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Counter-Missionary Education Genealogical Scams and Flimflams Segment 2 A Counter-Missionary Education Lesson by Uri Yosef, Ph.D., Director of Education Virtual Yeshiva of the Messiah Truth Project, Inc. [The full article on this topic is located here - http://thejewishhome.org/counter/Isa53JP.pdf] Copyright © Uri Yosef 2015 for the Messiah Truth Project, Inc. All rights reserved May 27, 2015 Genealogical Scams & Flimflams - Segment 2 Page 1 of 9 Introduction In Segment 1 we compared the two genealogies from the New Testament against the genealogy from 1 Chronicles 3 in the Hebrew Bible. This analysis and several “technical” details led to the conclusion that the genealogies in the New Testament are seriously flawed and cannot be used to validate the claim by Christians that Jesus is a legitimate heir to the throne of King David. In Segment 2 we shall consider a number of claims by Christian missionaries by which they attempts to justify the genealogies in the New Testament and, thereby, validate the status of Jesus as a legitimate heir to the throne and that he is the Messiah. Judaism’s responses, based on the Hebrew Bible and on recorded history, will invalidate those claims. May 27, 2015 Genealogical Scams & Flimflams - Segment 2 Page 2 of 9 Claim: Jewish genealogical records were destroyed in 70 CE () Missionary Claim – Part 1 (Y) Judaism’s Response The Jewish genealogical records were kept in the Temple in Jerusalem and were destroyed in 70 CE when the Temple was destroyed by the Romans First of all, no genealogical records were stored in the Temple. Secondly, a majority of the Jewish people did not live in the Land of Israel during the 1st century CE – if records existed, they would not have been kept in the Temple () Missionary Claim – Part 2 (Y) Judaism’s Response Christians have a true genealogical link between Jesus and David, whereas the Jews will have no way to prove the tribal lineage of whoever they will eventually decide to recognize as the Messiah The “litmus test” for identifying the real Messiah will be neither a certified genealogical record that leads to King David nor a blood test to determine whether he is from the Tribe of Judah. The real Messiah will be identified as the one whose actions brought about the conditions described in the messianic agenda of the Hebrew Bible. Conclusion: This claim is bogus. Aside of the fact that the two genealogies in the New Testament. May 27, 2015 Genealogical Scams & Flimflams - Segment 2 Page 3 of 9 Claim: Promises to David's successors were conditional () Missionary Claim God’s promise to David was eternal and unconditional – Psalms 132:11 - The Lord has sworn in truth to David, from which He will not turn back, "Of the fruit of your body I shall seat upon your throne." However, the promise to David’s successor was conditional and depended on stipulations and contingencies that had to be met – Psalms 132:12 - "IF your sons will keep My covenant, and this, My testimony, that I shall teach them, THEN also their sons will forever sit upon your throne." Since Solomon and many of the other kings of Judah, "did that which was evil before the Lord“, they were ineligible progenitors of the “sinless” Messiah of Christianity, alleged to be “the Son of David”. Thus, the Messiah of Christianity cannot have an earthly father out of this "tainted" lineage, a lineage that had to be cut-off or terminated. This problem was solved through the miracle of a "Virgin Birth". (Y) Judaism’s Response The primary flaw in this claim is that the consequences for violating the stipulations in Psalms 132:12 are missing. As we saw in Segment 1, the prophetic passage in 2 Samuel 7:12-16 includes the promise and the consequences of disobedience. Other passages in the Hebrew Bible do the same. For example, concerning the promise to David – Psalms 89:29-30 – (29) "I will forever keep My kindness to him [David], and My covenant will remain true to him. (30) And I shall make his seed endure forever, and his throne like the days of heaven." The consequences of disobedience follow immediately – Psalms 89:31-33 – (31) "IF his sons will forsake My Torah, and will not walk in My judgments, (32) IF they profane My statutes, and do not keep My commandments, (33) THEN I shall punish their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with plagues." Conclusion: Those Kings of Judah who transgressed God's Law were punished. God