Greek Bibles show the resurrection of Jesus on a Sabbath

The Word of God has been written to ordinary people. They often understand more than the studied theologians. Because it only gets complicated when priests and pastors want to interpret their own church teachings into the Bible. It does not matter which basic text edition is used for a Bible translation into another language, because all of them say the facts in the resurrection chapter (see also Interlinear Bible). All use only about the following words: 

ancient Greek words new testament Bible translation resurrection sabbath
Important ancient Greek words in the resurrection chapter of the New Testament

As can be clearly seen, the Greek equivalents for "week" [εβδομα, ebdoma: sevenness = week] are missing in the entire NT. The Greeks could also always say "one week" (μία εβδομαδα" or "three weeks" (και τρεις εβδομαδες), see Definition week. "Sunday" (τη ηλίου ημερα) is also missing in the whole Bible. It was mentioned 0 times. Consequently, these terms have no place at all in the NT. Who brings them in, erases at the same time the true statements of the NT. He manipulates thus the word of God. If God had really meant Sunday, then he could have used more than 20 options in the old Greek language (see examples "No Sunday"). Instead, just in the resurrection chapter of the NT, only the Sabbath was mentioned exactly 7 times (Mt 28:1a;1b; Mk 16:2; Mk 16:9; Lk 24:1; Jn 20:1 and Jn 20:19) and in both the plural and singular. This 7-fold mention from different perspectives should make it clear for all time that it is really the Sabbath that is meant and not a day before or after. The 7 is the number of perfection and the 7-fold naming and thus definition leaves no doubt. God could not have written it more clearly. He did not make a mistake, neither did the evangelists. But the pastors and priests make a mistake when they reinterpret God's words to avoid problems in this world, because the Sabbath message cannot stand the world. It is very interesting to look at the interlinear text because it shows word for word what God says.

 

There have been differences of opinion among scholars as to which basic Greek text (codex) of the NT is the best, but in our context with the question of on which day of the week Jesus was resurrected, this question does not arise at all, because all textual bases do not differ in their statements and always report only the resurrection of Jesus "on a Sabbath morning." The facts speak for themselves. God has not left us alone in this question. he could not have formulated it more clearly in the ancient Greek language. 


The Textus Receptus

The "Textus Receptus" (Latin "the transmitted text", abbr. TR; Wikipedia, facsimiles) is the name for one of the first published Greek original texts of the NT. But it is not the oldest text, as many mistakenly think, because it is based on a foundation that was not created until 1633. However, since many Christians think that this is the oldest extant Greek text, it is mentioned here first. It is based on numerous relatively late (12th/13th century) fragments from the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantium). From 1860 on, much older manuscripts were discovered, namely Codex Sinaiticus, Codex Vaticanus (both from the 4th century) and Codex Alexandrinus (5th century). Overall, many manuscripts from the 3rd to the 10th century have been found, especially in the last decades, but they hardly differ in textual content. The term "Textus Receptus" is used in common parlance to refer to those Greek textual bases that were available to the Reformers. But it must always be kept in mind that the actual term "Textus Receptus" did not come into being until 1633, when the basic Greek text was available in a significantly improved form. Thus, the Greek texts before 1633 were only the unfinished foundation on which this textual tradition is based. Altogether, therefore, we speak of the "Textus Receptus Tradition" or "TR Family," by which all these very similar texts are grouped together. 

The term "textus receptus" was formed by the preface to the second edition of the Greek New Testament of 1633 by Bonaventura Elzevir and his nephew Abraham Elzevir, printers from Leiden. They wrote:

textum ergo habes, nunc ab omnibus receptum, in quo nihil immutatum aut corruptum“

which translates as "you therefore receive the text which has now been received/accepted by all, in which nothing has been changed or falsified". The two words textum and receptum were later contracted into the phrase textus receptus, thus passing off the underlying text as the generally accepted and thus authoritative text version of the New Testament. The word "receptum" means "obligation, guarantee, acceptance"; consequently, it refers to a binding text that was to serve as a basis for the churches. Before the year 1633, the Greek translation basis used was mainly the text of Erasmus Erasmus of Rotterdam, written from 1516 onwards, but it was still inaccurate and in some places even had to be translated from Latin back into ancient Greek so that a complete text could be presented at all. This is a very important fact. This means that the Bible translations made before 1633 were strongly influenced by the Vulgate, even though it was stated that it was translated from the basic Greek text, since it was not yet complete at that time. Thus, the King James Bible of 1611 was also based on an incomplete foundation, so that hundreds of errors had to be corrected in the later editions. The statement of some pastors from the USA; that the KJV 1611 is a supposedly from God "inspired text" is therefore consistently wrong (see also The KJV is not inspired by God). 

The first printed edition of the Greek NT appeared from 1514 (Complutensian Polyglot), with Erasmus of Rotterdam's version gaining greater prominence from 1516, but the actual Textus Receptus came out in 1633. All these texts belong to the same Byzantine text tradition or text family. 


