The Search for the Historical Jesus from a Jewish Perspective
I'm suprised no one has reviewed Andrew's first book, with the popularity of the AENT and all. "Signs of the Cross: The Search for the Historical Jesus from a Jewish Perspective" was written by Andrew Gabriel Roth, now famous for his Netzari study version of the New Testament translated from the Aramaic Peshitta. Published in 2001, this book is a great glimpse at how things were over 10 years ago in the Nazarene movement today. This was before certain teachers showed their true colors or fell into heresy, and it was somewhat refreshing to see a unity that has not been held since then. Also, as someone who has very thoroughly studied the AENT and followed much of Andrew's current teachings, I enjoyed seeing where he was theologically at this point in time. There is a distinct difference in tone and unlike some of Andrew's other publications, this book is intended for a very broad audience, not just those who practice Netzari (Nazarene) Judaism. The lighter, less critical tone within this book is what I actually would have preferred to see in the AENT.
Now, the book is split up into four sections. Prior to the first section Jesus is introduced as "Yeshua the Rabbi". This is an amazing section which basically shows and explains that Yeshua was Jewish to the very core. There is an awesome contrast between Yeshua's words and what Judaism teaches within various Rabbinical documents. The simularities will be very shocking to many I think. What I love most about this is that it shows that it was not "Yeshua against the Jews" but rather, Jews against Jews in the debates of the New Testament. It was not two oppositing religions but rather an in-house debate where the Judean leaders of that time were clearly off base, even in comparison to what was being taught centuries later within non-Yeshua believing Judaism.
After this introduction, we have the time of yeshua's nativity examined. This gets very scientific and involves astronomical calculations and a bunch of other "nerdy" stuff that may or may not catch your interest. Fascinating nonetheless though, and Andrew effectively determines both the rough time and year in which was most likely for the real Yeshua to have come to earth. At the end of this section there is a harmony of the Gospel accounts for the Nativity put together which is likely the part that most readers will enjoy the best.
After this, the book begins to explore the "six sides of Messiah". This is an investigation into various titles that Messiah carried within prophecy, and their importance. There is a wealth of good information in here that will be new to a lot of readers (unless you're a Jewish scholar). My favourite part of this section is titled "is there a seventh side?" and it goes into Yeshua's divinity. The thing I love about this section is that it proves the divinity of Yeshua without a shadow of a doubt, but using basically zero New Testament quotes or sources. You will examine the plethora of Jewish writings on the subject, inculding the kosher aspects of so called "Jewish mysticism" that many find controversial. But it's controversy, at least for the Jewish community, lies not with how much it may disagree with modern Judaism, but how much it may agree with Christianity. This is what Andrew thinks and I am inclined to agree with him. For those who have followed Andrew's teachings you will also be very surprised that he uses such terminology as the "triune God" and basically proves it's existance from Jewish sources. This may seem to be in stark contrast to Andrew's later criticisms of the Trinity within the AENT, but upon close examination you will see that he does not necessarily contradict what he teaches in the AENT, he rather is simply not making terminology a point of contention here nor is he set on directly trying to fix the issues he has with some of the proposed Trinitarian theology.
After this, we begin to go into Andrew's specialty: uncovering the Semitic New Testament. Here we have Andrew tackling every major argument from the Greek primacy side for a Greek New Testament (or at least the top ten), and they are very worthy points to consider. I have said it many times before, but I am convinced that Aramaic primacy has not recieved the scholarly atention it deserves, and every time I read Andrew's writings I am reminded of this because I have never seen scholars come to refute his arghuments for a Semitic original. What is covered is first the top ten Greek primacy arguments. After this Andrew goes into many word plays that can be found in the Peshitta. Then he begins to cover some mistranslated into Greek original Aramaic words (and why it makes a difference). After this he goes into a very interesting section covering how and when the Gospels and some of the letters were written, as well as who translated them and when. It's a fasinating journey through history and the Scriptures. We also have a comparison to extra Biblical literature, showing the history of the originals sayings of Yeshua and where certain hand written notes and such may have traveled. This really all helps to put you back into that time and see how the teachings of Yeshua actually spread, and from a critical standpoint, to help us determine what was msot common/original.
The final section is called "Y'shua year by year" in which Andrew goes through and shows us what events during Yeshua's recorded life happened when (i.e. around this feast day, etc.) and the chronology is all put together with it's significance explained.
