This study concerns the composition of the Synoptic Gospels—Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and is part of a scholarly discussion within New Testament studies known as the “Synoptic Problem.” In this study, the composition of the Gospels is considered in light of ancient compositional practice, a field of study within the Synoptic Problem that has grown in popularity in recent decades. It specifically looks at the way that Matthew and Mark and Luke would have moved through their sources or exemplars (source-utilization movement) when they composed, presuming that some sort of direction of dependence is the case. Each of the Simple Solutions is considered in this regard—the Augustinian Hypothesis, the Büsching Hypothesis, the Farrer Hypothesis, the Griesbach Hypothesis, the Lockton Hypothesis, and the Wilke Hypothesis, as well as the Two-Document Hypothesis. It may be presumed some sort of direction of dependence is the case between the Synoptic Gospels, whatever direction this might be, and the form these sources took would have likely been bookrolls (or scrolls). The thesis introduces a neglected factor in Synoptic Problem studies. Whereas historically each Gospel text has been presumed to be a single bookroll, in this study, a multiple-bookroll hypothesis is also tested. Instead of there being one bookroll per Gospel, the possibility that each Gospel was distributed over several bookrolls is also tested. Additionally, the study takes into consideration the role of memory and memory-access of traditions in the process of composition. Several other matters concerning ancient compositional practice is also treated throughout. When the various Hypotheses are examined in terms of how the Gospel-authors would have moved through their texts, in light of a multiple bookroll hypothesis, among other factors, the result seems to favour strongly Lukan Absolute Posteriority (i.e., the Augustinian and Farrer Hypotheses). / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / This study concerns the composition of the Synoptic Gospels—Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and is part of a scholarly discussion within New Testament studies known as the Synoptic Problem. It considers the composition of the Gospels in light of ancient compositional practice. It specifically looks at the way that Matthew and Mark and Luke would have moved through their sources or exemplars during composition (source-utilization movement), according to a number of different hypotheses. Each Gospel may be presumed to have used sources when their authors composed, and the sources would have likely been bookrolls (or scrolls). A number of Hypotheses have been presented over the last two centuries concerning how the Gospels were composed and what direction of dependence that composition took. When these various Hypotheses are examined in terms of how the Gospel-authors would have moved through their texts, the result seems to favour two possibilities above others. Both of these possibilities have it that the author of Luke was the utilizing author of both Matthew and Mark.

Using psychoanalytic theory, one can see that the Gothic genre addresses fears to reveal the ever-tense dynamics between subject and object- the subject as the individual with agency and the object as that which the subject desires and which thus lacks agency. This tension between the subject and object exposes the subject's fears about the object specifically pertaining to female sexuality, desire, familial dynamics, and reproduction, and it is these fears that shape the subject's psyche. These fears are addressed in psychoanalysis on two levels: terror and horror. Terror is the fear of what one does not know, whereas horror coincides with the fear of that which one does know. This distinction itself addresses the two parts of the psyche: the unconscious and the conscious. Through the lens of psychoanalysis, we can see that the switch or overlap between these layers of the psyche, is experienced as the uncanny, where the repressed again becomes familiar. In Gothic texts, the return of the repressed occurs for the subject as it relates to the object of desire, and the trauma surrounding this relationship. Through the analysis of three different Gothic texts from three different time periods- Matthew Lewis's The Monk (1796), Bram Stoker's Dracula (1897), and David Lindelofs contemporary television series Lost (2004 )- I argue that these texts demonstrate the ways in which their cultures understood (and understand) subjectivity as constituted through fear of and desire for the object. From the eighteenth century to the twenty-first century, we can see a transition from a reaction to trauma to a need/or trauma in the texts.

