[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. 2) Jesus explains his action in having a meal with tax collectors and sin-ners by saying "Go and learn what it means 'I desire mercy and not sacri-fice'" (Matt 9,13; Hos 6,6). Matthew, the Apostle of Yahshua (Popularly known as Jesus Christ) is best known as the publican or tax collector. Jesus asked him to be a *disciple (Matthew 9:9). He invited his friends to a feast, where they could meet Jesus. They contend that the conjunction oun (therefore) in Papiass statement about Matthew (3.39.16) was connected to his prior statement about Mark (3.39.15), entailing that Matthew published his narrative of Jesuss life in response to the perceived shortcomings of Marks account. 1) The name of the collector whom Jesus summons is not "Levi, son of Alphaeus", but "Matthew" (9,9). [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. 184.9-10) and Eusebius regarded the text as disputed but not unorthodox (h.e. CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: St. Matthew - New Advent All the names for our week days come from Roman and Norse/Anglo-Saxon gods. Moreover, the Hebrew itself is preserved to this day in the library at Caesarea, which the martyr Pamphilus so diligently collected. Ultimately, the identification of Matthews oracles. 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. [17] Additionally, specialists on the Synoptic Problem generally hold that Matthews Gospel reproduced over 90 percent of Marks content, improved Marks grammar and style, and edited out Marks transliterated Aramaic terms. 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). ; ; ; ; () Brezhoneg; Catal; etina; Dansk; Deutsch; Eesti The fact of one man having two names is of frequent occurrence among the Jews. Matthews Gospel has more quotations from and allusions to the Old Testament than any other New Testament author. Klijn (Gospel Tradition, 11, 119) and Frey (Die Fragmente des Hebrerevangeliums, 606) treat Eusebiuss attribution of this tale to the Gospel According to the Hebrews as spurious since Eusebius may have had no firsthand knowledge of the text. Matthew is spoken of five times in the New Testament; first in Matt., ix, 9, when called by Jesus to follow Him, and then four times in the list of the Apostles, where he is mentioned in the seventh (Luke, vi, 15, and Mark, iii, 18), and again in the eighth place (Matt., x, 3, and Acts, i, 13). After his conversion, Matthew ardently preached Jesus as Messiah to his Jewish community. The text of Matthew in its final form, on the other hand, may be a better point of contrast for Marks narrative, and Q would not have an advantage over it if Q originated in Greek as well. There are a number of Patristic and Medieval quotations that purportedly derive from a text that was commonly dubbed as the, James R. Edwards has revived the older position that Matthew was the author of the, Conversely, Papias may not have known the. [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. Phil. However, none of the ancient Christian literati surmised that the Apostle was fluent in Greek, for they handed down the tradition that Matthew composed his Gospel in Aramaic before it was translated into Greek. Levi was happy to accept! The "Strange" Ending of the Gospel of Mark and Why It Makes All the 58 Matthew seems to have written his Gospel primarily to the: Jews Saint Matthew - Facts, Life & Bible - Biography St. Matthew, also called St. Matthew the Evangelist, St. Matthew the Apostle, or Levi, (flourished 1st century ce, Palestine; Western feast day September 21, Eastern feast day November 16), one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ and the traditional author of the first Synoptic Gospel (the Gospel According to Matthew). ill. 2), but several of his quotations were lifted from previous Greek texts penned by figures such as Ignatius (cf. Band: Evangelien und Verwandtes. [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. 3.39.17). Vose Seminary Jesus invited Matthew (Levi) to follow him (Lk 5:27-32). [45] The majority position among the experts is that the fragments Jerome inherited from the Nazarenes do not derive from the Gospel according to the Hebrews but from a distinct work that scholars have designated as the Gospel according to the Nazarenes. 