Transliterated Greek New Testament

There are many published Bibles with the basic New Testament Greek text (Textus Receptus, Codex Sinaiticus, Westcott-Hort, Nestle-Aland NA28...). The differences between all these editions are minimal and that is the most important thing. There are several Bible texts on the Internet, which represent the Greek letters, which are somewhat difficult for us to read, by Latin letters (with transcription, transliteration). Thus it becomes clear also for laymen that the evangelists could distinguish very well between mia (one) and prote (first). The evening (opse) was mentioned and not the corresponding word for after (meta) (see Mt 28,1). The Sabbath was also clearly named and not Sunday (heliou hemera). The evangelists spoke of an event on "mia sabbatōn" (a/one Sabbath) and never of "after the Sabbath" or "on the first day of the week" (te prote hemera tns ebdomadas). God sealed 7 times the one special resurrection Sabbath (Mt 28:1a, 28:1b; Mk 16:2; Mk 16:9; Lk 24:1; Jn 20:1; Jn 20:19) to avoid misunderstandings and disputes from the beginning in Christianity. Or can you find here about Sunday, the week or an event "after the Sabbath" in the basic Greek text? 

Interlinear Translation Bible ancient Greek Koine, sabbath resurrection
The interlinear translation of the basic Greek text shows the resurrection of Jesus on a Sabbath morning

The evangelists used the exact same Sabbath words in the resurrection chapter that they used in numerous other places. The Septuagint (LXX) also gives so many ways to understand the ancient Greek. This is especially true in Ex 20, where the Hebrew yom-ha-shabbat (day the Sabbath) in the singular was made into a "day of the Sabbaths" in the plural when translated into ancient Greek when the Sabbath commandment was proclaimed (see Sabbath). So this has always meant the single Sabbath day in the singular in ancient Greek. Here are some examples, please pay special attention to the expression "day of Sabbaths" or "day of the Sabbaths" in the NT, because it is also spoken of in the resurrection chapter (here with transcription for better readability):

sabbatou = σαββατου (genitive singular), sabbatōn = σαββατων (genitive plural):

koine bible translation, day of the sabbaths, new testament, resurrection sabbath
The "day of the Sabbaths" in the NT

Codex Sinaiticus 330-360

About 1,650 years after the Codex Sinaiticus (info and facsimiles) was written, all Christians can still convince themselves that the words "after the Sabbath", "on the first day of the week" or "on a Sunday" were never included in this Bible. It speaks of the resurrection of Jesus "on the one of the Sabbaths" or "on the first Sabbath" (Mark 16:9), namely the first of the 7 weekly Sabbaths until Pentecost. On some websites the codex is excellently presented as a facsimile. But in the margin of it, they often show not a literal equivalent, but a modern English Bible translation that speaks either of the "day after the Sabbath" (Mt 28:1a) or of the "first day of the week". This is completely wrong, because it is not the translation of Codex Sinaiticus, but a wishful interpretation, because the corresponding Greek words for "after", "week," "first day" or "Sunday" do not appear here at all. The original is correct, the translation is not:

Codex Sinaiticus 330 AD resurrection sabbath
Codex Sinaiticus from 330-360 AD shows the resurrection of Jesus on a Sabbath morning

Despite its great age of about 1,600 years, the CS hardly differs in content from the much younger manuscript of the Textus Receptus (TR). Here, too, the resurrection of Jesus on Sabbath morning is clearly mentioned (see below). The following is the text of the CS of the 8th edition by Tischendorf (1862):

Codex Sinaiticus Tischendorf resurrection sabbath
The Codex Sinaiticus in the version of Tischendorf 1862 shows the resurrection of Jesus on a Sabbath morning

In many literature this text is presented in Times New Roman font:

Codex Sinaiticus resurrection sabbath
The Codex Sinaiticus 330-360 AD shows the resurrection of Jesus on a Sabbath morning

Codex Vaticanus 325-350

The text of Codex Vaticanus (info and facsimiles) is almost identical with Codex Sinaiticus (Mk 16,9 is also missing). Even if the church orally teaches something different, the pope and all Catholics in the Vatican can convince themselves that the resurrection of Jesus in writing did not take place "on a Sunday", but on "on a Sabbath".


