User:Ret.Prof/ History of the Hebrew Gospel

Over the past ten years there has been a renewed interest in the Oral Gospel traditions and the Vernacular Hebrew Gospel. The conclusion of such scholars as Edwards, Casey and Ehrman: There was a "genuine Semitic source" composed in a Hebrew dialect that formed the basis of later Gospels. Furthermore Papias and other Church Fathers confirm this to be the case.

History of the Hebrew Gospel

Papias

Papias, who was born about 30 years after Jesus, was a Bishop in the Early Church. Papias stated that Matthew, one of the Twelve, was the first to collect the oral traditions of Jesus and write them down. There is every reason to believe this to be true. (See Bart D. Ehrman, Did Jesus Exist?, 2012. pp 98-101 & James R. Edwards, The Hebrew Gospel and the development of the Synoptic Tradition, p 6)

Papias (b. 63 A.D.) Matthew wrote down the sayings of Jesus (logia) in a Hebrew dialect (en Hebraidi dialecto), and everyone translated (hermeneusen) them to the best of their ability.

During the formative years of Early Christianity, the position of Papias was corroborated by more than 75 ancient witnesses who testified to the fact that this Hebrew Gospel was in wide circulation. Google Link Twelve of the Early Church Fathers testified that it was written by the Apostle Matthew. Google Link No ancient writer either Christian or Non Christian challenged these two facts. Google Link

The Discrepancies: An unsettling truth

Almost everyone in the early Church agreed that Matthew first composed his Gospel in Hebrew script, and assumed it was translated into the Greek Gospel of Matthew found in the Bible. Epiphanius was one of the first to notice that there were discrepancies. He assumed that the Ebionites had "edited" their copy of Hebrew Matthew.

However, Jerome noticed that all the copies of the Hebrew Gospel of Matthew had the same discrepancies. His scholarly work lead him to an unsettling truth: The Gospel of Matthew found in the Bible was not a translation of Matthew's Hebrew Gospel. After comparing Matthew's Gospel in Hebrew with the Gospel of Matthew in the Bible, he found that the two were radically different. In a letter to Pope Damasus in 383 Jerome shared his concerns about the discrepancies.

Letter to Pope Damasus Jerome, 383 A.D.

The labor is one of love, but at the same time both perilous . . . I will now speak of the New Testament, which was undoubtedly composed in Greek, with the exception of the Apostle Matthew, who was the first in Judea to produce a Gospel of Christ in Hebrew script. We must confess that as we have it in our language, it is marked by discrepancies, and now that the stream is distributed into different channels we must go back to the fountainhead.

Jerome argued that Matthew's Hebrew Gospel which some called the Gospel of the Hebrews, but which most people called the Authentic Gospel of Matthew (or " Matthaei Authenticum ") was radically different from the Canonical Gospel of Matthew. The discrepancies showed that the Gospel of Matthew found in the Bible could not have been a translation of Matthew's Hebrew Gospel as the Early Church had believed. Modern scholars have now shown the Gospel of Matthew was written years later by an unknown redactor and was based on two Greek sources. (Mark & Q)

When Jerome pointed out the discrepancies, all copies of the Hebrew Gospel disappeared (Some Bishops such as Cyrll ordered them to be Burned) and Jerome fell into disfavor. The scholar who believed he would succeed Damasus as Pope had to leave Rome in disgrace.

Mid 20th C scholarship

By the mid 20 C many scholars took the position that the Hebrew Gospel never existed. There were two reasons for this.

If a Hebrew text was not translated into Greek, it did not exist

First, it has been shown that Canonical Gospel of Matthew is not a translation of Matthew's Hebrew Gospel. This makes it untenable that the Hebrew Gospel ever existed, for if it was never translated into Koine Greek, this is proof that it never existed. Walter Bauer (1934) goes on to explain Papias' should be understood as an attempt to defend the canonical Greek Gospel of Matthew from being used improperly, since he considered heretics in Asia Minor were misusing it.

"Hebraidi dialecto" does not mean a "Hebrew dialect" but rather "Koine Greek"

Second Joseph Kurzinger argued that "Hebraidi dialecto" should not be translated as "Hebrew dialect" but rather as "Koine Greek".

He studied the Papias quote: "Matthew collected the oral teachings of Jesus (logia) in a Hebrew dialect (Hebraidi dialecto), and everyone translated (hermeneusen) them to the best of their ability." On the surface it implies that Matthew's Gospel was written in Hebrew. However, upon closer study by Hebraidi dialecto, Papias meant that Matthew wrote in the "Semitic rhetorical style" rather than in the Hebrew language. Therefore if the comment refers to "style" not "language" the gospel could have been written in Greek. Thus Hebraidi dialecto does not mean "a Hebrew dialect" but rather "Koine Greek" proving there never was a Hebrew Gospel.

Mainline position of the 20th Century

Indeed it would be fair to say that the aforementioned positions have dominated Christianity in the last Century. Such notable scholars as Grundmann, Kittel, Bultmann, Bauer, Vielhauer, Schneemelcher and Kürzinger have all accepted this anti Hebrew Gospel scholarship in varying degrees. Many argued that Jesus was a non-Jewish Galilean, spoke a European language (ie Greek) and was indeed anti-Jewish as can be shown by his attacks on the Jews in the Gospels.

