Identifying Bible Interpolations: TheFalse Pen of the Scribes!

[@ChristianCarrizales]

This is one of the most interesting topics in Biblical studies for sure, and is one of the main reasons I love studying the Bible. Really looking forward to your series!

[@sweetb4thesee]

Thank God I’m not the only one who has noticed this as well! I’ve done this same study and I was told I was trying to disprove gods word and completely ignored.

[@charlessutton5400]

Being able to spot the insertions is easier than I expected, and more troubling than I thought was possible. I will be watching.

[@RodMartinJr]

Indeed! Humbling! 😎♥✝🇺🇸💯

[@dr.tonielffaucet5988]

Noice Woyk my friends. We'll be watching

[@chappellroseholt5740]

Good afternoon from the beautiful SF Bay Area. I have been following you since sometime last fall. I come from an old and large Evangelical family, my father a Presbyterian minister/Navy chaplain, so I grew up immersed in biblical teachings. I left the Christian church in the late 60's to find my own spiritual path. I have been enormously enjoying your scholarship as I felt it was time for me to revisit the Bible. I find this episode very insightful as the doctrine of sacrifice has been a thorn in my spiritual side and your deep dive is wonderfully illuminating. Thank you!

[@PopGoesTheology]

This is very exciting, Doc! This is a particular interest of mine. Thanks for your hard work!

[@E23Dav]

Good upload James. Important because there is not enough content like this - if any. Thanks for sharing. Peace!

[@WickedFelina]

There is A LOT of content on this. Bible scholars, Christian all consider these to be interpolations. This is not new. Maybe new to people who are not up on this. In regarding the sacrifices, those are interpolations by the priests.

[@russelldavis3796]

A series like this is the springboard to learning a wealth of truths. It shows obvious contradictions even within the same set of passages. My fundamentalist Christian brethren will have no part of an idea like this, leaving between them forever a gulf between truth and what they want to believe.

[@camilleespinas2898]

👍🏼❤️

[@chappellroseholt5740]

Yes. Sometimes truth is a bitter pill, but taking it will be sweeter in the end.

[@cecileroy557]

So glad I found this series!!!

[@robbiegriffin747]

I was able to follow this video with my bible in hand. Thank you, great job.

[@jonathanwilner6174]

Your point is well made about prayer versus sacrifice. With the destruction of the second temple, prayer substituted for sacrifices as it does to this very day.

[@danv.872]

The truth is, blood sacrifice has always been abhorrent to God.

[@Asteriades]

Thank you Dr Tabor! More impeccable scholarship made accessible for free to those who want to know and learn 👍🏽💫

[@thinkIndependent2024]

Beautiful Insights with the goal of bringing clear understanding

[@lindawhitehead6149]

good stuff...Even as a non expert I have often found myself wondering if anyone bothered to read the prophets. It seems to me they were very clear about the god of Israel being concerned for the right treatment of people first and foremost...Also I remember that building a temple was not recommended...Or for that matter, having a king. Huh!!!

[@boydx4687]

Thanks for the PDF. I find it very helpful.

[@trina2100]

This sounds exciting. Thanks for doing this. I'll be tuned in.

[@jjschereriv]

So glad to have this! Although it's 40 years late! When I was at seminary in 1970, my thesis was entitled 'How Can a Gospel Mean? An Exegetical Method for the New Hermeneutic'. ) Think I got an 'A' open the title. . .) So I was on the right track - just didn't have the HUGE benefit of your thinking. Nor Funk's, Ehrman's, Crossan's et al.

[@jillengland3277]

God of the of the Torah as written ~was not asking for “burnt offerings”~ I don’t see how I could possibly challenge my church on this, though it seems obvious from your lecture. I would be accused of heresy for certain, and told that I read too much and that is my problem. I don’t dare mention that Timothy 1&2 and Titus were not actually written by Paul either. We just had a bible study about these letters and I pretty much kept quiet about it. It is interesting that when they teach about the pastoral epistles the concern is less about what is actually written but drags in many other references and letters to back up the churches view on what they really say, instead of just reading the actual words.

[@spinlaw]

A wonderfully clear, rational and well documented video. More than 40 years ago I did my BA thesis on the evolution of the vertebrates forebrain and you bring both basics and the latest thinking. Please make more on this topic!

[@Steve-u9k4p]

Excellent. Ty Dr. Tabor

[@johnrangi4830]

Thank you, that was very informative. I could never understand why josephus would write about Jesus as if he believed what Christians said in some parts but in others he didn't seem that torrent. I had no idea Christian's had kept josephus writings about Jesus, that changes a lot especially since the writings of josephus are also copies of copies. Also thank you for showing us how to spot an interpolation. It means I'm going to have to read the Bible again 🙄😩😭

[@WorldTheology7]

Thank you. Mr Tabor. I study a lot. Every day and also Buddism and you know many times I read something and it hits me, that can't be right. I also have a deep feeling that Jesus our Lord traveled in his missing years to the area where the Buddhist monks were in the mountains. Just a sense. You have a wonderful take on your research and I really enjoy your programs. Thank you and God bless. Greg

[@outaEaRtH-H302-YaShaYa]

❤❤❤ thank you James 🙂

[@allenperrott318]

Faith is a private matter but when the practice of our various faiths have the potental to so lethally and destructively impact the lives of those around us to the extent they do as in the Middle East conflict, we owe it to God and the rest of mankind to sort out our faiths and get them right.

[@johnmichaelson9173]

Faith is belief that is based on spiritual conviction rather than facts & unfortunately we see the faithful acting on blind faith rather than facts. Sadly the World is in such a mess the more I see faith involved in politics the more I fear for the future.

[@deniceetterholehan7653]

Thank you Dr TaborBlog.

[@alexmorgan2296]

Going to be really enjoyable. Shall be so interested to learn more. Many thanks.

[@rgnyc]

Nicely done - thank you. I learned something new today.

[@JohnDoe-bm8on]

Jesus enabled a shift from honor shame culture to one of guilt and shame, a shift from externally imposed to the interior of the individual. I think this relates to getting rid of sacrifice as the taking of life as a gift to their deity.

