Matthew 5:17

New Testament

16 In the same way, let your light shine before people, so that they can see your good deeds and give honor to your Father in heaven. 17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have not come to abolish these things but to fulfill them. 18 I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth pass away not the smallest letter or stroke of a letter will pass from the law until everything takes place. 19 So anyone who breaks one of the least of these commands and teaches others to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever obeys them and teaches others to do so will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness goes beyond that of the experts in the law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven!

Pirkei Avot 4:9

Mishnah
Rabbinic

9 Rabbi Jonathan said: whoever fulfills the Torah out of a state of poverty, his end will be to fulfill it out of a state of wealth; And whoever discards The torah out of a state of wealth, his end will be to discard it out of a state of poverty. 10 Rabbi Meir said: Engage but little in business, and busy yourself with the Torah. Be of humble spirit before all men. If you have neglected the Torah, you shall have many who bring you to neglect it, but if you have labored at the study of Torah, there is much reward to give unto you 11 Rabbi Eliezer ben Jacob said: he who performs one commandment acquires for himself one advocate, and he who commits one transgression acquires for himself one accuser. Repentance and good deeds are a shield against punishment. Rabbi Yochanan Hasandlar said: every assembly which is for the sake of heaven, will in the end endure; and every assembly which is not for the sake of heaven, will not endure in the end. 12 Rabbi Elazar ben Shammua said: let the honor of your student be as dear to you as your own, and the honor of your colleague as the reverence for your teacher, and the reverence for your teacher as the reverence of heaven. 13 Rabbi Judah said: be careful in study, for an error in study counts as deliberate sin. Rabbi Shimon said: There are three crowns: the crown of torah, the crown of priesthood, and the crown of royalty, but the crown of a good name supersedes them all. 14 Rabbi Nehorai said: go as a [voluntary] exile to a place of Torah and say not that it will come after you, for [it is] your fellow [student]s who will make it permanent in your hand and “and lean not upon your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5).

 Notes and References

"... The Matthean Jesus gives solid expression to the fact that the Torah is unquestionably valid in the few verses of introduction to section 5:21- 48. In verse 17, he twice denies that the aim of his mission is to 'abolish the Torah and the Prophets.' On the contrary, the aim of his mission is, 'to confirm,' 'to raise up,' 'to realize / implement' the Torah. The literal translation of the positive statement is 'to fulfill.' This stands in antithetic contrast to 'abolish,' 'to anull.' It is taken up again in verse 19. Instead of 'fulfill,' here the positive side of action and teaching is mentioned. Hereby Matthew gives an indication of how he understands the 'fulfill.' This also corresponds with the Hebrew language background and rabbinic usage. In it the commonly used opposites of 'cancel,' 'destroy,' on the one hand, and 'raise up,' 'bring about,' 'implement,' on the other, (batal and qum, each case in Piel) are applied. So it is said in Mishnah Avot 4:9, 'Whoever implements the Torah in poverty, will eventually implement it in wealth, and he who destroys the Torah in wealth, will also destroy it in poverty.' Not an iota and not the smallest of strokes will pass away – even the smallest commandment remains valid ..."

Wengst, Klaus The Jesus of the Gospels as interpreter of the Torah (pp. 1-5) Ruhr-University in Bochum, 2010

 User Comments

Just to be clear, in the original Ibriy (Hebrew) there were 70 deities assigned to the 70 nations listed in Genesis 10. So, it stands to reason and supportable that these 70 deities are subjugated to the authority of a “higher deity”, correct?

Abiydan Bernie, February 14, 2023, 8:16 pm

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