À l’origine de ce mémoire se trouve le souhait de saisir en profondeur ce que représente l’endoctrinement et de voir comment, si tel est le cas, la philosophie pour enfants de Matthew Lipman et Ann Margaret Sharp pourrait servir de rempart contre son existence. Pour ce faire, nous commençons par étudier la définition qu’en propose le philosophe de l’éducation, Olivier Reboul. À la lumière de son analyse, nous présentons deux cas concrets d’endoctrinement, l’éducation hitlérienne et la reproduction sociale par le biais du système scolaire français. Ces études de cas ont pour visée d’évaluer la définition proposée par Reboul et également de révéler l’importance de contrer l’endoctrinement. Partant de l’hypothèse que la pratique de la philosophie pour enfants, selon l’approche de M. Lipman et A. M. Sharp, peut être un rempart approprié pour contrer l’endoctrinement, nous présentons, dans la seconde partie de ce mémoire, le but, les objectifs et la méthode de cette pratique en éducation. Nous pouvons dès lors tenter de montrer de quelle manière elle permettrait de lutter efficacement contre l’endoctrinement en évitant d’être endoctriné ou d’avoir la tentation de le faire. / At the origin of this paper is the desire to gain an in-depth understanding of indoctrination, what it represents and to see how, if so, Matthew Lipman and Ann Margaret Sharp's approach to philosophy for children could serve as a rampart against its existence. To do this, we begin by studying the definition proposed by Olivier Reboul, a philosopher of education. In light of his analysis, we will present two concrete cases of indoctrination, education in Nazy Germany under the Hitler regime and social reproduction through the French school system. The purpose of these case studies is to evaluate Reboul’s definition and reveal the urgent need to counter indoctrination. Assuming that the practice of philosophy for children, according to M. Lipman and A. M. Sharp, may be an appropriate rampart to counter indoctrination, we present, in the second half of this paper, the purpose, objectives and method of this practice in education. We can therefore try to show how it could effectively combat indoctrination avoiding being indoctrinated or the temptation to indoctrinate.

Cette thèse met en évidence comment le programme de philosophie pour enfants de M. Lipman réintroduit dans les programmes d'éducation l'équivalent de la pratique d'un art libéral - la dialectique - pour favoriser le développement intellectuel des enfants. Nous présentons d'abord le programme de philosophie pour enfants sous l'angle du développement intellectuel. Puis nous examinons comment la tradition de la pratique des arts libéraux peut trouver son fondement théorique dans la logique d'Aristote. Enfin, nous comparons le programme de Lipman avec le cadre d'analyse ainsi établi.

The Kingdom of God is wherever the Triune God is worshipped as Lord. It exists beyond time and place, but breaks into our time and place wherever creation worships the Triune God as Lord. The local church, in its present time and geographical place, is the microcosm of the Kingdom of God. As such, the local church contains within it all the resources necessary for the Kingdom of God to be established. Therefore, the local church is called to lead creation to worship the Triune God as Lord. It does this by fulfilling three specific works as specified in Scripture: the work of evangelism; the work of discipleship and the work of reconciliation. The modern day church must start a revolution to discover afresh these works and become what Scripture describes as the ecclesia of the hodos: the local church extending the Kingdom of God. / Systematic Theology & Theological Ethics / M.Th. (Systematic Theology)

This paper will discuss the presentations of Judas Iscariot in the Gospel of Matthew and in Jesus Christ Superstar, a musical written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice in 1970. To do this, I will compare the two sources and evaluate what modern reception history has done with Judas as a character. I will be using a film version of the musical from 2000, which is available on YouTube. Mainly this study will examine the Matthean pericope and scene of Judas’ death to try to get an understanding of the presentation of the disciple Judas in biblical times and today. Because of the different types of material, the analyses of Matthew and the Musical will differ somewhat. A central argument is that Judas alone is responsible of his acton, betraying Jesus and taking his own life. I will in this paper argue that the presentation of Judas is not black or white. We need both the biblical and the modern presentation to create a credible presentation of the historical Judas. / I begynnelsen var berättelsen. Jag var tretton år när jag hade mitt första möte med Judas. Jag hade tidigare läst och hört om honom, men jag hade aldrig mött honom, förrädaren. När jag var tretton år introducerades jag till Jesus Christ Superstar. Rockoperan som visar Jesu sista vecka utifrån Judas perspektiv. Vad händer när den mörke förrädaren istället blir en bekymrad vän? Vem var Judas och hur har han presenterats genom tiderna? Berättelsen om Judas Iskariot, känd som förrädaren, bär på något speciellt och välbekant. Jag vill med denna uppsats undersöka bilden av Judas. Bilden av den bibliska Judas men också hur bilder av honom har kommit att se ut i modern receptionshistoria. Denna uppsats kommer att jämföra presentationen av Judas utifrån hans sista tid på jorden. Detta görs genom att jämföra Judas död i Matteusevangeliet och rockoperan Jesus Christ Superstar från 1970 av Andrew Lloyd Webber och Tim Rice. Jag uppfattar att Bibeln överlag ger en platt bild av Judas och endast svartmålar honom. Denna bild vill jag mena att Jesus Christ Superstar arbetar emot och istället gör till en levande och mänsklig Judas som vi kan känna igen oss i. Detta är den argumentation jag kommer att föra i denna uppsats.