Codex Alexandrinus 400-440

This text (info and facsimiles) also clearly speaks only of Jesus' resurrection on a Sabbath:

Codex Alexandrinus resurrection sabbath
Codex Alexandrinus 400-440 shows the resurrection of Jesus on a Sabbath morning

Codex Bezae 400

The Codex Bezae (info and facsimiles) is a manuscript of the NT in Greek and Latin from the 5th century (Wikipedia). This was the only biblical text from the first millennium known to the reformers in the 16th century. The codex takes its name from Theodore Beza, the successor of John Calvin. The codex contains the 4 Gospels in the order of the Western manuscripts (Mt, Joh, Lk, Mk) and part of the Acts of the Apostles. It consists of 415 leaves inscribed in a single column (26 × 21.5 cm). The left side of each is Greek, the right Latin. The Greek text has some peculiarities, for Lk 24:1 begins with the word mia (one), thus meaning "on one of the Sabbaths." And Acts 20:7 has the same word prote (first) as Mark 16:9, so it is about "the one first of the Sabbaths." What is meant by this? Of course, the first of the 7 Sabbaths until Pentecost, which were counted every year and are still counted today. Anyone can pinpoint these 7 Sabbaths in a Jewish calendar. Acts 20:1-5 tells of the journeys, and verse 6 specifically mentions the "Days of Unleavened Bread," the time of the Passover feast. Then Luke reports retroactively what happened on just this one first of the 7 Sabbaths until Pentecost. The naming "on the one first of the Sabbaths" is therefore logical and very easy to understand. In Mark 16:2 the Sabbath is referred to in the singular (not in the plural as in the Textus Receptus or NA28, see Interlinear Bible). It is 100% the same Sabbath as in Mk 16:9. It is one of infinite proofs that the ancient Greek plural sabbaton could mean a single Sabbath day as well as multiple Sabbaths depending on the context. This is not a new finding; it has been demonstrated many times in the Septuagint, in the writings of Flavius Josephus, and elsewhere in the NT: 

Codex Bezae 400 A.D. translation Greek english, resurrection sabbath
Codex Bezae c. 400 A.D. shows the resurrection of Jesus on a Sabbath morning

It is very interesting to compare the Codex Bezae with the other editions of the basic Greek text, because it becomes clear that Sabbath always means the same thing in the plural (NA28, TR, RP) as well as in the singular, namely the Sabbath day. Both terms are arbitrarily interchangeable according to the rules of the ancient Greek language, because the meaning never changes. So in Mk 16,2 there is 100% exactly the same Sabbath (genitive singular) as in Mk 16,9: 

σαββατων σαββατου Mk 16:2 codex bezae resurrection sabbath
σαββατων and σαββατου always mean the Sabbath and never Sunday or the week

A similar result is offered by the comparison of the NA28 editions and the Textus Receptus at 1Cor 16:2. Here once again the plural and then again the singular of Sabbath is spoken of. Both forms mean as 100% the same, namely a Sabbath day and never a Sunday:

σαββατων σαββατου translation bible greek, resurrection sabbath
σαββατων and σαββατου always mean the Sabbath and never Sunday or the week

Complutensian Polyglot Bible 1514-1520

The Complutense University of Madrid (info and facsimiles) published a Bible in several languages, financed by Cardinal Francisco Jimenez de Cisneros (*1436; †1517), starting in 1514. It contains the Hebrew text of the OT (4 volumes), its Greek translation (Septuagint), and the text of the Vulgate. The New Testament (1 volume plus 1 volume dictionary) consists of the Greek Textus Receptus (by Erasmus) and the text of the Latin Vulgate. In this official Spanish Catholic parallel Bible, the resurrection of Jesus is clearly stated in both the Greek and Latin texts to have occurred on "una autem sabbati" (on but one Sabbath) and "mane prima sabbati" (early on the first Sabbath; that is, the first of the seven Sabbaths until Pentecost). 

The Complutensian Polyglot (Biblia políglota complutense) is the first printed edition of the Greek NT, but the version of Erasmus of Rotterdam from 1516 gained greater notoriety and from 1633 the actual "Textus Receptus" came out, which was even more accurate. All these texts belong to the same Byzantine text tradition or "text family." The Complutense Polyglot is also the first multilingual printed edition of the entire Bible, and it teaches that Jesus was resurrected "on a Sabbath." Some theologians liked to translate "una sabbati" as "on the first day of the week," but that's impossible because there are entirely different words for that in Latin (see week). And asked the other way around, what else would it have been in Latin if someone really meant "an a Sabbath" (singular genitive) in Latin? Of course as it is written in this Bible:

Complutense Polyglot 1514, resurrection sabbath, Biblia poliglota complutense
The Complutense Polyglot 1514 shows the resurrection of Jesus on a Sabbath

The following is the same text with English translation of the Greek and Latin basis:

Complutense Polyglot 1514 Bible, sabbath resurrection
The Complutense Polyglot 1514 shows the resurrection of Jesus on a Sabbath

Novum Instrumentum Omne by Erasmus 1516

The Greek text of Erasmus (info and facsimile) printed from 1516 formed the basis for the creation of most Protestant Bibles. The text was printed bilingually, Greek and Latin (Vulgate). It is a pleasure to look at this text, because both languages say the same fact. All passages mention the "one Sabbath" (even in Mt 28:1b; this is rare, although it is completely correct) and the "first Sabbath" and no other day. Neither Jerome (the writer of the Vulgate) nor Erasmus had a problem with the Greek plural sabbaton (σαββατων) and knew full well that it could mean only one Sabbath (singular and plural) and never the week (Latin hebdomada or septimana) or Sunday (dies solis, dies/-ei dominicus). The translation is understood by every little child [in brackets is the literal English equivalent]:

Textus Receptus Erasmus 1516 resurrection sabbath, Instrumentum omne
The Textus Receptus by Erasmus 1516 shows the resurrection of Jesus on a Sabbath morning

Textus Receptus Stephanus 1550

The text of Stephanus (info and facsimiles) from the year 1550 gained great importance and served as the basis for many later Bible translations into other languages. The Textus Receptus served as the basis for the works of the Reformers. Stephanus was the first to introduce the verse division of the Bible texts, which is still valid today. The text is almost the same as that of Erasmus. In all places the resurrection of Jesus "on a Sabbath morning" is reported. Therefore, it is not surprising that this content was also translated into other languages by the Reformers:

Textus Receptus Stephanus 1550, resurrection sabbath
The Textus Receptus Stephanus from 1550 shows the resurrection of Jesus on a Sabbath morning

The Interlinear Translation shows the resurrection of Jesus on a Sabbath on all verses in the resurrection chapter of the New Testament:

Interlinear translation Textus Receptus, resurrection sabbath
The Interlinear translation of the Textus Receptus shows the resurrection of Jesus on a Sabbath morning

Biblia Políglota de Amberes 1572

The Spanish theologian Benito Arias Montano (Benedictus Arias Montanus, *1527; †1598; Wikipedia), son of a notary, knew ten languages. Therefore, the Spanish king Philip II (*1527; †1598) commissioned him to publish a multilingual Bible (Biblia Políglota), which he directed from 1568-1572 and had printed by Christophe Plantin (*1520; †1589) in Antwerp (Latin facsimilesPolyglot Bibles). The seventh volume of the 1572 edition contains the NT (Nouum Testamentum graece: cum vulgata interpretatione Latina Graeci contextus lineis inserta: quae quidem interpretatio, cùm à Graecarum dictionum proprietate discedit... atque alia Ben. Ariae Montani... operâ è verbo reddita...). This is not the text of Jerome's Vulgate, but an improved version that corrects Jerome's errors and correctly translates the basic Greek text. Montanus was an expert, and his publication is still excellent today. Unlike many pastors of today, he was able to distinguish clearly between mia (one) and prote (first). He did not make mistakes. And he could also differentiate between the "week" and the "Sabbath" in all languages. The words "sabbati" and "sabbatorum" (Acts 13:14; 16:13) are the same as those used in all other verses in the OT and NT. Even Mt 28:1b is translated correctly by Montanus. Anyone who translates this text from Greek or from Latin into any other language can only conclude that the women came to the tomb "on Sabbath" (in the singular) or "early on the first Sabbath" (mane prima sabbati). Thus, the Spanish king unconsciously supported the written proclamation of Jesus' resurrection "on a Sabbath morning," even though orally the day after (Sunday) was taught. This is the same written statement of both languages:

Biblia Poliglota Regia 1572, sabbath resurrection Jesus
The Biblia Poliglota Regia of 1572 shows in Latin and Greek the resurrection of Jesus on a Sabbath morning

Westcott-Hort NT 1881

Regarding the resurrection Sabbath, the content (info and facsimiles) does not differ from the others and proclaims the resurrection of Jesus "on a Sabbath morning" (μια των σαββατων) and "on the first Sabbath" (πρωτη σαββατου) of the 7 weekly Sabbaths until Pentecost:

1881 Westcott-Hort Greek Bible, resurrection sabbath
The basic 1881 Westcott-Hort text shows Jesus' resurrection on a Sabbath morning

Scrivener's Textus Receptus 1894

This text from Scrivener (info and facsimiles) served as the basis for the very good Greek-English Scripture4All interlinear translation (link). The resurrection Sabbath is also included in this edition, a resurrection Sunday was never mentioned:

Scrivener Textus Receptus, Greek Bible, resurrection sabbath
Der Scrivener Textus Receptus von 1894 zeigt die Auferstehung Jesu an einem Sabbat-Morgen

NA28 - Nestle-Aland NT from 1898 to 2012

Although the basic Greek text in the NA28 NT (info and online text) is easy to understand, the theologians do not translate it as it should be. They twist the sense and speak of the "first day of the week", although there have always been completely different Greek words for this phrase, which the evangelists quite deliberately did not use (see No Sunday). Instead, they spoke 7 times of "a Sabbath," "on the one of the Sabbaths" (at the Passover there were 3 Sabbaths in a week), or the "first Sabbath" (Mark 16:9), by which they meant the first of the 7 Sabbaths until Pentecost. Every child understands this, especially if it also knows the calendar of God. Who nevertheless says that in the NT Sunday is meant, then it would mean that no Jew, no Greek and no Roman in his life could ever say "on a Sabbath", "on the one of the Sabbaths" or "on the first Sabbath", because it would always mean "on a Sunday" or "on the first Sunday" to Pentecost. It really takes a lot of humor to do that. But there will be a reckoning with God later, for He does not allow the meaning of His Word to be twisted. The 28th edition of the Nestle-Aland Edition (NA28) reveals the truth. It does not reveal the week or Sunday, nor does it speak of "after the Sabbath," but of "one/first Sabbath." It should also be noted that the Sabbath is singular in Mk 16:9; 1Cor 16:2 and Lk 18:12, so no one can say that the plural is supposed to mean week as well, because there is no plural here at all, but the Sabbath day defined since creation. Soon Jesus will come back, then the theologians can explain to Him with which right they have replaced the Sabbath by Sunday, when even very many old official German Catholic Bibles speak of the Sabbath and even Saturday morning (see Old Bibles):

