Categories: Rabbinic Teaching & Oral Tradition
A rabbinic method of linking Scripture passages—often from different books—to evoke layered meaning, emotional resonance, and theological insight. This technique invites readers to see patterns and relationships across the biblical narrative, much like threading pearls on a single strand.
Like other Jews of his day (and today), Jesus studied the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms. As Christians, we recognize these books as our Old Testament (note that Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches recognize additional books as part of the Old Testament canon in contrast to the smaller canon accepted by Protestant churches). Jesus used the Jewish love of Scripture to teach others about himself and to show how the Scriptures point to Jesus as their fulfillment. Today, some of Jesus’s words may seem perplexing, but often they reflect a rabbi’s way of communicating within the framework of Scripture. The more we understand the Old Testament, the more meaningful Jesus’s words become.1
Spangler, Ann; Tverberg, Lois. Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus: How the Jewishness of Jesus Can Transform Your Faith (pp. 224-225). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
This concept of stringing pearls in the Bible has been around for a very long time. Since the Old Testament days of Rabbis using the method to teach and talk about their scriptures.
But I wonder, how many of us today, especially in the “western” world, would even recognize it, let alone understand it.
I’ll add some related articles below as I write them to give some examples of stringing pearls.
Footnotes:
- 1
Spangler, Ann; Tverberg, Lois. Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus: How the Jewishness of Jesus Can Transform Your Faith (pp. 224-225). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
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