Get This Rabbi Under Control!
as it is written, “Behold, I lay in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, and he who believes in Him will not be disappointed.” Romans 9:33 NASB
As it is written – But the problem, of course, is that this is not what is written. How can Paul tell us that these are the words of Isaiah when they aren’t the words of Isaiah? Well, they are the words of Isaiah (sort of) but they aren’t in the order that Isaiah gave them. In fact, some of this “as it is written” statement comes from Isaiah 28:16 but the rest of it comes from Isaiah 8:14, but none of it says what Paul makes it say.
The entire citation is so complicated that Mark Seifrid spends five columns in Carson and Beale’s edition discussing the interlaced verses, allusions and innuendos.[1] If you want to see just how complicated it is, read his analysis. The bottom line is this: Paul draws on two different thoughts in Isaiah and changes the reference in those thoughts in order to make his point that his own people stumbled over Yeshua as the Messiah and in doing so fell into the trap of disobedience to YHWH. In the altered citation, Paul replaces the Temple with Yeshua. Those who believe in Yeshua will not be disappointed. But Isaiah says nothing of the kind. Neither of the passages in Isaiah speak of the Messiah directly. They speak of believing in the tested cornerstone in Zion that both houses (Israel and Judah) will not recognize as YHWH. In Isaiah, God Himself will be the sanctuary, the stumbling stone of the snare. In fact, in Isaiah 28:16, the Hebrew text literally reads, “The believing ones will not hurry.” Paul substitutes the idea of Yeshua as Messiah in this phrase, making the combined verse a Messianic prophecy. But this is prophecy by hindsight (as we would expect if we were thinking like a rabbi). This is prophecy derived by adjusting Isaiah to fit what Paul intends.
What does Paul intend? For an audience he assumes will know the sources of his combined text (and will know that it is a combined text), Paul draws upon three elements. First, in Paul’s view, Yeshua is the cornerstone and therefore, YHWH has established Yeshua as the true foundation. Secondly, this cornerstone is a snare to those who reject Him. The Hebrew context demonstrates that the Isaiah passage is about judgment that falls on the people. But thirdly, YHWH will offer pardon and grace in spite of rejection. The key is believing the promise offered, the fulfillment accomplished by YHWH through the cornerstone.[2]
“As it is written” is not quite as straightforward as we would wish. This only demonstrates once again, “It is not enough to have met a word in the dictionary and to have experienced unpleasant adventures with it in the study of grammar. A word has a soul, and we must learn how to attain insight into its life.”[3]
Topical Index: Romans 9:33, Isaiah 28:16, Isaiah 8:14, cornerstone, stumbling stone
Abraham Heschel’s quote:
“A word has a soul and we must learn how to attain
insight into its life.”
. . . reminds me of another quote:
“However, when He, the Spirit of truth has come,
He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak
on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will
speak; and he will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me,
for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.”
Jn 16:13-14
This is a difficult one today.
It emphasizes (to me) that fact of how out of touch most of us are with the Hebrew language and thought. Greek really cannot make heads or tails of this passage. It also says to me again that translations do matter and that I need to continue on in my study of Hebrew and in living out the Way.
So many things become moot points when a choice is made to live out the things that Y-H is putting into your new heart rather than simply following doctrine and rules of our modern church that to my way of thinking misses the point altogether!
Dawn: “It emphasizes (to me) that fact of how out of touch most of us are with the Hebrew language and thought… It also says to me again that translations do matter and that I need to continue on in my study of Hebrew and in living out the Way”
I totally agree! It’s a challenge. Especially when I know sincere Believers who view this “in depth study” reserved for the “scholars” and makes you feel like you’re going overboard. I have wrestled with the idea that YWHW would expect us to learn a language (Hebrew) that I wasn’t even introduced to until this year to understand His Word. Should this have ALWAYS been the norm, however? Is this what “diligently seeking Him” looks like? I wonder what it would look like if I was surrounded by a people daily who was zealous not for doctrine, or all the “right answers” but for a clear understanding of His Word and would not relent until they had it. They needed His Word more than any new toy, gadget, TV series, etc.
I am very thankful for this community. You all have no idea how much. 🙂
Consider this: if you were a Gentile brought into the assembly in the first century you would be taught Hebrew AND you would live around people who spoke it every day. Big difference. We are in such a more difficult place.
Agreed. I wish with all my heart that I were in the type of community you describe above.
(If wishes were horses then beggars would ride but I still wish for it!!) LOL
And Brett, wouldn’t it be such a better world if folks were hungry for a clear understanding of His word rather than the “stuff” of the world? I imagine that is what the olam ha’ba’ (world to come) will look like. Y-H will be the focus and the light.
I can so relate to all of your words.
I too am very grateful for this community and the friends I have made here. I hope to meet at least some of them in person some day.
