First century technical terms

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nazarene
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Re: First century technical terms

Post by nazarene » Wed Jan 23, 2019 10:51 am

שלום!

In Ephesians there is a Temple context;

Eph 2:21 in whom all the building fitly framed together grows unto a holy temple in the Lord,

There is a context of joining two separate groups together;

Eph 2:14 For He is our peace, He making us both one, and breaking down the middle wall of partition,

A Temple context and a context of joining two different groups together would surely bring to mind the partition wall that was set up in the Temple, although Josephus uses a different style of Greek than that of the Epistles [and subsequently can choose different Greek words], he does speak of a wall of partition that divided the Hebrews and foreigners;

Antiquities of the Jews 15:417 417 Thus was the first enclosure. In the midst of which, and not far from it, was the second, to be gone up to by a few steps: this was surrounded by a stone wall for a partition, with an inscription, which forbade any foreigner to go in under pain of death.

The phrase “middle wall of partition” in Ephesians 2:14 seems to be a term to denote the physical wall of separation in the Temple in the first century.

The apostle Paul then goes on to say that the Gentiles are no longer foreigners;

Eph 2:19 Now therefore ye are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints and of the household of God,

Again bringing to mind the inscription that forbade any foreigner to go beyond the wall of partition.

Antiquities of the Jews 15:417 417 Thus was the first enclosure. In the midst of which, and not far from it, was the second, to be gone up to by a few steps: this was surrounded by a stone wall for a partition, with an inscription, which forbade any foreigner to go in under pain of death.
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nazarene
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Re: First century technical terms

Post by nazarene » Tue Mar 19, 2019 7:07 pm

....1Th 4:17 then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

To 'meet' is a technical term used of an important dignitary’s reception by the residents of a city or village, who come out of the city/village to greet and welcome in their honoured guest with much attendant fanfare and celebration and to escort that person back to their city/village.

Cicero, Letters to Atticus 16.11.6: The municipal towns show astonishing enthusiasm for the boy. For instance, on his way into Samnium he came to Cales and stopped at Teanum. There was a wonderful procession to meet him, and loud expressions of encouragement [mirifica ἀπάντησις et cohortatio].

Josephus, Wars 7.5.2 §100: But when the people of Antioch were informed that Titus was approaching, they were so glad at it, that they could not keep within their walls, but hasted away to give him the meeting [ἐπὶ τὴν ὑπάντησιν].

1 Thessalonians 4.17: 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet [א, A, B: εἰς ἀπάντησιν; D, F, G: εἰς ὑπάντησιν] the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord.
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nazarene
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Re: First century technical terms

Post by nazarene » Sat May 18, 2019 11:45 pm

Under the altar

In Revelation 6:9 there is the phrase 'under the altar';

Rev 6:9 And when He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those having been slain for the Word of God, and for the witness which they had.

Those under the altar then cry out with a great voice, part of what they cry out is an allusion to Deuteronomy 32:43, notice the vengeance and blood spoken of;

Rev 6:10 And they cried with a great voice, saying, Until when, holy and true Master, do You not judge and take vengeance for our blood, from those dwelling on the earth?

Deu 32:43 Sing ye nations-- with his people, For the blood of His servants He avengeth, And vengeance He turneth back on His adversaries, And hath pardoned His land--His people.'

This connection between 'under the altar' and Deuteronomy 32:43 is also used in the Talmud, in the Talmud the phrase 'under the altar' is explained;

Rav Anan said: Anyone who is buried in Eretz Yisrael is considered as though he is buried beneath the altar. It is stated here: “An altar of earth [adama] you shall make for Me” (Exodus 20:21), and it is stated there: “For He does avenge the blood of His servants, and renders vengeance to His adversaries, and atones for the land of [admato] His people” (Deuteronomy 32:43). This teaches that one who is buried in the earth of Eretz Yisrael is considered as though he is buried beneath the altar in the Temple. Ketubot 111a.