Anti-Semitism & Christianity

In recent years there has been some serious pushback to the mainline position. Scholars agree that the Gospel of Matthew was not a translation of the Hebrew Gospel. However, they argue that the Papias note never stated that the Hebrew Gospel was translated into the canonical Gospel of Matthew. Indeed, to say that 'Hebrew Matthew' could not exist because it was never translated into 'canonical Matthew' is a "spurious intellectual argument". The "translation issue" does not call into question the existence of the Hebrew gospel. The Dead Sea Scrolls have shown that Hebrew and Aramaic texts did exist without ever having been translated into Koine Greek. Furthermore, the Dead sea Scrolls show Hebraidi dialecto, can refer to only 'vocabulary', or 'vocabulary and style' but never should be translated as 'Koine Greek'.

Clearly prejudice is a second mitigating factor against investigations into the Hebrew Gospel. Christianity has been anti Jewish and Christian scholarship has failed to be "Christian" in its treatment of Jews. This can be seen in the disparagement of the Hebrew Gospel which is viewed as little more than a Jewish Bastardwerk. ( See Google Link ). The tenacity of these attacks intensified and Deutsch Christian scholarship re the Hebrew Gospel tradition bordered on antisemitism by the mid 20th Century. The Deutsche Christen movement produced the Theologisches Wörterbuch zum Neuen Testament, still the standard Theological Dictionary of the New Testament found in theological libraries and used by students all over the world as if it were nothing but a standard work of reference. It has had a profound influence on modern scholarship and has formed the basis of many modern Theological Dictionaries and Encyclopedias.

Nor should it be imagined that such bias was isolated to scholars who fought for Nazi Germany for even Bultmann was tainted by the effect of working in a German environment in which Jewishness was so unwelcome. Google Link Nor should it be imagined that such anti-Jewish sentiment was isolated to scholars coming out of Germany. Google Link. The Jewish tradition has generally been viewed pejoratively and judged inferior by many other scholars instrumental in the formation theories regarding the Synoptic tradition. Google Link. One must take care to distinguish between Biblical Scholarship based on reliable historical evidence and “the age-long, inbred, instinctive Jew-hatred” of the West. (See Roots of Theological Anti-Semitism: German Biblical Interpretation and the Jews, from Herder and Semler to Kittel and Bultmann Volume 20 of Studies in Jewish History and Culture, BRILL, 2009. Maurice Casey pp 4-9, James Edwards pp 194 - 208, Susannah Heschel and Theologisches Wörterbuch zum Neuen Testament )

A New Scholarly Consensus

Although anti Hebrew Gospel scholarship has dominated in the West, there were always some dissenting voices such as W. R. Schoemaker, Cassels, Parker and Nicholson: the historical evidence shows that there was indeed a Hebrew Gospel, composed by Matthew and circulated among the Hebrews. Such a work was accorded a high degree of historical integrity for generally speaking, the greater the antiquity of a source, the greater its historical value. (Bart D. Ehrman, Did Jesus Exist?, 2012. p 40-41)

Then, in 1998 Peter Lebrecht Schmidt, showed that originally there was only one Jewish gospel, (See Ray A. Pritz.) called the "Gospel according to the Hebrews," which was subsequently translated into Greek and Latin. Schmidt's work was powerful, well sourced and thought provoking. By the turn of the century it had become obvious "that the state of the scholarly question had been thrown into the air and there is simply no consensus" (Please read pages 245 - 246, Jewish believers in Jesus: the early centuries" by Oskar Skarsaune & Reidar Hvalvik Hendrickson Publishers, 2007)

Since then Bart Ehrman, Maurice Casey, James Edwards, Robert E. Aldridge, James Tabor and Jeffrey J. Bütz have argued that there was an early Semitic source composed in a Hebrew dialect behind the the Canonical Gospels.

List of Primary sources

1. Hebrew Gospel (text as reconstructed by P Parker)

List of SECONDARY sources from the Early Church

The Hebrew Gospel has been lost, but much is known, through secondary sources of the Early Church.

• Rabban Gamaliel (Date of Birth is unknown but scholars agree he was a contemporary of Jesus) Let us turn to the end of the Gospel, where it is written "I came not to take away from the Law of Moses, nor to add to the Law of Moses."

• Ignatius (b. 43 A.D.) I know and believe that after His resurrection He lived in the flesh, for when He came to those disciples with Peter, Jesus said, “Take hold of me, handle me, and see that I am not a bodiless demon." And immediately they touched Him and believed.

• Papias (b. 63 A.D.) Matthew collected the oral teachings of Jesus (logia) in a Hebrew dialect (en Hebraidi dialecto), and everyone translated (hermeneusen) them to the best of their ability.... and the Gospel of the Hebrews sets forth another account of the woman accused of many sins before the Lord."
• Pantaenus the Philosopher Pantaenus went to India where the Christian community had collected Matthew's writings. Indeed, Bartholomew, one of the Apostles, had preached to the Indian people, and left them Matthew's Gospel in Hebrew script, which they had preserved. After many good deeds, Pantaenus finally became the head of the School in Alexandria, and expounded the treasures of divine doctrine both orally and in writing.

