Hellenistic Dimensions of the Gospel of Matthew

Background and Rhetoric

by Robert S. Kinney

Book cover: Hellenistic Dimensions of the Gospel of Matthew

Extent: 338 pages

Publisher: Mohr Siebeck

Subjects: Biblical Studies

Series: Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 2.Reihe

Series volume number: 414

Language: English

Paperback (Published)

(April 2016)

ISBN: 9783161545238

Price: $130.00

In stock

In the search for Matthean theology, scholars overwhelmingly approach the Gospel of Matthew as the “the most Jewish Gospel.” Studies of its Sitz im Leben focus on its relationship to Judaism, whether arguing from the perspective that Matthew wrote from a cloistered Jewish community or as the leader of a Gentile rebellion against such a Jewish community. While this is undoubtedly an important and necessary discussion for understanding the Gospel, it often assumes too much about the relationship between Judaism and Hellenism (via Martin Hengel). Robert S. Kinney argues for a hybridized perspective in which Matthew’s attention to Jewish sources and ideas is not denied, but in which echoes of Greek and Roman sources can be observed, focusing on identifying Matthew’s use of rhetoric and its possible echoes of Greco-Roman philosophical disciple-gathering teachers.

  • By (author) Robert S Kinney