For centuries the Jewish community in Europe possessed a copy of Matthew in the Hebrew language. The Jews' use of this document during the Middle Ages is imperfectly known. Occasionally excerpts from it appeared in polemical writings against Christianity.

This volume which completes the internationally acclaimed three-volume commentary on St Matthew's Gospel includes a verse-by-verse and section-by-section commentary in which all linguistic, historical, and theological issues are discussed in detail. A complete index to all three volumes is included.

The earliest of the four Gospels, the book portrays Jesus as an enigmatic figure, struggling with enemies, his inner and external demons, and with his devoted but disconcerted disciples. Unlike other gospels, his parables are obscure, to be explained secretly to his followers. With an introduction by Nick Cave

Prof. George Wesley Buchanan PhD., Litt.D., D.S.L. Recognized in academic circles for being the first for the following: 1. use of insights from the Dead Sea Scrolls to solve biblical problems. 2. discover midrash (commentary on Scripture) in the First Testament. 3. publish intertextual commentaries both in the First Testament and in the New Testament. 4. discover the northern boundaries of the Promised Land. 5. discover independently (as one of two scholars) the true location of the temple at Zion. 6. discover the method for distinguishing the teachings of Jesus from the additions of the later church. Other scholars have followed Schweitzer in declaring that this could not be done. Other Biographical Data for Prof. Buchanan: Ordained elder in the United Methodist Church, pastor of churches for fourteen years. Horowitz Fellow, Scheuer Fellow, Rosenstiel Fellow, Association of Theological Schools Fellow, Claremont--Society of Biblical Literature Fellow, Recipient of the Alumni Achievement Award, Simpson College, Recipient of Numerous Research Grants

Although recent discussions on Matthew have emphasized the document's setting within Judaism, these studies have not analyzed how the Jewish figure of John the Baptist functions within this setting. Brian Dennert steps into this gap, arguing that Matthew presents Jesus to be the continuation and culmination of John's ministry in order to strengthen the claims of Matthew's group and to vilify the opponents of his group. By doing this he encourages Jews yet to align with Matthew's group (particularly those who esteem the Baptist) and to gravitate away from its opponents. The author examines texts roughly contemporaneous with Matthew which reveal respect given to John the Baptist at the time of Matthew's composition. The examination of Matthew shows that the first Evangelist more closely connects the Baptist to Jesus while highlighting his rejection by Jewish authorities.

Matthew wrote his Gospel from his perspective as a Jew. It is with sensitivity to this perspective that Father Harrington undertakes this commentary on the Gospel of Matthew. After an introduction, he provides a literal translation of each section in Matthew's Gospel and explains the textual problems, philological difficulties, and other matters in the notes. He then presents a literary analysis of each text (content, form, use of sources, structure), examines the text against its Jewish background, situates it in the context of Matthew's debate with other first-century Jews, and reflects on its significance for Christian theology and Christian-Jewish relations. Bibliographies direct the reader to other important modern studies.

The present Bibliography covers the research on the Gospel of Matthew and on the Gospel Source Q from 1950 to 1995. The new volume has adopted the model of the previously published The Gospel of Mark. A Cumulative Bibliography 1950-1990. It contains about 15.000 entries and is arranged alphabetically by name of author; the author's works are given in chronological order. Each entry includes the complete bibliographical references, information about reprints, new editions and translations, and summary indications of the content (Gospel passage, subject). The companion volume furnishes detailed Indexes of Gospel Passages and Subject matters related to Mt and to Q. All indexes are prepared by J. Verheyden. The Bibliography completes the series of Leuven repertories on the Gospels published in BETL 82 (John, 1988), 88 (Luke, 1989). and 102 (Mark, 1992).

Standford Rives seeks to provide the best approximation of the original Gospel of Matthew based upon Hebrew sources. There is no disputing Matthew wrote his gospel in Hebrew. In about 400 AD, Jerome translated it from a copy at the Library of Caesarea. It was quoted dozens of times by the earliest church commentators. Jerome explained that our Greek version of Matthew came from this Hebrew version. Jerome noted a score of variants that were interesting. The Shem-Tob version of Matthew is the best candidate to reflect the original Hebrew Matthew. Standford Rives, a Christian attorney, tries to meticulously assemble what likely was the original Matthew from all these sources. It is hoped that this will be edifying to the faithful. This first of three volumes collects all viable earliest variants for Matthew overlaid on the framework of the American Standard Version of Matthew from 1901. These variants are color coded for easy identification. The variants are footnoted so the reader can read its source and weigh its strength and viability. The second volume will collect important scholarly material on the validity of the early variants and the significance of the changes to the traditional text. Topics covered in volume two include whether the virgin birth was originally present, whether Yahweh's name was originally used, and on the aid to apologetics which the original Matthew variants provides. The third volume is intended for devotional reading. It attempts to represent the best estimate of what the entire original Gospel of Matthew contained. There is no commentary. It is simply a smooth flowing text with the best variants reflected in the text using color coding to signify the source of each variant. The same color codes are used in volume three as used in volume one. They will tell the reader the general source of the variant, but to know the precise citation for the variant, one must refer back to Volume I. The first and third volumes are separated to keep customer purchase costs down. This allows the readers to choose whether to purchase just volume one or also volume three to know the contents of the Original Gospel of Matthew.

The Word Biblical Commentary delivers the best in biblical scholarship, from the leading scholars of our day who share a commitment to Scripture as divine revelation. This series emphasizes a thorough analysis of textual, linguistic, structural, and theological evidence. The result is judicious and balanced insight into the meanings of the text in the framework of biblical theology. These widely acclaimed commentaries serve as exceptional resources for the professional theologian and instructor, the seminary or university student, the working minister, and everyone concerned with building theological understanding from a solid base of biblical scholarship. Overview of Commentary Organization Introduction—covers issues pertaining to the whole book, including context, date, authorship, composition, interpretive issues, purpose, and theology. Each section of the commentary includes: Pericope Bibliography—a helpful resource containing the most important works that pertain to each particular pericope. Translation—the author’s own translation of the biblical text, reflecting the end result of exegesis and attending to Hebrew and Greek idiomatic usage of words, phrases, and tenses, yet in reasonably good English. Notes—the author’s notes to the translation that address any textual variants, grammatical forms, syntactical constructions, basic meanings of words, and problems of translation. Form/Structure/Setting—a discussion of redaction, genre, sources, and tradition as they concern the origin of the pericope, its canonical form, and its relation to the biblical and extra-biblical contexts in order to illuminate the structure and character of the pericope. Rhetorical or compositional features important to understanding the passage are also introduced here. Comment—verse-by-verse interpretation of the text and dialogue with other interpreters, engaging with current opinion and scholarly research. Explanation—brings together all the results of the discussion in previous sections to expose the meaning and intention of the text at several levels: (1) within the context of the book itself; (2) its meaning in the OT or NT; (3) its place in the entire canon; (4) theological relevance to broader OT or NT issues. General Bibliography—occurring at the end of each volume, this extensive bibliographycontains all sources used anywhere in the commentary.