Thesis (MTh (Old and New Testament))--University of Stellenbosch, 2006. / This paper undertakes a detailed study of Matt 6:19-34 for the specific purpose of accounting for the unique context and content of the material/financial ethic being articulated here by Jesus. The passage, made up of four pericopes, is located within the first of the five discourses of Jesus recorded in Matthew’s Gospel in which Jesus evidently articulates the ethical standards required of the children of the emerging Kingdom of God. The need for such a study stems from an understanding that the passage, indeed the Sermon as a whole, has been treated by traditional scholarship in a somewhat distanced and abstract manner i.e. it has been read without adequate cognisance being taken of the particular socio-linguistic and socio-historical context in which it was originally formulated and articulated. Relatively recent social-scientific and socio-historical New Testament scholarship, however, has provided a specific set of interpretive tools that enable a modern reader to make a far more dynamic and context-sensitive interpretation possible. Accordingly, this paper undertakes a socio-rhetorical analysis of Matt 6:19-34, together with a social-scientific and socio-historic/financial/religious analysis of the eastern Mediterranean world of late Second Temple times. Together these interpretive tools shed new light on the text and provide the opportunity for re-reading that text in a way that, hopefully, more closely articulates the ethic as an original audience might have heard it. Specifically, the use of these interpretive tools provide insights into why it was that Jesus explicitly prohibited worry, some six times in the passage, amongst the children of the Kingdom concerning the provision of their food, drink and clothing i.e. the tools provide something of an explanation for both the rhetorical force of the ethic and the underlying realities that gave rise to its formulation in the first place. These insights are then applied in an attempt at formulating a dynamically equivalent ethic that might be appropriated and applied by present day children of the Kingdom reading the passage today.

Thesis (DTh)--Stellenbosch University, 2002 / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The goal of this study is to analyse the motifs of reconciliation and forgiveness in the Gospel of Matthew from a socio-rhetorical perspective. The first two chapters expound the chosen methodology, define its aim and identifies relevant pericopes using a heuristic definition of each motif. The third chapter gives an overview of Matthew's inner texture. The next seven chapters interpret the inner, inter- and argumentative textures of the different pericopes by utilizing the recourses of classical and modem rhetoric, anthropology and sociology. The concluding chapter focuses on Matthew's social and cultural texture in an effort to systemize his interpretation of Jesus' teaching of forgiveness and reconciliation. The realities of internal conflict, Roman oppression and a growing, if not yet permanent, separation from Formative Judaism are all taken into account. It is proposed that reconciliation with the Romans and Jews was not seen as a desirable strategy by Matthew, whereas it was non-negotiable for the relationship between members of his church. The concluding chapter also reads Matthew as a narrative In order to provide an answer to the question if it possesses an unified theology of forgiveness and reconciliation. Consideration is therefore given to the occurrence of key peri copes in regard to the development of the Gospel's narrative. It concludes that the dishonourable nature of being crucified in the Jewish and Greco-Roman world compelled Matthew to redefine Jesus' death as a honourable one, before he could link it with God's atonement of sinners. The relative importance of both motives is also confirmed by their inner textual placing in Matthew instead of by the frequency with which they occur. A reviewed definition of both motifs, and their relevance for the contemporary church, is given at the end of the last chapter. This study proposes that whereas forgiveness was seen as dishonourable in the first century Mediterranean world, Jesus not only mediated God' forgiveness in words (e.g. 6: 12-15) and deeds (9: 1-8), but also realized it through His death for many (20:28 