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Erroneous beliefs and preconceived ideas are a lock on the door of the human mind; they have proven to be very effective in keeping the truth at bay. In the past, the belief systems of most people were acquired directly from their parents as they grew up. Countless generations clung to their inherited beliefs with great tenacity, vigorously promoting them as bequeathed truth. Yet in the vast majority of cases, the origin of these beliefs was not based on fact, but rather on supposition or hearsay. Unfortunately, this has been doubly true in the case of religious convictions. Most who have professed to be Christians have not studied God's Word to prove or disprove their beliefs, as God commands and expects (I The. 5: 21; Acts 17: 11).
Instead of the Bible, many have relied on their priest, pastor, or minister to explain God and His purpose to them. Some of those who did look into the Bible for themselves sought out "proof texts" that seemed to substantiate their original views. Usually taken out of context, these "proof text" verses were esteemed at the expense of the rest of the Bible. Any Scripture which appeared contradictory to their beliefs was ignored or rationalized away.
Satan the devil has used this prevalent flaw in human nature to deceive almost the entire world about one of the central topics of the Bible, the prophesied Messiah. The identity and activities of the one to whom all authority in heaven and on earth has been given (Matt. 28: 18; I Cor. 15: 27) remains a mystery to most of the world. However, the Bible discloses who this being is and what he's been doing to accomplish God's plan for mankind. In this article, we " re going to see what God's Word has to say about the Messiah before his birth to Mary. Many believe that God the Father was the one who interacted with ancient Israel personally, appearing and speaking to the patriarchs and to Moses. Yet the Bible plainly and absolutely contradicts this belief: JOHN 1: 18 No one has seen God at any time.
The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him. (NKJV) JOHN 5: 37 "And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form. " (NKJV) JOHN 6: 46 "Not that any man hath seen the Father, except he who is from God, he hath seen the Father. " (RWB) I TIMOTHY 6: 14... Our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 who at the due time will be revealed by God, the blessed and only Ruler of all, the King of kings and the Lord of lords, 16 who alone is immortal, whose home is in inaccessible light, whom no man has seen and no man is able to see: to him be honor and everlasting power. Amen. (Jerusalem Bible) I JOHN 4: 12 No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. (NKJV) As you can see, the New Testament makes it abundantly clear that the Father has never been seen by mankind. So who was the one called "God" (Heb. 'elohim) or "the LORD" (Heb.
YHVH) who appeared and spoke to Noah, Abraham, Moses and others in the Old Testament? The information we will examine in this article strongly indicates that it was the one who later came in the flesh as Yeshua of Nazareth! Let's begin by reviewing some generally overlooked evidence from ancient Aramaic translations of the Hebrew Scriptures called Targum's. The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE) gives us some background on what the Targum's are and where they came from: The most elementary meaning of the word targum is "translation" or "interpretation.".. In later times the term targum became associated primarily with the various Aramaic translations of the OT... Often these translations tend to be paraphrastic, and sometimes they contain extensive annotations rather than pure literal renderings of the Hebrew text...
The Hebrew Scriptures were the primary source and inspiration for the Jewish way of life. Thus it was imperative to interpret the meaning of holy writ. The oral tradition, like the Targum's, provided a more or less official interpretation of the meaning of Scripture... The Targum's, like the oral law, contain a wealth of information concerning the way the Jewish interpreters of late antiquity understood the Scriptures...
Most scholars agree that the practice of translating the Bible into Aramaic was an early custom. Certainly the large Jewish community that remained in Babylon after the decree of Cyrus (537 B. C. ) would have eventually required a translation of the sacred literature into Aramaic... The Targum's were indeed an actualization of the Bible, and they often elucidate the ancient Jewish understanding of particular texts. The earliest Targum's known are those discovered among the Dead Sea Scrolls... It may well be that the Targum's were preserved and transmitted as oral tradition long before they were committed to writing.
Already the Mishnah and the Tosefta described the custom of reading the Hebrew Bible and having it translated into Aramaic... The study of the Targum's is of paramount importance, for they reflect early Jewish ideas, customs, and Halakah as well as Jewish interpretation of Scripture. Hence the Targum's are relevant sources for the study of the Hebrew OT not only because they demonstrate how the text was translated and understood, in much the same way as the LXX and other ancient Bible translations, but also because the Targum's preserve remnants of Jewish thought from late antiquity. In this respect...
they can elucidate Jewish life and understanding of the Scripture from the time of nascent Christianity. (pp. 727, 728, 729, vol. 4, "Targum") As the ISBE points out, the Targum's can be helpful in understanding the way a first century Jew at the time of Christ would have understood the Hebrew Scriptures. When the Tank shows God ('elohim) or the LORD (YHVH) conversing with human beings, who would Yeshua's Jewish contemporaries have understood this to be? The Targum's help us to answer this question. We " re going to examine some Old Testament appearances of God and see how the Targum's interpret these appearances.
