Über die Autorinnen und Autoren

Grant R. Osborne (PhD, University of Aberdeen) is professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois. He has been at Trinity since 1977. His areas of expertise include the Gospels, hermeneutics, and the book of Revelation. His numerous publications include The Hermeneutical Spiral and commentaries on Revelation, Romans, John, and Matthew.

Clinton E. Arnold (PhD, University of Aberdeen) is research professor of New Testament at Talbot School of Theology, Biola University in La Mirada, California. He has authored many books and commentaries, including Ephesians in the Zondervan Exegetical Commentary series and Acts in the Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary.

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Designed for the pastor and Bible teacher, the Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament examines the biblical text in its original
environment. Notable evangelical scholars carefully attend to grammatical detail, literary context, rhetorical flow, theological nuance, and historical setting in their interpretation. Critical scholarship informs each step, but does not dominate the commentary, allowing readers to concentrate on the biblical author's message as it unfolds. While primarily designed for those with
a basic knowledge of biblical Greek, all who strive to understand and teach the New Testament will find this series beneficial. The general editor for this enterprising series is Clinton E. Arnold The following focused sections help readers understand
the text:
Literary Context: Explains how each passage functions within the book
Main Idea: Summarizes the central message of the passage
Translation in Graphic Layout: Presents a translation through a diagram that helps readers visualize the flow of thought within the text
Exegetical Outline: Gives the overall structure of the passage
Explanation of the Text: Provides interpretive insights into the background and meaning of the text
Theology in Application: Discusses how the message of the text fits within the book itself and in a broader biblical-theological context, suggesting applications
for the church today

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Matthew

Zondervan

Contents

Series Introduction.....................9Author's Preface........................13Abbreviations...........................15Introduction............................21Select Bibliography.....................49Commentary..............................57Theology of Matthew.....................1086Scripture Index.........................1108Subject Index...........................1138Author Index............................1148

Chapter One

Literary Context

Matthew begins with genealogical proof that Jesus is indeed the Davidic Messiah and that God has sovereignly controlled his ancestry. This proves that Jesus is the son of Abraham and of David and sets the tone for the rest of the book. As Bruner says, Matthew "turns dull genealogy into evangelism and a birth story into a lexicon for the names of God."

I. Jesus' Origin and Preparation for Ministry (1:1-4:11)

A. The Birth and Infancy of Jesus (1:1-2:23)

1. The Genealogy of Jesus the Messiah (1:1-17)

2. The Virginal Conception(1:18-25)

3. The Visit of the Magi(2:1-12)

Main Idea

Matthew shows that Jesus is the expected Davidic Messiah, whose pedigree demonstrates his claim. At the same time he shows that the lineage of Jesus goes beyond Jewish heritage to embrace the Gentiles as well, thereby preparing for his theme of universal mission.

Structure and Literary Form

These verses parallel Luke 3:23-38, but the two probably do not have a common source (Q), for they go in two directions with quite different names from David to Christ. There were two types of genealogies: ascending (cf. Luke), moving from the birth of the individual to the ancestors, containing common names not found elsewhere; and descending (cf. Matthew), moving from the ancestors to the person; the latter type normally had more elaboration, as is the case with Matthew, with famous biblical ancestors named. Matthew shows the direct royal line only from Abraham up to Christ, whereas Luke goes through David's son Nathan (Matthew has Solomon) down through Abraham to Adam in order to stress Jesus as "Son of God" (cf. Luke 3:22, 38; 4:3).

It has often been argued that Matthew provides Joseph's line and Luke gives Mary's; but this is doubtful because Matthew, not Luke, stresses the women; and Luke 3:23 begins with Joseph, not Mary. Both center on Joseph's line, with Matthew showing the legal throne succession and Luke the actual line. The names in the two lists are the same from Abraham to David but diverge greatly from David to Joseph, again because Matthew centers on the royal line and Luke on the common line.

