The Hebrew Yeshua vs. the Greek Jesus: New Light on the Seat of Moses from Shem-Tov’s Hebrew Matthew

by Nehemia Gordon

An astonishing realization has recently gripped the Christian "Jesus Christ" was not a blond-haired, blue-eyed Gentile. Yeshua of Nazareth was raised in an observant Jewish family in a culture where the Torah (five books of Moses) was the National Constitution. Yeshua's teachings, which supposedly form the basis for Western Christianity, are now filtered through 2000 years of traditions born in ignorance of the land, language, and culture of the Bible. The issues over which Yeshua wrestled with the Pharisees are simply not understood by modern Christians; nor are his most important instructions followed by those who claim to be his disciples. Former Pharisee, Nehemia Gordon, a Dead Sea Scrolls scholar and Semitic language expert, explores the ancient Hebrew text of the Gospel of Matthew from manuscripts long hidden away in the archives of Jewish scribes. Gordon's research reveals that the more "modern" Greek text of Matthew, from which the Western world's versions were translated, depicts "another Jesus" from the Yeshua portrayed in the ancient Hebrew version of Matthew. Gordon explains the life-and-death conflict Yeshua had with the Pharisees as they schemed to grab the reins of Judaism in the first century, and brings that conflict into perspective for both Jew and Christian alike.

Genres: Theology, Religion, Nonfiction, Christianity, Church History, Jewish, Christian

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[Yibbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

2025
Who would have thought that a book by an author who rejects Jesus Christ as the Messiah would make parts of Matthew so much easier to understand? But then even Gordon is surprised by what he found by studying Matthew in Hebrew. I knew when I started a deep study of Matthew that I wanted to reread this book. It had been too long since I read it the first time for me to remember the details of his argument. Maybe this time they will stick better. Beyond the translation clarifications he points out, his explanation of Pharisaism helps explain so many of Christ's teachings.
I would heartily recommend reading it, twice if you have trouble retaining it like I did.
2028
It’s short but there is so much to process in this book. Gordon believes that Matthew was originally written in Hebrew and then translated into Greek. He points out how the struggles foreign speakers have when translating first-century Hebrew have led to some seeming contradictions. Even though it covers a subject as complex as foreign language idioms, wordplays, puns, and comparative translations, it is very easy to understand. He makes a very clear and convincing argument for his position.
It really helped make several passages much clearer. I would recommend everyone read it.

[Janice · Rating 5 out of 5]

I watched the DVD after I read the book. The DVD was just as good, maybe even better! Alex thought he wouldn't like the DVD, but he did, very much! Nehemia is an excellent speaker/teacher/author and has a great sense of humor, too! It was very refreshing to hear this subject taught by a Karaite Jew. I pray that he discovers the true identity of Yeshua, but he was highly respectful of Yeshua, and I learned a great deal. I am looking forward to reading his next book. I wish he would do a teaching on all of the NT books that were written in Hebrew.

[Shari'f Pryce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well written

Everyone searching for the truth within the Bible. This is a book for the person attempting to understand the Word of Yah.

[Brett Hooper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book, helps us better understand Yeshua in his Hebrew context.

[Carla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nehemia Gordon has an unbios presentation, which compares the teachings of the Hebrew Yeshua(Joshua) against the teachings of the Greek Jesus. They are not one in the same.

[Kimberly Esquibel · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The Hebrew Yeshuah vs The Greek Jesus" by Nehemia Gordon is a compelling exploration of the stark contrast between the historical Hebrew Yeshuah of Nazareth and the modern Western Christian and Greek interpretation of Jesus.

Gordon's scholarly work delves into the ancient Hebrew text of the Gospel of Matthew, shedding light on some of its main themes:

In the original Hebrew text, Yeshuah emerges as a figure who advocates living by the Torah while rejecting the commandments of men, such as the Pharisees' oral law.

Contrary to the common belief that Yeshuah replaced the Torah with a new covenant, Gordon reveals a different perspective. Yeshuah appears as anti-systematic religion, pro-Mosaic law, and a proponent of worshiping the one true God, the creator of heaven and earth. The Hebrew translation emphasizes his call for followers to adhere to Moses and his law, as opposed to following the Pharisees, as warned against by the prophet Isaiah.

Nehemia Gordon, a former Orthodox Jew turned Karaite Jew (accepting only the Tenach/Old Testament and not the oral law), brings a wealth of expertise to this work. Fluent in Hebrew and experienced in ancient manuscripts and the publication of the Dead Sea Scrolls, he meticulously sources all of his findings.

Despite the author's observant Jewish background, the book doesn't attempt to disprove Yeshuah as the Messiah. Instead, it unveils what Yeshuah truly taught when language limitations of English and Greek are stripped away. Gordon's unbiased and expert approach benefits readers of all backgrounds.

