Is it all right to speak of Jesus as a “rabbi”? Some have suggested that the term may be from after Jesus’ time, so to apply it to Jesus isn’t appropriate. Others have said that Jesus rejected the title because he refused to associated with the Jewish religious teachers of his day. What is going on here?
The simplest answer is to look at the gospels themselves. In the text of the gospels, Greek letters are used to spell out the Hebrew word “rabbi” as ραββι rather than translating it into a Greek equivalent in 15 places (see Matt. 23:7, 8; Mark 9:5; John 1:38, 49, and elsewhere). In these passages, Jesus was called rabbi mainly by disciples – namely Peter, Nathaniel, and Judas, and some would-be disciples, including Nicodemus. John the Baptist’s disciples called him “rabbi” too (John 3:26).
Here’s one passage where ραββι is found:
When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?” They said, “Rabbi” [ραββι] (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” (John 1:37)
Here John explains that his use of “rabbi” is the equivalent of the Greek word didaskalos, which means “teacher.” It’s reasonable to assume, then, that when we see Jesus addressed as “teacher” in English translations, the Gospel writers are using it to translate the word rabbi.
But there’s more going on here. Right around the time of Jesus, there was a change in how the word “rabbi” was used. The word was not used as a title of a religious teacher in Jesus’ time, but only became so after 70 AD. Jewish teachers who lived a few decades before his time, like Hillel and Shammai, were not called “Rabbi Hillel” and “Rabbi Shammai,” even though they had numerous disciples. They simply went by their name with no title, like Jesus did. It was only after 70 AD that we find numerous religious teachers who had the title of “rabbi,” like “Rabbi Akiva” or “Rabbi Eliezar.”
Because of this, modern scholars refer to the era after 70 AD as “the rabbinic period” and speak of teachers in this period as “the rabbis.” Religious teachers who gathered disciples prior to 70 AD are termed “sages,” so Jesus was a “sage” rather than a “rabbi” by modern definition. In the minds of academics, calling Jesus a “rabbi” sounds as if he lived a few decades later than he did.
It is very important not to transplant Jesus from his own time into another. But if we disassociate him entirely from the Jewish teachers that lived slightly after him, it is misleading as well. It’s important to remember that Jesus lived in the critical period of Judaism that formed the nucleus of later rabbinic thought.
The disciples of Hillel and Shammai were debating in his day, and their opinions became the focus of much of the discussion that is preserved in the Mishnah and Talmud. Jesus appeared to be commenting on their debates in some places, for instance, on divorce (Mt 19:3-9). Even if Jesus didn’t interact with them directly, knowing what they believed is critical for understanding his Jewish reality.
What did Jesus’ Disciples Call Him?
So what word would Jesus’ disciples have used to refer to him? Rabbi. But in a different sense. It was traditional, even before Jesus was born, for disciples to address their teacher as rav, meaning “master” or “great one.” You can see this in quotations from the earliest sages in the Mishnah, which spoke of the relationship between a talmid (disciple) and his rav (master). (For instance, Pirke Avot 1:6, from the 2nd cent BC.) The word for “teacher,” moreh, referred to a teacher of children.
“Rav” was the same word that a slave would use to address his owner, displaying an attitude of humility. An “i” added to the end meant “my,” so a disciple would address his teacher as rav-i, “my master,” or rabbi. (In Hebrew, b and v are often interchangeable.) In the decades after Jesus’ time, the word for “my master” gradually became the title of a Jewish religious teacher. This is very analogous to how clergy were once honored with the phrase, “the most reverend so-and-so,” but later “reverend” became a professional title.
The gospels yield clues that Jesus’ disciples called him rav-i in this older sense of the word. In Luke’s gospel especially, we see Jesus being referred to as “master.” (See Luke 5:5, 8:24, 8:45 and elsewhere.) We also hear Jesus saying,
A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. (Matthew 10:24-25)
The reason Jesus made this comparison was likely because the disciples were calling him rav, and addressing him as rav-i, “my master.” The fact that John translates the word rabbi as didaskalos shows that the word was also understood to mean “teacher” as well.
