Does Deuteronomy 18 Foretell the Coming of A Special Prophet?

 

 

I.            Introduction

 

The 18^th Chapter in Deuteronomy contains two verses, Deuteronomy 18:15&18, which are often used by Christian apologists and missionaries to try to convince Jews that the coming of Jesus is foretold in the Hebrew Bible.  A careful reading and analysis of the entire relevant passage, Deuteronomy 18:9-22, helps place these two verses into their proper context, and demonstrates the absurdity of such claims.

 

Muslims who, in recent years, have started to target Jews for conversion to Islam, use these same passages to try to convince Jews that in them the coming of their "prophet" Muhammad is foretold.  Although the analysis presented herein is geared to refute the Christian claims, a similar case is easily made to refute the Islamic claim.

 

II.            Comparison of Christian and Jewish English Translations

 

Side-by-side English renditions of the passage Deuteronomy 18:9-22 – the King James Version (KJV) translation in the left column and a Jewish translation in the right column, with verse numbers shown in the middle – are displayed in Table II-1.  Due to the length of this passage, and the fact that only two verses will be subjected to a detailed analysis, the Hebrew text is not included.  The two verses of interest, Deuteronomy 18:15&18, are highlighted in Table II-1, and are quoted again, along with their respective Hebrew text, in Table IV.A-1.  The KJV rendition also shows references to key passages in the New Testament, where the respective portions of this passage are cross-referenced.  The information on these New Testament/"Old Testament" cross-references in the Christian Bible was taken from the New American Standard Bible (NASB).  The referenced verses, quoted from the KJV New Testament, are displayed under Table II-1.

 

Table II-1 – The passage Deuteronomy 18:9-22

 

1. Acts 3:22(KJV) - For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up

                               unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever

                               he shall say unto you.

    Acts 7:37(KJV) - This is that Moses, which said unto the children of Israel, A prophet shall the Lord

                               your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear.

    John 1:21(KJV) - And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou

that prophet? And he answered, No.

2. Acts 3:23(KJV) - And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall

                               be destroyed from among the people.

 

The KJV and Jewish translations of Deuteronomy 18:15&18 are reasonably close.  However, Christology is subtly imputed into these two verses by the KJV translators in that the term  (navi), properly rendered as a prophet in the Jewish translation, is partially capitalized as a Prophet in the KJV translation.  This issue will be one important aspect of the analysis.

 

III.            Overview of Christian and Jewish Interpretations

 

A.      Overview of the Christian Perspective

 

The following is a summary of the Christian perspective on this passage..  Standard Christian sources, such as commentaries by Matthew Henry and Jamieson, Fausset, & Brown (JF&B), provide detailed Christian interpretations.

 

According to the New Testament, Deuteronomy 18:15&18 are messianic passages, with Jesus fulfilling the promise given by Moses, that a great prophet will arise from among the people.  While the Christian commentators admit the plausibility of the application of this passage to the succession of true prophets whom G-d commissioned to instruct, direct, and warn His people, the prevalent view is that the prophet spoken of and promised in this passage is pre-eminently Jesus.  This view is supported by the claims that Jesus alone was like Moses in his character as a mediator, in the excellence of his ministry, in the number, variety, and magnitude of his miracles, in his close and familiar communion with G-d, and in his being the author of a new dispensation of religion (see JF&B commentary).  The Christian view is that this prediction was fulfilled some 1,500 years after the words were spoken by Moses, and was expressly applied to Jesus by Peter (Ac 3:22-23) and by Stephen (Ac 7:37).  Moreover, according to the Gospels, Jesus considered himself a prophet (e.g., Mt 13:57; Mk 6:4; Lk 4:24; Jn 4:44), a view that was shared by his followers (e.g., Mt 21:11,46; Lk 7:16, 13:32-33, 24:19; Jn 6:14, 7:40).

 

Also within the Christian perspective is the view that Deuteronomy 18:19 foretells the direful consequences of unbelief in Jesus and the disregard of his mission.  This is often alleged by Christian apologists and missionaries to be something the Jewish people have endured for the 19 centuries that followed his ministry.