Nestle-Aland Edition NA28, resurrection sabbath
The Nestle-Aland Edition (NA28) shows the resurrection of Jesus on a Sabbath morning

Greek New Testament, Patriarchal-Edition 1904

It is interesting that this official church version (info and online text) of the majority text proclaims the Sabbath resurrection of Jesus in all places. Mary went to the tomb "on the one of the Sabbaths" or "on a Sabbath morning":

Greek New Testament Patriarchal Edition, Bible resurrection Sabbath
The Greek New Testament shows the resurrection of Jesus on a Sabbath morning

UBS Greek New Testament 1966, 2014

UBS Greek NT (info and online text). The website Bibelwissenschaft.de says: "The Greek New Testament is the basis for the worldwide translation work of the New Testament. The critical apparatus is especially designed to serve the translators' needs... is the basis of the worldwide translation work on the New Testament. It presents to its users a reliable Greek text." This is true, and in all places we find the resurrection of Jesus "on a Sabbath," "on the one of the Sabbaths," or "on the first Sabbath." The original quotations follow in Times New Roman font:

USB Greek New Testament Bible, sabbath resurrection
The 1966 USB Greek New Testament shows the resurrection of Jesus on a Sabbath morning

Majority Text according to Robinson/Pierpont 1991/2005

Maurice A. Robinson and William G. Pierpont (info and online text) brought out a current version ("The New Testament in the original Greek, Byzantine Textform, 2005") in 1991/2005. All passages report only the resurrection of Jesus "on a Sabbath morning":

Robinson Pierpont's 1991 majority text, resurrection sabbath
Robinson-Pierpont's 1991 majority text shows Jesus' resurrection on a Sabbath morning

Katabiblon Interlinear Text 2007

Every Christian can convince himself on this excellent website (info and online text) that the corresponding Greek words for week and Sunday are not part of the NT. By the indication of the grammatical forms in the brackets it becomes clear that it is about nothing special at all, but always only about the all-known singular or plural form of Sabbath in the genitive. The author also distinguishes very well between one/first. The text is very easy to translate into any language. The NT speaks of the resurrection of Jesus "on a Sabbath" or "on the first Sabbath" (text slightly changed): 

Katabiblon interlinear text Bible, sabbath resurrection
The 2007 Katabiblon interlinear text shows the resurrection of Jesus on a Sabbath morning

Scripture4All 2010

The following is the Greek and English text from the program ISA Basic 3.0. (Link1, Link2). This free tool is much more valuable than many expensive modern Bibles that distort the basic Greek text in the resurrection chapter. During the Passover week there are 3 Sabbaths within only 7 days, namely the two annual High Sabbaths (feasts) with "the one" weekly Sabbath in between. Therefore, the phrase "on the one of the Sabbaths" or "on a Sabbath" is correct. More precisely, it is about the "first Sabbath" (Mark 16:2) of the seven weekly Sabbaths until Pentecost and never about Sunday. Every little child understands this. In all languages the Bible proclaims the same fact:

Scripture4All interlinear text bible translation, resurrection sabbath
The Scripture4All interlinear text from 2010 shows the resurrection of Jesus on a Sabbath morning

Conclusion

It is important to note that in ALL found basic texts of all text families (Textus Receptus, Codex Sinaiticus, Codes Vaticanus, Codex Bezae, Nestle Aland, Majority Text...) there are no contradictions regarding the resurrection day of Jesus and the day of the assembly of the first Christians. There is a 100% agreement. There are no differences in the original text, no matter where and when it was found. The Textus Receptus does use the plural "σαββατων" at 1Cor 16:2, while the NA28 mentions the singular "σαββατου" (Sabbaths), but no New Testament basic text has ever included the εβδομάδας (week), even though this word had been known to all people for centuries and was even part of the Old Testament Bible (Septuagint, LXX), which the early Christian church also used (see week). Nor is it derived from "πρώτης ημέρας της εβδομάδας" (first day of the week) or "οπισω του σαββατου" (after the Sabbath, resp. "μετά το σάββατο") or "και διαγενομένου του σαββάτου" (as passed was the Sabbath) or "ημερα μετα του σαββατου" (day after the Sabbath) or "Κυριακή" (Lord's Day) or "Hλιου ημερα" (Sunday) are mentioned (see options). Sunday was never part of the entire Bible, so it does not appear in the OT or NT. It is not mentioned even once in the Bible. But the Sabbath was mentioned 70 times in the NT alone, and 7 times in connection with the direct naming of the Day of Resurrection. To this day, the Greek Orthodox Church officially uses this original text on their websites. And once again: In all existing copies of the NT, which are called the Greek basic text or the "original Bible", the Greek word hebdomada (week), which is found in the LXX and was known to all Greek-speaking people, does not appear a single time. Instead, all the evangelists speak of what happened on "on the one of the Sabbath days" in connection with the day of Jesus' resurrection. And it was precisely these Greek texts that served as the basis for the translators, such as the Catholic Church Father Jerome and all the translators thereafter (e.g. Martin Luther).

