Theos-Talk Archives (April 1996 Message tl01132)

In message <199604252119.RAA05951@mail-e2b-service.gnn.com>, Virginia
Behrens <SeussInUse@gnn.com> writes
>Could anyone tell me if I am correct in my reading of the article,
>"Facts Underlying Adept Biographies" by HPB in Collected Writings
>(V. XIV, page 137 but especially pages 146-50) that the Ebionite
>"Gospel of Matthew" in Hebrew was not available when HPB wrote and
>is still not accessible?

Acc. to ~The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church~ Epiphanius (4th
century) stated that the Ebionites "receive the Gospel according to
Matthew" and "call it the Hebrew Gospel."  Fragments of this work
remain, but are few.

A Hebrew or Aramaic gospel answering to this description does not now
exist, and the work is generally known as the Gospel according to the
Hebrews.  Its fragments were translated and annotated from Greek sources
in 1879 by Edward Byron Nicholson, M.A. "with a critical analysis of the
external and internal evidence relating to it."  [C. Kegan Paul & Co.,
London] - I have a copy of this, which is heavy going ...
>
>
>If this is correct, could anyone also tell me if am correct in
>my reading of the quotes from Skinner's "...Source of Measures"
>that Skinner derived his Hebrew translation from the Greek version
>of Matthew's gospel - (sort of a back translation)?

If he did, I imagine it was his own work.
>
>Usually I don't pay much attention to Bible translation debates but
>this one about the words "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken
>me?" vs. "My God, my God, how thou dost dazzingly glorify me!"
>comes up rather frequently among people I know who profess to be
>variously New Age, mystic, or esoteric Christians.  If I'm in the
>midst of such discussions again I'd like to add, as best I can,
>what I've read from this article.  Thanks much in advance!

A variant reading similar to this is used in the S.D. (I cannot quote
chapter and verse) and has much to commend it. (This may be your own
source for the quote from Skinner). This is certainly a "backwards"
translation from Greek to Hebrew by a scholar of HPB's acquaintance.

A quite different variant is found in the extant *Peshitta* Aramaic text
of the new Testament, which is an original Aramaic text, although some
scholars have claimed it to have been rendered from the Greek, which is
increasingly unsupportable as new insights are found.  According to this
text (English translation available from Harper in the US) the reading
is, "My God, My God, for this I was kept."  However, as Hebrew and
Aramaic (very similar languages) have no '?' in their alphabets, the
Jewish idiom could render it, "My God, My God, for this I was kept?"

I guess people believe what it suits them to believe!  Chances are, IMO,
that the Aramaic *Peshitta* is the oldest available text.  Most scholars
have a vested interest in not wanting to pursue this option, as too many
books would have to be re-written, and reputations could suffer, I
suspect.
>
>Virginia Behrens, Member TI, TSA
>
Hope this helps,

Alan
---------
THEOSOPHY INTERNATIONAL:
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