[@RodMartinJr]

Any plans for an *_uninterpolated_* Bible? Also, I have noticed that some interpretations are made impossible by *_deletions_* which perhaps go too far. One which comes to mind involves the "sins of the fathers" where some modern versions eliminate the "third and fourth generation" phrase; and this phrase could be critical to proper understanding. Also, I find it interesting that the Kabbalists claim to have written the Pentateuch in what they call, "the Language of Branches," which is a coded, metaphorical representation of spiritual concepts meant to stretch the mind toward things which someone born of Earth would find difficult to comprehend. Interestingly, my own research has found the Kabbalists' *_Tree of Life_* matrix embedded in two chapters of Genesis -- immediately following the words: "etz ha-Chaim" (tree of life). 😎♥✝🇺🇸💯

[@andrewlamb8055]

Thanks Dr Tabor! ⭐️

[@integrationalpolytheism]

Great video as always. I hope your listeners realise the problems with the assumption that Josephus DID write this passage, EXCEPT for the words we don't like to think he would have written. Even the placement of the testimonium flavianum within the larger book suggests the entire thing is an interpolation. I suspect your students don't come out with a consensus at the end of that exercise. I expect they tend to have very different answers from each other. If so, this would suggest that trying to pick out the bits that we want to be Josephan, just because they suggest the existence of a historical Jesus (maybe not your motivation, but definitely the motivation of 99% of those who refer to this passage) is problemaric, to say the least.

[@JopJio]

Great work dear Dr. Tabor

[@elsjemassyn8921]

Brilliant study thank you

[@Thewatchman303]

Your example using Josephus is going to undermine what is going to be a really important series.

[@nubtube7313]

Will enjoy this series, hope you cover Paul at some point. It’s easy to spot corruptions when a forged text can be compared with its source as in the Synoptic Gospels, or when historical timelines are broken like in Psalm 51. I agree with your Josephus, but believe “BOTH OF THE JEWS AND THE GENTILES” was original. Interpolations usually create falsehoods, or conflicts within the original text. This text not only agrees with the main idea of the sentence, but preaching to Jews and Gentiles is exactly what Jesus did according to other accounts in the Gospel. After all the devotional fluff is removed, it’s clear the original author does not identify as a Christian, and the main idea is that followers of Jesus were still present at the time of writing. Persecution of Christians intensified following the crucifixion, which may explain why the author felt the need to point out their continued existence. The important sentence regarding Jesus is “…, a wise man for he was the doer of wonders”, because it offers insight into what people in first century Judea were thinking. Josephus never met Jesus, and could only be reciting what he heard. Regardless of what one thinks today of the accounts given in the Gospel, people who witnessed Jesus thought of him as a “doer of wonders” according to the text. Contrast that with a character like David Koresh, who was thought of by his contemporaries as a cult leader living a lie. Regardless of ones belief, it’s an undeniable fact that Mark 13:22 could be predicting the likes of David Koresh with his claim to have opened the seven seals. The issue of sacrifice is an important part of Jesus’ message and purpose, and recognizing the Jewish traditions surrounding it can help identify corruptions. Regardless of when Genesis was written, it’s clear from Genesis 4:3-4 that sacrifice was a very early part of Jewish tradition. But the only text where sacrifice is actually demanded in Genesis is chapter 22:2. And its purpose is not a demand for sacrifice, but a test of faith. Imagine a teacher intending to test a student through demonstration, asks the student to bring a bottle of wine. The student automatically assumes the wine will be consumed, so he brings an open bottle with two glasses. Seeing the student passed the test, there is no harm at this point in letting the student revel in his success. And this tradition gets reinforced as a central part of the Exodus story with the Passover. Anyone with an interest in human behavior will recognize that the human elements contained in texts related to the cleansing of the Temple are all too real. The now harmful issues being addressed in Mark 11:17 are believable in terms of human experience and give the text a sense of truth. No man stands as an intermediary between God and another, and yet a tradition evolved that made flowing robes and the best seats in the house an expected luxury, where those with self-proclaimed authority tax others to have their sins forgiven. Mark 2:10 serves as preamble to Jesus’ cleansing of the Temple, but because of Jewish tradition, you will read the misunderstanding about sacrifice repeated in numerous texts. Jesus wasn’t making an argument for sacrifice, he was pointing to the serious transgression the tradition evolved into, and Mark 11:17 serves as a reference to identify the corruption in Isaiah 56.

[@abdar-rahman6965]

Excellent work indeed. Precise approach to separate incorrect from correct. Pious Surgery

[@jimw7916]

Very eye opening video. Thank you Jesus said beware of the scribes. .... SUBSCRIBED.

[@mshaffer-2629]

As always, a very nice analysis. Thank you. I would believe you need to clarify EDITS from INTERPOLATIONS. I would put potential edits around [PILATE][ and [the cross]. Josiah/Huldah knew how he would die, and responded accordingly. Isa 24+ outlines how the death occurred. Imagine if Tiberius/Caligula were present at the death event, enter the holies of holies and announce "I am God." Take that supposition/hypothesis to the end. If there was a airburst-event like Tunguska or Tel-Hamman (10x larger than the energy-impact of Hiroshima/Nagasaki weapons), the house of Jacob would be withered and died with the Roman "god"... fulfilling most Apocalypse prophecies. A power vacuum until 70 AD. Rome would commission Josephus to write an official narrative and Pliny to also do so (many years after). Rome was in chaos after the Messiah Death Event, core samples of the Dead Sea do not lie. The lilies of the field were not offering pollen for about 10 years, and the pollen of the Olive tree was also suppressed. And desert-like plants flourished there after. The water level of the Dead Sea fell by 50 feet. All aligns with the possibility of a fire-event as outlined to burn them all: the Jews and Romans. Only the poor living in the catacombs would survive and would be taught, to create a new branch for the House of Jacob (e.g., the servant Jacob "James the Just").

[@lauramonroe7008]

Dr. Tabor, can you address sometime why the author of Mark says Jesus' family thought he was mad if they are actually part of His ministry? Thank you.

[@trina2100]

I thought you were gonna ask something else. I've wondered why they thought he was mad if they knew of his miraculous birth. Seems like everything he would do would be justified.