First, let's look at the story of Hagar's flight into the desert away from Sarai: GENESIS 16: 7 Now the Angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur. 8 And He said, "Hagar, Sarai's maid, where have you come from, and where are you going?" She said, "I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai. " 9 The Angel of the LORD said to her, "Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hand. " 10 Then the Angel of the LORD said to her, "I will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multitude. " 11 And the Angel of the LORD said to her: "Behold, you are with child, and you shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, because the LORD has heard your affliction. 12 He shall be a wild man; his hand shall be against every man, and every man's hand against him. And he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren. " 13 Then she called the name of the LORD [YHVH] who spoke to her, You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees; for she said, "Have I also here seen Him who sees me?" (NKJV) The name YHVH (also variously rendered "YHWH, "Yahweh, "Yhvh, "Yehovah, " or "Jehovah") is found over 6, 800 times in the Old Testament. A detailed review of the Hebrew Scriptures shows this name was applied to God the Father (Deu. 18: 15; Psa. 110: 1), the Angel of the LORD (Exo. 13: 21; 19: 20), and even to other angels (Gen. 19: 18, original Hebrew text). So the appearance of this name, which seems to be used as a surname, does not automatically identify the spiritual entity referred to here. In verse 13 we see that Hagar called the "Angel of the LORD" who spoke to her by the name YHVH.
However, the Targum's record another name for this being: GENESIS 16: 7 And the Angel of the Lord found her at the fountain of waters in the desert; at the fountain of waters which is in the way to Chair. 8 And He said, Hagar, handmaid of Sara, whence comes thou, and whither does thou go? And she said, From before Sara my mistress I have escaped. 9 And the Angel of the Lord said to her, Return to thy mistress, and be subject under her hand. 10 And the Angel of the Lord said to her, Multiplying I will multiply thy sons, and they shall not be numbered for multitude. 11 And the Angel of the Lord said to her, Behold, thou art with child, and thou wilt bear a son, and thou shalt call his name Ishmael, because thy affliction is revealed before the Lord. 12 And he shall be like the wild ass among men: his hands shall take vengeance of his adversaries, and the hands of his adversaries be put forth to do him evil; and in the presence of all his brethren shall he be commingled and shall dwell. 13 And she gave thanks before the Lord whose Word spake to her, and thus said, Thou art He who livest and art eternal; who seest, but art not seen! (Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, translated by J. W. Etheridge) GENESIS 16: 13 And Hagar gave thanks, and prayed in the Name of the Word of the Lord, who had been manifested to her, saying, Blessed be Thou, Eloha, the Living One of all Ages, who hast looked upon my affliction. (Jerusalem Targum, translated by J. W.
Etheridge) Targum Pseudo-Jonathan (so named because of an initial misidentification of its composer by scholars) and the Jerusalem Targum both tell us that it was the Memra (Aramaic for "Word") of YHVH who came and spoke to Hagar. We know from the New Testament who first century messianic Jews identified as the Word of the LORD: JOHN 1: 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (NKJV) JOHN 1: 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. (NKJV) REVELATION 19: 11 Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. 12 His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. 13 He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. (NKJV) Jewish knowledge of a high-ranking spirit being called the Word (Ara. Memra, Gr. Logos) is well attested at the time of Christ.
Several of the Targum's use this designation to describe the one who interacted with the patriarchs and the nation of Israel in the wilderness. Additionally, the writings of Philo of Alexandria, a contemporary of Yeshua, give us a lot of information about who this Word was understood to be. Next, let's examine the appearance of YHVH to Abraham at Mamre: GENESIS 18: 1 Then the LORD [YHVH] appeared to him by the terebinth trees of Mamre, as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day. (NKJV) The Hebrew text of Genesis 18: 1 says that YHVH was the one who appeared to Abraham. However, the Jerusalem Targum gives us further identification of who came to him: GENESIS 18: 1 Therefore was there a word of prophecy from before the Lord unto Abraham the Just, and the Word of the Lord was revealed to him in the valley of vision; and he sat in the door of the tabernacle, comforting himself from his circumcision in the fervour (or strength) of the day. (Jerusalem Targum, translated by J. W.
Etheridge) The Jerusalem Targum records that YHVH who appeared to Abraham after his circumcision was actually the Word of YHVH. Later, we see that God tested Abraham's commitment and obedience...
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