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Jesus on the Law in Matt 5:17 has prophecy of Paul as "least man." Discuss non-issue of circumcision.

Jun 27, 2022

Video Description

We should all know that Jesus said that the Law would not disappears until the heavens and earth pass away. Whoever teaches us to not follow the "least" command will be called by those in heaven the "least man." Elicthos in Greek.

This turns out to be one of the greatest prophecies of Jesus about the:"least man." Paul's name is from Paulus (as he was born in Tarsus and had to have a Roman name), and this name is a contraction of Pauxilus (lessser) or Pauxillilus - the least. Paul referred to himself as "the least" of the Apostles in 1 Cor. 15:9. Augustine in the 300s said Paul was playing on the meaning of his name -- recognizing Paul's name meant "the Least." No one paid attention to this as a negative prophecy from Jesus until the 1800s. Now it is admitted in the mainstream.

No one noticed this for centuries.

Thomas Holyoke matter of factly explains in A Large Dictionary in Three Parts (Sawbridge 1677) at "Pau ... Pec" that there are two words at issue that Paulus can form from: "Pauxillus...very little, exceeding few. Pauxillulus...the least that can be, extraordinarily few."

The latter is known as a double dimunitive -- adding illilus to "paucus" (small, few) (from which 'poco' in Spanish comes from) -- where the 'c' sound changes to an x sound. This is not something Matthew or Hebrew speaker would have recognized, as even a Latin speaker would not know whether Paulus was contracting for 'the Smaller" or 'the Least."

Only a Latin speaker like Augustine in the late 300s recognized Paul was confessing his name at birth was Pauxillilus, and that tanslates as Elicthos in Greek, and thus Paul was playing -- obscurely -- upon his own name's meaning in 1 Cor. 15:9. Attention to this arose once more in the 1800s.

In the Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary, in order to explain why Paul calls himself the "least" (in Greek, elichiston, adj.) of the apostles in 1 Cor. 15:9, the commentators point out the meaning of Paul's true Latin name: name, "Paulus," in Latin, means "least." (See also Biblos quote of Jamieson).

Likewise, we read in Farrar, The Life and Work of St. Paul (E.P. Dutton, 1880) at 200 or (1903) at 200 the meaning of Paul's name, and how Augustine ca. 390 AD explained Paul used it in 1 Cor. 15:9:

"Paulus, a contraction of Pauxillus [sic: Pauxillulus], means 'least.'" (citing a reference in Augustine's Sermons clxix; See version in French here.)

Do Christian scholars admit Jesus prophesied negatively about Paul in Matthew 5:17? A couple made this point.

Johannes Weiss (1863-1914), Professor of Theology at Heidelberg (see photo below), in Das Urchristentum (1917) said “least” in Matt 5:19 is a prophecy about Paul.

In 1951, scholar S.G.F. Brandon agreed with Weiss, “that the least in the kingdom of heaven is a reference to Paul, the least of the apostles (cf 1 Cor 15:9).” (See D.C. Sim, “Matthew’s anti-Paulinism: A neglected feature of Matthean studies,” HTS 58(2) 2002 at 767 et seq. [link], citing S.G.F. Brandon, The Fall of Jerusalem and the Christian Church (2nd edition. London: SPCK, 1957) at 232-34.

Even the rabid pro-Paul Rufolf Bultmann had to confess the plausibility of Weiss' contention, saying that Matthew 5:19 is a reference "perhaps to Paul himself." (Rudolf Bultmann, Theology of the New Testament (Trans. Kendrick Grobel)(N.Y.: Charles Scribner's & Sons, 1972) at 349 / Id., (1951) at 54.)

Mainstream theological works from the fundamentalist side likewise acknowledge "many" think so. David Hill in The Gospel of Matthew (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1981) notes: "Many have found in this verse an attack on the work and teaching of Paul" (Id., at 119), and "it is claimed the term 'least' is a reference to Paul."

Bromily in 1995 tried to suggest a legitimate response is that it was due to "stricter" Christians (apostles?) than Paul. Bromily in the International Bible Standard Encyclopedia (Eerdman's 1995) mentions some make the "argument that the warning in Mt. 5:19 about the man who 'relaxes one of these least commandments and teaches men so' is a covert attack by stricter Jewish Christians on Paul." Id., at 823.

But the truth is it was as prophecy only Jesus would know. As no one but Paul and his parents could know whether his name was Pauxillus (Smaller) or Pauxillilus (Least) as the contraction was identical -- Paulus. The only person in Christian history who recognized this was in the late 300s -- Augustine -- but only because he spoke and read Latin. Hence, this is not something a "stricter Jewish Christian" could have manipulated into the text of Matthew 5:17. Only Jesus could by inspiration from YHWH could know this about Paul, and perfectly prophesied of him in this verse -- negatively we must recognize.
For more on that, see our article online:
https://jesuswordsonly.org/topicindex/280-jesus-on-paul-the-least.html

 

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