 

B.     Overview of the Jewish Perspective

 

According to the traditional Jewish perspective, the Torah strengthens the authority of the prophet by affirming him or her as the successor of Moses and the only legitimate channel of communication with G-d.  This is in complete contrast to what the Torah states of the king, whose power is limited (see Deut 17:14-20).  Consequently, prophets were among the leaders of the Jewish society, along with priests, elders, and, in monarchic times, along with kings and royal officials, and some prophets were influential members of the royal court. 

 

G-d promises to show enduring concern for Israel by sending them prophets.  According to the Hebrew Bible, a prophet is not someone whose main function is to tell the future, stealing knowledge from G-d and sharing it with the people (see, in contrast, the definition of a Gentile prophet in Deut 18:10-11).  A prophet is someone who tells the truth; someone who does not tell us what we want to know, but rather tells us what G-d wants us to know, diligently reminding us of our covenantal obligations.

 

The passage Deuteronomy 18:9-22 teaches the Israelites about prophets and their role, since the people may naturally desire to know the future or to learn the Divine mind; and they will be living among nations who hold that the will of the gods was best learned through augury and sorcery.  Within this passage, the description of the place of the prophet is preceded by a stern warning against dealing with soothsayers and diviners.  It is a rephrasing of the severe injunctions commanded earlier in the Torah:

 

Leviticus 19:26,31 – (26) You shall not eat over blood; you shall not indulge in sorcery, and you shall not believe in lucky times.

(31) You shall not turn to the mediums, nor shall you seek after the wizards, [and thereby] be defiled by them; I am the L-rd your G-d.

 

While, on the surface, Deuteronomy 18:9-22 might appear to be speaking about a prophet, in reality it concerns the establishment of the Office of the Prophet, a position filled by 50 Jewish prophets after Moses.  The Office of the Prophet is established via the expression "all that I shall command him".  If, for the sake of argument, one were to assume that the prophet being described here is to be only one special future prophet, then it follows that all prophets who came after Moses, except for Moses and this particular prophet, were false prophets.  And, one must not ignore the warning found in Deuteronomy 18:20 concerning the fate of a false prophet.  This is, of course, absurd – a false conclusion that would result from a false assumption.

 

The correct context of Deuteronomy 18:15 is that G-d will send His prophets, a [significant] prophet in each generation, to Israel; a prophet not of the same rank and caliber as Moses (Deut 34:10), but of the line of prophets of which Moses is the "titular father".  The Office of the Prophet is thus conceived not so much as one who foretells the future, but, in spiritual succession to Moses, as the teacher and religious guide of his age.  The gift of predicting the future, where this serves a moral purpose, is bestowed on him as well.

 

IV.            A Closer Look at the Passage

 

1. Deriving the Proper Context

 

When selected verses out of an entire passage are "quoted" by persons who do not know the Hebrew language and its idioms, the correct overall context is likely to be lost in favor of some biased interpretation.  This precisely is the case when Christian apologists and missionaries lift the two verses, Deuteronomy 18:15&18, out of Deuteronomy 18:9-22, a passage that deals with divination and prophecy.

 

In Table IV.A-1, the two verses are shown in the Hebrew text and side-by-side English renditions – the King James Version translation in the left column and a Jewish translation in the middle column next to the Hebrew text.  The highlighted words and phrases will be discussed later as part of the analysis.

 

Table IV.A-1 – Deuteronomy 18:15&18

 

 

As was noted in Section II, the KJV translation includes a subtle attempt at imputing Christological prophetic messianic meaning to these verses by rendering the translation of the Hebrew term  (navi), a prophet, as a Prophet.  A study of the application of the term prophet in the KJV Bible, both in the  "Old Testament" and in the New Testament, shows if this particular treatment by the KJV is justified.  The information collected from the KJV is presented in Table IV.A-2.

 

Table IV.A-2 – Application of the term "prophet" in the KJV Bible

 

 

As is evident from the above information, the use of the Prophet in the KJV's John 7:40, where it is a direct reference to Jesus, appears to be designed ostensibly for the purpose of connecting Jesus with the KJV's use of a Prophet in Deuteronomy 18:15&18.

