ABSTRACT
In his well-known rebuke of Pharisean ostentatiousness and love of public recognition (Matt, xxiii. 1-10) Jesus says to his disciples: “They love to be called of men Rabbi. But be ye not called Rabbi; for one is your teacher, and all ye are brethren. And call no man your father on the earth ; for one is your father, which is in heaven. Neither be ye called masters, for one is your master, even the Christ.” Lightfoot already observed that reference is here made to the three titles by which the leaders of the school were addressed in Talmudical times: Rabbi, Abba, and Moreh (see Maccoth, 24 a). Still, a careful glance at the New Testament passage reveals the fact that the text has been tampered with, since Jesus cannot well have spoken of himself in this manner.