• Justin (b. 100 A.D.) When Jesus went down into the water, fire was kindled above the Jordan, and when He came up from the water, the Holy Spirit came upon Him. "You are my Son: this day I have begotten you" And later the voice spoke to him, saying, “You are My Son, today I have begotten You”. This is recorded in the Memoirs of the Apostles.
• Justin And our Lord Jesus Christ said: "In whatsoever things I may find you, in this will I also judge you."
• Justin "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. For the Heavenly Father desires rather the repentance of the sinner rather than his punishment."
• Justin "The New Law wishes you to Sabbatize always.
• Justin "What he wishes for himself, he wishes also for his neighbor,"
• Justin "Many shall come in my name, clothed outwardly in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. And there shall be schisms and heresies."
• Justin "This great wisdom of the Almighty, Maker of All shall be hidden from you.

• Hegesippus (b. 110 A.D.) He (Hegesippus) mentions also some things from the Syriac (Aramaic) Gospel of the Hebrews concerning a Hebrew dialect, by which he evidences that he was converted from Judaism to Christianity.

• Irenaeus (b. 114 A.D.) Matthew composed a written Gospel among the Hebrews in their own dialect while Peter and Paul were preaching at Rome and laying the foundations of the Church.
• Irenaeus Those who are called Ebionites accept that God made the world. However their opinions with respect to the Lord are quite similar to those of Cerinthus and Carpocrates. They use only Matthew's gospel, and reject the Apostle Paul, calling him an apostate from the Law..
• Irenaeus For the Ebionites, who use only Matthew's gospel, are convicted out of that very book as not holding right views about the Lord.

• The Translator Symmachus As to these translators it should be stated that Symmachus was an Ebionite. But the heresy of the Ebionites, as it is called, asserts that Christ was the son of Joseph and Mary, considering him a mere man, and insists strongly on keeping the law in a Jewish manner, as we have seen already in this history. Commentaries of Symmachus are still extant in which he appears to support the doctrine laid down using Matthew's Gospel.

• Clement of Alexandria (b. 150 A.D.) As it is also written in the Gospel of the Hebrews, “He that is amazed will prevail, and he that prevails shall rest in peace.”
• Clement of Alexandria Matthew the Apostle constantly said, that "If the neighbour of an elect man sins, the elect man has sinned. For had he conducted himself as the Word prescribes, his neighbour also would have been filled with such reverence for the life he led as not to sin.

• Hippolytus (b 170 A.D.) Bartholomew, again, preached to the people of India, to whom he also gave a copy of Matthew's Gospel.
• Hippolytus Matthew, having composed a Gospel in Hebrew script, published it in Jerusalem, and slept in Hierae of Parthia.

• Origen (b. 185 A.D.) The first Gospel was composed by Matthew, who was once a tax collector, but afterwards an Apostle of Jesus Christ, and it was prepared for the converts from Judaism, and published in Hebrew script.
• Origen And if any should lend credence to the Gospel according to the Hebrews, where the Saviour Himself says: " My mother, the Holy Spirit, took me by one of my hairs and carried me off to the great Mount Tabor," There is the difficulity of explaining how the Holy Spirit can be the mother of Christ. However, this is not difficult to explain, for if “whoever does the will of the Father in Heaven is brother and sister and mother”, and if the name “brother of Christ” applies not only to men, but also to beings of more divine rank, there is nothing wrong in the Holy Spirit being his mother, when anyone who does the will of the Father in Heaven is called “mother of Christ”.
• Origen It is written in that Gospel which is styled, According to the Hebrews: The second rich youth said to him, “Rabbi, what good thing can I do and live?” Jesus replied, “Fulfill the law and the prophets.” “I have,” was the response. Jesus said, “Go, sell all that you have and distribute to the poor; and come, follow me.” But the rich man began to scratch his head, for it did not please him. And the Lord said, “How can you say, I have fulfilled the law and the prophets, when it is written in the law: You shall love your neighbor as yourself and many of your brothers, sons of Abraham, are covered with filth, dying of hunger, and your house is full of many good things, none of which goes out to them?” And he turned and said to Simon, his disciple, who was sitting by Him, “Simon, son of Jonah, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for the rich to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.”

• Ephem the Syrian Matthew wrote his Gospel in Hebrew script.

• Eusebius (b. 260 A.D.) They (the Apostles) were led to write only under the pressure of necessity. Matthew, who had at first preached to the Hebrews, when he was about to go to other nations, committed the Gospel according to himself to writing in his native dialect. Therefore he supplied the written word to make up for the lack of his own presence to those from whom he was sent.
• Eusebius (Catalogs of the Early Church) In his catalog of Church writings he lists the Gospel of the Hebrews, “… which some reject, but which others class with the accepted books. And among these some have also placed the Gospel of the Hebrews, with which those Hebrews who accept Christ are especially delighted. All these may be reckoned among the disputed books (as opposed to 'accepted' or 'spurious' books).
• Eusebius The [Ebionites] imagine that they must reject all Epistles of Paul, since they call him an apostate from the Law and they used only the Gospel called the Gospel of the Hebrews.
• Eusebius Christ himself taught the reason for the divisions of souls that come to pass in houses, as we have found in the Gospel among the Jews in Hebrew script, in which He said, “I will choose for myself the best which my Father in Heaven has given me.”
• Eusebius But the Gospel composed in Hebrew script which has reached our hands turns the threat not against the man who had hid the money, but against him who has lived dissolutely – for it told of three: one wasted his master’s possessions with harlots and flute-girls, one multiplied his gains, and one hid the talent. Accordingly, one was accepted, one was only rebuked, and one was cast into prison.

