Anyone who has even a rudimentary grasp of Greek knows that ‘James’ did not write the Book of James. Rather, it was Ya’acov, or Jacob. The name wasn’t changed to James until the 16th century if I am not mistaken. Typical tampering by scribes, but we’ve talked about that before.
So, yesterday I was not overly surprised when a friend stated that the Gospel of John was not written by John, but has rather been mis-attributed to him by church fathers. Still, I wanted to look into it deeper, so I asked them to send me a link for consideration.
The following article is long, but I find it compelling and worthy of further study. Understanding a change of authorship in no way undermines the content, however it continues to bring into question the traditions we have been given by our fathers. Please take the time to read and consider this information and then post up comments and thoughts after processing!
The Authorship of the 4th Gospel: The Disciple Whom Yeshua Loved
Blessings.
natsab 
Very interesting ..
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Hmmmm! Sure makes sense.
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So is he still alive?
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LOL. We had that discussion here and don’t have the full answer in terms of the Hebrews ‘appointed once to die’ line. We did note that he would have company… Elijah raised at least one. Elisha raised one after his own death….
That does pose a bit of a riddle.
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Wow! This is fascinating. The fact that this is the 4th gospel (think Creation Gospel), and Lazarus’ name is related to Eliezer and Eleazar (like Avraham’s servant) makes this all the more intriguing because the “ezer” is a helper like the Holy Spirit (again #4). And the Book of John is certainly different than all the others as a “sod” (4th level) teaching. Hmmmm.
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I’ll never think of Lazarus the same. That’s certain. 🙂
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I reblogged this one – thanks for bringing it to our attention. It is this sort of thing that helps Christians get out of their rut and begin to let the Holy Spirit lead and teach them, rather than men.
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The traditional authorship of every book of the Bible has been questioned or challenged at one point or another, by conservatives and liberals alike. I have no issue, in principle, reevaluation of traditional authorship of Biblical texts. (I certainly do not hold to traditionally attributed authorship for every Biblical book.) I do have an issue, in process, with how articles like the one referenced goes about it. Simply challenging the authorship of a Biblical text via “lying pen of the scribes” logic, is not only not convincing, it not even that ethical from an academic standpoint.
This article referenced contains no reference to where the traditional authorship of the Fourth Gospel as being the Apostle John originates, except for some ambiguous reference to the church fathers, who are just automatically assumed to be wrong. Some quotations from ancient sources, and an evaluation of them, should have been offered. Also to be provided should have least been some references to the Gospel of John as seen in Bible encyclopedias, dictionaries, and New Testament Introductions.
Although I would personally lean heavily toward traditional Johannine authorship, Ben Witherington III is actually one prominent NT scholar who is quite favorable to Lazarus being the author of the Fourth Gospel.
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A comparative study of the Greek in the 1-3 Johns and Revelation as compared to the Gospel would be interesting as well. Personally, I am not equipped with the time or background for most of the scholarship demanded of the many open doors. I appreciate the rising scholars in the Messianic, like yourself, who do devote lives to study.
I pray for more such voices, both out of Judaism and out of Christendom, to discuss/debate/re-evaluate traditional positions in light of ‘The Way.’ Father seems to be building that company as He draws all of us more in line with his ways/Word.
Shalom!
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Hi, Pete.
I read a different article on this subject a month or two or… so ago and linked to it in a discussion on another subject at another blog (a blog from which you have re-posted an article or “meditation” as of today). I don’t have that link on hand, but I was pretty well convinced it’s true Lazarus wrote the fourth book called a gospel. As for this particular article you have linked to, I haven’t read it all yet — but I’m enjoying the initial treatment of Greek words and usages for “love.”
Thank you.
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