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Jesus’ ancient title
Study Hebrew and Discover the True Gospel
The Lesson of the Fig Tree

The Bible tells us that on his way to the Temple in Jerusalem, Jesus was hungry. He saw a leafy fig tree, but it was devoid of fruit, so he cursed it in anger. The following day, Peter saw the tree shriveled and exclaimed “Rabbi look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered” (Mark 11:21). What is this strange word – Rabbi – that Peter and the disciples use to address Jesus throughout the Gospels?


A Special Title of Honor

The word Rabbi comes from Hebrew word rav (רַב) which means “great”. The letter yod (י) at the end is a suffix of possession meaning “my”. So, we can literally translate rabbi (רַבִּי) as “my great one”. This title was used by Jews in antiquity to address a person of high authority and importance, even greatness. But “rabbi” always had a modest sense, being reserved for teachers, not royalty.


Recapture the Original Hebrew

As first century Jews, Jesus’ followers spoke Hebrew. It is therefore appropriate that Peter referred to him as Rabbi, “my great one”. Centuries later this Hebrew word was deemed so sacred that it was left untranslated in the Gospels, thus we still find “rabbi” in our English Bibles today. The time has come enroll in our live online Biblical courses and peel back the layers to find the original Hebrew of the Gospel!