• Didymus the Blind (b. 313 A.D.) There are many people with two names. Scripture calls Matthew “Levi” in the Gospel of Luke, but they are not the same person. Rather Matthias who replaced Judas, and Levi are the same man with a double name. This is obvious in the Gospel of the Hebrews.

• Epiphanius (b. 315 C.E. - Bishop of Salamis) The [Nazarenes] have Matthew's gospel complete in Hebrew. They have this preserved gospel as it was first written in Hebrew script.
• Epiphanius They only accept Matthew's gospel, and like the followers of Cerinthus and Merinthus, they use it alone. They call it the Gospel of the Hebrews, for in truth Matthew alone in the New Testament expounded and declared the Gospel in Hebrew script.
• Epiphanius ...and Matthew's Gospel was actually composed in Hebrew script.
• Epiphanius Their Gospel commences as follows: “In the days of King Herod of Judea, a certain man named John came baptizing with a baptism of repentance in the river Jordan. He was said to be of the family of Aaron, the priest, son of Zechariah and Elizabeth, and all went out to him... And it came to pass when John baptized, that the Pharisees came to him and were baptized, and all Jerusalem also. He had a garment of camels' hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins. And his meat was wild honey, which tasted like manna, formed like cakes of oil”
• Epiphanius ...which they call the Hebrew Gospel is written the following, “There was a certain man named Jesus, about thirty years old, who chose us. He came to Capernaum and entered the house of Simon, surnamed Peter, and said, ‘As I passed by the Sea of Galilee, I chose John and James, sons of Zebedee, and Simon, and Andrew, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot, Judas Iscariot; and you Matthew, sitting at the tax office, I called and you followed me. You therefore, I want to be the Twelve Apostles, to symbolize and be a testimony unto Israel.’”
• Epiphanius And after many other words, this Gospel continues, “After the people were baptized, Jesus also came and was baptized by John. And as Jesus came up from the water, Heaven was opened, and He saw the Holy Spirit descend in the form of a dove and enter into Him. And a voice from Heaven said, ‘You are my beloved Son; with You I am well pleased.’ And again, ‘Today I have begotten You.’ Immediately a great light shone around the place; and John, seeing it, said to Him, ‘Who are you, Lord? And again a voice from Heaven said, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.’ Then John, falling down before Him, said, ‘I beseech You, Lord, baptize me!’ But He forbade him saying, ‘Let it be so; for thus it is fitting that all things be fulfilled.’”
• Epiphanius They also deny that He is a man, basing their assertion on the word which the Savior spoke when it was announced to Him, “Behold, your mother and your brothers stand outside.” “Who are My mother and brothers?” And stretching out His hand toward his disciples He continued, “These who do the will of My Father are my brothers and sisters.”
• Epiphanius Jesus came and announced, as it says in the account called the Gospel of the Hebrews, “I have come to destroy sacrifices; and if you do not stop making sacrifices, the wrath of God will not leave you.”
• Epiphanius Matthew was the first to become an Evangelist and was directed to compose the first Gospel.
• Epiphanius As I said, Matthew was privileged to be the first to compose a Gospel, and this was absolutely right because he had repented of many sins.
• Epiphanius Matthew composed his gospel in Hebrew script.

• Chrysostom Of Matthew, it is reported, that the Jews who believed came to him. They asked him to leave in writing those same things, which he had preached to them orally. Therefore Matthew composed the Gospel in Hebrew script.

