[1] For the range of theories accounting for the redactional changes in Matthew 9:9 and 10:3, see the helpful summaries compiled by Joachim Gnilka, Das Matthusevangelium, HTKNT (Freiburg: Herder, 1986), 1.330-31; W. D. Davies and Dale C. Allison, The Gospel According to Matthew: Matthew VIIIXVIII, ICC (London and New York: T&T Clark, 2006), 2.9899; cf. Key Verse: 6:13, "When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles". [3] Powers, Progressive Publication, 29 (emphasis original). Krzinger and Gundry re-read the Papian fragment through the lens of rhetorical categories. [45] Luomanen, Jewish-Christian Sects, 100101; Kok, Gospel according to the Hebrews, 41; Gregory, Gospel according to the Hebrews, 47, 47n.28. 2.9.45.5; Origen, Jo. [43] Daniel A. Bertrand, Lvangile des Ebionites: une harmonie vangelique antrieur au Diatessaron NTS 26 (1980): 54863; Vielhauer and Strecker, Jewish Christian Gospels, 16671; Klijn, Gospel Tradition, 28-30; Klauck, Apocryphal Gospels, 5154; Luomanen, Jewish-Christian Sects, 3738; 83, 25152; Frey, Die Fragmente des Ebioniterevangeliums, 60722; Kok, Gospel according to the Hebrews, 43; Gregory, Gospel according to the Hebrews, 10, 171261. Even Jesus acknowledges the hatred people had for tax collectors: " If they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector" (Matthew 18:17). This is a painting of the Calling of Saint Matthew in San Luigi dei Francesi in Rome. 2. [8] See Barnabas Lindars, Matthew, Levi, Lebbaeus and the Value of the Western TextNTS 4 (1957-58): 220-22; Bruce Metzger, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament, 3rd ed., (London: New York, 1975), 26, 81; Brent Nongbri, Matthew and Levi (and James), Variant Readings (blog), May 21, 2018, https://brentnongbri.com/2018/05/21/matthew-and-levi-and-james/. [44] As for Jerome, he boasted that he translated the Gospel according to the Hebrews (e.g., Vir. Christ redeemed the priesthood of Levi back unto himself and redeemed Matthew the . Curiously, Origen answered the philosopher Celsus's criticism that Jesus assembled a motley crew of "toll collectors and sailors" by stressing that Matthew was the sole toll collector within the apostolic circle and that Levi was not numbered among the twelve apostles except for in select manuscripts of Mark's Gospel (Cels. Dr. Beth Harris: In the Contarelli Chapel. 3.39.1, 15), which subtly contrasts with an exclusive interest in the Lords logoi or sayings (3.39.14). He left Judea and carried the Gospel to Ethiopia where he was martyred while celebrating a mass at the altar of a small church he had started. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). ill. 3). [29] Thus, some scholars who otherwise defend the traditional authorship of Matthews Gospel admit that Papias erred in his belief about the original language in which it was written. Luke, also, describes his calling: After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. Jesus sees value in all people. Early Christian CommunionWine or Mingled Wine? Pan. [30] Warren Carter underscores how Papiass erroneous supposition served to underline the antiquity of this gospel and link it to the apostles.[31], Another option is that Papias was referring to a lost source. Clement. The meaning in Hebrew of the word day always means a 24 hour period of time. The Pharisees asked them, Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners? On hearing this, Jesus said to them, It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. Was the Gospel of Matthew written by Levi aka Matthew in Hebrew, Aramaic or Greek? [35] For the general consensus of Q scholars, see Nigel Turner, Q in Recent Thought ExpTim 80 (1968-69): 32428; John S. Kloppenborg, The Formation of Q: Trajectories in Ancient Wisdom (Harrisburg: Trinity Press International, 1987), 5164; Harry T. Fleddermann, Q: A Reconstruction and Commentary (Leuven: Peeters, 2005), 15557; Sarah E. Rollens, Framing Social Criticism in the Jesus Movement: The Ideological Project in the Sayings Gospel Q (Tbingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2014), 9193. 13:4; 19:1; 53:1; 62:3; 2 Clem. However, Mark . All the names for our week days come from Roman and Norse/Anglo-Saxon gods. Third, Matthew Wanted to Tell Others about Christ. David: So, Matthew was one of Christ's disciples. 