Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Targums of Isaiah 59:21 "The Words of my Prophecy"

Only in the Targums of Isaiah we find the expression "the words of my prophecy" coupled with the Spirit which is promised to the restored people of Israel: Isaiah 59:21 (MT) "As for me, this is my covenant with them," says the LORD. "My Spirit, who is on you, and my words [Targums: words of my prophecy] that I have put in your mouth will not depart from your mouth, or from the mouths of your children, or from the mouths of their descendants from this time on and forever," says the LORD.
This verse could possibly have influenced the writings of John, the author of Revelation who introduced his book as "the words of the prophecy" (1:3). John, together with Peter, was the apostle to the Jews (Acts 3-5 & Gal 2) it is likely John knew Aramaic and the Aramaic translation of the Hebrew Bible which was used widely by Jews in Israel.

No comments:

Post a Comment