Paul used an "allegory" to communicate to non-Jewish followers of Messiah Yeshua. But is allegory the same as midrash? In this post, I will show the difference between Jewish midrash and the popular Greek genre called allegory. In Galatians 4:21-31, Paul said, "I speak allegorically", so his non-Jewish audience would know how to properly interpret … Continue reading Is Midrash The Same As Allegory? Galatians 4:21-31 Vs. Luke 3:21-4:15.
Apostolic Writings
This section discusses topics and passages from the New Testament books
They Will Call His Name Immanuel
I think the writer of the Gospel of Matthew wrote a delightful midrash in his account of Yeshua's birth. The writer cleverly weaves several verses of Scripture together in one quotation and gives us a rich meditation on the Mission and calling of Yeshua to usher in the Kingdom of Heaven. First a little story … Continue reading They Will Call His Name Immanuel
Mishnah Yadayim 2.4: Table Fellowship And Yeshua’s Doctrine.
This Mishnah teaches that natiylat-yadayim (ritual hand-washing) and table fellowship are of great importance. This post will discuss how tzedakah (charitable disposition in deeds) is essential for table fellowship. Mishnah Yadayim 2:4 states: "Concerning the case for "the uncertain ritual purity status of hands at table fellowship", do they transmit uncleanness (tamei', or unclean) or … Continue reading Mishnah Yadayim 2.4: Table Fellowship And Yeshua’s Doctrine.
John 4:4-26: Part 2. Worship In Spirit And Truth
Some might say, "Brian, you interpret the conversation as an allegory!" Rather, I think it was a staged conversation. Whether the actual conversation happened is not the point. Rabbis often recited staged conversations to illustrate a point (e.g. B. Sanhedrin 91a, Geviha ben Pesisa stories). I think John's Jewish audience would be familiar with the … Continue reading John 4:4-26: Part 2. Worship In Spirit And Truth
John 4:4-26: The Samaritan Woman Part 1
Who knew Samaritans were idol worshipers and did not believe in the resurrection of the dead? In this post, I will briefly discuss Samaritan biblical history and the mutual tension with Jews. That background will provide a interesting backstory to the Samaritan woman story in the Gospel of John. The Assyrians moved colonists into the … Continue reading John 4:4-26: The Samaritan Woman Part 1
A Series In Hebrews 8:6-8a: The Conclusion Drawn From The Two Tabernacles. Part 7
A quick overview of Chapters 9&10: 9 discusses the two Divine Services of the earthly and heavenly tabernacles and their respective Covenants. The earthly sin offerings did not remove the problem of our sinful conscience in This World; sin which is still operating, I might add. But just as the first covenant was established in … Continue reading A Series In Hebrews 8:6-8a: The Conclusion Drawn From The Two Tabernacles. Part 7
A Series In Hebrews 8:6-8a: Why Two Tabernacles Instead Of Two Covenants? Part 6
The writer used the genre of midrash in Hebrews 8:6-8a, but also used biblical parallelism in crafting the words of verse 6. I discussed parallelism in part 2. In this post, I show how poetic parallelism offers a clear meaning and better follows the word order of the passage than the popular translations. νυνὶ δὲ … Continue reading A Series In Hebrews 8:6-8a: Why Two Tabernacles Instead Of Two Covenants? Part 6
A Series In Hebrews 8:6-8a: Why Two Tabernacles Instead Of Two Covenants? Part 5
In part 4, I said that all popular translations have read Hebrews 8:6-7 as referring to two covenants. I further showed the two covenants are generally understood as the Old Testament part of the Bible and the New Testament portion of the Bible. In this post, I will discuss why "tabernacles" makes more sense in … Continue reading A Series In Hebrews 8:6-8a: Why Two Tabernacles Instead Of Two Covenants? Part 5
A Series in Hebrews 8:6-8a: To What Covenant Are The Translators’ referring? Part 4
Every popular English translation of the Bible assume that 8:6 is rendering obsolete the Old Testament. They might protest and narrow it to the Old Testament sacrifices, or slightly more broadly, the Ritual laws pertaining to the Altar. But we know a tree by its fruit. The reality is that if you throw out the … Continue reading A Series in Hebrews 8:6-8a: To What Covenant Are The Translators’ referring? Part 4
A Series In Hebrews 8:6-8a: To What Covenant Are The Translators Referring? Part 3
In the previous post in this series, I focused on the literary device of parallelism. Parallelism heightens the imagery and sharpens the meaning of words. But the rabbis use midrash to flesh out new, relevant, contemporary meaning from the biblical texts. The writer of Hebrews used a midrashic method to deliver to the audience a … Continue reading A Series In Hebrews 8:6-8a: To What Covenant Are The Translators Referring? Part 3
Beit Ya'acov Messianic Jewish Society 