EXAMINING the JEWISH ORIGINS EMPLOYED in the MATTHEAN BEATITUDES THROUGH LITERARY ANALYSIS and SPEECH ACT THEORY by TIMOTHY DALE
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EXAMINING THE JEWISH ORIGINS EMPLOYED IN THE MATTHEAN BEATITUDES THROUGH LITERARY ANALYSIS AND SPEECH ACT THEORY by TIMOTHY DALE HOWELL A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in NEW TESTAMENT BIBLICAL STUDIES at the SOUTH AFRICAN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY in January 2011 SUPERVISOR: DR. DAN LIOY “The opinions expressed in this dissertation do not necessarily reflect the views of the South African Theological Seminary.” DECLARATION I hereby acknowledge that the work contained in this dissertation is my own original work and has not previously in its entirety or in part been submitted to any academic institution for degree purposes. ____________________________ Timothy Dale Howell January 2011 ii Acknowledgements I could never thank all those responsible for contributing to my educational and theological pursuits. Those to which I have fond memories are Peggy Cox, Robert Dockery, Dr. Fred Afman, and Dr. Roger Martin. I want to thank the following libraries for the use of their facilities: Davidson College, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and Wake Forest University. To Elizabeth Pearson at Montreat College, thank you for going beyond what was expected in the acquisition of books and journal articles for my research. I give sincere gratitude and appreciation to my dissertation supervisor, Dr. Dan Lioy, for his encouragement and guidance through this process. His theological acumen combined with literary insight has been invaluable to me through the dissertation process. I must thank Timothy Wolf for his inspiration and friendship over forty years. Thank you for guiding me in my “first” outline of a biblical passage and for the suggestions in the purchasing of theological works as a young student. Our discussions over the Bible have been most fruitful and practical. You have been my “apostle Paul” through the years. My uncle, Charles L. Griffith, encouraged me as a teenager to think theologically as I approached the text. Although we consider his death untimely, the influence he had on his family and friends continues. He measured his life in terms of God’s grace and spoke his last words reaffirming that same grace. My brother Keith and his wife, Cindy, provided precious family moments in their home. Thank you for all the Christmas breakfasts and our annual “gaming” along with Jason, Joshua, and Beethoven. To my cherished love, Amber Dawn, I thank you for your patience as I labored on this venture. Thank you for listening to me talk incessantly over my research and sacrificing time we could have enjoyed together. iii Words fail me in expressing gratitude to my parents, Thurman Francis and Louise Griffith Howell. Your love, guidance, and encouragement made our family a real “Beaver Cleaver” home. Thank you for giving me a love for learning and a spiritual awakening to the Scriptures. Both of you have been demonstrations of divine blessing and gracious living. I could never dream of life without my three children: Michelle Elizabeth, Christen Noel, and Timothy Matthew Blair, along with their brother, Collin Jacob Smith. The arrival of my first granddaughter, Gracie Elizabeth Thompson, has been a joy I could have never imagined! To all my family I dedicate this work. May all of you experience the reality of blessing to which this study points. iv Summary Many models have been offered in explaining the meaning of the Beatitudes. Generally, the focus is on the eschatological, ethical, sapiential, or epitome. The model proposed in this study does not replace but rather complements the other models. The proposed model is sensitive to the Jewish metanarrative that guided the Matthean composition. The primary question of this study is how the Beatitudes demonstrate that Matthew intended to utilize Jewish concepts as a paradigmatic utterance for the Matthean community. Matthew’s paradigm was the needed transition for understanding the role of the new community post 70 AD. The Beatitudes have theological and literary significance for the Christian community. The theology of blessing dominates the pericope. Other themes, such as kingdom and righteousness, have significant roles through the blessing motif. The Gospel of Matthew was the most Jewish of the Synoptic Gospels. The importance and role of Jewish concepts can be demonstrated in the developing paradigm constructed by Matthew. Since the Beatitudes were a literary composition, this study employed both exegetical and literary analysis to the pericope. The historical and social reconstruction of the Matthean community is examined to evaluate its role in the Matthean composition. In using comparative analysis to Second Temple literature, the Matthean composition demonstrates a proclivity toward Jewish concepts. The literary analysis reveals a poetic arrangement encased in a mixed genre