HEBREW GOSPEL OF MATTHEW - CHAPTER 15

CHAPTER 5 (Part 3) — Section 015 [MT 5:20–24]

פרק ט״ו

Note on Textual Divisions & Concordance Markers

The section titles (פרק ראשון, פרק שני, etc.) follow the authentic internal layout of Shem-Tob's Hebrew text, which organizes the Gospel of Matthew into 116 structural pericopes. The traditional 28-chapter and verse divisions ([MT X:X–X]) did not exist in ancient manuscripts; they were devised centuries later by Western scholars (Stephen Langton in 1205 and Robert Estienne in 1551) to build Latin concordances. The standard chapter/verse citations are included in brackets solely as a concordance reference for readers navigating standard printed Bibles.

#	Shem-Tob Hebrew Text	Literal Translation
20	בעת ההיא אמר יש״ו לתלמידיו באמת אני אומר לכם אם לא תגדל צדקתכם יותר מהפרושים והחכמים לא תבואו במלכות שמים׃	At that time Yeshu said unto his disciples: "In truth I say unto you, if your righteousness does not grow greater than the Perushim and the Sages, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
21	הלא שמעתם מה שנאמר לקדמונים לא תרצח ואשר ירצח חייב הוא משפט מות׃	Have you not heard what was said to the ancients: 'You shall not murder, and whoever murders is liable to a judgment of death'?
22	ואני אומר לכם שהמכעיס לחבירו חייב הוא למשפט ואשר יקרא לאחיו פחות יחייב במשפט בהקהל ואשר יקראוהו שוטה חייב לאש גהינם׃	But I say unto you that he who provokes his companion to anger is liable unto judgment, and whoever calls his brother 'inferior/deficient' shall be liable in judgment in the assembly, and whoever calls him 'fool' is liable to the fire of Gehinom.
23	ואם תקריב קרבנך למזבח ותזכיר לך שהיה לך עם חברך דין והוא מתרעם ממך מאיזה דבר׃	And if you bring near your offering to the altar, and you remember to yourself that you had a dispute with your companion, and he is grumbling/murmuring against you over some matter:
24	הנח קרבניך שם לפני המזבח ולך לרצותו קודם ואחר כך הקרב קרבניך׃	Lay down your offering there before the altar, and go to appease him first, and after that bring near your offering.

Consonantal & Paleographic Notes

• פרק ט״ו (Fifteenth Section): Preserves the authentic 15th pericope of the 116 units, addressing true judicial equity, interpersonal grievances, and the prioritization of human reconciliation over ritual sacrifice [MT 5:20–24].
• Verse 20 (Orthography, Chakhamim vs. Soferim, & The Torah Warning):
  • בעת ההיא אמר יש״ו לתלמידיו: The Semitic oral marker appears once again, setting the context of personal instruction to the disciples rather than a general polemic.
  • Defective Orthography & Syntactic Unity: The scribe writes וְהַחֲכָמִים in strict defective spelling (ו-ה-ח-כ-מ-י-ם) without plene vowel insertions. Furthermore, on line 2 of the parchment, מהפרושים והחכמים is penned as a tight syntactic block joined by a single prefixed Vav, treating the two factions as a united ruling coalition.
  • Chakhamim (Sages) vs. Soferim (Scribes): In Greek and Latin texts, the phrase is invariably grammateis kai Pharisaioi ("scribes and Pharisees"). Christian translators working backwards from Greek routinely insert Soferim (סופרים — mere copyists, text-clerks). Shem-Tob's Hebrew bypasses this foreign framing entirely by preserving הַחֲכָמִים (ha-Chakhamim — "the Sages"). In Hebrew jurisprudence, a Sofer simply inks scrolls, whereas a Chakham is an ordained magistrate who decides cases and issues binding decrees. The text preserves an authentic internal Semitic confrontation with the living judicial bench itself.
  • Judicial Blindness in the Torah: This confrontation directly invokes the legal admonition of Deuteronomy 16:19 regarding magistrates:
    כִּי הַשֹּׁחַד יְעַוֵּר עֵינֵי חֲכָמִים
    "For a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise [chakhamim] and twists the words of the righteous."
    Yeshu warns that righteousness must grow greater than that of the Perushim and Chakhamim because institutional judicial classes are prone to technical loopholes, personal compromise, and systemic blindness. True covenant righteousness must exceed institutional case law.
  • תגדל: Root גדל (gadal — to grow, expand). Righteousness is an active, expanding standard of personal integrity rather than an external checklist.
• Verse 21 (הלא שמעתם & משפט מות):
  • הלא שמעתם: Semitic rhetorical question framing the ancestral halakhic tradition.
  • משפט מות: Exact Tanakh legal terminology for a capital verdict (mishpat mavet; cf. Deuteronomy 19:6).
• Verse 22 (Three Semitic Jurisdictional Tiers):
  • המכעיס לחבירו: Hif'il participle of כעס (ka'as — to provoke to wrath/indignation). The liability begins with internal agitation.
  • פחות vs. "Raca": Clears up the obscure Greek transliteration Raca. The plate reads פָּחוּת (pachut — "inferior, diminished, lacking worth"), a common Rabbinic insult degrading a fellow human's social standing.
  • בהקהל vs. "Sanhedrin": The judicial body holding one accountable for this insult is not an imperial state council, but בַּהַקְהֵל (ba-ha-qahal — "in the gathered assembly").
  • שוטה: The Rabbinic term שׁוֹטֶה (shoteh — an incompetent or senseless fool), the ultimate degradation of an individual's mental and covenant accountability.
  • אש גהינם: Esh Gehinom — the smoldering fire of the Hinnom ravine, the emblem of complete municipal refuse.
• Verses 23 & 24 (דין, מתרעם, & לרצותו):
  • דין: Formal dispute or judicial cause between parties.
  • מתרעם: Hitpael participle of רעם (ra'am — to thunder/murmur). Describes a neighbor holding an active grudge or deep inner grievance.
  • לרצותו קודם: Root רצה (ratsah — to satisfy, conciliate, restore to favor). Yeshu places direct reconciliation with a wronged companion ahead of temple ritual performance.