Did Yeshua Quote the Shema Wrong?

Did Yeshua Quote the Shema Wrong?
By
James Scott Trimm


In Matt. 22:37 Yeshua quotes the Shema (Deut. 6:4-5).  But the Greek text of Matthew this appears (as it appears in the KJV):

Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
(Matt. 22:37 KJV)

However the actual text of Deut. 6:4-5 reads:

4  Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:
5  And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
(Deut. 6:4-5 KJV)

So did Yeshua misquote the Torah?  Did he not know the correct wording of the Shema?  The answer lies in the original Hebrew and Aramaic texts of Matthew.

The original Hebrew of Matthew reads:

And Yeshua answered him, and said: You shall love YHWH your Elohim: with all
your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.
(Matthew 22:37 DuTillet, Munster and Shem Tob)

The Old Syriac Aramaic version of Matthew agrees with Hebrew Matthew saying:

And Yeshua answered him, and said: You shall love YHWH your Elohim: with all
your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.
(Matthew 22:37 Old Syriac)

The Greek translator must have misread the Aramaic חילך (might, strength) as הונך (mind).

The Peshitta which is a revision of the Old Syriac Aramaic towards greater agreement with the Greek clearly conflates (combines) the readings of the Old Syriac and the Greek having:

And Yeshua answered him, and said: You shall love YHWH your Elohim: with all
your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might, and with all your mind.
(Matthew 22:37 Peshitta)

When we look at this passage in the original Hebrew and Aramaic versions we see that Yeshua was true to the Torah and that the mistake was that of the Greek translator.

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