論文123		Paper 123
イエスの幼年期		The Early Childhood of Jesus
123:0.1 (1355.1) ベツレヘム滞在の不確実性と不安から、マリヤは、アレクサンドリアに無事にたどり着くまで離乳せず、そこで家族は、通常の生活に落ち着くことができた。かれらは、親類と共に暮らし、ヨセフは、到着直後に仕事を確保したので、自分の家族を養うことができた。かれは、数ケ月間大工として雇われ、その後幾つかの公共建築物の一つに携わる大きな労働者集団の長に昇進した。この新たな経験は、ナザレに戻ってからのヨセフに、請負人になる一案を持たらした。		123:0.1 (1355.1) OWING to the uncertainties and anxieties of their sojourn in Bethlehem, Mary did not wean the babe until they had arrived safely in Alexandria, where the family was able to settle down to a normal life. They lived with kinsfolk, and Joseph was well able to support his family as he secured work shortly after their arrival. He was employed as a carpenter for several months and then elevated to the position of foreman of a large group of workmen employed on one of the public buildings then in process of construction. This new experience gave him the idea of becoming a contractor and builder after their return to Nazareth.
123:0.2 (1355.2) イエスの心もとない幼年早期を通じて、マリヤは、幸福を危うくするかもしれない、あるいはいかなる形での地上での使命を妨害する何かが我が子に降り懸からないように長い監視を続けた。彼女ほどに、我が子に献身したものはいなかった。イエスがたまたま居ることになった家庭には、他に同じ年頃の子供が二人おり、近隣には遊び仲間として年の合う子供が、他に六人いた。最初マリヤは、イエスを身近に置こうとした。彼女は、他の子供と庭で遊ぶのを許せば何か起こりはしまいかと恐れたが、ヨセフは、同じ年頃の子供に順応する方法を学ぶ有用な経験を奪い取ると、縁者の加勢を得て、マリヤを説得することができた。そしてマリヤは、そのような過保護の指導と通常でない養護は、自意識の強い、幾分自己中心的にする傾向があるかもしれないと気づき、約束の子を他の子供と同じように成長させる方策に納得した。彼女は、この決定に従順である傍ら、家の周りや庭で小さい子等が遊んでいる間は何時も必ず見守っていた。嬰児と幼少初期のこれらの年月、マリアが、息子の安全を念じ続けたこの重荷というものは、愛情深い母のみが知ることができるのである。		123:0.2 (1355.2) All through these early years of Jesus’ helpless infancy, Mary maintained one long and constant vigil lest anything befall her child which might jeopardize his welfare or in any way interfere with his future mission on earth; no mother was ever more devoted to her child. In the home where Jesus chanced to be there were two other children about his age, and among the near neighbors there were six others whose ages were sufficiently near his own to make them acceptable play-fellows. At first Mary was disposed to keep Jesus close by her side. She feared something might happen to him if he were allowed to play in the garden with the other children, but Joseph, with the assistance of his kinsfolk, was able to convince her that such a course would deprive Jesus of the helpful experience of learning how to adjust himself to children of his own age. And Mary, realizing that such a program of undue sheltering and unusual protection might tend to make him self-conscious and somewhat self-centered, finally gave assent to the plan of permitting the child of promise to grow up just like any other child; and though she was obedient to this decision, she made it her business always to be on watch while the little folks were at play about the house or in the garden. Only an affectionate mother can know the burden that Mary carried in her heart for the safety of her son during these years of his infancy and early childhood.
123:0.3 (1355.3) イエスは、アレクサンドリアでの２年間の滞在を通して健康に恵まれ、普通に成長し続けた。数人の友と、親類は抜きにして、誰もイエスが「約束の子」だとは告げられなかった。ヨセフの縁者の一人は、メンフィスのイクナトンの遠い子孫である幾人かの友人にこれを明かし、かれらは、アレクサンドリアの信者の小集団とともに、ナザレの家族の無事を願い、その子に敬意をはらうためにパレスチナに戻る少し前にヨセフの親類の篤志家の宮殿のような自宅に集った。この折に集まった友は、イエスにヘブライ教典の完全なギリシア語訳を提示した。しかしこのユダヤの聖なる書の写本は、イエスとマリヤの両人が、エジプトに残るようにとのメンフィスとアレクサンドリアの友人達の招待をようやく断わるまでヨセフの手に渡されなかった。これらの信者は、運命の子が、パレスチナのいかなる指定された場所よりもアレクサンドリアの住人としての方がはるかに大きな世界的影響を及ぼすことができると主張した。ヘロデの死報を受けた後、これらの説得が、パレスチナへの彼らの出発をしばらく遅らせた。		123:0.3 (1355.3) Throughout the two years of their sojourn at Alexandria, Jesus enjoyed good health and continued to grow normally. Aside from a few friends and relatives no one was told about Jesus’ being a “child of promise.” One of Joseph’s relatives revealed this to a few friends in Memphis, descendants of the distant Ikhnaton, and they, with a small group of Alexandrian believers, assembled at the palatial home of Joseph’s relative-benefactor a short time before the return to Palestine to wish the Nazareth family well and to pay their respects to the child. On this occasion the assembled friends presented Jesus with a complete copy of the Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures. But this copy of the Jewish sacred writings was not placed in Joseph’s hands until both he and Mary had finally declined the invitation of their Memphis and Alexandrian friends to remain in Egypt. These believers insisted that the child of destiny would be able to exert a far greater world influence as a resident of Alexandria than of any designated place in Palestine. These persuasions delayed their departure for Palestine for some time after they received the news of Herod’s death.
123:0.4 (1356.1) ヨセフとマリヤは、友人のエズラエオンの小舟でアレクサンドリアをようやく離れ、ヨッパに向かい、紀元前４年８月下旬にその港に着いた。かれらは、直接ベツレヘムへ行き、そこに留まるべきか、あるいはナザレに戻るべきかを友人や縁者と談義し、９月のまる一月をそこで過ごした。		123:0.4 (1356.1) Joseph and Mary finally took leave of Alexandria on a boat belonging to their friend Ezraeon, bound for Joppa, arriving at that port late in August of the year 4 b.c. They went directly to Bethlehem, where they spent the entire month of September in counsel with their friends and relatives concerning whether they should remain there or return to Nazareth.
123:0.5 (1356.2) マリヤは、イエスが、ダヴィデの町ベツレヘムで育つべきだという考えを完全に諦めなかった。ヨセフは、息子がイスラエルの王のような救済者になるとは、実際に信じなかった。その上、かれは、自身が、本当はダヴィデの子孫ではないということを知っていた。自分が子孫にみなされているのは先祖の一人のダヴィデの家系への養子縁組によるものであった。勿論マリヤは、ダヴィデの町こそがダヴィデの王座の新候補者が育て上げられるに最適の場所であると考えたが、ヨセフは、アーカラウスとよりもアンティパス・ヘロデとの賭けを望んだ。ヨセフは、ベツレヘム、あるいはユダの他の市における子供の安全性に大きな懸念を抱いた。ガリラヤのアンティパスよりも、アーカラウスの方が、父ヘロデの威嚇的な政策を進めそうだと推測した。そしてこれらの理由以外にヨセフは、子を養い教育するのにはガリラヤの方が良いと自分の好みをあからさまにしたが、マリヤの反対を押し切るのに３週間を要した。		123:0.5 (1356.2) Mary had never fully given up the idea that Jesus ought to grow up in Bethlehem, the City of David. Joseph did not really believe that their son was to become a kingly deliverer of Israel. Besides, he knew that he himself was not really a descendant of David; that his being reckoned among the offspring of David was due to the adoption of one of his ancestors into the Davidic line of descent. Mary, of course, thought the City of David the most appropriate place in which the new candidate for David’s throne could be reared, but Joseph preferred to take chances with Herod Antipas rather than with his brother Archelaus. He entertained great fears for the child’s safety in Bethlehem or in any other city in Judea, and surmised that Archelaus would be more likely to pursue the menacing policies of his father, Herod, than would Antipas in Galilee. And besides all these reasons, Joseph was outspoken in his preference for Galilee as a better place in which to rear and educate the child, but it required three weeks to overcome Mary’s objections.
