#Greektrigram

[eli-kittim]

The Greek Jesus

Eli Kittim

We know by revelation that Jesus is Greek. But we can also confirm it through Scripture. In the New Testament there are several ways by which Jesus is portrayed as a Greek (i.e. as a non-Jew). One of these portrayals is found in the Gospel of Matthew (4.15-16), which tells us that Jesus does not come from the Kingdom of Judah (from the Jews) but from the region of Galilee (from the Gentiles; see also Luke 1.26). Ever since the 10th century BC, Galilee was settled by foreigners and pagans. Already by the 8th century BC the prophet Isaiah referred to this region as "Galilee of the Gentiles" (Isaiah 9.1). In addition, in John 8.48 the Jews categorically call Jesus a “Samaritan” (i.e. a Gentile) in order to demonstrate that he is not a Jew. Not to mention that Jesus' sentence was not death by stoning, which was the standard form of execution for Jews, but crucifixion, a Roman method of capital punishment. And he was tried in a Roman court of Law that was reserved only for Roman or Greek citizens, thereby demonstrating that Jesus was not a Jew. In fact, there were quite a few early 20th century scholars——including Oxford classicist G. A. Williamson and New Testament scholar Walter Bauer——who also held the view that Christ was not a Jew!

The notion that people protested against Jesus because he did not come from Bethlehem of the Jews but from Galilee of the Gentiles is especially emphasized in the Gospel of John (7.41-43):

“Others said, This is the Christ; but others said, Does the Christ come from Galilee? Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David, and from Bethlehem, the town where David was? There was a division among the people because of him.”

In John 7.52, Jesus defies Jewish messianic expectations:

“Look, and see, for out of Galilee no prophet arises.”

What is more, most of the books of the New Testament were written in Greece: Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, Titus, and the book of Revelation. None of the books of the New Testament were written in Palestine. And most of the letters are addressed to Greek communities: 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Philippians, 1 Thessalonians, and 2 Thessalonians! Is this a coincidence or does it have something to do with Jesus?

It’s also important to note that when the New Testament writers quote from the Scriptures they often quote from the Greek Old Testament rather than from the Hebrew writings. This indicates that the New Testament writers were not familiar with the Hebrew language. And given that they were fluent and highly articulate in the Greek language, their exclusive use of Koine Greek shows that the writers of the New Testament were not Jews but Greeks. So why would the New Testament be written in Greek rather than Hebrew?

Most people are under the impression that the New Testament was written in Greek because Greek was the lingua franca (or the common language of the day). But if that was so, then we would expect to find all the Scriptures to be written predominantly in Greek. But that’s not what we find. In fact, most of the Dead Sea Scrolls (which were written around the same time period) were written in Hebrew, not Greek. This demonstrates that the lingua franca hypothesis is wrong.

So why didn’t the New Testament writers complete God’s story in Hebrew? What better way to convince the Jews that Jesus is the messianic fulfillment of Hebrew Scripture than to write it in Hebrew? But they didn’t do that! Why? The reason is Jesus. He’s not Jewish but Greek! So the narrative must be written in Greek to reflect the Greek protagonist. This is precisely why the New Testament was written in Greek, not Hebrew. And this explains why all the messianic figures in the Bible are essentially depicted as Gentiles. From Abraham (Chaldea) to Noah (Mesopotamia) to Job (Uz) to Joseph and Moses (who are portrayed as Egyptians, members of Egyptian families/Egyptian Royalty), all the messianic figures in the Old Testament are basically depicted as Gentiles. That’s precisely why Cyrus, a gentile, is called God’s Messiah in Isaiah 45.1! Not to mention that King David himself was not a Jew; he was a Moabite! Similarly, in Isaiah 46.11, God says: I have chosen “a man for My purpose from a far-off land.” This would certainly drive home the idea that the Messiah is a non-Jew!

Furthermore, if Christ were a Jew he would have said that he was the Aleph and the Tav. Instead, Christ constantly uses Greek letters to denote his identity and to designate the divine “I am” (Ἐγώ εἰμι; Revelation 1.8):

“I am the Alpha and the Omega.”

Besides, it’s important to emphasize that the Hebrew name of God (Yahva, pronounced as Yava) is also the Hebrew name for Greece (namely, Yavan). This verbal agreement is not coincidental. There is further evidence regarding the Greek name of God. In some rare Septuagint manuscripts the Tetragrammaton is translated as Ιαω (known as the Greek trigram). That is, the divine name Yahva is translated into Koine Greek as Ιαω (see e.g. Lev. 4.27 Septuagint manuscript [LXX] 4Q120). This fragment comes from the Dead Sea Scrolls, found at Qumran, and dates to the 1st century BC.

What is of great importance is the fact that the name IAO seemingly represents the ancient Greeks (known as IAONES), the first literary depictions of which are found in the epics of Homer (Ἰάονες) and also in the works of Hesiod (Ἰάων). Bible scholars agree that the Hebrew name Yavan represents the Iaones, i.e. the ancient Greeks. Moreover, there are independent attestations that come from the Patristic writings about the Tetragrammaton. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia (1910) and B. D. Eerdmans: Diodorus Siculus (1st c. BC) translates the name of God as Ἰαῶ. Irenaeus (d. c. 202) states that the Valentinians use the divine name Ἰαῶ. Origen of Alexandria (c. 254) writes Ἰαω. Theodoret of Cyrus (393 – c. 458) also writes Ἰαω. Therefore, the secret name of God in both the Greek Old Testament and the Hebrew Bible seems to represent Greece! This is why John of Patmos is not in Greece by accident. He is there to proclaim the revelation of Jesus and the word of God (Revelation 1.9):

“I, John, … was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and my testimony about Jesus.”