Sefer Yeshua

The Sefer Yeshua` (full Hebrew title: ha-Sefer Yeshua` ha-N'vi - the Book of the Prophet Jesus), is a collection of the sayings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is used as a teaching aid by Talmidi Jews.

The work was begun in 1997 by the Talmidi Jewish scribe Shmu'el ben Naftali, and released in 2000. It is essentially a collection of the sayings of Jesus of Nazareth, gleaned from the gospels of Mark, Matthew, Luke and Thomas.

In the compilation of the work, the intent was to bring together the Jewish sayings and teachings of Jesus, removing what were judged to have been Gentile Christian additions to the text. The result is a wholly Jewish collection of the sayings of Jesus of Nazareth.

The work is divided into three sections. Book One is a collection of 84 sayings and parables that were probably spoken by Jesus; Book Two are 48 further passages that may have been spoken by him, but have been judged by theologians to have undergone some changes in the course of their transmission; and Book Three are 28 passages, mostly short stories from Jesus's life, that probably did not originate with Jesus, but have nevertheless become part of the historical Jesus tradition, and which may still give an insight into his teaching.

Various sources were used to help with the compilation and editing of the Sefer Yeshua`. The most influential book used to decide which passages would be included and which left out, was "The Five Gospels" (Robert W Funk & Roy W Hoover), which published the findings of the Jesus Seminar. Also influential was "The Lost Gospel", by Burton L Mack, and "Q - The Lost Gospel", by Marcus Borg.

Shmu'el ben Naftali used his extensive knowledge of Jewish Aramaic, and of the Jewish cultural milieu of Jesus's time, to attempt reconstructions of what Jesus's original words might have been. He used the Koine Greek versions of the New Testament gospels, going through them word by word, trying to pick out possible Aramaic originals behind the Greek translations.

One major notable feature of the text in the Sefer Yeshua` are the additional contexts to many of Jesus's sayings, which are either scant or totally absent in the New Testament. These were deemed necessary to make certain sayings more comprehensible. They were not intended to be definitive, authoritative statements on when and why Jesus made certain statements, rather more in the tradition of Jewish midrash (explanations or illuminations of text).

The Sefer Yeshua` seeks to place Jesus of Nazareth wholly and completely within the tradition of Jewish prophets. In it he is presented as a prophet who:

• prophesied the destruction of the Temple, the demise of Jerusalem, and the subsequent suffering and mourning of the Jewish people;
• warned that the murderous actions of the Zealots would result in a Roman-imposed exile;
• predicted the extinction of the Sadducees as a religious party;
• proclaimed the immediacy of the Kingdom of God, and helped people to feel the living Presence of God;
• encouraged people towards an intense, personal relationship with their Heavenly Father;
• reminded the rich of the God-given right of the poor to social justice;
• called people to live the true heart of Torah, which was justice, mercy, compassion and forgiveness;
• spoke to restore the original intent of the Written Torah, and spoke against the 'burden' of the Oral Law;
• promoted a simple, direct approach to Torah;
• and gave Jews a way of internalising Torah, of 'writing it on their hearts'.

The picture of Jesus portrayed in the Sefer Yeshua` is quite different from that of the Christian gospels. In the New Testament, Jesus alone is the message, and his atoning death the object of his message; in the Sefer Yeshua`, it is God and the ways of God's Kingdom which become central, and Jesus merely becomes the messenger.

See also

wikisource:Sefer Yeshua - the full text of the Sefer Yeshua` in English

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