HaY'Did Learning Center UPDATE August 25, 2000

THE TEACHING METHODS OF JESUS
HILLEL'S SEVEN MIDOT
All Rights Reserved   By Dr. E. William Bean  

The great Rabbi Hillel (A.D. 10), who taught Scripture about a generation before our Lord's ministry, used seven rules, i.e., principles for interpreting the Bible.Hillel's rules drew inferences and analogies from Scripture, and some of them were employed by Jesus (Yeshua)  in his interpretation of his Bible.   These rules (the seven midot) are found in the to-sef-TA.   Throughout the history of Judaism, the Torah has been investigated and analyzed by means of various rules of interpretation.  These hermeneutic (interpretative) principles are simply statements of deductive reasoning.  

Rule #1:  kal-va-HO-mer,  Simple and complex.  
Rule #2: ge-ze-RAH sha-VAH, An inference drawn from analogy of expressions, that is, from similar words and phrases elsewhere.  
Rule #3: bin-YAN av mi-ka-TUV e-HAD, A general principle established on the basis of a teaching contained in one verse, constructing a leading rule from one passage.  
Rule #4: bin-YAN av mi-shNE ke-tu-VIM, General principle from two verses.  
Rule #5: k'LAL uf'RAT uf'RAT u-k'LAL,  An inference drawn from a general principle in the text to a specific example, or vice versa. Rule #6: ka-yo-TSE bo be-ma-KOM a-HER, Something similar in another passage.  
Rule #7: da-VAR ha-la-MED me-in-ya-NO, An interpretaton of a word or passage derived from its context.                  

kal-va-HO-mer
RULE #1 "An inference drawn from a minor premise to a major and vice versa"   Strong's Concordance [SC] Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament  [TWOT] SC: 6963  KOL   TWOT: 2028b  
Kal means "light." HO-mer means "heavy." When placed together: kal-va-HO-mer  the meaning is: "Light and heavy." Also known as a "fortiori."  

RULE #1   Rule #1:  kal-va-HO-mer ; (simple and complex) is a logical deduction that can be drawn from a simple truth about a less obvious situation, or from something known about something unknown.  For example, "Silence becomes a scholar; "how much more a fool" (Tosefta, Pesahim 9:2). Notice the key phrase "how much more," which appears in most examples of
rabbinic simple-to-complex reasoning.       Hillel's Use of kal-va-HO-mer   "Once when Hillel concluded his lesson and began walking away his disciples asked him, 'Master, where are you going?'  He answered, 'To do a mitsvah [commandment].'  They said to him, 'And what is the mitsvah you are going to do?' He Answered,  'To take a bath in the bath house.' 'That's a mitsvah?' they exclaimed.  'Yes,' he said.  'The images of kings are placed in their theaters and circuses.  The one appointed  to look after these images  scrubs and washes them and they [the kings] pay his wages.  Not only that, but he is honored like one of the nobles of the kingdom.  Now we who have been created in the image and likeness of God, as it is written, 'For in His image did God make man' [Gen. 9:6], "how much more" should we scrub and wash ourselves.'"      

EXAMPLES OF: Rule #1 kal-va-HO-mer   A lighter (less significant) to the weightier (more significant)  An inference drawn from a minor premise to a major and vice versa.  
EXAMPLES FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT:    NIV Deuteronomy 31:27: "For I know how rebellious and stiff-necked you are. If you have been rebellious against the LORD while I am still alive and with you, 'how much more' will you rebel after I die!"    NIV 1 Samuel 23:3: "But David's men said to him, 'Here in Judah we are afraid. 'How much more,' then, if we go to Keilah  against the Philistine forces!'"    NIV Proverbs 11:31: "If the righteous receive their due on earth, 'how much more' the ungodly and the sinner!"

          EXAMPLE OF A MAJOR TO A MINOR:    NIV Ezekiel 15:5:  "If it was not useful for anything when it was whole, 'how much less' can it be made into something useful when the fire has burned it and it is charred?"   How Jesus used Rule #1    NIV Matthew 6:26: "Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you 'not much more' valuable than they?"    NIV Luke 12:24: " Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And 'how much more' valuable you are than birds!"   NOTE: This rule is at work when Jesus assures his disciples that because God cares for the birds (light), they can be sure that he cares for them (heavy).  

Scripture from the Old Testament:    NIV Exodus 23:5: "If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen down under its load, do not leave it there; be sure you help him with it."   How Jesus (Yeshua) alluded to the verse and used Rule #1:   NIV Matthew 12:11: " He said to them, 'If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? 12 'How much more'valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.'"    NIV Matthew 12:12: " 'How much more' valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath."          

Scripture from the Old Testament:    KJV Genesis 1:11: " And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so."   How Jesus alluded to the verse and used Rule #1:    NIV Luke 12:28: " If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, 'how much more' will he clothe you, O you of little faith!"   Scripture from the Old Testament:    NIV Exodus 34:30:  "When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him."   NIV Jeremiah 31:31: "'The time is coming,'  declares the LORD, 'when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.'"              

Paul's use of Rule #1    NIV 2 Corinthians 3:7: "Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, fading though it was, 8 will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? 9 If the ministry that condemns men is glorious, 'how much more glorious' is the ministry that brings righteousness! 10 For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory. 11 And if what was fading away came with glory, 'how much greater' is the glory of that which lasts."   Scripture from the Old Testament:   Lev. 16 and Numbers 19: speaks of cermonial cleansing.  If in the Old Covenant the blood of animals could effect a ceremonial, external cleansing, (Hebrews 9:13f)  'How much more' shall the blood of the Messiah cleanse our conscience.    NIV Hebrews 9:13: "The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean."    NIV Hebrews 9:14: " 'How much more,' then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!"  

