The Gospel of Matthew within the context of Second Temple Judaism

Abstract

The author’s aim is to analyse the Gospel of Matthew within the broader literary tradition of Second Temple Judaism. The Jewish writings produced both in the land of Israel and in the diaspora from the Hasmonean period until the early Empire help us to relate Matthew to its social, political and theological context. Surveying some aspects of the Second Temple Judaism, namely Messianic expectations, Apocalyptic movements and Scripture interpretation methods, bear valuable evidence on how Matthew sets the story of Jesus. Treatises of such prolific authors as Philo and Josephus provide valuable literary parallels as well as an overall outlook on major trends of thought, that need to be taken into account when interpreting the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew’s portrait of Jesus as a royal figure, as the legitimate heir of the House of David is, to some extent, linked with the understanding of kingship during the Hasmonean period. The kingship motif is prominent for Philo’s De vita Mosis, in which Moses is treated as king, legislator, priest, and prophet. Comparative analysis leads the author to the question of whether it is possible to include Matthew, and even the other three canonical Gospels, within one of the standard collections of Jewish writings?