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. [44] As for Jerome, he boasted that he translated the Gospel according to the Hebrews (e.g., Vir. Why does St. Matthew have two names in the Bible? - Aleteia John P. Meier even entertains the option that the evangelist wanted to replace Levi with any of the apostles and Matthew was chosen at random for this aim. [26] Gundry, Matthew, 619; idem, Pre-Papian Tradition, 67. [46] Vielhauer and Strecker, Jewish Christian Gospels, 15465; Klijn, Jewish Christian Gospel Tradition, 29-30, 3132; Klauck, Apocryphal Gospels, 4351; Frey, Die Fragmente des Nazorerevangeliums, in Antike christliche Apokryphen in deutscher bersetzung. David: So, Matthew was one of Christ's disciples. [20], Krzinger and Gundry re-read the Papian fragment through the lens of rhetorical categories. Matthew, of course. [39] James R. Edwards has revived the older position that Matthew was the author of the Gospel according to the Hebrews and postulates that our Greek Gospel according to Matthew was named in honor of an apostolic figurehead who preserved the Jewish Jesus traditions. [10] Even so, most readers of the New Testament throughout history have taken the identification of Levi with Matthew for granted. Jesus came to give us the same choice he gave . [42] Luomanen, Jewish-Christian Sects, 21, 123; Frey, Die Fragmente des Ebionerevangeliums in Antike christliche Apokryphen in deutscher bersetzung. ill. 3) and, after comparing it to the textual fragments that he received from Jewish Christ-followers living in Beroea known as the Nazarenes, would translate the entire work. Jonah was in the belly of the whale 4 days. People had to pay taxes to the *Romans. 10 Facts about Matthew the Apostle | Less Known Facts R. McL. Jennie Ebeling --Department of Archaeology and Art History, University of Evansville, Copyright 2000-2023 The Bible and Interpretation| All Rights Reserved |The University of Arizona | Developed bySBS Tech This is not a solitary occurrence within Matthews Gospel: the evangelist inserted the mother of the sons of Zebedee into one pericope (Matt 20:20; cf. Jesus Said, "Follow Me" - FaithGateway Store I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners., CLICK HERE for Jesus and the Pharisees article. Jesus went out again by the sea. [12] Neither Matthew 9:9 nor 10:3 advances an explicit authorial claim. The Calling of St. Matthew by Caravaggio | Caravaggio Paintings Corrections? 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. 6.14.2; Epiphanius, Pan. Hence, Eusebius corrected Irenaeus by substituting the Gospel according to the Hebrews as the Ebionitess preferred Gospel (h.e. had his name changed from Levi to Matthew likely by Jesus Himself who changed Simons name to Peter.(Matt. [13] Moreover, Matthew hardly features more as a character in the narrative than in the other two Synoptic Gospels to be the key source of the Matthean traditions. However, Jesus Christ is of the tribe of Judah. Here's What History Can Tell Us About the Magi | Time 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. One did not give up collecting taxes for the Romans on a whim and expect to ever return. Jesus Calls Levi (Matthew). Jesus sent out 70 Disciples to preach His Good News. Both books are addressed to the same persona man named Theophilus. Say, Jesus saw Levi and knew that Levi and the other tax collectors needed to know the good news. All of the harsh and disapproving things He could have or should have said to Matthew would have been justified as far as the culture around them was concerned. In spite of this, Jesus went to Levi and invited him to join Jesus' disciples. 7.2627; 14.5960). H. Gundry, 291. 3.39.17. This could be a good possibility for the changing of the names. Who Were the Magi, and Why Did They Worship Jesus? (Matthew 2) 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. 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. Luke 6:12-26. Why did Jesus change the name of only three of his apostles? | The Hence, Mark listened to Peters, That is, they surmise that Matthew applied Jewish exegetical techniques and forms of argumentation to the material at his disposal to shape it into a cogent presentation about how Jesus fulfilled the Scriptures. Some scholars equate Matthews oracles with the hypothetical sources Q or M supposedly underlying the double tradition shared by Matthew and Luke and the singly attested traditions in Matthews Gospel respectively. The account in the three Synoptics is identical, the vocation of Matthew-Levi being alluded to in the same terms. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. Vir. (Matt. Hist. 