123:0.6 (1356.3) ヨセフは、10月１日までにナザレに戻ることが自分達にとって最善であると、マリヤやすべての友人を説得した。そこで、紀元前４年10月初旬、ベツレヘムからリッダ、スキトポリス経由でナザレに出発した。ある日曜日の早朝、ヨセフと同伴の5人の親類が、徒歩で進む一方、マリヤとその子供は、新たに手に入れた役畜に乗り出発をした。ヨセフの親族は、ナザレまでの単独旅行を許そうとしなかった。連中は、エルサレム、ヨルダン渓谷経由でガリラヤへ行くことを怖れたし、西の経路は、幼い子を連れた二人きりの旅人にとり必ずしも安全ではなかった。		123:0.6 (1356.3) By the first of October Joseph had convinced Mary and all their friends that it was best for them to return to Nazareth. Accordingly, early in October, 4 b.c., they departed from Bethlehem for Nazareth, going by way of Lydda and Scythopolis. They started out early one Sunday morning, Mary and the child riding on their newly acquired beast of burden, while Joseph and five accompanying kinsmen proceeded on foot; Joseph’s relatives refused to permit them to make the trip to Nazareth alone. They feared to go to Galilee by Jerusalem and the Jordan valley, and the western routes were not altogether safe for two lone travelers with a child of tender years.
1. ナザレに戻る ^top		1. Back in Nazareth ^top
123:1.1 (1356.4) 旅の４日目、一行は、無事に目的地に着いた。かれらは、知らせることもなく家に到着し、そこにはヨセフの既婚の兄弟の一人が、３年以上も住んでおり、かれは、一行を見て誠に驚かされた。かれらは、すべきことをひっそりと為し、ヨセフとマリヤどちらの家族もアレクサンドリアを出発したことさえ知らなかった。あくる日ヨセフの兄弟は、家族を引っ越しさせ、マリヤは、イエスの誕生以来初めて我が家での生活を味わうべく小家族とともに落ち着いた。ヨセフは、一週間足らずで大工仕事を確保し、家族はこの上なく幸せであった。		123:1.1 (1356.4) On the fourth day of the journey the party reached its destination in safety. They arrived unannounced at the Nazareth home, which had been occupied for more than three years by one of Joseph’s married brothers, who was indeed surprised to see them; so quietly had they gone about their business that neither the family of Joseph nor that of Mary knew they had even left Alexandria. The next day Joseph’s brother moved his family, and Mary, for the first time since Jesus’ birth, settled down with her little family to enjoy life in their own home. In less than a week Joseph secured work as a carpenter, and they were supremely happy.
123:1.2 (1356.5) イエスは、ナザレに帰着時点でおよそ３歳と２ヶ月であった。かれは、全てのこれら旅によく耐えたし、駆け回ったり、楽しめる自分の家があり、健康に優れ、稚拙な歓喜と興奮に満ちていた。しかしかれは、アレクサンドリアの遊び友達との交わりを大いに懐かしんだ。		123:1.2 (1356.5) Jesus was about three years and two months old at the time of their return to Nazareth. He had stood all these travels very well and was in excellent health and full of childish glee and excitement at having premises of his own to run about in and to enjoy. But he greatly missed the association of his Alexandrian playmates.
123:1.3 (1356.6) ヨセフは、ナザレへの途中、ガリラヤの友人や縁者の間でイエスが約束の子であると言い触らすのは賢明ではないとマリヤを説き伏せていた。かれらは、これらの件についての全ての言及を誰からも差し控えることに同意した。そして双方共に、この約束遵守にとても忠実であった。		123:1.3 (1356.6) On the way to Nazareth Joseph had persuaded Mary that it would be unwise to spread the word among their Galilean friends and relatives that Jesus was a child of promise. They agreed to refrain from all mention of these matters to anyone. And they were both very faithful in keeping this promise.
123:1.4 (1357.1) 全年を通してイエスの４年目は、通常の身体発育と心的活動の期間であった。一方かれは、ヤコブという近隣の同じ年頃の少年に非常に近い愛着を覚えるようになった。イエスとヤコブは、二人で遊びを楽しむとともに、優れた友人、忠実な、たいそう睦まじい友へと成長していった。		123:1.4 (1357.1) Jesus’ entire fourth year was a period of normal physical development and of unusual mental activity. Meantime he had formed a very close attachment for a neighbor boy about his own age named Jacob. Jesus and Jacob were always happy in their play, and they grew up to be great friends and loyal companions.
123:1.5 (1357.2) このナザレの家族生活における次の重要な出来事は、紀元前３年４月２日の早朝の次男ヤコブの誕生であった。イエスは赤ん坊の弟を持つという思いに興奮し、赤子の最初の動きを観察するために何時間も立っていたのであった。		123:1.5 (1357.2) The next important event in the life of this Nazareth family was the birth of the second child, James, in the early morning hours of April 2, 3 b.c. Jesus was thrilled by the thought of having a baby brother, and he would stand around by the hour just to observe the baby’s early activities.
123:1.6 (1357.3) ヨセフが村の泉と隊商の停留場近くに小さな作業場を建てたのは、同じ年の真夏のことであった。これ以降、かれは、昼間の大工仕事はごくわずかしかしなかった。彼には、仲間として２人の兄弟と他に幾人かの職人がおり、自身は、仕事場に残り軛や鋤を作ったり他の木工作業をしながら彼らを働きに出した。かれは、革、綱、粗布でも工作をした。イエスの方と言えば、成長とともに、学校のない折には、 世界の隅々からの隊商案内人や旅行者の会話や世間話を聞いたりする一方で、家の仕事で母を手伝い、仕事場で父の働き振りを観察したりと、父母の間での時を均等に過ごした。		123:1.6 (1357.3) It was midsummer of this same year that Joseph built a small workshop close to the village spring and near the caravan tarrying lot. After this he did very little carpenter work by the day. He had as associates two of his brothers and several other mechanics, whom he sent out to work while he remained at the shop making yokes and plows and doing other woodwork. He also did some work in leather and with rope and canvas. And Jesus, as he grew up, when not at school, spent his time about equally between helping his mother with home duties and watching his father work at the shop, meanwhile listening to the conversation and gossip of the caravan conductors and passengers from the four corners of the earth.
123:1.7 (1357.4) イエスが４歳になる１ヶ月前のこの年の７月に、隊商の旅人との接触による悪性腸疾患の発生が、ナザレ中に広がった。マリヤは、イエスがこの伝染病に晒される危険をとても警戒し、二人の子供を着物にくるみ、ナザレの数キロメートル南のサリド近くのメギド道沿いにある自分の兄弟の田舎の家に逃れた。かれらは、２ヶ月以上もナザレに戻らなかった。イエスは、この最初の農場経験を大いに楽しんだ。		123:1.7 (1357.4) In July of this year, one month before Jesus was four years old, an outbreak of malignant intestinal trouble spread over all Nazareth from contact with the caravan travelers. Mary became so alarmed by the danger of Jesus being exposed to this epidemic of disease that she bundled up both her children and fled to the country home of her brother, several miles south of Nazareth on the Megiddo road near Sarid. They did not return to Nazareth for more than two months; Jesus greatly enjoyed this, his first experience on a farm.
2. ５年目(紀元前２年) ^top		2. The Fifth Year (2 B.C.) ^top
123:2.1 (1357.5) ナザレへの帰還の一年余の後、少年イエスは、何かにおいて個人的で、しかも心の底からの最初の道徳決意の年齢に到達した。楽園の父からの神性の贈物である思考調整者は、先に人間の肉体に似せた超人存在の化身のメルキズィデクのマキヴェンタに仕え、こうして経験を積み、彼に内住するためにやってきた。これは紀元前２年２月11日に起きた。心の内に住み、 心の究極的な崇高化と進化している不滅の魂の永久生存のために働くこれらの思考調整者を受け入れたそれ以前、またその時代以降の幾百万という他の子供達と同様に、イエスは、神性の訓戒者の到来に気づかなかった。		123:2.1 (1357.5) In something more than a year after the return to Nazareth the boy Jesus arrived at the age of his first personal and wholehearted moral decision; and there came to abide with him a Thought Adjuster, a divine gift of the Paradise Father, which had aforetime served with Machiventa Melchizedek, thus gaining the experience of functioning in connection with the incarnation of a supermortal being living in the likeness of mortal flesh. This event occurred on February 11, 2 b.c. Jesus was no more aware of the coming of the divine Monitor than are the millions upon millions of other children who, before and since that day, have likewise received these Thought Adjusters to indwell their minds and work for the ultimate spiritualization of these minds and the eternal survival of their evolving immortal souls.