and 26:28). For Matthew Jesus is the ultimate broker of God's forgiveness while deeds of forgiveness by followers of Jesus are seen as the honourable imitation of God action, as the ultimate benefactor, in forgiving His clients their sins. While Matthew gives a partial indication of the process by which forgiveness and reconciliation should be pursued in the everyday life of the church (e.g. in 5:23-24 and 18:15-20), he refrains from giving an exhaustive outline. The following can however can be deduced. Grace received, as a gift, demands reciprocal deeds of grace. Those who have experienced, or who seek, God's grace are thus under an obligation to forgive others (6:12, 14-15). Within the first century milieu of Matthew forgiveness and reconciliation was not an internal private affair, but a communal one. It is clear that according to Matthew not al people are automatically forgiven and thus reconciled with God. God's judgement remains a reality for those who opposed His will (21 :33-45; 25:31-46) and who blaspheme the Holy Spirit by continuously opposing His saving work through Jesus (12:31-32). / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die doel van die studie is die beskrywing en sistematisering van die teologie van Matteus met betrekking tot die motiewe van versoening en vergifuis In die eerste twee hoofstukke word die gekose metodologie uiteengesit, die navorsingsdoel omskryf en die relevante perikope geidentifiseer deur middel van In heuristiese definisie van elke motief Die derde hoofstuk gee In oorsig van Matteus se intratekstuur. In die daaropvolgende sewe hoofstukke word die intra-, inter- en argumentatiewe teksture van die geidentifiseerde perikope deur middel van die insigte van die klassieke en moderne retoriek, antropologie en sosiologie bestudeer. In die slothoofstuk word op Matteus se sosio-kulturele tekstuur gefokus ten einde sy leer oor vergifnis en versoening te sistematiseer. Die invloed van interne kontlik, Romeinse onderdrukking en In groeiende, indien nie reeds finale, breuk met die Vroegjodedom op Matteus se teologie word in die hoofstuk verreken. Die studie voer aan dat terwyl Matteus nie versoening en vergifnis as In werkbare strategie teenoor die Jode en die Romeine beskou het nie, dit vir die onderlinge verhoudinge tussen lede van sy kerk ononderhandelbaar was. In die slothoofstuk word Matteus ook as In narratief gelees ten einde In antwoord te verkry op die vraag of die evangelie oor In geintegreerde teologie van vergifuis en versoening beskik. Daar word aangevoer dat die oneerbare karakter van In kruisdood in die eerste-eeuse Mediterreense wereld Matteus verplig het om eers die werklike eerbare karakter van Jesus s'n te bevestig, voordat hy vergifnis en versoening daaraan kon verbind. Die fokus op Matteus se narratiewe ontwikkeling toon dat die plasing van die verskillende motiewe in die narratief, eerder as bloot die frekwensie waarmee dit voorkom, die belangrikheid van beide in die Matteusevangelie bevestig. In Hersiende definisie van beide motiewe, en In kort uiteensetting van hulle belang vir die kerk vandag, word aan die einde van die studie gegee. Hierdie studie voer aan dat terwyl vergifnis dikwels in die eerste-eeuse Mediterreense wereld as oneervol gesien is, Jesus nie aileen God se vergifnis deur woorde (e.g. 6: 12- 15) en dade (9: 1-8) bemiddel het nie, maar dit ook gerealiseer het vir baie deur sy dood (20:28 and 26:28). In Matteus is Jesus die unieke bemiddelaar van God se vergifuis, terwyl dade van vergifuis deur sy dissipels gesien word as die eervolle navolging van God, as finale Weldoener, se vergifuis van sy kliente van hulle sondes. A1hoewel Matteus nie die proses waarvolgens vergifnis en versoening bekom moet word noukeurig uitspel nie gee hy egter wei belangrike rigtingwysers vir hoe dit moet geskied (bv in 5:23-24 and 18: 15-20). Eerstens vereis genade wat ontvang word vir hom In wederkerige daad van genade. Diegene wat God se vergifnis ontvang het, of dit verlang, moet daarom bereid wees om ander te vergewe (6:12, 14-15). Vergifnis en versoening raak vir Matteus nie alleen enkelinge nie, maar die hele geloofsgemeenskap Alle mense word egter nie outomaties deur God vergewe nie. God se oordeel bly In realiteit vir die wat teen sy wil handel (21:33-45; 25:31-46) en wat teen die Heilige Gees laster deur sy verlossingswerk deur Jesus voortdurend teen te staan (12:31-32).