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. Based on Papiass title Exposition of the Oracles of the Lord and his summary of Marks account of the oracles of the Lord, Papiass usage of the term logion encompassed both teachings and short narrative episodes (cf. [5] Mounce, Matthew, 83; France, Evangelist and Teacher, 69, 69n.54; Morris, Matthew, 219; Robert H. Gundry, Matthew: A Commentary on his Handbook for a Mixed Church Under Persecution, 2nd ed. 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. Matthew belonged to a family of tax gatherers, or publicans, but was himself a customs collector in Capernaum, where he lived. Some have also argued that he's the Apostle Matthew 's brother. Both are true because Matthew and Levi are two names for the same person. [48] Frey, Die Fragmente des Nazorerevangeliums, 626; Gregory, Gospel according to the Hebrews, 50, 50n.35. Mark 2:15 While Jesus was dining at Levi's house, many tax collectors UBF Resources : Jesus Calls Levi [3] Powers, Progressive Publication, 29 (emphasis original). We first meet Levi (aka Matthew) in Capernaum beside the Sea of Galilee: Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. 16:18) Mark and Luke were probably stunned by Jesus' inclusion of a hated tax collector in His Twelve. The diversity of text-forms evident in Matthews biblical citations and allusions, however, disproves the notion that the evangelist was reliant on one testimonium source. They were dishonest and were also seen as. Acts 1:1-2 appears to tie the two books to the same author. [Matthew 9:9-13, Luke 5:27-32] 13 Jesus went to the seashore again where large crowds came to him, . Levi meets Jesus - easyenglish.bible 29-30) 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. "John, James, Andrew and Peter were the disciples closest to Jesus," Traylor says. However, Mark . Mark 16:1). Epiphanius and Jerome later confused the traditional account of the authorship of Matthews Gospel with the origins of the Gospel according to the Hebrews. Rather, he plainly states, So Matthew composed the oracles in the Hebrew language and each person interpreted them as best he could (in Eusebius, h.e. Friedrich Schleiermacher, ber die Zeugnisse des Papias von unsern beiden ersten Evangelien, TSK 5 (1832): 73568; Manson, For the general consensus of Q scholars, see Nigel Turner, Q in Recent Thought, Daniel A. Bertrand, Lvangile des Ebionites: une harmonie vangelique antrieur au. Magi, or "wise men," were royal counselors. Matthew's shocked facial expression shows that he understands this societal dynamic well, but his look and gesture may indicate even more than that. Because Matthews original purpose was to prove to his Jewish brethren that Jesus is their Mashiach/Messiah, he included in his Gospel nine proof texts from the Old Testament which Jesus fulfilledMatthew 1:22,23; 2:15; 2:17,18; 2:23; 4:14-16; 8:17; 12:17-21; 13:35; 27:9,10. Hence Levi was the original name of the man who was subsequently called Matthew; the Maththaios legomenos of Matthew 9:9, would indicate this. 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. Follow me, he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him. Tax collectors were rich people. This is a depiction of a moment of spiritual awakening and conversion, which was something many Baroque artists were interested in painting, especially Caravaggio. He is mentioned in Matthew 9:9. There were, however, at the time of Christ and the Apostles two languages spoken by JewsAramaic and Greek. Ps. As Brent Cunningham expressed it the changing of the names represented Jesus' ownership of them. But Pilate replied, I imagine, "What happens in Jerusalem, stays in . Wright --University of Arizona, Center for Judaic Studies The Calling of Matthew is an episode in the life of Jesus which appears in all three synoptic gospels, Matthew 9:9-13, Mark 2:13-17 and Luke 5:27-28, and relates the initial encounter between Jesus and Matthew, the tax collector who . It is beyond the scope of this paper to determine why Matthew was substituted for Levi. The First Disciples [Matthew 4:18-22, Luke 5:1-11, John 1:35-51] . For example, the Valentinian theologian Heracleon differentiated Levi from Matthew (cf. According to Luke 5:29, the aforementioned dinner was given by Levi in his house after his call. 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. [28] On the contrary, there are cases when dialektos is translated as a language even when it is not preceded by an article (e.g., Philo, Mos. Unlike the modern deductions about Matthews level of literacy, Papias did not presuppose Matthews facility in Greek. Warren Carter underscores how Papiass erroneous supposition served to underline the antiquity of this gospel and link it to the apostles.. 