of apocalyptic and wisdom tradition. Furthermore, with literary analysis, the Beatitude pericope will be shown to have had a mnemonic purpose in performing the Beatitudes in both the Matthean community and future Christian communities. The literary nature of the Beatitudes demonstrates a composition that developed orally. Speech act theory is utilized in understanding the oral features of the text as well as demonstrating what Jesus did in his utterances. The significance of the Beatitudes lies in the authoritative utterances of Jesus. v By employing speech act theory on the Beatitudes, the sayings of Jesus are investigated to demonstrate the force of the utterances upon the Matthean community. It is understood that Matthew intended to compose a pericope in serving as a paradigmatic utterance to guide the Matthean community in its existence and mission in the world. In addition, the paradigm is to be adopted by all Christian communities in their mission to the world. This study found six principles guiding speech act theory on the Beatitudes. A speech act model is presented and applied to the Beatitudes pericope (Matt 5:3-16). The formula is SP+(EE)CH=ACT : analyze the Situated Performativity of a text, add it to the multiplying nature of Existential Engagement by the interpreter with the illocutionary force found through the Critical Horizon of guiding worldviews, and the result is an Acquired Communal Translation for the social body. Performative utterances provide a situation for the speaker and audience to engage in their roles of communication within the world of reality to which the language speaks. It is through the imagination and compliance of the hearer whereby the illocutionary force has successful results. Through ritual or performance, the significance of the Beatitudes occurs in the experience of utterance. The experience of the social body has a multiplying effect as it bridges the situated performative text (“ SP ”) to the present “SP+(EE) ”. The existential role advocated in this model is more pragmatic than philosophical. The strength of engagement is relative to how a social body measures or values the illocutionary force. From this model, it is concluded that Matthew intended for the Jewish concepts interwoven through the literary and theological construct of the Beatitudes, to be adopted by the new community, serving as a paradigmatic utterance for understanding its existence and purpose in representing Jesus as the presence of God in the world . vi Table of Contents Chapter 1. Introduction 1 1.1 Background of Study 1 1.1.1 Selected Theological Approaches to Beatitudes 2 1.1.2 Speech Act Theory as an Exegetical Tool 7 1.2 Research Problem and Questions 9 1.3 Purpose, Significance, and Rationale of Study 11 1.3.1 The Oral Nature of the Beatitude Composition 12 1.3.2 The Jewish Metanarrative 13 1.3.3 The Social Context of the Matthean Community 13 1.4 Assumptions and Delimitations 14 1.4.1 Assumptions 14 1.4.2 Delimitations 16 1.5 Research Design and Methodology 17 1.5.1 Exegetical Analysis 17 1.5.2 Literary and Poetical Analysis 19 1.5.3 Speech Act Theory 21 1.6 Definitions of Key Words 23 1.7 Hypothesis 24 1.8 Chapter Overview 24 2. Various Views of Jewish-Christian Identification and Its Implications for the Matthean Community 26 2.1 Rival Movement Within Judaism 27 2.1.1 Overman and “Matthean Jesus is Best Option” 27 2.1.2 Segal and “Matthew’s Jewish Voice” 28 2.1.3 Saldarini and “Perfected Judaism” 29 2.1.4 Sim and “Christian Judaism” 30 2.2 Rebellious Movement Away From Judaism 31 2.2.1 Stendahl and “Matthew’s Handbook” 31 2.2.2 Dunn and “The Parting of the Ways” 32 2.2.3 Wright and “Exile and Renewal” 33 2.2.4 Stanton and a “New People” 34 2.3 Remnant Movement Beside Judaism 36 2.3.1 Bauckham and “Christianity the New Temple” 36 2.3.2 Ascough and “Community Formation” 37 2.3.3 Skarsaune and “Jewish Influences” 38 2.4 Evaluation of Models and Implications for the Matthean Community 39 2.4.1 Rival Movement: An Ethnic Model 40 2.4.2 Rebellious Movement: A Sociological Model 41 2.4.3 Remnant Movement Model: A Theological Model 42 vii 2.4.4 Implications for the Matthean Community 43 2.5 Conclusions of Jewish-Christian Matthean Community 47 3. Major Issues Bearing Upon a Contextual Analysis of the Beatitudes 50 3.1 The Jewish Metanarrative Used by Matthew 51 3.1.1 The Covenants: Hope in the Divine Promise Seen Through Sonship 53 3.1.2 The Temple: Faith in the Divine Presence Through Emmanuel 56 3.1.3 The Torah: Continuity to the Divine Principle as Fulfillment 59 3.1.4 Gospel of the Kingdom: Acceptance of Divine Pronouncement through Hearing and Doing 65 3.2 Influences of a Religious and Socio-Historical Milieu 67 3.2.1 Religious Milieu: Examples from the Dead Sea Scrolls 68 3.2.2 Hellenistic Milieu: Rhetoric and Orality Situated in the Text 74 3.2.3 Social Milieu: Mediterranean Values of Honor, Family and Patronage 87 3.2.4 Political Milieu: The Roman Empire and the Ekklesia 92 3.3 A Summary of the Contextual Analysis of the Beatitudes 94 4.