The Isles Shall Wait for His Torah: How the Monks Monkeyed with the Text
By
James Scott Trimm
James Scott Trimm
In the original Hebrew of the Goodnews according the Matthew (as we have it in the HRV from the DuTillet and Munster texts) we read:
15 But when Yeshua knew, He withdrew from there: and many multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all,
16 And commanded them that they should not make Him known,
17 In order that it might be established which was spoken by Yesha'yahu the prophet, who said,
18 Behold My servant, whom I uphold;
My chosen, in whom My nefesh delights.
I have put My Spirit upon Him;
He will make righteousness to go out to the Goyim.
19 He will not cry, nor lift up,
nor cause His voice to be heard in the street.
20 A bruised reed will He not break,
and the dimly burning wick will He not quench.
He will make the right go out according to the truth;
21 He will not fail nor be discouraged.
Until He has set right in the earth,
and the isles shall wait for His Torah.
(Matthew 12:15-21 HRV)
Verses 18-21 are quoting the Book of Isaiah 42 1-4 which is a Messianic prophecy. Of course we are all familiar with the suffering servant portion of Isaiah 53 however there are actually four Servant portions in Isaiah (Is. 42:1-9; 49:1-12; 50:4-11 & Is. 52:7-53:12). The Targum to this passage clearly identifies this as a prophecy of Messiah and the MEMERA (Word):
1 Behold, my servant, the Messiah, whom I bring,
my chosen in whom one delights:
as for my Word [MEMRA], I will put my Holy Spirit upon Him;
He shall reveal my judgment unto the nations.
2 He shall not cry aloud, nor raise a clamor,
and He shall not lift up His voice in the street.
3 The meek who are like a bruised reed He shall not break,
and the poor who are as a glimmering wick with Him, He will not quench:
He shall bring forth judgment unto truth.
4 He shall not faint nor be weary,
till He have established judgment in the earth;
and the isles shall wait for His Torah.
(Targum Jonathan to Isaiah 42:1-4)
However the Greek version of Matthew reads quite differently in Matthew 12:21, as we read in the KJV:
15 But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence: and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all;
16 And charged them that they should not make him known:
17 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying,
18 Behold my servant, whom I have chosen;
my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased:
I will put my spirit upon him,
and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles.
19 He shall not strive, nor cry;
neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets.
20 A bruised reed shall he not break,
and smoking flax shall he not quench,
till he send forth judgment unto victory.
21 And in his name shall the Gentiles trust.
(Matthew 12:15-21 KJV)
Both Hebrew and Greek Matthew follow the Masoretic Text of Isaiah 42:1-3 but Greek Matthew replaced Isaiah 42:4 with just one phrase: “And in his name shall the Gentiles trust.”
This is not because Greek Matthew follows the Greek Septuagint in these verses, because Isaiah 42:1-3 read very differently in the Greek LXX:
1 Jacob is my servant, I will help him:
Israel is my chosen, my soul has accepted him;
I have put my Spirit upon him;
he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.
2 He shall not cry, nor lift up [his voice],
nor shall his voice be heard without.
3 A bruised reed shall he not break,
and smoking flax shall he not quench;
but he shall bring forth judgment to truth.
4 He shall shine out, and shall not be discouraged,
until he have set judgment on the earth:
and in his name shall the Gentiles trust.
(Isaiah 42:1-4 LXX)
Suddenly in verse 4 Greek Matthew abandons the wording of the Masoretic Text of Isaiah and replaces verse 4 with the phrase “And in his name shall the Gentiles trust” extracted from the Greek Septuagint.
Two things about this replacement are very suspicious:
1. Greek Matthew does not follow the very different reading of the Greek Septuagint of Isaiah 42:1-3, which actually identifies the servant as “Jacob” or “Israel” rather than the Messiah as it is understood in the Targum and in Matthew. Instead it follows the Masoretic Text in these three verses and switches suddenly to the Septuagint in verse 4!
2. Not all of verse 4 is transplanted from the Septuagint, but instead only one phrase from it awkwardly replaces an entire verse and the first two phrases of the verse are omitted entirely.
Clearly a later hand altered Matthew 12:21 as it appears in the Greek (and Aramaic) of Matthew 12:21 and removed the reference to Torah from the verse!
The Hebrew of Isaiah 42:1-9 paints picture of the nations waiting for the Torah, brought to them as a light, through the Messiah! But the early Gentile Christian Church could not stand for a passage that said that Yeshua was bringing the message of Torah to the nations! So the monks had to monkey with the text and make this very clumsy change to the Scripture!
The true reading is fortunately preserved for us by the original Hebrew text of Matthew which was preserved among the Jews (in the DuTillet and Munster texts):
15 But when Yeshua knew, He withdrew from there: and many multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all,
16 And commanded them that they should not make Him known,
17 In order that it might be established which was spoken by Yesha'yahu the prophet, who said,
18 Behold My servant, whom I uphold;
My chosen, in whom My nefesh delights.
I have put My Spirit upon Him;
He will make righteousness to go out to the Goyim.
19 He will not cry, nor lift up,
nor cause His voice to be heard in the street.
20 A bruised reed will He not break,
and the dimly burning wick will He not quench.
He will make the right go out according to the truth;
21 He will not fail nor be discouraged.
Until He has set right in the earth,
and the isles shall wait for His Torah.
