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 Contents

What Does “Hanukkah” Mean in Hebrew? 04

Moses, the Light of the World 06

Were the Magi Jews or Gentiles? 09

Why Swaddling Clothes? 13

About Israel Bible Center 16

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 1
What Does “Hanukkah”
Mean in Hebrew?
You may have run in the Hebrew word Hanukkah spelled in
a variety of ways (Chanukkah or Hannuka). Because
Hebrew and English phonetics do not align, the word can
be represented with various combinations of English
letters. This “festival of lights” (hag haurim) was instituted
to commemorate the Maccabean cleansing and
rededication of the Jerusalem Temple in the second
century BCE (2 Macc 10:1-8). You probably heard that it
means “dedication.” But there is another, lesser-known
meaning of the word Hanukkah that can only be seen in
Hebrew!

On the one hand, Hanukkah certainly means “dedication.”

When Solomon builds the first Temple in Jerusalem,
Scriptures states, “Solomon offered for the sacrifice of
peace offerings, which he offered to the LORD, 22,000 oxen
and 120,000 sheep. So the king and all the sons of Israel
dedicated (vayach’nehu) the house of the Lord ” (1 Kings
8:63 NASB).

I srae l B i b l e C e nt e r 04
 Deuteronomy asks, “Who is the man that has built a new house
and has not dedicated (velo chanaho) it? Let him depart and
return to his house, otherwise he might die in the battle and
another man would dedicate (yach’nehenu) it” (Deut 20:5). In
Numbers 7:10, the “dedication offering” is called a hanukkah.
It’s not hard to see the “dedication” meaning, but that’s not all:
the verb behind the noun Hanukkah (chanach) also has to do
with “training” and “teaching.”

Genesis 14:14 tells us that Abraham took 318 “trained men”

(chanichav) from his household to free Lot from his captors. A
famous proverb admonishes, “train up a child (chanoch lanaar)
the way he should go” (Prov 22:6). In Jewish tradition,
children’s education is often called chinuch. So how are these
two meanings of Hanukkah related? A complete understanding
of the word shows us that “teaching” and “training” cannot be
accomplished without “dedication”! It takes time,
intentionality, and devotion to practice any skill. These ideas
are interrelated. Maybe it’s time for all of us this season to
dedicate ourselves to the training God has for us, because even
simple words like Hanukkah can teach is something more
when we consider them in Hebrew!

by Prof. Pinchas Shir

I srae l B i b l e C e nt e r 05
 2
Moses, the Light of the
World

Readers of John’s Gospel are familiar with Jesus’ statement

at the “time of the Feast of Dedication” (Jn 10:22)—
otherwise known as Hanukkah—that he is the “Light of the
World.” The Messiah declares, “I am the light of the world;
whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have
the light of life” (8:12; cf. 9:5). While this declaration
reminds us of God’s first creative words at creation, there is
another biblical precedent for Jesus’ words. The start of
Exodus echoes Genesis’ creation account to present Moses
as the Light of the World.

According to Genesis, these are God’s first words to the

world: “Let there be light (yehi ‘or)” (1:3). After speaking,
“God saw the light—that it was good—and God separated
between the light and between the darkness” (1:4).
According to John’s Gospel, since Jesus is also the “Light of
the World,” he is separated from the darkness so that
anyone who follows him “will not walk in darkness” (Jn
8:12).

I srae l B i b l e C e nt e r 06
 Indeed, the separation between light and darkness at
creation underscores John’s assertion at the outset of
the Gospel with reference to the Word: “The light shines
in the darkness, and the darkness does not overcome it”
(1:5). In presenting Yeshua as the Light of the World,
John alludes to the fact that the Messiah was the very
first thought in God’s mind.

Yet, Jesus is not the first Jewish savior to be identified

as the light of the world. In fact, the most famous birth
narrative of the Torah presents Moses as the light of the
world all the way back in Exodus. The Bible’s second
book recalls Genesis in various ways, and its exposition
of Moses’ origins is no exception. After Moses’ mother
gives birth to her son, Exodus reads, “And she saw him
(va’tere oto)—that he was good (ki tov hu)—and she hid
him for three months” (2:2).

I srae l B i b l e C e nt e r 07
 The Hebrew words in this verse parallel the description
of God seeing the light in Genesis: “And God saw the
light (va’yar elohim et ha’or)—that it was good (ki tov)—
and God separated between the light and between the
darkness” (1:3). Just as God sees that the light is good,
Moses’ mother sees that Moses is good.