 

In 1756, the Luther Bible was reprinted in Halle by Gerhard Mastricht with the original ancient Greek text next to it (download from BSB Munich, see link1 and link2). This Bible is one of many examples which prove that the basic text and the correct translation speak only of a Resurrection Sabbath. And very many old Catholic Bibles even speak of "a Saturday" morning. Can it be expressed any more clearly? The basic Greek text can only mean one day and not two, which can be chosen at will.


 

Revised Greek Bibles

The evangelists wrote the NT in ancient Greek, the world language of the time. However, the Bible Greek (also called Koine) differs from today's modern Modern Greek in vocabulary and grammar. Therefore, today's Greeks cannot necessarily understand these ancient texts in the same way. For comparison, the English, French, Spanish and German languages have also changed greatly over the centuries in their choice of words, spelling and grammar. There are about 20 Bibles in modern Greek. However, these were often NOT translated from the ancient Greek basic text, but from the English Bibles. So it is also not surprising that the interpretation of the church was put above the statements of the apostles. But it is very good that these Bibles exist, because they show how the text in the ancient Greek NT should have been, if the evangelists had meant the "first day of the week" or the "Sunday". These texts show impressively what the Bible does not say:

Maximos Bible 1638

The first NT in modern Greek ("Η Καινή Διαθήκη του Κυρίου ημών Ιησού Χριστού" = "The New Testament of our Lord Jesus Christ") was printed in Switzerland 1638. The translation was already done around 1629 by the monk Maximos Kallioupolites (Μάξιμος Καλλιουπολίτης, Latin: Maximus Callipolites, English: Maximos of Gallipoli; †1633; Wikipedia). Since the production of the Bible took place in an international context with contacts in the Netherlands, the text was not only translated from ancient Greek, but the content of other existing Bibles in other languages was also taken into account (Diodati). The place of printing was also not a city in Greece, but Geneva, where many Protestant Bibles had previously been produced, replacing the resurrection Sabbath with Sunday. Several revisions were made before the New Testament was completed 5 years after Maximos' death. The Calvinist features of the text were criticized, so the Bible was not distributed more widely.

The Bible was written in two columns and contains on one side the Textus Receptus and next to it the interpretative text in modern Greek. Maximos often mentioned the Sabbath in his NT. He even correctly translated into the Greek of his time the 3 passages (Luke 4:16; Acts 13:14 and Acts 16:13) that speak of the "ημερα των σαββατων" (day of the Sabbaths)". This means that he too knew exactly what this phrase really meant. But even so, he speaks of the "first day of the week" (πρώτην ημέραν της εβδομάδας) only in the passages that tell of the day of Jesus' resurrection and of the day of the church meeting (Acts 20:7), although the basic text of the NT in the column next to it says something different, namely "μια των σαββατων" and "πρωτη σαββατου". How is this great difference to be explained? It must not be overlooked that Maximos was in contact with Protestants (Calvinists) from Geneva, who early on integrated Resurrection Sunday in their Bibles in a wide variety of languages. They were not interested that the Greek language, of all languages, should be the only one to mention the Sabbath resurrection of Jesus. Therefore, Sabbath was simply erased in a few places and replaced by a completely different word (week, εβδομάδας). How illogical the text of Maximos is can be seen by the mere consideration that according to it no Greek could ever have said "on a Sabbath" or "on the one of the Sabbaths" or "on the first Sabbath", since it would supposedly always have to mean "on a/first Sunday" or "on the first day of the week". But what if the evangelists actually meant the Sabbath? Then they would have had to use exactly the same phrases that are in the basic text of the NT. The differences from the Old Greek to the New Greek in this case are minimal, so the manipulation by Maximos is very clear. The corresponding Greek word for "week" (see week) existed thousands of years before Maximos was born and it was also part of the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint, LXX). The apostles were not stupid, if they had meant the first day of the week, they would have written it. But they instead mentioned "Sabbath" 7 times in the singular and plural to prevent Jews and Christians from falling for another day from the beginning. Because of the many inaccuracies, the Greek Orthodox Church banned the Maximos Bible after it was printed. 