123:2.2 (1357.6) ２月のこの日、マイケルの子供に似せた具現の完全な状態に関連があり、宇宙の支配者の直接かつ個人的な監督は、終わった。展開していく人間の具現の期間、その瞬間から、イエスの後見は、この内住する調整者、そして惑星の上司の指図に従い、ある種の決められた任務の履行を割り当てられた中間創造物の代理者により、時おり補充される関連する熾天使等の任務と定められている。		123:2.2 (1357.6) On this day in February the direct and personal supervision of the Universe Rulers, as it was related to the integrity of the childlike incarnation of Michael, terminated. From that time on throughout the human unfolding of the incarnation, the guardianship of Jesus was destined to rest in the keeping of this indwelling Adjuster and the associated seraphic guardians, supplemented from time to time by the ministry of midway creatures assigned for the performance of certain definite duties in accordance with the instruction of their planetary superiors.
123:2.3 (1357.7) この年の８月イエスは５歳であった。それゆえ我々は、その一生の５年目(数え年)と言おう。この年、紀元前２年、５年目の誕生日の１ヶ月余り前、７月11日の夜生まれた妹のミリアムの到来がイエスを非常に喜ばせた。翌日の夕方、生物の中の様々な集団が、別々の個人としてこの世界に生まれてくる様について、イエスは、父と長い話をした。イエスの初期教育の最も貴重な部分は、深く考え、追い求めるイエスの探求に対しての両親からの答えから確保された。ヨセフは、少年の数多くの質問に充分の労力や時間を費やすことを決して怠らなかった。５歳から10歳までの時期、イエスは質問の塊であった。ヨセフとマリヤが答えられない時、２人は、充分討論したり、または少年の利発な心が仄めかした問題に対して満足のいく解決に至る努力をするイエスを他の可能な限りの方法で助力することを決して怠ったことはなかった。		123:2.3 (1357.7) Jesus was five years old in August of this year, and we will, therefore, refer to this as his fifth (calendar) year of life. In this year, 2 b.c., a little more than one month before his fifth birthday anniversary, Jesus was made very happy by the coming of his sister Miriam, who was born on the night of July 11. During the evening of the following day Jesus had a long talk with his father concerning the manner in which various groups of living things are born into the world as separate individuals. The most valuable part of Jesus’ early education was secured from his parents in answer to his thoughtful and searching inquiries. Joseph never failed to do his full duty in taking pains and spending time answering the boy’s numerous questions. From the time Jesus was five years old until he was ten, he was one continuous question mark. While Joseph and Mary could not always answer his questions, they never failed fully to discuss his inquiries and in every other possible way to assist him in his efforts to reach a satisfactory solution of the problem which his alert mind had suggested.
123:2.4 (1358.1) ナザレからの帰郷以来、家族は忙しく、ヨセフは、新しい仕事場の建設や本来の仕事の再出発に殊の外追われてきた。かれは、それ程までに仕事にかまけていたので、ジェイムズのための揺りかごを作る時間さえなかったが、これは、ミリアムが生まれるかなり前に改められていたので、この稚児には、家族が、可愛がるのに寄り集まってくるとても心地の良い赤ちゃん用のベッドがあった。 幼いイエスは、心から、自然で普通の家庭経験に入った。かれは、弟や赤ん坊の妹をとても可愛がり、マリヤの育児に大いに役立った。		123:2.4 (1358.1) Since returning to Nazareth, theirs had been a busy household, and Joseph had been unusually occupied building his new shop and getting his business started again. So fully was he occupied that he had found no time to build a cradle for James, but this was corrected long before Miriam came, so that she had a very comfortable crib in which to nestle while the family admired her. And the child Jesus heartily entered into all these natural and normal home experiences. He greatly enjoyed his little brother and his baby sister and was of great help to Mary in their care.
123:2.5 (1358.2) 当時のガリラヤのユダヤ人の家庭ほどに子供により知的で、道徳的で、良い宗教教育を与えられる家庭は、非ユダヤ人の世界にはほとんど無かった。これらのユダヤ人は、子育てや教育のための系統だった段階があった。子供の生涯を７段階に分けていた。		123:2.5 (1358.2) There were few homes in the gentile world of those days that could give a child a better intellectual, moral, and religious training than the Jewish homes of Galilee. These Jews had a systematic program for rearing and educating their children. They divided a child’s life into seven stages:
123:2.6 (1358.3) 1. 新生児、最初の８日まで		123:2.6 (1358.3) 1. The newborn child, the first to the eighth day.
123:2.7 (1358.4) 2. 授乳児		123:2.7 (1358.4) 2. The suckling child.
123:2.8 (1358.5) 3. 離乳児		123:2.8 (1358.5) 3. The weaned child.
123:2.9 (1358.6) 4. 母に依存の期間、５年目終了まで続く		123:2.9 (1358.6) 4. The period of dependence on the mother, lasting up to the end of the fifth year.
123:2.10 (1358.7) 5. 子供の独立の始まり、息子の場合父は、その教育の責任を持つ		123:2.10 (1358.7) 5. The beginning independence of the child and, with sons, the father assuming responsibility for their education.
123:2.11 (1358.8) 6. 思春期の少年と少女		123:2.11 (1358.8) 6. The adolescent youths and maidens.
123:2.12 (1358.9) 7. 成年男女		123:2.12 (1358.9) 7. The young men and the young women.
123:2.13 (1358.10) 子供の躾の責任は、５回目の誕生まで母が担うのが、ガリラヤのユダヤ人の習慣であり、それからは、もしそれが男の子ならその時点から父親が、少年の教育責任を負う。イエスは、したがって、この年ガリラヤのユダヤ人の子供の第５段階に当たり、それに応じて紀元前２年８月21日、マリヤは、更なる教導のためにイエスを正式にヨセフに手渡した。		123:2.13 (1358.10) It was the custom of the Galilean Jews for the mother to bear the responsibility for a child’s training until the fifth birthday, and then, if the child were a boy, to hold the father responsible for the lad’s education from that time on. This year, therefore, Jesus entered upon the fifth stage of a Galilean Jewish child’s career, and accordingly on August 21, 2 b.c., Mary formally turned him over to Joseph for further instruction.
123:2.14 (1358.11) 今度はヨセフが、イエスの知性と宗教教育を直接引受けるのであるが、母は、まだその子の家庭教育に関心を持っていた。彼女は、地所をぐるっと取り囲む庭園の塀のまわりに育つ蔦や花について知り、世話をすることを彼に教えた。彼女はまた、イエスが地図を描き出したり、アラム語、ギリシア語、後にはヘブライ語を書くことで、彼の初期の練習の多くをした砂入りの数個の浅い箱を家の屋根の上(夏の寝室)に用意をした。そしてかれは、流暢な３言語すべての読み、書き、話すことを学んだ。		123:2.14 (1358.11) Though Joseph was now assuming the direct responsibility for Jesus’ intellectual and religious education, his mother still interested herself in his home training. She taught him to know and care for the vines and flowers growing about the garden walls which completely surrounded the home plot. She also provided on the roof of the house (the summer bedroom) shallow boxes of sand in which Jesus worked out maps and did much of his early practice at writing Aramaic, Greek, and later on, Hebrew, for in time he learned to read, write, and speak, fluently, all three languages.
123:2.15 (1358.12) イエスは、身体的にほとんど完璧な子供に見えたし、精神的にも感情的にも通常の成長を続けた。この年(数えの５歳)の後半、軽い消化不良、最初の軽い病気を経験した。		123:2.15 (1358.12) Jesus appeared to be a well-nigh perfect child physically and continued to make normal progress mentally and emotionally. He experienced a mild digestive upset, his first minor illness, in the latter part of this, his fifth (calendar) year.
123:2.16 (1359.1) ヨセフとマリヤは、度々長子の将来について語り合ったが、もしそこに君がいたとしたならば、その時代と場所における普通の健康で伸び伸びとした、だが極めて好奇心の強い子の育つところを観察するに過ぎなかったであろう。		123:2.16 (1359.1) Though Joseph and Mary often talked about the future of their eldest child, had you been there, you would only have observed the growing up of a normal, healthy, carefree, but exceedingly inquisitive child of that time and place.
