Du Tillet Hebrew Matthew

For a long time, some have known the gospels are Jewish stories, assembled by Jews in the first century, and it is logical that many have hoped to find their Hebrew manuscripts. The Hebrew Book of Matthew, known as Du Tillet Matthew, is a manuscript that has surfaced among Jews in Rome in the 1500s. Later, it was kept in a notable library in Paris and was available for researchers. Despite the hopes of many for a real ancient text, the scholars have determined that it is not an original but, nevertheless, a remarkable translation, though not as old as the Greek gospel manuscripts, but still valuable and useful. Peek Inside?

What new or helpful aspects can reading the Gospels in Hebrew offer? There are many depending on the context, but perhaps the chief advantage is overall greater clarity. Transferring ideas from one language to another usually results in some loss of precision, and Greek and Hebrew as languages are not at all alike. Words and ideas are always imbued with cultural nuance, and though they can be analogical, they are not exactly the same. It's not to say that Greek manuscripts are somehow lacking, but any responsible interpreter should seek to get as close to the original as possible.

Though the oldest versions of the apostolic writings we have today are in Greek, did the Galilean Rabbi teach in Greek as he traversed the towns of Judea? Not very likely. Greek can be very technical and precise, while Hebrew can be more fluid, a big-picture medium. Having a Hebrew version, especially if it was original, would be quite valuable!