21 May, 2023, Samaria: Around the late morning, these messages came in:
Terrorists infiltrated village of Psagot, Samaria
Was the New Testament Really Written in Greek?
In the ancient tradition of the Body of Messiah in the Eastern half of the world, the New Testament was written down in Aramaic, delivered to the Elders of the Eastern Church, and then quickly translated into Greek for the benefit of Europe and the West.
Why Aramaic and not Greek? First of all, first-century CE Israeli Jews considered Greek to be a pagan foreign language which contained the names of false gods, never to be pronounced by the faithful. As Josephus wrote:
“I have also taken a great deal of pains to obtain the learning of the Greeks, and understand the elements of the Greek language, although I have so long accustomed myself to speak our own tongue, that I cannot pronounce Greek with sufficient exactness; for our nation does not encourage those that learn the languages of many nations, and so adorn their discourses with the smoothness of their periods; because they look upon this sort of accomplishment as common, not only to all sorts of free-men, but to as many of the servants as please to learn them. But they give him the testimony of being a wise man who is fully acquainted with our laws, and is able to interpret their meaning; on which account, as there have been many who have done their endeavors with great patience to obtain this learning, there have yet hardly been so many as two or three that have succeeded therein, who were immediately well rewarded for their pains.” —Antiquities of Judeans XX, XI.
For many text comparison examples, FREE download:
“Was the New Testament Really Written in Greek?” With contributions from Andrew Gabriel Roth, Paul Younan.
Was the New Testament Really Written in Greek? (PDF)
Brooke Westcott, Greek scholar, of Westcott and Hort fame, had this to say about the Aramaic Peshitta (Eastern) text of the New Testament:
Brooke Westcott on the Peshitta (PDF)
Paul Younan, Aramaic scholar: “Native Aramaic spells Arabia (the geographic name) with an Aleph, which is how we know that the Peshitta NT wasn’t originally translated from Hebrew. However, we (aramaic speakers) spell “Arab” (the ethnicity) with an Ayin. For reference, see Acts 2:11 for “Arab” (the ethnic designation) spelled with an Ayin.” – Paul Younan
There are well known claims from Eusebius et al that Matthew was written in Hebrew. I disagree slightly. “In the Hebrew tongue,” actually means the “in the dialect in use by the Hebrew people at the time,” which was Aramaic after the return from Babylon. I give Acts 1:19 as one example. The name for “field of blood” given there (“Khagel Dema”) is Aramaic, whether read in Aramaic or Greek, where the Greek scribe explains the meaning in a gloss which does not appear in the Peshitta. So Eusebius meant Aramaic as the Hebrew tongue. Even if I’m wrong, and Eusebius meant Hebrew and not Aramaic, it doesn’t practically matter since all that’s survived is Aramaic. And that’s over 360 mss. strong. – Teddy Chadwick
Archive link for “Was the New Testament Really Written in Greek:”
https://archive.org/details/WastheNewTestamentReallyWritteninGreek1e
Related articles:
Aramaic Bible Complete: George Lamsa
Aramaic English New Testament (AENT) Hardcover
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Chomesh can stay, government agrees
18 May, 2023, Chomesh, Israel: Lead politicians Gallant and Smotrich have reached an agreement to officially confirm the village of Chomesh:
It’s always a blessing when the government of modern Israel officially affirms a Jewish village in Judea and Samaria.
Without going into the specifics about every village, here’s an overview of the complexity:
Some Jewish villages were built on parcels of land that was bought and paid for, to an Arab family that had claimed ownership.
Some were authorized by an prior Israeli government – and trouble may come if a subsequent government chooses to not uphold their agreements with Jewish citizens.
Generally, land in Judea and Samaria was won in defensive military conflicts, in which International Law states that the defender keeps land that they win, while following strict rules to establish who is the aggressor and who is the defender.
Please pray, as we seek to accomplish our work in troubled times and places.
Gaza suddenly fires hundreds of rockets at Israeli civilians
Update 11 May 2023, Tel Aviv: Second rash of missiles just fired this afternoon:
10 May 2023, Tel Aviv: Israel Defense Forces recently surgically killed three top leaders of Iran-backed Islamic Jihad, an organization in Gaza that competes against Hamas for warfare and governance. Rather than respond against Israeli military targets, as is permissible by law, Gaza armies have instead fired missiles at civilian “soft targets” in population centers such as Ashkelon, Tel Aviv, Rishon Lezion, and Bat Yam.
Related:
2 May, 2023: Sudden barrage of rockets
Pray for us as we seek to do our work in a troubled Land.
