But thatâs my point, really. Much of what we call âJewish lawâ today (i.e. the Mishnah and the Talmud) was only codified AFTER the time of Jesus. Iâll go into detail later.
I quote the entry for âRabbiâ the
Mercer Dictionary of the Bible (p. 731):
In modern Judaism the rabbinate is an ordained office. Formerly, however, rabbi was only a title of respect, sometimes adressed to learned laymen, sometimes distinguishing a master from servants, but most often distinguishing a teacher from his pupils. In the Talmudic era [AD 70-AD 500], the term ârabâ was used chiefly of Babylonian teachers and ârabbiâ of Palestinian teachers.
In the NT rabbi was simply an honorific title which did not indicate any official appointment; it was applied to teachers of the Law in general. The term occurs only in Matthew, Mark, and John. Jesus asserted that the scribes and Pharisees loved to be called rabbi, and that his followers were not to be so called (Matt 23:7-8). John the Baptistâs disciples called him rabbi (John 3:26), but in all other instances the term is ascribed to Jesus. The Gospel of John interprets rabbi to mean teacher (John 1:38; 3:2; ârabboni,â 20:16).
Jesus being called rabbi by his disciples and others indicates that he conducted himself in a manner similar to the scribes. He based his teachings on scripture, and his disciples regarded him as their teacher. However, he differed from the scribes in that he did not teach or develop traditional material, but instead taught as one who had intrinsic authority. His disciple did not become rabbis themselves, instead they remained as disciples with Jesus as their teacher and Lord.
Other early Christian writings do not call Jesus rabbi; as the Palestinian tradition became less prominent, other christological titles supplanted the term rabbi.
From Henry Wansboroughâs
Jesus and the Oral Gospel Tradition (p. 186):
In all four Gospels Jesus is addressed as δΚδΏĎκιΝξ (
didaskale), âteacher!â As the synonymous parallelism in Mt. 23.8 hows, the vocative of δΚδΏĎÎşÎąÎťÎżĎ (
didaskalos) translates the Hebrew/Aramaic address ר×× (
rabbi), which originally meant âmy great oneâ. In an explanatory statement Jn 1.38 expressly makes this identification, which is corroborated by some epigraphical evidence (CII, II, 1266, 1268/9) from pre-70 AD Jerusalem.
In the first century AD rabbi was not a fixed title for an academically trained and ordained scribe as it became later and has remained until the present day. The actual address, rabbi, was used mainly, though not exclusively, for a teacher. The Gospels reflect accurately this usage, which apparently began to change with the rabbinic reconstruction of Judaism after the end of the first century AD. Rabbi as a formal title with the personal suffix losing its significance is first attested in the Jewish necropolis of Beth Shearim starting in the second century AD. So, which term was used when Jesus was spoken of as âthe teacherâ (e.g. Mk. 14.14 par.) with the definite article? Since ×××× (
malmad) was rather used for an elementary teacher it seems after the discoveries in Qumran that here the appropriate equivalent is ×××¨× (
ha-Moreh).
Also note pp. 170-171 of Sigalit Ben-Zionâs
A Roadmap to the Heavens: An Anthropological Study of Hegemony Among Priests, Sages and Laymen and Catherine Hezserâs
The Social Structure of the Rabbinic Movement in Roman Palestine, particularly p. 59:
Since Jesus was called âRabbiâ but did not conform to the traditional image of post-70 Jewish rabbis, and since pre-70 sages do not bear the title âRabbiâ in the Mishnah, most scholars assume that the meaning and usage of the term âRabbiâ at the time of Jesus differed from the meaning which it acquired after the destruction of the Temple: in pre-70 times, âRabbiâ was used as an unofficial honorary address for any person held in high esteem; after 70 it was almost exclusively applied to ordained teachers of the Law.
