The Gospel of Matthew and the rabbinic compilation Genesis Rabbah draw on Scripture in order to portray individuals as symbols of biblical Israel that respond to present concerns about sin and forgiveness. Matthewâs Vineyard Parable (Mt 21:33-46) and Passion Narrative (Mt 26:36-27:56) describe Jesus recapitulating the events surrounding the Babylonian exile in his arrest and crucifixion. By narrating Jesusâ suffering and death in terms of Israelâs suffering, Matthew illustrates how Jesus âwill save his people from their sinsâ (Mt 1:21) by undergoing the exilic consequences of collective Israelâs sins. The rabbis bring together the story of Israelâs exile with Adamâs expulsion from Eden (Genesis 2-3), Jacobâs sojourn in Bethel (Gen 28:10-13), and Jacobâs sonsâ captivity to Joseph (Gen 43:14), so that the earliest biblical characters provide templates for contemporary suffering under Christian Rome, which will lead to salvation from sin. Both Gospel and Midrash utilize narrative pattering to form their respective symbols: Matthew cites Scriptures that establish a pattern on which to base Jesus, and the rabbis find patterns between figures from Genesis and collective Israel that exist within the Tanakh. Both texts also employ metalepsisâa device that pushes readers to interpret a citation in light of its unstated biblical context. Thus, Matthew and Genesis Rabbah share exegetical techniques that furnish symbols for distinct groups and circumstances, and provide messages to define and sustain early Jewish and Christian identity.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VANDERBILT/oai:VANDERBILTETD:etd-03242017-120855 |
| Date | 27 March 2017 |
| Creators | Schaser, Nicholas James |
| Contributors | Amy-Jill Levine, Phillip I. Ackerman-Lieberman, Richard McGregor, Shaul Kelner, Lenn E. Goodman, David B. Levenson |
| Publisher | VANDERBILT |
| Source Sets | Vanderbilt University Theses |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.library.vanderbilt.edu/available/etd-03242017-120855/ |
| Rights | restricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to Vanderbilt University or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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