When Were the True Dates
of the Crucifixion and Resurrection?
Chris L. Lingle
of The Society for the Advancement of Nazarene Judaism, in 1997 wrote, (Emphasis CGE)
This precise
understanding is supported by the Hebrew of Shem Tob. The Hebrew Manuscripts of
Matthew are now becoming well known as authoritative over the
Greek in many areas of the New Testament.
Even like its 10th-14th century counterpart - the Old Testament or Tenach, as it is called in Hebrew, the 10th-14th
century Hebrew manuscripts of Matthew are believed by many of the world's
leading Bible and Semitic Language scholars to be authoritative (see The
Semitic Origin of the New Testament - by James Trimm).
The manuscripts in
Matthew 28:1 of Shem Tob perfectly and unmistakeably
render: "And on the first day (be-yowm ha-roshown Strong's #3117 and #7223) from the week (ma-ha-shabua Strong's #7620) in the early morning (be-ha-shakamah Strongs #7926-7929) came
Miriam Magdalene and the other Miriam to see the sepulchre."
This is very clearly in support of a Sunday morning resurrection. It is also quite clearly a very fluent
mixture of BH and MH (Biblical Hebrew and Mishnaic
Hebrew).
Interestingly, the Aramaic
Peshitta of Matthew 28:1 supports the
false idea that Yahushua rose late on the sabbath.
Apparently, this was due to the awkward Greek rendering of "opse" in the passage as it became translated into
Another area of
confusion with regard to the Gr. root "opse"
in Matthew is found in Mt 27:57. Here it says that Joseph of Arimathea came to procure Yahushua's
body at "evening" (opsios). However, in Shem Tob, it renders "toward evening time"
(la-et erev) in the Hebrew. (This is pointed out in more depth later in
the article). Suffice it to say here
that the Gr. root "opse" was used by the
earliest N.T. translaters, translating from
the Hebrew, to connote "late, afternoon, and evening
". The essential problem with the
usage for "erev" as "late" is
that in the Hebrew Tenach "evening" (erev) always occurs at the beginning or early
part of the day and never at the end or late part of
the day. And even today,
it remains incorrectly understood as "late"
in Hebrew because of the pagan and borrowed Greco-Roman element. The word "evening" still carries an ancient pagan notion
of being toward sunset in the afternoon or after sunset either way (even as it
is in the West today). But, not so in ancient biblical Hebrew. For, it is unique among ancient Hebrew, as
opposed to Greek or English understanding, to begin a day at evening or
sundown. Therefore, "evening"
in biblical Hebrew is always at the beginning of one day and "after"
the preceding day. "Opse" in its usage at Mt 28:1 connotes
"after" rather than "late" because Greek is a pagan
language deriving its original base text from Hebrew. This is a classic example of where opposing
cultural terminology can cause inaccurate translations. Furthermore, if that language becomes
influential enough (and Greek eventually did) it can even change the way a
people actually look at a term. In this
case, it has directly affected most late second temple and modern Jews.
Therefore, the Aramaic
rendering at Mt. 28:1 is likewise without any real support based on the fact
that Shem Tob Hebrew Matthew renders the passage
clearly and concisely as refering to Sunday morning,
unencumbered by awkward translation.
Another obvious reason for the confidence that we place in Shem Tob is made clear in the parallel passages
in Mark, Luke, and John. It is universally
held in all manuscript languages of these books that the
resurrection indeed occurred on Sunday morning!
Read on, below are the Greek renderings:
Lk.
24:1 "But the first of the week (sabbaton) at (orthrou batheos) just before
day-break they came to the tomb bringing aromatics which they had prepared, and
some others with them."
orthrou - "dawn (as
sunrise; rising of light, by extens. morning - early in the morning" Strong's #3722. "day-break, dawn, cock-crow." Liddell-Scott
p. 568.
batheos - "profound (as
going down, lit. or fig.) - deep, very early"
Strong's #901.
Mk. 16:2 "And very
early, the first of the week (sabbaton), they came to
the tomb as was coming the light (anateilantos) of
the sun."
anateilantos - "to arise"
Strong's #393; "to make to rise or grow up...to give birth to, bring to
light...(of the sun and moon)" Liddell-Scott's p. 63.
Jn.
20:1 "But on the first of the week (sabbaton), Mariam the Magdalene came early, it still being dim (skotias), to the tomb."
skotias - "dimness, obscurity"
Strong's #4653; "darkness, gloom" Liddell -Scott p. 735. This word is
a reference to the dimness just before dawn.
Thus, we can readily see
that a cursory analysis of these passages reveals that the time of the visit
to the tomb took place just before sunrise on the first day of the week and
not at the end of the sabbath when the first day was just beginning at evening
- as proponents of the Saturday resurrection argue.
The majority and proper rendering of the
scriptures themselves do not contend that the visit took place right after the sabbath at evening. A day beginning somewhere around evening
is not the timing being spoken of here. These verses do, however, plainly state
that the visit of the women took place in the early morning of the first day of
the week. Thus, the argument that these passages prove that the Messiah's body
was already risen and gone by the very end of the
sabbath is not demonstratable at all and is in error.
(L)et's look at a mistranslated
verse in the Greek which some may point to at Mt.
27:57. Most translations from the Greek render "And evening having
come"...he came to Pilate and asked for the body of Messiah and then
placed it in the tomb. However, we should know that the torah forbids that a
body remain unburied after sunset (Deut. 21:23). The Shem Tob (Hebrew Matthew) correctly states that it
was (la-et erev) "toward evening time" when
Joseph inquired about the body. Therefore, we do know that the Messiah was
captured, tortured, crucified, AND buried BEFORE evening time.
So we know by the superior knowledge of our friends of The
Society for the Advancement of Nazarene Judaism that our Christian heritage of Greek
Manuscripts are second hand and inferior, and in the specific instances of
concern here, Mt.27:57 and Mk.15:42, false and corrupted as judged against
the precise understanding of the Hebrew Manuscripts
of
Shem Tob.
Im sure the reader wont blame me if I dont elaborate.