Who is 'the Teacher of Righteousness"?

Discussion about the Hebrew Bible, Septuagint, pseudepigrapha, Philo, Josephus, Talmud, Dead Sea Scrolls, archaeology, etc.
Secret Alias
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Re: Could Ezra Have Been 'the Teacher of Righteousness"

Post by Secret Alias »

Shows you the danger of 'historical thinking.' Our minds want to think historically. It is safer than 'mystical mumbo jumbo.' Safer yet less truthful or faithful to the material.
“Finally, from so little sleeping and so much reading, his brain dried up and he went completely out of his mind.”
― Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Don Quixote
Secret Alias
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Re: Could Ezra Have Been 'the Teacher of Righteousness"

Post by Secret Alias »

Here is the reference again

The terms T1DTD, TtS\ i"l7Bn are copiously used, but תהלה לְדָ֫וִ֥ד is utilized only here, only once in all Psalms. In the prologue therefore the author changed it with intent Basically תהלה (praise) belongs to God, but i"l7Bn (prayer) is the action of man (David). Thus the author made the change in Psalm 145. 78. See "Dorshe Halakot," (supra, note 75), p. 127. 79. See my "The Qumran Liturgic Psalms," JQR, LVII, No. 4 (April 1967), pp. 328, 332. In the prose insert in column XXVII the writer utilized the phrase תהלהים and set the number of David's Psalms. The strange total is a result of the usage of the word תהילה (plene). This was in the mode of gematria, to give a total of 450 offerings for the year, mentioned in this David's Composition, (ri = 400 or 4000 and the balance of the word H^il equals 50.) The author also suggested that David had written a total of 4050 Psalms. His reasoning was, if Solomon "spoke 3000 proverbs and his songs were 1005 (I Kings 5.10)," his father David, the composer of Psalms, surely equalled or even exceeded him.80 The expansive use of gematria is not of the pre-Christian era; in medieval circles, and especially among the Karaites, it was common- place.
“Finally, from so little sleeping and so much reading, his brain dried up and he went completely out of his mind.”
― Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Don Quixote
Secret Alias
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Re: Could Ezra Have Been 'the Teacher of Righteousness"

Post by Secret Alias »

I think I have figured out the meaning of 450. מלכא משיחא = King Messiah in Aramaic. The teacher of righteousness and Damascus are references to the community deriving its origins from the messiah who apparently arrived at the beginning of the community. The term מלכא משיחא appears over and over in Jewish literature especially the targums https://books.google.com/books?id=WBFMA ... ah&f=false
“Finally, from so little sleeping and so much reading, his brain dried up and he went completely out of his mind.”
― Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Don Quixote
Secret Alias
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Re: Who is 'the Teacher of Righteousness"?

Post by Secret Alias »

More on the numerological interest of the sect who wrote the scroll by Beckwith:

A still more telling fact has been highlighted by Skehan, (12) which is that 11 Q Ps" itself contains evidence that 150 was known and accepted at Qumran as the number of the psalms. For the prose note states that David wrote 3,600 psalms and 450 songs. Now, 450 is three times 150; and 3,600 is 150 multiplied by 24, the number of the courses of Lévites appointed to sing the psalms in the Temple [1 Chron. 25).

https://books.google.com/books?id=6j-fD ... 22&f=false
“Finally, from so little sleeping and so much reading, his brain dried up and he went completely out of his mind.”
― Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Don Quixote
Secret Alias
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Re: Who is 'the Teacher of Righteousness"?

Post by Secret Alias »

One might argue from this discovery that (a) Aramaic was still the dominant language of the community when the text was written and (b) the community was waiting for a priestly messiah. The royal messiah had already come. Note from the Jewish Encyclopedia:

The Zadokite Admonition, in the form in which it has survived, apparently dates from a period after the death of the Teacher of Righteousness: an interval of indefinite duration runs "from the day when the Unique Teacher was gathered in until a Messiah stands up from Aaron and from Israel" (CD 20:1). It has been suggested that "Unique Teacher" (moreh ha-yaḥid) should be emended to "Teacher of the Community" (moreh ha-yaḥad), but this is probably unnecessary. If the Unique Teacher is identical with the Teacher of Righteousness – and it is difficult to think that anyone else could have been so designated by the community – he was evidently thought of as a preparer of the way for the messianic age but not as a messianic personage himself.

It is worth noting that the Marcionites stressed that Jesus was not the royal messiah but something else.
“Finally, from so little sleeping and so much reading, his brain dried up and he went completely out of his mind.”
― Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Don Quixote
Secret Alias
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Re: Who is 'the Teacher of Righteousness"?