3. ６年目の出来事(紀元前１年) ^top		3. Events of the Sixth Year (1 B.C.) ^top
123:3.1 (1359.2) すでに、イエスは、母の助力でアラム語系のガリラヤ方言を会得していた。さて今度は父が、ギリシア語を教え始めた。マリヤは、ギリシア語をほとんど話さなかったが、ヨセフは、アラム語とギリシア語双方の流暢な話し手であった。ギリシア語学習のための教科書は、ヘブライ教典—詩篇をふくむ法律と予言者の完全版—の写しであり、それは、エジプトを立つ際に贈呈されたものであった。ギリシア語の完全な写本は、ナザレ中に２冊だけであり、大工の家族によるその中の１冊の所有は、多くの訪問客がヨセフの家を求める場所にすると同時に、イエスの成長につれ、ほとんど絶えることなくひたむきな生徒達や誠実な真の探求者達に会わせることが出来たのである。その年の暮れる前に、イエスは、この極めて貴重な写本の管理をしており、６回目の誕生日には、聖なる書は、アレクサンドリアの友人と親類からイエスに贈られたものだと告げられ、そしてかれは、短い間ですぐその写本を読めるようになった。		123:3.1 (1359.2) Already, with his mother’s help, Jesus had mastered the Galilean dialect of the Aramaic tongue; and now his father began teaching him Greek. Mary spoke little Greek, but Joseph was a fluent speaker of both Aramaic and Greek. The textbook for the study of the Greek language was the copy of the Hebrew scriptures—a complete version of the law and the prophets, including the Psalms—which had been presented to them on leaving Egypt. There were only two complete copies of the Scriptures in Greek in all Nazareth, and the possession of one of them by the carpenter’s family made Joseph’s home a much-sought place and enabled Jesus, as he grew up, to meet an almost endless procession of earnest students and sincere truth seekers. Before this year ended, Jesus had assumed custody of this priceless manuscript, having been told on his sixth birthday that the sacred book had been presented to him by Alexandrian friends and relatives. And in a very short time he could read it readily.
123:3.2 (1359.3) まだ６歳にもならない時、イエスの若い人生の最初の大きな衝撃が起こった。父は、—少なくとも父母共に、—全てを知っていると少年には思われた。それ故、かれが、父にたった今起こった弱震についてその原因を尋ねた折、「息子よ、私は余り知らないよ。」とヨセフがいうのを耳にしたこの聞きたがりの子供の驚きを想像してみよ。こうしてイエスには、この地上の両親が、全賢全知ではないことが分かると、長くて混乱させるような幻滅が、始まった。		123:3.2 (1359.3) The first great shock of Jesus’ young life occurred when he was not quite six years old. It had seemed to the lad that his father—at least his father and mother together—knew everything. Imagine, therefore, the surprise of this inquiring child, when he asked his father the cause of a mild earthquake which had just occurred, to hear Joseph say, “My son, I really do not know.” Thus began that long and disconcerting disillusionment in the course of which Jesus found out that his earthly parents were not all-wise and all-knowing.
123:3.3 (1359.4) ヨセフの最初の考えは、地震は神によって起こされたとイエスに言おうとしたが、そのような答えは、より厄介な質問の挑発になると、瞬間の反射がヨセフを諭した。幼いころでさえ迂闊に神か悪魔どちらかの責任にして、物理的あるいは社会現象についてのイエスの質問に答えるのは誠に難しかった。ユダヤ人の普通の信念と調和して、イエスは、心的、精神的現象の可能な説明として善霊と悪霊の教えを長らく快諾していたが、そのような目に見えない作用は、自然界の物理現象によるものであるとずっと前から疑わしくなっていた。		123:3.3 (1359.4) Joseph’s first thought was to tell Jesus that the earthquake had been caused by God, but a moment’s reflection admonished him that such an answer would immediately be provocative of further and still more embarrassing inquiries. Even at an early age it was very difficult to answer Jesus’ questions about physical or social phenomena by thoughtlessly telling him that either God or the devil was responsible. In harmony with the prevailing belief of the Jewish people, Jesus was long willing to accept the doctrine of good spirits and evil spirits as the possible explanation of mental and spiritual phenomena, but he very early became doubtful that such unseen influences were responsible for the physical happenings of the natural world.
123:3.4 (1359.5) イエスが６歳になる前の紀元前１年の初夏、ザカリヤ、エリザベスとその息子のヨハネが、ナザレの家族を訪ねて来た。イエスとヨハネは、二人の記憶の中での最初の訪問であるこの時を楽しんだ。訪問者は、ほんの数日しか居られなかったが、親達は、息子達の将来の計画を含む多くの事を話し合った。こうして親達が、談話している間、少年達は、屋上の砂で積木で遊んだり、他にもいろいろと実に男の子らしい様子で遊んでいた。		123:3.4 (1359.5) Before Jesus was six years of age, in the early summer of 1 b.c., Zacharias and Elizabeth and their son John came to visit the Nazareth family. Jesus and John had a happy time during this, their first visit within their memories. Although the visitors could remain only a few days, the parents talked over many things, including the future plans for their sons. While they were thus engaged, the lads played with blocks in the sand on top of the house and in many other ways enjoyed themselves in true boyish fashion.
123:3.5 (1359.6) イエスは、エルサレムから来たヨハネに会って、イスラエルの歴史に尋常でない興味を表し、安息日の儀式、会堂での説教や繰り返される祝賀の馳走の意味について詳細を尋ねるようになった。父親は、この全ての時期について説明した。最初は、第一夜に１本の蝋燭から始まり、翌晩にもう１本追加していく八日間続く真冬の祝いの灯明であった。これは、ユダ・マカバイが、モーゼの追悼式の復興後、寺院への奉納を祝ったものであった。次は、エステルの饗宴と彼女によるイスラエル救出の祭、すなわち早春のプリムの祝賀であった。この後に続くのは、厳粛な過ぎ越しの祭りであり、大人達は、都合のつく時にいつでもエルサレムで祝う一方で、子供達は、家でまる一週間酵母のパンを食べられないことを注意するのであった。その後に初物の祭、つまり農作物の収穫があり、最後に最も荘厳な新年の祝い、償いの日があった。これらの祝賀の一部と遵守は、イエスの幼い心には理解しがたいものであったが、かれは、真剣にそれらについて考えた上で、葉の仮小屋で野営をした笑いと娯楽の全ユダヤ人の慣例の休暇時期の会堂の饗宴の喜びに完全に入り込んでいった。		123:3.5 (1359.6) Having met John, who came from near Jerusalem, Jesus began to evince an unusual interest in the history of Israel and to inquire in great detail as to the meaning of the Sabbath rites, the synagogue sermons, and the recurring feasts of commemoration. His father explained to him the meaning of all these seasons. The first was the midwinter festive illumination, lasting eight days, starting out with one candle the first night and adding one each successive night; this commemorated the dedication of the temple after the restoration of the Mosaic services by Judas Maccabee. Next came the early springtime celebration of Purim, the feast of Esther and Israel’s deliverance through her. Then followed the solemn Passover, which the adults celebrated in Jerusalem whenever possible, while at home the children would remember that no leavened bread was to be eaten for the whole week. Later came the feast of the first-fruits, the harvest ingathering; and last, the most solemn of all, the feast of the new year, the day of atonement. While some of these celebrations and observances were difficult for Jesus’ young mind to understand, he pondered them seriously and then entered fully into the joy of the feast of tabernacles, the annual vacation season of the whole Jewish people, the time when they camped out in leafy booths and gave themselves up to mirth and pleasure.
123:3.6 (1360.1) ユセフとマリヤは、この年のずっとイエスの祈りに困惑した。イエスは、まるで地上の父親ヨセフに話すように天国の父に話すと言って譲らなかった。神格との厳粛で敬虔な交わりの手段からのこの離別は、両親に、特に母にいささかの心の動揺を与えたが、変わるようにと彼を説得することはなかった。かれは、教えられてきた通りにお祈りを唱え、その後に「少し天国の僕の父と話」をすると主張した。		123:3.6 (1360.1) During this year Joseph and Mary had trouble with Jesus about his prayers. He insisted on talking to his heavenly Father much as he would talk to Joseph, his earthly father. This departure from the more solemn and reverent modes of communication with Deity was a bit disconcerting to his parents, especially to his mother, but there was no persuading him to change; he would say his prayers just as he had been taught, after which he insisted on having “just a little talk with my Father in heaven.”
