The Jewish Annotated New Testament (188 page)

of Pharisees and Sadducees, 30

YHWH, 467, 544, 545

Yiddishisms, in CJV, 562

Z

Zeus, Jerusalem temple statue of, 44

1.1
–17: The genealogy.
The genealogy is unusual in citing women, non-Jews, and morally questionable characters among the ancestors.

1:
Genealogy
, Gk “geneseōs,” perhaps an allusion to the book of Genesis.
Messiah,
from the Hebrew “anointed one”; Gk “Christos” (see Dan 9:25,26 LXX; 11QMelch 2.9–13). This term is never used in Tanakh (the Hebrew Bible) of the future ideal Davidic king, though it is used that way in the Dead Sea Scrolls and rabbinic literature.
David
, traditional Jewish belief held that the messiah would descend from King David (Isa 11.1; Jer 23.5;
b. Sukk
. 52a;
b. Sanh
. 97a), perhaps based on the idea of an everlasting line of Davidic kings in 2 Sam 7.12–16.

2:
Abraham
, see 3.9, was regarded both as the first Jew and as the first proselyte. Luke (3.23–38) traces Jesus’ genealogy to Adam; from David to Jesus, the two NT genealogies of Matthew and Luke are inconsistent.

3:
Tamar
, ancient sources variously consider her a Gentile, a proselyte to Judaism, and an Israelite (Gen 38; Ruth

4.
18; 1 Chr 2.4;
L.A.B
. 9.5). She conceives twins with her father-in-law Judah (Gen 38.18;
T. Jud
. 12.8).

5:
Rahab
, the Canaanite prostitute faithful to Joshua’s spies; she and her family are spared from Jericho’s destruction (Josh 6.25;
Ruth Rab
. on 1.1).
B. Meg
. 14b lists her as the wife of Joshua.
Ruth
, a Moabite woman regarded as a proselyte (Ruth 1.16–18;
Midr. Gen. Rab
. 59.9;
b. Sukk
. 49b).

6:
Wife of Uriah
, Bathsheba, who committed adultery with David (2 Sam 11.2–12.24; 1 Kings 15.5;
b. Shabb
. 56a;
b. Qidd
. 43a).

7:
Abijah
…
Asaph
, Abijah’s son was Asa, not Asaph (1 Chr 3.10).

10:
Amos
, the name evokes the biblical prophet; the son of
Manasseh
was Amon (1 Chr 3.14).

11:
Deportation to Babylon
, in 597, a decade before the destruction of the First Temple and exile in 586 BCE. Matthew omits the kings Ahaziah, Joash, and Amaziah to have the list add up to fourteen (v. 7). For
y. Ber
. 2.4, the destruction of the Second Temple (70 CE) is the beginning of the period awaiting the messiah.

12:
Zerubbabel
, Davidic descendant (Hag 2.23; Zech 4.6–10), who governed Jerusalem following the Babylonian exile. Only the names Jechoniah, Salathiel, and Zerubbabel, in the third group, are mentioned in the Tanakh.

16:
Jacob the father of Joseph
, see Gen 35.24; Matthew evokes Israel’s ancestors.
Joseph
…
of whom Jesus was born,
although not Jesus’ biological father, Joseph is his legal parent.

17:
Fourteen
, the sum of the numerical values (“gematriah”) of the Hebrew letters “dalet” (=4), “vav” (=6), “dalet” (=4), spelling “David.” Seven, the number of days in the week, may symbolize completeness. The genealogy omits five kings (Ahaziah, Joash, Amaziah, Jehoiakin, and Zedekiah) to make the numbers add up to fourteen.
From the deportation
, Matthew lists only thirteen generations for the last set.

1.18
–25: The nativity (birth narrative) (
Luke 1.26–2.40).

18:
Before they lived together
,
m. Ketub
. 1.2; 5.2, note the bethrothal period prior to the marriage.
B. Yebam
. 62b suggests betrothal took place around the age of twelve (see also
m. Ned
. 10.5;
Gen. Rab
. 95), although the rabbinic ideal may not reflect first-century practice. The betrothal was formalized with a marriage contract (Heb “ketubah”) (Tob 7.14;
m. Ketub
. 5.2;
m. Ned
. 10.5).
Holy Spirit
, God’s creative and enduring presence (Gen 1.2; 2.7; 8.1; Ex 13.21–22; Josh 2.16; Ps 51.11;
b. Hag
. 12a, b).

19:
Righteousness
, a Matthean theme (3.15; 5.6,10,20; 6.33; 9.13; 10.41; 21.32; 25.37,46; compare Lk 1.6). Righteousness was linked to justice, ethics, and Torah observance (Gen 6.9; Lev 18.5; Deut 6.25; Ps 85.11).
Dismiss
, divorce; see
m. Ned
. 11.12.

