Matthew 1–7 Hermeneia —A Critical and Historical Commentary on the Bible Old Testament Editorial Board Peter Machinist, Harvard University, chair Klaus Baltzer, University of Munich Sidnie White Crawford, University of Nebraska Paul D. Hanson, Harvard University Thomas Krüger, University of Zurich S. Dean McBride Jr., Union Theological Seminary in Virginia Frank Moore Cross, Harvard University, emeritus New Testament Editorial Board Helmut Koester, Harvard University, chair Harold W. Attridge, Yale University Adela Yarbro Collins, Yale University Eldon Jay Epp, Case Western Reserve University Hans-Josef Klauck, University of Chicago James M. Robinson, Claremont Graduate University, emeritus Matthew 1–7 A Commentary by Ulrich Luz Translated by James E. Crouch Edited by Helmut Koester Fortress Press Minneapolis Matthew 1–7 A Commentary Copyright © 2007 Fortress Press, an imprint of Augsburg Fortress All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical articles or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher. Write: Permissions, Augsburg Fortress, Box 1209, Minneapolis, MN 55440. Images on endpapers: facing pages from Codex Schøyen (MS 2650) from the Schøyen Collection (Oslo and London), containing Matthew 6:5-19 (front) and Matthew 6:19-31 (end). Cover and interior design by Kenneth Hiebert Typesetting and page composition by The HK Scriptorium Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Luz, Ulrich. [Evangelium nach Matthäus. English] Matthew 1-7 : a commentary / by Ulrich Luz ; translated by James E. Crouch ; volume editor, Helmut Koester. — [Rev. ed.]. p. cm. — (Hermeneia—a critical and historical commentary on the Bible) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-0-8006-6099-4 ISBN-10: 0-8006-6099-4 1. Bible. N.T. Matthew I-VII—Commentaries. I.Koester, Helmut, 1926- II. Title. BS2575.53.L8913 2007 226.2'077—dc22 2006026161 The paper used in this publication meets the mini- mum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z329.48–1984. Manufactured in the U.S.A. 11 10 09 08 07 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ■ For Salome The Author Ulrich Luz was born in 1938, and he studied theology in Zürich and Göttingen under Hans Conzelmann, Eduard Schweizer, and Gerhard Ebeling. He taught at the Inter- national Christian University in Tokyo (1970–1971), at the University of Göttingen (1972–1980), and at the University of Bern in Switzerland (1980–2003). Now he is professor emeritus. He received honorary degrees from the universities of Leipzig, Budapest, Sibiu, Lausanne, Praha, and Nishinomiya and served as president of the Societas Novi Testamenti Studiorum in 1998. He is the author of numerous books, including Das Geschichts- verständnis des Paulus (1968), Die Mitte des Neuen Testa - ments: Einheit und Vielfalt neutestamentlich (1983), Matthew in History: Interpretation, Influence and Effects (1994), and The Theology of the Gospel of Matthew (1995). He and his wife, Salome Keller, have three children. vi Contents Matthew 1–7 Foreword xi Editor’s Note xiii Preface to the First Edition xv Preface to the Hermeneia Edition xvii Translator’s Preface xix Reference Codes xxi 1. Sources and Abbreviations xxi 2. Text-Critical Sigla xxvii 3. Short Titles of All Commentaries and of Studies and Articles Often Cited xxviii ■ Introduction 1 1 Structure and Basic Character of Matthew’s Story of Jesus 1 1.1 Basic Problems 2 1.2 Structuring Methods 5 1.3 Overall Plan 9 2 Genre and Intention of the Gospel 13 2.1 Genre 13 2.2 Matthew’s Narrative as Communication with the Readers 15 3 Sources 18 4 Style 22 4.1 Syntax 23 4.2 Matthew’s Preferred Vocabulary 25 4.3 Words Avoided in Matthew 39 5 The Evangelist’s Relationship to His Sources 41 5.1 Matthew as Heir of Mark and the Sayings