Embedded Files
Introduction
Introduction
Preface with Excerpt from chapter 1 verse 1 notes
Preface with Excerpt from chapter 1 verse 1 notes
To the writer, it has become clear that this Jew, Yehoshua, being born of a Jewish mother, is the son by whom God has now spoken to Israel. For it is he, who, after observing all the Torah of God, laid down his life for his people that he might take it up again. It is he who is the one whom God in the Scriptures has always promised to the Jewish people as a son, who would be known as His son, because he would fulfill, and cause Israel to fulfill, His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob.
And it is as this son, that God has made him, His unique Jewish son, the heir of all things. And through His love for this His son, and therefore through His son himself, for the sake of His son's inheritance, he made the universe. And for his sake He now sustains the universe, re-creating it as a redeemed universe, establishing it forever from its core, which core is His son.
Just as these mysteries have been revealed and made clear to the writer, so the writer now sets out to make them clear to his readers. For it is these things that God has in these last days spoken to Israel, by addressing this Jew, Yehoshua, as a son.
My reading of the Book of Hebrews is very different from the traditional readings, which are non-Jewish readings of the book. My reading is a studied Jewish reading of the book written by Jews to Jews. Even as a reading from a Jewish perspective, this is a unique reading that has not been seen before. Those who read through these notes and comments on all 13 chapters of the book will find that they conclude by saying that the power of all existence extended by God to His creation, (in its first manifestation under the headship of Adam), originated from the promise of the resurrection of the Messiah of Israel. And the power of all existence extend by God to His new creation, (in its final manifestation under the headship of the Son of Adam), originates from the resurrection of the Messiah of Israel, after that he laid down his life for his people. Those who read through this entire work on the Book of Hebrews will discover how I come to learn this from this book and what it means to say this.
The Messiah's Name
The Messiah's Name
When entering into conversation with the Greeks about their promised Messiah, the Jews acknowledged that the translation of his title, meaning The Anointed One, into Greek from Hebrew would be, "Christos." Speaking among themselves, the Jews would never use this Greek term. This means it would be entirely unnatural for Jews speaking among themselves to use the term in English that is transliterated from the Greek, "Christ", when speaking of their Messiah. Even the term, "Messiah" which is transliterated first from Hebrew to Greek and then to English is somewhat foreign to those Jews who know, or are at least familiar with, Hebrew. "Moshiah", would be a much closer transliteration, but "Moshiach", or "Mashiach", are even closer transliterations, the "ch" being pronounced like the "ch" in the name of the composer, Bach. I will use all three forms, Messiah, Moshiah, and Mashiach at different times in this work.
The key to hearing the Jewish reading of this book is this: Before God spoke by means of a promise. Now he speaks by means of the one promised.
To clarify, God's speaking, both before and now, is to one people, before by the promise of a son to be anointed of God as the redeemer and head of his people, and now by the fulfillment of that promise. What God said before by promise and and what he says now by fulfillment of that promise, he wants all the world to listen to as a surrounding audience. For it is for the whole world's sake that he speaks to his people, Israel.
This way of reading the Book of Hebrews is in contrast to the traditional non-Messianic Jewish way of reading the Book of Hebrews, which reads the opening verses as if they said, 'God spoke to our natural Jewish ancestors as the old people of God through the prophets, but now speaks to us in our community of Christian faith as the new people of God through his son.' One example of this is where John Owen in his monumental commentary on Hebrews says, "The days of the Messiah and the days of the end of the Judaical church are the same." Owen follows to statement by saying, "And these words are expressly also used by R. D. Kimchi, Comment. in [Isaiah 2:2]; who honestly refers all the words of that prophecy unto the Messiah." Radak, (D. Kimchi), does say in commenting on Isaiah 2:2 that the prophecy there refers to the days of the Messiah. Radak is not the only rabbinic commentator to say this. It is the traditional Jewish understanding of that prophecy in Isaiah chapter 2. But in direct contrast to the use that John Owen makes of Radak's saying the prophecy refers to Mashiach, to imply that it is an acknowledgement of "the end of the Jewish church", the rabbinic interpretation, which Radak follows teaches that the days of Mashiach, about which Isaiah prophecies will eternally establish the Jewish Assembly!
More than this, the rabbinic tradition is, as clearly explained by the rabbinic commentator, Abarbanel, that Isaiah's prophecy shows how that the long wandering of the Jewish people in exile among the nations is the very means by which all nations who try to replace them will, in the end, be brought to serve them, when Mashiach comes to redeem them on the day when God judges between the nations.
The reading of Hebrews that follows is a Jewish reading of Hebrews which is informed by rabbinic commentators like Abarbanel, rather than by non-Jewish commentators like Owen. I read Hebrews is an entirely apostolic Messianic Jewish book. Hebrews begins its discussion among Jews who know the promises God made to Israel in the Torah, the Psalms and Prophets well. On the basis of this Jewish faith, Hebrews goes on to discuss the good news of to Israel brought to her by her Messiah. It does this in ways that had not be revealed in the Jewish community before. In this light the reading that follows will proceed.
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