Artists for Israel International · Online Exhibit

The Book of 1 Yochanan & Yiddishkait Iggeret Yochanan Rishonah — אִגֶּרֶת יוֹחָנָן הָרִאשׁוֹנָה

Yochanan's letter to the mishpachah of Moshiach — a Devar Chayim seen and touched, a chavurah with Avinu and Bno, walking in the Ohr while confessing chet before the Melitz Yosher, a new birth that cannot go on sinning, and an Elohim Who is Himself Ahavah casting out kol pachad — read through its Yiddishkait vocabulary across five chapters, then set beside the Greek NT interlinear itself.

Soaked in Tanakh: Five Threads

1 Yochanan is a pastoral letter written b'shem ha'ahavah to a mishpachah facing sh'kerim from within and satah from without, and it turns again and again on stark bechinot: Ohr against choshech, ahavah against sinah, emet against sheker, Bnei Elohim against bnei HaSatan. Yochanan insists that chavurah with Avinu is verified by halichah (walking) in the Ohr, that the new birth cannot coexist with a life given over to chet, that ahavat achim is the proof of chayim, and that Elohim is not merely loving but Ahavah itself — a bitachon strong enough to cast out kol pachad.

Or v'Chavurah: The Devar Chayim & the Melitz Yosher

  • That which was from the beginning, heard, seen with our eynayim, and touched with our hands concerning the Devar Chayim, is declared so that you too may have chavurah with us and with Avinu and Bno Yeshua HaMoshiach (1:1-3).
  • Elohim is Ohr, and in Him is no choshech at all; to walk in the Ohr is to have chavurah with one another, while the dahm of Yeshua HaMoshiach Bno performs ongoing taharah from kol chet (1:5-7).
  • If we confess our chattot, He is ne'eman v'tzaddik to forgive; if any man sin, we have a Melitz Yosher with Avinu, Yeshua HaTzaddik, the kapparah for our chattot and for the whole olam (1:8-2:2).

Ahavat Achim v'Lo Ahavat HaOlam

  • The proof of da'as of Him is keeping His mitzvot; a new mitzvah, yet the old one from the beginning — whoever hates his brother is still in choshech, whoever loves him abides in the Ohr (2:3-11).
  • Do not love HaOlam nor the things in HaOlam; for ta'avat habasar, ta'avat ha'einayim, and ga'avat hachayim are not from Avinu but from HaOlam, which is passing away (2:15-17).
  • Many antichrists have arisen, as you heard was coming; they went out from us, but were not truly of us — you have a mashichah from HaKadosh, and know the emet (2:18-27).

Bnei Elohim: The New Birth & the Kayin Typology

  • Behold what manner of ahavah Avinu has given, that we should be called Bnei Elohim; when He is manifest we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is (3:1-2).
  • Whoever is born of Elohim does not practice chet, for His zera abides in him; by this the Bnei Elohim and the bnei HaSatan are manifest — not as Kayin, who was of HaRah and slew his brother (3:8-13).
  • Let us not love in word only, but in ma'aseh and emet; by this we know we are of HaEmet, and can assure our lev before Him (3:16-19).

Elohim Hu Ahavah: Testing the Ruchot

  • Beloved, do not believe every ruach, but test the ruchot; every ruach confessing Yeshua HaMoshiach come in the basar is of Elohim, every ruach that confesses not is of the Antichrist (4:1-3).
  • Beloved, let us love one another, for ahavah is from Elohim; whoever loves is born of Elohim and has da'as of Him, for Elohim hu Ahavah (4:7-8).
  • There is no pachad in ahavah, but ahavah sheleimah casts out kol pachad, for pachad has to do with onesh; we love Him because He first loved us (4:17-19).

Nitzachon HaOlam: Emunah, the Shloshah Edim & Chayei Olam

  • Whoever believes that Yeshua is HaMoshiach is born of Elohim; this is the nitzachon (victory) that overcomes HaOlam — even our emunah (5:1,4-5).
  • There are three that bear edut — the Ruach, the mayim, and the dahm, and these three agree as one; the edut of Elohim is that He has given us chayei olam, and this chayim is in His Ben (5:6-11).
  • These things are written that you may know you have chayei olam; keep yourselves, chaverim, from the elilim (5:13,21).

Reading Key — Fellowship in the Ohr, Love of the Achim & Overcoming HaOlam

This exhibit reads 1 Yochanan as a family letter of chizuk and bechinah: a chavurah with Avinu and Bno verified by halichah in the Ohr, a new birth incompatible with a life of chet, an ahavat achim that is the proof of chayim, and an Elohim Who is Himself Ahavah — able to give bitachon strong enough to cast out kol pachad.