• Jerome ( b. 345 A.D.) The first to compose a gospel was Matthew, the tax collector named Levi who published the Gospel in Judea in Hebrew script, chiefly for the Jews who believed in Jesus.
• Jerome In the Gospel of the Hebrews, which was composed in the Syro-Chaldaic dialect (Aramaic) but in Hebrew script, that the Nazarenes make use of at this day, (I mean the Gospel of the Apostles, or, as it is generally maintained, Matthew's gospel, a copy of which is in the library at Caesarea), the following narrative is given: “Behold the mother of the Lord and his brothers said to him, ‘John the Baptist baptizes for the forgiveness of sins. Let us go and be baptized by him.’ But Jesus said to them, ‘in what way have I sinned that I should go and be baptized by him? Unless perhaps, what I have just said is a sin of ignorance.’” And in the same volume, “‘If your brother sins against you in word, and makes amends, receive him seven times a day.’ Simon, His disciple, said to Him, ‘Seven times in a day!’ The Lord answered and said to him, ‘I say unto thee, until seventy times seven.’ ”
• Jerome Matthew, also called Levi, who used to be a tax collector and later an apostle, composed the Gospel of Christ, which was first published in Judea in Hebrew script for the sake of those of the circumcision who believed. This Gospel was afterwards translated into Greek (though by what author uncertain). Now this Hebrew original is preserved to this day in the library at Caesarea, which Pamphilus the Martyr so diligently collated. I have also had the opportunity of having this volume transcribed for me by the Nazarenes of Beroea, Syria, who use it. It should be noted that wherever the Evangelist (whether on his own account or in the person of our Lord and Saviour) quotes the testimony of the Old Testament he does not follow the authority of the language of the Septuagint but Hebrew Scriptures, from which he quotes these two sayings: "Out of Egypt have I called my Son" and, "hence he shall be called a Nazarene.”
• Jerome Also, the Gospel entitled According to the Hebrews, recently translated by me into Greek and Latin, which Origen often quotes, states, after the Resurrection of the Saviour: “Now the Lord, after he had given His grave clothes to the servant of the priest, appeared to James, for James had taken an oath that he would not eat bread from that hour on which he had drunk the cup of the Lord until he saw Him risen from the dead.” And a little further on the Lord says, “‘bring a table and bread.’” And immediately it is added, “He took bread and blessed and broke and gave it to James the Just and said to him, ‘My brother, eat your bread, for the Son of Man is risen from the dead.’”
• Jerome In the Gospel which I have recently translated, he puts forth evidence respecting the person of Christ saying " But I have both seen him in the flesh after the resurrection and believe that it was he and when he came to Peter, and to those who were with Peter, he said to them, ' Behold, touch me and see how I am not a bodiless demon, and straightway they touched him and believed”
• Jerome Pantaenus (sent to India by Demetrius, Bishop of Alexandria) found that Bartholomew, one of the Twelve Apostles, had preached the Advent of the Lord Jesus according to Matthew's Gospel composed in Hebrew script, which he brought back to Alexandria.
• Jerome "In Bethlehem of Judea." This [Judea] is a clerical error. For I believe that it was first published by the Evangelist [Matthew] as we read in the original Hebrew script. (i. e., Micah V, 1) "Judah," not "Judea".
• Jerome In the Gospel of the Hebrews, for “bread essential to existence,” I found instead of "supersubstantial" bread “Mahar”, which means “of tomorrow”; so the sense is: our bread for tomorrow, that is, of the future, give us this day.
• Jerome In the Gospel which the Nazarenes and the Ebionites use which I have recently translated from Hebrew to Greek, and which most people call the authentic Gospel of Matthew, the man who had the withered hand is described as a mason who begged for help in the following words: “I was a stone-mason, earning a living with my hands. I beg you, Jesus, restore my health to me, so that I need not beg for my food in shame.”
• Jerome In the Gospel that the Nazarenes use, for “son of Barachias” we find written “son of Jehoiada.”
• Jerome In the Gospel called According to the Hebrews, Barabbas is interpreted as “son of their rabbi”, who was condemned for sedition and murder.
• Jerome In the Gospel that we have often mentioned, "the very great lintel of the Temple broke and fell into pieces".
• Jerome In the Hebrew Gospel of Matthew it states, ‘Give us this day our bread for tomorrow.'
• Jerome For when the Apostles thought Him to be a spirit, or in the words of the Gospel of the Hebrews, which the Nazarenes read, “A bodiless demon”
• Jerome But in the Gospel which is composed in Hebrew script and which the Nazarenes read, the whole fountain of the Holy Spirit descends upon Him, for the Lord is Spirit and where the Spirit resides, there is liberty. Further in the Gospel which we have just mentioned we find the following written: “ And it came to pass, as the Lord ascended from the water, the whole fountain of the Holy Spirit descended upon Him and rested on Him saying, ‘My Son, in all the prophets was I waiting for You that You should come and I might rest in You. For You are My rest. You are My first begotten Son that prevails for eternity.’ ”
• Jerome In the Gospel According to the Hebrews that the Nazarenes read, it says, “Even now my mother the Holy Spirit carried me away.” This should upset no one because “spirit” in Hebrew is feminine, while in our language it is masculine and in Greek it is neuter. In divinity there is no gender.
• Jerome In the Gospel of the Hebrews that the Nazarenes read there belongs among the most serious sins, "He that has grieved the spirit of his brother."
• Jerome As we also read in the Hebrew Gospel, the Lord says to his disciples: ”And never be joyful, except when you behold your brother with love.”
• Jerome Whoever has read the Song of Songs knows that the Word of God is also the bridegroom of the soul. And whoever accepts the Gospel circulating under the title Gospel of the Hebrews, which we most recently translated, in which it is said by the Saviour, “Even now my mother, the Holy Spirit, carried me away by one of my hairs,” will not hesitate to say that the Word of God proceeds from the Spirit, and that the soul, which is the bride of the Word, has the Holy Spirit (which in Hebrew is feminine in gender, RUA).
• Jerome In the Gospel composed in Hebrew script we read not that the curtain of the temple was torn, but that the astonishingly large lintel of the temple collapsed.
• Pope Damasus (To Jerome) To his most beloved son Jerome: DAMASUS, Bishop, sends greetings in the Lord. The orthodox Greek and Latin versions [of the Gospel of Matthew] put forth not only differing but mutually conflicting explanations of the saying 'Hosanna to the son of David'. I wish you would write...stating the true meaning of what is actually written in the Hebrew text.
• Jerome (Reply) “Matthew, who composed his Gospel in Hebrew script, wrote, 'Osanna Barrama', which means 'Hosanna in the Highest.’”
• Jerome I will now speak of the New Testament, which was undoubtedly composed in Greek, with the exception of the Apostle Matthew, who was the first in Judea to produce a Gospel of Christ in Hebrew script. We must confess that as we have it in our language, it is marked by discrepancies, and now that the stream is distributed into different channels we must go back to the fountainhead.

The Sinful Woman

This story has long been the subject of scholarly debate. Although it is part of the Gospel of John, most literary critics agree that it was not originally found there. Papias states that it is from the Hebrew Gospel.

• Sinful Woman A woman condemned for sinful behavior was being sent to the customary place for stoning. When the Savior realized elders were making ready to stone her, he said to them, "Whoever has not sinned, let him cast the first stone. Whoever believes himself not to have sinned, let him take up a stone and smite her. No one dared for they knew themselves well and feared they may have to give account.

