Levi asked Jesus to come to dinner at his home. A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them. Mark 2:1, 1314). though this example differs slightly from Matthew 9:9 inasmuch as the woman is left unnamed. Mark 2:14; Luke 5:27), but some commentators factor this verse in as evidence for the Matthean authorship of the first canonical Gospel or, at a minimum, for one of its major sources. We soon discover the difference between the man and the rock. [16] This English translation of the Greek text is taken from Michael W. Holmes, editor, The Apostolic Fathers: Greek Texts and English Translations (rev. Consequently, the evangelist wrote Matthew into the Markan story of the toll collector in Matthew 9:9. High priest Aaron and his sons were descendants of Levi (Exodus 4:14), Levi being a son of Jacob (Genesis 29:34). [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). Mark 16:1). 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. 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. News of his preaching and healing ministry was spreading far and wide. Despite the pain and agony of the cross, Jesus chose to die for the sins of the world because He loves us. 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. [36] Dennis MacDonald, Two Shipwrecked Gospels: The Logoi of Jesus and Papiasss Exposition of Logia about the Lord (Atlanta: SBL, 2012), 15. 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. 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. Mark 16:1),[11] though this example differs slightly from Matthew 9:9 inasmuch as the woman is left unnamed. The account of the sinful woman at the well in John 4 is a good example as is the woman caught in adultery in John 8 or even Jesus calling Levi (Matthew) to join His entourage and dining with sinners and tax collectors in Matthew 9. 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. Another option is that Papias was referring to a lost source. prol.) Per tradition, Matthew was killed by by a soldier on the order of the king of Ethiopia. One did not give up collecting taxes for the Romans on a whim and expect to ever return. 3. 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. Aelius Theon, Prog. 8:2; 19:13; Isa. 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. The Calling of St. Matthew, by Vittore Carpaccio, 1502. 5.12), and the verb hermeneuein; Papias could have chosen different terminology to highlight Matthews rhetorical style. Even so, most readers of the New Testament throughout history have taken the identification of Levi with Matthew for granted. Saint Matthew made a very small decision at the time that ended up not only affecting his life, and the people of his time, but he made a choice that affected all of mankind in the future as well. 4 Macc 12:7; 16:15; Acts 21:40; 22:2; 26:14; Josephus, A.J. [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. 2.12.87; Didymus, Comm. This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions. [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. [7] Richard Bauckham, Jesus and the Eyewitnesses: The Gospels as Eyewitness Testimony, 2nd ed. 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). 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). 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. 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. Matthew was obviously a small mokhes because he himself was sitting in the tax office as Jesus passed through the outskirts of Capernaum. He was included as one of the Evangelists according to the Christian tradition. 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. Tax collectors at that time were known as dishonest and corrupt people. 7.2627; 14.5960). Band: Evangelien und Verwandtes. After Jesus grants Peter the keys to the kingdom (see below), Jesus explains . Likewise, Jerome prematurely announced that he had finished his translations of the Old and New Testaments when he just started the task (Vir. ed. Levi's work was to take the money. The meaning in Hebrew of the word day always means a 24 hour period of time. Perhaps most plain is the calling of the disciple Matthew, also known as Levi the tax collector. 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. This could be a good possibility for the changing of the names. Indeed, Papias commented on a story about the Lords encounter with a condemned woman that Eusebius located in this Gospel (cf. Meier, The Vision of Matthew, 24; Luz, Matthew 820, 32, 32n.14. There were only 8 people in Noahs Ark. Jonah was in the belly of the whale 4 days. 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. He had the ability, the means, the opportunity, the motivation, and he wouldnt have done it? Mark 3:18). 6:25 (300s AD). [21] Krzinger, Papias, 1214, 2122, 5256; Gundry, Matthew, xxixxii, 61820; idem, Pre-Papian Tradition, 6364, 6768. He called us when all we had was need. As most of us know, the tax collector named Levi became Saint Matthew. Christoph Markschies und Jens Schrter (Tbingen: Mohr Siebeck 2012), 62354. Tax collectors were not very respected people in Jesus' time because many of them stole from the people. For an alternative approach, W. F. Albright and C. S. Mann speculate that an Aramaic source identified the toll collector as a Levite and that this was mistranslated as the personal name Levi in the Greek texts of Mark and Luke. 