Both sources seem to be drawing from the same pool of tradition, taken together, this shows that the phrase 'under the altar' was a phrase denoting those who had died in the Land.
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nazarene
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Re: First century technical terms

Post by nazarene » Sun May 19, 2019 8:59 am

To 'eat'

Joh 6:57 `According as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, he also who is eating me, even that one shall live because of me;

To eat Mashiach was an idiom in the first century to participate in the messianic era;

רבי אומר שלשה דורות שנאמר (תהלים עב, ה) ייראוך עם שמש ולפני ירח דור דורים ר' הילל אומר אין להם משיח לישראל שכבר אכלוהו בימי חזקיה

Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi says: The messianic era will last three generations, as it is stated: “May they fear You as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout the generations [dor dorim]” (Psalms 72:5). Dor is singular and dorim is plural, for a total of three generations. Rabbi Hillel says: There is no Messiah coming for the Jewish people, as they already ate from him, as all the prophecies relating to the Messiah were already fulfilled, during the days of Hezekiah. b.Sanhedrin ch.10.1-2, 90a-107b

The Hebrew can be translated more literally to say “ate him” rather than “ate from him”.
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Re: First century technical terms

Post by nazarene » Sun May 19, 2019 2:11 pm

A difficult saying

John 6:60 60 Many therefore of His disciples, when they heard this said, "This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it?"

A “difficult saying” was a term used within the disciple-rabbi relationship.

MISHNAH: <m.Nid.8.3> A woman once came to R. Akiba [T3] and said to him: I have observed a bloodstain`. `had you perhaps`, he said to her. `a wound?` Yes`, she replied, `but it has healed`. Is it possible he again asked her, that it could open again and bleed?` `yes`, she replied; and R. Akiba [T3] declared her clean. Observing that his disciples looked at each other in astonishment. He said to them, ` why do you find this difficult, seeing that the Sages* did not lay down the rule in order to impose restrictions but rather to relax them, for it is said in Scripture, and if a woman have an issue, and her issue in her flesh be blood. Only blood but not a bloodstain. b.Niddah ch.8.2-4, 58b-59b

מַעֲשֶׂה בְאִשָּׁה אַחַת שֶׁבָּאת לִפְנֵי רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא, אָמְרָה לוֹ, רָאִיתִי כָתֶם. אָמַר לָהּ, שֶׁמָּא מַכָּה הָיְתָה בִיךְ. אָמְרָה לוֹ, הֵן, וְחָיְתָה. אָמַר לָהּ, שֶׁמָּא יְכוֹלָה לְהִגָּלַע וּלְהוֹצִיא דָם. אָמְרָה לוֹ, הֵן. וְטִהֲרָהּ רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא. רָאָה תַלְמִידָיו מִסְתַּכְּלִין זֶה בָזֶה. אָמַר לָהֶם, מַה הַדָּבָר קָשֶׁה בְעֵינֵיכֶם. שֶׁלֹּא אָמְרוּ חֲכָמִים הַדָּבָר לְהַחְמִיר אֶלָּא לְהָקֵל, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (ויקרא טו), וְאִשָּׁה כִּי תִהְיֶה זָבָה דָּם יִהְיֶה זֹבָהּ בִּבְשָׂרָהּ, דָּם וְלֹא כָתֶם:

In responding to his disciples astonishment Akiba asks “why do you find this difficult...מַה הַדָּבָר קָשֶׁה" or literally “what the matter tough”.
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nazarene
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Re: First century technical terms

Post by nazarene » Sun May 19, 2019 2:59 pm

Forgive their debts

Mat 6:12 and forgive us our debts as we also forgive our debtors.

Sins were considered debts in the second Temple period [compare the language of wages in Romans 6:23].

2Ch 6:21 And You shall listen to the supplications of Your servant, and of Your people Israel, that they pray toward this place; and You shall hear from Your place of dwelling, from Heaven, and shall hear and forgive.

