Matthew and the Rabbis: Symbol and Scripture in Gospel and Midrash By Nicholas J. Schaser Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Vanderbilt University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in Religion May, 2017 Nashville, Tennessee Approved: Amy-Jill Levine, Ph.D. Phillip I. Ackerman-Lieberman, Ph.D. Richard McGregor, Ph.D. Shaul Kelner, Ph.D. Lenn E. Goodman, D.Phil. David B. Levenson, Ph.D. Copyright © 2017 Nicholas J. Schaser All rights Reserved ii To my parents Jim and Sarah $ma trwt vjt law $yba rswm ynb [mv and to my wife Melissa yl ydwdw ydwdl yna iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am deeply grateful for the wisdom and encouragement of my dissertation committee throughout my time at Vanderbilt. As my masters and doctoral advisor, Amy-Jill Levine has provided me with her knowledge of the New Testament and Jewish literature, honed my writing, and affirmed my abilities as a teacher. I applied to Vanderbilt in the hopes of working with A.-J., and it has been a joy and a privilege to have realized that goal. Phillip Lieberman has been a constant source of support and friendship. He strengthened my proficiency in rabbinic Hebrew and Aramaic, and also allowed me to co-teach a course with him at Congregation Micah, which led to further teaching opportunities. I wish to extend special thanks to Phil for pronouncing the Aaronic blessing during my wedding at Vanderbilt Divinity School’s Benton Chapel. I have benefited from Lenn Goodman’s mentorship, and I value the time I spent as his research assistant for the past several years. I thank Lenn and his wife Roberta for being so kind and accommodating to my wife Melissa and me. Richard McGregor has been a very helpful and attentive HACTOR advisor, and he has deepened my understanding of critical theory and comparative method. Shaul Kelner was particularly helpful to me during his time as director of the Jewish Studies Program, and ensured that I was supported both academically and financially. Finally, I thank David Levenson for being willing to meet with me at the Florida State University Graduate Student Symposium, to read a paper I gave at FSU, and to offer his expertise in both Matthew and Genesis Rabbah. At Vanderbilt, I also benefited from the teaching and support of Jay Geller, Bryan Lowe, Martina Urban, and Meike Werner. My professors at Luther Seminary provided me with biblical and linguistic foundations for my future graduate work, particularly Terence Fretheim, Mark Throntveit, Craig Koester, and Rolf Jacobson. My correspondences with Craig Keener were very iv helpful as I researched my dissertation. I also wish to thank Nicholas Piotrowski for our discussion at SBL in 2016, as well as our continued email correspondence. Although we disagree on some aspects of Matthew, Nicholas has provided me with both research sources and personal encouragement over the past several months, and I have the utmost respect for him as a scholar and discussion partner. In the Vanderbilt Department of Religion, I thank James Byrd and Karen Eardley for their attentiveness throughout my coursework, qualifying exams, and dissertation defense. Special thanks goes to Karen for scheduling the defense and being so patient with my many questions. Marie McEntire was especially helpful throughout my masters degree and greatly facilitated my matriculation into the doctoral program. From the Vanderbit Divinity Library, I thank Eileen Crawford, Chris Benda, Jill Brown, and Charlotte Lew for being such wonderful supervisors during my time as a Jewish Studies bibliographer. I also am grateful for the administrative support and friendship of Lindsey Bunt and Lynne Perler in the Vanderbilt Jewish Studies Program. I have been fortunate to surround myself with friends and peers at Vanderbilt who have made my academic experience more enjoyable, and from whom I have learned much—most particularly, Jacob and Taylor DeBoer, Will Livingston, Sean Bortz, Ekaputra Tupamahu, Sung Uk Lim, Aaron Howard, Joe Chen, Nathan Bloodworth, Tim Giesy, Tamesha Derico, and Rachel Whitley. My friend and colleague Reed Carlson, now at Harvard Divinity School, has been an invaluable conversation partner since we met as masters students at Luther Seminary. Josh Urich at UT Austin has promoted the twin virtues of humor and intelligence in our discussions of religious studies. I am also grateful to Flip and Laurie Rice, Julie Greenberg, Ken Alpern, Guy D. Griffith, and Stan Mitchell, each of whom graciously provided me with teaching v opportunities at churches and synagogues in the Nashville area. John and Linda Shafer were like second parents to me while I lived in Nashville and I extend my warmest thanks and love to both of them. My father- and mother-in law, Phil and Karen Reginelli, have been loving and encouraging beyond measure. I am also grateful for the wonderful relationships I have with my sister-in-law Jen and her husband Matt, along with my niece and nephew Marilyn and M. J., and with my brother-in-law Michael, his wife Heather, and my niece Vivian. My parents, Jim and Sarah, have supported me in every way imaginable, and I could not have accomplished my academic and personal goals without them. I am blessed to have grown up in a home that values the Bible and faith, and I could never thank my parents enough for their love and care. My brothers, Ian and Wilson, have provided me with constant joy and amusement, as well as discussions that have strengthened my understanding of the biblical text. Finally, all my love and gratitude goes to my wife and best friend Melissa. She remained a source of strength and comfort through every step of my degree, and was deeply invested in my success—right down to the bibliography that she compiled at the conclusion of this work. Melissa’s sacrifices and encouragements have made this dissertation possible. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page DEDICATION............................................................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS............................................................................................................iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS.........................................................................................................ix Chapter I. Introduction ................................................................................................................................1 II. Atomistic vs. Contextual Exegesis in the New Testament and Rabbinic Literature ...............31 Atomism vs. Contextuality in Christian Scholarship ..............................................................34 Rabbinic Atomism in Jewish Scholarship ...............................................................................57 Rabbinic Contextuality in Jewish Scholarship ........................................................................64 Conclusion ...............................................................................................................................76 III. Commemorative Symbols, Comparative Method, and Narrative Patterning..........................78 Commemorative Narratives and Symbols...............................................................................80 Comparative Method: Preventing Parallelomania...................................................................93 Narrative Patterning: Citation, Allusion, and Metalepsis......................................................104 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................114 IV. Challenging “Ongoing Exile” in Matthew and Rabbinic Literature .....................................116 The Definition of Exile in Israel’s Scriptures........................................................................118 N. T. Wright and Ongoing Exile ...........................................................................................119 Matthew’s Genealogy (Mt 1:1-17)........................................................................................128 Matthew’s Scriptural Citations in 1:23-4:16 .........................................................................133 Mt 1:23: Jesus as Immanuel ...............................................................................................134 Mt 2:6: Jesus as David........................................................................................................136 Mt 2:15: Jesus’ Exile and Exodus ......................................................................................141 Mt 2:18: Children in Exile..................................................................................................143 Mt 2:23: Jesus as the Branch ..............................................................................................144 Mt 3:3: Jesus Appears to Zion............................................................................................147 Mt 4:15-16: Jesus’ Light in Israel.......................................................................................150 Exile in Rabbinic Literature...................................................................................................153 Exile in Genesis Rabbah........................................................................................................161 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................165 V. The People of Israel’s Sin and Forgiveness