This book addresses the Bible's contradictions regarding the abolishing of the law, clarifying that Yeshuah himself declared he came not to abolish the law, emphasizing the permanence of the Torah (Matthew 5:18). It reveals that if Yeshuah believed in the Torah and aimed to liberate people from the oral law, his followers shared this conviction. Understanding that Paul's reference to "the works of the law" pertains to the oral law and not the Torah provides a fresh perspective on scripture.

In just a few hours of reading, I found this work to be clear, concise, and personally restorative. It reignited my enthusiasm and deepened my understanding. I'm immensely grateful for the insights it provides.

I highly recommend "The Hebrew Yeshuah vs The Greek Jesus" to anyone interested in a thought-provoking and scholarly exploration of this pivotal historical and religious context.

[Christian Barry · Rating 5 out of 5]

If the Gospels, the Acts, and the Revelation were originally written in Hebrew, why spend so much time in the Greek? Nehemiah Gordon blew me away with his thorough research leading up to his conclusion on Matthew 23:2-3 and what Yeshua (Jesus) actually said. His Christian friend asked him what he thought of this New Testament portion as a Hebrew scholar, and what he concluded with is nothing short of clarity on Christ’s teaching, but how he got there was eye-opening to me. I appreciate Gordon’s approach because as a Karaite Jew, he has no opinion on such matter since the Tanach is all he cared for. However; his Karaite background and scholarship paved the way for him to ask questions & challenge assumptions that a non-Karaite (ie a Christian) would’ve taken for granted. This was a humbling realization for me seeing that God uses whomever whenever he pleases and it still brings him glory. I learned of the Mishnah, Talmud, Midrash, Sadducees, and that Gordon’s only concern in this exercise as a Karaite was of Yeshua/Jesus’s words, not who he was, but simply what he said. In this short book, Gordon spares no time. He gets into the seriousness of tiny flaws in translations / interpretations while educating the reader on hebraisms and Hebrew word puns riddled throughout the New Testament. They’re everywhere; more frequent than so-called Greek word puns which seem to muddy the waters posing contradictions. He doesn’t just tackle Matt 23, but also Matt 15, and Christ’s teaching on swearing by God’s name. There’s great value in discerning between cultures and mindsets. Hebrew vs Greek, Yeshua vs Jesus, Torah or no law at all? Gordon presents enough evidence for Shem-Tov’s Hebrew Matthew to stand as a credible written work for us to learn from (just as Shem Tov intended during the Disputatio). I’d be curious of any serious rebuttal to his claims as he brings greater clarity to Yeshua’s teaching against man-made tradition. The Christian church can benefit greatly from clearer teaching on the “Jewishness” of Christ. Instead of believing that a Greek Jesus did away with the commandments, we should rather understand that a Hebrew Yeshua reaffirms God’s instruction. After all, He is the savior sent by the Father, teaching not with His own authority but of the Father’s.

[Mullen Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I been following Nehemia Gordon for years now. What he helped, over the years, to correct and explain is errors in the Bible, so very important to explain the scriptures and correct them.
Because of the negative comments I will add this:
Some Christians do not want to follow the Bible and cherry pick what they like and what they do not like. They never really study what Yeshua really said, and the others in the new testament. Just like the Pharisees, they make their own laws and like that is not enough they also keep their pagan traditions. So they are not any different than the ones that went after Yeshua at the time and wanted him gone, for he called it out.
The rest of us we are after truth and we do not follow man made doctrine. And we appreciate every scholar that helps and investigates for our benefit to understand YAHWEH `s word better.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I saw his teaching on youtube (I'm not sure where), and read the book out of curiosity. I'm a highly visual learner, so the video was better for me in many ways, however having a solid paper book that one can reference from is so much easier for telling people about this, if they come to the house for instance. It is a great teaching and absolutely a necessary one. My one best friend didn't even believe Jesus was Jewish, and she went to bible college! I pray this book and it's video teaching is disseminated into seminaries and schools so that people know that Jesus is/was and has always been.

[Monica Arbildo · Rating 4 out of 5]

El libro me gustó, me ayudó a entender pasajes que no entendía.

Me parece un libro muy claro, imparcial, muy bien redactado y seustentado.
Me llamó la atención la aseveración de que Jesús debió ser ungido para ser reconocido como Mesías. Me pregunto quien podría tener autoridad aquí en la tierra para ungir al Hijo de Dios, recorde Isaías 61:1 que dice "El Espíritu del Señor esta sobre mi porque me ungió Jehova; ..... "
Sólo Dios podría tener autoridad para ungir al Mesías.

