We are looking into the Hebrew Roots Movement (HRM), also known as Hebraic Roots and Jewish Roots. You can read the introduction to this series here.

HRM adherents believe that Christianity left its Hebrew Roots centuries ago and that they are bringing it back to where it should have been all along. Some of their beliefs include:

  • Restoring Christianity to its Hebrew (Jewish) roots
  • Requiring the use of the name Yaweh rather than God or Lord and Yeshua rather than Jesus
  • Belief that Jesus (Yeshua) is God (Yaweh) (there seems to be some disagreement by different HRM groups about whether Jesus is God in the Flesh or if God elevated the human ‘man’ Jesus to a position of deity .. we’ll look into that as our investigation continues)
  • Helping believers express their faith in Yeshua as Messiah by returning to and keeping the Torah of Yeshua
  • People are not saved by works, but the precepts of the Torah are eternally binding
  • Viewing the Torah as the primary document for living the life God intends for followers of Jesus (Yeshua)
  • Every believer should walk a Torah-observant life
  • Believers must ‘endure to the end’ in their observance of the Torah
  • The original Hebrew versions of Gospel writings are superior to Greek texts, which many in the HRM believe were corrupted. (Hebrew Roots has its own Bibles – Qodesh Cepher, Sacred Name New Testament, Sacred Name Bible, Holy Name Bible)
  • The Epistles of the Apostle Paul are often ignored and sometimes rejected
  • Pagan traditions adopted by Christians are not to be followed
  • Hebrew terminology is used in meetings along with Jewish symbols and ‘Messianic’ music and dancing (known as Davidic Dancing)
  • Believers should keep the seventh-day Sabbath and annual Passover
  • Believers should keep the annual Feast Days (e.g. Feast of Weeks, Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, Feast of Tabernacles)
  • Removed from Protestant Christianity because of core belief differences
  • Removed from Messianic Judaism because of core belief differences
  • Removed from Rabbinic Judaism because of core belief differences
  • Gentiles keep the Law through the One Law theory and Two House theology

As you can imagine, many Christians disagree with HRM. We have chosen to present a series where both sides have an opportunity to be heard. In this next part of our series, we’ll look at the HRM belief that the original Hebrew versions of Gospel writings are superior to Greek texts and that HRM leaders and followers often ignore and sometimes reject the Epistles of the Apostle Paul.

Hebrew or Greek?

One of the strong evidences for the reliability of the New Testament and Christianity is the vast number of early Greek texts of the New Testament, some of them dating to the early 2nd century AD. However, some members of HRM believe that the Hebrew and Aramaic versions of the Gospel writings are superior to Greek texts, which they believe were corrupted. Did the writers of the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) write their accounts in Hebrew and Aramaic rather than in Greek or in addition to Greek? If so, what’s the evidence?

Here are various responses to the question from people within the HRM:

First, virtually all the writers of the New Testament were Hebrews, the Apostle Paul among them. He was a Pharisee and served on the Sanhedrin, the Hebrew court. The native tongue of Hebrews was Hebrew, not Greek. Any time the writers of the New Testament heard a language from heaven, it was in the Hebrew tongue. These facts alone reveal that the New Testament (Covenant) has a Hebrew base. Second, the internal evidence shows that the New Testament is filled with Hebraic mannerisms and expressions. These don’t make any sense in original Greek, or English, but make perfect sense in original Hebrew. The New Testament has many Hebraic idioms that would never have come out of a Greek original. For instance, what writer in English would use a Spanish idiom like: I asked if the butter is grease (meaning I didn’t beat around the bush, or a German idiom like: “To have a bird [in the head], meaning are you crazy? One would not normally use foreign language idioms when communicating in English. The Hebrew waw consecutive (consecutive sentences beginning with the word “and”) is a Hebraism not used in Greek. It is found not only all over the Old Testament, especially in the first five books, but also is abundant in the New Testament, especially in the Evangels and Revelation. Paul’s letters were written by Paul to small Messianic congregations in Asia Minor, Greece and Rome. These early Messianics were Jews of the Dispersion, men and women of Hebrew origin. They spoke Hebrew as their native tongue. Paul would naturally write to them in the Hebrew tongue. They would in turn explain his letters to any converts from foreign lands. Greek was not a popular language in the Galilee region nor was it the language of the Apostles or the Temple. First-century Jewish historian Flavius Josephus wrote, “Our nation does not encourage those that learn the languages of many nations.” In fact, the Hebrews detested the Gentile Greeks. And this highly educated priest said he himself had a very hard time with Greek. Yahwehs Restoration Ministry

There are some who advocate that portions of the New Testament were originally written in Aramaic or Hebrew. There are also those outside this movement that hold this view, often called Aramaic Primacy. It is very possible that some of the New Testament was written in a Semitic language. Certainly the dialog of the Gospels took place in Aramaic (and maybe a little Hebrew). Hebrew idioms are found throughout the texts. But it remains that the oldest copies – and they are all copies; there are no extant originals – are in Greek. Hebrew and/or Aramaic New Testament texts are translations from Greek. The majority of Biblical scholars accept that the Aramaic New Testament of the Peshitta was translated from Greek. This was the common language of the day. The Messianic Light

Paul?

