Therefore, commentators often appeal to Matthew 9:9 and 10:3 as evidence that the Apostle Matthew was capable of composing either the Greek text of the first canonical Gospel or one of the literary sources incorporated into it. [23] They render the verb hermeneuein as meaning to mediate or to interpret rather than to translate.[24] Hence, Krzinger identifies the each one (hekastos) who interpreted according to their ability as the evangelists conveying oral Jesus traditions in a new literary medium;[25] Gundry takes the referent to be the expositors who expounded on Matthews text. [2] For some examples, see Robert Gundry, The Use of the Old Testament in St. Matthews Gospel: With Special Reference to the Messianic Hope(Leiden: Brill, 1975), 183; David Hill, The Gospel of Matthew (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1972), 1; R. T. France, Matthew: Evangelist and Teacher (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1989), 6768; Leon Morris, The Gospel according to Matthew (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1992), 14; Donald A. Hagner, Matthew 113 (Dallas: Word, 1993), lxxvi; D. A. Carson, Matthew: Chapters 1 through 12 (EBC; Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1995), 1819; Grant R. Osbourne, Matthew, ECNT (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2010), 34; B. This writer will explore what the ancient writers who were closer in time to Matthew had to say about the language in which Matthew was originally written: Matthew also issued a written gospel among the Hebrews in their own dialect. Irenaeus, Against Heresies 3:1 c.175-185 A.D. The first (Gospel) is written according to Matthew, the same that was once a tax collector, but afterwards an emissary of Yeshua the Messiah, who having published it for the Jewish believers, wrote it in Hebrew. Origen circa 210 CE, quoted by Eusebius, Eccl. If these are all references to the same James, that would make James son of Alphaeus the author of the Book of James and one of the three men Paul called "pillars" of the church. Marys Perpetual Virginity & Jesus Brothers, Why Pollen on the Shroud of Turin Proves it is Real, Christian Inscriptions in Roman Catacombs, Eruption Of Mt. Or Levi was having a lot of friends over for dinner that night and asked Jesus if He would come, too. This is a quite different case from that of an individual having both a Semitic and a Greek or Latin name, as well as from that of an individual having a Semitic name and also a nickname or family name."[7]. ill. 3; Tract. Nevertheless, it is conceivable that the two verses in Matthew 9:9 and 10:3 were the basis for why this Gospel was later ascribed to Matthew. 1. Tax collectors were hated by the Jews. He may call peop Band: Evangelien und Verwandtes. Ps. Clement. 1) The name of the collector whom Jesus summons is not "Levi, son of Alphaeus", but "Matthew" (9,9). This is very possible, as scholars point to Simon (Peter) and Saul. Mark 2:1, 1314). The debate over the authorship of Matthews Gospel usually focuses on the replacement of Levi, the son of Alphaeus, with Matthew (Matt 9:9; contra Mark 2:14; Luke 5:27) and the addition of the descriptor the toll collector after Matthews name (Matt 10:3; contra Mark 3:18; Luke 6:15; Acts 1:13). [18] B. C. Butler, The Originality of St Matthew: A Critique of the Two-Document Hypothesis (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1951), 16566; Albright and Mann, Matthew, XXXVIXLVIII; Powers, Progressive Publication, 4749. Ward Powers enthusiastically endorses this line of reasoning in the following bold claim: "To have this evidence about the apostle Matthew his background, training, and employment in the Roman administration; his response to the call to follow Jesus; his appointment to the role and responsibility of apostle and to believe that he would. [38] For the latter view, see France, Evangelist and Teacher, 64-66; Bauckham, Eyewitnesses, 224. You must have JavaScript enabled to use this form. Because Levi's occupation was one that earned distrust and contempt everywhere, the scribes of the Pharisees criticized Jesus on seeing him eat with tax collectors and sinners, whereupon Jesus answered, "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners" (Mark 2:15-17). However, most scholars think that the tax collector Levi (not Zacchaeus) and Matthew were the same person based on these three verses: - Matthew 9:9 - "And as Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man, called Matthew, sitting in the tax office; and He *said to . had his name changed from Levi to Matthew likely by Jesus Himself who changed Simon's name to Peter. Matthew's " original name, Levi, suggests that he was a man of the priestly tribe." Levi means " adhesion ." But Matthew was re-Christened " gift " or "given," a profound switch for a tax. The important take-away from this detour through the Patristic testimonies was that the oldest tradition was that the evangelist Matthew published a text in Aramaic and left it to more qualified translators to translate it into the form that we have today as the Greek. Levi was happy to accept! Based on Papiass title. On the other hand, the oldest quotations from the Gospel according to the Hebrews were not attributed to a named author (e.g., Clement, str. Christoph Markschies und Jens Schrter (Tbingen: Mohr Siebeck 2012), 606; Kok, Papias of Hierapolis, 4752; Andrew Gregory, The Gospel according to the Hebrews and the Gospel of the Ebionites (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017), 34, 78. Perhaps they did so because Levis call narrative closely resembled the summons of the first four apostles to discipleship in Mark 1:1620 and Alpheus was already remembered as the father of one of the apostles in Mark 3:18. Jonah was in the belly of the whale 4 days. The thesis that the first canonical Gospel was published under the name of a pseudonym is defended by George D. Kilpatrick. He it was who gave a feast, for attending which Jesus and the disciples were severely criticized by the Pharisees, k on the charge that it was unseemly for Him to eat with publicans and sinners. Facts about Matthew the Apostle give the readers a hint about Levi or Saint Matthew. The other Eleven were ordinary men. The Greek language became the international language through the conquests of Alexander the Great in 330 BCE. 11.1-3; Pelag. They were dishonest and were also seen as. As he went along, he saw Levi, the son of Alphaeus, sitting at the tax booth. 13:4; 19:1; 53:1; 62:3; 2 Clem. One did not give up collecting taxes for the Romans on a whim and expect to ever return. Jesus came to give us the same choice he gave . ill. 3.39.17. Acts 1:19; 2:6, 8; 21:40; 22:2; 26:14);[22] Krzinger enlists Irenaeus in support of his reading of Papias, despite the fact that Irenaeus used the article when affirming that Matthew wrote to the Hebrews in their dialektos (cf. There must have been at least 15-20 people eating in Levis spacious home. Jesus could have walked up to Matthew and said sarcastically, "I bet your mother is really proud you!" Jesus was considered a rabbi. James son of Alphaeus is traditionally identified as James the Less and James the brother of Jesus. Christian missionaries have taught people in Papua, New Guinea who had many gods before their conversion to recite the Hebrew Shema announcing only ONE GOD. had his name changed from Levi to Matthew likely by Jesus Himself who changed Simons name to Peter.(Matt. 3. Pan. He was a man of moderate wealth, the only one of any means belonging to the apostolic corps. [47] Whatever the case, Jerome slowly distanced himself from his earlier confident declarations that the Nazarenes had the original Matthean Gospel in their possession (cf. Jesus invited Matthew (Levi) to follow him (Lk 5:27-32). Answer (1 of 3): In Mark, the first New Testament gospel written, Matthew and Levi are very definitely two different people. It is not surprising he watched Jesus carefully and wrote down the first of the four Gospels, the biographies of Jesus of Nazareth. Most general Bible readers have the mistaken impression that Matthew, the opening book of the New Testament, must be our first and earliest Gospel, with Mark, Luke and John following. He called us when all we had was need. By Michael J. Kok I also was allowed by the Nazarenes who use this volume in the Syrian city of Beroea to copy it. Jerome: De viris inlustribus (On Illustrious Men), chapter III. Calling of St. Matthew by Alexandre Bida, 1875. 3.27.4; 3.39.17; 4.22.8). Vielhauer and Strecker, Jewish Christian Gospels, 167; Klijn. Hence, Mark listened to Peters chreiai or anecdotes about the Lords sayings and deeds (cf. 5.10.3; Clement, in h.e. There are sayings (Matt 13:3643) and stories. Wilhelm Schneemelcher, trans. "Follow me," he said to him. The meaning in Hebrew of the word day always means a 24 hour period of time. (vv. Hence, Eusebius corrected Irenaeus by substituting the Gospel according to the Hebrews as the Ebionitess preferred Gospel (h.e. The Patristic Traditions about the Evangelist Matthew. Corrections? 