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members of this community recognized the unity of God, rejecting the Trinity and also the doctrine of Original Sin.42 Isaac ben Abraham cites and translates into Hebrew passages from the Gos- pels to show that Jesus did not consider himself equal to God, that he was aware of his human condition. This identity is evident in the epithets for Jesus and his self-appellations. Chief among these is “son of man”, a term that according to Isaac ben Abraham was intended not as a Christological title, as Christians said, but as synonymous with “man” and was used by Jesus as a circumlocution, to indirectly allude to himself (e.g. Matthew 12:32; Mark 3:28–29; Luke 12:10):43 Matthew wrote in chapter 12, verse 32: “whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, not in this world, nor in the coming world”. You can also find the same in Mark 3, verse 28 and in Luke 12, verse 19 [sic.]. Here, with this passage, these people clearly confirm that the Holy Spirit and the Son are not one, thus it follows that three are not one, and since Jesus is called the Son of Man, he then is not God, according to their false belief, which is obvious to the understanding.44 In order to support his claims, Isaac ben Abraham also cites other epithets that suggest either simply Jesus’ humanity (as a man) or a lack of coincidence with God (e.g. John 8:40; Matthew 10:40).45 Moreover, Jesus is characterized by fea- tures that denote his very human nature: his ignorance and limited authority are a clear indication of his distance from divine attributes (e.g. Mark 13:32).46 Fur- thermore, the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9–13)47 was definitive proof for Isaac ben Abraham: Jesus teaches his disciples to pray neither to the Holy Spirit nor to the Son, but only to the God of Heaven, that is the God of Israel: 42 Wilbur 1952. 43 Matthew 12:32: “Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come”; Mark 3, 28–29: “Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven for their sins and whatever blasphemies they utter; 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”; Luke 12:10: “And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven”. All the biblical quotations that are not in Isaac ben Abraham’s text come from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) 1989. 44 Deutsch 1873, 84–85. See also 294–295. The translations from Hebrew are all mine, including quota- tions from the Gospels. 45 Deutsch 1873, 85. John 8:40: “but now you are trying to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did”; Matthew 10:40: “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me”. 46 Deutsch 1873, 85. Mark 13:32: “But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father”. 47 Matthew 6:9–13: “Pray then in this way: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one”. 20 | Miriam Benfatto www.jrfm.eu 2019, 5/1