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. Watchthe video below. 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. 29.9.4; 30.3.7; 30.13.2; 30.14.3) and Jerome (Epist. Wright --University of Arizona, Center for Judaic Studies DepartmentBldg Tucson, AZ 85721 TEL 520-621-6897 FAX 520-626-9014. Das Papiaszeugnis zur Entstehung des Matthusevangeliums ZNW 92 (2001): 257272; Nolland, Matthew, 3; Enrico Norelli, Papia di Hierapolis: Esposizione degli Oraculi del signore: I Frammenti (Milan: Figlie di San Paolo, 2005), 32829; David H. Sim, The Gospel of Matthew, John the Elder, and the Papias Tradition: A Response to R. H. Gundry HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies 63.1 (2007): 290; Monte Shanks, Papias and the New Testament (Eugene, OR: Pickwick, 2013), 196; Michael J. Kok, Did Papias of Hierapolis Use the Gospel according to the Hebrews as a Source? JECS 25.1 (2017): 32; Bauckham, Eyewitnesses, 223; Jeannine K. Brown and Kyle Roberts, Matthew (Two Horizons; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2018), 1516. 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. [30] For instance, see France, Evangelist and Teacher, 6466; Morris, Matthew, 14; Carson, Matthew, 13 Osborne, Matthew, 34; Brown and Roberts, Matthew, 16. Assuming that the identification of Matthew with Levi is correct, Matthew (probably meaning "Yahweh's Gift") would appear to be the Christian name of Levi (called by Mark "Levi the son of Alphaeus"), who had been employed as a tax collector in the service of Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee. 3.24.6; Origen, in h.e. 3.39.17). Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Soon, Jesus and His disciples are having dinner in . h.e. And many followed him ( Mark 2:15 ). Jesus Calls Levi (Matthew). The account in the three Synoptics is identical, the vocation of Matthew-Levi being alluded to in the same terms. 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. [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 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). [44] As for Jerome, he boasted that he translated the Gospel according to the Hebrews (e.g., Vir. They were dishonest and were also seen as. 1.9.9). Jesus asked him to be a *disciple (Matthew 9:9). [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. The thesis that the first canonical Gospel was published under the name of a pseudonym is defended by George D. Kilpatrick. 3.27.4). [37] See B. H. Streeter, The Four Gospels: A Study of Origins (London: MacMillan, 1924). Thom. Vose Seminary Frey, Die Fragmente des Nazorerevangeliums, 626; Gregory, Media, Video and Lectures From The Arizona Center for Judaic Studies of the University of Arizona, Teaching the Bible in Public Schools and Higher Ed, Scholars, Frauds, the Media and the Public, Essays on Minimalism from Bible and Interpretation, Final Reports on the Yehoash Inscription and James Ossuary from the Israeli Antiquities Authority, Essays on the James Ossuary and the Temple Tablet from Bible and Interpretation, University of Arizona, Center for Judaic Studies, Department of Archaeology and Art History, University of Evansville. 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. Caseys efforts have been critiqued by Peter M. Head and P. J. Williams, Q Review TB 54.1 (2003): 13144. Jesus did not call us because of our righteousness or gifting. Christoph Markschies und Jens Schrter (Tbingen: Mohr Siebeck 2012), 6089; Kok, Gospel according to the Hebrews, 5253; Gregory, Gospel according to the Hebrews, 181. Many people were surprised when Jesus sat down to eat with Levi, but they learned that Jesus' message of salvation is for everyone. 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. [10] For the debate over whether Mark 2:14 and 3:18 refer to the same individual or to two different individuals named Alphaeus, see Bauckham, Jesus and the Eyewitnesses, 87n.17. C hristmas Day may be Dec. 25, but it's not the end of Christmas story. It is touching that Matthew, gift of Yahweh loved his new name, probably given to him by Jesus. 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 Indeed, Levi is Israel's priestly tribe, as stated in the Bible: "The priests the Levites the priests the Levites the priests the Levites" (Deuteronomy 17:9, 17:18, 18:1). Gundry takes the referent to be the expositors who expounded on Matthews text. 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. 20.5; Vir. 18) or Origen (cf. Jesus speaking or understanding Greek is the least controversial of the three. [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. 3.2).[48]. Some scholars believe that the tax-collector simply had two names, one in Greek (Matthew) and the other in Hebrew (Levi). [33] For lexical discussion and debate about the term logion in Papiass vocabulary (cf. [36] Ultimately, the identification of Matthews oracles with Q or M may depend on a given scholars acceptance or not of the Four Source theory as classically formulated.