Thesis (DTh)--Stellenbosch University, 1996. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis deals with a reinvention of rhetorical criticism and its application to the parable discourse. The first part of this study examines the theoretical background of rhetoric, and shows that rhetoric emerged as a disciplinary discourse after mythos and logos, and was used as the first systematic hermeneutical method. Rhetoric has developed in two directions: influence and system. Influence study keeps to the tradition of classical rhetoric, while system study covers the system of rhetoric by integrating classical rhetoric with modern human and social sciences. Through this process, rhetorical criticism has been established as a theory and a method for biblical study. Its focus has shifted from rhetoric restrained to rhetoric revalued/reinvented, a shift toward social/practical criticism from hermeneutics. Moreover, rhetorical criticism has begun to treat text as a dialogic, collaborate art or social activity rather than as a mere instrument of persuasion in the monologic scheme of speaker-message-audience, and occupies a prime position in biblical studies in the mode of either one-dimensional or a comprehensive multi-dimensional approach. It is clear that there has been a shift in the application of rhetorical criticism from the performance of rhetorical discourse to its archaeology (inventio). The second part investigates the parable discourse. I suggest that Jesus' parables are net rhetorical discourses of either the dominant Jewish or the dominant Hellenistic-Roman culture. Rather, it is a rhetorical discourse of the Christian subculture. In addition, Jesus' parables in Matthew 13 are not merely grouped but woven into a textus which has a rhetorical structure centred on a basic unit (chreia) to be elaborated. The parable discourse thus takes the pattern of chreia elaboration, and occupies the representative position in Matthew. Against this background, this thesis formulates dialogic rhetoric, as a mode of reinvented rhetoric which deals with invention, for studying the rhetorical function of the parable discourse in Matt 13. Dialogic rhetoric combines Burkean pentadic criticism, Bakthinean dialogic and the social scientific approach. This method differs from the recent historico-critical reading, the semiotic reading, the pragmatic reading in the study of the parable discourse, and also from the structural study carried out by discourse (colon), chiastic and triadic analysis. Dialogic rhetorical criticism has two dimensions. Centripetal rhetoric investigates various rhetorical strategies such as chreia elaboration, figures of dialogism, honour and shame, spatial arrangement, and dyadic personality. Multiple scenes, agents, acts, agencies and purposes in the parable discourse provide a special opportunity for Burkean critique. Centrifugal rhetoric examines the relationship between the parable discourse and two groups of discourses. The first group includes Man 12:46-50 and Matt 13:54-58 which frame the parable discourse, and the second comprises Jesus' other great discourses which, together with the parable discourse, provide key elements within the chiasm of Matthew's Gospel. In final assessment, I define the nature of Christian culture as represented in the parable discourse in terms of response to the world. The parable discourse configures conversionist, revolutionist and gnostic- manipulationist responses, particularly to the Hellenistic-Roman world of the first century. Therefore, I propose that the parable discourse has the function of separating the disciples from the crowds, and then promoting the building of community. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie proefskrif handel oor die herontdekking van retoriese kritiek en die toepassing daarvan op die gelykenis-materiaal, en val uiteen in twee afdelings: die teoretiese agtergrond van retoriek en die navorsing van gelykenis-materiaal. Die eerste afdeling van hierdie proefskrif behandel die teoretiese agtergrond van retoriek. Retoriek het ontwikkel as 'n dissiplinêre diskoers na mythos en logos, en het gefunksioneer as die eerste sistematiese hermeneutiese metode. Dit word tans op twee maniere nuut omskryf: die sogenaamde invloed-studie staan in die tradisie van klassieke retoriek, terwyl die sogenaamde sisteem-studie klassieke retoriek integreer met moderne menslike en sosiale wetenskappe. Die retoriese aard van Bybelse materiaal is vroeg reeds raakgesien, maar is nou algemeen bevestig. Retoriese kritiek as teorie en metode het ontwikkel vanaf beperkte retoriek na 'n herontdekte retoriek en word daarom nou beskou as sosiale aktivisme of praktiese kritiek op meta-hermeneutiese vlak. 