[@allenperrott6649]

Excellent question that pokes at what I think is the false understanding that James and the rest of Jesus's biological brothers were in agreement with Jesus and his ministry. Another text from John's Gospel, Jn 7:1ff, late in Jesus's ministry and on the occasion that everyone was going down to Jerusalem for one of the feasts, states that even Jesus's brothers had no faith in him. The Jews were trying to kill him for what he was preaching and eventually succeeded. The fact that in about 50 CE we find James and a whole Christian community living openly in Jerusalem and even more astonishing, participating in Temple worship, proves to me that James was not faithful to the gospel teaching and ministry of Jesus, but rather perverted then as Paul claimed , in order to preserve their practice of the Law of Moses and the Temple worship. Any time the authentic gospel of Jesus was presented in Jerusalem, it resulted in lethal persecution. This question you posed opens the door to not only discern that Jesus's brothers and eventually Peter himself, were not faithful to Jesus and his gospel... and revealing further that the gospel of Christ that modern Christianity is built upon, is definitely not the authentic gospel of Jesus of Nazareth. Compound this with the fact that the first followers of Jesus were called followers of the Way, and it becomes clear that when the name change to Christians came later, it also is the indication of a switch of gospels from the Way that Jesus and Paul preached to the gospel of Christ developed by James and the other "apostles," In Jerualem. Questions like this are crucial to untangling the hidden fallacies of the status quo faiths.

[@JanSmitEde]

I do get error pages when I try to visit your website. Also the döwnload page isn't working. Thanks for your clear studies, greetings from The Netherlands.

[@JorgeStolfi]

Methinks that all those references to "burnt offerings" in the Old Testament would make a lot more sense if "burnt" was replaced by "roasted" everywhere.

[@colinmilton8823]

The temple and sacrifices were replaced with slaughterhouses and grocery stores.

[@trina2100]

lol

[@therealjasonbueno]

Humanity always finds a way to continue getting what they want.

[@colinmilton8823]

Am I completely alone here that if you want to cook meat and vegetables according to normal food laws and Kosher laws that you essentially have to do something very similar to an animal sacrifice and burnt offering? I don’t really see what makes it all distinct?

[@trina2100]

@@colinmilton8823 no actually I think you’re pretty spot on and hadn’t really considered it. They were the Tyson Food and Pilgrims Farm of their day.

[@MaryTruthSeeker]

I am looking forward to the study on to sacrifice or no! Too many contradictions about it. We don’t want to be out of the Father’s will, but I am not seeing animal sacrifice as His way- according to the text. Maybe I’m wrong, but it just doesn’t make sense.

[@JanSmitEde]

One of the thithe rules in the old testament is: if distance to temple it too far to travel with your flock, you could sell it ... go to the temple and buy anything you like and eat and enjoy life. Nothing about buying an offer and slaughter it. The offering system was and is a businessmodel for (levitical)leadership. Abused by modernday preachers who enrich themself by tricking believers in offering money!

[@GodsRealPoo03]

This is the whole Bible. As you read, you have to watch out for these sneaky devils who are trying to trip you up, and you have to be able to separate them from the good angels as one might separate the sheep from the goats. Then you can walk down the Way in the middle and keep everything straight.

[@amoswittenbergsmusings]

I havce the greatest respect for the integrity of James Tabor. His undaubted ethical (vegetarian?) abhorrence in face of the Torah commandments of korbanot (animal offeriings) prevents him from considering the treasures of divine wisdom which is conveyed by them. He literrally does not know what he is talking about. Not because he is an unlearned nullity. On the contrary! He is one of the public voices that I hold in very high regard for his integrity and honesty. He cannot see the unity of the text because he does not penetrate the embedding of the written Torah in the living medium of the Oral Torah which is expressed and continues to be expressed in the community of Israel's sages, the living Torah. Both written and oral Torah are each other's background. "Eleh v'elehn dirvei Elokim chayim" - both these and these are the words of the living God.

[@AngelCruz-ve5nw]

God bless you!

[@lauramumma2360]

Thank you for this

[@allenperrott318]

Past generations in our Judeo-Christian Tradition were subject to the additions made by each generation to the various stages of faith development that began with Abram and continued on with First Temple Yahwism, Second Temple Judaism and the development of Jewish Messianism that eventually allowed for the development of modern Christianity. (There is a side development to this that takes the form of Yahweh's Sacred Way, as connected to the first followers of Jesus being called followers of the Way). Thanks to the efforts of those who dedicated their lives to the endeavor, the evidence compiled over the last 200 years of critical biblical scholarship has provided us with the ability to discern and sort out, just who added what and when. For the last thirty years, I have noticed in the footnotes to my New Jerusalem study Bible, that various pssages in the Torah and the Written Prophets were thought to be additions from later authors, particularly durring the second and third centuries of the Second Temple period. It was all the Word of God to me....till I eventually tried to sort out what the combined message of the additions contained. What I discovered elevated the presence of those additions to the texts to a critical level for me. As a Catholic, I belong to a Judeo-Christian faith tradition that is 4000+ years old and involves nearly one third of the worlds population today. Daily we build and shape our lives on the foundation of those sacred writtings contained in both the Old and New Testaments. When one realizes that the living out of our lives at the inspiration of these texts has a profound effect on most of the rest of the people on earth, this raises the significance of these particular texts far, far above the discussions of academia....to global proportions. Now, fraudulent additions made anonymously by these later Second Temple authors, to both the historical and prophetic narratives of these ancient texts.....are elevated to the position, through the actions of the people of the Judeo-Christian tradition who have and are building their lives and destinies on these false additions, in which these texts are impacting current global affairs. This insight is most sobering when one considers that in just one small area of the world, thousands are loosing their lives and having their land destroyed, quite possibly due to texts that critical scholarship has identified as later additions to the original texts.....or as Dr, Tabor points out, "the lying pen of the scribe." In the past, we practioners of the Judeo-Christian faiths had no recourse but to accept faith as passed on to us by our fore-fathers. But now we have been provided with the tools to sort out what is authentic text and what has been added and is not authentic in the historic and prophetic narratives.....though most importantly in the prophetic narratives. With knowledge comes responsability and, as any parent would take exception to their children not "using their heads" appropriately, so too will we be held accountable for the trouble caused if we don't. There is so much at stake for all mankind....we who practice these Judeo-Christian faiths must get serious about sorting these things out.....the Ones in whom we have faith will requires it of us and we will have to give and answer to them and the rest of mankind.

