The New Isaac
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Th e New Isaac Supplements to Novum Testamentum Executive Editors M. M. Mitchell Chicago D. P. Moessner Dubuque Editorial Board L. Alexander, Sheffield – C. Breytenbach, Berlin J. K. Elliott, Leeds – C. R. Holladay, Atlanta M. J. J. Menken, Utrecht – J. Smit Sibinga, Amsterdam J. C. Thom, Stellenbosch – P. Trebilco, Dunedin VOLUME 131 Th e New Isaac Tradition and Intertextuality in the Gospel of Matthew By Leroy A. Huizenga LEIDEN • BOSTON 2009 Th is book is printed on acid-free paper. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Huizenga, Leroy Andrew, 1974– Th e new Isaac : tradition and intertextuality in the gospel of Matthew / by Leroy A. Huizenga. p. cm. — (Supplements to Novum Testamentum ; v. 131) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-90-04-17569-3 (hardback : alk. paper) 1. Bible. N.T. Matthew—Criticism, interpretation, etc. 2. Intertextuality in the Bible. 3. Isaac (Biblical patriarch) 4. Bible. O.T.—Criticism, interpretation, etc. I. Title. II. Series. BS2555.52.H85 2009 226.2’066—dc22 2009029998 ISSN 0167-9732 ISBN 978 90 04 17569 3 Copyright 2009 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, Th e Netherlands. Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Hotei Publishing, IDC Publishers, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers and VSP. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Koninklijke Brill NV provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to Th e Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910, Danvers, MA 01923, USA. Fees are subject to change. printed in the netherlands Meiner geliebten Frau Kari gewidmet Ihre Söhne stehen auf und preisen sie, ihr Mann lobt sie: »Es sind wohl viele tüchtige Frauen, du aber übertriff st sie alle.« CONTENTS Foreword ............................................................................................... xiii Preface ................................................................................................... xvii Acknowledgements .............................................................................. xix Chapter 1. Th e Fate of the Figure of Isaac in the Gospel of Matthew ............................................................................................ 1 1.1 Traces of Isaac in the Gospel of Matthew ......................... 1 1.2 Four Reasons for the Neglect of Isaac in the Gospel of Matthew .............................................................................. 2 1.2.1 Redaction Criticism and the Neglect of Narrative Dynamics .................................................. 2 1.2.2 Th e Infl uence of the MT Canon and the Neglect of Extrabiblical Texts and Traditions ...... 9 1.2.3 Debating Defi nitions and the Dating of the Akedah ........................................................................ 14 1.2.4 Th e Lure of the Formula Quotations and the Neglect of Matthean Allusions ................................ 18 1.3 Summary ................................................................................. 20 Chapter 2. Th e Model Reader, the Encylopedia and Textual Intention ........................................................................................... 21 2.1 Umberto Eco: Open Works and Model Readers ............. 21 2.2 Th e Encyclopedia as Cultural Treasury ............................. 24 2.2.1 Dictionaries vs. Encyclopedias ................................ 24 2.2.2 Th e Dictionary as Porphyrian Tree ...................... 25 2.2.3 Th e Encyclopedia as Labyrinth ............................... 27 2.3 Th e Model Reader and the Intention of the Text ............ 29 2.3.1 What the Model Reader Is: Th e Dialectical Relationship of Text and Encyclopedia ................. 30 2.3.2 What the Model Reader Does: Th e Process of Reading ........................................................................ 33 2.4 Summary ................................................................................. 41 viii contents Chapter 3. Th e Model Reader, Intertextuality and Biblical Studies ............................................................................................... 43 3.1 Introduction to Intertextuality ............................................ 43 3.2 Th e Implications of Intertextuality: Politics, Play and Biblical Studies ..................................................................... 45 3.2.1 Origins and Political Implications ........................ 45 3.2.2 From Politics to Play .............................................. 49 3.2.3 Criticism of the Use of Intertextuality in Biblical Studies ......................................................... 51 3.3 Eco and Intertextuality ....................................................... 53 3.4 Criteria for Perceiving Intertexts ...................................... 58 3.4.1 Richard Hays’s Criteria and Echoes of Scripture 58 3.4.2 Hays’s Criteria Revised: Echoes of Scripture and Tradition ........................................................... 63 3.5 Summary ............................................................................... 71 Chapter 4. Th e Akedah Prior to the Common Era .................... 75 4.1 Th e Akedah: Debates, Distortions, Defi nitions and Dating .................................................................................... 75 4.2 Gen 22 MT ............................................................................ 77 4.3 Gen 22 LXX .......................................................................... 79 4.4 2 Chronicles .......................................................................... 82 4.5 Jubilees ................................................................................... 83 4.6 4Q225 (‘Pseudo-Jubileesa’) .................................................. 88 4.6.1 An Active and Willing Isaac ................................. 89 4.6.2 Passover/Exodus Connections .............................. 91 4.6.3 Soteriological Implications? ................................... 92 4.7 Judith ..................................................................................... 93 4.8 Summary ............................................................................... 95 Chapter 5. Th e Akedah in the First Century of the Common Era ................................................................................................... 97 5.1 Philo ...................................................................................... 97 5.1.1 Texts Apart from De Abrahamo ........................... 98 5.1.2 De Abrahamo ........................................................... 102 5.2 Pseudo-Philo’s Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum (L.A.B.) 104 5.2.1 Dating L.A.B. ............................................................ 104 5.2.2 Balaam’s Divine Encounter ................................... 106 5.2.3 Deborah’s Song ........................................................ 107 contents ix 5.2.4 Seila’s Sacrifi ce ......................................................... 112 5.2.5 Summary: Th e Akedah in L.A.B. .......................... 114 5.3 4 Maccabees .......................................................................... 115 5.3.1 Dating 4 Maccabees ................................................ 115 5.3.2 Th e Akedah as Intertextual Resource in 4 Maccabees .............................................................. 117 5.3.3 Summary: Th e Akedah in 4 Maccabees .............. 122 5.4 Josephus’ Antiquities ........................................................... 123 5.5 1 Clement .............................................................................. 126 5.6 Summary ............................................................................... 127 Chapter 6. Th e Figure of Isaac in the First Chapter of the Gospel of Matthew ........................................................................ 129 6.1 Matthean Preliminaries ...................................................... 129 6.2 Matt 1:1: “Son of Abraham” .............................................. 139 6.3 Matt 1:2–17: Th e Matthean Genealogy ............................ 143 6.4 Matt 1:18–25: Th e Extraordinary Conceptions of Two Promised Children .............................................................. 144 6.5 Summary ............................................................................... 151 Chapter 7. Th e Baptism of God’s Beloved Son ........................... 153 7.1 Verbal Correspondence: Th e Intertextual Disposition of the Heavenly Voice ......................................................... 153 7.1.1 Verbal Correspondence between Matt 3:17 and Gen 22:2, 11–12, 15–16 .......................................... 153 7.1.2 Th e Critical Consensus on the Intertextual Disposition of the Heavenly Voice: Ps 2:7 and Isa 42:1 ...................................................................... 156 7.1.3 Th e Model Reader’s Preliminary Conclusions ... 167 7.2 Th ematic Coherence: Echoes of the Akedah Produced by the Allusion ..................................................................... 169 7.2.1 Th reat, Obedience, Righteousness ........................ 169 7.2.2 Th e Testing Narrative: Obedience and Cross ..... 175 7.2.3 Sacrifi ce and Soteriology ........................................ 181 7.3 Summary ..............................................................................