More, God separates the light from the darkness just as

Jochebed “hid” (tsaphan) the child from those who
sought to kill him—thereby separating the Mosaic light
from the Pharaonic darkness. In John’s Gospel, Jesus
recapitulates Moses as the Light of the World and
alludes to the fact that, just as Moses saved his people
from slavery, the Messiah will save his people from their
sins.

by Dr, Nicholas Schaser

I srae l B i b l e C e nt e r 08
 3
Were the Magi
Jews or Gentiles?

There is debate over the ethnic identities of Matthew’s magi.

Some argue that these travelers from the East were Jews who
had learned the arts of magic and astrology in Babylonia after
the Jewish exile in 586 BCE. Others hold that these visitors to
Judea were Gentiles. While it is possible that these ancient
star-followers were Jews, the textual data in Matthew and
Israel’s Scriptures support the conclusion that the magi were
Gentiles.

Those who see the magi as Jews note that the Jewish exiles
interacted with Babylonian magi according to the Greek
translation of Daniel. When Nebuchadnezzar has a disturbing
dream, he calls for interpreters among “the enchanters, and
the magi (μάγους; mágous), and the sorcerers, and the
Chaldeans” (Dan 2:2 LXX). “Magi” is an Old Persian term that
described Zoroastrian priests; according to Daniel, these
figures attempt to interpret the king’s dream along with the
“Chaldeans”—another word for “Babylonians.”

I srae l B i b l e C e nt e r 09
 Since the Jewish Daniel proves to be the greatest
interpreter in Babylon, he becomes the “leader” (ἄρχοντα;
árchonta) of the “enchanters, magi (μάγων; mágon),
Chaldeans, and sorcerers” (Dan 5:11 LXX). Thus, some
readers speculate, perhaps Daniel taught Jewish traditions
to his underlings (or even converted some of them to
Judaism), so that we should identify Matthew’s magi as
learned Jews who emerged from Daniel’s intellectual
lineage. The main problem with such speculation is that
Daniel and his fellow Jews are never called “magi”
themselves; to the contrary, the Septuagint distinguishes
them from the magi: Daniel and his Jewish friends were
“ten times wiser than all the enchanters and magi (μάγους;
mágous)” (Dan 1:20 LXX). Thus, while Daniel becomes the
chief of all sages under Nebuchadnezzar, Scripture
provides no evidence that Daniel was one of the magi or
that Jews became magi while living in Babylon.

Much of Matthew’s information suggests that the magi

were Gentiles. First, the visitors to Jerusalem ask, “Where
is he who has been born king of the Jews?” (Matt 2:2). This
question about the “king of the Jews” suggests that the
magi are not Jews themselves, or else they would have
asked, “Where has our king been born?” Indeed, since only
Gentiles use the phrase “king of the Jews” elsewhere in
Matthew (cf. 27:11, 29, 37) it’s likely that the magi are
Gentiles also—Jews, on the other hand, refer to the “king
of Israel” (27:42).

I srae l B i b l e C e nt e r 10
 Second, if the magi were learned Jews under the tutelage
of Daniel’s sagacious successors, then why don’t they
already know that the Jewish Messiah must be born in
Bethlehem? Based on the prophecy of Micah, the Jewish
chief priests and scribes know that the Messiah will be
born “in Bethlehem of Judea” (2:5) but the magi do not.
This lack of knowledge does not fit the scenario of Jewish
magi trained in biblical tradition; instead, Matthew’s
presentation suggests a non-Jewish ethnic background for
the magi.

The Gospel narrative recalls verses from Israel’s Scriptures

that foresee Gentiles bringing gifts to Israel. Once the magi
arrive in Bethlehem, they offer Yeshua “gifts (δῶρα; dora)”
of “gold and frankincense (χρυσὸν καὶ λίβανον; chrusòn
kaì líbanon) and myrrh” (Matt 2:11). This scene echoes the
Psalms’ picture of other nations bringing “gifts” (δῶρα;
dora) to Israel (cf. Ps 72:10 [71:10 LXX]; 76:11-12 [75:11-12
LXX]). Isaiah 60:5-6 calls these foreign gifts the “wealth of
the Gentiles,” which includes “gold and frankincense”
(χρυσίον καὶ λίβανον; chrusíon kaì líbanon).

