Peter’s Rooster A common problem that exists in our English Bibles is the mistranslation from the original text. In the Bible school for Prophet training I was the founder and head of, people would bring in all their numerous translations and NONE of them come anywhere close to the Hebrew meaning of the words the Word was written in. The Creator of ALL things did not write the Word in Greek either. Sometimes this seems to be the direct result of translators, long after the time of the disciples giving up the spirit and going home to be with Father, attempting to remove all hints of Jewish teachings from the New Covenant (Testament) in order to support their particular theology and doctrines. Other times it appears to be caused by just plain old ignorance of God and of the Hebrew idioms or expressions. A classic example of the latter can be found in the story concerning Peters denial of Yeshua/Jesus on the night of the Covenant Meal or Last Supper to most. And the Lord said, Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for access to you, so that he may sift you as wheat. But, instead, I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have been converted [means returned to the Truth in Me over the things seen and to put something over your mouth to stop you from speaking non truth], strengthen your brethren. But, he said to Him, Lord, I am ready to go with You both to prison and to death. Then He said, I tell you, Peter, the rooster as man teaches (cock in KJV) will not crow this day before you will deny three times that you know Me. [Luke 22:31-34] Later that night the Temple Guards arrested Yeshua/Jesus and took Him to the house of the High Priest. There Simon Peter was allowed admission to the courtyard in view of where they were questioning Yeshua/Jesus. And a certain servant girl, seeing him as he sat by the fire, looked intently at him and said, this man was also with Him. But he denied Him, saying, Woman, I do not know Him. And after a little while another saw him and said, you also are of them. But Peter said, Man, I am not! Then after about an hour had passed, another confidently affirmed saying, surely this fellow also was with Him, for he is a Galilean. But Peter said, Man, I do not know what you are saying! And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster as man teaches (cock) crowed. And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had said to him, before the rooster as man teaches (cock) crows, you will deny Me three times. Then Peter went out and wept bitterly. [Luke 22:56-62] This is one of the more famous stories in the Gospel accounts; repeated in both Matthew and Mark as well. However, there is one problem with the translation; chickens, cocks, hens or rooters either, were not allowed in Jerusalem during Temple times. The reason for this prohibition was because chickens are very dirty birds and they have the obnoxious habit of finding their way into places where they do not belong and leaving more than eggs on the ground. Therefore, to assure that chickens could not gain access to the Temple and desecrate the Holy Place or worse yet, the Holy of Holies, the Priests simply forbids everyone in Jerusalem from having chickens anywhere near the place. If you have ever seen or had to clean a chicken coop, you can imagine what the Ark of the Covenant would look like with chicken dung on it! So, what about this famous passage of Scripture that man will fight to their they death to protect? It clearly says in the New King James Version from the Greek translation, just quoted, that a “rooster or cock” crowed and it was heard in the courtyard of the palace of the High Priest. The proper translation is really quite evident when the practices of that time are understood. The “rooster” or “cock” that Peter and Yeshua/Jesus heard was not a bird at all, but a man. That man was a priest and keeper at the Temple. He was the one who had the responsibility of unlocking the Temple doors each and every morning before dawn. Every night this priest would lock the doors to the Temple and place the key in an opening in the floor of one of the Temple side rooms. Then he would place a flat stone over the opening and place his sleeping mat over the stone. He would literally sleep over the key to the Temple. In the morning this priest would arise at first light and retrieve the key. He would then proceed to unlock the doors to the Temple and cry out [crow] three statements in a loud voice: “All the cohanim (priests) prepare to sacrifice”. “All the Leviim (Levites) go to their stations”. “All the Israelites come to worship”. Then he would repeat these statements two more times. It is the same as the old town criers that would go around saying “alls well” in many cities in olden times. The priest in question was known as the Temple Crier and he was called [alektor] in Greek, which can either be a [cock] or [man]. The word for cock is [Gever] in Hebrew. Alektor here was incorrectly assumed to be the cock or rooster instead of the Priestly Temple Crier. It was his obligation to roust all the Priests, Levites and worshippers and call them to begin their preparations for the morning sacrifice service. In the stillness of the early morning, sound carries very well and since the palace of the High Priest was within a very short walking distance from the Temple, it was the Temple Criers cry that was heard in the courtyard where Yeshua/Jesus was being questioned and not the literal cock/rooster that man has been misled to believe. Josephus, the historian, confirms this by stating that no chickens were allowed inside Jerusalems walls at all as they flew into the Temple and defiled the Temple. While this example does not change the meaning of the event that Peter would deny Yeshua/Jesus despite his brave and boisterous declaration earlier in the evening, it does serve to illustrate how ALL Bible students and especially in other languages have been duped in their understanding of some of the events as they actually took place. Also, by knowing the true facts about the Gever, ones attention becomes focused on the fact that Yeshua/Jesus, the Son of God, was being questioned while standing within earshot of His Fathers House (the Temple). Since Yeshua/Jesus now lives in man, what is He hearing come out of your mouth by Satan wanting to sift you by your denominational teachings that only came as a result of fighting, bickering and murmuring against each other and not walking in the Love of God in the first and the last place. Prophet Joe
Posted on: Tue, 16 Dec 2014 02:15:18 +0000