123:3.7 (1360.2) この年の６月ヨセフは、ナザレの仕事場を男のきょうだいに譲り、建築業者として正式に仕事を始めた。年が終わる前には、家族の収入は３倍以上となった。ヨセフの死後まで二度と再びナザレの家族が貧困の危機を感じることは決してなかった。家族は、より大きく膨らみ、余分の教育や旅行に多額を費やしたが、ヨセフの増収入は、増額出費との足並みをそろえていた。		123:3.7 (1360.2) In June of this year Joseph turned the shop in Nazareth over to his brothers and formally entered upon his work as a builder. Before the year was over, the family income had more than trebled. Never again, until after Joseph’s death, did the Nazareth family feel the pinch of poverty. The family grew larger and larger, and they spent much money on extra education and travel, but always Joseph’s increasing income kept pace with the growing expenses.
123:3.8 (1360.3) 続く数年間、ヨセフは、ナザレ内外での建築と併行して、カナ、ガリラヤのベツレヘム、マグダラ、ネイン、セフォリス、カペルナム、エンドルでかなりの仕事をした。ジェイムズが、家事や幼い子供達の世話の手伝いができる年齢に成長するにつれ、イエスは、父と家を離れ、これらの近隣の町村への頻繁な旅をした。イエスは、鋭い観察者であり、これらの旅で多くの実用的な知識を得た。かれは、人間とその地上の生き様について勤勉に知識を蓄えた。		123:3.8 (1360.3) The next few years Joseph did considerable work at Cana, Bethlehem (of Galilee), Magdala, Nain, Sepphoris, Capernaum, and Endor, as well as much building in and near Nazareth. As James grew up to be old enough to help his mother with the housework and care of the younger children, Jesus made frequent trips away from home with his father to these surrounding towns and villages. Jesus was a keen observer and gained much practical knowledge from these trips away from home; he was assiduously storing up knowledge regarding man and the way he lived on earth.
123:3.9 (1360.4) この年、自己の強い感情と強烈な衝動を家族の協力や家庭教育の要求に合わせることにイエスは、大きく前進した。マリヤは、愛情ある母であったが、かなり厳しい規律励行者であった。しかしヨセフは、いつも少年と腰を下ろし、様々な点において、家族全体の幸福と平穏のために個人的な欲望の節制の必要性について真実の、しかも根本理由について充分に説明するのが常であったので、イエスに対する大きな影響力を振るった。その状況が説明されると、イエスは、つねに聡明に、かつ快く親の願いや家庭のきまりに協力的であった。		123:3.9 (1360.4) This year Jesus made great progress in adjusting his strong feelings and vigorous impulses to the demands of family co-operation and home discipline. Mary was a loving mother but a fairly strict disciplinarian. In many ways, however, Joseph exerted the greater control over Jesus as it was his practice to sit down with the boy and fully explain the real and underlying reasons for the necessity of disciplinary curtailment of personal desires in deference to the welfare and tranquillity of the entire family. When the situation had been explained to Jesus, he was always intelligently and willingly co-operative with parental wishes and family regulations.
123:3.10 (1360.5) 母が家の手伝いを必要としない時の余暇の多くは、昼間は花と植物、夜間は星の考察に費やされた。かれは、この秩序立ったナザレ一家の就寝時間のずっと後に、横になり不思議そうに星空を見上げるといったやっかいな傾向を明らかにした。		123:3.10 (1360.5) Much of his spare time—when his mother did not require his help about the house—was spent studying the flowers and plants by day and the stars by night. He evinced a troublesome penchant for lying on his back and gazing wonderingly up into the starry heavens long after his usual bedtime in this well-ordered Nazareth household.
4. ７年目(紀元１年) ^top		4. The Seventh Year (A.D. 1) ^top
123:4.1 (1361.1) これは、イエスの生涯で多事の年であった。１月初旬、ガリラヤで大きな吹雪が起きた。61センチメートルの深さの雪が降り、イエスがその一生で見た中で最大の降雪であり、ナザレで百年間に降った中でも最も深いものであった。		123:4.1 (1361.1) This was, indeed, an eventful year in Jesus’ life. Early in January a great snowstorm occurred in Galilee. Snow fell two feet deep, the heaviest snowfall Jesus saw during his lifetime and one of the deepest at Nazareth in a hundred years.
123:4.2 (1361.2) イエスの時代のユダヤ人の子供の遊びは、むしろ限定的であった。子供達は、あまりにしばしば年上の者がしているのを見てその中で真剣な事をして遊んだ。かれらは、しばしば目にし、いかにも壮観な儀式である結婚式や葬式の真似事をよくした。かれらは、踊ったり、歌ったりしたが、後の時代に子供達がよく楽しんだ決まりを伴うような遊びはそれほどなかった。		123:4.2 (1361.2) The play life of Jewish children in the times of Jesus was rather circumscribed; all too often the children played at the more serious things they observed their elders doing. They played much at weddings and funerals, ceremonies which they so frequently saw and which were so spectacular. They danced and sang but had few organized games, such as children of later days so much enjoy.
123:4.3 (1361.3) イエスは、隣の少年と、後にはジェイムズと共々に、大工の仕事部屋の一番奥の角での遊びを楽しんだ。そこでかれらは、鉋屑や木片で大いに面白く遊んだ。 安息日に禁じられている特定の遊びの害悪について理解することは常に難しかったが、かれは、両親の意に即さないことは決してしなかった。イエスは、ユーモアと戯れの能力を持っていたが、その時代と世代の環境においてそれを表現する機会はほとんどなかったものの、14歳まではたいてい陽気で気楽であった。		123:4.3 (1361.3) Jesus, in company with a neighbor boy and later his brother James, delighted to play in the far corner of the family carpenter shop, where they had great fun with the shavings and the blocks of wood. It was always difficult for Jesus to comprehend the harm of certain sorts of play which were forbidden on the Sabbath, but he never failed to conform to his parents’ wishes. He had a capacity for humor and play which was afforded little opportunity for expression in the environment of his day and generation, but up to the age of fourteen he was cheerful and lighthearted most of the time.
123:4.4 (1361.4) マリヤは、家と隣接した動物小屋の上に鳩小屋を置いてあり、家族は、鳩の売却から得た利益から十分の一を差し引きそれを特別慈善基金として会堂の役員に渡した後、イエスが残りを管理した。		123:4.4 (1361.4) Mary maintained a dovecote on top of the animal house adjoining the home, and they used the profits from the sale of doves as a special charity fund, which Jesus administered after he deducted the tithe and turned it over to the officer of the synagogue.
123:4.5 (1361.5) この時までにあった事故らしい事故は、粗布製の屋根の寝室に続く裏庭の石段での転倒であった。それは、東からの突然の７月の砂嵐の際に起きた。熱風は、通常は雨季に、特に３月と４月に粒砂の突風をもたらした。そのような嵐が７月にあるというのは、番外なことであった。 嵐が襲ってきた時、イエスは、乾燥期の大半は、これが遊戯場であったので例によって屋根で遊んでいた。かれは、階段を下りているとき砂で目つぶしにあい倒れた。この事故の後ヨセフは、階段の両側に手摺を設けた。		123:4.5 (1361.5) The only real accident Jesus had up to this time was a fall down the back-yard stone stairs which led up to the canvas-roofed bedroom. It happened during an unexpected July sandstorm from the east. The hot winds, carrying blasts of fine sand, usually blew during the rainy season, especially in March and April. It was extraordinary to have such a storm in July. When the storm came up, Jesus was on the housetop playing, as was his habit, for during much of the dry season this was his accustomed playroom. He was blinded by the sand when descending the stairs and fell. After this accident Joseph built a balustrade up both sides of the stairway.
123:4.6 (1361.6) この事故を予め防ぐ方法はなかった。現世の中間の保護者達、つまりこの少年の見守りを任されていた正、副の中間者の怠りであるとは、責められなかった。守護天使の責任にも問えなかった。ただ単に避け得られるものではなかった。だが、ヨセフのエンドルへの留守中に起きたこの些細な事故は、心に多大の不安を広げていったので、マリヤは、無分別にも何ヶ月もの間、自分の極近くにイエスを居させようとした。		123:4.6 (1361.6) There was no way in which this accident could have been prevented. It was not chargeable to neglect by the midway temporal guardians, one primary and one secondary midwayer having been assigned to the watchcare of the lad; neither was it chargeable to the guardian seraphim. It simply could not have been avoided. But this slight accident, occurring while Joseph was absent in Endor, caused such great anxiety to develop in Mary’s mind that she unwisely tried to keep Jesus very close to her side for some months.
