voyeurism led to an affair with his neighbor’s wife and when his plan to cover-up her illicit pregnancy failed, the King had her husband sent to the front lines of a war knowing he would be killed.^[11] In spite of this, subsequent prophecies foretold the future Messiah would come from the lineage of King David.

Solomon, King David’s son, indulged in the pleasures of 700 wives and 300 concubines, many of whom were Gentiles who brought with them forbidden idolatry influences. Still, Solomon built the Temple of God and was blessed with great wealth and wisdom.^[12]

A flawed genealogy would have been a huge obstacle for anyone who attempted to “rework them for centuries into the religion passed down to us today.” According to the Gospel accounts of Matthew and Luke, Jesus was born into this flawed Jewish royal lineage.

Arrival of Jesus of Nazareth happened during the era when Rome was experiencing it’s height of glory. In one weekend, one morning dawn, everything changed rather than taking “centuries” to rework “the religion passed down to us today.”

Unique to Christianity and the center of its core creed are the Resurrection accounts of Jesus.^[13] No one, including the followers of Jesus, ever believed a resurrection could happen before Jesus was crucified. Afterwards, he actually had to prove his own followers that he was back from the dead.

Witness accounts about Jesus rang true with people, many believed and were labeled as “Christians.” Adversaries of the Resurrection accounts refuted, ridiculed, imprisoned and even killed witnesses – they were willing to die for what they believed.

Would anyone die to defend a false legend?

Updated October 31, 2023.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

REFERENCES:

[1] Acharya S. (Murdock, D.M.) The Christ Conspiracy. Google Books advertisement. n.d. https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Christ_Conspiracy.html?id=KnIYRi3upbEC> Stitcher. image. 2018. <https://megaphone-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/podcasts/4b9e4b82-9bf9-11e8-ad4e-23b6913e004d/image/aa316e8eb017eeb2d66bd3ab5ef8270c329c2cdb5347f0e589403a20369416bc4a7f9ac6d6f18a9a13fd4eb5c6d622a7e506238a1124dbd66019deba3532d1ee.jpeg
[2] I Kings 11:26-12:24; Ezra 4;4, 5:6-17.
[3] Ezra 1:2-4, 6:7-12; 7:11-28. Spiro, Ken. “History Crash Course #27: The Greek Empire.” Aish.com. 2001. <http://www.aish.com/jl/h/cc/48939587.html> Hooker, Richard. “Hellenistic Greece: Alexander the Great.” Washington State University. 1999. <http://web.archive.org/web/20110104072822/http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/GREECE/ALEX.HTM>
[4] Suetonius (C. Suetonius Tranquillus or C. Tranquillus Suetonius). The Lives of the Twelve Caesars. Ed. Maximilian Ihm, trans. J. C. Rolfe. University of Chicago|Bill Thayer. n.d. “The Life of Titus.” 109 AD. <https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Titus*.html> “Siege of Jerusalem.” Encyclopædia Britannica. 2020. <https://www.britannica.com/event/Siege-of-Jerusalem-70> Josephus, Flavius. Wars of the Jews. Book II, Chapter XIV, Book V, Chapter XI.. <http://books.google.com/books?id=e0dAAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false>
[5] Genesis 25; 27-28.
[6] Genesis 37; 41-46.
[7] Joshua 2, 6, Ruth 4; I Chronicles 2:1-17.
[8] Ruth 2-4.
[9] The Complete Jewish Bible with Rashi’s Commentary. Micah 5:2 Rashi commentary.
[10] Ruth 4; I Chronicles 2.
[11] 2 Samuel 11-12.
[12] 2 Chronicles 7, 9; I Kings 7-8, 10.
[13] I Corinthians 15:3-4.

Isaiah Messiah Prophecies – Any Exceptions?

Posted on by K.B. Vogelman

Isaiah Messiah Prophecies – Any Exceptions?

Isaiah is the greatest of all the prophets, according to the Jewish Encyclopedia, and regarded by many Rabbi sages as second in importance only to Moses.^[1] Prophecies of Isaiah, who lived 300 years after the reign of King David, foretell of the Messiah throughout his writings.

Many of Isaiah’s prophecies are referenced in the Babylonian Talmud reinforcing their significance.^[2] In tractate Sanhedrin 98 alone, six Rabbis make 11 references to Isaiah’s Messiah prophecies.^[3]

Dead Sea Scrolls discoveries in 1947 yielded one of the most treasured finds, the Great Isaiah Scroll. Dated to about 125 BC, it is the oldest known, nearly complete Hebrew text of the Book of Isaiah.^[4]

In Jerusalem, the scroll is secured in the Israel Museum. It is 1000 years older than the Masoretic texts which primarily serve as the source for today’s Jewish Bible, the Tenakh.^[5]

Ancient Hebrew text translating has its challenges. Consisting of an alphabet with only 22 letters, all consonants, used to form a root word which often times can either be a noun or a verb.

Translators must then rely on the broader context to fill in the vowels, tenses and other words to form a complete sentence in English.^[6] Subjective translations obviously opens the door to variation.