1. [20] Matthew Black, The Use of Rhetorical Terminology in Papias on Matthew and Mark JSNT 37 (1989): 32; Bauckham, Eyewitnesses, 222. h.e. The Calling of St Matthew - Wikipedia haer. Matthew (Levi) who wrote the first of the Gospels did write it in the Hebrew tongue which at that time was Aramaic. But let's hear Matthew's own account of his calling: Mark 3:18). 8:2; 19:13; Isa. The answer is very simple. Scripture both prohibits and mocks astrology (Jer. Matthew 9:9-13 begins with Jesus calling Matthew, a tax collector, to follow Him as His disciple. Matthias was the only one who was not chosen by Jesus . [1] There are sayings (Matt 13:3643) and stories. Levi (Matthew) the Tax Collector - Early Church History, Life In [33] Some scholars equate Matthews oracles with the hypothetical sources Q or M supposedly underlying the double tradition shared by Matthew and Luke and the singly attested traditions in Matthews Gospel respectively. Meier, The Vision of Matthew, 24; Luz, Matthew 820, 32, 32n.14. 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. Why 'Matthew' in Matt 9,9-13? - JSTOR 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. [15], The Original Language of Matthews Gospel, Unlike the modern deductions about Matthews level of literacy, Papias did not presuppose Matthews facility in Greek. Legend differs as to the scene of his missions and as to whether he died a natural death or a martyrs. [6] Tal Ilan, Lexicon of Jewish Names in Late Antiquity: Part I: Palestine 330 BCE 200 CE, TSAJ 91 (Tbingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2002). Levi the Tax Collector Became Saint Matthew - A Catholic Moment 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. And many followed him ( Mark 2:15 ). [19] Josef Krzinger, Papias von Hierapolis und die Evangelien die Neuen Testaments (Regensberg: Pustet, 1983), 10-11, 4445; Gundry, Matthew, 614; idem, The Apostolically Johannine Pre-Papian Tradition Concerning the Gospels of Mark and Matthew, in The Old is Better: New Testament Essays in Support of Traditional Interpretations, WUNT 178 (Tbingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2005), 56; cf. The whole crowd came to him, and he taught them. 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. 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. 16.13). Levi - who the Bible tells us was also named Matthew - was a Jew and a tax collector. Whatever the case, Jerome slowly distanced himself from his earlier confident declarations that the Nazarenes had the original Matthean Gospel in their possession (cf. [47] Luomanen, Jewish-Christian Sects, 103119; Kok, Gospel According to the Hebrews, 4143; Gregory, Gospel according to the Hebrews, 1417; 4352. Perhaps most plain is the calling of the disciple Matthew, also known as Levi the tax collector. This is not a solitary occurrence within Matthews Gospel: the evangelist inserted the mother of the sons of Zebedee into one pericope (Matt 20:20; cf. Mark Book of Week - Part 1 | PDF | John The Baptist | Jesus Matthew (also known as Levi in the Gospels of Luke and Mark) was a Jewish tax collector, or publican, living in Capernaum. [14] For the theory that Matthew was either the founder of a putative Matthean community or the source of their traditions, see Pesch, Levi-Matthus, 56; Gundry, Old Testament, 184; Hill, Matthew, 5354, 173; Gnilka, Matthusevangelium, 1.331; Davies and Allison, Matthew VIIIXVIII, 2.99; Hagner, Matthew 113, xlvi; John Nolland, The Gospel of Matthew, NIGTC (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2005), 3-4; Witherington III, Matthew, 5, 29; Craig S. Keener, The Gospel of Matthew: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2009), 40; Bauckham, Eyewitnesses, 111. It's unclear why Matthew/Levi was called by both names. At the same time, opposition against Jesus was growing stronger, especially from the religious . 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. St. Matthew the Apostle He Left His Post to Follow Jesus - NCR Christ redeemed the priesthood of Levi back unto himself and redeemed Matthew the . 1.9.9). 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. 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 (also known as Levi) doubtless was one of the tax collectors who responded to John the Baptist's call to repentance.