123:4.7 (1361.7) 物理的災害、物理自然のありふれた出来事には、天界の人格は濫りに手出しをしない。普通の情況下においては、中間の被創造物のみが、宿命の男性、女性である人間達を護るために物質状況に介入することができるのであり、特別の状況においてさえ、これらの存在体でさえ上司の特定の指図に限って行動できる。		123:4.7 (1361.7) Material accidents, commonplace occurrences of a physical nature, are not arbitrarily interfered with by celestial personalities. Under ordinary circumstances only midway creatures can intervene in material conditions to safeguard the persons of men and women of destiny, and even in special situations these beings can so act only in obedience to the specific mandates of their superiors.
123:4.8 (1361.8) そして、これは、この好奇心と冒険心に溢れた若者の上にその後起きたそのような軽い事故の中の一つにすぎない。活発な少年の平均的な幼少時代や青春時代を心に思い描けば、あなたは、イエスの若々しい経歴に関するかなりはっきりとした見当がつくであろうし、彼が、両親に、特に母親にいかほどに憂慮させたか想像できるであろう。		123:4.8 (1361.8) And this was but one of a number of such minor accidents which subsequently befell this inquisitive and adventurous youth. If you envisage the average childhood and youth of an aggressive boy, you will have a fairly good idea of the youthful career of Jesus, and you will be able to imagine just about how much anxiety he caused his parents, particularly his mother.
123:4.9 (1362.1) ナザレの家族ヨセフに、４番目の家族が、紀元１年３月、水曜日の朝生まれた。		123:4.9 (1362.1) The fourth member of the Nazareth family, Joseph, was born Wednesday morning, March 16, a.d. 1.
5. ナザレの学校時代 ^top		5. School Days in Nazareth ^top
123:5.1 (1362.2) イエスは、今や、ユダヤの子供の教会堂の学校において正規の教育が始まる年齢の７歳となった。そこでかれは、この年の８月、ナザレでの波瀾万丈の学校生活に踏み入った。この少年は、すでにアラム語とギリシア語の二つの言語の流麗な読み手、書き手、話し手であった。かれは今度は、ヘブライ語の読み、書き、話すことの学習課題に習熟しようとするところであった。そしてかれは、目前にある新しい学校生活を本当に熱望していた。		123:5.1 (1362.2) Jesus was now seven years old, the age when Jewish children were supposed to begin their formal education in the synagogue schools. Accordingly, in August of this year he entered upon his eventful school life at Nazareth. Already this lad was a fluent reader, writer, and speaker of two languages, Aramaic and Greek. He was now to acquaint himself with the task of learning to read, write, and speak the Hebrew language. And he was truly eager for the new school life which was ahead of him.
123:5.2 (1362.3) かれは、３年間—10歳まで—ナザレ教会堂の小学校に通った。かれは、この３年間ヘブライ語で書かれた法典の基本を学んだ。次の３年間は、その上の学校で学び、神聖な法律のより深い教えを反復朗読により記憶することに集中した。かれは、13歳の年にこの会堂の学校を卒業し、会堂司達から「戒律の息子」として、この後イスラエル国家の責任ある国民として、エルサレムでの過ぎ越しの祝いへの出席を課され、 教育を受けたとして両親に引き渡された。依ってかれは、その年父母と共に最初の過ぎ越しの祝いに参加した。		123:5.2 (1362.3) For three years—until he was ten—he attended the elementary school of the Nazareth synagogue. For these three years he studied the rudiments of the Book of the Law as it was recorded in the Hebrew tongue. For the following three years he studied in the advanced school and committed to memory, by the method of repeating aloud, the deeper teachings of the sacred law. He graduated from this school of the synagogue during his thirteenth year and was turned over to his parents by the synagogue rulers as an educated “son of the commandment”—henceforth a responsible citizen of the commonwealth of Israel, all of which entailed his attendance at the Passovers in Jerusalem; accordingly, he attended his first Passover that year in company with his father and mother.
123:5.3 (1362.4) ナザレでは、生徒達は、床に半月になって座り、一方先生、つまりハザン、教会堂役員は、生徒に向かい合って座った。かれらは、レビ記に始まり、他の法典の学習、それに予言者、詩篇と次々に学習していった。ナザレの教会堂は、ヘブライ語の経典の完全な写本を所有していた。 12年目までは旧約聖書のみの学習であった。夏間の学習時間は、大幅に短縮された。		123:5.3 (1362.4) At Nazareth the pupils sat on the floor in a semicircle, while their teacher, the chazan, an officer of the synagogue, sat facing them. Beginning with the Book of Leviticus, they passed on to the study of the other books of the law, followed by the study of the Prophets and the Psalms. The Nazareth synagogue possessed a complete copy of the Scriptures in Hebrew. Nothing but the Scriptures was studied prior to the twelfth year. In the summer months the hours for school were greatly shortened.
123:5.4 (1362.5) イエスは、早々とヘブライ語の熟練者となった。際だった訪問者がたまたまナザレに逗留していなかったりすると、若者として、会堂での通例の安息日の礼拝に集った忠実な支持者にしばしばヘブライ語の教典を読むことを頼まれるのであった。		123:5.4 (1362.5) Jesus early became a master of Hebrew, and as a young man, when no visitor of prominence happened to be sojourning in Nazareth, he would often be asked to read the Hebrew scriptures to the faithful assembled in the synagogue at the regular Sabbath services.
123:5.5 (1362.6) これらの会堂学校に、勿論教科書はなかった。指導にあたっては、ハザンが声に出し、生徒達がその後について復唱するというものであった。学生は、その書物を手にする時は、朗読と不断の復誦により学んだ。		123:5.5 (1362.6) These synagogue schools, of course, had no textbooks. In teaching, the chazan would utter a statement while the pupils would in unison repeat it after him. When having access to the written books of the law, the student learned his lesson by reading aloud and by constant repetition.
123:5.6 (1362.7) イエスは、更なる正規の学習に加えて、方々の土地からの人間が父の修理場に出入りするにつれ、あらゆる方面からの人間性と接触し始めた。かれは、成長すると、休憩や食事のために泉の近くに滞在する隊商人と自由に交わった。ギリシア語が堪能な話者あるかれは、大部分の隊商の旅人や案内人との談話にほとんど苦労はなかった。		123:5.6 (1362.7) Next, in addition to his more formal schooling, Jesus began to make contact with human nature from the four quarters of the earth as men from many lands passed in and out of his father’s repair shop. When he grew older, he mingled freely with the caravans as they tarried near the spring for rest and nourishment. Being a fluent speaker of Greek, he had little trouble in conversing with the majority of the caravan travelers and conductors.
123:5.7 (1362.8) ナザレは、隊商の中間駅であり、分岐点であり、構成人口は主に非ユダヤ人であった。同時にそれは、ユダヤ人の伝統的な法律の自由な解釈の中心地としても広く知られていた。ユダヤ人は、ユダでよりもガリラヤにおいてより非ユダヤ人と自在に混じった。ナザレのユダヤ人は、非ユダヤ人との接触からくる堕落の恐怖に基づく社会規制の解釈においてガリラヤの全都市の中で最も寛大であった。これらの状況が、エルサレムに「ナザレから何か良い事が起こり得るか。」という諺を引き起こした。		123:5.7 (1362.8) Nazareth was a caravan way station and crossroads of travel and largely gentile in population; at the same time it was widely known as a center of liberal interpretation of Jewish traditional law. In Galilee the Jews mingled more freely with the gentiles than was their practice in Judea. And of all the cities of Galilee, the Jews of Nazareth were most liberal in their interpretation of the social restrictions based on the fears of contamination as a result of contact with the gentiles. And these conditions gave rise to the common saying in Jerusalem, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?”
