PROOF THAT THE TETRAGRAMMATON WAS IN THE "...GOSPELS..." AND - ALSO OTHER "...BOOKS OF..." THE EARLY CHRISTIANS
The Hebrew Tosefta, ( Shabbat 13:5 ), written (circa. 3rd
Century C.E.), quoting Rabbi Tarfon or
Tarphon, Heb., ( רבי
טרפון ),
from the Gk.,
( Τρύφων
), a Kohen, a member of the third
generation of the Mishnah sages, who lived in the period between the
destruction of the Second Temple ( 70 C.E. ) and the fall of Bethar (
135 C.E. ):
SHABBAT 13:5: “...The Gilyon[im] (i.e., gospel books) and the books of the minim (i.e., Jewish heretics) are not saved [on the Sabbath] from fire; but one lets them burn together with the names of God [ Tetragrammaton ] written upon them...” - (Page 99, Jacob Neusner Judaism and Christianity in the Age of Constantine 2008.)
SHABBAT
13:5: “...The books of the [
Gilyohnim
] Evangelists and the books of the Minim they do not save from
a fire [on the Sabbath]. They are allowed to burn up where they are,
they and [even] the references to the Divine Name [ Tetragrammaton
] that are in them...” - (Page 14, Neusner Persia and Rome in
classical Judaism 2008.)
SHABBAT
13:5: “...We
don't save the [ Gilyohnim ] Gospels or the books of Minim
from the fire. They are burnt where they are, together with their
tetragrammatons. Rabbi Yose Ha-Gelili says: "During the week one
should take the tetragrammatons from them, hide them and burn the
rest". Rabbi Tarfon said: 'May I bury my children! If I would
have them in my hands, I would burn them with all their
tetragrammatons...” - (“Who was a Jew?” By Lawrence. H.
Schiffman, as quoted on Page 30-31, The Watchtower, November 1,
1993..)
SHABBAT
13:5: “...We
do not save from a fire (on the Sabbath) the [ Gilyohnim ]
Gospels and the books of the minim ("heretics"). Rather,
they are burned in their place, they and their Tetragrammata. Rabbi
Yose Ha-Gelili says: During the week, one should cut out their
Tetragrammata and hide them away and burn the remainder. Said Rabbi
Tarfon: May I bury my sons! If (these books) would come into my hand,
I would burn them along with their Tetragrammata...” -
(Alternate Translation “Who was a Jew?” By Lawrence. H.
Schiffman, as quoted on Page 30-31, The Watchtower, November 1,
1993.)
SHABBAT
13:5: “...The [ Gilyohnim ] blank spaces and the
Books of the Minim, we may not save them from a fire. R. Jose said:
On weekdays one must cut out the [
Tetragrammaton
] Divine Names which they contain, hide them, and burn the
rest. R. Tarfon said: May I bury my son if I would not burn them
together with their [
Tetragrammaton
] Divine Names if they came to my hand...” - (Translated
By Dr. H. Freedman as quoted on Page 30-31, The Watchtower, November
1, 1993.)
SHABBAT
13:5: “...The
'Gilyon[im]' and the [Biblical] books of the Judæo-Christians [
Minim
] are not saved [on the Sabbath] from fire; but one lets them burn
together with the [
Tetragrammaton
] names of God written
upon them." R. Jose the Galilean says: "On week-days the [
Tetragrammaton
] names of God are cut
out and hidden while the rest is burned." R. Tarphon says: "I
swear by the life of my children that if they fall into my hands I
shall burn them together with the [
Tetragrammaton
] names of God upon
them." R. Ishmael says: "If God has said, 'My name that has
been written in holiness [i.e., in the "jealousy roll"
mentioned in Num. v. 21 et seq.] shall be wiped out by water, in
order to make peace between husband and wife,' then all the more
should the books of the Judæo-Christians, that cause enmity,
jealousy, and contention between Israel and its heavenly Father.
[...] As they are not saved from fire, so they are not saved when
they are in danger of decaying, or when they have fallen into water,
or when any other mishap has befallen them...” -
(Page 29, Zuckermandel, Edition, “GILYONIM
= “Gospels,” lit., “scrolls,” JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA ONLINE.)
[FOOTNOTE]:
Tosef., Shab. xiii. 5 []; comp. Shab. 116a; Yer. Shab. 15c, 52;
Sifre, Num. 16.
http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/6677-gilyonim
Could this be what the Jews where really speaking of when they - ( compared ) - the Gospels and the Heb., ( SIFREI HA-MINIM ) "...Books of the Minim..." - that is the rest of the Christian Greek Scriptures to?
We don't know for sure, but it's an interesting thought.
An
interesting example is ( POxy 656 ), a Papyrus Codex of Genesis
assigned to (circa. 2nd
or 3rd
Cerntury C.E. ) in which Colin H. Roberts finds “...blank
spaces...” where the Tetragrammaton Heb., (
יהוה
) Eng.,
“...JEHOVAH...” was
expected, but was instead filled in - ( BY A LATER HAND ) - with
an uncontracted Gk., ( ΚΎΡΙΟΣ
or κύριος ) “...Lord...”
Could this be what the Jews where really speaking of when they - ( compared ) - the Gospels and the Heb., ( SIFREI HA-MINIM ) "...Books of the Minim..." - that is the rest of the Christian Greek Scriptures to?
We don't know for sure, but it's an interesting thought.
It's probably more likely they were equating
these Christian books with and being as valueless as Heb.,
( GILYONIM ) “...Blank sheets of parchment...”