 

Greek Bible Maximos, Maximos of Gallipoli, 1636 New Testament
The Bible of Maximos 1636 postpones the resurrection of Jesus to the first day of the week

Thanks to a wonderful Christian woman from Greece who provided us with the digital Greek text; without her, these illustrations would not be possible. Rom 13:7: "honor to whom honor is owed."  

The following illustration shows the literal translation of the Textus Receptus and Maximos' interpretation of the NT:

Maximus of Gallipoli, Maximos greek Bible, Maximos Kallioupolites New testament
The NT of Maximos 1636 postpones the resurrection of Jesus to the first day of the week

Vamvas Bible 1850

Prof. Neophytus Vamvas (Neophitos, Nikolaos Vamvas; Bambas; gr. ΒΑΜΒΑΣ, *1770, †1856) translated since 1831 the complete Bible into a then modern Greek, which is no longer spoken today. Those who know the Septuagint know that the Israelites have always been able to distinguish between Sabbath (sabbaton) and week (ebdomados), as well as one (mia) and first (prote). Vamvas could not. His translation is called Modern Greek New Testament in some Bible programs, although other modern Greek translations may be meant under this designation. Vamvas was considered Protestant, so the Greek Orthodox Church banned his Bible translation. Thus, he was forced to collaborate with the British and Foreign Bible Society. Since he based his work more on the English King James Bible than on the actual Greek basic text, he automatically adopted its errors and postponed the day of Jesus' resurrection by 24 hours. In Mt 28:1a he wrote "after the Sabbath had passed" and spoke in all places of the "first day of the week" (πρώτης ημέρας της εβδομάδος: Mt 28:1; Mk 16:2; Lk 24:1; Acts 20:7) or in the short version of the "first of the week" (πρώτην της εβδομάδος: Mk 16:9; Jn 20:1. 19; 1 Cor 16:2). Thus, over 1,800 years after Jesus' death, the Greek text incorporated the "week" and erased the unloved "Sabbath". This is also not surprising, because if the Catholic and Protestant churches proclaim in their Bible translations in all languages that Jesus was supposedly resurrected "on a Sunday," they cannot tolerate it if the modern Greek Bibles, of all things, report a resurrection of Jesus "on a Sabbath morning." If the evangelists had meant the first day of the week, they would have written it, because this phrase existed long before Jesus and Vamvas were born. Then the text would have looked like that of Vamvas. Instead, the dramatic falsifications of the basic text become clearly visible:

Vamvas Bible of 1850 Greek Translation new Testament, resurrection sabbath
The Vamvas Bible of 1850 changes the statements of the basic Greek text

The NT by Spyros Kim Karalis 1991

In addition to Vamvas, other Greek translators preferred to adhere to the teachings of the church rather than the correct translation of the original Greek text. Among them is Spyros Karalis. His work is entitled: "Η Καινή Διαθήκη, Μεταγλώττιση Α', Σπύρος Κίμ. Καραλής". Karalis does mention the Sabbath, but he adds the word μετά (meta = after), which is NOT included in the basic text, thus postponing Jesus' resurrection to the "first day after the Sabbath" (πρώτη ημέρα μετά το Σάββατο). Some early editions indicated in italics and in parentheses that these two words were not in the basic Greek text. But it was still concealed that the basic text does not mention πρώτη (prote=first), but mostly μια (mia=one), meaning "on a Sabbath." The "μια" is a common and very frequent word, which still exists not only in ancient Greek, but also in today's modern Greek language. And it still means only "a/one" even today. Also, the words for "after", "first", "Sabbath", and "week" are exactly the same in ancient Greek as they are in modern Greek. The evangelists could have used these words if they had wanted to. The embarrassing alteration of the Bible by Karalis is obvious. He has completely twisted the statements of the NT and formed a new Greek text that has not even existed for 2,000 years:

Spyros Karalis New Testament, resurrection sabbath
The NT of Spyros Karalis changes the statements of the basic Greek text

Logos-New Testament Modern Text 1994/2004

This translation ("Η Καινή Διαθήκη-Εγχειρίδιο Μελέτης και Ζωής, Εκδ. Ο Λόγος") speaks not only of the "first day of the new week" (Mt 28:1) or "first day of the week" (της πρώτης ημέρας της εβδομάδας - Mk 16:2. 9; Jn 20:1), but it even mentions "on the Lord's Day" (την Kυριακή) in 4 places, thus meaning "on Sunday" - Lk 24:1; Jn 20:19; Acts 20:7; 1Cor 16:2). Question: Why do you think the evangelists did not use all these words known at that time? Answer: Because they meant the Sabbath. If the theologians had studied the Bible seriously, they would have known that the Sabbath is the Lord's Day of Jesus and no other day. The comparison with the original Greek text (see above) shows how hard the church tried to destroy the Sabbath with several manipulations at once: 

Logos NT Modern Text Greek Translation, resurrection sabbath
The Logos NT Modern Text of 1994 changes the statements of the basic Greek text

