why did jesus change levi to matthewsamantha wallace and dj self
There are sayings (Matt 13:3643) and stories (e.g., Matt 12) in Matthews special material, too. Vielhauer and Strecker, Jewish Christian Gospels, 15465; Klijn. Matthew was obviously a small mokhes because he himself was sitting in the tax office as Jesus passed through the outskirts of Capernaum. CLICK HEREfor Taxes in the Ancient Roman World article. He invited his friends to a feast, where they could meet Jesus. See Krtner, Papias, 2045; Bart D. Ehrman, Jesus and the Adulteress NTS 34 (1988): 2444, 29; Philipp Vielhauer and Georg Strecker, Jewish Christian Gospels, in New Testament Apocrypha I: Gospels and Related Writings, ed. Matthew (Levi) who wrote the first of the Gospels did write it in the Hebrew tongue which at that time was Aramaic. 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. Jesus sent out 70 Disciples to preach His Good News. For example, the Valentinian theologian Heracleon differentiated Levi from Matthew (cf. After his conversion, Matthew ardently preached Jesus as Messiah to his Jewish community. This is a quite different case from that of an individual having both a Semitic and a Greek or Latin name, as well as from that of an individual having a Semitic name and also a nickname or family name."[7]. 12.13; Is. 8:2; 19:13; Isa. 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 wouldnotwrite down what Jesus was doing and teaching requires a far bigger leap of faith than believing that he did. 3.24.6; Origen, in h.e. Hist. 13:4; 19:1; 53:1; 62:3; 2 Clem. [23] Krzinger, Papias, 24, 3342; cf. [18] B. C. Butler, The Originality of St Matthew: A Critique of the Two-Document Hypothesis (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1951), 16566; Albright and Mann, Matthew, XXXVIXLVIII; Powers, Progressive Publication, 4749. [26] Gundry, Matthew, 619; idem, Pre-Papian Tradition, 67. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Jesus Calls Levi (Matthew). However, Bacons hypothesis depends on his suppositions that the source of Matthew 10:24 was not simply Mark 3:1619 and that the author of Matthews Gospel did not just alter Marks order by moving Thomas before Matthew. However, Mark . Because Levis 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 2:1517). James son of Alphaeus is traditionally identified as James the Less and James the brother of Jesus. Answer (1 of 3): In Mark, the first New Testament gospel written, Matthew and Levi are very definitely two different people. 1.62), though these High priest Aaron and his sons were descendants of Levi (Exodus 4:14), Levi being a son of Jacob (Genesis 29:34). As Jesus was having a meal in Levi's home, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with Jesus and his 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. 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. [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. [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. In spite of this, Jesus went to Levi and invited him to join Jesus' disciples. "And Peter was the chief . 3.27.4). 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. 1. [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. But lets hear Matthews own account of his calling: As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collectors booth. Magi, or "wise men," were royal counselors. Pan. Teilband 1, ed. Follow me, Jesus said to him, and Levi got up, left everything and followed him. Epiphanius and Jerome later confused the traditional account of the authorship of Matthews Gospel with the origins of the Gospel according to the Hebrews. Wright --University of Arizona, Center for Judaic Studies Teilband 1, ed. 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. 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. had his name changed from Levi to Matthew likely by Jesus Himself who changed Simon's name to Peter. There is no indication that Matthew wrote anything (contra John 21:24; 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. 1.62), though these observations contradict Origens argument in his commentary above. 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. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. 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. [6] Tal Ilan, Lexicon of Jewish Names in Late Antiquity: Part I: Palestine 330 BCE 200 CE, TSAJ 91 (Tbingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2002). 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. h.e. [7] Richard Bauckham, Jesus and the Eyewitnesses: The Gospels as Eyewitness Testimony, 2nd ed. 3. [46] Other scholars suspect that the Nazarenes only supplied Jerome with their own translations and commentary on Matthews Gospel. 3.27.4; 3.39.17; 4.22.8). DepartmentBldg Tucson, AZ 85721 TEL 520-621-6897 FAX 520-626-9014. His symbol is an angel, and he is a patron saint of tax collectors and accountants. 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. [29] Baum, Ein aramischer Urmatthus, 262. 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. It is the contracted name of Mattathias. He may call peop 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. [1] Rudolf Pesch, LeviMatthus (Me 2.14/Mt 9.9; 10.3). Jesus went out again by the sea. Logion could be translated as an oracle or divine utterance. This is very possible, as scholars point to Simon (Peter) and Saul. [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. 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. Sometimes the men took too much money. 