promised that the Davidic dynasty, from which the Messiah will emerge, and throne will endure forever. God doesn’t lie. May 27, 2015 Genealogical Scams & Flimflams - Segment 2 Page 4 of 9 Claim: Solomon has been disqualified as the progenitor of the Messiah () Missionary Claim Because he was expected to obey God's Law and failed to do so, Solomon was disqualified from being the forefather of the Messiah. (Y) Judaism’s Response It is true that Solomon sinned, and the Hebrew Bible tells of his failures (1 Kings 11:1-10) – • He acquired many horses – a violation of the prohibition placed on kings (Deuteronomy 17:16) • He married many women – a violation of the prohibition placed on kings (Deuteronomy 17:17) • Many, if not most, of the women were foreign women, yet another violation of a prohibition in the Torah (Deuteronomy 7:3) An account of God's anger with Solomon and the consequences follows (1 Kings 11:11-13). His kingdom will be split, but only after his death, for David’s sake. Rehoboam, Solomon’s son, will get the Tribe of Judah (and Levi), and the rest will go to Solomon’s servant, Jeroboam. This is a severe punishment, indeed, but the Hebrew Bible never speaks of forfeiting the right to David’s throne or disqualification from being the progenitor of the Messiah. Recall that even David sinned, yet he was promised to be the ancestor of the Messiah. Conclusion: This claim is a bogus issue. According to the Hebrew Bible, the iniquity of Solomon and some of his legitimate successors did not disqualify any of them from being the progenitor of the Messiah. May 27, 2015 Genealogical Scams & Flimflams - Segment 2 Page 5 of 9 Claim: Rehoboam was a Jew via his father, not via his mother () Missionary Claim – Part 1 (Y) Judaism’s Response – Part 1 Let us see what the Hebrew Bible teaches about which parent determines the religious identity of the children. Christian missionaries claim that, if a person's mother has to be a Jewess to make that person a Jew, then Rehoboam was not a Jew, since his mother, Na'amah the Ammonitess, was not a Jewess. To support this claim, they refer to the following verse regarding who was Rehoboam’s natural mother – 1Kings 14:21 - And Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah; forty-one years old was Rehoboam when he became king, and seventeen years he reigned in Jerusalem, the city that the Lord has chosen to place His Name there out of all the tribes of Israel; and his mother’s name was Na'amah the Ammonitess. They correctly note that the Torah requires a king of Israel to be a Jew – Deuteronomy 17:15 - You shall surely set over yourself a king whom the Lord, your God, shall choose; from among your brethren shall you set a king over yourself; you may not place over yourself a foreign man, one who is not your brother. Therefore, they argue, since God would not violate His own rule, the requirement that it is the mother who determines the religious identity of her children is a later addition to Jewish Law by the Rabbis. May 27, 2015 Exodus 21:4 - If his [the Israelite servant's] master has given him a wife, and she has born him sons or daughters; the wife and her children shall be her master’s, and he [the Israelite servant] shall go out by himself. An Israelite master may give an Israelite bondmaid as a wife only to his son, or take her as a wife for himself (Exodus 21:8-9). Thus, Exodus 21:4 refers to a Gentile bondmaid given to a Hebrew slave as a wife. Since the children remain slaves when their father is freed, it shows that they retain their Gentile mother’s status. Deuteronomy 7:3-4 – (3) And you shall not intermarry with them; your daughter you shall not give to his son, and his daughter you shall not take for your son. (4) For he will cause your son to turn away from following Me, and they will serve other gods; then the wrath of the Lord will be kindled against you, and He will soon destroy you. If “he” in v. 4 is a Gentile father-in-law, then “your son” is a son of an Israelite father, a Jew who marries a Gentile woman, and he and the children will “serve other gods”, then the children retain their mother’s Gentile status. Alternatively, if “he” in v. 4 is a Gentile whom a daughter (a Jewess) of an Israelite father (a Jew) marries, then “son” actually means “grandson” of an Israelite grandfather. So the child has the mother’s religious identity as a Jew. (See Haggai 1:1 & Ezra 5:1 as examples where “son” means “grandson”.) Genealogical