The Facts about the Modern Greek Bibles and the Translation Programs

The many different and contradictory statements for just one simple phrase "μια των σαββατων" (one of the Sabbaths, see link) make it clear that even in modern Greek, church doctrine came before God doctrine. See also information on the greatest translation error in the history of mankind: "mia ton sabbaton". How illogical and inconsistent the modern translations are can also be seen in the expression "day of Sabbaths." When a feminine day (ημέρα) is added after the feminine mia, as has been done by many translators, nothing else results but a phrase well known from other biblical passages (Luke 4:16; Acts 13:14; 16:13), "τη ημερα των σαββατων" (on the day of Sabbaths). This phrase has always been correctly translated by Vamvas and Karalis as "το Σάββατο" (on Saturday, or the Sabbath) in the singular (!) or as "τη ημέρα του σαββάτου" (on the day of the Sabbath) with the same σαββάτου (as in Mark 16:9) in the singular (!). It is not logical why this 100% same phrase should mean Sunday only in the places where the women came to the tomb?

 

The 3 words μια (one), ημέρα (day) and Σαββάτων (Sabbath/s) have survived to this day even in the Modern Greek language and mean the same as they did over 2,000 years ago. It is not possible, for "μια των σαββατων" (one of the Sabbaths), which every child can understand, once "ημέρα μετά το Σάββατο" (day after the Sabbath), another time "της πρώτης ημέρας της εβδομάδας" (first day of the week), and yet another time "την Kυριακή" (on Lord's Day, on Sunday). These are completely different statements in terms of content and grammar. Otherwise, a modern Greek could never say "on a Sabbath" or "on a day of Sabbaths" or "early first Sabbath" because then it would always automatically have to mean "on a Sunday." This is crazy. Every translator should ask himself a question: What if the evangelists really meant "on the one of the Sabbaths"? Answer: then they had only one way to express it in ancient Greek, the one they used independently 7 times in the original text. This can confirm everyone, who enters these idioms into a translation program to the today's Greek. He gets exactly the same idiom, which the evangelists also meant: 

"day of the Sabbaths" in the Greek language Bible, sabbath resurrection
The "day of the Sabbaths" in the Greek language

Since it is not logical for modern programs in today's Greek to speak of the "day of the Sabbaths" and so they partly do not translate literally, one can enter an auxiliary word e.g. "on one of the three Sabbaths". Then everybody gets the same expression as in the NT. In Mt 28:1, the 100% same word σαββατων is in the plural twice in one sentence. It is translated correctly in almost all modern Greek Bibles first as "το σαββατον" (on the Sabbath) in the singular and then suddenly in the same sentence as εβδομάδας (week). Where is the logic there? There is none!

 

Even more interesting is the comparison of the biblical ancient Greek text of Mark 16:9 with the same modern translations. The original text reads "πρωτη σαββατου" (first Sabbath). Vamvas translated for it "πρώτην της εβδομάδος" (first of the week), Karalis spoke of "την πρώτη ημέρα μετά το Σάββατο" (the first day after the Sabbath). Already in the italics he points out that the two words "ημέρα μετά" (day after) are not found in the Bible. By this addition, a completely different statement appears. What Mark meant is understood by anyone familiar with God's calendar, namely, that the women came to the tomb "early on the first Sabbath," that is, the first of the 7 Sabbaths until Pentecost. What is complicated about this?

 

Whoever enters the words "πρωτη σαββατου" into a modern Greek translation program will neither get "on the first day of the week" nor "on the day after the Sabbath" and certainly not "on a Sunday", but only: "first Saturday" or "first Sabbath".

Ancient Greek "πρωτη σαββατου" = Modern Greek "πρωτη σαββατου"

Furthermore, whoever enters the whole wording of Mk 16:9 "δε πρωι πρωτη σαββατου" in a translation program will get from it in today's Greek "and on the first Saturday morning" or literally "and on the morning of the first Sabbath". So if you want to say "early on the first Sabbath" in today's Greek, you have to use exactly the same words Mark had used 2,000 years ago. Or does this come out in their translation program as "after the Sabbath," "on the first day of the week," or "on a Sunday"? God tells us not to believe anyone and to test everything ourselves: "seek and you will find" (Mt 7:7) and "prove all things; hold fast that which is good" (1Th 5:21). Let us not be deceived!

 

All these examples clearly show that the love for church doctrine was greater among the translators than the love for God. The churches did not want to agree that only the Greek language speaks of the Sabbath resurrection, while all other modern languages of the earth speak of the Sunday resurrection. Therefore, even in the modern Greek Bibles, the text was distorted according to the church dogma of the Good Friday-Easter Sunday tradition. But we have thousands of ancient and unadulterated manuscripts until today, which only know the resurrection of Jesus "on a Sabbath morning".

 

 

 

We can nevertheless be thankful for the modern Greek Bible translations, because they clearly show,

what should have been in the Greek basic text, so that the theologians would have their Sunday.

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil"

(1Thess 5:21-22)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them"

(Epheser 5:11)