In the Targum to 2 Chronicles 6:21 the word forgive is interpreted to “forgive their debts”;

``and hear thou the petition of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, which they shall make before this place; and do thou receive it from the place of the house of thy Shekinah, from heaven; and do thou accept their prayer, "and forgive their debts".'' Targum in 2 Chron. vi. 21.
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Re: First century technical terms

Post by nazarene » Thu May 23, 2019 8:32 am

Wages of sin

The phrase wages of sin was also Targumic terminology employed by the apostle Paul;

Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, ....

6 Behold, it is written before me: I will not give unto them prolongation in this life; but I will recompense unto them the wages for their sins, and deliver their bodies to the second death. Isaiah 65 (Ben Uziel)
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Re: First century technical terms

Post by nazarene » Wed May 29, 2019 9:20 am

Apostle

Joh 13:16 verily, verily, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his lord, nor an apostle greater than he who sent him;

The Hebrew for the world apostle is שליח, an apostle is one sent forth, it is an envoy or agent. The one sent forth is the representative of the one who sent him and in that role practically is the one who has sent him.

המתפלל וטעה, סימן רע לו; אם שליח ציבור הוא, סימן רע לשולחיו, ששלוחו של אדם כמותו׃ אמרו עליו על רבי חנינה בן דוסא, שהיה מתפלל על החולין ואומר, זה חיה וזה מת׃ אמרו לו, מניין אתה יודע׃ אמר להם, אם שגרה תפילתו בפי, יודע אני שהוא מקובל; ואם לאו, יודע אני שהוא מטורף

MISHNAH: <m.Ber.5.5> If one makes a mistake in his Tefillah it is a bad sign for him, and if he is a reader of the congregation it is a bad sign for those who have commissioned him, because a man`s agent is equivalent to himself. It was related of R. Hanina [PA1, PA3 or PA5] ben dosa that he used to pray for the sick and say, this one will die, this one will live. They said to him: how do you know? He replied: if my prayer comes out fluently, I know that he is accepted, but if not, then I know that he is rejected.

This envoy or agent can perform legal tasks as in the matter of betrothal;

הָאִישׁ מְקַדֵּשׁ בּוֹ וּבִשְׁלוּחוֹ. הָאִשָּׁה מִתְקַדֶּשֶׁת בָּהּ וּבִשְׁלוּחָהּ. הָאִישׁ מְקַדֵּשׁ אֶת בִּתּוֹ כְּשֶׁהִיא נַעֲרָה, בּוֹ וּבִשְׁלוּחוֹ. הָאוֹמֵר לְאִשָּׁה, הִתְקַדְּשִׁי לִי בִתְמָרָה זוֹ, הִתְקַדְּשִׁי לִי בְזוֹ, אִם יֵשׁ בְּאַחַת מֵהֶן שָׁוֶה פְרוּטָה, מְקֻדֶּשֶׁת. וְאִם לָאו, אֵינָהּ מְקֻדֶּשֶׁת. בְּזוֹ וּבְזוֹ וּבְזוֹ, אִם יֵשׁ שָׁוֶה פְרוּטָה בְּכֻלָּן, מְקֻדֶּשֶׁת. וְאִם לָאו, אֵינָהּ מְקֻדֶּשֶׁת. הָיְתָה אוֹכֶלֶת רִאשׁוֹנָה רִאשׁוֹנָה, אֵינָהּ מְקֻדֶּשֶׁת, עַד שֶׁיְּהֵא בְאַחַת מֵהֶן שָׁוֶה פְרוּטָה:

A man can betroth [a woman] through himself or through his agent. A woman may be betrothed through herself or through her agent. A man may give his daughter in betrothal when a young girl [either] himself or through his agent. He who says to a woman, “Be betrothed to me with this date, be betrothed to me with this one” if any one of them is worth a perutah, she is betrothed; if not, she is not betrothed. [If he says,] “[Be betrothed to me] with this one and with this one and with this one” if together they are worth a perutah, she is betrothed; if not, she is not betrothed. If she eats them one by one, she is not betrothed unless one of them is worth a perutah. M.Kid.2.1