In turn, variations in translations can impact interpretations of a prophecy’s meanings.^[7] No surprise, Judaism interpretations are not always in agreement with Christianity, some differences are less clear than others.^[8]

Jonathan Targum (targum means “translation”) is known as the “Official Targum to the Prophets” an Aramaic translation of the Tenakh with roots going back to about 200 BC.^[9] According to the Jewish Encyclopedia, it was written “more freely, in harmony with the text of the prophetic books.”^[10]

Scrolls were not broken down into chapter and verse when they were written. A section of verses on a specific topic are known as a parashah or pericope, such as Isaiah 52:13 – 53:12 about “My Servant.”

Opening the Isaiah 52-53 parashah, Jonathan Targum reads, “Behold my servant Messiah shall prosper…” Towards the end of the parashah it reads, “…so as to cleanse their souls from sin: these shall look on the kingdom of their Messiah…”^[11]

Most Christians believe Isaiah’s 52-53 parashah depicting of the life, torment, death and satisfaction in life-after-death of My Servant is a prophecy about the Messiah fulfilled by the trial, crucifixion, burial and Resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. Judaism generally regards the parashah as a metaphor of a man, the nation of Israel and the house of Jacob ; however, not all Jewish authorities agree – Rabbi Rashi commented it refers to the biblical strongman, Sampson.^[12]

Hours before his arrest during his final Passover meal with his Disciples, Jesus pointed out a prophecy written about himself that was soon to be fulfilled. Quoting from the parashah, Isaiah 53:12, he said:

^{LK 22:37} “It is written: ‘And he was numbered with the transgressors’; and I tell you that this must be fulfilled in me. Yes, what is written about me is reaching its fulfillment.””_(NIV)

Preeminent Jewish Scriptures authority Rabbi Maimonides once asked a rhetorical question, “What is to be the manner of Messiah’s advent, and where will be the place of his first appearance?” Answering his own question, the Rabbi quoted two prophecies from the parashah; Isaiah 53:2, regarding the Messiah’s unheralded arrival, and Isaiah 52:15, explaining how kings would be “confounded at the wonders” the Messiah would perform.^[13]

Most controversial is the prophecy Isaiah 7:14 viewed by Christianity as being fulfilled by the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. Masoretic text translates`almah as meaning “young woman” while nearly all Christian Bibles translate `almah as “virgin.”^[14] Making the controversy more provocative are some Christian Bible versions inconsistently translating Isaiah 7:14 as “young woman,” then translating it differently in Matthew as “virgin.”^[15]

Jesus of Nazareth caused a stir, according to Luke, when he read from Isaiah to begin his ministry. Jesus read from Isaiah 61:1-2:^[16]

^{IS 61:1-2} “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, Because the LORD has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn…”_(NKJV)

Jesus had identified Isaiah’s prophecies as the basis for people to see that he is the fulfillment of those prophecies. Later, Jesus said the prophesies written by the prophets about the himself had to be fulfilled.^[17]

Can some of the prophesies found in the Book of Isaiah be discarded or are they all to be regarded as pr0phecies about the Messiah?