This sheds light on Matthew 23: “Everything they do is done for men to see… they love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have men call them ‘Rabbi.’ [ραββι] But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one Master and you are all brothers” (vs. 5,7-8, NIV). Jesus’ was objecting to his disciples demanding others pay them obeisance and competing for honor with each other. But he did not object when his disciples used rav-i to refer to him. Rather, he expected that if they honored him with a special title, it should be accompanied by obedience: “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord’ and not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46)
To sum up, some modern scholars do not refer to Jesus as a “rabbi” because the boundaries have been set to define him as slightly before the rabbinic era (post 70 AD). But the gospels themselves explicitly spell out the word “rabbi” in reference to him. And Jesus himself speaks as if he expects that we as his followers would think of him as our “master.” It seems very appropriate, then, that if we are his disciples, we should speak of him as our “rabbi.”
Don Johnson says
That was the clearest exposition I have yet read about “rabbi”. Thanks. It is a little confusing and you explained it.
Jack Haveman says
Thanks, Lois, for bringing clarity to a rather “muddy” subject. May the LORD add His favor to your new work!
Bryan Fink says
Great explanation on the history and context of the word “Rabbi”. Very interesting. I have friends and pastor colleagues who think that referring to Jesus as “rabbi” is not appropriate and that we should only refer to him as “Lord” and/or “Savior”. I disagree. I think that by only referring to Jesus with those titles we only see him in his eternal glory and it removes him from our daily and earthly living. For me, “Rabbi” helps to recapture my relationship with Jesus on the daily business of life and anchors my daily walk with him as one of his first century disciples living in the 21st century. I can’t wait for your book to hit the book shelves.
Patrick Jeaurond says
Amen brother!!
100% agree.
Thanks Lois for this!!
God bless!
Lois Tverberg says
Exactly, Brian.
Glorified names for Jesus are wonderful, but they can be a great way to let ourselves off the hook. We can put him so far away into heaven that we can completely ignore his earthly ministry and his mission – to call us to be disciples who obey his teachings and emulate his way of life before others.
Johnny Gainey says
Lois,
You cannot know how much of an impact you have made on my day. You commented on one of my articles that are posted at http://www.therubicon.org, and defended me in my agreement with David Bivin about Jesus’ singleness.
I have been writing about the Jewishness of Jesus and what that means for the gospels and Christians for about five years now. The responses are mixed, but people are very interested and many lives are positively influenced because of this perspective.
I will definitely be purchasing your new book. My own website is http://www.flocksdiner.com, where I write mostly on the Hebrew Perspective of Jesus and the Gospels, as well as try to point out the importance of the Jewish people and history upon Christianity.
As a sidenote, I am a Masters of Divinity student at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Charlotte, NC and you could be an amazing resource for one of my mentored ministry assignments. I am so interested in what you and others in your field teach about Jesus.
Please feel free to write me at anytime, I am so thrilled to know that you have read some of my writings and to have had you “back me up” with your comment.
In His dust,
Johnny
Ron Coppage says
Lois,
The results of your research were very clear. Thank you for giving great clarity in why “Rabbi” should have been a clear option, for the translation into the english lanquage bible.
I have a great love for your book “Listening to the Language of the Bible.”
Thanks for striving to give us a clearer understanding of the word of God.
Keep up your blessed work,
Pastor Ron Coppage
Rishie says
This is very clear and easy to understand. Thanks for taking time to explain this clearly to us. God bless!
David says
Can you share your source documentation aka references for this? I would like to see the literature first hand. Is it possible?
Lois Tverberg says
Dear David, I’m happy to oblige you on sources. See the following:
New Light on the Difficult Words of Jesus by David Bivin – Ch. 2
Traditions of the Rabbis of the Era of the New Testament by David Instone-Brewer – pages 1-4
The texts where Jesus is called “rabbi” are: Mt 26:25, 49; Mk 9:5, 11:21, 14:45: John 1:38, 49, 3:2, 4:31, 6:25, 9:2, 11:8.
