Understanding the Difficult Words of Jesus: New Insights from a Hebraic Perspective

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Summary: Good to know
Review: I liked the book. It is helpful to know that many great improvements have been made regarding translations; and helpful to understand the role Hebraic idiomatic speech has had. It helps us see things a little more clearly. Albeit, I was a little amused at the "squirming" the authors seemed to exhibit regarding the interpretation of the term, "persecution", vis the beatitude: "Blessed are they who are persecuted for righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven" The authors tried too hard to soften that up, explaining that the term 'persecute' also means "pursue with vigor", and thus the meaning got all turned around. Weeeellll.....It happens to be a sad fact of becoming a true follower of Jesus (and righteousness, or "salvation") that folks will persecute you. The first thing that will happen is you will lose all your old friends. And all too often, even your own family members. Jesus addresses this several times, explaining in Mark and Luke that all who lose family, etc. in this life, will gain a hundredfold in the after life. But worse, people are actually being put to death in places like the southern Sudan today,(by muslims extremists) where some million and a half Christians have been killed, sold into slavery, forced into prostitution, and even crucified. There have been more Christians martyred in the past ten years than in all of the history of Christendom combined. The fact of persecution is a hard and terrible fact of becoming a follower of Jesus...and folks today act as if they are "threatened" by the religious right wing. (oooohhhh. scary! Oh excuse me. I forgot to paste on my short mustache.) There is no Christian right wing! There are believers who are aware that economic collapse, military defeat, and atrocities all fall on the heels of moral decay and decline...which we are experienceing in the western world today, at an ever increasing, and alarming rate.

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Summary: One sided reporting
Review: I'm really surprised this book has become as big as it has. Among Messianic Jewish circles I think it's impossible to find someone's library that is missing it. I know it's a scourge on my library. Bivin and Blizzard are good scholars, I won't deny that, but the premise of their book seems incredible. We have virtually no evidence for Hebrew being the primary language of the first century Jew. Most all of the evidence was provided in their book, and it's not a very big book. The point here is that Biven and Blizzard presented almost none of the evidence to the contrary - you know, the evidence that has convinced the vast majority of the scholarly community? Dr. Michael L. Brown has written a convincing critique of this book that should be read by all interested in New Testament textual criticism. This book is hardly critical of it's own claims and probably overly critical of the claims that the 1st century Jew's primary tongue was Aramaic. In sum, Difficult Words brings up interesting talking points, but is by no means an airtight case.

Rating:
Summary: One sided reporting
Review: I'm really surprised this book has become as big as it has. Among Messianic Jewish circles I think it's impossible to find someone's library that is missing it. I know it's a scourge on my library. Bivin and Blizzard are good scholars, I won't deny that, but the premise of their book seems incredible. We have virtually no evidence for Hebrew being the primary language of the first century Jew. Most all of the evidence was provided in their book, and it's not a very big book. The point here is that Biven and Blizzard presented almost none of the evidence to the contrary - you know, the evidence that has convinced the vast majority of the scholarly community? Dr. Michael L. Brown has written a convincing critique of this book that should be read by all interested in New Testament textual criticism. This book is hardly critical of it's own claims and probably overly critical of the claims that the 1st century Jew's primary tongue was Aramaic. In sum, Difficult Words brings up interesting talking points, but is by no means an airtight case.