Updated June 13, 2024.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

REFERENCES:
[1] “Isaiah.” Jewish Encyclopedia. 2011. <http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/8235-isaiah>
[2] Jones, Dennis A. “Jewish Messianic Texts.” The Emmanuel Church of the Web. n.d. <http://fecotw.tripod.com/id88.html> The Babylonian Talmud. Trans. Michael L. Rodkinson. 1918. http://www.sacred-texts.com/jud/talmud.htm#t08> Soncino Babylonian Talmud. Ed. Rabbi Isidore Epstein. 1935 – 1948. <https://israelect.com/Come-and-Hear/tcontents.html>
[3] Soncino Babylonian Talmud. Sanhedrin 98a & b footnotes: Isaiah XLIX:7, XXIX:21 I:25, LIX:19, LIX:20, LX:21, LIX:16, XLVIII:11, LX:22; LIII.4. Also 38a, footnote #9 to Isaiah 8:14. <https://israelect.com/Come-and-Hear/sanhedrin/sanhedrin_98.html>
[4] “The Great Isaiah Scroll.” 2018. The Israel Museum, Jerusalem. <http://dss.collections.imj.org.il/isaiah> Miller. Library of Congress (United States). n.d. “Scrolls From the Dead Sea.” <https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/scrolls/late.html> Israel Antiquities Authority. 2012. “The Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library.” <https://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/explore-the-archive/search#q=’Isaiah‘> Fred P. The Great Isaiah Scroll. 1998. “Qumran Great Isaiah Scroll.” <http://www.moellerhaus.com/qumdir.htm> Abegg, Jr., Martin G., Flint, Peter W. and Ulrich Eugene Charles. The Dead Sea Scrolls Bible: the oldest known Bible translated for the first time into English. 2002. p 281. <http://books.google.com/books?id=c4R9c7wAurQC&lpg=PP1&ots=fQpCpzCdb5&dq=Abegg%2C%20Flint%20and%20Ulrich%2C%20The%20Dead%20Dead%20Sea%20Scrolls%20Bible%2C&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q=Isaiah&f=false> “Dead Sea Scrolls.” Archaeology. 2018. <http://www.allaboutarchaeology.org/dead-sea-scrolls.htm> “The Dead Sea Scrolls.” National Endowment For The Humanities. image. 2015. <https://essentials.neh.gov/sites/default/files/DeadSeaScroll_v1.jpg>
[5] Benner, Jeff A. “The Great Isaiah Scroll and the Masoretic Text.” Ancient Hebrew Research Center. 2017. <http://www.ancient-hebrew.org/bible_isaiahscroll.html> “Masoretic Text.” Encyclopædia Britannica. n.d. <https://www.britannica.com/topic/Masoretic-text> “Jewish Concepts: Masoretic Text.” Jewish Virtual Library. 2018. <https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/Masoretic.html> “Masoretic Text.” Textus-Receptus.Com. 2016. <http://textus-receptus.com/wiki/Masoretic_Text> “Masoretic Text.” New World Encyclopedia. 2014. <http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Masoretic_Text> Zew, Moshe. “The Numeric System of the Bible.” 27 Dec. 2013. WorldWide Witness by Moshe Zew. <http://www.kolumbus.fi/gematria/numeric.htm>
[6] “The Hebrew Language.” MyJewishLearning.com. n.d. <http://www.myjewishlearning.com/culture/2/Languages/Hebrew.shtml>
“History of the Hebrew Language.” B’NAI ZAQEN. 2005. <http://www.zaqen.info/hislangu.htm> Benner, Jeff A. “Introduction to the Ancient Hebrew Vocabulary.” Ancient Hebrew Research Center. 2013. <https://www.ancient-hebrew.org/introduction.htm> Benner, Jeff A. “Introduction to the Hebrew Bible.” Ancient Hebrew Research Center. 2017. <https://www.ancient-hebrew.org/introduction.htm>
[7] Benner. “Introduction to the Hebrew Bible.”
[8] Neubauer and Driver. The Fifty-third Chapter of Isaiah According to the Jewish Interpreters. “Introduction.” pp. xxix- lxv. <https://books.google.com/books?id=YxdbAAAAQAAJ&pg=PP1&hl=en#v=onepage&q=introduction&f=false> Sullivan, Charles A. “A History of Chapters and Verses in the Hebrew Bible.” 2012. <http://charlesasullivan.com/2693/a-history-of-chapters-and-verses-in-the-hebrew-bible>
[9] Neubauer, Adolf. And Driver, Samuel Rolles. The Fifty-third Chapter of Isaiah According to the Jewish Interpreters. 1877. “Thargum of Yonathan (Jonathan Targum)” pp. 5-7. <https://books.google.com/books?id=YxdbAA
[10] “Targum.” Jewish Encyclopedia. 2011. AAQAAJ&pg=PP1&hl=en#v=onepage&q=Thargum&f=false >
[11] Neubauer. The Fifty-third Chapter of Isaiah According to the Jewish Interpreters. “Thargum of Yonathan.” pp. 5-7.
[12] The Complete Jewish Bible with Rashi Commentary. Isaiah 53:3. Rashi commentary. Soncino Babylonian Talmud. n.d. Sotah 14a. <https://israelect.com/Come-and-Hear/sotah/sotah_14.html#14a_1> Crispin, Moshe Kohen ibn. “Sefer ha-Musar.” Neubauer, Driver & Rolles. The Fifty-third Chapter of Isaiah According to the Jewish Interpreters. pp. 99-101. <http://books.google.com/books?id=YxdbAAAAQAAJ&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q=advent&f=false> The Compete Jewish Bible- with Rashi Commentary. Isaiah 7:14. CR Judges Chapter 13.
[13] Mangel, Nissen. “Responsa.” Chabad.org. 2018. <http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/107783/jewish/Responsa.htm> Maimonides, “Letter to the South (Yemen)”. p 374. Neubauer and Driver. The Fifty-third Chapter of Isaiah According to the Jewish Interpreters.
[14] Isaiah 7:14. The Complete Jewish Bible with Rashi Commentary. Isaiah 7:14. Jewish Publication Society Bible. <http://www.breslov.com/bible/Isaiah7.htm#14 > “Mishneh Torah, Virgin Maiden 1. “Sefaria.org. n.d. <https://www.sefaria.org/Mishneh_Torah%2C_Virgin_Maiden.1.5?lang=bi>> Mishneh Torah, Forbidden Intercourse 17.” Sefaria.org. Footnotes #48 & 49. n.d. <https://www.sefaria.org/Mishneh_Torah%2C_Forbidden_Intercourse.17.13?lang=bi&with=Navigation&lang2=en>
[15] Good News Translation; Net Bible Translation.
[16] Luke 4:16-21; Isaiah 61:1-2a.
[17] Luke 24:44-48.