I noticed something interesting about the Great Commandment.
The first and great commandment is stated in the Gospel of Matthew
Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy MIND.
This is the first and great commandment.
And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. (KJV)
and stated again in the Gospel of Luke
Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy MIND (KJV)
and again in the Gospel of Mark
And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy MIND, and with all thy strength (KJV)
(emphasis mine).
Notice how in each Gospel account you are commanded to love God with all your MIND? That’s odd, because Jesus is supposedly quoting a verse from the Book of Deuteronomy in the Old Testament. But there’s no mention of MIND.
And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. (KJV)
So where did MIND come from? I think it’s a Christian innovation. I think Jesus is commanding us to THINK. What do you THINK?
Do you believe that the Bible (in particular, the KJV) is the inerrant Word of God? Then please explain why Jesus misquotes himself. (But first go away and have a THINK.)
Your Mind is obviously within your might….
The KJV is obviously not the inerrant Word of God …
“Mind” is NOT an innovation. As with all New Testament quotations of the Old, Jesus is quoting the Septuagint (LXX). See here: http://ecmarsh.com/lxx/Deuteronomy/index.htm
Practically all modern translations of the Bible use the text of the Masoretic Jewish Tanakh c. 12th Century AD, which is over a millenium younger than the LXX, and contains numerous differences with it. That’s why none of the NT quotes of the OT match up when you read most English translations. You’re not holding an accurate and Inspired Bible – and that includes the KJV!
I’ve recently acquired an Orthodox Study Bible, which uses the NKJV text as a starting point (so the NT is identical), but the OT follows the LXX. It’s been enlightening. Despite being a Greek translation of the Hebrew, the LXX is IMHO the Inspired version, since it is more likely to have fidelity with the original texts as written, and was the only version used by the Early Church (and indeed Jesus and His Apostles themselves). It’s also, naturally, the version still used by Greek Christians today.
You say Jesus is quoting a Greek translation of the original Hebrew. But he spoke (during his ministry) in Aramaic. Regardless, there’s still a discrepancy between the OT and NT quotes.
Mind, soul, strength … but now no heart. Are we playing exegetical whack-a-mole?
What is heart? (This matters. Romans 10:9-10.)
You say Jesus is quoting a Greek translation of the original Hebrew. But he spoke (during his ministry) in Aramaic. Regardless, there’s still a discrepancy between the OT and NT quotes.
Yes, but the gospels are written in Greek 30-60 years after the events. They are not transcripts (an account can be truthful and Inspired without necessarily being verbatim). The writers would have used the LXX when Jesus quoted scripture because it was the only Greek translation in existence. And (Luke excepted) being Jews they would have been familiar with both the LXX and the Hebrew manuscripts of the day.
There may be a difference between the Brenton LXX translation I linked to and the OSB I have at home. I will check it after work. It’s possible that different manuscripts said different things. But my point is that Jesus (or the gospel writers) did not innovate, because “mind” is definitely there in the Septuagint, and your point about the KJV is also accurate, because it does not use the LXX as its OT manuscript.
I don’t know where the missing heart went, but I’m not inclined to imbue it with any significance. I don’t think Jesus made up “heart” either.
Richard…. The King James Bible is *the Perfect word of God*…. see how honesty it is translated! Jesus Did indeed say *Mind*.
I will give you my explanation as to why many NT quotes of the OT are different…. *God inspires Translations* and these are not contradictions but *Expansions* whereby The Bible defines and interprets it’s self…. We get a knowledge of what various scriptures really mean by comparison of *Scripture with scripture*…. the differences are insights into correct understanding.