Early MSS transcripts

The most ancient manuscripts of Matthew's Gospel end with the following citation: "Here ends the copy of the Gospel of the apostle Matthew. He wrote it in the land of Palestine, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, in the Hebrew language, eight years after the bodily ascension of Jesus the Messiah into Heaven, in the first year of the reign of Claudius Caesar, Emperor of Rome." Also Theophylact and Euthymius do also assert this Gospel to have been written in the eighth year after Christ's Ascension.

Oxyrhynchus Discovery

The discovery of portions of the Hebrew Gospel has been of great importance. The preservation of the Hebrew Gospel in Oxyrhynchus in Middle Egypt evinces the breadth of its dissemination in early Christianity. Scholars concur with H. G. E. White's judgment that it seems in the highest degree of probability that we reach the important conclusion — which, is universally admitted, that Saying I is quoted from the Gospel according to the Hebrews. The lost Hebrew Gospel has now been partially rediscovered!

See also The Oxyrhynchus sayings of Jesus, Leon E. Wright, 1962 "The sayings of Jesus from Oxyrhynchus", Hugh Gerard Evelyn-White, 1920; "Artifact Record Details: Oxyrhynchus Papyrus, No. 932: Letter, Thaius to Tigrius (Fragment)". Spurlock Museum at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. 2001. http://www.spurlock.uiuc.edu/search/details.php?a=1914.21.0010. Retrieved 30 May 2007. "Artifact of the Month: Letter from Thaius to Tirius, Oxyrhynchus Papyrus, No. 932". Spurlock Museum. 2002. http://www.spurlock.uiuc.edu/collections/artifact/oxyrhynchus.html. Retrieved 30 May 2007.

Islamic Hadith

• Islamic Hadith Uzza, who, during the Pre-Islamic Period became a Christian used to write with Hebrew script. He would copy from the Gospel in Hebrew as much as Allah wished him to write.

List of SECONDARY and TERTIARY sources up to and including 2012

1. ^ Sedulius Scottus, Super Evangelium Mathei, 855 A.D.
2. ^ New Hypothesis on the Evangelists as Merely Human Historians, Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, 1778
3. ^ An introduction to the New Testament, Samuel Davidson, 1848
4. ^ The Gospel History, J. H. A. Ebrard, The Gospel History 1863
5. ^ New Englander and Yale review, 1864
6. ^ A practical commentary on the Gospel according to St. Matthew, James Morison, 1902
7. ^ The Biblical World, William Rainey Harper, 1902
8. ^ The Gospel According to the Hebrews, W. R. Schoemaker, 1902
9. ^ Gospel according to the Hebrews, Parke Poindexter Flournoy, 1903
10. ^ The Gospel according to the Hebrews, A. S. Barnes, 1905
11. ^ Supernatural Religion, Walter Richard Cassels, 1905
12. ^ The Gospel according to the Hebrews, John Theodore Dodd, 1933
13. ^ According to the Hebrews Hugh Joseph Schonfield, 1937
14. ^ A partial reconstruction of the Gospel according to the Hebrews, Pierson Parker
15. ^ The Gospel Before Mark, Pierson Parker,
16. ^ A Proto-Lucan basis for the Gospel according to the Hebrews, Pierson Parker, 1940
17. ^ The Historical Gospel, Mary Andrews, 1962
18. ^ Fayum Fragment
19. ^ Introduction to the New Testament, Everett Falconer Harrison, 1971
20. ^ Nazarene Jewish Christianity, Ray Pritz 1988
21. ^ Gospel parallels:a synopsis of the first three Gospels, with alternative readings from the manuscripts and non-canonical parallels, Burton Hamilton Throckmorton, 1992.
22. ^ A Literary History of Early Christianity, Charles Thomas Cruttwell, Kessinger Publishing (POD) 2004
23. ^ The Gospel According to the Hebrews, Arthur Lillie, Kessinger Publishing (POD) 2005.
24. ^ The Gospel According to the Hebrews, Bernhard Pick, Kessinger Publishing (POD) 2005
25. ^ Ancient texts for New Testament studies, Craig A. Evans, 2005
26. ^ Paralipomena: Remains of Gospels and Sayings of Christ, Bernhard Pick, ( BiblioBazaar, (POD) 2009
27. ^ History of the Christian Religion, to the Year Two Hundred, Waite Burlingame, (POD) reprint Kessinger Publishing, 2003
28. ^ The Lost And Hostile Gospels, Sabine Baring-gould, Nabu Press, (POD) 2010.

29. ^ The Gospel According to the Hebrews, Edward Byron Nicholson 1879 (POD 2009)

"The Gospel according to the Hebrews: its fragments translated and annotated, first published 1879, is a highly creditable work. The list of fragments and of references has never been so completely made as by Nicholson" - Review of The Gospel according to the Hebrews 1879 by Robert Vaughan, The British quarterly review, Volume 71-72, Hodder and Stoughton, 1880. p 277 Google Link

"Matthew's Gospel was composed in Aramaic, but written in Hebrew script.

We find that there existed among the Nazarenes and Ebionites a Gospel commonly called the "Gospel according to the Hebrews," written in Aramaic, but with Hebrew characters. That its authorship was attributed by some to the Apostles in general, but by very many or most — including clearly the Nazarenes and Ebionites themselves — to Matthew. p 26

p 26

"Matthew's Hebrew Gospel was respected.