➤ Or v'Chavurah (ch. 1) — The Devar Chayim manifest, chavurah with Avinu and the Ben, walking in Ohr not choshech, and the Melitz Yosher who is kapparah for the whole olam.

➤ Ahavat Achim (ch. 2) — Keeping the mitzvot, old and new commandment, not loving HaOlam, the antichrists of the acharit sha'ah, and the mashichah that teaches emet.

➤ Bnei Elohim (ch. 3) — Called Bnei Elohim, a new birth that cannot practice chet, the Kayin typology, and ahavah proven in ma'aseh rather than word.

➤ Elohim Hu Ahavah (ch. 4) — Testing the ruchot, Elohim as Ahavah itself, and an ahavah sheleimah that drives out kol pachad.

➤ Nitzachon HaOlam (ch. 5) — Emunah that overcomes HaOlam, the shloshah edim of Ruach, mayim, and dahm, chayei olam in the Ben, and a guarding from elilim.

I. Or v'Chavurah The Devar Chayim, Walking in the Ohr & the Melitz Yosher (ch. 1)

  1. 1That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, seen with our eynayim, and touched with our hands, concerning the Devar Chayim 1Jn 1:1The eyewitness edut of talmidim who beheld the Devar Chayim (Word of Life) in the basar.
  2. 2The Chayim was manifest, and we have seen it and bear edut, and declare to you that Chayim HaOlam which was with Avinu and was manifest to us 1Jn 1:2Chayim HaOlam (eternal life) itself made visible, dwelling among the talmidim.
  3. 3That which we have seen and heard we declare to you also, that you may have chavurah with us; and truly our chavurah is with Avinu, and with Bno Yeshua HaMoshiach 1Jn 1:3Chavurah TypologyChavurah (fellowship) offered not as mere religious society but as shared union with Avinu v'HaBen.
  4. 4And these things we write to you, that your simchah may be full 1Jn 1:4A simchah sheleimah (complete joy) bound up entirely in this chavurah.
  5. 5This then is the message which we have heard from Him, and declare to you: Elohim is Ohr, and in Him is no choshech at all 1Jn 1:5Ohr v'Choshech TypologyElohim defined as pure Ohr — no choshech, no admixture whatsoever, in Him.
  6. 6If we say we have chavurah with Him and walk in choshech, we lie; but if we walk in the Ohr, as He is in the Ohr, we have chavurah one with another, and the dahm of Yeshua HaMoshiach Bno cleanses us from kol chet 1Jn 1:6-7A dahm that performs ongoing taharah (cleansing) from kol chet for those who walk in the Ohr.
  7. 7If we say we have no chet, we deceive ourselves; if we confess our chattot, He is ne'eman and tzaddik to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness; if we say we have not sinned, we make Him a sheker 1Jn 1:8-10Vidui TypologyVidui (confession) met by an Elohim ne'eman v'tzaddik (faithful and righteous) who forgives and performs taharah.

II. Ahavat Achim Keeping the Mitzvot, Not Loving HaOlam & the Antichrists (ch. 2)

  1. 8My little children, these things I write that you sin not; and if any man sin, we have a Melitz Yosher with Avinu, Yeshua HaMoshiach HaTzaddik, the kapparah for our chattot, and not for ours only but also for the whole olam 1Jn 2:1-2Melitz Yosher TypologyThe Melitz Yosher (righteous advocate) whose kapparah covers not the mishpachah alone but the whole olam.
  2. 9By this we know that we have da'as of Him, if we keep His mitzvot; whoever says "I have da'as of Him" and keeps not His mitzvot is a sheker 1Jn 2:3-4A da'as of Elohim proven not by claim but by shemirat hamitzvot (keeping the mitzvot).
  3. 10A new mitzvah I write to you, yet an old mitzvah which you had from the beginning; the choshech is passing and the Ohr HaEmet already shines — whoever hates his brother is still in choshech 1Jn 2:7-11Mitzvah Chadashah TypologyA mitzvah chadashah (new commandment) that is also the oldest — sinat achim exposed as unresolved choshech.
  4. 11I write to you, yeladim, avot, and bachurim — you have da'as of Him who is from the beginning, you are strong, and you have overcome HaRah 1Jn 2:12-14A mishpachah addressed at every dor — yeladim, avot, bachurim — each already victorious over HaRah.
  5. 12Do not love HaOlam, nor the things in HaOlam; for all that is in HaOlam — ta'avat habasar, ta'avat ha'einayim, and ga'avat hachayim — is not from Avinu but from HaOlam, which is passing away 1Jn 2:15-17Sh'losha Ta'avot TypologyThe threefold ta'avah — ta'avat habasar, ta'avat ha'einayim, ga'avat hachayim — named as the sum of what HaOlam offers.
  6. 13Little children, it is the acharit sha'ah; and as you heard the Antichrist comes, even now many antichrists have arisen; they went out from us, but were not truly of us 1Jn 2:18-19A parsha departure that reveals what it exposes — those who left as never having been truly of the kehillah.
  7. 14You have a mashichah from HaKadosh, and you know kol devarim; I have not written to you because you know not HaEmet, but because you know it, and that no sheker is of HaEmet 1Jn 2:20-21A mashichah (anointing) from HaKadosh that gives the mishpachah da'as of HaEmet already.
  8. 15Who is the sheker, but he who denies that Yeshua is HaMoshiach? He is Antichrist who denies Avinu and Bno; whoever denies Bno has not Avinu either 1Jn 2:22-23Denial of the Ben shown to sever the very relationship with Avinu it pretends to keep.
  9. 16Let that which you heard from the beginning abide in you; if it abides, you also shall abide in Bno and in Avinu; abide in Him, that at His giluy we may have bitachon and not be ashamed before Him at His coming 1Jn 2:24-29Giluy TypologyBitachon at the giluy (revealing/appearing) of Moshiach kept only by remaining in what was heard from the beginning.