Now, some other comments:
Interesting to note that, although Andrew still spells Yeshua's name as "Y'shua", his view of the pronunciation lines up with the Sacred Name Movements error of "Yah - shua". This is suprising considering Andrew's background of Hebrew, but I know at this time it was the norm within most of the Nazarene Movement which I think in many ways was birthed from (or at the very least influenced by) the Sacred Name Movement (SNM). However, having this said, Andrew makes a clear cut remark against doctrines of the SNM and regularely uses both God and LORD throughout this book without emphasizing a preference from the Tetragrammaton or Hebraic terms.
But one of the most suprising things of all is Andrew's preference for using the NIV. He not only priaes the translation but says that it is his personal prefernce here! The NIV is a known anti-Torah translation which has a bias against much of the theology which Andrew stands for, and I personally do not care for it. However, that doesn't mean that there is not some value within it, and I'm sure many of you out there will apreciate knowing that Andrew recognizes this and has no problem quoting from it as a legitameant translation. He is not one of those extremist Hebrew Roots teachers who will over emphasize this or that doctrine or opinion at the expense of what's truly important. And this is something I've always apreciated about Andrew and his work. He may not agree with something or somebody, but he doesn't discount their valid work because of it. That's why you will see him quote from the Rabbi's, even though the Rabbi's are in many ways against those of us who believe that Yeshua is the Messiah.
The hardcover version I recieved is very nice. It is bound in cloth with a dust jacked and has very nice paper (smooth and tinted to just the right amount). The print is also very clear. I noticed a few typographical errors here and there, but nothing too major. This was an early self-published work, so it's to be expected when you have nearly 600 pages of information. I should also make mention that everything Andrew teaches in this book is extremely well referenced.
Overall, I would reccomend this book to anyone who loves Andrew Roth's work, those who have an AENT and so on. For those closet/basement scholars who like analyzing things, this book would also be good. But it may be a bit dry and tedious for those just looking to uncover the Jewishness of Jesus. There are a lot other books that do this, while this book is a little more cut and dry. I personally enjoy that kind of stuff, but most people I know do not. Hence, the 4 star rating. But other than that, I think Andrew did a good presentation here without the critical tons you often see in the AENT, as well as good references for all of his research.
PS - Don't be fooled by the ridiculous marketplace prices; you can buy this direct from the publisher for 30 bucks.
Shalom Chaverim,
This is a fantastic DVD presentation in support of Aramaic primacy of the New Testament text. This DVD is jam packed with A LOT of material and is VERY professionally done. Usually the presentation of these types of DVD's tend to be of a somewhat poor quality, but the music, menus, graphics, etc. are absolutely awesome and really make your learning experience much more enjoyable. I originally purchased this when it first came out, and apparantly the quality was sub-par by the standards of Netzari Press, so they stopped selling it, remastered the DVD, and re-released it. So you will be purchasing an even better quality DVD than what I had just described.
The material is split up into several sections. The first section covers Aramaic Primacy in three parts, looking at history, texts, and concepts that we in the west are simply unfamiliar with on a general basis. These things are clearly defined so that no matter what level of knowledge you have coming into this material, you will not be found lost, confused or frusterated. But at the same time, if you have a strong knowledge base, you will still likely learn some things that you may have not considered or heard before.
The second section is a textual comparison of Aramaic and Greek, and it was this section that I found most fascinating. I love textual criticism, and it is this sort of comaprison that for me really proves original Aramaic primacy for the New Testament. While it is very important to look at history and such as Roth does in the first section, the text speaks for itself and provides the most convincing evidence for me personally.
These two sections were filmed in Jerusalem and are very professionally done, making it very easy to follow.
The next several sections cover Aramaic history in the form of a timeline; there is a section providing some thoughts on the original Nazaeren sect of faith in the first century; and a promotional video for the Aramic English New testament translation (AENT). These are simple visual presentations.
The next section has a couple of radio interviews that Andrew Gabriel Roth did on T2TN (Torah to the Nations) and I found them both very edifying. The interactive menus here are very cool!
Finally, the last presentation deals with the idea of Hebrew primacy, and is a power point presentation that Andrew Gabriel Roth did at the "Common Ground Symposium" in Salem Oregon. Here he presents Aramaic Primacy in even greater clarity than the first section of this DVD (in my opinion) except this time he is up against the idea of Hebrew, rather than Greek primacy.
The combination of all this material on one interactive DVD is more than worth the price of what they are charging. I believe you will find it both edifying and educational in your walk with Mashiyach and search for textual truth. For more of an in-depth look at particular issues, you might want to check out Andrew's free resources on his website "Aramaic New Testament Truth" (just do a google search) or purchase his Ruach Qadim series of books (Aramaic Origins of the NT and Path to Life).
May our Heavenly Father bless you as you seek His heart.