1.9.9). Teilband 1, ed. [18] Josef Krzinger and Robert Gundry have tried to line up Papiass testimony with the academic consensus. [17] W. D. Davies and Dale C. Allison (A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on The Gospel According to Saint Matthew. Jesus does not say "On you I will build my church" but "on this rock ." "This rock" is distinct from Peter, although connected to him. They were considered traitors because they worked for the despised Roman rulers. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. Both Eusebius and Epiphanius missed Irenaeuss point that schismatics rejected the fourfold Gospel canon and selected one of the four Gospels, but their doctrines were refuted by the very Gospels that they privileged. 30.13.45), indicating that it was published in Greek at the outset. He was honored that His Lord considered him such a gift, But as Levi he had immediately joined his life to Jesus and His Mission. [44] Vielhauer and Strecker, Jewish Christian Gospels, 167; Klijn, Gospel Tradition, 67-68; Klauck, Apocryphal Gospels, 51; Jrg Frey, Die Fragmente des Ebioniterevangeliums, 612; Kok, Gospel according to the Hebrews, 39; Gregory, Gospel according to the Hebrews, 183, 222. Vir. As a tax collector, Matthew . In Matthew's parabolic aside, the wisest advice Pilate got that day -- our Good Friday -- was from his wife: "Have nothing to do with that innocent man" (27:19). Jesus was becoming popular. Meier, The Vision of Matthew, 24; Luz, Matthew 820, 32, 32n.14. H. Gundry, 287291; James R. Edwards, The Hebrew Gospel and the Development of the Synoptic Tradition (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2009), 35; Shanks, Papias, 12529, 195; Bauckham, Eyewitnesses, 214. The next disciple that Jesus called was Levi (Matthew). 30.3.7; 30.13.214.4), was the Gospel according to the Hebrews, though Epiphanius derided it as the Ebionites mutilation of Matthews Gospel. He was a tax collector who was sitting at his booth. Matthew's Gospel was written in approximately A.D.___, before the destruction of Jerusalem. The whole crowd came to him, and he taught them. But Levis guests were of his social ilksinners and other tax collectors.The Pharisees (we get our word pharisaical meaning self-righteous; hypocritical from this sect in ancient Judaism) were always watching whatever Jesus did and said and they followed him to Levis house and were appalled to see Him eating and talking with tax collectors and sinners.Several of Jesus other disciples were near. Vose Seminary Volume I: Introduction and Commentary on Matthew IVII, ICC [Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1988], 1.12) acknowledge the difficulties in determining whether a text was a translation in the ancient world and the Patristic tradition about Matthew even persuaded an accomplished textual critic like Origen. 4. Soon, Jesus and His disciples are having dinner in . It is beyond the scope of this paper to determine why Matthew was substituted for Levi. The Gospel According to Matthew consequently emphasizes Christ's fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies (5:17) and his role as a new lawgiver whose divine mission was confirmed by repeated miracles. What created confusion was that Irenaeus reported that Jewish Christ followers who were called Ebionites or poor ones had a special affinity for Matthews Gospel, just as Marcion was inclined toward Lukes Gospel and Valentinus toward Johns Gospel (haer. [5] On the other hand, after scrutinizing the onomastic data compiled by Tal Ilan,[6] Richard Bauckham makes it clear why these examples may be irrelevant to this case: "[I]f Matthew and Levi were the same person, we should be confronted with the virtually unparalleled phenomenon of a Palestinian Jew bearing two common Semitic personal names (Matthew: ninth most popular, 62 occurrences; Levi: seventeenth most popular, 25 occurrences). Born in Palestine sometime in the 1st century, Saint Matthew was one of Jesus's 12 apostles and also one of the four Evangelists, according to the Bible. While Jesus was having dinner at Levis house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. Many think that just as Simon was named Peter (the rock) by the Lord, Levi was likewise renamed Matthew (the gift of God) by Jesus. For a recent effort to argue that plural Aramaic and Greek sources underlie the double tradition, see Maurice Casey, An Aramaic Approach to Q: Sources for the Gospels of Matthew and Luke (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002).