2:1-10; Acts 8:9-24). Was the Gospel of Matthew written by Levi aka Matthew in Hebrew, Aramaic or Greek? Meier, The Vision of Matthew, 24; Luz, Matthew 820, 32, 32n.14. This creates space between Peter and the church's rock. 29.9.4; 30.3.7; 30.13.2; 30.14.3) and Jerome (Epist. [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 important take-away from this detour through the Patristic testimonies was that the oldest tradition was that the evangelist Matthew published a text in Aramaic and left it to more qualified translators to translate it into the form that we have today as the Greek. Rather, he plainly states, So Matthew composed the oracles in the Hebrew language and each person interpreted them as best he could (in Eusebius, At first sight, this description seems like a poor match for the extant text entitled the. Matthews relics were reputedly discovered in Salerno (Italy) in 1080. As a tax collector, Matthew . Outside the New Testament, a statement of importance about him is the passage from the Apostolic Father Papias of Hierapolis preserved by Bishop Eusebius of Caesarea: So then Matthew composed the Oracles in the Hebrew language, and each one interpreted them as he could. The Gospel According to Matthew was certainly written for a Jewish-Christian church in a strongly Jewish environment, but that this Matthew is definitely the Synoptic author is seriously doubted. Marys Perpetual Virginity & Jesus Brothers, Why Pollen on the Shroud of Turin Proves it is Real, Christian Inscriptions in Roman Catacombs, Eruption Of Mt. 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. They were considered traitors because they worked for the despised Roman rulers. Levi asked Jesus to come to dinner at his home. (vv. When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: 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. 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). 135; Matt. At worst, they were charlatans, sycophants, and brutes (cf. While He was on the cross, He cried out, "Eloi Eloi Lama Sabachthani," which means "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?". [21] Krzinger, Papias, 1214, 2122, 5256; Gundry, Matthew, xxixxii, 61820; idem, Pre-Papian Tradition, 6364, 6768. Jesus came with some of His disciples. He had the ability, the means, the opportunity, the motivation, and he wouldnt have done it? Vir. Matthew, the seventh apostle, was chosen by Andrew. Assuming that the identification of Matthew with Levi is correct, Matthew (probably meaning Yahwehs 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. 18) or Origen (cf. Per tradition, Matthew was killed by by a soldier on the order of the king of Ethiopia. 4 Macc 12:7; 16:15; Acts 21:40; 22:2; 26:14; Josephus, A.J. He was one of the earlier followers of Jesus Christ. In Mark 2:14, Jesus calls Levi, a tax collector and son of Alphaeus, to follow him, much as Jesus calls other disciples, and at first Levi does follow Jesus. When Jesus said He would be there, Levi was so excited he invited lots of his friends. Who translated it after that in Greek is not sufficiently ascertained. March 2020. The Patristic Traditions about the Evangelist Matthew. [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). The meaning in Hebrew of the word day always means a 24 hour period of time. 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. [22] Krzinger, Papias, 22; Gundry, Matthew, 619; Pre-Papian Tradition, xxi, 68; cf. Jesus ate a meal at Levi's house and . I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners. Mark 2:13-17. The Western reading attested in Codex Bezae that switched Thaddaeus with Lebbaeus, the Latinized form of Levi, in the list of the twelve apostles in Mark 3:18, influenced the textual transmission of Matthew 10:3. Luz, Matthew 17, 80. 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. In this post, let us take a deeper . To follow Jesus requires renouncement. B. 3.39.17. [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. Jesus sees value in all people. According to Matthew 9:9 and Mark 2:14, Matthew was sitting by the customs house in Capernaum (near modern Almagor, Israel, on the Sea of Galilee) when Jesus called him into his company. Gundry takes the referent to be the expositors who expounded on Matthews text. [15], The Original Language of Matthews Gospel, Unlike the modern deductions about Matthews level of literacy, Papias did not presuppose Matthews facility in Greek. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners? Jesus answered them, It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Luke 5:27-32. 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. [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. Levi: Luke 5:27, "And after that He went out, and noticed a tax-gatherer named Levi, sitting in the tax office, and He said to him, 'Follow Me.' ". Teilband 1, ed. [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/. [42] Luomanen, Jewish-Christian Sects, 21, 123; Frey, Die Fragmente des Ebionerevangeliums in Antike christliche Apokryphen in deutscher bersetzung. 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. [Matthew 9:9-13, Luke 5:27-32] 13 Jesus went to the seashore again where large crowds came to him, . Pelag. h.e. [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. 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. 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. 