1 Corinthians 9:20-22

[Tishri 1]

1 Corinthians 9:20-22  20 And to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the Law, as under the Law, though not being myself under the Law, that I might win those who are under the Law;  21 to those who are without law, as without law, though not being without the law of God but under the law of Christ, that I might win those who are without law.  22 To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all things to all men, that I may by all means save some.

Has anyone read Tim Hague's two part article in the last two issues of FFOZ's magazine?

I can't do it justice but here are a few points:

1 Corinthians 9:20-22 20 And to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews;

-he already is a Jew so what is he saying?

2 points:

1. This is Hebrew parallelism and repeats the thought in the next verse...(Hebrew Parallelism is a writing technique used to poetically make a point and keep emphasizing that point, you say what you have to say twice or three times each in a different way for effect)This whole section uses this technique.

2. As a member of the Jewish community he will come under their Torah (the one that has the fences) in order to accomplish his goal of saving some.(fences are EXTRA laws Strict Jews/Rabbis added to the word of God to make sure everyone will observe it and not break it...like since you know that the stove in the kitchen is hot you may tell a 9 year old to "watch out, that stove is hot" but to a 3 year old you would put up a kiddie-gate to keep him safe...a fence to a Strict Jew would be to find a way to keep everyone out of the kitchen forever! )

also you need to know what an Idiom is...that's a word or phrase that means one thing to them and another thing us like "That's the Bomb" means "That's the Best" and has nothing to do with an explosive weapon...the cock crowing to Peter 3 times was not a rooster, it was an Idiom for the Temple Cryer who opened the doors each day and called to all the priests to get to work (no chickens were allowed in the city by the Temple Mount, as one could accidentally get inside and behind the Veil to the Holy of Holies...that's an Idiom, and this passage is full of them!

to those who are under the Law, as under the Law, though not being myself under the Law, that I might win those who are under the Law;

-1. here is the Hebrew Parallelism : " AS a Jew"= " under the Law" = "The Fences"

2. He is not under the law ("under the law" is an IDIOM refering to the set of Jewish Law /Torah known to us today as "the fences". One of those fences was being beaten/lashes or suffer expulsion from the community for breaking certain Laws-he chose the beating/lashes thus "Coming under the Law"...And... He did that more than once!). So Paul chose something he was free from so that he could stay with them and not be cast out because of his desire to "save some".

21 to those who are without law, as without law,

-1. more Hebrew parallelism below ...

2. "without Law" was an IDIOM for the nations/Gentiles or anyone not a prostlyte to Judiasm.(a prostlyte was a Gentile who came under the law/fences to be saved or become a Jew)

and here is his heart again...

though not being without the law of God but under the law of Christ, that I might win those who are without law.

-Here is a confession for exactly what he is "under": Yeshua and the Torah of God..."not being without the Law"

22 To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak;

-1. Hebrew parellelsm: without law = the weak=gentles

2. yep another IDIOM for gentile..."The Weak"

I have become all things to all men, that I may by all means save some.

Obviously he isn't becomming a sinner, or a lawless one, he is saying I will stay in my community and under the Law (fences) if it will save Jews and be counted weak and without law (IDIOMS that ment becoming as a gentile) to save Gentiles.

[nebula]

the cock crowing to Peter 3 times was not a rooster, it was an Idiom for the Temple Cryer who opened the doors each day and called to all the priests to get to work

I never knew that.

Thanks for sharing!

[eric]

Hello Tishri,

I just caught your post as I was getting ready to call it a day. It's 11.PM sunday 19th where I live so will respond to your post tomorrow morning. I view that passage if 1.cor a bit differently to you.

catch ya later,

e.

[eric]

Well, I'm back as I said I would be,

With all due respects to Tim Hague, whom I have never heard before, I think he sailing a bit off course. To my way of thinking , when Paul was instructing the Corinthians in the passage you quoted, he was merely saying that he has to adapt himself to the various people he would be coming in contact with and sharing the gospel with, just as Jesus did, when He be came the incarnate God.. We all have to acclimatise ourselves with the people we are witnessing to. Temporarily bring ourselve to the level of the kind of people we are talking to.

Anyway Tishri, that's how I interprate Paul, there. But always willing to be proved wrong.

in Him,

eric

p/s incidentally I was 24hours out when I first posted, it's Sunday here now.

[Tishri 1]

I'm not about to try to prove you wrong eric...that's not my style.....coming from a christian background you are correct in seeing it that way...and coming from a hebraic background there is just another way to see things that's all... nothing has to be right or wrong, one just chooses how he will look at it. You no the old saying "Two Rabbis, Three Opinions"

The Jews had a lot of phrases unique to that time period and culture just as we do today...most all the nations do have their own terms and idioms, that we find hard to figure out and Isreal and the Jews were no different than us....I never knew what a "water closit' was till I moved to Holland for 2 years. My son said the Dessert we had last night was "sick".

Matthew 19:24  24 "And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."

"Camel" is not the correct word here...it should be translated "Rope"

there was a special rope made out of camel hair in Isreal at the time of Yeshua.... and as you can see with out proper understanding you would think that the author Matthew had a wild imagination... or that my son hated my dessert... or that the Dutch people had running water in their wardrobes...

[nebula]

Really?

I had heard "the eye of a needle" was a narrow opening in the wall or an alleyway - so narrow that a camel had to be unloaded in order to be able to get through.

[eric]

That's what I have always been led to believe also, Neb. Well, they say you learn something new every day. Sssoooo.

e.

[Guest shiloh357]

Really?

I had heard "the eye of a needle" was a narrow opening in the wall or an alleyway - so narrow that a camel had to be unloaded in order to be able to get through.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You are correct Neb.

Also, as to 1 Corinthians 9:20-22... All that Paul is saying is that he tries to empathize with his readers/hearers, whoever they may be. Paul is trying to place himself intellectually and emotionally, in the "shoes" of his readership, and his hearers. He is, as any good missionary/apostle would, considering his audience, and how to best present the Gospel to them in a way that is relevant to their unique situations.

Paul would not debate prophecies in the Tenach and their Targums with the Romans and he would not appeal to the "unknown god" in preaching to the Rabbis. It is just a matter of knowing the correct approach to use with your respective audiences.

[Shimshon]

Actually, i've heard exactly what Tishri is trying to explain. It comes from a study in aramaic. That identifies the almost identicalness of the word in both hebrew and aramaic. Gamel I believe was the word. It refered to the rope used by the mariners to tie thier ships to the docks. It was said to be made out of camel hairs and thus called a 'camel'.

When translated into greek it's said they not only missed the aramaic understanding but also the 'idiom'

Shalom

[nebula]

So, how do we know which is correct?