What was Jesus’ intention?
Beloved by most and yet hated by many, Jesus preached about the kingdom of God revolutionarily. Despite his good intentions, Jewish followers were concerned that he wanted to eradicate the Torah. Jesus reassured them that, “not one letter… will pass from the law until all is accomplished” (Matthew 5:18).
The original Greek text of the Gospel of Matthew says “not one iota”. The Greek letter iota is derived from the Hebrew letter yod. Its name stems from the Hebrew word yad (יד) meaning “hand”, because it is shaped like a little finger. Yod is so small that ancient scribes sometimes left it out of words to save space. Since his audience was primarily Jewish, they would have understood that “not one yod will pass from the law” means “not even the smallest detail will be eliminated from the Torah.” Understanding God’s teachings, such as this, can only be done by learning the authentic language of Biblical Hebrew. Enroll today in our live online Biblical Hebrew course to learn and appreciate Jesus’ spoken words.