Jesus As Israel: the Typological Structure of Matthew's Gospel
1 Jesus as Israel: The Typological Structure of Matthew’s Gospel Peter J. Leithart Articles on the structure of Matthew typically begin with a lament that scholars have reached no consensus concerning the structure of Matthew. This article is no exception. Chiastic outlines have been proposed,1 and the indications of inclusio are hints in this direction.2 M. D. Goulder’s intricate liturgical-midrashic treatment fascinates but does not persuade.3 Recently, several scholars have applied narratological analysis to sketch the plot structure of Matthew,4 but narrative analyses suffer, as Christopher Smith has pointed out, from the fact that nothing much happens during long stretches of Matthew’s gospel.5 Among the most popular schemes, however, has been that of B. W. Bacon, who proposed that the gospel was organized around five books, each of which consists of 1 For a survey of chiastic approaches, see David R. Bauer, The Structure of Matthew’s Gospel: A Study in Literary Design (JSNT Supplement #31; Sheffield: Almond Press, 1989), pp. 36-40. See Charles Lohr, “Oral techniques in the Gospel of Matthew,” CBQ (1961), pp. 403-435, esp. pp. 427-431. The most elaborately defended chiastic outline is that of James B. Jordan, The End of the World: A Commentary on Matthew 23-25 (Niceville, FL: Biblical Horizons), pp. 7-13. Other studies have discovered chiasms in smaller portions of the gospel: Daniel Boerman, “The Chiastic Structure of Matthew 11-12,” CTJ 40 (2005), pp. 313-25; David McClister, “Literary Structure as a Key to Meaning in Matt 17:22-20:19,” JETS (1996), pp.
[Show full text]