Gospel of Matthew, 2016 Greco Course, Lectures 7-14, Page 1 of 15 Lecture 7. Matthew's Version of the Lord's Prayer, Part 1, Matt 6:9-10 1 Synopsis Numbers. Each passage in the Synopsis is numbered. There are different editions of the Synopsis: Greek, Greek and English, English [you want this one!], The page numbers are different in each edition, but the passage numbers remain the same. Just as we use chapter & verse when referring to Bibles instead of page numbers, so synopsis numbers are a convenience. Translation of the Greek (Synopsis # 62) Matt 6:9-13 Luke 11:1-4 Pray then like this: 2 And he said to them, "When you pray, say: Our Father who [art] in the heavens, Father, hallowed be thy name. 10 Thy kingdom come. hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. (RSV/PJM) Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Matthew’s Context Matthew inserts this material into the Sermon on the Mount, at the beginning of the Galilean ministry Luke gives this story as happening late in the Galilean ministry, on the way to Jerusalem. The Lucan Jesus does not say: “Weren’t you paying attention to my sermon on the mount?” Matthew arranges "extra material" into sermons; Luke builds the material into a journey narrative. Matthew’s Structure 3 third-person petitions Third-person petitions have a thing as the grammatical subject Thy name, thy kingdom, thy will 2 second-person petitions Second-person petitions have “you” as the understood grammatical subject. This lecture is about the first 3 petitions. God as Father. Ancient Semitic practice, adopted by the Israelites. “Abraham / Abram” means “The Father (i.e. God) is exalted." A name the patriarch had before he was called by the true God. “Eliab” (name of David’s oldest brother) means “(my) God is Father.” “Abiel” (a son of Benjamin) means “(my) Father is God.” “Joab” (David’s general) means “The LORD / Yahweh is Father.” Abijah (one of the sons of Samuel) means, “My Father is the LORD / Yahweh.” Abba. An Aramaic word, commonly used in families, an intimate family term Contrary to the original proposal of Joachim Jeremias, it is not “baby talk” The normal word used by a Jewish son. = Father, Dad, or even “Daddy” (in southern dialect) In southern dialect, even adult sons call their father “Daddy.” Appears to be part of the ipsissima verba of Jesus (Mark 14:36, Gethsemane) Used by early Christians in prayer (Rom 8:15; Gal 4:6) 2 Jews use the Hebrew word Ab rather than the Aramaic word Abba in modern synagogue prayers. Our Father in Heaven Matthew Luke Our Father who [art] in the heavens, Father, 1 I hope you find my lectures helpful. If anything is not clear, feel free to send me a question via e-mail, [email protected] . 2 J. Jeremias, (Prayers of Jesus, 30) notes that there was an increasing tendency to call God “Father” by first century Christians: Mark, 4x; Luke, 15x; Matthew, 42x; John, 109x. Gospel of Matthew, 2016 Greco Course, Lectures 7-14, Page 2 of 15 "Father in Heaven" is one of Matthew’s favorite phrases, along with “heavenly Father.” 3 Luke’s simple “Father” is probably more original. It was not reverent enough for Matthew’s Jewish tastes, so he expanded it. “Our Father” is a frequent epithet in Jewish liturgical prayer Thy "Name. " "Name" is a typical and roundabout way of reverently referring to God's person. [Allison & Davies, Matthew 1-7, 603] See, e.g., Deut 12:11; 14:23; 16:2; 26:2; describe the Temple as the place where God will make his “name” dwell. I.e., the place where God himself will dwell. Hallowed be Thy Name. This is not a pious wish that people hallow God’s name. It is a divine passive, a reverent Jewish way to ask God to hallow his own name. God’s name is “reviled” when his people are oppressed and humiliated. God’s name is “blessed / hallowed/ sanctified” when his people are saved and blessed Help us, God our savior, on account of the glory of your name. Deliver us, pardon our sins for your name's sake. 10 Why should the nations say, "Where is their God?"i Before our eyes make known to the nations that you avenge the blood of your servants which has been poured out. 11 Let the groaning of the imprisoned come in before you; in accord with the greatness of your arm preserve those doomed to die. 12 Turn back sevenfold into the bosom of our neighbors the insult with which they insulted you, Lord. (Ps 79:9-12 NABRE) No "Blessings in Disguise," God! Give us blatant blessings! Blessing so blatant