Dear Refiner's Fire...

I am having some trouble about the New Testament. Sometimes, when I compare New Testament quotations of the Tanach, it seems that these quotations were mistranslated.

However, the problems got worse after I met some Jews that told me that in Hebrews 1:5, there is a quotation of 2 Samuel 7:14 that is mistakenly applied to the Messiah, because the verse of 2 Samuel would be talking about the King Solomon. They also told me that in Matthew 2:23, the New Testament would invent a prophecy that doesn't exist in the Tanach. They said that there's no prophecy that states that the Messiah would be called a Nazarene. I got very confused. I told them that I would study more, and then, would answer their claims. And now I am asking for your help with these doubts.

Another problem I'm having is this: in 2 Samuel 7:14, the rest of the verses says...

"If he (Jesus) commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men".

This goes against our idea of Messiah, as Messianic believers, since we believe in a Messiah that cannot sin. Therefore, how can this verse really refer to the Messiah?

Our Response....

We believe your confusion about 2 Sam 7 and Heb. 1:5 is your particular Bible version. We use Stern's Complete Jewish Bible, which is a much more accurate translation as it is translated directly from the Hebrew. Our version of 2 Sam. 7:12 shows that one of David's descendants will succeed him and will establish the house in God's Name; which is clearly a Messianic prophecy. Verse 12 says "I will establish one of your descendants to succeed you". It doesn't imply that it will be David's IMMEDIATE successor, who was King Solomon. The verse doesn't say it's going to be an IMMEDIATE successor; but rather, ONE of his DESCENDANTS.

2 Samuel 7:12 When your days come to an end and your sleep with your ancestors, I will establish one of your descendants to succeed you, one of your own flesh and blood; and I will set up his rulership. 13 He will build a house for my name, and I will establish his royal throne forever. 14 I will be a father for him, and he will be a son for me.

As far as Mat 2:23, if we read the verse accurately we notice that it says "spoken," and not written. Some prophecies were written and not spoken. Some were spoken and not written; others were both spoken and written. Here we have a prophecy which was oral tradition. It is not found in the Old Testament. This demonstrates that the apostles relied upon oral tradition and taught by oral tradition and not scriptures alone. (The Talmud is an excellent example of this!) Anyway, this verse warrants an indepth study. There are some good explanations about this subject at Regarding the Background of Matthew 2 and The Virgin Birth.

Ref your comment about God chastising Messiah: In our version it says: "If he does something wrong I will punish him with a rod and blows, just as everyone gets punished....." We have to remember, this is Adonai (God the Father) speaking about His Messiah. He is telling the people that IF his Messiah sins, he would be punished like everybody else. He did not say WHEN he sins. As God Incarnate, Yeshua was trapped in this "earth suit" (our skin) and had the option to sin like everyone else. He had the same desires, the same problems, the same needs, etc. like any other human, and he even had the option to sin, if He felt like it. But He never did.