Matthew also notes that the magi bring “myrrh” (σμύρνα;

smúrna)—an aromatic resin that the Jewish Queen Esther
receives from a Persian king (see Est 2:12 LXX).

I srae l B i b l e C e nt e r 11
 More, the oil made from myrrh—called στακτή (stakté)—
is said to have been an item of trade among traveling
Gentiles in Joseph’s day (see Gen 37:25 LXX), and royal
figures of other nations offer it as tribute to King
Solomon (cf. 1 Kgs 10:25; 2 Chron 9:24 LXX). Thus, it is
fitting for Matthew’s traveling Gentile magi to offer
myrrh to Jesus, the King of the Jews. Insofar as the
Gospel’s eastern visitors recapitulate biblical passages
about non-Jews offering treasures to Israelites, it makes
the most sense to see Matthew’s magi as Gentiles whose
worship of Jesus foreshadows his commission to make
disciples of “all the nations” (Matt 28:19).

by Dr. Nicholas Schaser

I srae l B i b l e C e nt e r 12
 4
Why Swaddling
Clothes?

According to Luke’s birth narrative, Mary “gave birth to her

firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes
(ἐσπαργάνωσεν; espargánosen) and laid him in a manger”
(2:7). An angel describes the scene to shepherds, saying, “This
will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in
swaddling clothes and lying in a manger” (2:12).

Why does Luke repeat the seemingly mundane act of

swaddling the infant Jesus, and why does the angel call the
swaddled baby a “sign” (σημεῖον; semeion) for the shepherds?

In the Jewish and Hellenistic cultural contexts of the first

century, these verses denote human kingship and divine
supervision. Luke refers to “swaddling clothes” in order to
highlight Jesus as a royal son of David, and the anointed one
of God.

I srae l B i b l e C e nt e r 13
 In the Jewish book of Wisdom (c. 1st century BCE), king
Solomon describes his earliest days, saying, “I was
nursed with care in swaddling clothes (σπαργάνοις;
spargánois). For no king has a different beginning of
existence” (Wis 7:4-5). Luke notes that Yeshua is wrapped
in swaddling clothes, just like Solomon, to show that this
infant is a king in the line of David.

The Lukan angel’s rhetoric supports this connection

between Jesus and Solomon: “To you is born this day in
the city of David a savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.
This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in
swaddling clothes” (Lk 2:11-12). The swaddling clothes
constitute a sign of Jewish royalty, and an affirmation of
Jesus’ identity as the Davidic king of the Jewish people.

Another well-known reference to swaddling clothes

appears in the Greek literature of Hesiod (8th century
BCE). In a text called Theogony, Hesiod narrates the birth
of Zeus to the goddess Rhea amidst her husband Cronus’s
attempt to eat the infant!

In order to trick her husband and save her child, Rhea

wraps “a great stone in swaddling clothes
(σπαργανίσασα; sparganísasa),” and Cronus consumes
the rock thinking it is his son (Theogony 485).

I srae l B i b l e C e nt e r 14
 Cronus vomits up the stone, the child is saved, and Zeus
grows to defeat his father and become the supreme god
of the Greek pantheon. Any educated ancient reader of
Luke’s Greek Gospel would have known this story of
Zeus’s birth, but the evangelist echoes Hesiod’s
terminology in a very different context: at Jesus’ birth,
there is no other deity to threaten him; to the contrary,
Yeshua is the “Lord” of all (Lk 2:11), and he brings “glory
to God in the highest heaven” (2:14).

The heavenly sign of Jesus’ swaddling clothes proclaims

that this Jewish infant—not Hesiod’s Zeus—is the true
king of kings and Lord of Lords.

by Dr. Nicholas Schaser

I srae l B i b l e C e nt e r 15
 About Israel
Bible Center

Israel Bible Center is an independent institution of higher learning

located in Israel. We offer academic perspectives on a variety of
topics around Jewish history, culture, and Scripture.

With a diverse faculty coming from a wide range of backgrounds

and perspectives, our primary goal is to provide students with
cognitive tools to approach text and tradition both socio-
historically and academically.

Sometimes our interpretations of history and text happen to

dovetail with traditional Jewish and/or Christian views, while at
other times we challenge traditional views based on our studies of
history, language, culture, and context!

Connect
https://israelbiblecenter.com/
info@israelbiblecenter.com

I srae l B i b l e C e nt e r 17
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