3.39.17). It's unclear why Matthew/Levi was called by both names. Hence, Eusebius corrected Irenaeus by substituting the Gospel according to the Hebrews as the Ebionitess preferred Gospel (h.e. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. [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. Numerous textual indications point to an author who was a Jewish Christian writing for Christians of similar background. David: That's right, in the larger church. [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. The Calling of Saint Matthew depicts the moment from Matthew 9:9 when Jesus passes by Matthew, a tax collector, and says 'Follow me.' Matthew (also called Levi) did so and became one of Jesus . 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). Until that moment, she'd always thought Jesus was . Jesus asked him to be a *disciple (Matthew 9:9). This leads Dennis MacDonald to maintain that Papiass supposition about the multiple translations of Matthews oracles was an explanation for the dissimilar Greek texts of Q and Matthew. Acts 1:1-2 appears to tie the two books to the same author. How come only five disciples of Jesus Christ wrote books in the New Testament? They were considered traitors because they worked for the despised Roman rulers. Beth: And it's in a chapel with two other paintings by Caravaggio all about Matthew. See John P. Meier, The Vision of Matthew: Christ, Church, and Morality in the First Gospel(New York: Paulist, 1978), 2425. Or Levi was having a lot of friends over for dinner that night and asked Jesus if He would come, too. A survey of the ancient traditions about how the evangelist Matthew wrote his Gospel in Aramaic for a Jewish audience before it was translated into Greek suggests that the modern assumptions about the Apostles fluency in Greek or education in rhetorical composition may not have necessarily been shared by the Patristic intelligentsia. 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. A few scholars have likened Papiass oracles to a testimonium source or collection of prophetic proof-texts from the Hebrew Bible that were translated and integrated into the Gospel of Matthew. Jerome may have anticipated that he would track down the Gospel according to the Hebrews in Pamphilus library in Caesarea (cf. Likewise, Jerome prematurely announced that he had finished his translations of the Old and New Testaments when he just started the task (Vir. For three main reasons, almost all scholars believe the Gospel of Luke was written by the same person who wrote Acts: Luke and Acts were written in the same style and express the same theology. 1.62), though these ed. The fact of one man having two names is of frequent occurrence among the Jews. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Matthew, McClintock and Strong Biblical Cyclopedia - Biography of Matthew, Catholic Online - Biography of St. Matthew, Catholic Information Network - St. Matthew Apostle and Evangelist. 3.1.1). Matthew belonged to a family of tax gatherers, or publicans, but was himself a customs collector in Capernaum, where he lived. Epiphanius added to the confusion when he imagined that the Gospel that he managed to get a hold of, which skips over the virgin birth and commences at Jesuss baptism (Pan. Indeed, Papias commented on a story about the Lords encounter with a condemned woman that Eusebius located in this Gospel (cf. Jesus invited Matthew (Levi) to follow him (Lk 5:27-32). Other scholars suspect that the Nazarenes only supplied Jerome with their own translations and commentary on Matthews Gospel. They kept it for themselves and became very rich. All the names for our week days come from Roman and Norse/Anglo-Saxon gods. The Calling of St. Matthew, by Vittore Carpaccio, 1502. Moreover, the Hebrew itself is preserved to this day in the library at Caesarea, which the martyr Pamphilus so diligently collected. Other than naming Matthew in the list of Apostles, usually pairing him with St. Thomas, the New Testament offers scant and uncertain information about him. Q. [1] Regardless of how this name change is explained, this toll collector may have been trained in accounting and documenting records and may have been functionally bilingual or trilingual in order to converse with travellers moving between the territories of Philip and Antipas. 