Matthew's list consists of a heading (1:1) followed by three sections of fourteen names each (cf. 1:17), although in reality only the second set has fourteen. The three are:

vv. 2-6a: Abraham to David-thirteen names vv. 6b-11: David to the exile-fourteen names vv. 12-16: the exile to Christ-thirteen names

There are fourteen names in the first series if David is counted. The problem is that there are only thirteen generations (periods between names). This is resolved by simply assuming that Matthew is counting the generation leading to Abraham. In the second series, there are fourteen names only if David is not counted, so there are fourteen full generations (periods between names). In the third series, there are fourteen names if you count Christ, so like the first series, you have to count the generation leading up to Jeconiah as the first. The importance of this is seen in v. 17, which claims fourteen names for each list.

The question is the meaning of the number fourteen. A couple of interesting theories posit that Matthew measures fourteen generations (of thirty-five years each = 490 years) from the captivity to Jesus, thus reenacting Daniel's seventy weeks of years (= 490 years, cf. Dan 9:24-27) or that the 3 x 14 = 6 x 7, with Jesus beginning the seventh seven or "the dawn of the eternal Sabbath." However, the most likely explanation for a Jewish gospel like Matthew's finds the key in gematria, stemming from the practice of using letters of the alphabet for numbers. Thus every name or phrase also had a numerical significance by adding up the letters. For our purposes the name David (dwd in Hebrew [vowels were introduced later]) added up to fourteen (d = 4, w = 6, so 4 + 6 + 4 = 14). The only drawback is that Matthew is writing in Greek, not Hebrew, but since this is meant mainly for Christian Jews, the approach is still valid. Matthew is thus suggesting by this arrangement of the genealogy that Jesus is the Son of David or the royal Messiah.

Explanation of the Text

Genealogies had many uses in the ancient world. Since society was organized as a whole around kinship patterns, lists that describe actual kinship relationships were central as "the basis for regulating social interaction, marriage, and inheritance," with both horizontal (those on the same genealogical level considered social equals) and vertical (their status in society determined by the level of ancestry they occupy). The genealogy here is a linear type used by rulers to justify their power, rank, and status. At the same time it is used to state political relationships between families by noting a common ancestor (Abraham, the father of the nation) and at the same time the three groups of fourteen (gematria for "David," see above) showing the special status of the ruler (the royal Messiah descending from David).

These verses also function as the prologue for Matthew's gospel, and the purpose of the prologue in every gospel (e.g., Mark 1:1-15; John 1:1-18) is to tell the reader who this Jesus really is; in the rest of the book we then see the participants (the leaders, the crowds, the disciples, and the demons) wrestling with these truths. The genealogy sets the tone for the book but especially for the birth of Jesus in the next scene, telling us that it is no ordinary event but the birth of the expected Messiah (1:18-25), the Anointed One in the line of ancestry from Abraham and David. Thus it is no wonder that the Magi make a state visit to this King of kings and that they bear royal gifts (2:1-12); it is also natural that Herod is so threatened by this God-sent Messiah that he tries to kill him before his reign can replace Herod's (2:13-23). Yet in it all God is sovereign and supernaturally intervenes in world history to protect his Chosen One (2:12, 13-15, 22). This basic theme (to be seen again in the resurrection narratives) will dominate the opening and closing scenes of Matthew's gospel.

1:1 This is a record of the genealogy ([TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII]). This can be translated in different ways depending on whether it refers to the whole book ("record of the history," so Zahn, Davies and Allison, Morris), to the first unit of the book, namely 1:1-4:16 ("record of the origins," so Kingsbury), to the first two chapters ("record of the birth," so Carson, Blomberg), or to this section itself ("record of the genealogy," so Brown, Gundry, Hagner, Nolland). A great deal can be said for a reference to the birth narratives (chs. 1-2) as a whole, since genesis is used in 1:18 for the conception of Jesus; but it is probably best to restrict it to the genealogy itself (still, there is double meaning, with "genealogy" primary here but still connoting the "origin" as well)....