Matthew 13:51-52 The Kingdom of Heaven is Like a Scribe

“Have you understood all this?” They said to him, “Yes.” And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.” Matt. 13:51-52

While the Pharisees and the Sadducees were busy telling people how to keep the law, it was the scribes who told them exactly what the law said. They were the ones copying it down in order to make the scrolls. While they did all this work, they would notice little bits and pieces, a turn of phrase, an idiom, a parallel passage or perhaps a euphemism. These were the little treasures that the scribes found while making full copies of the scrolls for the very rich and or the synagogue. They would also make little translations called targums. These targums were for Jews or righteous Gentiles who did not read Hebrew and were most often in Aramaic or Greek. These were the only scraps of Bible most of the common people would have had. Until the printing press. They would have been some text that was of interest to the scribe, or the reader may have asked for something specific. They may have had a interpretation included so the reader would know what the treasure was.

These treasures for the most part can only be found by studying the whole text of the Bible. They become most apparent while studying the original languages i.e. Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. Translations although helpful, are only a group of men’s ideas about what the text might mean. There is no way to approach translation without preconceived notions. There is also a propensity for all English translations to follow the King James, because if you stray too much from it, the accusation of changing the Bible are levied. This seems odd, as the translators of the King James tried not to stray to far from the Latin Vulgate, useless doing so gave strength to James’ claim to the throne of England. After all, the only reason King James paid for the translation work, was to shore up his claim to the English throne.

The Bible is full of word play like puns, metaphors, similes and typologies. Many of which are lost in translation. Think how difficult it would be to translate, “hotter than a little red wagon,” to someone 4000 years ago, who didn’t not speak English. They might ask, “why is it red, and how come its temperature is high?” The Bible was written over a 2000 year period, in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. It was not written to us. It is like we are reading someone else’s mail.

Some Treasures lost in translation

Every Hebrew name and many non Hebrew names in the Bible have meaning. Sometimes what appears in English to be a name is actually the persons title, as in Abimelech. If just translated, it means, My Father is King. In the English Bible it appears to be a name. However, two people who lived many years apart have this title, we know they are not the same person [Gen. 20-21; Gen. 26].

In Leviticus 26, there is a long prophecy about keeping the covenant with God, with a penalty that the English obscures, with a simple translation.

And if in spite of this you will not hearken to me, then I will chastise you again sevenfold for your sins, Lev. 26:18

The sevenfold hardly seems important even though it is 3 times in the chapter. Furthermore when you do the math it comes out to 2520 years of foreign occupation. Which is exactly how long the land was given over to the Gentiles.

Ruth is most likely a Moabite princess. This seems absurd to the casual reader. But to a scribe, it is the most likely reason that the king of Moab agreed to protect David’s parents from king Saul [1 Sam. 22:3-4]. They were cousins.

Most people know the story of David and Goliath from 1 Sam. 17. Few notice that he took 5 stones. But in 1 Chron. 20:5, we are told Goliath had brothers. Under the law of the avenger of blood these brothers had the right to go after David immediately [Num. 35]. This is why he had extra shot and why he moved very quickly to then secure Goliath’s spear and sword.

There are pagan deities in the Bible that are not in the Translations.

But you who forsake the LORD, who forget my holy mountain, who set a table for Fortune and fill cups of mixed wine for Destiny; Is. 65:11

And this is the writing that was inscribed: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, and PARSIN. Dan. 5:25

Gad was the Babylonian god of good fortune. And Mene or Meni was the Babylonian moon god, who weighed the soul’s of the dead against a feather, to decide the deceased’s destiny in the after life as to where they would spend it, heaven or hell.

An example of things getting lost in translation, is the Natzer passage in Matthew. We know from early sources that Matthew was originally written in Hebrew, but all that has survived are Greek translations. The greatest evidence of this is the Natzer passage that the original Greek translator got wrong, and the mistake is in every Translation of Bible we have ever come across. Because no one wants to correct the Greek.

“And he went and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, “He shall be called a Nazarene.” Matt. 2:23

We explain this in or post, Natzer or Nazarene. In short the word translated as Nazarene must have been natzer in the original Hebrew.

Messiah Himself brought out just such a treasure, when He read and explain Isaiah to the synagogue.

And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up; and he went to the synagogue, as his custom was, on the sabbath day. And he stood up to read; and there was given to him the book of the prophet Isaiah. He opened the book and found the place where it was written,

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”

And he closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” Luke 4:16 -21

Further, on the night the Messiah was arrested, he made a very strange statement that is bad grammar in any language. The English translator have added the personal pronoun “he” to make the sentence smooth. However doing this hides what He was saying.

When Jesus had spoken these words, he went forth with his disciples across the Kidron valley, where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered. Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place; for Jesus often met there with his disciples. So Judas, procuring a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, went there with lanterns and torches and weapons.

Then Jesus, knowing all that was to befall him, came forward and said to them, “Whom do you seek?”

They answered him, “Jesus of Nazareth.”

Jesus said to them, “I am he.”

Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. When he said to them, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground.

Again he asked them, “Whom do you seek?”

And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.”

Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he; so, if you seek me, let these men go.” John 18:1 8

When a scholar see this in the original Greek and knows the Torah, he realizes that what Messiah said is exactly what the burning bush said.

God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” Ex. 3:14

These are the treasures that a scribe finds while doing his work of copying and studying the Bible. A scribe of the Kingdom shares all his finds. The great ones and the small ones, so all may benefit from the knowledge. Too many today sit under the teachings of spiritual leaders who are not scribes of the Kingdom. They neither know, nor share these hidden truths. Instead they teach of fictions and make believe. Spending their time on philosophies and/or traditions of men, and doctrines of error.

All the secret hidden things of God’s Word are in old theology books. Spiritual leaders of today are just too lazy to read them. Most of them are free on line. Check out the Bibliography for links to some of them. We are always adding links as we find more treasures.