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Spoken
vs. written
One of the
passages that we considered in the main article of this issue was
Matthew 2:23. This passage tells us:
Matthew 2:23
"And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be
fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets. "He shall be called a
Nazarene."
For
many, this verse is a cause of trouble since the SPOKEN prophecy that
the Messiah would be called a Nazarene can nowhere be found written in
the Old Testament. To solve this "difficulty", a connection is
sometimes assumed1
between the term "Nazarene" and the Hebrew word "netser"
that means "branch". Apart from the fact that this connection
is no more than a mere supposition, the inconsistency of this view is
also shown in that while Matthew 2:23 says that the prophecy was uttered
by "the prophets" i.e. by a plural number of people,
the word "netser" was used for Christ only by Isaiah (Isaiah
11:12).
However, we believe that whole
"problem" is not but a problem CREATED by the fact that we
don't pay attention to what we read. Really, while the Scripture says
that the prophecy was SPOKEN [Greek: "to rethen" meaning
"that which was spoken"] by the prophets, what we understand
is that the prophecy was WRITTEN [Greek: "o gegraptai" meaning
"that which stands written"] by the prophets. However, when
the text says SPOKEN means SPOKEN. Some prophecies were spoken and not
written. Some others were not spoken but only written, while some others
were both spoken and written. When we read a quotation that says
"as it is written", we will find it 100% in the Scripture,
since it is guaranteed that it is WRITTEN. However, when what is quoted
is said that it was simply SPOKEN, then we may find it written but we
may also not find it written. The Word does not guarantee that it was
written. What it guarantees is that it was SPOKEN.
There are fifteen quotations in the
Bible for which we are told that they were SPOKEN3.
To see whether they were both spoken and written, or whether they were
only spoken, we have to search the Scripture to see if we can find them.
A search like this shows that all the prophecies that were spoken were
also written, APART from two of them. These are:
i) the prophecy that Jesus will be
called a Nazarene. The fulfilment of this prophecy is given in Matthew
2:23. This prophecy was only SPOKEN by the prophets and it was latter
written down by Matthew. This is also a form of the figure of speech
"hysteresis" or "subsequent narration". By this
figure "the Holy Spirit, in later and subsequent Scriptures, adds
supplementary details which were not given in the history itself; and
sometimes even historical facts, of which no mention had before
been made4". One of these facts
of which no mention was made before is the prophecy that the Messiah
would be called a Nazarene. This prophecy was SPOKEN by plural number of
prophets. It was not written by them but by Matthew who made it known
together with its fulfilment.
ii) Apart from Matthew 2:23, another passage that for similar reasons is
a stumbling block for many, is Matthew 27:9-10:
Matthew 27:9-10
"Then was fulfilled what was SPOKEN BY JEREMIAH the prophet,
saying, "And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the value of
him who was priced, whom they of the children of Israel priced and gave
them for the potter's field, as the Lord directed me"
The
problem that many have with this passage is that this quotation cannot
be found anywhere in the book of Jeremiah5.
To "solve" this difficulty, it has been suggested that Matthew
27:9-10 is actually a quotation from Zachariach 11:12-13 on the base
that both passages speak for "thirty pieces of silver". Apart
from the great differences between these two passages, the
inconsistencies of this view are made clear by the fact that God in
Matthew 27:9-10 says that the prophecy was SPOKEN BY JEREMIAH. If these
verses were a quotation from Zachariach, God instead of Jeremiah, would
have told us Zachariach. In other words, instead of telling us
"Then was fulfilled what was SPOKEN by JEREMIAH" He would have
told us "Then was fulfilled what was WRITTEN by ZACHARIACH".
We believe that when God says Jeremiah He means Jeremiah and therefore
no one has the right to say that He actually means Zachariach.
However, again the problem is not
but a CREATED problem. And it is created because we don't pay attention
to what we read. The text does not say that the prophecy was WRITTEN but
that it was SPOKEN. Some prophecies were only written and not spoken.
Some others were both written and spoken while some others were only
spoken and not written. The prophecy quoted in Matthew 27:9-10 was
SPOKEN but it was NOT WRITTEN. Matthew by the figure of speech "hysteresis"
or "subsequent narration" informs us about this prophecy long
after it was SPOKEN.
Conclusion
Concluding all the above
we can discriminate the passages / prophecies quoted from the Old
Testament in two categories: in those that we are told that were WRITTEN
and in those that we are told that were SPOKEN. The greatest majority of
the quotations given in the New Testament belong to the first category
i.e. to those that we are told that were WRITTEN. Since we are told
explicitly that these passages / prophecies were WRITTEN, it is
guaranteed that we will find them in the Old Testament. A check can
prove that there is no passage that the Word says that it is WRITTEN
that cannot be found in the Old Testament.
On the other hand, for the passages
for which we are told that were SPOKEN there is NO guarantee that we
will also find them written in the Old Testament. These passages would
be found in the Old Testament only if apart from spoken were also
written. But no one can say from the outset, that all the prophecies
that were spoken were also written. From the fifteen passages for which
we are told that they were SPOKEN, the thirteen can be found in the Old
Testament which means that they were both spoken and written. The two
that cannot be found are Matthew 2:23 and Matthew 27:9-10. These
prophecies were ONLY SPOKEN. Matthew, through the figure of speech
hysteresis, informs us for their existence long after they were spoken.
Therefore, is there any real
difficulty with Matthew 2:23 and 27:9-10? No, except if we CREATE one.
Tassos Kioulachoglou
References
The Companion Bible:
Kregel Publications, Michigan 49501, This printing 1994.
Footnotes
1. See for example: S.
Zodhiates: "The Complete Word Study Dictionary", AMG
Publishers, 1993, p. 1,003 (press here to return where
you stopped).
2. This word occurs four
times altogether. Apart from Isaiah 11:1, the other three
occurrences are: Isaiah 14:19, 60:21 and Daniel 11:7. A check of these
occurrences can confirm that none of them refers to Christ (press
here to return where you stopped).
3. These are Matthew
1:22, 2:15, 17, 23, 3:13, 4:14, 8:17, 12:17, 13:35, 21:4, 22:31,
24:15, 27:9, 27:35, Mark 13:14 (press here to return
where you stopped).
4. See E. W. Bullinger:
"Figures of Speech used in the Bible", Baker Book House,
originally published 1898. This printing 1995, pp. 709-713 (press
here to return where you stopped).
5. The presence of this
"difficulty" is also evident in the marginal notes of the
various English versions. So the margin of the KJV direct us to search
to Zachariach 11:13. The NKJV directs us to Jeremiah 32:6-9. The NIV
directs to 3 places of twenty verses altogether: Zachariach 11:12, 13,
Jeremiah 19:1-13 and 32:6-9. The reader is encouraged to go and check
for himself these passages. If he will do that, he will see that he will
nowhere find what is quoted in Matthew 27:9-10 (press
here to return where you stopped).
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