Lee Hart says
Dear Lois, thank you for this very interesting article. I have an academic question for you and perhaps you can help?
I was recently looking at the pastoral Epistles (Timothy, Titus and Philemon) when I suddenly felt that the Holy Spirit might be telling me that these three shepherds were all known as ‘Rabbi’ (or, more particularly, ‘Ravi’ was the word I received). Well I’m not sure if this really was the Spirit or not, so I began searching the web for answers, eventually coming here.
There does not seem to be anything online about first century Christian leaders being called ‘Ravi’ or ‘Rabbi’. Nor is that word in the Epistles. No one seems to call Saul a rabbi, either in the Bible or today. So perhaps it was not the Spirit who told me this?
However, I wondered if you had any thoughts on this? Do you think it could be at all possible that Timothy and Titus were called Rabbi by anyone? I am not asking your theological opinion concerning Christian titles (I have my own clear views on that); I am only asking if you think it is possible that the early church leaders could possibly have done used ‘ravi’ of Timothy and Titus?
Lois Tverberg says
Lee, what we have in the New Testament is the fact that Paul trained and treated Timothy as a disciple in the same way other early teachers did. He frequently spoke of him as his “son” and urged others to imitate him as he imitated Paul’s conduct, (1 Cor 4:15-17) two classic ideas emphasized in rabbi/disciple relationships.
But Timothy was a Greek-speaking Jew and “rav” and “rabbi” are Hebrew expressions. I don’t think that Paul’s mostly Greek-speaking audience in the diaspora would have used the same terms as Jesus’ mostly-Hebrew/Aramaic speaking audience in Israel. The title “rabbi” was not formalized by the time Timothy was teaching, and they were speaking Greek anyhow. So I don’t think his audience would have used it to address him.
Lee Hart says
Lois, thank you for your balanced answer. That’s really helpful to me and I’m very grateful! 🙂
Something relevant I hadn’t mentioned: the Lord has called me to a certain ministry in the future which will be primarily aimed towards Jews (though as yet I do not speak Hebrew or have much experience of Jewish culture, and I am eagerly learning).
As such, it may make no difference that Timothy and Titus were themselves Greek; the Spirit may simply wish for me to refer to such men as ‘rabbis’ when ministering to Jews (as opposed to referring to them as ‘leaders’ or ‘pastors’, the latter of which is heavily associated with westernized Christianity).
Megan says
I also do not see a problem with referring to Jesus as ‘Rabbi’. A rabbi’s role is to show their disciples how to demonstrate, interpret, and explain the Shema and how to bring shalom to chaos. By referring to Jesus as ‘Rabbi’ it is a reminder of the path and example I am to follow to bring shalom.
I find it very interesting the time period Jesus practiced his teachings. “Jesus lived in the critical period of Judaism that formed the nucleus of later rabbinic thought”, and I don’t think it was a coincidence for the time period. I think it was essential that Jesus practiced when he did because he was able to reflect and give his opinion on the arguments between Hillel and Shammai.
Gary Smart says
I needed to know the answer to a question. So, I asked Siri on my iPhone and your website was the first of many she found for me. I found it very interesting and learned a great deal from my reading. The question I asked Siri; “Why did Jesus’ disciples call him Rabbi?”. Your site was so interesting and I saved it on my front page of my iPhone!
Thank you and your web developers for all the information available to me and others.
Blessings,
Gary Smart
Nacogdoches, Texas
Douglas Russell Jr says
I want to be christian I want to know about Jesus christ and saver because I want to know about my self and learn more about everything
Aliza says
Thank you so much for the comprehensive yet succinct explanation! This was incredibly helpful and insightful. God bless!
ivan alfaro says
Oh great one rav-i Yeshua, we love love. Shalom
David Ashton says
Interesting and informative.
However I am confused; you have an image of Christ when we are told not to make or display them, and the image has him as good-looking white man with brown hair.