Scams & Flimflams - Segment 2 Page 6 of 9 Claim: Rehoboam was a Jew via his father, not via his mother (continued) () Missionary Claim – Part 1 (cont’d) (Y) Judaism’s Response – Part 1 (cont’d) The following account indicates that interreligious marriages took place during the 70year Babylonian exile – Since God will not violate his own rule, it is the father, not the mother, who determines the religious identity of his children. The Rabbis later replaced this rule with the rule that the mother is the one who determines the religious identity of her children. Ezra 10:2-3 – (2) And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answered and said to Ezra, "We have trespassed against our God, and have taken foreign wives from the peoples of the land; yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this matter. (3) And now, let us make a covenant with our God to cast out all such women, and those born of them, according to the counsel of the Lord, and of those who hasten [to perform] the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the Torah. Here the Jewish men who married Gentile women and had children with them agree to cast out their Gentile wives along with the children. This was to “be done according to the Torah”. It can’t get any clearer than this example illustrates. Conclusion: The Hebrew Bible proves that the Christian missionary allegation about Jewish Law having been changed by the Rabbis [from the father determining one's identity as a Jew to the mother determining one's identity as a Jew] is bogus! May 27, 2015 Genealogical Scams & Flimflams - Segment 2 Page 7 of 9 Claim: Rehoboam was a Jew via his father, not via his mother (continued) () Missionary Claim – Part 2 (Y) Judaism’s Response – Part 2 OK, then, let’s say that you defeated our argument that Rehoboam was a Jew according to his father. Then it follows that he also wasn’t a Jew according to his mother, since the rule in the Torah is that an Ammonite and a Moabite can never convert to Judaism (Deuteronomy 23:4). Therefore, since his mother was not allowed to convert to Judaism, Rehoboam was not a Jew. Consequently, he is disqualified from having the Messiah come from his lineage. Yet, Rehoboam is the only son of Solomon who is named and listed in the Bible, it means that Judaism has a serious problem regarding the origin of its Messiah. So, in His everlasting love and mercy, God fixed this problem through the miracle of the “Virgin Birth” – the divine solution to bring forth the Messiah. First, aside of the fact that the Torah requires a king of Israel to be a Jew (Deuteronomy 17:15), God approved Rehoboam to be the king (1 Kings 11:13). Since God would not break His own rules, it is safe to conclude that Rehoboam was a Jew, and exactly how he acquired his identity as a Jew is not detailed in the Hebrew Bible and is, therefore, not an important detail. Second, let’s take a closer look at Deuteronomy 23:4 – Conclusion: The Christian missionary claim that the prohibition in Deuteronomy 23:4 prevented Na'amah the Ammonitess, Rehoboam’s mother, from converting to Judaism is bogus! Na'amah qualified to convert to Judaism just as Ruth the Moabitess, King David's great-grandmother, was able to do it several generations earlier. May 27, 2015 Deuteronomy 23:4 - An Ammonite [( ַּמֹונִיamoNI)] and a Moabite [( מֹו בִיmo'aVI)] shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord; even their tenth generation shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord forever. The Hebrew terms עַּמֹונִ יand מֹואָ בִ יtranslate as an Ammonite male and a Moabite male, respectively (the corresponding Hebrew terms for a female are different). The reason for this prohibition is stated immediately following the prohibition itself – Deuteronomy 23:5 – Because they did not greet you with bread and water on the way, when you left Egypt, and because he [Balak, the King of Moab] hired Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor in Aram Naharaim against you, to curse you. The same reason is repeated in Nehemiah 13:1-2. Since Ruth was a Moabitess, she could not have converted to Judaism according to the Christian claim. Yet, Ruth became the ancestor of King David, the one from whose lineage will rise the Jewish Messiah. Genealogical Scams & Flimflams - Segment 2 Page 8 of 9 To be continued in Segment 3 with several claims regarding The Curse on Jeconiah May 27, 2015 Genealogical Scams & Flimflams - Segment 2 Page 9 of 9