As a voluntary holiday instituted by man rather than God, Chanukah does not appear in the Hebrew Bible because the historical events commemorated occurred after the composition of its last book.  However, it does make a noteworthy appearance in the New Testament.  Two brief verses disclose that our Moshiach (Messiah), Yehoshua, celebrated it.  The purpose of this post is to demonstrate both the remarkable implications of these two verses and the fact that its typical translation into English is an example of deliberate obscuring by anti-Semitic translators.

The verses are Yochanan (John) 10:22 & 23, typically rendered as follows:

“And the Feast of Dedication took place in Jerusalem, and it was winter.  And Jesus was walking in the temple, in Solomon’s Porch.”

The word “feast” is not in the Greek, and the average English reader has no idea what the “Dedication” is.  The translators are counting on this fact, that the significance of this statement will remain opaque.  The verses are telling us that Yehoshua is at the Temple for Chanukah, which means “dedication.”  If the translators would render the word as “Chanukah,” the reader would realize Yehoshua was commemorating a Jewish holiday.  Few contemporary readers have not heard of this holiday and, for those unfamiliar with its meaning, at least having the name properly disclosed would enable them to explore it further.

Another fact to be aware of is that this was not just a casual, convenient visit to the Temple on Yehoshua’s part.  He was a resident of Natzaret (Nazareth), not Yerushalayim (Jerusalem – which is why he and his disciples were known as “Galilim”).  Natzaret is 30 hours of walking (one-way) to Yerushalayim, so Yehoshua didn’t frequent the Temple except when several-day excursions to the holy city afforded it.  Such trips were, of course, commanded for the Shalosh Regalim–the three annual festivals, when the weather is far more pleasant.  For Chanukah, it is typically anything but, neither is there any other general occasion juxtaposed to warrant such an effort.

This obviously doesn’t mean Yehoshua was necessarily visiting Jerusalem solely for Chanukah.  He could’ve been simply visiting family–but, again, winter is a lousy time for such travel.  So the fact Yehoshua was in Yerushalayim’s environs at all this time of year is so much the more noteworthy—and the narrator—despite often coming across as anti-Semitic—made sure to apprise us of that holiday visit.

As these two short verses demonstrate, there is far more to the New Testament than most realize.  However, to unlock much of it, one must remove the camouflage laden over it by translators working for those who too often wish to hide much of its substance.