III. Bnei Elohim The New Birth, Tzedek & the Kayin Typology (ch. 3)

  1. 17Behold what manner of ahavah Avinu has given us, that we should be called Bnei Elohim; the olam knows us not, because it knew Him not — when He is manifest, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is 1Jn 3:1-2Bnei Elohim TypologyA status not earned but given — Bnei Elohim (children of God) unrecognized by an olam that never knew Avinu.
  2. 18Everyone who has this tikvah in Him purifies himself, even as He is tahor 1Jn 3:3A tikvah that produces its own taharah, shaped by the very tohar of the One awaited.
  3. 19Whoever practices chet transgresses also the Torah, for chet is avlah; you know that He appeared to take away chattot, and in Him is no chet 1Jn 3:4-6Chet v'Torah TypologyChet defined plainly as avlah (lawlessness), and Moshiach's coming aimed precisely at its removal.
  4. 20Whoever is born of Elohim does not practice chet, for His zera abides in him; by this the Bnei Elohim are manifest, and the bnei HaSatan: whoever does not do tzedek is not of Elohim, nor he who loves not his brother 1Jn 3:8-10Zera Elohim TypologyThe zera Elohim (seed of God) abiding within as the root reason a new birth cannot go on in chet.
  5. 21Not as Kayin, who was of HaRah One and slew his brother; and why did he slay him? Because his own ma'asim were rah and his brother's were tzaddik; do not marvel, achim, if HaOlam hates you 1Jn 3:11-13Kayin TypologyThe Kayin v'Hevel pattern read forward — hatred of a brother's tzedek as old as the first mishpachah.
  6. 22By this we perceive ahavah, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the achim; let us not love in word or in tongue, but in ma'aseh and emet 1Jn 3:16-18Ahavah measured not in devarim but in ma'aseh v'emet (deed and truth).
  7. 23By this we know that we are of HaEmet, and shall assure our lev before Him; for if our lev condemns us, Elohim is greater than our lev; and if our lev condemns us not, then we have bitachon toward Elohim 1Jn 3:19-22A lev quieted before Elohim, whose gadlut (greatness) outstrips even the accusations of our own conscience.
  8. 24This is His mitzvah: that we believe on the Shem of His Ben Yeshua HaMoshiach, and love one another; and by this we know that He abides in us, by the Ruach He has given us 1Jn 3:23-24Emunah and ahavat achim bound into a single mitzvah, sealed by the Ruach given.