[@Maxx134a]

The Sepugant is our oldest and purest source. It is older than any Hebrew texts that we have (oldest copies from 6th century), and also shows the omission of many texts to try erase things pertaining to Jesus. The deletion of 100yrs Chronology for all major figures in Old Testament, by the pharasitical Jews of the Hebrew texts, were In order to attack the timeline of prophecy of Jesus. Also we have missing texts that alude to European nations being true Jews. The Septuagint is in Greek. Without comparison to this source, there can be no determination on any accuracy in translation.

[@karleemiles2988]

Good presentation. Looking forward to this LOST series.😊

[@jrettetsohyt1]

Are we not among a generation that wants all the benefits for everyone but is not willing to pay the costs/sacrifices for such? Though every human has this tendency to want the benefits without the costs. Is not this tendency released and amplified in those whose life experience has not taught them that benefits require costs?

[@WagesOfDestruction]

That is quite a lot you have given us to think about. Note that these texts are 500+ years before Jesus, so there is no way he could know if they were interpolated.

[@rebelrog]

But who do you think these people that added to the Hebrew Bible were and when? Jews before Jesus or Christians after?

[@JayDee-x2b]

Sacrifice equals profitable business opportunities. Money money 💰🤑

[@theomnisthour6400]

Every soul is a temple to God and to Sin, only known to the spirit that struggles within, and without and also with God's Sacred Heart - the place of all sharing even when we're apart.

[@Maxx134a]

The Sepugant is our oldest and purest source. It is older than any Hebrew texts that we have (oldest copies from 6th century), and also shows the omission of many texts to try erase things pertaining to Jesus. The deletion of 100yrs Chronology for all major figures in Old Testament, by the pharasitical Jews of the Hebrew texts, were In order to attack the timeline of prophecy of Jesus. Also we have missing texts that alude to European nations being true Jews. The Septuagint is in Greek. Without comparison to this source, there can be no determination on any accuracy in translation.

[@notanemoprog]

Great stuff!

[@SB324]

What a cool topic

[@johnmcgraw3568]

I hated religion for a long while. When I heard a layman speaking on comparative religion and mystical interpitations I became interested again. He said that when Jesus spoke of doing something in "his name" that in the East at that time would have meant the way Jesus did things and taught others to do them not saying in Jesus's name at the end of a prayer. Does anyone here have anything to support that concept. I mean, it sounds good, but is there any truth to that in text or tradition? Thanks.

[@brentkrohn3786]

This is great thanks!

[@robsellars9338]

These are interesting anomalies in the texts, but I'm not sure that you are on the right track with your reasoning. You seem to be saying that sacrifice of animals was not part of Jewish custom and yet it has been described in GENESIS 15, a text that you had noted before in one of your videos. GENESIS is book one of the Torah and the Jewish patriarch Abraham is offering a sacrifice to God. In this section of the Torah - this chapter is an example of QBLH. The sacrifice is indicative of something different than the mere killing of animals for a God whom Abraham and Moses equate with a cosmic force of nature. However, animals are required to be brought to the temple to feed the priestly levite class who are given no land to farm because they are required to run the Temple astronomical clock. The 24 priestly families of the temple are fed by applying the tithe tax to the people of Jerusalem. This is why the large sacrificial altar was even part of Moses Mishkan tent design, it was required for feeding the 24 families of the levite priestly class even back then. It had a practical use just like the Torah itself After the 2nd Temple destruction the role of these families was practically gone, as was the requirement to feed them (and the means to do so). No further astronomy could be practiced from the rubble.

[@iwilldi]

good serie

[@911EVERLASTINGGOSPEL]

excellent video!! Make Great points!

[@williamjosephbc17Q]

great channel!... new sub

[@sweetb4thesee]

The obvious ones that should be considered are the “omitted texts” found in the Septuagint. Those ones are the red flags to me.

[@fusion9619]

This is very interesting. Have you found any interpolations relating with debt or usury? I was trying to do a comparison of the Bible's stance on debt vs the Quran's stance on debt, and the project turned out to be too big for me.

[@mythacat1]

Is Micah 5:2 an interpolation?

[@jrettetsohyt1]

Since we’re on the topic of the possible ways human nature could have corrupted the Scriptures, don’t you find it incredibly convenient that David would try to justify his position that a private confession and repentance was sufficient rather than a public testimony of his confession and repentance? Clearly, his twisted strategizing was an effort to keep his sin secret from the public from the beginning. Does anyone really think that David’s sin was against God alone and not also against Uriah? But David wants to keep it just between him and God, private. And, again to justify his own conscience for how he wants to handle this, he clarifies that he is not rejecting God‘s system of sacrifices, for he’ll return to doing that once things are good again. … Or maybe this song and Davids rating of it have not been corrupted by human nature. Rather, he is making the point often made throughout the old and new testament: that, though rituals and symbols have a useful social, psychological and spiritual function, they lose their meaning/function if one does not also actually do what they are pointing to/testimony of. Rituals and symbols, like words, or not meaningful, holy or anything In themselves. They are a language that represents and communicates the core reality. Rituals, symbols and words are only really meaningful, holy etc. if you and/or the person or God with whom you are communicating regards them thus. Reality requires both parts from us, things in themselves and representations of these things. Dysfunction arises when you separate them.

