Discover the
HEBREW GOSPELS
from Sepharad
Discover the
HEBREW GOSPELS
from Sepharad
The Hebrew Gospels from Sepharad vs. Shem Tov Hebrew Matthew
Many people view the Shem Tov Hebrew Matthew as the most authentic and original version of the book. It contains many Hebraic features, such as, word puns, alliteration, and Hebrew keywords linking different sections together.[1]
The Shem Tov Matthew also solves several contradictions in the Greek tradition of Matthew and it has been studied extensi in the past few decades.
Matthew - transcribed from Vat. Ebr. 100, fol. 3r
Mark - transcribed from Vat. Ebr. 100, fol. 47v
John - transcribed from Vat. Ebr. 100, fol. 117v
However, the Shem Tov version was actually copied by people who denied Yeshua, rejected him as Messiah, and deleted every instance in which the original author himself specifically identified Yeshua as ‘the Messiah’! In the Greek version of Matthew, the author himself identifies Yeshua as the Messiah in four[2] passages only: Mat.1:1; 1:17; 1:18; 11:2, whereas the Shem Tov Matthew never once refers to Yeshua as the Messiah from the author’s own perspective.
The fact that Yeshua was ‘called’ the Messiah (by others), and that e.g. Peter acknowledged him as such was retained in the text. But, seeing that every instance where the author Matthew himself called Yeshua the Messiah was deleted, the Shem Tov version of Matthew is an anti-Messianic (or at best neutral) book. It gives the impression that not even the author of the Gospel of Matthew would acknowledge that Yeshua was indeed the Messiah. So, can one trust the Shem Tov version to always be accurate?
On the other hand, the Vat. Ebr. 100[3] manuscript used for this translation is in a totally different class, as it clearly equates Yeshua with the Messiah, and openly declares him the Son of El.[4] It also solves many questions and supposed contradictions!
[1] See e.g. the ‘Hebrew Gospel of Matthew’ by George Howard, 1995: Mercer University Press, pp. 184 – 190.
[2] In the Vat. Ebr. 100 manuscript Yeshua is called the Messiah from the writer’s perspective many times, see e.g. Mat. 3:16, 4:1, 4:23, 5:1, 5:13, 5:17, etc.
[3] http://digi.vatlib.it/view/MSS_Vat.ebr.100/
[4] ‘El’ is the short Hebrew word for ‘God.’