“Paul draws on two different thoughts”
To understand the thought and wisdom behind every book in Scripture I need to dig into the words and to understand the words in context I need to know the thought behind it. Skip, without you and everyone on the blog, this quest seems impossible! May be a Bible without chapters and verse numbers would benefit this exercise –
” But this is prophecy by hindsight ” :
This mail I received 41 days ago :
” COMET ISON ARRIVES IN 40 DAYS –
JONAH GAVE NINEVEH A 40 DAY WARNING – REPENT OR PERISH!
TODAY (Oct 19) MARKS 40 DAYS UNTIL THE ARRIVAL OF COMET ISON
THE LAST 40 DAYS OF THIS AGE AS WE KNOW IT
NOVEMBER 28 THIS WORLD CHANGES FOREVER
Oct 19 – Nov 28, 2013… 40 Days
Comet ISON has already been Prophetically Declared as the SIGN OF THE SON OF MAN! YOU MUST SEE THIS DOCUMENT… THIS IS A PROPHETIC DECLARATION. People need to know now… if they wait to see it happen it will be too late! That is why God has Revealed it to His Prophets! ”
…..In my timezone, November 29 is now nearly over. How do I treat “prophetic revelations” like this? If confronted with the physical evidence that ” the world as I know it did not change(well it actually changes every second!!) and I did not perish(yet), the answer is that it is something that happened in the “spiritual realm” – and of course no one can disagree.
Could a prophetic word only be “spiritual” or should it both physical and spiritual? Or is this dualism?
What are the conditions for claiming to be a prophet? And what is the difference between a prophet as in Isaiah, and someone(just anyone) giving you a word of prophecy?
Luke 1:67 – Was Z’kharyah a prophet or just a father giving a word of prophecy? 76: “you child will be called a prophet” – This is not hindsight, but prediction?
Anyone?
What you do with statements like this is dismiss them for the nonsense that they are! And what you do with “prophets” who say these things is make a pile of stones for later use.
These are almost always based on someone’s need to control destiny, provide “secret” knowledge and appear superior. Remember that navi (prophet in Hebrew) is one who reveals God’s instructions and warnings, not someone who knows the future.
This kind of thinking is foreign to most everyone i know, yet i and a couple of my friends follow it seamlessly. Thank you.
” The Hebrew context demonstrates that the Isaiah passage is about judgment that falls on the people.”
The verses still fit very well with Paul’s day. The people WERE judged drastically when the temple was destroyed. The temple was a place of learning, healing, judgment, ect — I can easily see how Yeshua fit the temple archetype.
The text SEEMS to have been taken out of context, right? But because Hebrew time is cyclical – Paul was able to pick up on the pattern of God’s revelation then judgment, he then drew a CORRECT parallel with his time.
Yes, kind of. Do you really think that Paul expected the Temple to be destroyed?
~ The Jews then said to Him, “What sign do You show us as your authority for doing these things?” Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?”…But He was speaking of the temple of His body.…~
~ Or don’t you know that your body is a temple for the Ruach HaKodesh who lives inside you, whom you received from God? The fact is, you don’t belong to yourselves; for you were bought at a price, so use your bodies to glorify God ~ (1 Corinthians 6.19,20)
Here again is the “difference..” No more does God have a Temple for His people,- He now has a people for His temple!
“What was the significance of the temple veil being torn in two when Yeshua died?”
(Hebrews 10.19)
Maybe Paul didn’t know for sure the Temple would be destroyed – apparently even Titus didn’t think the Temple would be destroyed. However, the pattern of prophet-warning-rejection-judgment seemed to be established well enough by Paul’s time for him to pick up on where they were in the cycle.
Paul wouldn’t have thought the Temple or Jerusalem at large to be untouchable – Israel’s history had proven otherwise.
True enough. Paul, as a great Torah scholar, would have seen the patterns. But unless Paul foresaw the destruction of the Temple (which I doubt he did), he would have have constructed the citation with that in mind. He is just doing what all the rabbis did, including Yeshua. He is altering the text to fit his argument. The reason we find this so shocking is that we have been taught a completely different view of inerrancy and inspiration. Our view does not match what the authors actually do with the Tanakh. Out view is doctrine, not practice.
“The God of our fathers appointed you to know his will, to see the Righteous One and to hear a voice from his mouth; for you will be a witness for him to everyone of what you have seen and heard. And now why do you wait (Acts 22:14-16)?” These are among the words spoken from a respected Pharisee to a, then, blind rabbi. Paul’s assignment is to be an archway; accrediting the Torah taught him from his youth with the Messiah that has just been revealed; for in fact, They are One. It’s not surprising that Paul, as a linguistic architect, does what he needs to do with words in order to build the arch. The leaning towers are supported and strengthen by the Cornerstone.