[@allenperrott318]

The importance of all concerned getting serious about identifying these interpolations made to the historical and prophetic narratives of the Judeo-Christian writtings contained in the Old and New Testaments goes far, far beyond any academic concern. Between one quater and one third of the world's population base their daily lives on these words and have given, are, and will continue to give their very lives in defense of the faiths involved in these traditions.....thus casting a significant effect on the daily lives of much of the rest of the world. Currently, the negative aspects of this effect are particularly obvious in the Middle East conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Thousands of lives have been lost so far over the last nine months in this latest conflict that is said to have erupted over gathering evidence that serious plans were being put in place to build the third Temple in Jerusalem. Where do they get the idea that Yahweh wants a third temple built and opperating in his name when there is solid prophetic evidence that he never asked for the first Temple to be built, never mind the second one. In both previous instances, what eventually precipitated was the not only the destruction of the Temple, but the city of Jerusalem and all the associated people therein. The first victims of the lying pen of the scribes are those who believe in the falsified historical and prophetic narratives and build their lives culture and society around the false promises of the falsified prophecies added to the genuine prophetic writings. The next level of victimization are those who inherited the faith of those who failed to discern the false prophecies and thirdly, there are those outside the faith who are deprived of the authentic witness to Yahweh's words and actions among us and negatively impacted by the efforts made to embrace and live out those false promises. Thanks to the efforts of those who have dedicated their lives to this area of study over the last 200 years, modern critical biblical scholarship has developed to the point of providing us faithful with solid evidence as to the authentic origins and real nature of the writings we hold as sacred and sacrosanct in the Judeo-Christian Faiths (similarily, in other faiths as well). As practitioners of these faiths we need to get serious about what we are doing. Past generations can be excused for their ignorance in this regard....but, with knowledge comes responsibility....just as our parents would take exception to us not using our heads according to our capacity, I find it sobering to consider that so too will the "us" of Genesis 1:26 call us to account for the knowledge we have been provided with here in our day. As practitioners of these ancient faiths, we must get real about sorting them out....while faith is a very private matter, because the practice of our we have a responsability to God and the rest of mankind to get it right.

[@stephen-f9h]

Correct. Lack of understanding can lead to calamity. Interpolations add things to the text that change the meaning of the original text. But intertextuality can add meaning and clarity to a text where it was not obvious before. The Testimonium calls Jesus a "wise man" and he was "a teacher of such people as receive the 'truth' with [hedonistic] pleasure". But in Wars 6.5.4 Josephus says these "wise men" were deceived in their determination that one from their own country would rule the world, and these men interpreted these signs according to their own [hedonistic] pleasure; and this madness (Dan 7:14,27, Rev 2:26-27) is what most motivated these men to war with Rome, resulting in the taking of their city and their own destruction. According to Josephus the correct interpretation of the "truth" of the oracles and signs was that Vespasian was the world ruler to come out of Judea. Josephus does not deny the "truth" of the oracles and signs, nor that Jesus [Barabbas] taught them, but only that these “wise men” interpreted the "truth" according to their own hedonistic (worldly) pleasure. And Tacitus repeats this: "…men destined to rule the world…the common people, true to the selfish ambitions of mankind, thought this exalted destiny was reserved for them, and not even their calamities opened their eyes to the truth." (Histories 5.13, Tacitus, AD 56-120) Compare also Josephus' use of "hedonistic pleasure" in the description of the followers of Judas of Galilee (Ant. 18.1.1) and John the Baptist (Ant. 18.5.2). For Josephus "hedonistic pleasure" means "seditious pleasure". In the original Testimonium, Josephus is simply saying that the Jewish followers of Jesus [Barabbas] incorrectly and seditiously interpreted the world ruling Messianic oracles as applying to themselves and not to Vespasian and Titus.

[@BenM61]

Yahweh seems to be talking out of both sides of his mouth: - The sacrifice of animals is great. The more the better. Yahweh loves the smell of burning flesh. - Animal sacrifice is not accepted but a contrite and repentant heart is. Pick one or both because both exist in those holy and inspired books of the Hebrew Bible. Could it be that God permitted some kind of animal sacrifice but not necessarily because he loves the smell of burning flesh. It was meant however as an offering of gratitude and to feed the needy. Similar to what we find in the Quran: 22:36 We have appointed for you the sacrificial camels as one of the symbols set up by God, in which there is much good for you. So invoke God's name over them as you line them up for slaughter, and when they have fallen down dead, feed yourselves and feed the needy those who do not ask as well as those who do. We have thus subjected them to you so that you may be grateful 22:37 Their flesh and blood do not reach God: it is your piety that reaches Him. Thus God has subjected them to you, so that you may glorify Him for the guidance He has given you. Give glad tidings to those who do good. But somehow that became an every day event and turned into a cult of sacrifice. A simple act of appreciation and devotion became a ‘den of shredders.’

[@jrettetsohyt1]

Isaiah 53:10. Do you think God was pleased with the sacrifice of his son in itself? Or rather, that, as all mature adults have experienced and understand, we are innocence pleased with sacrifices if that cost seems necessary and worth the benefit. So, neither we nor God are pleased with sacrifices in themselves, but once the sacrifice has been accomplished and the aroma of its effect finally comes, then we are pleased with the sacrifice in this context. Like a mother going through labor to bear a beautiful child. Animal sacrifices are a ritual that represents and communicates (even publicly) that we confess/admit our sins, and truly intend to spiritually kill our old sinful self and live a new life which harms no one. The aroma of the sacrifices is the effect of the sacrifices, that is, a new and better life/living. Do we not all rejoice at such things?

[@johnmichaelson9173]

No we don't.

[@robsellars9338]

These are interesting anomalies in the texts, but I'm not sure that you are on the write track with your reasoning. You seem to be saying that sacrifice of animals was not part of Jewish custom and yet it has been described in GENESIS 15, a text that you had noted before in one of your videos. This is book one of the Torah and the Jewish patriarch Abraham is offering a sacrifice to God. In this section of the Torah this is an example of QBLH. The sacrifice is indicative of something different than mere killing of animals. However, animals are required to be brought to the temple to feedback the priestly levite class who are given no land and are required to run the Temple astronomical clock. The 24 priestly families of the temple are fed by applying the tithe tax to the people of Jerusalem. This is why the large sacrificial altar was even part of Moses Mishkan tent design, it was for feeding the levite priestly class. It had a practical use just like the Torah itself

[@JanSmitEde]

Maybe sacrifice was only 'needed' in the 'contract' making business? Why did Abel and Kain start making offerings? We didn't read Adam and Eve where doing sacrifices! Even Elohim YHWH didn't condemn them to start offering to Him after their sining. Later Noah starts direct with offering, making a contract with Elohim YHWH! Then indeed Abram made a contract. Or Elohim YHWH in fact made those contracts with Noah and Abram. Offering comes from the theological thought that Elohim must have killed, so offered and animal, to give Adam and Eve clothing. So we have to do the same ... killing (offering) animals, people and stuff (gold, stones) and money. It does not make sense at all: offering.

