Was Simon a Leper or Jar Maker?


by Lee Underwood - Date: 2007-04-26 - Word Count: 643 Share This!

I think for many people, it's now a foregone conclusion that Yeshua was a Jew, living in a Jewish nation, which was under Roman rule. Being a Jew meant that Yeshua and His disciples looked at everything from a Hebraic viewpoint. Part of that viewpoint meant that their lives were guided by Torah (the first five books of Scripture). Looking at it from that point of view, we can see that some of the translations of the writings of Paul, John, Mark, and others doesn't seem to make sense.

That is not to say that their writings are not accurate. It's just that, over time and due to many different circumstances, some of it does not reflect the true meaning of the original text. This also comes from not looking at them with a Hebraic viewpoint. One of those instances can be found in Mark 14.3 (and also in Matthew 26.6-7). Here is the passage we're discussing:

"While He was in Bethany at the home of Simon the leper, and reclining at the table, there came a woman with an alabaster vial of very costly perfume of pure nard; and she broke the vial and poured it over His head." (Mark 14:3)

Now, what would be wrong with that verse, you are probably asking. Well, according to the way it is written here, Simon has leprosy, he is living in the city of Bethany, and there are other people at his house with him. And what is wrong with that, you ask. Well, let's put it in Hebraic perspective.

In Torah God gives detailed instructions regarding a person who has leprosy, specifically:

"As for the leper who has the infection, his clothes shall be torn, and the hair of his head shall be uncovered, and he shall cover his mustache and cry, 'Unclean! Unclean!' He shall remain unclean all the days during which he has the infection; he is unclean. He shall live alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp. (Leviticus 13:45-46)

Notice that the person is required to live alone, outside the camp, or in this instance, the city. This is exactly opposite of what is written about Simon. He would also have cried out so that others would not come near so as to become unclean themselves.

This last part becomes significant when we take into consideration that Mark writes (Mark 14.1) that the Passover was only two days away. That means that, if Simon had leprosy, those coming near him, into his house, would become unclean and unable to eat the Passover meal.

So then how do we reconcile the verse with Torah? We will need to take it back to the Hebrew and see how that works. (Although I believe that much of the writings of Matthew, Mark, John, and others were written in Hebrew, I won't go into a discussion of that here. In any event, we still need to look at the passage from a Hebraic viewpoint.)

Many times in the Hebrew writings, Aramaic words are used, as in Daniel and Ezra. For instance, the word used for "daddy" or "papa" is actually the Aramaic word "Abba". Today this word is commonly used in Hebrew-speaking homes. These words are known as "loan words".

The Aramaic word for leper is "gar'ba" while the Aramaic word for jar maker or jar merchant is "garaba". Given the fact that vowel pointing did not come about until the 6th century, it would be easy to mistake the two if you don't understand Torah and look at the entire situation.

If we change the passage to Simon the jar maker (or merchant), it then makes sense. Especially when you consider that the woman had an alabaster vial, or jar. That also eliminates all of the problems with Simon being a leper.

As I said in the beginning of this article, when we put things in their proper perspective they make much more sense.


Related Tags: jesus, simon, yeshua, leper, annointing oil, alabaster, jar

Web site: http://www.shamar.org

My name is Lee Underwood. Several years ago the Lord called me to serve Him as a vessel in His work, which has taken me to many places, both physical and spiritual. As Yeshua said, "My meat is to do the Father's work". I am not a scholar. I am, as Peter and John and James, just a lowly "Galilean". I seek only to glorify the Lord, to help others as He has given me wisdom to do, by utilizing the gifts He has given me as a writer, teacher, and musician.

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