Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur - Jewish New Year and Day of Atonement

The week's reading on John the Baptist and the baptism of Jesus raised questions about baptism, repentance, and forgiveness...which led to some questions about the upcoming Biblical Holidays - Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year (September 29-October 1 this year), followed quickly by Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement (October 8-9 this year). This post is intended to share some information and links that might enlighten our thinking about these matters.

In the Jewish New Testament Commentary, David H. Stern tells us that in Old Testament Judaism:

"Ritual purity could be lost in many ways; the preeminent way of restoring it was through washing." (page 15)

And so...

"A person who immerses himself participates in an obvious yet living metaphor of purification, with the water, as it were, washing away the impurity. Here Yochanan [John] the Immerser [Baptist] proclaims for the old practice of immersion a new context, cleansing from a life pattern of sin." (page 15)

So, we see that baptism was not a foreign concept to John's audience, though John may have been introducing a new take on it. Nor were repentance or confession new concepts. Yom Kippur/The Day of Atonement continues as a particular time when the Jewish people fast and recite prayers of confession. In current tradition, the 40 days prior to Yom Kippur are days of self-examination, reflection, with an eye toward change in the coming year. In this way, the relationship between the New Year (Rosh Hashanah) and Yom Kippur are not all that different from the way that we, who follow the Gregorian calender, commonly follow our New Year with resolutions.

For good explanations of any of the Jewish or Biblical holidays I recommend:
https://hebrew4christians.com/Holidays/holidays.html - This site offers a Christian perspective by very dear friends of mine.
The following sites are excellent resources from a Jewish perspective:
https://www.myjewishlearning.com/category/celebrate/
https://www.chabad.org/holidays/default_cdo/jewish/holidays.htm

Matthew Study: Fulfilled Prophecies Cross-References

Since we quickly caught on that Matthew is very interested in fulfilled prophecy, I went looking for a chart that could point us to the Old Testament references. I found this incredible chart with many of the prophecies mentioned throughout the New Testament and where they can be found in the Old Testament: http://www.aocibibletraininginstitute.org/fulfilledprophecies.html

Who was Rahab? And what's the deal with conflicting geneaolgies?!

Many of us noticed in the very first page of Matthew the listing of just a few women. One of those women, Rahab, draws particular attention because she was thought to be a prostitute and she was not Jewish. How interesting that she should be named in the genealogy of Jesus when so many others are not. Is there a message to be found in the inclusion of these particular few?

Rahab is listed in the Jewish Women's Archive (Rahab: Midrash and Aggadah) as, "among the four most beautiful women the world has ever known: Sarah, Rahab, Abigail and Esther," and among the prominent conversions stories of the Old Testament.

"The Rabbis deduced from the story of Rahab the superiority of repentance over prayer, for Moses prayed exceedingly, but God did not accept his entreaty to enter Erez Israel, while the repentance of Rahab the harlot was accepted, and seven kings and eight prophets issued forth from her."

The Jewish Midrash also teaches that Rahab married Joshua, thus the seven kings and eight prophets that descended from her. This conflicts with the genealogy of Matthew, which states, "Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab," which would indicate that Rahab married Salmon. In either case, a line of kings descend from her, including, eventually, Jesus. 

 This brings us to the question of what to make of the genealogies of Jesus found in both Matthew (chapter 1) and Luke (chapter 3), because they most certainly do not agree. Bible.org has an article that helps to make some sense of this: The Genealogy of Jesus. Go check it out!

Manuscript Study - The Book of Matthew

What's brewing at Morning Blend?

This year we'll be taking a deep dive into the Gospel of Matthew with a manuscript study!

What is a manuscript study?!!

Here are a couple of helpful links for you to check out:

http://manuscriptbiblestudy.com/

https://www.biblegateway.com/resources/scripture-engagement/manuscript-bible-study/home

And a YouTube video:

https://youtu.be/4ytHYFTC5SM

 

 

What you might find helpful:

If you join us at Morning Blend, you'll get a binder with a manuscript of Matthew (without chapter breaks, verse numbers, or paragraph breaks). The translation we'll be using in the ESV, as it is considered to be one of the most literal while still being readable. We'll also be making an effort to get colored pencils into the hands of everyone in the group. 

We strongly encourage doodling! So, the back sides of all the pages in your binder will be blank for note taking and doodling. 

You may wish to pull out translations of the Bible other than the ESV for comparison, though you are strongly encouraged to read through the manuscript a few times first before consulting additional translations or commentaries. Bring those translations with you whenever you can. They'll make for great discussion after our initial readings.