Matthew 4:14
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that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying, (ASV)
Pro
Misquote Of Jewish Bible
"12 Now when he heard that John was delivered up, he withdrew into Galilee;
13 and leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the borders of Zebulun and Naphtali:
14 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying,
15 The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, Toward the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles,
16 The people that sat in darkness Saw a great light, And to them that sat in the region and shadow of death, To them did light spring up."
JW:
"Matthew's" translation doesn't agree with the Masoretic text or Greek translations of the Tanakh.
"1 But there shall be no gloom to her that was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali; but in the latter time hath he made it glorious, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.
2 The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined."
JW:
So even using a Christian translation "Matthew" has Omitted "But there shall be no gloom to her that was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt".
--JoeWallack 10:45, 18 Feb 2007 (CST)
Out Of Context Reference To Jewish Bible
JW:
Isaiah 8: (JPS 1917) "23… Now the former hath lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but the latter hath dealt a more grievous blow by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, in the district of the nations. 9.1 The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light; they that dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined."
Isaiah Chapter 8, JPS translation, is referring to the destruction of the kingdom of Israel by the Assyrians. The "former" and "latter" of 8:23 refers to the Assyrians and Samarians:
7:1 "And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin the king of Aram, and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to war against it; but could not prevail against it. And it was told the house of David, saying: 'Aram is confederate with Ephraim."
All of Isaiah, chapter 8(JPS), is written in prose. Isaiah chapter 9(JPS), starts out being written in synonymous parallelism poetry:
"The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light; they that dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. Thou hast multiplied the nation, Thou hast increased their joy; they joy before Thee according to the joy in harvest, as men rejoice when they divide the spoil."
Even though Isaiah 8:23 and 9:1 of JPS refer to different subjects and have different writing styles Christian translations have combined them into the start of Chapter 9 because of "Matthew's" misquote which attempted to combine them into evidence of prophecy fulfillment.
--JoeWallack 09:38, 3 Mar 2007 (CST)
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