123:5.8 (1363.1) イエスは、主に家庭において修身と精神的な修養を受けた。ハザンからは、知的かつ神学上の教育の多くを得た。だが真の教育—人生における難題と取り組む実際の試練のための心と情感の素養—は、同胞に混じることで得た。人類を知る機会をイエスにもたらしたのは、老若の、ユダヤ人と非ユダヤ人であるこれらの仲間の人々とのこの親しい交友であった。イエスは、人間を完全に理解し、心から愛したという点において大いに教育を受けた。		123:5.8 (1363.1) Jesus received his moral training and spiritual culture chiefly in his own home. He secured much of his intellectual and theological education from the chazan. But his real education—that equipment of mind and heart for the actual test of grappling with the difficult problems of life—he obtained by mingling with his fellow men. It was this close association with his fellow men, young and old, Jew and gentile, that afforded him the opportunity to know the human race. Jesus was highly educated in that he thoroughly understood men and devotedly loved them.
123:5.9 (1363.2) 会堂での歳月を通じて、かれは、聡明な生徒で、３言語に精通しており、大いなる利点を備えていた。ナザレのハザンは、イエスの学校での課程修了に際し、「少年に教える事が出来た」よりも自分は、「イエスの探究的な質問からもっと学んだ。」とヨセフに打ち明けた。		123:5.9 (1363.2) Throughout his years at the synagogue he was a brilliant student, possessing a great advantage since he was conversant with three languages. The Nazareth chazan, on the occasion of Jesus’ finishing the course in his school, remarked to Joseph that he feared he “had learned more from Jesus’ searching questions” than he had “been able to teach the lad.”
123:5.10 (1363.3) イエスは、修業課程を通して多くを学び、会堂における定例の安息日の説教から多大の激励を得た。ナザレでは、安息日に立ち寄った著明な訪問者に会堂での演説を依頼するのが慣例であった。イエスは、成長するにつれ、全ユダヤ世界の偉大な思想家達が意見を述べるのを聞いたし、ナザレの会堂は、ヘブライの思想と文化の先進で自由主義の中心地であったことから、多くの者もまたほとんど保守的なユダヤ人ではなかった。		123:5.10 (1363.3) Throughout his course of study Jesus learned much and derived great inspiration from the regular Sabbath sermons in the synagogue. It was customary to ask distinguished visitors, stopping over the Sabbath in Nazareth, to address the synagogue. As Jesus grew up, he heard many great thinkers of the entire Jewish world expound their views, and many also who were hardly orthodox Jews since the synagogue of Nazareth was an advanced and liberal center of Hebrew thought and culture.
123:5.11 (1363.4) ７歳の入学時に、(この時期ユダヤ人は、義務教育法を開始したばかりであった)、その学習を通して手引きとなる適切な教え「誕生日の文章 」を選ぶことが慣行であり、生徒達は、13歳の卒業の際にそれについてしばしば詳細に述べた。イエスが、選択した原文は、予言者イザヤからの「主なる神は我上にあり。主は我に油を塗られ給われたから。弱き者に良き報せをもたらすために、傷ついた者を癒すために、捕われた者へ自由を宣言するために、精神の囚人を解き放つために、あの方を遣わされた。」であった。		123:5.11 (1363.4) When entering school at seven years (at this time the Jews had just inaugurated a compulsory education law), it was customary for the pupils to choose their “birthday text,” a sort of golden rule to guide them throughout their studies, one upon which they often expatiated at their graduation when thirteen years old. The text which Jesus chose was from the Prophet Isaiah: “The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the meek, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and to set the spiritual prisoners free.”
123:5.12 (1363.5) ナザレは、ヘブライ国家に24ヶ所ある僧の中心地の一つであった。しかしガリラヤの僧門は、伝統的な法の解釈においてユダヤの代書人やラビよりも寛大であった。ナザレにおける安息日遵守は、より自由であった。ヨセフは、それ故、安息日の午後、イエスを散歩に連れ出すのが慣習であり、彼らの気に入りの小旅行の一つは、家の近くの高い丘に上ることであり、そこからはガリラヤの全景が臨めた。晴れた日には、北西の方角に海へと続くカルメル山の長い尾根が見えた。そしてイエスは、父が、ヘブライ予言者の長い系列の最初の一人であるアハブを叱責し、バールの僧達を暴き出したエリヤの話をするのを幾度も聞いた。北には、ハーモン山が、堂々たる華麗さでその雪の頂を高くして、万年雪で白く煌くおよそ910メートルの上向きの稜線を占有していた。また遠く東には、ヨルダン渓谷とはるか先にはマオブの岩の多い丘が横たわるのが見えた。南と東には、太陽が、大理石の壁を照らしており、円形劇場と人目を引く寺院のあるデカポリスのグレコローマンの市街が見えた。彼らが、日の沈む方向へ散策していくと、西には遠い地中海に帆船を見てとることができた。		123:5.12 (1363.5) Nazareth was one of the twenty-four priest centers of the Hebrew nation. But the Galilean priesthood was more liberal in the interpretation of the traditional laws than were the Judean scribes and rabbis. And at Nazareth they were also more liberal regarding the observance of the Sabbath. It was therefore the custom for Joseph to take Jesus out for walks on Sabbath afternoons, one of their favorite jaunts being to climb the high hill near their home, from which they could obtain a panoramic view of all Galilee. To the northwest, on clear days, they could see the long ridge of Mount Carmel running down to the sea; and many times Jesus heard his father relate the story of Elijah, one of the first of that long line of Hebrew prophets, who reproved Ahab and exposed the priests of Baal. To the north Mount Hermon raised its snowy peak in majestic splendor and monopolized the skyline, almost 3,000 feet of the upper slopes glistening white with perpetual snow. Far to the east they could discern the Jordan valley and, far beyond, the rocky hills of Moab. Also to the south and the east, when the sun shone upon their marble walls, they could see the Greco-Roman cities of the Decapolis, with their amphitheaters and pretentious temples. And when they lingered toward the going down of the sun, to the west they could make out the sailing vessels on the distant Mediterranean.
123:5.13 (1364.1) イエスには四方からナザレに出入りする隊商が見え、南の方角にはギルボア山とサマリアへと続く広大で肥沃なエスドラエロンの平原が見下ろせた。		123:5.13 (1364.1) From four directions Jesus could observe the caravan trains as they wended their way in and out of Nazareth, and to the south he could overlook the broad and fertile plain country of Esdraelon, stretching off toward Mount Gilboa and Samaria.
123:5.14 (1364.2) 遠景を見渡す高さまで登らない時は、かれらは、近郷を逍遥し、季節にそって様々な自然の趣を注視した。家庭的団欒の他に、イエスの初期の教育は、敬虔で思いやりのある自然との触れ合いに関係があった。		123:5.14 (1364.2) When they did not climb the heights to view the distant landscape, they strolled through the countryside and studied nature in her various moods in accordance with the seasons. Jesus’ earliest training, aside from that of the home hearth, had to do with a reverent and sympathetic contact with nature.
123:5.15 (1364.3) イエスは、８歳前には、ナザレの全ての母親や若い女性に知られており、彼女たちには家から遠くなく、町全体の接触と噂話の中心地の一つである泉で出会い、話したことがあった。この年イエスは、家族の雌牛の搾乳や他の動物の世話の方法を習った。この年とその翌年には、チーズ作りと機織りも学んだ。10歳のかれは、織機操作の名手であった。イエスと隣の少年ヤコブが渾々たる泉の近くで働く陶工と大の親友となったのは、この頃であった。二人は、ろくろの上の粘土を形作るナタンの巧妙な指を見て、成長したら陶工になると何度となく心に誓った。ナタンは、この少年達が気に入り、粘土を与え、色々な物や動物を競って形にすることを提案し、二人の独創的な想像力を刺戟しようとした。		123:5.15 (1364.3) Before he was eight years of age, he was known to all the mothers and young women of Nazareth, who had met him and talked with him at the spring, which was not far from his home, and which was one of the social centers of contact and gossip for the entire town. This year Jesus learned to milk the family cow and care for the other animals. During this and the following year he also learned to make cheese and to weave. When he was ten years of age, he was an expert loom operator. It was about this time that Jesus and the neighbor boy Jacob became great friends of the potter who worked near the flowing spring; and as they watched Nathan’s deft fingers mold the clay on the potter’s wheel, many times both of them determined to be potters when they grew up. Nathan was very fond of the lads and often gave them clay to play with, seeking to stimulate their creative imaginations by suggesting competitive efforts in modeling various objects and animals.