Scripture from the Old Testament:    NIV Psalm 147:9:  "He provides food for the cattle and for the young ravens when they call."   How Jesus alluded to the verse and used Rule #1:   NIV Luke 12:24: " Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And 'how much more' valuable you are than birds!"          

TWO KEY EXAMPLES OF  Rule #1,  kal-va-HO-mer FIRST:  BA-al ha-BA-yit
(owner of the house)    NIV Matthew 10:24: "A student is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. 25 It is enough for the student to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If the head of the house [BA-al BA-yit] has been called Beelzebub, 'how much more' the members of his household!"   NOTE: This verse is so Hebraic that in translating it from Greek to Hebrew, the syntax need not  be altered except in the case of one word. A literal translation of the Greek will help illustrate how non-Greek and non-English are these words of Jesus:    Not is a pupil above the teacher, and not a slave above the master of him.  [It is] enough for the pupil that he be like the teacher of him, and the slave like the master of him. If the BA-al ha BA-yit [head of the house] BA-al-ze-VUL [beelzebub]  they have called, 'how much more' the sons of the house his.   The reference to Ba-al ha-BA-yit  and BA-al ze-VUL  is an example of Hebrew word-play. The term Ba-al ha-BA-yit , owner of the house, is often used by the rabbis to refer to God; BA-al ze-VUL  means "Beelzebul" and refers to Satan.  In idiomatic English the passage would
be expressed as follows:      

A pupil [i.e., disciple] is no better than his teacher, nor a slave better than his master.  What is good enough for the teacher is good enough for the pupil [i.e., disciples], and a slave should not expect to receive better treatment than his master.  If the householder has been called "Satan," it is only natural that the members of his household will be called the same.  

SECOND KEY EXAMPLE THE GREEN TREE:   There is fourth passage in which Jesus used simple-to-complex reasoning, although the key phrase "how much more" does not actually appear in it:    NIV Luke 23:28: "Jesus turned and said to them, 'Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children.'"  29 "For the time will come when you will say,'Blessed are the barren women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!'" 30 "Then  they will say to the mountains, 'Fall on us!' and to the hills, 'Cover us!'" 31 "For if men do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?"   Not only did Jesus use of the kal-va-HO-mer  (principle of interpretation) in this passage, he also used the rabbinic teaching technique of scripture allusion ] "remez." The expression "Cover us, fall on us!" is from Hosea 10:8, and points toward the events of Jerusalem's destruction.    NIV Hosea 10:8: "The high places of wickedness will be destroyed-- it is the sin of Israel. Thorns and thistles will grow up and cover their altars. Then they will say to the mountains, 'Cover us!' and to the hills, 'Fall on us!'"    The "Green tree," taken from Ezekiel 20:47, similarly hints at the impending catastrophe, but beyond that at Jesus' role as Messiah.    NIV Ezekiel 20:47: "Say to the southern forest  'Hear the word of the LORD.' This is what the Sovereign LORD says: 'I am about to set fire to you, and it will consume all your trees, both green and dry. The blazing flame will not be quenched, and every face from south to north will be scorched by it.'"  

The people who heard Jesus say these words as he was going to his crucifixion certainly understood that his reference to himself as the "Green tree" was a bold messianic claim.  It also was a warning, for Jesus was telling the people, "If this terrible thing can happen to me, 'how much more' to you."   As in the preceding example [BA-al ha-BA-yit] Jesus contrasted himself to others: if he is called "Satan," his disciples will certainly be called "Satan;" if he is crucified, those who are weeping for him can only expect the same fate or worse.   It is worth noting that another rabbi made a similar statement some 150 years prior to Jesus, also while on his way to be crucified.  Yose ben Yoezer, one of the earliest rabbis known in rabbinic literature, was not only a great scholar but also was referred to as the "most pious in the priesthood" (Hagigah 2:7). The statement he made while carrying his cross to the place of execution is structurally  identical to that of Jesus, and it explicitly contains the key words of the kal-va-HO-mer; formula: "If it is thus for those who do his will, 'how much more' for those who anger Him (Midrash Psalms 11:7)."  

Endnotes: Jerusalem Perspective, New Treasures   PLEASE NOTE: This article is in a short form.  If you would like a free copy of the academic long form (which includes Hebrew, Greek, and endnotes) e-mail: drbean@csbr.net  
Include your post office mailing address.  The Hebrew/Greek fonts will not transfer on e-mail. Although we may have your mailing address on file, please list it again each time you request an article.  This indicates that you are serious students and CSBR will send your copy FREE.  Please indicate which message you would like.

PREVIOUS ARTICLES:
1. "What Lessons Can We Learn From The Pharisees?"
2. "Our perfection Before God."
3. "God Causes Us To Cross Over."
4. "The Key To Crossing Over."
5. "Why We Crossed over."  

THE TEACHING METHODS OF JESUS SERIES   6.  "Rule #1, kal-va-HO-mer "Simple and Complex."   CONTACT CSBR FOR A SPECIAL TAPE FROM DR. BEAN'S LECTURES:
"Jewish & Christian Hermeneutics Their Views On Eschatology," Part 1 & Part 2
Cost: $5.00 (Includes S&H)  
ALSO: CHECK OUR WEB PAGE DAILY: www.csbr.net