3. How Jesus learned to know the OT.— Jewish boys were from their earliest j'ears made familiar with the contents of the OT, particularly with the books of the Law (see Boyhood, and Education). They were not only taught to commit many pass- ages to memory, but there seems to have been a pretty widespread knowledge of reading. While the primary steps in such education were no doubt carried out in the home, there is pretty clear testi- mony that everywhere schools for at least ele- mentary education were established. Within the home circle also children were accustomed from a very early age to observe certain practices enjoined by the Law, e.g. the keeping of the Sabbath, fast- ing on the Day of Atonement, the simpler forms of prayer, and grace at meals. Boys at least, as soon as they could walk the requisite distance, were required to be present at the chief festivals in the Temple, and in particular were bound to observe the Feast of Tabernacles. At the earliest manifestation of manhood's estate being reached, the full observance of the Law was enjoined upon the youth, and, consequently, our Lord's appear- ance in the Temple at the age of twelve is qtiite in accordance with the regular practice of the time. On this occasion the boy Jesus gained His first insight into the Temple worship. Whether He returned at all, or frequently, during His youth and early manhood, to the Holy City, we have no means of ascertaining ; but in Nazareth He would seem to have been a constant attender at the synagogue services, for such is noted in the Gospels as being
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His practice ; and when He returned to the town, after His public ministry had begun, it was not His presence in the synagogue that surprised His fellow-townsmen, but the learning of one whom they had previously regarded as an ordinary com- rade. In the services of the synagogue He would be familiar not only with the recognized reading of the Law in accordance with the prescribed prac- tice and order, and may even have been frequently called upon in His youth to read, but in the chief Sabbath service He would also become familiar with passages read from the Prophets. These might be chosen at will by the apjjointed reader, a practice of which Jesus probably availed Himself (Lk 4"). The Scriptures were not only read in these services, but were paraphrased into the popular language of the peojile. It is uncer- tain whether the interpreter was a fixed official, or whether his function was left open to be under- taken by any competent member of the congre- gation. It is at least permissible to think that Jesus may Himself have played this part many times in the quiet of the Nazareth synagogue, and by the exquisite appropriateness of His language have already shown Himself capable of making the word of God an attractive message to the com- mon people. This is at least a possible fancy, and if it is true, it would form an excellent training for His subsequent service as a deeper interpreter of the inner meaning of both Law and Prophets.
It is almost certain that our Lord would have another advantage in gaining a familiar know- ledge ot the OT, and in enabling Him to use that knowledge for the benefit of His countrymen, the advantage, namely, of being familiar with another language that was then the common speech of the civilized world, namely, Greek. The LXX was, as we have already seen, the Bible most generally used by the Jewish community, and it is quite possible that Jesus Himself read it. In any case, if He could speak Greek (see art. Language of Christ), He would have the immense advantage that belongs to any one who grows up able to speak and think in two languages almost indiffer- ently. It seems as if the condition of affairs then prevalent in Palestine was similar to that which exists in many parts of the Highlands of Scotland, or in Wales, at the present moment. The people Avill always read a book like the Bible by prefer- ence in their own tongue, and its language Avill naturally be most familiar to them in that form, but they can at will translate it into English, though that English may not, and very likely will not, agree verbally with the version in use. Some such process as this may account for many vari- ants that are found in the Greek quotations from the OT in the pages of the NT. But the alacrity thus attained in mental processes and in the rapid change, not only from the idiom of one speech to that of another, but also from the mental atmo- sphere of one to that of another, is a great educa- tion, and helps the man with a natural gift as a teacher to develop his inborn genius in directions very valuable for those he has to teach.
4. Jesus as interpreter of the OT.— Having now seen how Jesus acquired His knowledge of the OT Scriptures, the next matter of importance is to discover how He attained to His position as an interpreter of them. There was a class of official interpreters, and neither by training nor by per- sonal claim did He be'ong to this section. Yet His methods of interpretation created far more surprise among His hearers than did the teaching of tlie orthodox and recognized men of learning. It was not only that His methods possessed the charm of novelty, but that they enabled the people to feel that for the first time their Scriptures had become a new and living book, which no longer