29.9.4; 30.3.7; Jerome, Vir. Jesus casually says to Levi the tax collector,follow me and Levi got up and followed him. Just like that. 3.2) that the Gospel according to the Hebrews was associated with Matthew. [20], Krzinger and Gundry re-read the Papian fragment through the lens of rhetorical categories. He called us when all we had was need. [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. 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. [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. 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. [44] As for Jerome, he boasted that he translated the Gospel according to the Hebrews (e.g., Vir. [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. After Jesus grants Peter the keys to the kingdom (see below), Jesus explains . News of his preaching and healing ministry was spreading far and wide. Mark 16:1),[11] though this example differs slightly from Matthew 9:9 inasmuch as the woman is left unnamed. Levi - who the Bible tells us was also named Matthew - was a Jew and a tax collector. As a result, those who reject the academic consensus on Markan priority are often the most open to Papiass claim. Gundry, Matthew, xxii. It was to that man, the most despised of the despicable, to whom Jesus said, "Follow Me!" 30.13.45), indicating that it was published in Greek at the outset. Matthias was the only one who was not chosen by Jesus . It is beyond the scope of this paper to determine why Matthew was substituted for Levi. 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. [42], It was not until Epiphanius (Pan. 1.31.124), see Joseph Barber Lightfoot, Essays on the Work Entitled Supernatural Religion: Reprinted from the Contemporary Review (London: Macmillan, 1893), 17077; Bacon, Studies in Matthew, 443-51; T. W. Manson, Studies in the Gospels and Epistles (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1962), 6975; Krzinger, Papias, 5051; France, Evangelist and Teacher, 58-60; Krtner, Papias, 15167; Gundry, Matthew, 617; Norelli, Papia, 5980; Gundry, Pre-Papian Tradition, 6467; Sim, R. Harris J. Rendel, The Logia and the Gospels, For lexical discussion and debate about the term. - And it came to pass - seems the best reading - as he was sitting at meat in his house.This was the house of Matthew. ill. 2), but several of his quotations were lifted from previous Greek texts penned by figures such as Ignatius (cf. The Gospel According to Matthew consequently emphasizes Christ's fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies (5:17) and his role as a new lawgiver whose divine mission was confirmed by repeated miracles. 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. Change the way you think and act, and believe (trust in, rely on, and adhere to) this Good News. It would be psychologically impossible that such a man as Matthew, trained and experienced in writing records and reports he was a Roman official and such work was requisite for him since it went with the job would not have recorded things Jesus said. Hence, Eusebius corrected Irenaeus by substituting the Gospel according to the Hebrews as the Ebionitess preferred Gospel (h.e. There were, however, at the time of Christ and the Apostles two languages spoken by JewsAramaic and Greek. 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 . Josef Krzinger and Robert Gundry have tried to line up Papiass testimony with the academic consensus. 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. Aelius Theon, Prog. [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. Could Ancient Sparta Defeat Ancient Rome? 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. He was a tax collector who was sitting at his booth. 1.7; Irenaeus, haer. Matthew (also known as Levi) doubtless was one of the tax collectors who responded to John the Baptist's call to repentance. [28] Baum, Ein aramischer Urmatthus, 26364. I. [4] When Origen of Alexandria searched for a parallel for why Saul was surnamed Paul in the preface of his Commentary on Romans, he pointed out that the same individual appears under different names in Matthew 9:9 and Luke 5:27 (PG 14.836). There are many examples of irresistible grace in God's Word. See Barnabas Lindars, Matthew, Levi, Lebbaeus and the Value of the Western Text, https://brentnongbri.com/2018/05/21/matthew-and-levi-and-james/, Lindars, Western Text,222; cf. Jesus sent out 70 Disciples to preach His Good News. St. Matthew (Matthew 9:10) modestly says, "in the house," keeping himself as much as possible in the background.St. 30.1; Jerome, Matt. The fact that three of the four Gospels recount the calling by Jesus of the tax collector Levi is important. Mark 3:18). Ps. This is a depiction of a moment of spiritual awakening and conversion, which was something many Baroque artists were interested in painting, especially Caravaggio. As a result, those who reject the academic consensus on Markan priority are often the most open to Papiass claim. ill. 16; Is. Francis Watson, Gospel Writing: A Canonical Perspective (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2013), 126. I. T/F, 3. [26], Krzingers and Gundrys proposals have varying degrees of persuasiveness, but most scholars have not been swayed by their contention that Papiass words on Matthew have been misread through the centuries. The Gospel of Mark at the beginning of this article is not the only Gospel which gives an account of the calling of the tax collector Levi aka Matthew. The reason for Papiass error may simply be that he made the natural assumption that a Galilean Apostle would be writing primarily in Aramaic. If Jesus proclaimed the 'Kingdom of God," sneered Pilate, let him die as "King of the Jews" (Mark 15:2,9,12,18,26).
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