[@robsellars9338]

@@JanSmitEde contractual offering sounds like part of the reason because as I said, the temple priests were full-time prophet/astronomers and they were given no land by Moses. In effect the Levites were the hidden 13th Tribe of the Israelites, spread out amongst all of the other tribes. They had no land to till so they followed the law of Abraham and Melchitzadech and recieved tithes from the people. I can't comment on Cain and Abel nor Adam and Eve as I haven't given that story any thoughts other than Adam being the first man who witnessed the first new moon that marked the beginning of the Hebrew lunar calendar. Its important to remember that Genesis and the whole Hebrew Torah is a mix of mythology and fact. God is not the God of the Christian Bible who had a son- he is simply the power of creation in the cosmos

[@PC-vg8vn]

It is hard not to conclude your motivation for trying to remove references to sacrifices in the Old Testament is because of your rejection of Jesus' sacrifice in the New.

[@djehutisundaka7998]

There had been two families of priests; the group from Shiloh to have resettled in Gibeon and whose people had been the shsw Yhwh to have settled Ephraim at the end of the New Kingdom empire and become known as the people of Lewiy and the Zadok priests of Jerusalem who were the descendants of King Zadok (Melchizedek) and had intermarried with the Davidic dynasty. The Zadok priests had been responsible for the P-document (c. 627 BCE) and therefore for circumcision and the many sacrifices for sins while the Shiloh priests had been responsible for the E-document, the D-document (c. 622 BCE), the Deuteronomistic History, and the book of Jeremiah. These two priesthoods had been directly opposed to each other and Jeremiah had been denouncing the Zadok priests when he had referred to the lying pen of the scribes and the elaborate system of sacrifices that had benefited them, not the people of Lewiy.

[@craigime]

If that's true, then it's concerning

[@jeffreyerwin3665]

Bible Interpolations? In Matthew 12 Jesus made a prophecy that his burial would last more than 24 but less than 72 hours, and he called this event "the sign of Jonah." Theologians have interpolated this prediction of a short term burial to mean Jesus' resurrection. One can see this idea all over youtube (and I wonder what Dr. Tabor thinks of this.) 21st century re-evaluations based on 20th century archaeological discoveries have shed new light on Jesus' prophecy of his burial duration. The forensic evidence found on the Shroud of Turin indicates that the corpse it enclosed was removed between 24 hours and 72 hours of internment thus validating Jesus' ancient prophecy. See: "The Image on the Turin Shroud Is 'The Sign of Jonah' For Our Generation!" by Rev. Larry Stalley, 2020. And: "The Enigma of the Sign of Jonah," BSTS Shroud Newsletter, Summer 2023, pg. 42.

[@johnmichaelson9173]

The shroud of Turin, smh.

[@stephen-f9h]

Interpolations add things to the text that change the meaning of the original text. But intertextuality can add meaning and clarity to a text where it was not obvious before. The Testimonium calls Jesus a "wise man" and he was "a teacher of such people as receive the 'truth' with [hedonistic] pleasure". But in Wars 6.5.4 Josephus says these "wise men" were deceived in their determination that one from their own country would rule the world, and these men interpreted these signs according to their own [hedonistic] pleasure; and this madness (Dan 7:14,27, Rev 2:26-27) is what most motivated these men to war with Rome, resulting in the taking of their city and their own destruction. According to Josephus the correct interpretation of the "truth" of the oracles and signs was that Vespasian was the world ruler to come out of Judea. Josephus does not deny the "truth" of the oracles and signs, nor that Jesus [Barabbas] taught them, but only that these “wise men” interpreted the "truth" according to their own hedonistic (worldly) pleasure. And Tacitus repeats this: "…men destined to rule the world…the common people, true to the selfish ambitions of mankind, thought this exalted destiny was reserved for them, and not even their calamities opened their eyes to the truth." (Histories 5.13, Tacitus, AD 56-120) Compare also Josephus' use of "hedonistic pleasure" in the description of the followers of Judas of Galilee (Ant. 18.1.1) and John the Baptist (Ant. 18.5.2). For Josephus "hedonistic pleasure" means "seditious pleasure". In the original Testimonium, Josephus is simply saying that the Jewish followers of Jesus [Barabbas] incorrectly and seditiously interpreted the world ruling Messianic oracles as applying to themselves and not to Vespasian and Titus.

[@twistedbydsign99]

Who decided that Esau is the bad guy? because he sure doesn't seem like it

[@JanSmitEde]

YHWH did, He told Rebecca

[@Zaid26127]

So the bible is changed, and the Jews changed passages to emphasise sacrifice. And the christians still take the bible as the unaltered word of God, and believe Jesus was a sacrifice for their sins. ??? How do you square this circle?

[@Maxx134a]

John 6:53, NIV: "Jesus said to them, 'Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you." ..!!!

[@Zaid26127]

@@Maxx134a how does this square the circle my friend?

[@lauramonroe7008]

Josephus never converted to Christianity . . . So highly unlikely he would have written anything referring to Jesus as the messiah prophesied.

[@brygenon]

The speculation-to-data ratio here is staggering. To Professor Tabor's credit, he has previously done some serious archeology, which actually can get reasonably reliable results. This is not that. I guess it's better than theology, but the evidentiary bar here is set low.

[@UnimatrixOne]

Jesaja 56:6 1. Könige 8 Hosea 6:6

[@shirleymcclintock3056]

All apologists believe this heavy handed stuff.

[@berglen100]

Never was originals only copy what happen in consciences Hebrews explain promising sacrifice takes place where you search in vanities.

[@jrettetsohyt1]

Is the idea that sin requires a life sacrifice not found throughout scripture from Genesis to Revelation? Is the criticism of God’s people offensively abusing words, symbols, rituals, genealogies etc to communicate to God, others and their own conscience an image of their righteousness which is actually false-- Is this criticism not found throughout scripture? - - How then can you argue that animal sacrifice is inconsistent with God and scripture? It is perfectly consistent with God and scripture.

[@WickedFelina]

The interpolations you are pointing out, Bible scholars, are united in the belief that they ARE interpolations. This is not new. I have read and seen them point these out, and interpolations. So, this is not anything that is something which needs to be pointed out as if no one knows about it. They ALL do and has been for more years than I can count.

[@johnrangi4830]

Ok so biblical scholars know but that doesn't mean everybody else knows. Just telling us it is an interpolation doesn't prove it is, and it is important for a lot of us to understand how scholars have worked it out and share it with us so we understand why it is suspected as an interpolation. We are all here to learn and are at different stages of learning how the historical method is done. I realise it may not be important to you but a lot of us do find it important and we have been waiting to understand the historical method bitter. So please be patient as we have had to.

[@patricktilton5377]

The Josephus passage, though, has been compared -- by Joseph Atwill, in his book CAESAR'S MESSIAH -- with the following two passages, in particular the first of them: the bawdy tale of Decius Mundus, who fools the lovely Paulina (a devout worshiper of Isis) into granting a night of love to the god Anubis -- i.e. to Decius, wearing a jackal-head mask, provided by the Isis priests whom he had bribed. The Greek word for 'pleasure' in the Jesus text is 'hedone', the root of our English words 'hedonism', 'hedonist', etc., and connotes SEXUAL pleasure. That's an odd thing for a Christian interpolator to say regarding the "men who receive the truth" from their teacher, Jesus. But Atwill's interpretation is that Josephus did, indeed, write all of the passage, but it was meant to be read intertextually with the following passages -- especially the Decius Mundus tale -- which is about a woman who is fooled into worshiping a fake god, only to have her gullible foolishness revealed to her "on the third day" . . . just as those who loved Jesus and didn't forsake him saw him alive again "the third day" (etc.). Who is the most famous convert to Christianity, said to have been BLINDED in his encounter with the risen Christ? The apostle to the gentiles, Saul of Tarsus -- a.k.a. PAUL. The name of the devout Isis worshiper whom Decius fooled into a night of religious debauchery was PAULINA -- she being BLIND to the deception due to his wearing that Anubis-mask. Atwill even explains how the deception came about because Decius had a clever maidservant named IDE whose idea it was to bribe the priests of Isis . . . with Atwill suggesting that the deception is etymologically linked with the IDES of a month -- i.e. when the Moon is FULL -- as in the Passion narrative, which is supposed to have coincided with the Passover, which is in the middle of the month Abib/Nisan. Atwill devotes an entire chapter of his controversial book to "The Puzzle of Decius Mundus" and it's impossible to look at that "Testimonium Flavianum" ever again without connecting it to the next story (the Decius Mundus tale), as well as the 3rd tale -- which is also about a gullible woman, though she is fooled into giving wealth to Jewish conmen, and she -- like Paulina -- is said to be married to a man named Saturninus. Coincidence? Or by literary design? The upshot of it all is that Josephus -- when read intertextually -- is REALLY saying that the 'Jesus' religion is a deception, a way to fool people into believing in a false god. The "3rd Day" revelations are thematically related, as are the names 'Paul' and 'Paulina'. And the name 'Decius Mundus' is also related to a figure from Roman history, a man named DECIUS MUS -- whose self-sacrifice to the gods of Rome's enemy supposedly enticed those gods over to Rome's side, abandoning the other army in favor of the man's 'devotion'. Dr. Tabor, have you read CAESAR'S MESSIAH yet? I have a hard time believing that a scholar such as yourself, if aware of Atwill's interpretation of the Josephus 'Jesus' passage, would neglect to mention it -- at least in passing -- as you attempt to argue for phrases having been introduced by pious interpolators. That word 'hedone' ['pleasure'] sticks out like a sore thumb -- or, truth be told, like an engorged 'membrum virile' -- and does NOT seem like a word a pious scribe would choose to describe the pious followers of Jesus.

[@stephen-f9h]

And not just Paulina and Decius Mundus. The Testimonium calls Jesus a "wise man" and he was "a teacher of such people as receive the 'truth' with [hedonistic] pleasure". But in Wars 6.5.4 Josephus says these "wise men" were deceived in their determination that one from their own country would rule the world, and these men interpreted these signs according to their own [hedonistic] pleasure; and this madness (Dan 7:14,27, Rev 2:26-27) is what most motivated these men to war with Rome, resulting in the taking of their city and their own destruction. According to Josephus the correct interpretation of the "truth" of the oracles and signs was that Vespasian was the world ruler to come out of Judea. Josephus does not deny the "truth" of the oracles and signs, nor that Jesus [Barabbas] taught them, but only that these “wise men” interpreted the "truth" according to their own hedonistic (worldly) pleasure. And Tacitus repeats this: "…men destined to rule the world…the common people, true to the selfish ambitions of mankind, thought this exalted destiny was reserved for them, and not even their calamities opened their eyes to the truth." (Histories 5.13, Tacitus, AD 56-120) Compare also Josephus' use of "hedonistic pleasure" in the description of the followers of Judas of Galilee (Ant. 18.1.1) and John the Baptist (Ant. 18.5.2). For Josephus "hedonistic pleasure" means "seditious pleasure". In the original Testimonium, Josephus is simply saying that the Jewish followers of Jesus [Barabbas] incorrectly and seditiously interpreted the world ruling Messianic oracles as applying to themselves and not to Vespasian and Titus.

[@jrettetsohyt1]

Is animal sacrifice repugnant to you? Good! That’s the point. In fact, if it were not repugnant to you, and God and all of us, then it would fail to serve its spiritual, psychological and social purposes. Properly, the thought of animal sacrifice serves to deter us from sinning in the first place. And if the thought was not enough, then making the actual sacrifice could powerfully help you make a change in your life. -- But only if you cared about the life of animals.

[@eschneggs]

The religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are corruptions of The Way of the Creator. He has 7 ways by which he acts and they have turned them into 10 commandments/10 words. You are right in seeing there are no sacrifices or offerings. Even further, the Creator does not want us to worship him. "Do not worship me as the nations worship their gods". He is saying NO WORSHIP. Only coveting men desire worship of all types including sacrifices and offerings. John and Ahsha came to make His Ways straight, uncorrupted. The Shabbath Way was made for us to learn the Creator's Ways directly from him. Blessings.

[@Thewatchman303]

James I must apologise but it’s very disappointing that with zero evidence you argue that Jophesus could not have written Jesus was the promised Messiah?

[@johnmichaelson9173]

So you're disappointed, it's an interpolation plain & simple. Josephus didn't write that Jesus was the promised Messiah.

[@Thewatchman303]

@@johnmichaelson9173 wow. That was intuitive. James examples from the Hebrew bible are evidenced by contradictory passages elsewhere in the Hebrew bible. There are NO contradictary comments in Josphesus’s writings except James personal opinion. I love James but I strongly disagree with him on this issue for a multitude of good reasons. His example here was baseless.

[@johnmichaelson9173]

@@Thewatchman303 I think not, James simply tells it like it is he's not caught up in some emotional fantasy fiction supernatural drama. I can't remember a time when it wasn't an academic fact that it's an interpolation. Josephus didn't write that, end of.

[@Thewatchman303]

@@johnmichaelson9173 a fact with no evidence:)

[@johnmichaelson9173]

@@Thewatchman303 Ain't my fault you can't find it.

[@therealjasonbueno]

What on earth are these seminaries teaching? How does the normal everyday pastor reconcile the inconsistent narrative around animal sacrifice in the Bible? Especially if they believe the Bible is the infallible word of God?

[@johnmichaelson9173]

They're economical with the truth. Always have been always will be.

[@markrossow6303]

t.y. -- Claims of "Biblical Inerrancy !!" completely lack humility

[@Maxx134a]

6:09, this guy doesn't believe Jesus raised on the third day. He says, "I wonder about that". Thats all you need to know that this video will go south. Attacking the sacrifices done and explained in old testament is to try destroy the perpetual sacrifice quoted in Daniel and also perpetuated in the Sacrifice of the Mass in Early Christianity. This amounts to Jewish dismantling of Christianity.

[@thetoknboxshow]

I thought he would use the Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek and the Latin languages to prove his point. Nothing worthwhile for me to watch here

[@johnmichaelson9173]

Sheer laziness on your part, why not do some research for yourself? Or are you frightened of the truth?

[@thetoknboxshow]

@@johnmichaelson9173 I read and study the Bible in Hebrew, Aramaic, Latin and Greek. I also know that Greek Orthodoxy Christianity is also a off shoot of the Roman Catholic Church after the church schism of 1,000 A.D. Now, who's lazy and afraid of the truth because I know that you don't know any of this.

[@Thomasw540]

Jimmy, the only deliberate corruption of the English bible is the relationship of Melchizedek to Abram as to who gave what to whom, All the Bibles I've ever read, and the commentaries of Genesis 14 is that Abram gave Melchizedek at Tithe but Paul Davidson asserts that that is a mistranslation, that, in fact, Melchizedek gave Abram the Tithe and that makes perfect sense in terms of the narrative flow of the entire epic. In all the Prosperity Gospel interpretations I have encountered, they have all explained how it was meet that Abram should tithe to Melchizedek and then the commentaries would explain why, And I was never convinced by the interpretation. If I had tried to explain it as an application of my faith or as a model of righteousness,, I couldn't. I just assumed it was one of those mysteries that was unavailable to me, a gift of the spirit ungiven. However, Melchizedek tithing to Abrams fits into the mechanisms of the Parable of the Talents and the parable fo the talents fists into the venture capital model of Genesis 41 and the dreams of the Pharaoh, Davidson explains how he discovered this mistranslation, but he doesn't quite assert that it was a deliberate corruption to fit into the Total Depravity theology of Pro-Life Calvinism, When and how did this mistake become the universal translation? So, the interpolations you are making of the interpolations are like the Fascist sophistry of Clarence Thomas's opinion in his Bump-Stock decision, It's a perversion of Jesus's axiom that the law is made for man and NOT man for the law. Like the Citizens Untied, Heller, and Dobbs, decision, Thomas has turned Jesus on His head as a payoff for all those expensive gifts he has collected on the bench, Jesus has a parable about an unfaithful judge, so there is a certain Christian penumbra Thomas can claim, You are still teaching people to think like David Koresh and it seems that you are doubling down on your methods. Your pre-Christian Revelation is the literary equivalent of the Bump-Stock decision

[@hendrikzaayman6712]

If you use a good Bible translation, then most of this have been filtered out by text criticism. I don't understand the trend that you pursue. Are you explaining text criticism or are discrediting the Bible. I think it would be more constructive discussing how text criticism is done, rather than giving your own interpretation. This is a science that have been done for a long time and not something new nor created by James Thabor. I would humbly suggest that you rather explain how text criticism have evolved through the ages rather than taking person credit for it.

[@Thewatchman303]

In fact it’s very rare that I would so strongly disagree with you. Bordering on saying your words are almost outrageous. On what grounds do you declare a jewish historian could not have written these things about Yeshua?

[@johnmichaelson9173]

Do some research here on the internet it's obvious Josephus wrote no such thing.

[@Thewatchman303]

@@johnmichaelson9173 yeh right just like Jesus was not a Jew and his earliest were not Jews or how no Pharisees accepted Yeshua as the promised anointed one of YHVH? Come this is desperate. How could a Jew say yeshua was the messiah? Shock! Horror! And yes, I do read my history, and Jewish history. One just need to red Toldot Yeshu to see there were many anti-Jesus writing amongst the Jews. You can’t accept one that was postive?

[@johnmichaelson9173]

@@Thewatchman303 Sadly all that simply can't prove his divinity. So why would Josephus, who actually told Vespasian that he was the Messiah, mention some crucified no one? It's an interpolation, plain & simple.

[@Thewatchman303]

@@johnmichaelson9173 I don’t believe Jesus was divine. He was a man.

[@johnmichaelson9173]

@@Thewatchman303 Well done, smh.

[@McFury88]

What a ridiculous & flimsy foundation for a method of determining “interpolations”…boils down to “just pull out what you believe could be added in, & if it’s still grammatically correct, then you are correct too!”… somewhere I’m sure there’s written a warning about building on a foundation of sand 🤔📖

[@Thewatchman303]

I would certainly have more respect for you if you would state that you believe these passages are interpolations rather than declaring with certainty that they are. Because you have no evidence of this. Thousands of Jews accepted Jesus as the promised Messiah.