The Fathers of the Church, while the "Gospel according to the Hebrews" was yet extant in its entirety, referred to it always with respect, often with reverence: some of them unhesitatingly accepted it as being what tradition affirmed it to be — the work of Matthew — and even those who have not put on record their expression of this opinion have not questioned it. Is such an attitude consistent with the supposition that the "Gospel according to the Hebrews" was a work of heretical tendencies? This applies with tenfold force to Jerome. p 82

p 82

30. ^ The Secret Legacy of Jesus, Jeffrey J. Bütz & James Tabor, 2009

• The Rev. Jeffrey Bütz M.Div., S.T.M., is an ordained Lutheran minister and adjunct professor of World Religions at Pennsylvania State University. Butz is the author of "The Brother of Jesus and the Lost Teachings of Christianity" (Inner Traditions International, 2005), which has received critical acclaim. Google Link His area of expertise is early Church History when James the Just lead the Jewish Christians and Christianity had yet to evolve away from its Jewish roots.
• Dr. James Tabor is Chair of the Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina. His first book was a study of the mysticism of the apostle Paul titled Things Unutterable (1986). The Journal of Religion named it one of the ten best scholarly studies on Paul of the 1980s. In 2006 Tabor published The Jesus Dynasty that focuses on the Jewishness of Jesus and his extended family in the days before the destruction of Jerusalem in year 70. Also in 2006 Tabor completed an edited volume with Prof. Eugene Gallagher, Crossing the Bounds: Humanity and Divinity in Late Antiquity (E.J. Brill, 2006). Last year he published The Secret Legacy of Jesus and in 2012 will release Two Communities: How Paul transformed the Gospel of Jesus.

Tabor serves as main editor of the Original Bible Project, an ongoing effort to produce a new translation of the Bible. Tabor is a popular public lecturer and writer and is often consulted by the national media (Time, Newsweek, USNews&World Report, NYTimes, LATimes, WashPost, Wall St. Journal, Harpers, AP, NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX). His work has been featured in several TV documentaries (PBS Frontline, Discovery, Learning Channel, History Channel, BBC, Channel 4 UK). Google Link

• The Secret Legacy of Jesus: "The Secret Legacy of Jesus is masterful, nothing less than the new definitive work on Jewish Christianity..." -- Dr. Barrie Wilson. "It is eminently readable and accessible to non-scholars while being thorough in [its] research [and] raises the specter of a revisioned Christianity and challenges readers to rethink the nature of both orthodoxy and heresy.” -- Publishers Weekly. It is the most extensive and up to date work ever published on the Hebrew family and followers of Jesus from the time of the Crucifixion to the destruction of the Temple. Google Link
• Hebrew Gospel: The Secret Legacy of Jesus is important to our topic because it provides an objective, up to date summary of the scholarship pertaining to Matthew's Hebrew Gospel in a manner that the lay person can easily understand.

There was only one Vernacular Hebrew gospel.

This has given the false impression that there was more than one Jewish Christian gospel. It would seem most logical that there was just one Hebrew Gospel (written in the Aramaic dialect) and that this was the original version of Matthew . . .which most people consider the authentic version of Matthew . . . The title Gospel of the Hebrews is as descriptive a title as any by which to recognize this Jewish Christian Gospel, and the one we will adopt here. p 176

p 176

The Hebrew Gospel is the only gospel written by an eyewitness.

The Gospel of the Hebrews was uniquely written in the first person, and claims to be written by Matthew himself, which would make it the only gospel directly written by one of the twelve. p 179

p 179

Vernacular Hebrew Source

Edwards, Casey and Ehrman have studied the Semitisms in the Canonical Gospels. Their conclusion: Modern Literary Criticism shows that there was a source behind the Gospels composed in a Hebrew dialect. Furthermore Papias confirms this to be the case.

31. ^ The Hebrew Gospel and the development of the synoptic tradition, James R Edwards, 2009

• Dr. James R. Edwards, Bruner-Welch Professor of Theology, is an Ordained Presbyterian minister, contributing editor of Christianity Today, member of the Center of Theological Inquiry, Princeton, and recipient of Outstanding Teaching awards at Jamestown College and Whitworth University. He is a published scholar and joined the Whitworth Faculty in 1997. His scholarly works include The Hebrew Gospel and the Development of the Synoptic Tradition (Eerdmans, 2009); Is Jesus the Only Savior? (Eerdmans, 2005); The Divine Intruder (NavPress, 2000), Commentary on Hebrews in Renovare Study Bible (Harper, 2005); Commentary on Romans in New Interpreter's Study Bible (Abingdon, 2003); Commentary on The Gospel of Mark, PNTC (Eerdmans, 2002); Commentary on Romans, NIBC (Hendrickson's 1992) and is currently writing a Commentary on the Gospel of Luke for the Pillar New Testament Commentary Series (Eerdmans). Google Link
• The Hebrew Gospel: "This landmark study, a decade in the making, advances a bold and fresh interpretation of gospel origins that seems sure to generate interest, debate and controversy for some time to come. This is an important and exciting work that offers students an excellent introduction to early Christian views of the gospel tradition – and it gives synoptic scholars much to chew on." - Markus Bockmuehl, Professor of Biblical and Early Christian studies at Oxford. "This book is a real contribution that will be studied and discussed for years to come!" - Loren T Stuckenbruck, Princeton. This scholarly work is the most extensive and up-to-date study on the Gospel of the Hebrews ever written Google Link and may even surpass Nicholson. It can be divided into three major sections.