Some HRM churches teach that there are problems with the letters of Paul. Some HRM teachers believe the problem is with the way Christians misinterpret Paul’s writings. Others believe the problem is with Paul himself.

The writings of the Apostle Paul are always twisted by Christianity in order to justify a lawless agenda.  The writings of Paul are undoubtedly best understood when viewing him as a Torah observant Jewish teacher teaching recent believers how to live Torah observant in a non-Torah observant world … Peter states that Paul told them of these same things (be obedient to the Torah) also in his letters.  He then says that some of the things Paul states are hard to understand. He states that untaught and unstable men distort Paul’s letters and the rest of the Scriptures to their own destruction. Men have been twisting the words of Paul and other Scriptures to line up with their pagan and evil traditions.  Yeshua warned about forsaking the Torah of Elohim for the sake of man’s traditions (Matt. 15:3, Mark 7:6-9) … Paul tells us that Torah is holy, good, righteous, and spiritual (Romans 7:12, 14).  Paul tells us that the fullness of Torah is in one word, “love” (Romans 13:8-10). The Psalms tell us that Torah is perfect, soul-restoring, righteous, pure, eye-enlightening, true, more precious than gold, and in keeping Torah is great reward (Psalm 19:7-11): We can plainly see that Paul is NOT saying that the pure, perfect, holy, good, and righteous Torah of Elohim is “dogma” that is “against us” and is “hostile toward us.”  Paul is speaking of something else. Paul is most likely speaking of the traditions of Judaism that claimed the Gentiles were unclean and should not be associated with Elohim’s people, the Jews.  That dogma and man’s tradition was nailed to the stake and taken out of the way. And the love of Elohim and His Torah, through the blood of Yeshua, goes out to the world to the Gentiles also. Looking at this passage in conjunction with Paul’s earlier warning against being deceived through the traditions of men make this is the most likely answer (Col. 2:8, 13-14) … Paul never taught against following Torah.  He says here a person should follow it all his life. But Paul is going to make a contrast between those who seek to follow Torah for their own salvation, such as those who were steeped in Judaism sought to do, and those who are alive to Torah through the blood of Messiah. Paul says that Torah has jurisdiction over a man as long as he lives.  Death is the only thing that separates a man from the jurisdiction of Torah.  It is only at death that we are released from the judgment of Torah. Because of this, we must die with Messiah on the tree in order to be wed to Him.  Then we have life through Him. Beit Yeshua Torah Assembly

The study of the Apostle Paul and his writings can sometimes gets deep because Paul is a deep thinker and some of his writings are “difficult to understand,” as the Apostle Peter states.  The most common mistake made by readers is to not understand that Paul was a Torah observant disciple of Jesus (Y’shua) and a Torah teacher. Paul taught that the Foundation to the Faith and the basic duty of every disciple was obedience to God and his Laws (Torah).  If one does not understand this, they will easily mis-understand Paul.  Peter, talking about Paul, said: “some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable (in the Old Testament) distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction.” [2 Peter 3:14-18]  Paul’s “Scriptures” were the Old Testament. The New Testament books did not exist yet. This gives light to Paul writing in 2 Timothy 3:12-17 that the Foundation to the Faith is the Old Testament. “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings (Old Testament), which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture (Paul referring to the Old Testament) is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” Today we also have the New Testament books, but it is clear the Foundation for every disciple is, in fact, the Old Testament. Hebrew Roots Info

Paul is apostate only to those who misunderstand or deliberately twist his teachings. By his own admission he was clearly pro-law (Rom. 3:31, 6:13, 7:12). He stated that he believed all things written in the Old Testament (Acts 24:14). In fact, Peter confirms Paul’s apostleship in 2Peter 3:15-16, “And account that the longsuffering of our Master is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.” Yahwehs Restoration Ministry

Apostle Paul is probably the most misunderstood person in the Bible. Both Christians and Jews think that Paul was an “anti-Law” Jew who created his own religion and called it Christianity. But when we understand that Apostle Paul was a Hebrew of the Biblical nation of Israel and that He approached Yeshua the Messiah, The Ten Commandments, and the “Law”, also known as the Torah or Pentateuch (as well as the rest of the Hebrew Bible), from that perspective, then we are able to see Apostle Paul and his writings from an entirely new light. Suddenly the confusion slips away. From a Western worldview, “the Law” (Torah) is erroneously understood as a legalistic system of rules which Israel had to keep in order to be “saved”. The Western world view of “Grace” has come to be understood as freedom from “the Law”. As these understandings have evolved, “the law” of Judaism and the “grace” of Christianity have been placed in opposition to one another. These are modern world views but this is not what Yeshua, Apostle Paul, or the others who embraced the first century Christianity taught and lived; This is evident by their writings. But unfortunately, things have become muddled. Together Fellowship Biblical Israel

eBook

You can download a free eBook of Chapters One – Five of this study here. Please share with family and friends as God leads.

Next Time

In the next part of our special series, The ‘Hebrew Roots’ Movement, we will hear from critics of the movement’s view of the Greek New Testament and the Apostle Paul.

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