Studies in Pharisaism and the Gospels Volume 1 by Israel Abrahams
(Note on Luke 4)
Let us try to define exactly what it is that Luke describes. Jesus stood up to read. Then "there was delivered unto him a book of the prophet Isaiah." The verb for "delivered up" might be interpreted "was delivered unto him in addition." In that case Jesus would first have read a verse of the Pentateuchal lesson (perhaps Deut. 7) and then proceeded with the Haftarah. but it is impossible to press the Greek verb in this way. Yet it is at all events clear that the prophet was not Jesus' choice; it was handed to him. Moreover, the wording in Luke makes it almost certain that just as the book of Isaiah was not Jesus' own choice, so the passage from Isaiah was not chosen by Jesus himself." He opened the book and found the place where it was written." The word "found" does not mean he looked for it and chose it, but he "found" it ready. This is implied by a change in the verbs, which I think have been overlooked. We are simply told that Jesus "opened" the book. Jesus does not unroll it, as he would have done had he searched for a text. Luke on the other hand tells us that when he had finished the reading he "rolled it up" . The AV. "he closed the book" does not give the force of the Greek word used. Thus when he has finished Jesus rolls up the scroll which he did not unroll, for it was given to him already unrolled, so that he only opened it at the place already selected and found the passage in Isaiah ready for him to read. In fact, while the Pentateuch was read in an unbroken order, the Haftarah might be derived from any part of the Prophets, provide always that one condition was fulfilled: the passage was bound to resemble in subject matter the Torah just read.
The right to "skip" while reading the Prophets was well attested "Mishnah Megillah 4:4). Being written on a Scroll, the two passages might easily be open together, and Jesus in accordance with what at all became a usual Rabbinic device, intended to use both texts as the key to his exposition. Such skipping to suitable passages may be noted in the Genizah fragments of haftarahs in the triennial cycle.
(Note on Luke 4)
Let us try to define exactly what it is that Luke describes. Jesus stood up to read. Then "there was delivered unto him a book of the prophet Isaiah." The verb for "delivered up" might be interpreted "was delivered unto him in addition." In that case Jesus would first have read a verse of the Pentateuchal lesson (perhaps Deut. 7) and then proceeded with the Haftarah. but it is impossible to press the Greek verb in this way. Yet it is at all events clear that the prophet was not Jesus' choice; it was handed to him. Moreover, the wording in Luke makes it almost certain that just as the book of Isaiah was not Jesus' own choice, so the passage from Isaiah was not chosen by Jesus himself." He opened the book and found the place where it was written." The word "found" does not mean he looked for it and chose it, but he "found" it ready. This is implied by a change in the verbs, which I think have been overlooked. We are simply told that Jesus "opened" the book. Jesus does not unroll it, as he would have done had he searched for a text. Luke on the other hand tells us that when he had finished the reading he "rolled it up" . The AV. "he closed the book" does not give the force of the Greek word used. Thus when he has finished Jesus rolls up the scroll which he did not unroll, for it was given to him already unrolled, so that he only opened it at the place already selected and found the passage in Isaiah ready for him to read. In fact, while the Pentateuch was read in an unbroken order, the Haftarah might be derived from any part of the Prophets, provide always that one condition was fulfilled: the passage was bound to resemble in subject matter the Torah just read.
The right to "skip" while reading the Prophets was well attested "Mishnah Megillah 4:4). Being written on a Scroll, the two passages might easily be open together, and Jesus in accordance with what at all became a usual Rabbinic device, intended to use both texts as the key to his exposition. Such skipping to suitable passages may be noted in the Genizah fragments of haftarahs in the triennial cycle.