1. References to the Hebrew Gospel in early Christianity: This is an extraordinary piece of scholarship. It meticulously evaluates the historical evidence and is objective in nature. He searches out and finds material previously unknown. "Edwards revives an older scholarly fascination with the mysterious 'Hebrew Gospel' that was held in high regard by many church fathers and attributed to Matthew the apostle. Drawing on patient study of patristic quotations . . ." Markus Bockmuehl, Oxford.
2. Adieu to Q: This section is a bit more controversial. Edwards joins the growing number of scholars who have difficulty with the Q hypothesis and "not only form a vital part of the correct solution to the synoptic problem, but also enable one to dispense with the hypothetical sayings source, Q. There is much New Testament scholarship that is built on the so-called two-source theory, and if correct Edwards' alternative would necessitate a radical rethinking of many critical positions." - P Foster, The Expository Times, 2010.
3. Vernacular Hebrew Source: This is by far the most controversial aspect of the scholarly tome. Historians have long related the Gospel of the Hebrews in varying degrees to Matthew but to say the Hebrew Gospel is the basis of the Synoptic Gospels is novel to say the least. "Drawing upon patient study of patristic quotations and on Semitisms in the Gospel of Luke, Edwards proposes that the Third Evangelist used a single Gospel document in Hebrew both for his special material and for his overall narrative outline." - Markus Bockmuehl, Oxford.

Papias

The Papias note refers not to canonical Matthew but to the original Hebrew Matthew, which antedated the Synoptic tradition. p 6

p 6

"The Gospel according to the Hebrews” or simply “the Hebrew Gospel" was written by Matthew

The apostle Matthew published an original Gospel written in Hebrew that was occasionally called “The Gospel of Matthew,” but was more frequently known as “the Gospel according to the Hebrews” or simply “the Hebrew Gospel". p 119

p 119

"Gospel of the Hebrews" was composed in Hebrew by Matthew.

The above attestations of Eusebius, Epiphanius, Jerome, and Theodoret explicitly state what was generally and widely affirmed throughout the early church, that the "Gospel of the Hebrews" was originally composed in Hebrew by the apostle Matthew. p 120

p 120

32. ^ Jesus of Nazareth, Maurice Casey, 2010

• Maurice Casey is a British historian of New Testament and early Christianity. He is currently Emeritus Professor at the University of Nottingham, having served there as Professor of New Testament Languages and Literature at the Department of Theology.

Casey has argued strongly for a Vernacular Hebrew Source(s) behind the New Testament gospels. Only a handful of New Testament scholars can deal with Hebrew and above all Aramaic sources as well as Maurice Casey. After an extensive career concentrating on the life and teaching of Jesus, and at the pinnacle of his intellectual prowess after writing a number of specialized studies, he now generously shares his deep and manifold insights with a larger audience. With neither ecclesiastical nor atheistic baggage to weigh him down, Casey caustically comments first on those who do not take Jesus' Jewishness seriously, especially his native tongue Aramaic. The following chapters with positive analyses by far prevail, making this volume a must read for all those seeking a balanced, yet deeply scholarly view of the life of Jesus by an independent historian. "Casey candidly points out what we can reasonably know about Jesus, but just as importantly, what we cannot know. This fascinating volume deserves close reading and a very wide audience." - The Rev. Dr. Roger David Aus, Berlin, Germany -- "This learned and comprehensive book should prove to be the major historical Jesus publication of the decade. While we all know that much has been written on the historical Jesus, Casey still manages to provide a distinctive slant, most notably with his reader-friendly use of Aramaic reconstructions of Jesus' words and actions." - James G. Crossley, University of Sheffield, UK. (James G. Crossley )

Papias

Papias attributed the collection of some Gospel traditions to the apostle Matthew, one of the Twelve,who wrote them down in Aramaic and everyone 'translated/interpreted (hērmēneusen)' them as well as they were able. There is every reason to believe this. It explains the high proportion of literally accurate traditions, mostly of sayings of Jesus, in the 'Q' material and in material unique to the Gospel of Matthew. p 86

p 86

33. ^ Did Jesus exist?, Bart D. Ehrman, 2012

• Bart D. Ehrman (born 1955) is an American historian of the New Testament and early Christianity, who is currently the James A. Gray Distinguished Professor of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina. While Ehrman is a leading New Testament scholar, he has also achieved acclaim at the popular level, authoring four New York Times bestsellers. His best-known works at the popular level are Misquoting Jesus and Jesus, Interrupted. Ehrman's work focuses on New Testament textual criticism and early Christianity. In his most recent work, Did Jesus exist?, Ehrman points to the importance of understanding that Jesus was a Jew and that there was probably a source(s) in a Hebrew dialect behind the Gospels.

Papias' testimony credibly traced back to the disciples

This is what he says about Matthew: “And so Matthew composed the sayings in the Hebrew tongue, and each one interpreted [or translated] them to the best of his ability.” ... a testimony that explicitly and credibly traces its own lineage directly back to the disciples of Jesus themselves. pp 100-101

pp 100 - 101

Papias is not referring to what we call the Gospel of Matthew

[Papias] “knows” that there was an account ... made by Matthew, but he is not referring to what we call Matthew. "In fact, what he says about these books does not coincide with what we ourselves know about the canonical Gospels" p 101

p 101 .

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