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. Mark 10:35) and swapped Salome for her in another (Matt 27:56; cf. Regardless of how this name change is explained, this toll collector may have been trained in accounting and documenting records and may have been functionally bilingual or trilingual in order to converse with travellers moving between the territories of Philip and Antipas. A minority view during the Patristic period was that Levi and Matthew were separate individuals. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1994), 166; Hagner, Matthew 113, 238; Carson, Matthew, 224; Ben Witherington III, Matthew (Macon: Smyth & Helywys, 2006), 197; Osbourne, Matthew, 334; Powers, Progressive Publication, 2829. [18] Josef Krzinger and Robert Gundry have tried to line up Papiass testimony with the academic consensus. 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. Jesus could have walked up to Matthew and said sarcastically, "I bet your mother is really proud you!" Jesus was considered a rabbi. 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. While Jesus was having dinner at Matthews house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. 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. Say, Jesus saw Levi and knew that Levi and the other tax collectors needed to know the good news. 1. The Bible says that Matthew left everything to follow Jesus. After all, a toll collector may have at least needed functional literacy to perform certain tasks. It is the contracted name of Mattathias. "Meet Nathanael in the Bible, the 'True Israelite'." Learn Religions, Dec. 6, 2021, learnreligions.com/nathanael-the-true-israelite-701068. Thom. 3.11.7), which is hard to reconcile with the Ebionitess denial of the virginal conception of Jesus (1.26.2; 3.21.1; 5.1.3; contra Matt 1:23). Marys Perpetual Virginity & Jesus Brothers, Why Pollen on the Shroud of Turin Proves it is Real, Christian Inscriptions in Roman Catacombs, Eruption Of Mt. [9] In both instances, certain copyists of Marks Gospel were unaware of the conflation of Levi with Matthew in Matthew 9:9 and 10:3, yet still turned the character in Mark 2:14 into an apostle. This English translation of the Greek text is taken from Michael W. Holmes, editor, Matthew Black, The Use of Rhetorical Terminology in Papias on Matthew and Mark. We soon discover the difference between the man and the rock. (vv. Tax collectors were rich people. Omissions? Yet our access to Papias is mediated through Eusebius, so it is uncertain whether Eusebius interrupted an interconnected statement about both evangelists or juxtaposed two separate excerpts from Papias together. He followed Jesus to his death. [8] Alternatively, the textual variant that has James instead of Levi as the son of Alphaeus in Mark 2:14 in a handful of manuscripts was plausibly motivated by a desire for uniformity by having a single son of Alphaeus (cf. [9] Lindars, Western Text,222; cf. The Testimonium Flavianum Question (My Two Cents), The Bible is Accurate Manuscript Evidence, Sayings From the Bible in the 21st Century, Colors & Dyes For Clothing in Ancient Rome, Thanksgiving: First Foods, First Friends1620, Ancient Ossuaries Uncover Biblical Truths. [37], The final option is that a non-extant Jewish Gospel stands behind Papiass reference to Matthews oracles or, at least, the New Testament Gospel that bears the name Matthew was mixed up with a Jewish Gospel circulating in Papiass milieu. Jesus was becoming popular. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2017), 1089; cf. In many Western Christian traditions, there are 12 days of Christmas, culminating around . [47] Luomanen, Jewish-Christian Sects, 103119; Kok, Gospel According to the Hebrews, 4143; Gregory, Gospel according to the Hebrews, 1417; 4352. This makes it doubtful that Matthew 9:9 was intended as either the evangelists self-reference or as a pseudonymous literary device supplementing the ascription of this Gospel to Matthew. 29.9.4; 30.3.7; 30.13.2; 30.14.3) and Jerome (Epist. 135). h.e. Matthew's shocked facial expression shows that he understands this societal dynamic well, but his look and gesture may indicate even more than that. In the Christian Bible, he was cited as one of the Jesus' apostles. The Romans were their enemies. Matthew had a lucrative, though dishonest, tax collecting business for the occupying Roman government. One did not give up collecting taxes for the Romans on a whim and expect to ever return. Saint Matthew's decision lives on into eternity and benefited not millions . Levi - who the Bible tells us was also named Matthew - was a Jew and a tax collector. 