Post by Secret Alias »

Another curious thing I have stumbled upon on the internet. A kabbalistic interpretation of Deuteronomy 15:10:

In Parshas Re’eh, we are commanded to give Tzedakah (charity) to the poor. The Aish Dos points out that the numerical value of the Hebrew word for a wealthy person, ashir, is 580 (ashir is spelled ayin, shin, yud, reish; ayin = 70, shin = 300, yud = 10, reish = 200, totaling 580). The word for a poor person is ani, which equals 130 (ani is spelled ayin, nun, yud; ayin = 70, nun = 50, yud = 10, totaling 130). The difference between them is 450, which is also the numerical value of the Hebrew word tein, which means to give (tein is spelled tuf, nun; tuf = 400, nun = 50 totaling 450). If we want to erase differences between the “haves” and the “have-nots”, we just need to open up our wallets and give!

ז כִּי-יִהְיֶה בְךָ אֶבְיוֹן מֵאַחַד אַחֶיךָ, בְּאַחַד שְׁעָרֶיךָ, בְּאַרְצְךָ, אֲשֶׁר-יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ נֹתֵן לָךְ--לֹא תְאַמֵּץ אֶת-לְבָבְךָ, וְלֹא תִקְפֹּץ אֶת-יָדְךָ, מֵאָחִיךָ, הָאֶבְיוֹן. 7 If there be among you a needy man, one of thy brethren, within any of thy gates, in thy land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thy heart, nor shut thy hand from thy needy brother;
ח כִּי-פָתֹחַ תִּפְתַּח אֶת-יָדְךָ, לוֹ; וְהַעֲבֵט, תַּעֲבִיטֶנּוּ, דֵּי מַחְסֹרוֹ, אֲשֶׁר יֶחְסַר לוֹ. 8 but thou shalt surely open thy hand unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need in that which he wanteth.
ט הִשָּׁמֶר לְךָ פֶּן-יִהְיֶה דָבָר עִם-לְבָבְךָ בְלִיַּעַל לֵאמֹר, קָרְבָה שְׁנַת-הַשֶּׁבַע שְׁנַת הַשְּׁמִטָּה, וְרָעָה עֵינְךָ בְּאָחִיךָ הָאֶבְיוֹן, וְלֹא תִתֵּן לוֹ; וְקָרָא עָלֶיךָ אֶל-יְהוָה, וְהָיָה בְךָ חֵטְא. 9 Beware that there be not a base thought in thy heart, saying: 'The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand'; and thine eye be evil against thy needy brother, and thou give him nought; and he cry unto the LORD against thee, and it be sin in thee.
י נָתוֹן תִּתֵּן לוֹ, וְלֹא-יֵרַע לְבָבְךָ בְּתִתְּךָ לוֹ: כִּי בִּגְלַל הַדָּבָר הַזֶּה, יְבָרֶכְךָ יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ, בְּכָל-מַעֲשֶׂךָ, וּבְכֹל מִשְׁלַח יָדֶךָ. 10 Thou shalt surely give him, and thy heart shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him; because that for this thing the LORD thy God will bless thee in all thy work, and in all that thou puttest thy hand unto.
יא כִּי לֹא-יֶחְדַּל אֶבְיוֹן, מִקֶּרֶב הָאָרֶץ; עַל-כֵּן אָנֹכִי מְצַוְּךָ, לֵאמֹר, פָּתֹחַ תִּפְתַּח אֶת-יָדְךָ לְאָחִיךָ לַעֲנִיֶּךָ וּלְאֶבְיֹנְךָ, בְּאַרְצֶךָ. {ס} 11 For the poor shall never cease out of the land; therefore I command thee, saying: 'Thou shalt surely open thy hand unto thy poor and needy brother, in thy land.'

The curious thing is that you have throughout this chapter the only Pentateuchal references to the important term אֶבְי֜וֹן = Ebion later mistaken for a heresiarch in early Christianity. The material dovetails so well with the central Christian concern (= give to the poor). I would like to know what the earliest source we have for this kabbalistic interpretation of this section.
“Finally, from so little sleeping and so much reading, his brain dried up and he went completely out of his mind.”
― Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Don Quixote
Ethan
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Re: Could Ezra Have Been 'the Teacher of Righteousness"

Post by Ethan »

Secret Alias wrote: Thu Feb 15, 2018 9:27 pm how can you be so obtuse to suggest that Ezra and Jozadak are the same person? You constantly lie on behalf of your stupid thesis. Even whores aren't as loyal to their pimps. The priest had fathered two sons, Ezra and Jozadak. Come on.
Why does II Chronicles and Ezra depicted identical lineages to Zadok but conclude with a different name.

