Rabbinical Translations Of Matthew

The rabbinical translations of Matthew are rabbinical versions of the Gospel of Matthew that are written in Hebrew; Shem Tob's Hebrew Gospel of Matthew, the Du Tillet Matthew, and the Münster Matthew, and which were used in polemical debate with Catholics.

These versions are to be distinguished from the Gospel of the Hebrews which was one or more works found in the Early Church, but surviving only as fragmentary quotations in Greek and Latin texts.

Some scholars consider all the rabbinical versions to be translated from the Greek or Latin of the canonical Matthew, for the purpose of Jewish apologetics. This conclusion is not unanimous. Other scholars have provided linguistic and historic evidence of Shem Tov's Matthew coming from a much earlier Hebrew text that was later translated into Greek and other languages. Early Christian author Papias wrote around the year 100 that, "Matthew composed his history in the Hebrew language, and everyone translated it as he was able".

Rabbinical Jewish versions

Early rabbinical citations of Matthew, 600-1300

Quotations from Hebrew translations of portions of various New Testament books - including the epistles of Paul - can be found in rabbinical treatises against Catholicism. These treatises multiplied wherever Jews lived in proximity to Christians - such as Spain before the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492.
* ''Sefer Nestor ha-Komer''; "The Book of Nestor the Priest", 7th century. Contains significant quotes from Matthew, apparently from a Latin text.
* ''Toledot Yeshu''; "Life of Jesus", 7th century.
* ''Milhamoth ha-Shem''; "Wars of the Lord" of Jacob Ben Reuben 12th century, which cites texts including Matthew 1:1-16, 3:13-17, 4:1-11, 5:33-40, 11:25-27, 12:1-8, 26:36-39, 28:16-20.
* ''Sefer Nizzahon Yashan''; "The Book of Victory" (in Latin ''Nizzahon vetus''), 13th century.
* ''Sefer Joseph Hamekane''; "Book of Joseph the Official" of rabbi Joseph ben Nathan, 13th century (Paris MS).
* A 13th century polemical anthology (Paris MS).

Jean Carmignac (Paris 1969, BNES 1978) identified fifty Hebrew translations of the Lord's Prayer from the 9th to the 18th centuries. Most scholars consider that the medieval Hebrew manuscripts are derived by translation from Koiné Greek or Latin manuscripts, and therefore that it is extremely unlikely that any of the unique readings found in these medieval Hebrew manuscripts could be ancient.

Four principal versions in rabbinical Hebrew of Matthew have survived or partially survived:

Shem Tov's ''Matthew'', 1385

The Shem Tov Matthew (or Shem Tob's Matthew) consists of a complete text of Gospel of Matthew in the Hebrew language found interspersed among anti-Catholic commentary in the 12th volume of a polemical treatise ''The Touchstone'' (c.1380-85) by Shem Tov ben Isaac ben Shaprut (Ibn Shaprut), a Jewish physician living in Aragon, after whom the version is named. Shem Tov debated Cardinal Pedro de Luna (later Antipope Benedict XIII) on original sin and redemption in Pamplona, December 26, 1375, in the presence of bishops and learned theologians. Nine manuscripts of ''The Touchstone'' survive, though if an independent version of the text of Matthew used by Ibn Shaprut ever existed then it is lost.

Spanish Jews of Ibn Shaprut's period were familiar with the New Testament in Latin. Jacob Ben Reuben in his '' Wars of the Lord'' translated Gilbert Crispin's ''Disputation of Jews and Christians'' from Latin into Hebrew, along with quotes from Matthew. Lasker (1998) remarks that "By the fourteenth century, most likely every Iberian anti-Christian Jewish polemicist knew Latin." Moses ha-Kohen de Tordesillas made proficient use of Latin phrases. Profiat Duran (fl.1380-1420) had extensive knowledge of Latin Christian texts, and devoted a chapter of his ''Disgrace of the Gentiles'' (Klimat ha-goyim) to criticism of Jerome's Latin Vulgate. Hayyim ben Judah ibn Musa argued with Nicholas de Lyra in his ''Book of Shield and Spear'' (Sefer magen va-romah). Likewise converts to Christianity such as Abner of Burgos (Alphonso of Valladolid, ca. 1270–1347) continued to write polemical, theological, philosophical, and scientific works in Hebrew.

Shem Tov's ''The Touchstone'' (''Eben = stone, bohan = test'') has never been translated into English or published. It follows the model of ''Milhamoth ha-Shem'' of Jacob Ben Reuben in use of Matthew but contains not just sections of Matthew as Jacob Ben Reuben, but the whole text of Matthew and parts of Mark. George Howard excised the text of Matthew from among Shem Tov's comments and published it separately as ''The Gospel of Matthew according to a primitive Hebrew text'' (1987), and then a revised second edition ''Hebrew Gospel of Matthew'' (1995).

Shem Tov's quotations of Matthew in ''The Touchstone'' are marked by Jewish thought, and are interspaced with the comments of the author. As a consequence several scholars feel it is difficult to determine which parts are Shem Tov's commentary, and which parts are the actual text of the source he was quoting. Many scholars view the text as a mediaeval translation from the Greek text of the Gospel of Matthew, as well as being the likely source of all later Hebrew versions of Matthew prior to the 20th century.

Where the Tetragrammaton occurs in Tanakh