Jayhawker Soule

Given:

• Jhn 10:30 I and [my] Father are one.
• Jhn 10:31 Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him.
• Jhn 10:32 Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me?
• Jhn 10:33 The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.
• Jhn 10:34 Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?

The last verse is a reference to Psalm 82. Are there other examples of "the Law" or "your law" being used to include/reference writings other than those found in the Torah? Thanks.

John Kesler

The most obvious example comes from Matthew 5:17-18:

Another instance is 1 Corinthians 14:21 in which Paul quotes Isaiah 28:11-12 yet refers to the quotation as "in the law."

Jayhawker Soule

Thank you.

Matthew 5:17-18 does not appear to be referring to particular text.

The reference to Isaiah is more what I'm looking for though here, too, it seems less jarring than does a reference to Psalms - if only because the Nevi'im served as the source of the haftarot.

The reference to Psalms 82 in John still seems strange to me.

John Kesler

Correct. The term "law and prophets" means the entire Hebrew Bible.

See John 15:25, which refers to Psalm 69:4, for another example of "law" referring to a Psalm.

Jayhawker Soule

Does it? To whom, and based on what evidence? Certainly the term 'Tanakh' refers to the law (Torah), the Prophets (Nevi'im), and the Writings (Ketuvim), with the Psalms being part of the latter.

Or Psalm 35:19 - but we already know that the author of John references the Psalms as such. I wonder if there is extra-Biblical writing that does likewise.

Notsri

There is one that comes to mind. In the Talmud (b. Sanh. 91b) one finds:

"R. Yehoshua ben Levi said: 'Where [do we find an allusion] to the resurrection of the dead in the Torah? For it is stated [in Psalm 84.5]: "Happy are those who dwell in Your house; yet again shall they praise You, selah." It does not say, "they have praised You," but rather "they will praise You," [i.e., after the resurrection]. Here [we find an allusion] to the resurrection of the dead in the Torah.'"

(A midrash that also comes to mind, Numbers Rabbah 13.15, refers to "the twenty-four books of the written Torah," meaning, of course, the entire Hebrew Bible.)

Regards,
Notsri

John Kesler

I think that based on the way that "law and prophets" is used, such as in the "Golden Rule" (Matthew 7:12), an inference can be made that more than just two of three Tanakh divisions is in view. It so happens that The New Jerome Biblical Commentary agrees with me. On page 641, commenting on Matthew 5:17, it says the following:

Jayhawker Soule

Excellent. Thanks.