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Words to Avoid
in Conversations with Jewish People
| Avoid This Word | Use This Word Instead | Reasons |
|---|---|---|
| AD and BC | CE and BCE | Using “BC” (Before Christ) and “AD” (Anno Domini, or Year of the Lord) forces a Jewish person to speak of time being calculated from the birth of “the Gentile God” in whose name Jews have been persecuted for nearly 2000 years. “Before the Common Era” and “Common Era” are more “neutral” and therefore less offensive. |
| Christ | Mashiach, Moshiach, or Messiah | To many Christians, “Christ” is the “the Gentile God’s” “last name.” The word is an English transliteration of the Greek work christos, which is in turn a translation of the Hebrew word mashiach, which means “anointed.” [See Jesus] |
| Christian |
Believer in Messiah or Messianic Believer |
The “Church” and “Christians” have persecuted the Jews for nearly
2000 years. To many Jews, anybody who is not a Jew or a Muslim is
a “Christian.” Since Jews are born into Judaism, and Muslims are
born into Islam, many Jews simply assume that everyone else
who isn’t Asian is born
into Christianity. To read an anti-Semitic article written by a person who rather accurately depicts the Jewish opinion of most “Christians,” CLICK HERE. [MORE HERE] |
| Church |
Believers in Messiah, Messianic Believers, or the Holy Community (for the Body as a whole) or congregation (for the local assembly) |
|
| Jehovah | God, Lord, Adonai, or HaShem (“The Name”) | “Jehovah” is a false translation of the tetragrammaton יְהוָֹה, the four-letter Name of God (yud-heh-vav-heh) that is considered too sacred to be spoken. The Hebrew language does not include the sounds that make it possible to say the word “Jehovah,” so there is no possible way that it could be the revealed name of God. You will likely be thought of as arrogant (at best) or a fool (at worst) if you use this word. If you use any form of a name for God (rather than one of these four), you will probably be considered a blasphemer. [MORE HERE] |
| Jesus | Yeshua |
“Jesus” is the name of
a
false prophet who is regarded as “the Gentile God”
and in whose
name Jews have been persecuted for nearly 2000 years. “Yeshua” was a Torah-observant Jewish Rabbi of the First Century CE who proclaimed to the Jews that their Kingdom is to be restored to them. Some Jews think of Him as a great prophet, or at least a moral teacher. The word “Jesus” is grammatically impossible to pronounce in either Hebrew or Aramaic, and it is therefore impossible for that to be Messiah’s name. [MORE HERE] |
|
Old Testament or Old Covenant |
Tenakh or Hebrew Bible |
“Testament” means “covenant” and “old” means something
that has been replaced and is no longer of any value.
The covenants that HaShem made with Israel are everlasting,
and will therefore never be “old.”
The “Christian Bible” contains the Tenakh (Genesis through Malachi) and the Apostolic Writings, also called the Apostolic Scriptures or B'rit Chadasha (“Renewed Covenant”). |
|
New Testament or New Covenant |
Apostolic Writings, Apostolic Scriptures, B'rit Chadasha, or Renewed Covenant |
See “Old Testament” above.
The Apostolic Writings are best thought of as
a divinely-inspired midrash,
or commentary, on the Tenakh that
were written by Torah-observant Messianic Jewish Rabbis at
the end of the Second Temple Period, primarily to help new
Gentile converts to Messianic Judaism understand the proper
interpretation of the Tenakh as they leaned Torah and
halakah at the Synagogue. Inasmuch as
it provides a wonderful explanation of Olam HaBa (the
world after Messiah comes), it is also appropriate to use the
term “Renewed Covenant” because it emphasizes the idea that
HaShem has renewed and will fulfill all of His covenants
with Israel. Instead of being placed in an entirely “new” section of the Tahakh and creating a new “Christian Bible,” the Apostolic Writings rightfully belong in the Ketuvim section of the Tanakh. |
| Yahweh | See “Jehovah” | The Name is too sacred to be pronounced, even when pronounced correctly (if you actually believe that you know how to pronounce it). If you say this word, you will very likely be considered a blasphemer. |
|
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ANXIOUSLY WATCHING FOR MASHIACH’S RETURN,
SPEEDILY AND IN OUR DAY. MARANA, TA!