'n Teks word deesdae beskou as dialogise, kollaboratiewe kuns of sosiale aktiwiteit eerder as oorredingsinstrument in die monologiese skema: spreker-boodskap-gehoor. Retoriese kritiek, hetsy as 'n enkelvoudige of 'n omvattende benadering, beklee dus 'n eersterangse posisie in die Bybelwetenskap. Dit is duidelik dat daar 'n ontwikkeling plaasgevind het in die toepassing van retoriek vanaf die performatiewe aard van die retoriese diskoers na die argeologie daarvan (inventio). Die tweede afdeling van hierdie proefskrif ondersoek die gelykenis-materiaal. Ek meen dat die gelykenisse van Jesus nie die retoriese diskoers van die dominante Joodse of Hellenisties-Romeinse kulture is nie, maar eerder die retoriese diskoers van die Christelike subkultuur. Verder is die gelykenisse in Matt 13 nie bloot saamgevoeg nie, maar ingeweef deur middel van 'n textus met 'n retoriese struktuur wat bestaan uit 'n basiese eenheid (chreia) met uitbreidings. Die gelykenis-materiaal neem dus die vorm aan van chreia uitbreiding, en neem die representatiewe posisie in Matteus in. Hierdie proefskrif postuleer dialogiese retoriek as 'n vorm van herontdekte retoriek, met klem op invention, vir die studie van die retoriese funksie van die gelykenisrede in Matt 13. So gesien, kombineer dialogiese retoriek Burke se vyfledige kritiek. Bakthin se dialogiese benadering en die sosiaal-wetenskaplike benadering. Hierdie metode word gekontrasteer met die onlangse histories-kritiese, semiotiese en pragmatiese benaderings in die gelykenis-navorsing, asook die strukturele benadering soos dit manifesteer in diskoers, chiastiese en triadiese analise. Dialogiese retoriese kritiek vertoon twee dimensies: sentripetaal en sentrifugaal. Sentripetale retoriek ondersoek verskeie retoriese strategieë soos chreia uitbreiding, dialogiese styl, eer en skande, ruimtelike inkleding en diadiese persoonlikheidstipes. 'n Veelvoud van plekke, agente, handelinge en bedoelinge in die gelykenis-materiaal maak die gelykenisrede besonder ontvanklik vir Burkeaanse kritiek. Sentrifugale retoriek ondersoek die verhouding tussen die gelykenisrede en twee ander diskoerse; Matt 12:46.50 en Matt 13:54-58 wat die gelykenisrede omraam, asook die ander toesprake van Jesus wat sleutelposisies binne die chiastiese struktuur van Matteus se Evangelie beklee. As finale bevinding, word die aard van die Christelike kultuur soos aangebied in die gelykenisrede in terme van 'n antwoord aan die wêreld gedefinieer. Die gelykenisrede artikuleer bekerings-, revolusie- en gnosties-manipulasie-reaksies in terme van die eerste- eeuse HeIlenisties-Romeinse wêreld. Gevolglik, stel ek voor dat die gelykenisrede die funksie vervul om die dissipels van die skare af te sonder, en om gemeenskapsbou te bevorder.

The Chronicle of Matthew of Edessa is the primary Armenian-language historical source for the eleventh and early twelfth centuries. Matthew was a monk who lived in the ethnically mixed city of Edessa; within his Chronicle, he describes the apogee of independent Armenia, its fall to piecemeal Byzantine annexation, the subsequent loss of Byzantium's eastern territory to the newcomer Saljuq Turks, and the sectarian tension that accompanied the First Crusade. This thesis sets out the methodology adopted for the construction of a critical edition of the text, addresses the approach that Matthew took to the composition of the Chronicle, and gives the edited text of the prophecies attributed to Yovhannēs Kozeṙn and the author's prologues to Books Two and Three of the Chronicle. Chapters 2 and 3 comprise a review of the scholarship to date on the Chronicle, and a discussion of the approach taken to a critical edition of the text. The Chronicle survives in a large number of relatively recently copied manuscripts; it was therefore necessary to devise an approach to text collation and editing that takes full advantage of recent advances in computational methods of philology. I have developed a set of software tools to assist in the task of editing the Chronicle; these tools are useful for the creation of text editions in any language that can be represented through the TEI XML standard. Chapters 4–8 give an examination of the overall framework of Matthew’s Chronicle, and of his interpretation of recent history within that framework. Following a long tradition of the use of prophecy to explain Armenian history, Matthew uses two prophecies attributed to the eleventh-century clerical scholar Yovhannēs Kozeṙn, themselves extended in the twelfth century under the influence of the Apocalypse attributed to Methodius, to frame his argument that both the Byzantine emperors and the Armenian kings had abandoned their responsibility toward the Armenian people. His attitude toward recent history, and particularly toward the Latins of Outremer, may be used to demonstrate that he wrote the Chronicle no later than 1137.