16:18) Mark and Luke were probably stunned by Jesus inclusion of a hated tax collector in His Twelve. Matthews relics were reputedly discovered in Salerno (Italy) in 1080. Vir. Religion is "a matter between every man and his maker, in which no other, & far less the public, [has] a . Levi had to keep very accurate records. 11.1-3; Pelag. , TSAJ 91 (Tbingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2002). Ein Beitrag zur Lsung eines alten Problems ZNW59 (1968): 4056; Mark Kiley, Why Matthew in Matt 9:913Biblica65.3 (1984): 34751; Michael J. Kok, Re-naming the Toll Collector in Matthew 9:9: A Review of the Options JGAR (forthcoming). 3.2).[48]. See W. F. Albright and C. S. Mann, Matthew, AB (Doubleday: New York, 1971), CLXXVIII. summer | 4.2K views, 92 likes, 102 loves, 53 comments, 67 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from The Ramp: His presence is here, worship with us at Summer. As most of us know, the tax collector named Levi became Saint Matthew. It felt "weird," Carr said. Harris J. Rendel, The Logia and the Gospels, For lexical discussion and debate about the term. 1.8.1; Clement, str. [31] Warren Carter, Matthew: Storyteller, Interpreter, Evangelist (Peabody: Hendrickson, 2004), 17. 4.9). Papiass notice that Matthew addressed a Palestinian Jewish audience in their own vernacular language (i.e., Aramaic) was repeated in subsequent Patristic literature (e.g., Irenaeus, As for Jerome, he boasted that he translated the, The majority position among the experts is that the fragments Jerome inherited from the Nazarenes do not derive from the. Sextus Julius AfricanusWhy Did The Magi Come ? had his name changed from Levi to Matthew likely by Jesus Himself who changed Simon's name to Peter. He had the ability, the means, the opportunity, the motivation, and he wouldnt have done it? [27] For instance, see Ulrich Krtner, Papias von Hierapolis: Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte des frhen Christentums, Forschungen zur Religion und Literatur des Alten und Neuen Testaments 133 (Gttingen: Vandenhoek & Ruprecht, 1983), 203206; Davies and Allison, Matthew IVII, 16; Black, Rhetorical Terminology, 3334, 38; France, Evangelist and Teacher, 57; Hagner, Matthew 113, xlv; Morris, Matthew, 1314; William R. Schoedel, Papias ANRW 2.27.1 (1993): 257, 263; Carson, Matthew, 13; Armin Baum, Ein aramischer Urmatthus im kleinasiatischen Gottesdienst. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. James son of Alphaeus is traditionally identified as James the Less and James the brother of Jesus. 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. Perhaps most plain is the calling of the disciple Matthew, also known as Levi the tax collector. 3.39.16). Watchthe video below. Band: Evangelien und Verwandtes. Vielhauer and Strecker, Jewish Christian Gospels, 167; Klijn. 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. By Michael J. Kok Even so, most readers of the New Testament throughout history have taken the identification of Levi with Matthew for granted. Ward Powers, The Progressive Publication of Matthew: An Explanation of the Writing of the Synoptic Gospels (Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 2010), 2829. Contrary to Epiphaniuss assertions, he may have not had access to the Gospel according to the Hebrews at all, and scholars generally label his source, which frequently harmonizes passages in the Synoptic Gospels, as the Gospel according to the Ebionites to distinguish it from the former text. J.E. 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. Levi meaning joined and the name Matthew meaning gift of Yahweh.. Josef Krzinger and Robert Gundry have tried to line up Papiass testimony with the academic consensus. haer. [32] Harris J. Rendel, The Logia and the Gospels Contemporary Review 72 (1897): 341348; F. C. Grant, The Gospels: Their Origins and Growth (New York: Harper, 1957), 65, 144. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. In both instances, certain copyists of Marks Gospel were unaware of the conflation of Levi with Matthew in Matthew 9:9 and 10:3, yet still turned the character in Mark 2:14 into an apostle. The reason for Papiass error may simply be that he made the natural assumption that a Galilean Apostle would be writing primarily in Aramaic. The story of Matthew's calling shows us the amazing power of God's grace and how it transforms people and become extraordinary servants of our Creator. Jonah was in the belly of the whale 4 days. In spite of this, Jesus went to Levi and invited him to join Jesus' disciples. (1) Repetition of names in the list after David, some of which appear to be anachronisms, possibly suggesting that this list had its own history. This is a depiction of a moment of spiritual awakening and conversion, which was something many Baroque artists were interested in painting, especially Caravaggio. Acts 7:38; Rom 3:2; Heb 5:12; 1 Pet 4:11;1 Clem. Some scholars believe that the tax-collector simply had two names, one in Greek (Matthew) and the other in Hebrew (Levi). ill. 16; Is. [46] Other scholars suspect that the Nazarenes only supplied Jerome with their own translations and commentary on Matthews Gospel. Follow me, Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him. Per tradition, Matthew was killed by by a soldier on the order of the king of Ethiopia. h.e. [27] The most natural reading is that a language was meant by the combination of the noun dialektos, especially when modified with the name of an ethnic group (cf. Vir. Among these repetitions are: variations of Mattathias (five times), Jesus (twice), Joseph (three times), Simeon (Semein), Levi (twice), and Melchi (twice). Francis Watson, Gospel Writing: A Canonical Perspective (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2013), 126. However, Jesus Christ is of the tribe of Judah. Even if this guy gets over the fact that I'm a tax collector, how could he ever be interested in me? Ancient and modern scholars have been perplexed by the fact that the name of the toll collector in Matthew 9:9 differs from its synoptic counterparts. He invited his friends to a feast, where they could meet Jesus. As a tax collector, Matthew . Who translated it after that in Greek is not sufficiently ascertained. He was thirty-one years old and married and had four children. But let's hear Matthew's own account of his calling: T/F, 2. VesuviusAugust 24, 79 AD. Maybe Jesus had seen Levi often as he sat in his chair with his table, papyrus, quill and ink made from carbon (soot or lampblack), water and gum arabic, a natural gum from the acacia tree used to control the inks viscosity when applied to the papyrus. "Follow me," he said to him. [14] 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. [38] There are a number of Patristic and Medieval quotations that purportedly derive from a text that was commonly dubbed as the Gospel according to the Hebrews. Teilband 1, ed. [4] See Manlio Simonetti, Matthew 113, ACCS New Testament 1a (Downers Grove: IVP, 2001), 177; Ulrich Luz, Matthew 820, trans. [34] The double tradition is mostly comprised of sayings, but there are a couple of narratives (e.g., Matt 4:111/Luke 4:113; Matt 8:513/Luke 7:110). 1.7; Irenaeus, haer. H. Gundry, 291. There were only 8 people in Noahs Ark. Neither Matthew 9:9 nor 10:3 advances an explicit authorial claim. It is touching that Matthew, gift of Yahweh loved his new name, probably given to him by Jesus. [21] Krzinger, Papias, 1214, 2122, 5256; Gundry, Matthew, xxixxii, 61820; idem, Pre-Papian Tradition, 6364, 6768. He being a Hebrew wrote in Hebrew, that is, his own tongue and most fluently; while things which were eloquently written in Hebrew were more eloquently turned into Greek. Jerome, 382 AD On Illustrious Men, Book V. This writer will go with the early church writers who were within a few hundred years from Matthew and the other people who knew Jesus rather than with unproven theories several thousands of years away from sources. 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. At best, they were learned and prudent. 3.39.16 with the Gospel according to the Hebrews in h.e. A minority view during the Patristic period was that Levi and Matthew were separate individuals. For two reasons *Jews did not like the men who did that work. Jesus Calls Levi (Matthew). Ps. Jesus sent out 70 Disciples to preach His Good News.
