Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus: Things left Unsaid

In chapter 3 of Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus, authors Ann Spangler and Lois Tverberg explore the concept of "stringing pearls".

Early rabbinic tradition shows as classic technique where a rabbi would quote part of a verse and leave the rest unsaid. It was the job of the audience to know (or find) the reference (and context) to understand the full extent of this reference. 

Jesus Himself used this technique as well. There are places in the Gospels where He replies to someone or says something that seems innocuous to a modern reader, but then the next passage talks about how the people were enraged and wanted to kill Him. To us, it seems extreme, especially because what He said wasn't that provoking. But the authors point out that what Jesus was saying was what He wasn't saying. In fact, they state, "There are times when knowing what Jesus doesn't say is becomes as important as knowing what He does say.....The passages from which Jesus quoted provide background for understanding His meaning more fully. If we miss His reference, we may miss His point" (page 42).

For instance, an example of this will be Matthew 21:16, where Jesus quotes Psalm 8:2, "Have you never read, 'From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise?' But the rest of the verse in Psalm reads, "because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger." How does that change our understanding of the story?

The authors say this can happen with just a simple word or phrase. A good rabbi could make references like this, linking verses together from the law, the prophets, and the writings, which is the process of stringing pearls. They would link these verses based on those very words or phrases. Every culture has symbolism or specific references. For instance, if you say "towers" in the United States, people will think of the September 11, 2001. The authors also use the example of a 'bloody glove' that we'd know references OJ Simpson's famous trail in 1996. These are references are things that other cultures might not necessarily pick up on. Add into the mix that modern, Western readers are reading a translation, and we can miss a lot.

Here is an example the author's give that I find fascinating: When Jesus said in Matthew 13:33: "The kingdom of Heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all the way through the dough", the words "a large amount of flour" are actually the words for "3 seahs" in Hebrew.

This is a very specific references, that everyone would have pick up on, a reference "to the story of when God and 2 angels visited Abraham. As Abraham was hurrying off to catch his fattest calf, he caught up with Sarah and told her, 'Quick.... get 3 seahs of the finest flour and knead it and bake some bread' (Genesis 18:6). Three seahs is is about fifty pounds of flower, enough to feed a hundred people! These huge quantity of bread that Sarah baked for just 3 strangers must have awed ancient listeners, and the details of the event would have stuck in their minds... [In fact] the fact that Sarah's leavening was sufficient for such a huge baking project must have seemed like a tiny miracle" (pages 43-44). 

Knowing this reference, suddenly the words "a large amount of flour" seems extremely specific instead of general!