Nehemiah Gordon was raised as an Orthodox Jew but is now a Kairite. With his background in Judaism and his research into the Judaism of the first century, his research into the Yeshua of the New Testament and how many of the passages relate to the Judaism of Yeshua's day is astounding. A basic understanding of Judaism is essential for proper understanding of the New Testament as it was written by and for Jews.

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Product Description

An astonishing realization has recently gripped the Christian world: "Jesus Christ" was not a blond-haired, blue-eyed Gentile. Yeshua of Nazareth was raised in an observant Jewish family in a culture where the Torah (five books of Moses) was the National Constitution. Yeshua's teachings, which supposedly form the basis for Western Christianity, are now filtered through 2000 years of traditions born in ignorance of the land, language, and culture of the Bible. The issues over which Yeshua wrestled with the Pharisees are simply not understood by modern Christians; nor are his most important instructions followed by those who claim to be his disciples.

Former Pharisee, Nehemia Gordon, a Dead Sea Scrolls scholar and Semitic language expert, explores the ancient Hebrew text of the Gospel of Matthew from manuscripts long hidden away in the archives of Jewish scribes. Gordon's research reveals that the more "modern" Greek text of Matthew, from which the Western world's versions were translated, depicts "another Jesus" from the Yeshua portrayed in the ancient Hebrew version of Matthew. Gordon explains the life-and-death conflict Yeshua had with the Pharisees as they schemed to grab the reins of Judaism in the first century, and brings that conflict into perspective for both Jew and Christian alike.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #110780 in Books
• Published on: 2005-01-01
• Binding: Paperback
• 128 pages

Avi Ben Mordechai, Preface
Gordon places Yeshua into his Hebraic context and allows Yeshua's own words to sparkle within their original Semitic setting!

Michael Rood, Introduction
Yeshua's brutally honest words in the Hebrew version of Matthew are nothing short of revolutionary for the believer.

About the Author
Nehemia Gordon holds a degree in Biblical Studies and Archaeology from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Fluent in Hebrew, Gordon has worked extensively with ancient manuscripts and on the publication and translation of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Today, he divides his time between lecturing on Tanach and Hebrew New Testament topics, teaching Biblical Hebrew to private individuals and small groups, and continuing his research on the Hebrew sources of the New Testament.

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Customer Reviews

Arguments as Solid as Swiss Cheese
Since Gordon is a respected Hebrew scholar I expected to find deep insights into the book of Matthew. I expected to find some content beyond Christianity since Gordon is a Karaite Jew and he can not believe Jesus is a teacher of righteousness. I was curious why Michael Rood was involved in this project, what role did he have? As a former Christian, I wanted to gain knowledge about Hebrew Primacy since it has few adherents compared to Aramaic Primacy and Greek Primacy. I did not find what I was looking for.

The book's conclusions have so many holes it read like swiss cheese. The Shem Tov's Matthew is far beyond the possiblity of being the "original" Matthew, or even a copy of such. The Appendix has a "Testimony of Papias" basically a quote from an early church father saying Matthew was written originally in Hebrew. First off, the quote is a second-hand quote and Papias's "fact" was second-hand knowledge. Papias's writing is non-existent today and the quote here is found as a quote in another writing, so the accuracy is questionable and the context is unknown. I asked myself the question "Does Papias mean it was written in the Hebrew language or in the language of the Hebrews which would have been Aramaic at that time?" Gordon may be a Hebrew scholar but he really has no background in New Testament studies. He was the wrong person to write on this topic, he even says he had to go to other experts to ask questions since he knew nothing. He claims proof it was originally in Hebrew because of word puns. Wait, Aramaic is a Semitic language. Many Aramaic words share the same root as Hebrew too. There are Aramaic word puns, and the Hebrew word puns are going to be in many of the same places as the Aramaic word puns. That is not proof. Gordon was asked a question about vows in the Oral Torah, yet he doesn't study Talmud, he is a Karaite. To answer the question, some sages said ANY vow (which includes a vow on HaShem) can be nullified by the authority of a sage, and next is stated some sages said they have not the authority. For further study on vows closest to the time of the Pharisees read Nedarim in the Mishnah and Tosefta.

Gordon paints Jesus as a Torah observent Jew yet knows nothing about the times Jesus broke the Torah(written Torah). Jesus actually says in Matthew 5:17 that he did not come to untie the yoke of the law but to (Aramaic - emali) add to the law. "Add to" in the sense of pouring water into a half-full vessel (this is why it is translated "fulfill"). This is exactly what the Pharisees say with the Oral Torah. They claim the Written Torah is not perfectly complete and this is proof that an Oral Torah was given, because the Oral Torah makes it prefectly complete. This is contrary to the message of the Torah and Prophets. Jesus is just taking another route from the same place, the Torah is not perfectly complete.

I believe Gordon wrote this book for Messianic Christians to be introduced to Karaism, for them to see Jesus as a Karaite, and ultimately study and observe Torah. He possibly feels that if they study Torah they will come across many of the passages which point to Jesus like Deut. 13, the Hebrew of Num.23:19, or find that blood sacrifice is not required for atonement (Lev.5:11-13), that Lev 17:10-11 is talking about the improper and proper use of blood, not that it is necessary for atonement... and a plethora of others. A lot of former Christians are drawn to Karaite Judaism and I think he expects this book to speed the flow of converts. Michael Rood seems to be the big name promoting this book to Christians.

Convincing
I am an evangelical with messianic gentile leanings. I found this book facinating. He does a Karaite Jewish slice and dice on Rabbinic Judaism, this by itself is worth the price of the book. He also discusses 2 puzzling verses in Matthew that MAY be solved by his proposals. Be sure to check out the continuing dialog about this book at Nehemia's website. Some messianics reject his proposals and some accept. Make up your own mind, I certainly found his proposals plausible.

Some may not care for the implications of his argument, that we may have had some text errors creep into Matthew when it was (possibly) translated from the original in Hebrew into Greek. I do not mind this, but think we live in exciting times.

You gotta get this book, or the DVD.
How many people know there is a Hebrew version of Matthew and how it differs
from the Greek version? Well, everyone who loves Scriptural truths will love
this book. You will learn a lot about Orthodox and Rabbinical Judaism, not
to mention learning at a deeper level what Yahusha was up against when
confronting the nonbelieving Pharisess. In the DVD one can learn a great
deal also, and Gordon is an excellent speaker, able to rivit the attention
without any high tech visuals. I think it must take a significant amount
of courage to speak out against traditions that Gordon was raised in and
I applaud him for that and for the fact that he has brought a great treasure
to our attention. Like many truly great treasures, it will probably be
considered a trinket, or worse, to so many in the world.