 

What is the correct context of these two passages?  In Deuteronomy 18:15, Moses speaks to the Israelites and tells them about G-d's promise.  To paraphrase [Moses saying to the Israelites]:

 

G-d told ME that He would bring forth for YOU a prophet from YOUR midst…, LIKE ME, …

 

In Deuteronomy 18:18, Moses speaks to the Israelites and quotes G-d's promise as it was told to him.  To paraphrase [Moses quoting what G-d said to him]:

 

This is what G-d said to me: “I will bring forth a prophet for THEM from among THEM…, LIKE YOU,…”.

 

So, in effect, the two verses convey the same message – the former being a paraphrase of G-d's promise and the latter being a quotation of G-d's promise.

 

The term  (navi), a prophet, which is highlighted in the Hebrew and English texts shown in Table IV.A-1, is in common use in the Hebrew Bible.  It appears in the Hebrew Bible, in all forms (singular, plural, male, female, with and without prepositions, etc.) on 315 occasions.  Generally, whenever this term is applied with the definite article (and, occasionally, with an attached preposition), such as,  (ha'navi), the prophet,  (v^eha'navi), and the prophet,  (la'navi), to the prophet, etc., it always refers to someone specific.  In contrast, whenever the term is used without a definite article, such as,  (navi), a prophet,  (v^enavi), and a prophet,  (l^enavi), to a prophet, etc., unless connected explicitly with a name or someone identified elsewhere in the nearby text, it is used in a generic sense.  Two examples illustrate exceptions to the generic case:

 

Genesis 20:7 - And now, return the man's wife [Sarah], because he [Abraham] is a prophet [ (navi)], and he will pray for you [Abimelech] and [you will] live; but if you do not return [her], know that you will surely die, you and all that is yours.

 

1 Kings 13:18 – And he [the old prophet from Beth El] said to him [G-d's prophet from Judah], "I, too, am a prophet [ (navi)] like you [ (kamocha)], and an angel spoke to me with the word of the L-rd, saying, 'Bring him back with you to your house, and he shall eat bread and drink water';" he lied to him.

 

Otherwise,  (navi), a prophet,  (v^enavi), and a prophet,  (l^enavi), to a prophet, etc., are generic references.  Consequently, the way that the singular or individual reference is to be understood in context, in the (idiomatic) Hebrew, is as being a general term, such as would be applicable to describe the Office of the Prophet, rather than to identify a specific individual.  This is also the case concerning false prophets in Deuteronomy 13:2, as will be seen later, where the individual term  (navi), a prophet, is used, but not to point to any one specific person.

 

Deuteronomy 18:18 contains the following description:

 

“…and I will put My words in his mouth; and he shall speak to them all that I shall command him.”

 

The prophet here, i.e., any one of the true prophets of Israel, has the ability to speak only what the Creator commands him and puts in his mouth; he himself may not speak or say anything on his own authority.  This scenario is found elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible:

 

Isaiah 59:21 – "As for Me, this is My covenant with them," says the L-rd; "My spirit that is upon you, and My words which I have placed in your mouth; shall not depart from your mouth and from the mouth of your seed and from the mouth of your seed’s seed," said the L-rd, "from now and to eternity."

 

Jeremiah 1:9 - And the L-rd reached His hand, and He touched my mouth; and the L-rd said to me, "Behold, I have put My words in your mouth."

 

The Hebrew Bible teaches that a prophet's primary role was to be G-d's messenger and spokesperson, communicating G-d's will in all matters.  He or she was, in essence, the envoy through whom G-d, the divine King, governs Israel, as Deuteronomy 18:19 states:

 

“…whoever will not listen to My words which he shall speak in My name, I Myself will call him to account [for it].”,

 

This declaration establishes the prophet as the highest authority in the land, higher even than the king, about whose commands no similar declaration is ever made in the Hebrew Bible.  As such, prophets played a major role in the religious, domestic, and political life of the nation. 

 

It is important to understand that these passages describe a prophet and not a god, a fact that is evident from the use of the terms like me [ (kamoni)] and like you [ (kamocha)] in Deuteronomy 18:15&18, respectively.  These terms,  (kamoni), like me, and