In the very brief sections of verse that I showed it is possible that they were not referring to Jewish Priests.  However, the ambiguity disappears in the following verses:

Mark 14:

55The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death, but they did not find any. 56Many testified falsely against him, but their statements did not agree.

This was after they had captured Jesus and right before they put him on the cross.  The Sanhedrin are "The supreme council and court of justice among the Jews" - from the New Advent Catholic Encylopedia

Let me just state for that record that I am not anti-semitic nor am I holding any living person responsible for the death of Jesus Christ.

- Matthew Small


  ----- Original Message -----
  From: Kevin Graeme
  To: CF-Community
  Sent: Wednesday, October 15, 2003 4:31 PM
  Subject: Re: Mel Gibson's "THE PASSION"

  Sorry, I should have made clear that I don't know whether that bit in the
  bible is a victim of translation, revisionist history, or if it's correctly
  translated and Vatican II is engaging in revisionism. I was asking the
  question before because I don't know but I know it's within the realms of
  possibilty based on things I know about translation and the study of
  religions.

  <cf_speculation>
  It is possible for entire sections to be, if not mistranslated per se,
  misinterpreted. Many of the concepts are presented in such a way that they
  are rife with cultural interpretation. When referring to the "chief
  priests", what does that mean? Are they actually jewish priests? Are they
  roman priests, but maybe that was lost in understanding? Are they jewish
  slaves who the romans used as their figureheads to control the jewish
  population and they are given the title of "chief priests" by the romans?

  Take the latter. One reference to a roman installed "chief priest" here or
  there and a translator's approach to later sections will be skewed based on
  that misunderstanding.
  </cf_speculation>

  <cf_sociology>
  It's also interesting to look at the cultural background of the political
  necessity of a christ figure. At the time, the Caesar was god. Perhaps
  self-appointed, but culturally that was his position. There were also many,
  many jewish tribes/sects/groups what have you. There was particularly a
  differentiation of city and country jewish communities. The jewish people as
  a whole were trying to come up with a way to get out from under the romans.
  They needed an alternative to the Caesar. But they were also fighting
  amongst themselves for power, just as people in the city today have
  different social needs than people in the country. I've read accounts of
  many viable christ figures that came out of the jewish communities, but the
  personage of Jesus as a diametrical opposite to the rich, wealthy, powerful
  and ruthless Caesar was the one that history remembers and was eventually
  documented in the bible. Documented of course by the ones who put him in
  power.
  </cf_sociology>

  I'm just stringing together things I've read years ago and suppositions
  based on that. They provide a viable enough context for me to see the
  Vatacan II pronouncement as credible as any of the religious history. But
  I'm not a believer. If anything these days, I'm an armchair scholar.

  So my only question is, if intellectually there's enough reason to cast
  doubt on the story, why stick steadfastly to a story that justifies some
  people's hatred of some other people?

  -Kevin

  ----- Original Message -----
  From: "Matthew Small" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
  To: "CF-Community" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
  Sent: Wednesday, October 15, 2003 2:45 PM
  Subject: Re: Mel Gibson's "THE PASSION"

  > OK, that's a single word, but are there entire sections of text which are
  mistranslated so that it appears that Jews are responsible for the death of
  Jesus rather than some other group - the Romans, perhaps?  Like Brob, I'd
  always thought it was the Romans alone who put Jesus to death, but then I
  started reading the Bible.
  >
  >  Matthew 26:14-16
  > 14Then one of the Twelve--the one called Judas Iscariot--went to the chief
  priests 15and asked, "What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to
  you?" So they counted out for him thirty silver coins. 16From then on Judas
  watched for an opportunity to hand him over.
  >
  > John 18:12-13
  > 12Then the detachment of soldiers with its commander and the Jewish
  officials arrested Jesus. They bound him 13and brought him first to Annas,
  who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year.
  >
  > I'm not holding anybody today responsible for the death of Jesus, but the
  Bible does say what it says.  Are you saying that these passages are
  incorrect?
  >
  > -Matthew Small
  >
  >
  > ----- Original Message -----
  >   From: Michael Dinowitz
  >   To: CF-Community
  >   Sent: Wednesday, October 15, 2003 3:12 PM
  >   Subject: Re: Mel Gibson's "THE PASSION"
  >
  >
  >   Sorry, the actual word is Michashefa, which is the feminine form used in
  the
  >   particular place. Its from the root Kishuf.
  >
  >   ----- Original Message -----
  >   From: "Michael Dinowitz" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
  >   To: "CF-Community" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
  >   Sent: Wednesday, October 15, 2003 2:55 PM
  >   Subject: Re: Mel Gibson's "THE PASSION"
  >
  >   > I can document it with a single word. Michushef. This Hebrew word has
  a
  >   > meaning of sorceress or witch. i.e. one who uses impure forces to
  affect
  >   > reality. A type of magic basically. Because of the way Greek is, the
  word
  >   > they used was basically one who uses herbs or poisons which was
  translated
  >   > later on as poisoner and on and on. King James has it as witch, which
  >   pisses
  >   > off the modern pagans.
  >   > What the word is and what it has become and is becoming over time and
  due
  >   to
  >   > 'popular' input shows exactly how the Christian Bible has changed.
  Yes,
  >   the
  >   > original Greek is the original Greek, but who here reads that? We all
  read
  >   > the English.
  >   > A change in a word can be a change in the entire story. Take my
  comment
  >   > about the last supper not being able to be the Passover Seder. That
  was
  >   > probably added later in a translation.
  >
  >
  >

[Todays Threads] [This Message] [Subscription] [Fast Unsubscribe] [User Settings]

Reply via email to