Here is a simple demonstration of the “WebFlusser Hyper-Synoptic Gospel Endeavor”.  The intention is to notate as many links of the Sermon on the Mount as possible, by linking the actual text of the gospel to other primary Jewish texts that are stored somewhere in cyberspace.  While the search engines will more easily find primary texts in English, it is highly encouraged to link to the texts in the original languages if one knows where they exist.  To be useful to as many people as possible, however, it is highly recommended that hyperlinks to the English texts also be provided.  The judgment of contributors will determine whether a hyperlink to terminology and collocated terms appearing in other texts is useful, but the use of any and all search engines is highly encouraged. 

 Without further ado, here is the first Gospel verse we will tackle:

Mathew 7.12: In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.  

לָכֵן כֹּל אֲשֶׁר תִּרְצוּ שֶׁיַּעֲשׂוֹּ לָכֶם בְּנֵי הָאָדָם עֲשׂוֹּ לָהֶם גַּם־אַתֶּם כִּי־זֹאת הַתּוֹרָה וְהַנְּבִיאִים׃

I thought it appropriate to begin with the golden rule…since that pretty much encapsulates the ”kivun” of the Torah as gospelled by Yeshua. 

As you can see from the hyperlink, the terms “Law and Prophets” appear together in the prologue of Ben SiraH (written by Ben SiraH’s grandson, ca. 180 BCE).  This is the first time in Jewish literature where the terms “Law, Prophets…and other books” refer in a (somewhat tentative) ”technical” sense to the canon of Biblical writings or “TeNaKH”.  I found this link using none other than Google’s search engine.  While I knew of the reference somewhere in my hazy memory of my erstwhile New Testament studies, I actaully forgot it until Google reminded me about it while searching for the collocation of the terms ”Law” and “Prophets” in the Apocrypha and Psuedepigrapha writings I knew that existed online.  I thought it worthy of being hyperlinked for mine and someone else’s further study. 

So…What remains now is to make a hyperlinks to texts relevant to the rest of the Sermon on the Mount, beginning with the “Golden Rule” above.  Hopefully, one good scholar or two out there will provide me with the link(s) to the relevant primary texts and we will get good progress going here on the WebFlusser endeavor!    

I will compile all hyperlinks into a single text as I receive them.  I will post the updated texts more or less as I’m able…This is not my “day job” so I’ll go at my own pace and hope that others will contribute.