A Prayer to Our Father: Hebrew Origins of the Lord’s Prayer

The Book
I remember my father telling me that when he was in elementary school (back when prayer was still allowed in the public school system), his teacher used to start the day by having her students say the Lord’s Prayer. A Jewish classmate of his was concerned about whether or not this was “kosher” and sought the advice of his Rabbi. The Rabbi told him, “There is nothing in this prayer that a good Jew cannot say. Go ahead and pray the Lord’s Prayer with your classmates.”

It was with my dad’s story in mind that I began reading “A Prayer to Our Father: Hebrew Origins of the Lord’s Prayer.” Co-written by Nehemia Gordon, a Jewish scholar residing in Jerusalem and Keith Johnson, an African American pastor and former chaplain to the Minnesota Vikings, it has a unique perspective that transcends the usual “interfaith dialogue” type of fare. I consider myself something of a connoisseur of books on prayer, and I was excited to add this one to my collection. The 174 page paperback was released in 2009 by Hilkiah Press.

Quote
“[The Lord’s Prayer] is so much more than a beautiful piece of liturgy. Its nine statements are full of wisdom on how to live a moral and ethical life in the presence of the Father of all mankind, and in relation to our fellow human beings” (page 173).

The Good
The book has an interesting premise: an African American Christian pastor and a Jewish scholar living in Israel team up to uncover the Hebrew roots of the Lord’s Prayer. For the most part, the book lives up to its opening pitch. After the unlikely duo is providentially brought together, they embark on a Dan Brown style adventure involving ancient manuscripts (including a Hebrew version of the Gospel of Matthew), religious eccentrics and sacred places. Gordon and Johnson not only study the prayer at the museum and in the library, they also spend much of the first half of the book physically hiking through the deserts and mountains of Israel in search of the place where Jesus first taught this historic prayer. The second half of the book is dedicated to their interpretation of the prayer as well as principles for personal edification and application.

The Bad
I’ve read a number of similar books over the years that take the reader on a King Solomon’s Mines type romp through the Bible Lands in search of whatever the Holy Grail du jour may be. At their climax, all of these books contain virtually the exact same sentence: “Overcome with emotion, we realized that we may have found the very spot on which Yeshua stood when he taught the Avinu Prayer to the Jewish multitudes” (page 81). Fill in the blanks with your choice of Moses and the Ten Commandments, Solomon and his wisdom, St. John the Divine and the Revelation, and you get the idea. I don’t mean to cast doubt on what I’m sure was an emotional moment for the authors, but the whole “we’ve found Noah’s Ark” thing is more than a little clichéd by now.

I also would have liked to see a little more scholarly support for the authors’ conclusions. Gordon and Johnson appear to accept rather uncritically the idea that the Gospel of Matthew was originally written in Hebrew, citing Origen and a few other church fathers in support. But what does Bart Ehrman or N.T. Wright think? What’s the scholarly consensus? These questions are never addressed in any detail.

In addition, I thought the expository sections of the book were a little light. Quite frankly, almost any preacher with a modern English translation of the Lord’s Prayer could have arrived at the same interpretations without ever viewing the microfilms of Hebrew Matthew.

The Bottom Line
The bottom line is that “A Prayer to Our Father” is well-written and gives a unique Jewish/Christian perspective on the Lord’s Prayer. Although it was a quick and engaging read, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it to seasoned spiritual seekers or those desiring a deeper treatment of the subject. This book will better serve those who want a solid devotional exploration of what is surely the most famous prayer in the world.

Originally reviewed for The Ooze - view it at http://www.theooze.com/articles/article.cfm?id=2334