Rabbinical translations of Matthew facts for kids
The rabbinical translations of Matthew are special versions of the Gospel of Matthew written in Hebrew. These include the Shem Tov Matthew, the Du Tillet Matthew, and the Münster Matthew. Jewish scholars used these Hebrew versions in discussions and debates with Christian scholars.
It's important to know that these versions are different from the Gospel of the Hebrews. The Gospel of the Hebrews was an early Christian text that only exists today in small pieces quoted by other ancient writers.
Some experts believe that all these rabbinical Hebrew versions were translated from the Greek or Latin versions of Matthew that we know today. They think these translations were made by Jewish scholars to help them in their debates. However, not everyone agrees. Other scholars have found clues in the language and history that suggest Shem Tov's Matthew might come from a much older Hebrew text. This older Hebrew text might have been translated into Greek and other languages later. An early Christian writer named Papias wrote around the year 100 AD that "Matthew composed his history in the Hebrew language, and everyone translated it as he was able."
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Hebrew Versions by Jewish Scholars
Shem Tov's Matthew (Around 1385)
The Shem Tov Matthew is a full text of the Gospel of Matthew in Hebrew. It was found mixed in with comments against Catholic teachings in a large book called The Touchstone. This book was written around 1380-1385 by Shem Tov ben Isaac ben Shaprut. He was a Jewish doctor living in Spain. The Hebrew Matthew is named after him.
Shem Tov had a famous debate with a Catholic leader named Cardinal Pedro de Luna in 1375. They discussed ideas like original sin. Nine copies of Shem Tov's book The Touchstone still exist today. However, if there was ever a separate copy of the Matthew text he used, it is now lost.
Jewish people in Spain during Shem Tov's time often knew the New Testament in Latin. Many Jewish scholars who debated Christians knew Latin well. Shem Tov's book The Touchstone has never been fully translated into English or published on its own.
A scholar named George Howard took the Matthew text out of Shem Tov's comments and published it separately. He called it The Gospel of Matthew according to a primitive Hebrew text (1987). He later released a new version called Hebrew Gospel of Matthew (1995).
Shem Tov's quotes from Matthew in The Touchstone show Jewish ways of thinking. They are mixed with his own comments. Because of this, some scholars find it hard to tell which parts are Shem Tov's own words and which are from the Matthew text he was quoting. Many experts believe that this Hebrew text was a translation from the Greek Gospel of Matthew made in the Middle Ages. They also think it was likely the source for all later Hebrew versions of Matthew before the 20th century.
In Shem Tov's text, where the special name for God (the Tetragrammaton) appears in quotes from the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), it's usually replaced by a single Hebrew letter, He (ה). In one place, the word "ha-shem" (השם, meaning "the name") is written out.
Here are some interesting differences in Shem Tov's Matthew:
- Matt 12:37 says: "According to your words you will be judged, and according to your deeds you will be convicted."
- Matt 24:40-41 says: "40 Then if there shall be two ploughing in a field, one righteous and the other evil, the one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding at a mill; one will be taken and the other left. This is because the angels at the end of the world will remove the stumbling blocks from the world and will separate the good from the evil."
- Matt 28:9 says: "As they were going Jesus passed before them saying: 'May the Name deliver you.'"
- Matt 28:19-20 says: "Go and teach them to carry out all the things which I have commanded you forever."
- A section from Mark (Mark 9:20-28) is placed inside Matthew's text, between Matt 17:17 and 17:19. Matt 17:18 is left out.
While Shem Tov's Matthew has some differences from the common Matthew text, the Münster Matthew and the Du Tillet Matthew are much more similar to it in many parts.
Sebastian Münster's Matthew (1537)
The Münster Matthew is a printed version of the Gospel of Matthew in Hebrew. It was published by Sebastian Münster in 1537 and was dedicated to King Henry VIII of England. It's not clear if Münster used an actual old Hebrew manuscript for his version. Münster's text is very similar to the Du Tillet Matthew. Because it's hard to know where Münster might have changed the text, it's difficult to use his version for studying the original text.
Jean du Tillet's Matthew (1555)
The Du Tillet Matthew is another version of the Gospel of Matthew in Hebrew. It is known as Heb.MSS.132 and is kept in the National Library in Paris. Bishop Jean du Tillet got this manuscript from Italian Jews when he visited Rome in 1553. He published it in 1555, with help from Jean Mercier (Hebraist), and added a Latin version.
This Hebrew Matthew is less different from the Greek text than the Shem Tov Matthew is. However, it shares some unique features with the Shem Tov version. For example, the special name for God (the Tetragrammaton) is replaced with a symbol made of three yodhs (Hebrew letters) or dots inside a semicircle.
Rahabi Ezekiel's Matthew (1750)
Rabbi Rahabi Ezekiel created a Hebrew translation of Matthew in 1750. It was called Ha-sepher shel we-'angilu shel ha-Nosarim shel Yeshu, which means "The book of the Gospel belonging to the followers of Jesus." This might be the same as a Hebrew New Testament bought by Claudius Buchanan in Cochin.
Elias Soloweyczyk's Matthew (1869)
Another Hebrew Matthew was created by Elias Soloweyczyk in 1869.
Christian Hebrew Versions
Many Christian translations of Matthew into Hebrew were done by people who used to be rabbis or had rabbinical training. Some of these translators include Domenico Gerosolimitano, Giovanni Battista Jona, Rudolph Bernhard, Johan Kemper, Simon Rosenbaum, Christian David Ginsburg, and Isaac Salkinson. However, the most important modern Hebrew version of Matthew is based on the New Testament translated by a German scholar named Franz Delitzsch.
Debate About Matthew's Original Language
Some scholars believe that the Gospel of Matthew was first written in Hebrew or Aramaic, not Greek. This idea is called the Hebrew or Aramaic primacy hypothesis. People who support this idea sometimes use these three medieval Hebrew manuscripts (Shem Tov, Du Tillet, Münster) as evidence. However, most scholars today believe that Matthew was originally written in Greek.
George Howard, a professor at the University of Georgia, has suggested that some or all of these three medieval Hebrew versions might have come directly from very old Hebrew copies of Matthew. He thinks these old Hebrew copies might have been used by early Christians in the 1st or 2nd century. But by the 4th century, they were almost completely gone.
However, most experts think that the medieval Hebrew manuscripts were actually translated from Greek or Latin copies. This means it's very unlikely that any unique readings found in these medieval Hebrew manuscripts are truly ancient.
See also
In Spanish: Traducciones rabínicas del Evangelio según Mateo para niños