that everyone who sees them will have to say: "What a great God!" The Lord's Prayer: a "Pushy Jewish Prayer." Story of Jewish grandmother on the beach at Tel Aviv. Thy Kingdom Come There is a wide consensus that the main message of Jesus was “the kingdom of God” So many parables about the kingdom. The miracles manifested the presence of God's rule over the world / God's kingdom. Jesus announced the presence of the Kingdom in his ministry. This petition makes clear that it is not a “completed reality.” Some scholars use the phrase “already-not-yet” to describe Jesus’ attitude toward the kingdom. Thy Will be Done Matthew Luke hallowed be thy name. 10 Thy kingdom come. hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. (RSV/PJM) Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. This petition is absent in Luke. It is probably a Matthean addition. Synonymous with the previous petitions. Another divine passive. Not a pious wish that people do God’s will. A prayer that God will do his will “on earth” as God does his will “in heaven.” When God does his will “on earth,” the kingdom will be here! 3 The phrase "Father (who is) in heaven" appears: 1x in Mark, 14x in Matthew; nowhere else in the entire Bible (but see also Luke 10:21 and 3 Macc 7:6) The phrase "heavenly Father" appears 7 times in the entire bible; 6x in Matthew, 1x in Luke; nowhere else. Gospel of Matthew, 2016 Greco Course, Lectures 7-14, Page 3 of 15 Lecture 8. Matthew's Version of the Lord's Prayer, Part 2, Matt 6:11-13 Translation of the Greek (Synopsis # 62) Matt 6:11-13 Luke 11:3-4 11 Give us today our daily bread; 3 Give us each day our daily bread; 12 and forgive us our debts, 4 and forgive us our sins, as we also have forgiven our debtors; for we ourselves also forgive every one who is indebted to us; 13and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. and lead us not into temptation. (RSV/PJM) Daily Bread The normal Greek expression for “daily” (kath hēmeran) is not used. (cf. English word “ephemeral”) I both Matthew and Luke the rare word epiousious is used. It occurs nowhere in the Bible except in the Lord’s prayer (Matthew & Luke). Origen (ca. 200) not in any book in the library; never heard the word “on the street” TLG (not in any pre-Christian Greek work. (TLG = Thesaurus of the Greek Language) "Daily?" Meaning of Greek Word Is Disputed! 4 In one place Jerome translates by quotidianum, normal Latin word for “daily” In another place he rendered it by super-sustantialem, a Latin calque of epi-ousios. Jerome quotes the Gospel of the Hebrews as rendering it “bread for tomorrow.” My favorite interpretation is that it is a reference to the future eschatological banquet foretold by the prophets. “Give us the kingdom banquet today!” It is thus not simply a petition for “enough to eat.” This interpretation is sometimes called the “thorough-going eschatological interpretation” of the prayer. Eschatology means "having to do with the end of the world," from Greek eschatos, "end." In contrast to the interpretation that relates it to every-day life instead of the end of the world. Forgive Us Forgiveness is a frequent theme in Matthew (16x, 6 of them in verses 12-15 of this chapter) 10x in Mark; 20x in Luke; 1x in John This is the first mention of the theme in the Gospel. The final mention will be in the words over the cup at the Last Supper (26:28) Our Debts. Matthew has “debts.” Luke has “sins.” “Debt” is a synonym for “sin” in Aramaic idiom. Matthew has preserved the original. Luke has changed “debts” to “sins” to make the prayer more understandable to people who were not Jewish. As we hereby forgive A literal translation of Luke is “as we habitually forgive.” A literal translation of Matthew is “as we at this very moment forgive.” Matthew is probably more original here. Only the Lucan Jesus says that his followers must carry their cross daily. Lead Us Not into Temptation Some modern languages “translate away” this theologically difficult phrase. French: et ne nous laissez pas succomber a la tentation . Spanish: Y no nos dejes caer en la tentación . 4 For extensive discussions on this, see J. A. Fitzmyer’s commentary on Luke in the AB series; the commentary by Davies & Allison on Matthew I-VIII in the ICC series, and J. Jeremias, The Prayers of Jesus. Gospel of Matthew, 2016 Greco Course, Lectures 7-14, Page 4 of 15 English does not translate away the difficulty. It renders the Greek literally.