Zadok > Shallum > Hilkiah > Azariah > Seraiah > Ezra ( Ezra 7:1)
Zadok > Shallum > Hilkiah > Azariah > Seraiah > Jeho-Zadok (1 Chronicles 6:15)

Jeho-Zadok is also a reversal of the name Zedekiah ( Last King of Judah), but appears in Joshua 10:1 'Adonizedek' ( Last King of Jerusalem)
and in Genesis 14:18 'Melchizedek' ( King of Salem) , thus a repeating character.

Chronological inflation, in the Book of Samuel, the naming of Samuel is because his mother 'asked god', in Hebrew that is שְׁאַלְתִּיאֵל
or Shealtiel , the father of Zerubbabel, named Joel in 1 Samuel 8:2 and the son of Pedaiah in 1 Chronicle 27:20, another name
for the father of Zerubbabel in 1 Chronicles 3:19.
https://vivliothikiagiasmatos.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/joseph-yahuda-hebrew-is-greek.pdf
Secret Alias
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Re: Who is 'the Teacher of Righteousness"?

Post by Secret Alias »

Assuming my brother and I were important people our patriarchal geneologies would read:

Helmut - Gunther - Hermann - Dieter - me
Helmut - Gunther - Hermann - Dieter - my brother

Not understanding why you think that my brother and I must be the same person based on the same fucking evidence. A better question would be why on earth would a famous person who forged the Torah in Moses's name (a) would be a bad candidate for Teacher of Righteousness and (b) would have been so well remembered but some how mistaken as two different individuals by everyone until Eisenman came on this forum under a pseudonym. Why is it preferable for anyone but Eisenman to assume that there is a conspiracy to falsify C14 evidence which makes his theory implausible? Why is Jozadak as Ezra + the C14 conspiracy more plausible than simply assuming that the man who forged the Pentateuch ACCORDING TO EVERYONE EXCEPT THE SAMARITANS is the Teacher of Righteousness of the Qumran texts? I am not saying that Ezra IS the Teacher of Righteousness. Only that it is better than what Eisenman2 has been posting in this forum.
“Finally, from so little sleeping and so much reading, his brain dried up and he went completely out of his mind.”
― Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Don Quixote
Secret Alias
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Re: Who is 'the Teacher of Righteousness"?

Post by Secret Alias »

To be honest, I have no idea what function or role Ezra had in the community other than being the teacher of righteousness = the Torah:

It is his scribal function that is emphasized more than his priestly role. One gets the impression that Ezra was a priest by birth and a scribe by choice. He "had set his heart" according to the text, "to study," "to do," and "to teach" (v. 10). With this emphatic mention of Ezra's function and chosen task, the text implies that the community in Judah and Jerusalem were in need of a teacher of the Torah. This impression will find verification in the instruction Ezra receives from the king.

You can continue to read here - https://books.google.com/books?id=wOCTb ... le&f=false
“Finally, from so little sleeping and so much reading, his brain dried up and he went completely out of his mind.”
― Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Don Quixote
Ethan
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Re: Who is 'the Teacher of Righteousness"?

Post by Ethan »

Secret Alias wrote: Fri Feb 16, 2018 11:39 am Assuming my brother and I were important people our patriarchal geneologies would read:

Helmut - Gunther - Hermann - Dieter - me
Helmut - Gunther - Hermann - Dieter - my brother
It doesn't work like that.

Zadok > Shallum > Hilkiah > Azariah > Seraiah > Ezra ( Ezra 7:1)
Zadok > Shallum > Hilkiah > Azariah > Seraiah > Jeho-Zadok (1 Chronicles 6:15)

Assuming they are 6 generations between Zadok and Ezra and the average child bearing age is 30, they are 6 generations
so that's 170 years, so when was Zadok alive, 9th century BCE and Ezra in the 4th-3rd century.

The other problem, according to 1 Chronicles 6:15, Jeho-Zadok is contemporary with Nebuchadnezzar II who died in 562 BCE
but Ezra is contemporary with Artaxerxes III who died in 338 BCE.

Thus you believe.

Helmut - Gunther - Hermann - Dieter - me ( born 1990)
Helmut - Gunther - Hermann - Dieter - my brother ( born 1766)
https://vivliothikiagiasmatos.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/joseph-yahuda-hebrew-is-greek.pdf
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