The following references come from:
Tovia Singer, Let’s Get Biblical: Why Doesn’t Judaism
Accept the Christian Messiah? 2 vols. (Forest Hills, N.Y.: Outreach
Judaism, 2014)
Tampering with the Old Testament to Support the Miraculous
Claims of their Leader
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Why did the author of the Book of Luke interpolate the phrase “Recovery
of sight ot the blind” into the mouth of the Prophet Isaiah? |
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Luke 4:18-19 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has
anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he has sent me to heal the
brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight
to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; |
Isaiah 61:1-2 (KJV) The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the
Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meet; he hath sent me
to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the
opening of the prison to them that are bounded; |
(1:360)
On eleven occasions Matthew employs “fulfillment citations,”
where he claims the events in the life of Jesus fulfilled a prophecy in the
Jewish Scriptures. Among all the four Gospels, Matthew is the only author to
implement this approach. Here in his nativity story, Matthew claims that the
birthplace of the messiah was foretold in the Jewish Scriptures:
And thou Bethlehem, land of
Judah, Art in no wise least among the princes of Judah: For out of thee shall
come forth a governor, Who shall be shepherd of my people Israel.
(Matthew
2:6)
Here, Matthew cites Micah 5:1 (5:2 in a Christian Bible) to
prove that the Jewish prophet foretold many centuries earlier that the messiah
is to be born in Bethlehem. I will not address the imperfections in Matthew’s
translation. Rather, we will examine what Matthew chose not to translate. If
you read his quote out of context, as it is cited in Matthew 2:6, it appears
pretty straightforward that Micah foretold that the messiah would be born in Bethlehem.
In quoting Micah, however, Matthew deliberately expunged the last phrase of the
original passage. And this last clause of Micah 5:1 was eliminated for good reason:
It is the modifier of the passage which dramatically impacts the meaning of the
prophecy; and Matthew considered this modification unwelcome. The complete verse
in Micah 5:1 reads:
But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the
clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose
origins are from old, from ancient times.
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Micah 5:1 |
But you, Bethlehem
Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will
come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from
old, from ancient times. |
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Matthew 2:6 |
And thou
Bethlehem, land of Judah, Art in no wise least among the princes of Judah:
For out of thee shall come forth a governor, Who shall shepherd my
people Israel. ß
Interpolated |
Where did “whose origins are from old, from ancient times”
go? Why didn’t Matthew include these words in his quote? Why did he replace
them with other words that do not appear anywhere in the original verse in
Micah? Look up Micah 5:1 (5:2 in a Christian Bible) for yourself. Why did
Matthew tamper with Jewish Scriptures? The answer is obvious to the reader.
Micah, who lived approximately 2,700 years ago—about three centuries after King
David—foretold that the “original” link which connects the Messiah to Bethlehem
is “from old, from ancient times.” This was not the message that Matthew
sought to convey, so Matthew deliberately interpolated the words, “Who shall
shepherd my people Israel.” The original passage stripped of the modifying
phrase appears to foretell that the messiah would be born in Bethlehem, rather
than King David, the messiah’s ancestor, who was born there. Here we have another
striking example where Matthew manipulated a passage in Tanach so that its
message appears christological.
Few chapters in the Bible more clearly illustrate that Jesus
could not be the messiah than the fifth chapter of Micah. Examine the prophecies
that fill the rest of this chapter (5:2-14). It is here that Micah foretold
that the Jewish people will be led by the messiah to defeat their enemies.
Jesus failed to fulfill these vital prophecies. (1:328-29)
