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Matthew

Note Journal Prayer

5

:

18

“

For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth shall pass away, not even one iota, nor one stroke of a letter, shall pass away from the law, until everything should happen.

Lexicon

Verse part Definition: Part of speech: Strong's: Greek: Transliteration:
truly Verily, truly, amen; at the end of sentences may be paraphrased by: So let it be. Heb H281 ἀμὴν amēn
I say (denoting speech in progress), (a) to say, speak; to mean, mention, tell, (b) to call, name, especially in the pass., (c) to tell, command. V-PIA-1S H3004 λέγω legō
until (a) conj: until, (b) prep: as far as, up to, as much as, until. Conj H2193 ἕως eōs
. . . An untranslatable word (under the circumstances, in that case, anyhow), the general effect of which is to make a statement contingent, which would otherwise be definite: it is thus regularly used with the subjunctive mood. N-NMS H3772 οὐρανὸς ouranos
earth The earth, soil, land, region, country, inhabitants of a region. N-NFS H1093 γῆ gē
shall pass away, To pass by, pass away, pass out of sight; to be rendered void, become vain, neglect, disregard. V-ASA-3S H3928 παρέλθῃ parelthē
shall pass away To pass by, pass away, pass out of sight; to be rendered void, become vain, neglect, disregard. V-ASA-3S H3928 παρέλθῃ parelthē
one One. Adj-NFS H1520 ἓν en
Analysis:

One: God

Refers to HaShem (God), Who is One. This number can also refer to unity. The first place the number "one" occurs is in Genesis 1:5. There one reads, "And there was an evening and there was a morning— one day". Later on in this same book of Genesis, it is stated concerning the man and his wife, "And they became one flesh" (Genesis 2:24). It is very significant that in both of these examples there was a multiplicity for the subject. In the first example, the evening and the morning became one day and in the second example, it was Adam and Eve who became one flesh.

One of the most famous passages in the Torah concerning HaShem is Deuteronomy 6:4 which states, "Hear O Israel the Lord your God the Lord is One." The question that a person must ask himself is what is the connection between the use of the Hebrew word אחד "one" which identifies a multiplicity being one and the fact that the Lord God of Israel is One? The answer is that the Hebrew word אחד can relate to the concept for one as in "unification". There is another Hebrew word that would have been possible to be used if the author wanted to refer to an absolute oneness or singleness. This is the Hebrew word יחיד. In fact, there is a well-known prayer in Judaism which states, "אחד ואין יחיד כיחודו". This phrase should be translated as, "(God is) One and there is no singularity as His singularity." The idea that is being expressed in this prayer is that the Lord God of Israel is One; but not an absolute One; rather there is a uniqueness and a complexity to His Oneness.

The number one is frequently employed to express in the Scriptures one object, such as one man or one tabernacle. This usage would be the simple or common purpose that the number one or for that matter any number, would appear in a Biblical text. Often the appearance of a number does not contain any of the significance that Hebrew numerology might offer. Therefore, the reader must always consider when coming across a verse which contains a number, that the number only expresses an amount and no additional significance. 

Because the number one is often associated with God, there is a unique phenomenon in the Scriptures concerning this number. Sometimes the number one is employed to express a unique relationship that the object has to HaShem. For example,

"And it will be one day, it will be known to HaShem..." Zechariah 14:7

In the text above, Zechariah could have stated simply, "And it will be a day…" The fact that the prophet said "one day" is to convey that this day is uniquely related to God. Similarly, it is stated by the prophet Ezekiel in chapter 37, "one King", "one nation" and "one Shepherd" (see Ezekiel 37:22, 24). Each of these objects—King, nation and Shepherd—has a connection to HaShem. The King and Shepherd is Messiah Yeshua, the Son of God and the one nation is Israel, the people of God.

Loveisrael.org - Baruch Korman, Ph.D. - All Rights Reserved - Used with Permission 2016
iota, Iota, a small letter of the Greek alphabet, used in the NT to indicate the smallest part. N-NNS H2503 ἰῶτα iōta
nor Or, than. Conj H2228 ἢ ē
stroke of a letter, A little hook, an apostrophe on letters of the alphabet, distinguishing them from other little letters, or a separation stroke between letters. N-NFS H2762 κεραία keraia
not even No, not. N-GMS H3551 νόμου nomou
until (a) conj: until, (b) prep: as far as, up to, as much as, until. Conj H2193 ἕως eōs
. . . An untranslatable word (under the circumstances, in that case, anyhow), the general effect of which is to make a statement contingent, which would otherwise be definite: it is thus regularly used with the subjunctive mood. Adj-NNP H3956 πάντα panta
should happen. To come into being, to be born, become, come about, happen. V-ASM-3S H1096 γένηται genētai

Parallel Verses

Removed text
Added text
Berean Bible For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth shall pass away, not even one iota, nor one stroke of a letter, shall pass away from the law, until everything should happen.
King James Bible For truly verily I say to unto you, until Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass away, not even one iota, nor one stroke of a letter, shall pass away from the law, until everything should happen.till all be fulfilled.
Hebrew Greek English For "For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth shall pass away, not even one iota, nor one the smallest letter or stroke of a letter, shall pass away from the law, Law until everything should happen.all is accomplished.
New American Standard Bible 1995 For "For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth shall pass away, not even one iota, nor one the smallest letter or stroke of a letter, shall pass away from the law, Law until everything should happen.all is accomplished.