IV. Elohim Hu Ahavah Testing the Ruchot & Ahavah Sheleimah (ch. 4)

  1. 25Beloved, do not believe every ruach, but test the ruchot, whether they are of Elohim; every ruach that confesses Yeshua HaMoshiach come in the basar is of Elohim, and every ruach that confesses not is the ruach of Antichrist 1Jn 4:1-3A bechinat haruchot (testing of spirits) anchored on a single question: did the ruach confess Yeshua ba basar?
  2. 26You are of Elohim, little children, and have overcome them, because greater is He who is in you than he who is in HaOlam 1Jn 4:4-6Nitzachon already secured — the One in the mishpachah is gadol beyond the one in HaOlam.
  3. 27Beloved, let us love one another, for ahavah is from Elohim; and everyone who loves is born of Elohim and has da'as of Him; whoever loves not has no da'as of Elohim, for Elohim hu Ahavah 1Jn 4:7-8Elohim Hu Ahavah TypologyThe plainest statement of the letter: Elohim hu Ahavah (God is love) itself, not merely a lover.
  4. 28In this was the ahavah of Elohim manifest, that He sent His Ben HaYachid into HaOlam, that we might live through Him; not that we loved Elohim, but that He loved us, and sent Bno as the kapparah for our chattot 1Jn 4:9-10Ben Yachid TypologyThe Ben HaYachid (only-begotten Son) sent not because we loved first, but as the kapparah while we did not.
  5. 29Beloved, if Elohim so loved us, we ought also to love one another; no man has seen Elohim at any time; if we love one another, Elohim abides in us, and His ahavah is made shalem in us 1Jn 4:11-12An unseen Elohim made visible through ahavat achim lived out in the mishpachah.
  6. 30By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Ruach; and we have seen and bear edut that Avinu sent Bno to be the Moshiach and Deliverer of HaOlam 1Jn 4:13-16The Ruach given as the internal edut, matched by the eyewitness edut of the talmidim.
  7. 31Herein is ahavah made shalem with us, that we may have bitachon in Yom HaDin; there is no pachad in ahavah, but ahavah sheleimah casts out pachad, for pachad has to do with onesh; we love Him because He first loved us 1Jn 4:17-19Ahavah Sheleimah TypologyAn ahavah sheleimah (perfect love) that drives out kol pachad, leaving only bitachon before Yom HaDin.
  8. 32If a man says, "I love Elohim," and hates his brother, he is a sheker; for how can he who loves not his brother whom he has seen, love Elohim whom he has not seen? This mitzvah we have from Him, that he who loves Elohim love his brother also 1Jn 4:20-21A love of the Unseen tested plainly by love of the brother who is seen daily.

V. Nitzachon HaOlam Emunah, the Shloshah Edim & Chayei Olam (ch. 5)

  1. 33Whoever believes that Yeshua is HaMoshiach is born of Elohim; and everyone who loves Him who begot loves also him who is begotten of Him 1Jn 5:1Emunah in the Ben shown to be inseparable from ahavat achim within the mishpachah He begot.
  2. 34Ahavat Elohim is this, that we keep His mitzvot, and His mitzvot are not a burden; for whatever is born of Elohim overcomes HaOlam, and this is the nitzachon that overcomes HaOlam — even our emunah 1Jn 5:3-5Nitzachon HaOlam TypologyA nitzachon (victory) that is not a struggle to achieve but a status already conferred by the new birth.
  3. 35This is He who came by mayim and dahm, Yeshua HaMoshiach; and the Ruach bears edut, because the Ruach is HaEmet; for there are three that bear edut — the Ruach, the mayim, and the dahm — and these three agree as one 1Jn 5:6-8Shloshah Edim TypologyThe shloshah edim (three witnesses) — Ruach, mayim, dahm — establishing a testimony by the pattern of din al pi shnayim o shloshah edim.
  4. 36If we receive the edut of bnei adam, the edut of Elohim is greater; whoever has the Ben has Chayim, and whoever has not the Ben of Elohim has not Chayim 1Jn 5:9-12Chayim itself made contingent on possessing the Ben — not a reward added, but life itself located in Him.
  5. 37These things I have written to you who believe on the Shem of the Ben HaElohim, that you may know that you have Chayei Olam, and that you may continue to believe on the Shem of the Ben HaElohim 1Jn 5:13A letter written not to create doubt but to give yediah (certainty) of chayei olam already possessed.
  6. 38This is the bitachon that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His ratzon, He hears us; and if we know He hears us, we know we have the requests we asked of Him 1Jn 5:14-15Bitachon in tefillah grounded not in the size of the request but in its alignment with His ratzon.
  7. 39If any man sees his brother sin a chet not unto mavet, he shall ask, and He shall give him chayim for those who sin not unto mavet; there is a chet unto mavet 1Jn 5:16-17Intercession pictured as a mishpachah duty — pleading chayim for a brother caught in chet, short of the chet unto mavet.
  8. 40We know that whoever is born of Elohim sins not; we know that we are of Elohim, and the whole olam lies in HaRah; the Ben HaElohim has come and given us binah to know Him who is HaEmet; little children, keep yourselves from the elilim 1Jn 5:18-21Chayei Olam TypologyA closing threefold anachnu yode'im (we know), ending in a plain warning: guard yourselves from elilim (idols).

Read the Greek Text Itself

All five chapters of 1 Yochanan, word for word, at the AFII Greek NT interlinear.

1Jn chp 1 chp 2 chp 3 chp 4 chp 5