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Summary: A New Look at the Hebrew Roots of the New Testament
Review: Imagine what popular American sayings such as "killing time" or "He put his foot in his mouth" would sound like if translated literally into another language. The authors of Understanding the Difficult Words of Jesus argue that that is why so many New Testament phrases and especially the words of Jesus sound so strange or awkward or just plain confusing. The authors make a very good case that the Gospels were originally written in Hebrew and then translated into Greek and too often the translator gave a literal translation to what was a Hebrew saying or idiom which means it doesn't make sense in English. The authors do an excellent job of placing Jesus in his proper historical context, as highly educated in both the study of the Torah and in the culture of his day. We cannot grasp His meaning without keeping in mind the Jewish roots to all His teachings. The book is too short, only 169 pages. While this makes it a quick and easy read, it also leaves the reader wishing for more and deeper exploration. This is a good book for a beginner who wishes a good tool for understanding the New Testament. The last 50 pages are an Appendix which gives examples of what the authors see as the true meaning and proper translation of some of the most obscure Biblical passages. One could wish the Appendix were twice as long, but it makes a good, sound introduction to the subject. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: A New Look at the Hebrew Roots of the New Testament
Review: Imagine what popular American sayings such as "killing time" or "He put his foot in his mouth" would sound like if translated literally into another language. The authors of Understanding the Difficult Words of Jesus argue that that is why so many New Testament phrases and especially the words of Jesus sound so strange or awkward or just plain confusing. The authors make a very good case that the Gospels were originally written in Hebrew and then translated into Greek and too often the translator gave a literal translation to what was a Hebrew saying or idiom which means it doesn't make sense in English. The authors do an excellent job of placing Jesus in his proper historical context, as highly educated in both the study of the Torah and in the culture of his day. We cannot grasp His meaning without keeping in mind the Jewish roots to all His teachings. The book is too short, only 169 pages. While this makes it a quick and easy read, it also leaves the reader wishing for more and deeper exploration. This is a good book for a beginner who wishes a good tool for understanding the New Testament. The last 50 pages are an Appendix which gives examples of what the authors see as the true meaning and proper translation of some of the most obscure Biblical passages. One could wish the Appendix were twice as long, but it makes a good, sound introduction to the subject. Highly recommended.

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Summary: Statistics and Information
Review: In "Difficult Words" David and Roy did what most of us want in that they got to the point with good statistics of actually how much Hebrew and Greek is contained in the Biblical Text, and provided great short insights. This is the kind of writing that encourages readers to become scholars. I look forward to more of the same. This is a book many of us cut our teeth on and should be highly recommended to every student of any age.

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Summary: This is the Missing Link!
Review: It amazes me the lengths some churches have gone, trying to reconcile the Bible to itself, because their intrepretations were wrong. This is the clear reason why we find ourselves in 21st century theology, explaining away passages of scripture we don't understand. The Bible is in harmony and praise Jehovah, it can all make sense. I believe these men have only begun to touch the surface of the true context in which the New Testament was written. Jesus was a Jew! helllloooo! I like to see the look on a 1st century Jews face if they were taught: The water was falling so hard before the flood, it was raining cats and dogs. Neither can we understand Jewish idiom without study and understanding. This book will send you on the quest of your life, petitioning the Holy Spirit for truth and seeking understanding of the culture, religion and language of Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

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Summary: An excellent introduction to a Jewish Jesus.
Review: My father Roy Blizzard Jr. wrote this book along with David Bivin. Together, they scholarly portray a Jewish Jesus teaching as only a Jew could teach in Hebrew. This book helps shatter the myths of either a Greek or Aramaic New Testament. A must study for the serious student.

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Summary: Jesus (Yeshua) is the Head of a Jewish Church!
Review: Only with a Jewish eye is it possible to understand the NT, as it was written by Jews, for Jews in a Jewish setting and portrays the Life of the King of Jews.. A must read for all who are truly BORN FROM ABOVE and recognize that the Church was birthed in Hebraic soil and will be restored to its original roots. The Church and Israel are independant entities that will merge in the very near future when the King of the Jews returns

Rating:
Summary: Paradigm Shifting
Review: Praise Yahowah Our Heavenly Father. Finally someone had the guts to stand up and tell like it is! Our whole society has been brainwashed since the early days of the Roman Catholic Church under Constatine, to hate anything jewish, especially if it is connected to the Scriptures. Our Bible is Hebrew in everyway, and the more we accept that, the more we will understand what Our Heavenly Father wants from us. He wants us to love him for he loved us first. I recommend this book to anyone who has ever heard a false minister say, "...the New Testament was written in greek and all the apostles including Paul spoke greek..." This happens to be the one of the biggest lies, because Our Saviour was a hebrew, with hebrew customs and thought. The NT was written in Hebrew, and none of the apostles spoke greek, for they hated the greek culture.
Buy the book and study it carefully with an open mind.
rs