Hi Keith Johnson…

My contribution to “The Open Door Dialogue” harkens back to session two presented by Nehemia Gordon along with session five and six.

In session two, Nehemia quoted from Shem Tov Matthew ch. 1 v 21, “And she shall give birth to a son and you shall call his name Yeshua for he will save My people from their iniquities” (Gordon, 2008, p. 5). The words “My”, which I capitalized in the quote referring to Y’Hovah our creator, and “iniquities” was my “ah ha” moment thus far in the dialogue. The passage in Matthew defines firstly Yeshua purpose, secondly on whose behalf and last the problem that was pervasive.

I look at my other translations of Matthew ch. 1 v 21 and they have the translation “he came to save his people from their sins.” I began looking into the meaning of the word iniquity to see if there is a distinction with sin. I went to Shemot ch. 34 v 6-7 when Our Father Y’Hovah revealed His glory to Mosheh. In verse seven it says, “Forgiver of Iniquity, Willful Sin, and Error, and Who Cleanses” (The Stone Edition Tanach) which, to me, distinguishes a uniqueness between iniquity and sin.

I looked up the meaning of the word iniquity and quoting:
Iniquity
The Hebrew word (‘awon) suggest a willful twisting of, or deviation from, the divine standard (Ps. 73:7; Isa. 61:8). The Greek word (adikia) suggests conscious human acts that cause harm to others in violation of the divine ideal (Rom. 1:18, 29). See also Sin. (Richards, 1990, p. 516)

If this is an accurate definition of the meaning of iniquity I have four questions to ask:
1. Is it fair to say that twisting the Torah, Prophets and Writings is an act of iniquity?

2. Substituting the name of Our Father with Hashem, Adoni, Lord God, LORD and the many other substitutions is an act of iniquity?

3. In reference to 1 Chronicles ch. 11 v 34, if I substituted the name of Our Father Y’Hovah with Hashem in my prayers, who am I actually praying to?

4. The copy of Hebrew Matthew that was on display in the “Museum of the Extinct Race”, whose possession was the document initially before the unfortunate circumstances befell the owner? Messianic or Orthodox?

Also, I just want everyone to know that I am not trying to build a justification for Yeshua with Matthew ch. 1 v 21 which can form the basis for another biblical discussion. The word iniquity stuck out and it required some extra focus on my part.

Thanks…
K. Daniel Cordner

References
Gordon, N. (2008). The Naming of Jesus in Hebrew Matthew. Makor Hebrew Foundation.

Richards, L. (1990). Iniquity. In The Revell Bible Dictionary. Old Tappan, NJ: Fleming H. Revell Company.