(Matthew 12:15-21 HRV)
These verses are telling us that the Messiah was fulfilling prophecy by teaching Torah! And this truth has been removed from this verse by Greek Matthew but has been preserved to us in the original Hebrew of Matthew!
15 But when Yeshua knew, He withdrew from there: and many multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all,
16 And commanded them that they should not make Him known,
17 In order that it might be established which was spoken by Yesha'yahu the prophet, who said,
18 Behold My servant, whom I uphold;
My chosen, in whom My nefesh delights.
I have put My Spirit upon Him;
He will make righteousness to go out to the Goyim.
19 He will not cry, nor lift up,
nor cause His voice to be heard in the street.
20 A bruised reed will He not break,
and the dimly burning wick will He not quench.
He will make the right go out according to the truth;
21 He will not fail nor be discouraged.
Until He has set right in the earth,
and the isles shall wait for His Torah.
(Matthew 12:15-21 HRV)
Verses 18-21 are quoting the Book of Isaiah 42 1-4 which is a Messianic prophecy. Of course we are all familiar with the suffering servant portion of Isaiah 53 however there are actually four Servant portions in Isaiah (Is. 42:1-9; 49:1-12; 50:4-11 & Is. 52:7-53:12). The Targum to this passage clearly identifies this as a prophecy of Messiah and the MEMERA (Word):
1 Behold, my servant, the Messiah, whom I bring,
my chosen in whom one delights:
as for my Word [MEMRA], I will put my Holy Spirit upon Him;
He shall reveal my judgment unto the nations.
2 He shall not cry aloud, nor raise a clamor,
and He shall not lift up His voice in the street.
3 The meek who are like a bruised reed He shall not break,
and the poor who are as a glimmering wick with Him, He will not quench:
He shall bring forth judgment unto truth.
4 He shall not faint nor be weary,
till He have established judgment in the earth;
and the isles shall wait for His Torah.
(Targum Jonathan to Isaiah 42:1-4)
However the Greek version of Matthew reads quite differently in Matthew 12:21, as we read in the KJV:
15 But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence: and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all;
16 And charged them that they should not make him known:
17 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying,
18 Behold my servant, whom I have chosen;
my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased:
I will put my spirit upon him,
and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles.
19 He shall not strive, nor cry;
neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets.
20 A bruised reed shall he not break,
and smoking flax shall he not quench,
till he send forth judgment unto victory.
21 And in his name shall the Gentiles trust.
(Matthew 12:15-21 KJV)
Both Hebrew and Greek Matthew follow the Masoretic Text of Isaiah 42:1-3 but Greek Matthew replaced Isaiah 42:4 with just one phrase: “And in his name shall the Gentiles trust.”
This is not because Greek Matthew follows the Greek Septuagint in these verses, because Isaiah 42:1-3 read very differently in the Greek LXX:
1 Jacob is my servant, I will help him:
Israel is my chosen, my soul has accepted him;
I have put my Spirit upon him;
he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.
2 He shall not cry, nor lift up [his voice],
nor shall his voice be heard without.
3 A bruised reed shall he not break,
and smoking flax shall he not quench;
but he shall bring forth judgment to truth.
4 He shall shine out, and shall not be discouraged,
until he have set judgment on the earth:
and in his name shall the Gentiles trust.
(Isaiah 42:1-4 LXX)
Suddenly in verse 4 Greek Matthew abandons the wording of the Masoretic Text of Isaiah and replaces verse 4 with the phrase “And in his name shall the Gentiles trust” extracted from the Greek Septuagint.
Two things about this replacement are very suspicious:
1. Greek Matthew does not follow the very different reading of the Greek Septuagint of Isaiah 42:1-3, which actually identifies the servant as “Jacob” or “Israel” rather than the Messiah as it is understood in the Targum and in Matthew. Instead it follows the Masoretic Text in these three verses and switches suddenly to the Septuagint in verse 4!
2. Not all of verse 4 is transplanted from the Septuagint, but instead only one phrase from it awkwardly replaces an entire verse and the first two phrases of the verse are omitted entirely.
Clearly a later hand altered Matthew 12:21 as it appears in the Greek (and Aramaic) of Matthew 12:21 and removed the reference to Torah from the verse!
The Hebrew of Isaiah 42:1-9 paints picture of the nations waiting for the Torah, brought to them as a light, through the Messiah! But the early Gentile Christian Church could not stand for a passage that said that Yeshua was bringing the message of Torah to the nations! So the monks had to monkey with the text and make this very clumsy change to the Scripture!
The true reading is fortunately preserved for us by the original Hebrew text of Matthew which was preserved among the Jews (in the DuTillet and Munster texts):
15 But when Yeshua knew, He withdrew from there: and many multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all,
16 And commanded them that they should not make Him known,
17 In order that it might be established which was spoken by Yesha'yahu the prophet, who said,
18 Behold My servant, whom I uphold;
My chosen, in whom My nefesh delights.
I have put My Spirit upon Him;
He will make righteousness to go out to the Goyim.
19 He will not cry, nor lift up,
nor cause His voice to be heard in the street.
20 A bruised reed will He not break,
and the dimly burning wick will He not quench.
He will make the right go out according to the truth;
21 He will not fail nor be discouraged.
Until He has set right in the earth,
and the isles shall wait for His Torah.
(Matthew 12:15-21 HRV)
These verses are telling us that the Messiah was fulfilling prophecy by teaching Torah! And this truth has been removed from this verse by Greek Matthew but has been preserved to us in the original Hebrew of Matthew!
