Subject: tc-list Vendyl, ShemTob & Qumran

From: James Trimm <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 10 Dec 1998 21:07:14 -0600

I have learned that Vendyl Jones has published some of his false claims
about Shem Tob Matthew as recently as October of 1998:

	"Rabbi Shem Tov Ben Isaac Ben-Shaprut... wrote a polemic book
	against Christianity.  Included in this book was a chapter titled 
	Eben Bohan.  

	This chapter is a copy of Matthew written in Hebrew.  ...
	The Shem Tov text did not contain the first two chapters
	of Matthew.  Even Professor Howard stated that he had 
	filled in all the parts missing from the text he copied from
	the Jewish Theological Seminary of America.

	From where did the title "Even Bohan" come?... 
	Even Bohan is due west from the north end of the Dead Sea....
	All that area is now referred to as Qumran.  
	(Vendyl Jones Research Institute RESEARCHER Oct. '98 p. 14-15)

Vendyl also falsely claims that Codex Sinaticus lacks the first two
chapters.  He writes

	"That Codex Sinaticus Gospel of Matthew begins with Matthew 3:1."
	(Vendyl Jones Research Institute RESEARCHER Oct. '98 p. 14)

The truth is:

1.  Shem-Tob's entire book is titled "Even Bohan" 
not just the one chapter that has Matthew transcribed into it.

2.  The book is called "Even Bohan" (the touchstone) while the location 
at Qumran is called "Even Bochan" (the stone thumb).  They are not even 
the same Hebrew word (as James Taber has pointed out)

3.  The Shem Tob version of Matthew DOES contain the first two chapters of
Matthew.
George Howard did NOT add them 

4.  The Greek Siniatic text of Matthew ALSO contains the first two
chapters.  In fact I have a facsimile of the first page of it.

James Trimm
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