[Rosemarie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book on the life of Yeshua in the context of first century Israel. Yeshua was born a Jew and lived as a Jew. He upheld Torah but taught against the man-made laws taught by the Jewish leaders (Pharisees, Sadducees) of his day. Much of the modern church has a warped view of what Yeshua taught, believing He made the "Old Testament" null and void. Nothing could be further from the truth, and Nehemia Gordon - not a believer in Yeshua - makes this point quite well.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

East to read commentary on the author's journey to discover if Jesus was negating Torah (the instructions of Moses) for other directives or returning people to the laws of Moses (Torah) vs following the directives of the Pharisees. He concludes that Jesus is upholding Torah and returning people to Torah like the Sadducees did. But the author still doesn't believe Jesus to be the Messiah since he wasn't a king who saved Israel. Good examples and references given.

[Candido · Rating 5 out of 5]

excelente: Muy buena la información dada e disfrutado con su contenido y me a llevado a entender mucho mejor este pasaje bíblico y me ayudo para poder compartir y explicar en una enseñanza que compartí con mis hnos.

Gracias a Dios por tener personas interesadas en enseñar y tomar tiempo en estudiar la palabra y poder capacitar a otros y hacernos partícipes de sus descubrimientos.

[Amanda Sexton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Will we ever know?

What does God require? What does He want from me? Knowing who Jesus is and what he taught is imperative in answering these two questions. Perhaps this book lights the path a little bit further. Easy to read and straightforward. Well done.

[Ken · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting possible revelation

Seems to explain various confusing scriptures in Matthew. However, why is there not more notoriety? Certainly those seeking truth and accuracy would have noted this even in discussion if not in translations of Matthew.

[Carlos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Muy buen libro. Nos permite conocer el mundo farisaico y sus postulados.

Una consulta Mateo 1.16 marido o padre de María dice la genealogía?
Cómo se puede conseguir acceso al Mateo de Shem Tob?

[James Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a great book, but I do wish the author had gone through all of Matthew and compared each of Jesus's sayings between Greek and Hebrew, and shown how Yeshua is consistent with the Torah, in contrast to the antinomian view of scripture prominent today.

[Shard Obsidia · Rating 5 out of 5]

highly recommend this book for all Christians if you care to truly know your Messiah.

[Jesse Engel · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is informative but leaves on hanging on for more.

[Demetrius T. Easley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Valuable info

A good short read with some valuable information about the Hebraic Messiah. I learned a great deal about Rabbinic Judaism and how it differs from Torah.

[Felipe Esparza · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excelente libro para comenzar a hacer la migracion de las tradiciones occidentales de la religion original semita.

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book. Well written and helps bring out hidden or lost meanings to scripture.

[Cassidy April · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intriguing.

I will have to do more research.

[Andy De Lima · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you for this great gift Nehemia

[John Feldcher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

Well research and very enlightening. Highly recommend to anyone interested in understanding matthew’s gospel and Hebrew nuances. Especially the discussion of Moses seat.

[Sepping · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excelente libro, muy bien documentado

Este libro muestra que siempre es bueno seguir a un caraita y no seguir opiniones de YouTuber o alguna paginas en internet

[Dr. Paul T. Blake · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gordon is a Kararite, similar to a modern day Sadducee who believes in the Written Law only ... contrasted with today's Orthodox who are the equivalent of 1st century Pharisees, who believe in the Oral Law also. I don't necessarily use the terms Sadduccee and Pharisee negatively either. Overall, it pointed me to the real need of the Messianic Jewish community to be contributing to the Jewish halakah in order to have more than just two hard-line options.

Gordon analyzes texts from the Hebrew version of Matthew, which is one of the more cutting edge techniques in scholarship. Even if we do not have surviving texts of the original Hebrew, scholars are translating Greek texts into Hebrew to gain a fuller understanding of the original 1st century context. In fact, Dan Gruber will be releasing his translation of the New Testament soon based on this technique.

[Garrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a quick read and quite interesting.

I was asked to teach a Gospel Doctrine class for my ward (local congregation), and during the lesson I talked about word roots and Biblical changes. One brother came up to me after class and showed me this book. I agreed to read it.

Again, it was interesting, especially as it comes from a Karaite Jew. He delves into the linguistics behind some of Jesus' sayings and teachings which seem contradictory (at best) in the current (KJV) version of the New Testament.

His arguments seem to hold water, but I am no expert on greek or hebrew. In fact, from this book, I've gained a new desire to learn Greek!

[Jim Savage · Rating 5 out of 5]

a good book for what it is...
an argument for Hebrew Matthew, and that Jesus was teaching against the Pharisaical additions to the law of Moses and their traditions. All based on Matthew 23:2-3 if it is original in Hebrew rather than in Greek. He says that once you read it in original Hebrew it makes more sense that Jesus was calling his followers to follow more closeley Torah and not the Pharisaical traditions.
Quick Read!

[Rae Helmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really insightful and mind-blowing comparison of the differences between the Greek Matthew and the Hebrew (original) Matthew, specifically Shem-Tov's translation of the Hebrew Matthew. I really enjoyed the section describing the five main beliefs/practices of the Pharisees. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking to be challenged in their beliefs and especially for Christians seeking understanding about some of the strange phrases found in Matthew.