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Terrorist who murdered Dee Family has been apprehended
5 May 2023, Israel: In Nablus, about 20 minutes from here, the terrorist who murdered members of the Dee family while driving to their Pessach (Passover) vacation site, was apprehended by Israeli security forces. He resisted arrest, initiated combat against the Israelis, and was eliminated in the process.
Palestinians in Nablus claim that these (pictured below) are Israeli undercover agents who apprehended the terrorist in the PA-controlled town of Nablus (aka Shechem, the burial place of Joseph):
The front-page headline: “In the heart of the terrorist nest: The account is closed.”
Pictured below: This terrorist had killed these women who were driving north on Highway 90. The Dee family, who are dual British-Israeli citizens, was in a 2-car convoy towards their Pessach vacation spot in the north:
Father in Heaven, we pray in Y’shua’s name that You comfort and provide for the Dee family in their time of mourning.
And pray for our needs, as we do our work in a troubled land.
Related articles:
Sudden barrage of rockets
3 May 2023 Update: Ok now we know the reason. A convicted terrorist committed suicide in Israeli prison and the Arabs blame Israel. However, it is clear that the “administrative detention” is criticized internationally.
2 May 2023, Israel: Out of the blue, at least six rocket attacks against Jewish civilians in Israel:
Related:
10 May 2023: Gaza suddenly fires hundreds of rockets at Israeli civilians
Please pray for our safety; and pray about supporting our work.
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My suffering contains its reward
24 April, 2023, Israel: Have you ever made yourself vulnerable, to share your struggle with another, only to have them say “Well, you think THAT’s bad…” You’re not alone. I’ve experience the same thing often, when I’ve expressed what are the needs. This kind of response also seems to belittle the need, as if I ought to feel guilty for bringing it up.
Whenever I speak of a need, my request is that people will pray about it. It’s never for manipulation: “Not under compulsion,” 2 Corinthians 9:7.
Today, one of JTOD’s monthly Partners sent me the below article, to encourage me. I’m so thankful that they show the time and care to understand my challenges and heartbreaks in this work.
It’s such a blessing, that I decided to feature it as a special insert below: “Don’t Tread on My Suffering,” from sufferwell.org:
Source: Sufferwell.org
Peaceful Demonstration
24 April, 2023, Israel: Two articles: Peaceful demonstrations, and what American Jews think of Israel protecting its citizens by law. First, a brief summary with excerpts from both articles; full articles below the fold.
Day of Remembrance ’23: Sunset 24 April until Sunset 25 April.
Independence Day ’23: Sunset 25 April until Sunset 26 April.
Sixteen consecutive saturday nights of demonstrations in Tel Aviv and other Israeli Jewish cities, and the world is wondering what is happening over here. Mind you, these demonstrations are peaceful, a bunch of flag-wavers, and it’s having an effect. The Israeli politicians know that they cannot just ignore it, and they have made adjustments to their plans.
Why haven’t the Palestinians, with their list of grievances, turned to peaceful demonstrations? Worse yet, why doesn’t the world demand they do so?
Certain powerful American organizations seem to have such a problem with Israel enforcing its laws against terrorists, that they have lobbied for HR 2590 – a bill by Rep. Betty McCollum which would officially criticize and sanction Israel for exercising its laws against terrorists in Israel. So – when Jews are attacked by antisemites in the USA – it’s fine for the police to arrest them. But when antisemites attack Jews in Israel – that must be sanctioned. Who are these organizations? “Americans for Peace Now” (that’s the Quakers), and “J Street,” (that’s Jews).
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Article excerpt:
Full articles:
Jews shot in Jerusalem during Ramadan; Iran threatens Israel
19 April 2023, Israel: Iran recently reconciled with Saudi Arabia, and feels confident with its rising regional power base. Two religious Jewish men, age 48 and 50, were shot in their car in Jerusalem while returning home from morning prayers.
In a tweet, Israeli Opposition Leader, Yair Lapid wrote: “Two Jews were shot in Jerusalem on Holocaust Remembrance Day just because they were Jews. Security forces will get the shooter and bring him to justice. This is the reason we have a state, we have the IDF and the Jews have the ability and power to protect themselves. I wish a speedy recovery to those wounded.”
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Are ‘armed settlers’ legitimate military targets?
18 April 2023, Israel: The International Humanitarian Law (IHL) has clear, strong, language which shows that civilians cannot be considered militants for spurious reasons. This is a hot topic now, as Israel’s opponents have argued that the Dee sisters and their mother were armed, dangerous, and involved in military aggression. They were murdered while driving to a family vacation. This was during Pessach (Passover) in 2023. So today let’s take a look at an analysis of the relevant portions of the International Humanitarian Law.
First, a few paragraphs from the article:
Here is a shot of the complete article:
