Was Jesus a Community Organizer?

Memra (The Word)

In his Gospel, the Apostle John tells us that, in

the beginning, the Word was with God and the
Word was God. Christians understand that
John was speaking about Jesus. A new convert
may be taught that this is correct, but would he
understand why? Do you understand why the
Word is Christ?
When the Jews (the houses of Judah and
Benjamin) returned to Jerusalem from
Babylonian and Persian captivity, they began to
read the law. Ezra, the scribe, (, saphar)
and several other scribes began to teach the
people the law. They set the text in order so
that it could be read and understood and make
sense to the people. Those scribes are named
in Nehemiah 8:6-7, And Ezra blessed the
LORD, the great God. And all the people
answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their
hands: and they bowed their heads, and
worshipped the LORD with their faces to the
ground. {7} Also Jeshua, and Bani, and
Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah,
Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan,
Pelaiah, and the Levites, caused the people to
understand the law: and the people stood in
their place. These scribes, or sopherim, (
-sapharym, the plural of saphar) preferred,
out reverence for His Ineffable Name, not to
express the Name of God, Yehovah ( ). They
preferred not to speak it, or write it. Therefore
they substituted Adonai (), or LORD in many
instances where the word Yehovah occurred.
My source for this information is Dr. E.W.
Bullinger. He wrote,
Out of extreme (but mistaken) reverence for
the Ineffable Name Jehovah, the ancient
custodians of the Sacred Text substituted in
many places Adonai (see Ap. 4. viii. 2). These,
in the A.V. and R.V., are all printed Lord. In all
these places we have printed it LORD*,
marking the word with an asterisk in addition to
the note in the margin, to inform the reader of
the fact.
According to Bullinger, there were 134
substitutions:
The official list given in the Massorah ( 107-
15, Ginsburgs edition) contains the 134.
They also changed the word God (
, elohim) into Adonai in several places
where it was obvious that the text was speaking
of Yehovah.
For the very same reason, that Gods Holy
name was unspeakable, the Targums, which
are the Aramaic translations of the Old
Testament, changed all instances(according to
Karol Joseph, at Jews for Jesus) where God
appeared in person to man. They changed the
word Yehovah or Yehovah Elohim, in those
cases, to the Word or the memra. (The
Aramaic for word is memra, which we will learn
about in this study.)
View the Bibliography, if you wish.
Definitions:
Memer, or maamar , Strongs 3982 and
3983, an Aramaic word meaning: word,
command, appointment.
It comes from the Aramaic, , Strongs
565, imrah, or emrah (em-raw). It means
commandment, speech, or word. It is the
equivalent of logos (), Strongs 3056, in
the Greek.

It is clear from the Scriptures that no human

can see God face to face and survive. Here are
some examples:
Gen 32:30 And Jacob called the name of the
place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face,
and my life is preserved.
Exo 33:20 And he said, Thou canst not see my
face: for there shall no man see me, and live.
Judg 6:22-23 And when Gideon perceived that
he was an angel of the LORD, Gideon said,
Alas, O Lord GOD! for because I have seen an
angel of the LORD face to face. {23} And the
LORD said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear
not: thou shalt not die.
Isa 6:5 Then said I, Woe is me! for I am
undone; because I am a man of unclean lips,
and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean
lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the
LORD of hosts.
(Alas is an expression usually uttered at death
or impending death)
But there are many places in the Bible where
men did see the LORD and live. For example,
Jacob wrestled with God and did not die. The
LORD appeared to Abraham at the trees of
Mamre. There He made a covenant with
Abraham. It was also there that Abraham
pleaded with the LORD for Lot who resided in
Sodom. Abraham did not die. Appearances of
God to men are called Theophanies. There are
many Theophanies in the Bible. The Lord
appeared face to face to Adam, Eve, Abraham,
Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Gideon, Manoah and his
wife, Isaiah, Ezekiel, and others. Sometimes it
is an appearance of the LORD Almighty on His
throne in glorified form (such as in Isaiah and
Ezekiel) and other times He appears as the
Angel of the LORD and yet other times He
appears as a man. But He did appear to many
men and women in the Bible.
Theophanies were a problem for the Israelites
(which are Jews in this contextthe return from
captivity). They did not want to make God to
seem human. The Sopherim were the scribes
who set the text of the Hebrew Bible in order
after the return from Babylonian captivity.
Because of their exceptional reverence for the
inexpressible Name of Yehovah they
substituted the name Adonai (LORD) in the
place of Yehovah. Every place in the KJV and
several other versions that you see the word
LORD (some versions, LORD) in all caps, that
is where the Sopherim substituted Adonai for
Yehovah. That is why the King James Version
uses the word LORD in the place of most uses
of the name Yehovah (more commonly,
Jehovah). That is also why many Jews will write
the words LORD and God thus: L_ _D and
G_d. This same reverence for the Name of God
can be seen as reverence of His Person as
well.
In those cases mentioned above, the memra, or
Word, shared the nature of God and at the
same time was a messenger from God. Hence
the phrase, the Angel of the LORD, because an
angel is a messenger of God. The Angel of the
LORD is a theophany or a manifestation of God
to man, that is, God coming face to face with
man. A good example is the Garden of Eden:
Since the Jews did not like Theophanies, they
also substituted another word for God when He
appeared to men. In the Targums, which are the
Aramic versions of the Old Testament, the
word memra is used in every instance of an
appearance of God to men or God speaking to
a man. This use of the memra rationalized
every appearance of God to man. For example,
in Genesis 3:8, And they heard the voice of the
LORD God walking in the garden, the Targums
replace the phrase the LORD God (
-yehovah elohim) with ( memra,
spelled mymra or mimra).
Masoretic: , wayisme-u
et-qol yhwy elohim, So heard they the voice of
Yehovah Elohim. In the Hebrew here, Yehovah
Elohim is underscored.
Targummim: , usme-u it qol
mimra, So heard they the voice of memra, or
They heard the voice of the Word. In the
Hebrew here, memra is underscored. (This
information is from The Targummim of the
Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon Project. See
Bibliography.)
Memra is the Aramaic for word, which, in the
Greek, is Logos. The concept of the memra is
derived from Psalm 33:6: By the word of the
LORD were the heavens made; and all the host
of them by the breath of his mouth. The root
Hebrew for word here is dabar. In the text, the
inflected word is bidabar-by the word. This
verse accurately correlates with John 1:3, All
things were made by him; and without him was
not any thing made that was made.
Examples:
Psa 147:15 He sendeth forth his
commandment upon earth: his word runneth
very swiftly.
Isa 55:10-11 For as the rain cometh down, and
the snow from heaven, and returneth not
thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it
bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the
sower, and bread to the eater: {11} So shall my
word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it
shall not return unto me void, but it shall
accomplish that which I please, and it shall
prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
In the passage from the Psalms, the Word is
shown as running like a man. And in Isaiah the
Word goes out and accomplishes the will of
God.
According to the Jews for Jesus site, the
Targums are filled with the memra, the Word of
God, but the Talmud is silent on the issue. That
is because the Talmud was written after the
advent of Christ and the rabbis suppressed it in
reaction to Christianity. They did not wish to
connect Jesus of Nazareth with the memra.
That would have been an admission that Jesus
was indeed God with us, for the Word
or memra is a Theophany. Jesus the Christ was
the ultimate Theophany.
Let me quote from the Jewish Encyclopedia:
In the ancient Church liturgy, adopted from the
Synagogue, it is especially interesting to notice
how often the term Logos, (this is the Greek
word for the memra) in the sense of the Word
by which God made the world, or made His Law
or Himself known to man, was changed into
Christ. Possibly on account of the Christian
dogma, rabbinic theology, outside of the Targum
literature, made little use of the term Memra.'
The Jewish Encyclopedia, New York and
London, 1904, p. 465.
And from the Catholic Encyclopedia:
In Palestinian Rabbinism the Word (memra) is
very often mentioned, at least in the Targums: it
is the memra of Jahveh which lives, speaks,
and acts, but, if one endeavour to determine
precisely the meaning of the expression, it
appears very often to be only a paraphrase
substituted by the Targumist for the name of
Jahveh. The memraresembles the Logos of
Philo as little as the workings of the rabbinical
mind in Palestine resembled the speculations of
