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February 11th, 2009
Santa Cruz, California
Received by FAB
I am here, John.
In your exploration of first-century Judaism, you have read more
than once that there were Greek translations of the Torah.
To understand the complex dynamics of our faith at the time, it
is important to understand the Jewish mind. It has been in continuous
tension with the Gentile world around it.
I have denied that our Torah was in Greek, and that is true. In
Palestine of that time, we Jews felt threatened by the Gentile presence.
So, with a strong desire to preserve our heritage, we made sure
that we retain our Jewish ways, and this meant reliance on Hebrew
as our sacred language, the original language in which the Torah
was written.
I was referring to our experience, to the society in which Jesus
lived his life.
I also referred to the fact that other Jews, particularly those
who lived outside the Holy Land, partook of the Gentile culture,
and this is also true.
Because Jews living elsewhere were not as in touch with their
Jewish traditions as we were, it was inevitable that the Torah appear
in Greek, and this is also true.
But in the environment of the original Christian experience, set
in the ancient land which we sincerely felt God had promised us,
there was a powerful desire and need to preserve our heritage intact.
We encourage you to continue your reading, as we have a strong
desire to reveal the cultural environment in which the Master taught.
He was deeply a part of it, and he himself desires that this truth
be emphasized and understood, so that the truth of the Jewish origin
of Christianity be highlighted and explained.
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