Source 41 5.1.1 The Linguistic Relationship to Mark and Q 41 5.1.2 The Theological Relationship to Mark and Q 41 5.2 Matthew as an Exponent of His Community 43 5.2.1 Grounding in Worship 43 5.2.2 Matthew and His Church’s Scribes 44 6 The Historical Situation of the Gospel of Matthew 45 6.1 The Gospel of Matthew—a Jewish Christian Gospel 45 6.2 The Position of the Gospel of Matthew in the History of Jewish Christianity 49 6.3 The Position of the Matthean Churches in Judaism 52 6.4 The Situation within the Community 56 6.5 Place of Writing 56 6.6 Time of Writing 58 6.7 Author 59 vii 7 Text 60 8 On the Intention of This Commentary and on the Hermeneutical Significance of the History of the Text’s Influence (Wirkungsgeschichte) 60 ■ Commentary 67 Heading (1:1) 69 I Prelude (1:2—4:22) 71 A Infancy Narratives (1:2—2:23) 74 1 Genealogy (1:2-17) 79 2 Birth, Endangerment, and Rescue of the Messianic Child (1:18—2:23) 89 2.1 Immanuel (1:18-25) 89 2.2 The Gentiles before the King of the Jews (2:1-12) 101 2.3 Flight to Egypt and Move to Nazareth (2:13-23) 117 Excursus: The Fulfillment Quotations 125 B The Beginning of Jesus’ Activity (3:1—4:22) 132 1 John the Baptist (3:1-17) 133 1.1 The Baptist’s Call to Israel to Repent (3:1-12) 133 1.2 The Revelation of the Righteous Son of God (3:13-17) 140 Excursus: Righteousness (dikaiosuvnh) 142 Excursus: Son of God 144 2 The Authentication of the Son of God in Temptation (4:1-11) 147 3 The Beginning of the Community in Galilee (4:12-22) 154 3.1 Jesus in Galilee of the Gentiles (4:12-17) 156 3.2 The Call of the Disciples at the Sea of Galilee (4:18-22) 161 Excursus: Disciple (maqhthv~) 162 II Jesus’ Activity in Israel in Word and Deed (4:23—11:30) 165 Introductory Overview (4:23-25) 165 Excursus: Preaching, Teaching, and Gospel in Matthew 168 A The Sermon on the Mount (5:1—7:29) 170 1 Introduction (5:1-16) 182 1.1 Jesus Goes up onto the Mountain (5:1-2) 182 1.2 The Beatitudes (5:3-12) 184 1.3 “You are the salt of the earth . . .” (5:13-16) 203 viii 2 The Main Part (5:17—7:12) 210 2.1 Preface (5:17-20) 210 2.2 Better Righteousness, I: Antitheses (5:21-48) 226 2.2.1 First Antithesis: On Killing (5:21-26) 233 2.2.2 Second Antithesis: On Adultery (5:27-30) 242 2.2.3 Third Antithesis: On Divorce (5:31-32) 249 2.2.4 Fourth Antithesis: On Swearing (5:33-37) 260 2.2.5 Fifth Antithesis: On Nonviolence (5:38-42) 270 2.2.6 Sixth Antithesis: On Loving the Enemy (5:43-48) 283 2.3 Better Righteousness, II: Attitude toward God (6:1-18) 295 2.3.1 On Almsgiving, Praying, and Fasting (6:1-6, 16-18) 296 2.3.2 Against Babbling Prayer (6:7-8) 305 2.3.3 The Lord’s Prayer (6:9-13) 307 2.3.4 On the Forgiveness of Sins (6:14-15) 327 2.4 Guidance for the Community (6:19—7:11) 328 2.4.1 Do Not Accumulate Earthly Treasures (6:19-24) 330 2.4.2 Be Concerned with the Kingdom of God (6:25-34) 338 2.4.3 Do Not Judge (7:1-5) 349 2.4.4 Do Not Give What Is Holy to the Dogs (7:6) 354 2.4.5 Boldness in Prayer (7:7-11) 357 2.5 The Golden Rule (7:12) 362 3 Concluding Admonitions (7:13-29) 369 3.1 The Narrow and the Wide Gate (7:13-14) 370 3.2 Warning against False Prophets (7:15-23) 374 Excursus: False Prophets 376 3.3 Conclusion: Two Builders (7:24-27) 385 3.4 Conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount (7:28-29) 389 Summary: The Basic Message of the Sermon on the Mount 391 Conclusion: Reflections on the Praxis of the Sermon on the Mount Today 395 Indices 401 1. Passages 401 a/ Old Testament and Apocrypha 401 b/ Old Testament Pseudepigrapha 405 c/ Qumran and Related Texts 406 d/ Other Jewish Literature 407 e/ Rabbinic Literature 407 f/ New Testament 410 g/ Early Christian Literature and the Ancient Church 414 h/ Greek and Latin Authors 420 2. Greek Words 423 3. Subjects 424 4. Authors 426 Designer’s Notes 431 ix