If the agent carries out instructions, as directed by the sender, and those instructions are wrong, then the sender, and not the agent is wrong;

Now, when we learnt: He who sends forth a conflagration by a deaf-mute, idiot, or minor, is not liable [for the damage caused] by law of man, yet liable by the law of Heaven. But if he sends it by a normal person, the latter is [legally] liable. Yet why so? Let us say that a man`s agent is as himself. There it is different, for there is no agent for wrongdoing, for we reason: [When] the words of the master and the words of the pupil [are in conflict], whose are obeyed? Then when we learnt: If the agent does not carry out his instructions, the agent is liable for trespass: if he carries out his instructions, the sender is liable for trespass. Thus, at least, if he carries out the sender`s instructions, the latter is liable for trespass. b.Qiddushin ch.2.1, 41a-48b

The concept of being an apostle is rooted in a legal, sender-agent context within Judaism.
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nazarene
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Re: First century technical terms

Post by nazarene » Wed May 29, 2019 9:59 am

The cup we bless

This was used within Judaism of the first century before the end of the meal, the apostle Paul speaks of it;

1Co 10:16 The cup of the blessing that we bless--is it not the fellowship of the blood of the Christ? the bread that we break--is it not the fellowship of the body of the Christ?

Later the terminology 'cup of blessing' was kept however the order seemed to have changed to drinking it at the end of the meal, however, both use the concept of cup of blessing;

אמר רבי זירא אמר רבי אבהו ואמרי לה במתניתא תנא עשרה דברים נאמרו בכוס של ברכה טעון הדחה ושטיפה חי ומלא עיטור ועיטוף נוטלו בשתי ידיו ונותנו בימין ומגביהו מן הקרקע טפח ונותן עיניו בו ויש אומרים אף משגרו במתנה לאנשי ביתו

Rabbi Zeira said that Rabbi Abbahu said, and some say that this halakha was taught in a baraita: Ten things were said with regard to a cup of blessing, e.g., the cup of wine over which Grace after Meals is recited: It requires rinsing and washing; it must be undiluted wine, and full; it requires adorning and wrapping; he takes it in his two hands and places it in his right hand, and he lifts it at least one handbreadth from the ground, and when reciting the blessing he fixes his eyes upon it. And some say: He also sends it as a gift to members of his household. Berakhot 51a.16
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nazarene
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Re: First century technical terms

Post by nazarene » Wed May 29, 2019 10:23 am

Who is filling the place of the unlearned

1Co 14:16 since, if thou mayest bless with the spirit, he who is filling the place of the unlearned, how shall he say the Amen at thy giving of thanks, since what thou dost say he hath not known?

This term seems to be the Greek term for the Hebrew equivalent shaliach tzibbur, that is 'representative of the community'

המתפלל וטעה, סימן רע לו; אם שליח ציבור הוא, סימן רע לשולחיו, ששלוחו של אדם כמותו׃ אמרו עליו על רבי חנינה בן דוסא, שהיה מתפלל על החולין ואומר, זה חיה וזה מת׃ אמרו לו, מניין אתה יודע׃ אמר להם, אם שגרה תפילתו בפי, יודע אני שהוא מקובל; ואם לאו, יודע אני שהוא מטורף

If one makes a mistake in his Tefillah it is a bad sign for him, and if he is a reader of the congregation it is a bad sign for those who have commissioned him, because a man`s agent is equivalent to himself. It was related of R. Hanina ben Dosa [T2] that he used to pray for the sick and say, this one will die, this one will live. They said to him: how do you know? He replied: if my prayer comes out fluently, I know that he is accepted, but if not, then I know that he is rejected.

This term relates to a person who prays aloud in front of the congregation and therefore fulfills the duty of those unable to pray.
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