20:
Angel
, angels often mediate prophecies in apocalyptic literature of this period.
Dream
, evoking the Joseph of Genesis and Amram, the father of Moses (
Ant
. 2.210–17).

21:
Jesus
, Heb “Yehoshua,” Joshua, “God saves.” Jesus’ mission is to save his people from their sins (9.1–8; 20.28; 26.28). Jews traditionally saw salvation as a part of the covenant (Ps 130.8; 2 Chr 7.14;
m. Sanh
. 10.1), and understood continuing divine presence to be part of the ideal future (see e.g., Ezek 48.35).

23:
Virgin
, Matthew quotes the Greek translation of Isa 7.14, which reads “parthenos.” See “The Virgin Birth,” p.
4
.
Emmanuel
, lit., “God with us,” frames the Gospel (18.20; 28.20).

25:
No marital relations
, the phrase does not preclude their having relations after Jesus’ birth. The view of Mary’s perpetual virginity develops in the second century.

2.1
–12: King Herod and the magi. 1:
King,
Matthew emphasizes the title to contrast Herod’s rule with that of Jesus, the son of David.
Herod
ruled 37 –4 BCE.
Bethlehem
, five miles south of Jerusalem. The
wise men,
Gk “Magi”; early Jewish readers may have regarded these Persian astrologers not as wise but as foolish or evil. Philo calls Balaam a “magos” (
Life of Moses
1.264); see also Dan 2.2 LXX. Like the genealogy’s Tamar, Rahab, and Ruth, they foreshadow the Gentile mission (28.19).

2:
King of the Jews
, see 27.11,29,37.
Star
, perhaps here suggesting an angel (Num 24.17, related to Balaam’s prophecy; CD 7.18–26;
T. Levi
18.3); no ancient sources confirm this astronomical phenomenon.

3:
All Jerusalem
, Matthew has a negative view of Jerusalem (21.10; 23.37).

4:
He inquired
, Herod, although viewed as a Jew, does not know the tradition.
Messiah
, see 1.1n.

5–6:
Matthew paraphrases Mic 5.2 (HB 5.1). See v. 2; a star rising (see also v. 9).

8:
Search diligently
, Herod seeks to deceive the Magi.

11:
Gold, frankincense, and myrrh
, perhaps alluding to Isa 60.6 (see also Ps 72.10,15), underlying the tradition that the Magi are kings.

2.13
–23: Flight to Egypt.
As a new Moses, Jesus is rescued in infancy and travels to safety.

13:
Dream
, see 1.20n.
Egypt
, a traditional place of refuge (1 Kings 11.40; 2 Kings 25.26; Jer 26.21; 43.1–7).

15:
Out of Egypt,
Hos 11.1, originally referring to the people Israel. The literary context of Hosea’s quote does not support Matthew’s use of the verse, but such decontextualizing is typical of biblical interpretation in postbiblical and rabbinic periods.

16:
Killed all the children
, the “Slaughter of the Innocents” evokes Ex 1.16.

18:
Jer 31.15, this chapter from Jeremiah, a favorite of Jesus’ early followers, predicts a “new covenant” (31.31).
Ramah
, approximately six miles north of Jerusalem.

19:
Herod died ca. 4 BCE. Jesus’ birth is usually placed between 6 and 4 BCE.

20:
Are dead
, reworking Ex 4.19.

22:
Archelaus
, deposed in 6 CE and replaced by direct Roman rule.
Galilee
, ruled by Archelaus’s brother Herod Antipas (14.1).

23:
Nazareth
, a small town about an hour’s walk from Sepphoris.
Spoken through the prophets
, Matthew’s citation is not in the Tanakh, but see Jdg 13.5,7; Isa 11.1; 60.21. .

3.1
–12: John the Baptist (
Mk 1.2–8; Lk 3.1–20; Jn 1.19–28).

1:
John the Baptist
, a popular figure admired by some Jews (
Ant
. 18.116–19).
Baptist
, from the Greek meaning “dip” or “immerse.”
Wilderness of Judea
, west of the Dead Sea.

2:
Repent
, a prophetic call (e.g., Ezek 18.30).
Kingdom of heaven,
rather than, as in the other Gospels, “kingdom of God”; the circumlocution preserves the holiness of God’s name. John anticipates the messianic age (see Zech 14.9). See
Pesiq. Rab
. 2, associating the “kingdom of heaven” with Zech 14.9.

3:
Isa 40.3, written originally to encourage Jews in Babylonian exile to return to Judea. 1QS 8.12–14 also locates the
voice
in the
wilderness
. The Masoretic cantillation marks, which also serve as punctuation, understand the words “in the wilderness” as belonging with what follows rather than with what precedes.

4:
Hair
…
belt
, recalling Elijah (2 Kings 1.8; see Mt 11.14; 17.11–13), who is also depicted in the Tanakh as a new Moses.