Alexandria: the rabbis are chiefiy concerned
about ritual and observances; from religious
scruples they dare not attribute to Jahveh
actions such as the Sacred Books attribute to
Him; it is enough for them to veil the Divine
Majesty under an abstract paraphrase, the
Word, the Glory, the Abode, and others. Philos
problem was of the philosophic order; God and
man are infinitely distant from each other, and it
is necessary to establish between them
relations of action and of prayer; the Logos is
here the intermediary.
The Catholic Encyclopedia Copyright 1907-
1914 by Robert Appleton Company Online
Edition Copyright 1999 by Kevin Knight.
We can see that the Divine Logos was a
concept fully accepted by the Jews at the time
of Christ. When John wrote his Gospel, he was
fully aware of the use of the word memra as an
appearance of God to men. It was common
usage during his day. When he penned these
words, In the beginning was the Word, and the
Word was with God, and the Word was God,
and And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt
among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory
as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of
grace and truth. (John 1:1 and 14), he was
using the exact theme as the writers of the
Targums did when they translated the text into
Aramaic. In fact, if he had written in Aramaic, he
would have actually used the word, memra. By
doing so he was portraying Christ as sharing
the nature of God (that is being God) and also
as a messenger from God (This is my beloved
Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him-
Matthew17:5).
Jewish theologians of Johns era have ascribed
six attributes to the memra. John assigned
every attribute to Jesus in the first chapter of his
gospel. The attributes are:
The memra is individual and yet the same as
God (John 1:1-and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God).
The memra was the instrument of creation
(John 1:3-All things were made by Him
and John 1:10-the world was made by him).
The memra was the instrument of salvation
(John 1:12-But as many as received him, to
them gave he power to become the sons of
God, even to them that believe on his name).
The memra was the visible presence of God or
Theophany (John 1:14-And the Word was
made flesh and dwelt among us).
The memra was the covenant maker (John
1:17-For the law was given by Moses, but
grace and truth came by Jesus Christ).
The memra was the revealer of God (John
1:18-No man hath seen God at any time; the
only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the
Father, he hath declared him).
John 1:1-18 In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God, and the Word was
God. {2} The same was in the beginning with
God. {3} All things were made by him; and
without him was not any thing made that was
made. {4} In him was life; and the life was the
light of men. {5} And the light shineth in
darkness; and the darkness comprehended it
not. {6} There was a man sent from God, whose
name was John. {7} The same came for a
witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all
men through him might believe. {8} He was not
that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that
Light. {9} That was the true Light, which lighteth
every man that cometh into the world. {10} He
was in the world, and the world was made by
him, and the world knew him not. {11} He came
unto his own, and his own received him not.
{12} But as many as received him, to them gave
he power to become the sons of God, even to
them that believe on his name: {13} Which were
born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh,
nor of the will of man, but of God. {14} And the
Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us,
(and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the
only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and
truth. {15} John bare witness of him, and cried,
saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that
cometh after me is preferred before me: for he
was before me. {16} And of his fulness have all
we received, and grace for grace. {17} For the
law was given by Moses, but grace and truth
came by Jesus Christ. {18} No man hath seen
God at any time; the only begotten Son, which
is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared
him.
These attributes are proof positive that John
was following the Jewish model and he was
showing that Jesus was indeed the Messiah.
One other point. Philo of Alexandra (AKA Philo
Judaeus) was a Jewish philosopher of the early
first century. He is known as the Greatest
Jewish Philosopher. He was also a Greek
philosopher. Philo tried to explain the
Theophanies as the Word of God to the
Greeks. When he did so, he used the Aramaic
word memra. Modern Jewish apologists will try
to tell you that because Philo used the concept,
the Divine Word of God was appropriated from
the pagan religions of the Hellenistic world at
the time. They want to belittle Christianity as a
man made religion derived from paganism. The
fact is that in the Targums, the word memra is
extant even today. The writers of the Targums
were fully aware of this concept. Therefore,
when you hear the Philo argument, it is a false
argument. Just remind the person trying to tell
you this that the Word of God was a Jewish
concept and not a pagan concept. Remind him
of the Targums. Tell him about this study.

Bibliography.
Brown, Driver, Briggs, Gesenius Lexicon, Public
Domain
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Copyright 1907-
1914 by Robert Appleton Company, Online
Edition 1999 by Kevin Knight.
The Companion Bible, King James Version,
1990, Kregel Publications, Appendices 30-33.
The Complete Word Study Dictionary, 1992
By AMG International, Inc. Chattanooga, TN
37422, U.S.A., Revised edition, 1993
Correspondence About The Trinity, by Karol
Joseph, 2001, Jews For Jesus, Inc.
Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament
and Other Early Christian Literature (BDAG),
Third Edition, 2000 by The University of
Chicago Press
The Hebrew & Aramaic Lexicon of the Old
Testament (HALOT), 1994 Koninklijke Brill
NV, Leiden, The Netherlands. All rights
reserved
The Jewish Encyclopedia, 1904, New York
and London
John, the Pharisees, and Memra, 2000, Carl
J. Stevens
Strongs Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible,
1990, Thomas Nelson Publishers
The Targumim, Dr. Stephen Kaufman, 2003
by the Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon
Project, 3101 Clifton Ave., Cincinnati, OH
45220