6. ８年目(紀元２年) ^top		6. His Eighth Year (A.D. 2) ^top
123:6.1 (1364.4) この年は、学校での興味深い年であった。イエスは、変わった生徒ではなかったが、勤勉な生徒で三分の一のより進んだ集団に属しており、よく勉強をしたので、毎月一週間休みを許されるほどであった。通常この一週間は、マグダラ近くのガリラヤの湖岸の漁師のおじか、それともナザレの８キロメートル南の農場のもう一人のおじ(母の兄弟)と過ごした。		123:6.1 (1364.4) This was an interesting year at school. Although Jesus was not an unusual student, he was a diligent pupil and belonged to the more progressive third of the class, doing his work so well that he was excused from attendance one week out of each month. This week he usually spent either with his fisherman uncle on the shores of the Sea of Galilee near Magdala or on the farm of another uncle (his mother’s brother) five miles south of Nazareth.
123:6.2 (1364.5) 母は、イエスの健康と安全を過度に案じるようになったが、これらの旅を次第に仕方がないと思うようになった。叔父や叔母達も全員イエスを非常に気に入り、この年とそれ以降、家々の間では、月々の自分達の仲間の確保のための活発な競争が起きた。おじの農場での第１週目の逗留(幼児以来) は、この年の１月であった。ガリラヤ湖での最初の週の漁の経験は５月であった。		123:6.2 (1364.5) Although his mother had become unduly anxious about his health and safety, she gradually became reconciled to these trips away from home. Jesus’ uncles and aunts were all very fond of him, and there ensued a lively competition among them to secure his company for these monthly visits throughout this and immediately subsequent years. His first week’s sojourn on his uncle’s farm (since infancy) was in January of this year; the first week’s fishing experience on the Sea of Galilee occurred in the month of May.
123:6.3 (1364.6) イエスは、この頃ダマスカスからの数学の先生に会い、数の扱いのいくらかの新方法について学び、数年の間、数学に多くの時間を費やした。数、距離、割合に関しての鋭い感覚を身につけた。		123:6.3 (1364.6) About this time Jesus met a teacher of mathematics from Damascus, and learning some new techniques of numbers, he spent much time on mathematics for several years. He developed a keen sense of numbers, distances, and proportions.
123:6.4 (1364.7) イエスは、弟のジェイムズをとても可愛がるようになり、この年末までには弟に文字を教えるようになった。		123:6.4 (1364.7) Jesus began to enjoy his brother James very much and by the end of this year had begun to teach him the alphabet.
123:6.5 (1364.8) この年イエスは、乳製品を竪琴の授業料と引き換える段取りをつけた。かれは、音楽の全てに対し尋常でないほどの好みがあった。後にかれは、若い仲間の間において声楽への関心を強めた。かれは、11歳までには上手な竪琴奏者で、並外れた解釈と巧みな即興で家族と友達の両方をもてなすことを大いに楽しんだ。		123:6.5 (1364.8) This year Jesus made arrangements to exchange dairy products for lessons on the harp. He had an unusual liking for everything musical. Later on he did much to promote an interest in vocal music among his youthful associates. By the time he was eleven years of age, he was a skillful harpist and greatly enjoyed entertaining both family and friends with his extraordinary interpretations and able improvisations.
123:6.6 (1365.1) イエスは、学校で羨ましがられる程の進歩を続ける傍ら、両親や先生達にとっては全てが円滑にいくというわけではなかった。イエスは、科学、宗教の双方に関する、特に地理と天文に関して当惑させる多くの質問をすることに固執した。かれは、特に、何故パレスチナでは乾期と雨期があるのか知りたがった。繰り返し、ナザレとヨルダン渓谷との大きな温度差の説明を求めた。かれは、そのような利口な、しかし面倒な質問を決して簡単には止めなかった。		123:6.6 (1365.1) While Jesus continued to make enviable progress at school, all did not run smoothly for either parents or teachers. He persisted in asking many embarrassing questions concerning both science and religion, particularly regarding geography and astronomy. He was especially insistent on finding out why there was a dry season and a rainy season in Palestine. Repeatedly he sought the explanation for the great difference between the temperatures of Nazareth and the Jordan valley. He simply never ceased to ask such intelligent but perplexing questions.
123:6.7 (1365.2) ３番目の弟シモンが、この年紀元２年４月、金曜日の夕方に生まれた。.		123:6.7 (1365.2) His third brother, Simon, was born on Friday evening, April 14, of this year, a.d. 2.
123:6.8 (1365.3) ２月にラビのエルサレム学院の先生の一人ナホルが、イエスを観察するためにやってきて、エルサレムの近くのザカリヤの家に類似の使命を帯びていた。かれは、ヨハネの父にそそのかされてナザレにきた。最初かれは、イエスの率直さと宗教的な事柄に自身を結びつける型破りな態度に幾らか驚かされたが、それはガリラヤが、ヘブライの学問と文化の中心地から遠いせいであるとし、イエスをユダヤ文化の中心地で教育と実習の利点があるエルサレムに彼とともに連れ帰ることをヨセフとマリアに勧めた。マリヤは半ば説得させられた。彼女は、長男が、メシア、ユダヤの救済者になるのだと確信していた。ヨセフは躊躇した。同様にかれは、イエスが、運命の人になるために成長すると納得させられていたが、その運命が如何ようなものになるのか全く不確かであった。しかしかれは、息子が地上においてある大きな使命を果たすということを決して疑わなかった。かれは、ナホルの助言を考えれば考えるほど、提案されたエルサレム滞在の妥当性をますます疑問に思うのであった。		123:6.8 (1365.3) In February, Nahor, one of the teachers in a Jerusalem academy of the rabbis, came to Nazareth to observe Jesus, having been on a similar mission to Zacharias’s home near Jerusalem. He came to Nazareth at the instigation of John’s father. While at first he was somewhat shocked by Jesus’ frankness and unconventional manner of relating himself to things religious, he attributed it to the remoteness of Galilee from the centers of Hebrew learning and culture and advised Joseph and Mary to allow him to take Jesus back with him to Jerusalem, where he could have the advantages of education and training at the center of Jewish culture. Mary was half persuaded to consent; she was convinced her eldest son was to become the Messiah, the Jewish deliverer; Joseph hesitated; he was equally persuaded that Jesus was to grow up to become a man of destiny, but what that destiny would prove to be he was profoundly uncertain. But he never really doubted that his son was to fulfill some great mission on earth. The more he thought about Nahor’s advice, the more he questioned the wisdom of the proposed sojourn in Jerusalem.
123:6.9 (1365.4) ナホルは、ヨセフとマリヤのこの意見の食い違いのために、この問題すべてをイエスに任せる許可を要請した。イエスは、注意して聞き、ヨセフ、マリア、それにその息子が自分の気に入りの遊び相手である隣人の石工のヤコブと話し、それから二日後、両親と助言者の間にそのような意見の差があり、どちらにも強く感じることはなく、また自分自身が、そのような決定責任をもつに足るとは思わないので、全体の情況を見て、かれは、「天国の父と話す」とついに決めた。かれは、その答えに完全には自信がないので、むしろ「父母と」家に留まるべきだと感じていると報告告した上で、「私のことをそれ程に愛している二人の方が、私の身体だけが見え、そして私の心を観察はできるが、私を本当には知ることのできない他人よりも、私のためにより多く出来るし、より安全に導くことができるはず。」だと付け加えた。皆は、驚嘆し、ナホルは、エルサレムへと戻っていった。イエスが家を離れることが再び検討事項となるのは、何年も先のことであった。		123:6.9 (1365.4) Because of this difference of opinion between Joseph and Mary, Nahor requested permission to lay the whole matter before Jesus. Jesus listened attentively, talked with Joseph, Mary, and a neighbor, Jacob the stone mason, whose son was his favorite playmate, and then, two days later, reported that since there was such a difference of opinion among his parents and advisers, and since he did not feel competent to assume the responsibility for such a decision, not feeling strongly one way or the other, in view of the whole situation, he had finally decided to “talk with my Father who is in heaven”; and while he was not perfectly sure about the answer, he rather felt he should remain at home “with my father and mother,” adding, “they who love me so much should be able to do more for me and guide me more safely than strangers who can only view my body and observe my mind but can hardly truly know me.” They all marveled, and Nahor went his way, back to Jerusalem. And it was many years before the subject of Jesus’ going away from home again came up for consideration.