similarity

June 16, 2019

Fulfillment (Lk 21:22-21:22)

“These are the days

Of vengeance,

A fulfilment

Of all that is written.”

 

ὅτι ἡμέραι ἐκδικήσεως αὗταί εἰσιν τοῦ πλησθῆναι πάντα τὰ γεγραμμένα.

 

Only Luke uniquely indicated that Jesus said that these were to be the days of vengeance or avengers (τι ἡμέραι ἐκδικήσεως αὗταί εἰσιν), a fulfilment of all that is written (τοῦ πλησθῆναι πάντα τὰ γεγραμμένα).  The age of Avengers: End Game has come, right now at your local movie theater.  It is interesting to note the similarity of end times and the adventures of the avengers.  The days of wrath or Day of Yahweh would come as it was written in the Hebrew scriptures, especially the Old Testament Jewish prophets.  Do you know anything about the Avengers?

 

August 15, 2018

The call of the sons of Zebedee (Mk 1:20-1:20)

“Immediately,

Jesus called them.

They left

Their father,

Zebedee,

In the boat

With the hired men.

They followed after Jesus.”

 

καὶ εὐθὺς ἐκάλεσεν αὐτούς· καὶ ἀφέντες τὸν πατέρα αὐτῶν Ζεβεδαῖον ἐν τῷ πλοίῳ μετὰ τῶν μισθωτῶν ἀπῆλθον ὀπίσω αὐτοῦ.

 

Once again, the similarity with Matthew, chapter 4:22, is quite striking, almost word for word.  Then as Jesus had done with the other two brothers, he immediately called these two brothers (καὶ εὐθὺς ἐκάλεσεν αὐτούς).  Just like Simon and Andrew had done, they left both their boat and also their father Zebedee (καὶ ἀφέντες τὸν πατέρα αὐτῶν Ζεβεδαῖον ἐν τῷ πλοίῳ).  However, they left their father with some hired servants (μετὰ τῶν μισθωτῶν) that was not mentioned in Matthew.  Both James and John, the sons of Zebedee, followed after Jesus (ἀπῆλθον ὀπίσω αὐτοῦ).  So now, we have the first four disciples of Jesus, two sets of brothers, according to Matthew and Mark.

February 10, 2018

The Q source

The Q source is a hypothetical written or oral collection of Jesus’ sayings that was common to the Gospels of Matthew and Luke but not in the Gospel of Mark.  This Q source included many parables and the beatitudes.  According to this hypothesis, these sayings of Jesus was taken from the early Church’s oral tradition.  In the 19th century, some New Testament scholars favored Mark as the first written gospel.  They assumed that that the authors of Matthew and Luke had used the Gospel of Mark.  However, there were large sections of the gospels of Luke and Matthew that were not found in Mark.  They suggested that neither gospel drew upon each other, but from a second common source, termed Q, from the German word Quelle.  Many scholars have tried to reconstruct this lost source with limited success.  Another group of scholars thought that the 20th century discovered Gospel of Thomas might be that source.  Others have maintained that this similarity also demanded a written rather than an oral document.  Did Q even predate the Gospel of Mark?  Another question is whether Luke used Matthew instead of having a common source, the older hypothesis.

July 24, 2017

The sanctuary territory (Ezek 48:8-48:8)

“Adjoining the territory

Of Judah,

From the east side

To the west side,

Shall be the portion

That you shall set apart,

Twenty-five thousand cubits

In width.

In length,

It shall be equal

To one of the tribal portions,

From the east side

To the west side.

The sanctuary

Shall be in the middle of it.”

However, the similarity of Judah with the other tribes ends with the importance of the Temple sanctuary. Once again, there is a mention of east and west of Judah as in the earlier comments about the other tribal territories. However, the width of this sanctuary territory was 25,000 cubits, about 1,500 yards or a mile wide. The length was unspecified, which in itself is unusual. Nevertheless, it should be the size of one of the portions given to the other tribes. That could be very large. The sanctuary was to be right in the middle of this territory. Obviously, this was not part of the Joshua distribution, since there was no planned temple there.

February 17, 2016

Agur (Prov 30:1-30:1)

“The words of Agur

Son of Jakeh

Oracle”

Who is this Agur? Agur was the compiler of this collection of proverbs that bears a great similarity to the prophet Isaiah,  chapter 40. This Agur might be another name for Solomon. Another explanation is that Agur means someone brave in the pursuit of wisdom. It is highly unlikely that these two Hebrew terms refer to personal names since the names of Agur and Jakeh are not seen anywhere else in the Bible or in any other Israelite document. The lack of parallel language elsewhere makes it difficult to settle on a particular meaning. Perhaps Agur is a foreign sage from the East since sometimes this oracle is translated as Masa, a land east and outside of Israel. Either this was a real person, or as some have suggested, it was a fanciful or symbolic name for Solomon.

February 7, 2016

The thirty sayings (Prov 22:20-22:21)

“Have I not written for you thirty sayings

Of admonition and knowledge?

They are to show you

What is right and true.

Thus you may give a true answer

To those who sent you.”

These 30 sayings have a certain similarity or loose comparison with the Egyptian Instructions of Amenemope with its 30 chapters from around 1300-1075 BCE. They sayings are about admonitions and knowledge. They intend to show you what is right and true. That way, you can answer anyone who sent you. These sayings are more international in tone.