Matthew, Poet of the Beatitudes
(Hardback)
Publishing Details
Matthew, Poet of the Beatitudes
By (Author) H. Benedict Green
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Continuum International Publishing Group Ltd.
1st March 2001
United Kingdom
Classifications
Tertiary Education
Non Fiction
226.9306
Physical Properties
Hardback
352
690g
Description
Not what Jesus said but what Matthew wrote: a structured poem. This account of the Beatitudes is supported by evidence from the rest of the gospel, and put to work in interpreting the individual beatitudes. Green argues that the Beatitudes in Matthew's version are a carefully constructed poem, exhibiting a number of the characteristics of Hebrew poetry as we know it from the Old Testament; but as certain of these, such as rhyme and alliteration, cannot survive translation, what we have here is an original composition in Greek. This is shown to be no isolated phenomenon in the gospel; a series of texts found at specially significant points in it disclose similar characteristics. The findings cut across conventional source attributions and reveal the creative hand of the evangelist. By studying the individual beatitudes in their relation to each other as revealed by the formal structure, fresh light is thrown upon their meaning and their background in the scriptures of the Old Testament.
Reviews
"This is a fascinating work that any student of the Beatitudes, the Sermon on the Mount, or the Gospel of Matthew generally, must take very seriously." --Scripture Bulletin 32.1 (January 2002)
"This highly original and well-researched work is a significant contribution to the present debate at a time when studies on the residual orality of the New Testament are opening new avenues for investigation. This reviewer knows of no recent study on Matthew that demonstrates this to the same extent. The author has provided scholars with a fertile ground for further literary, pastoral and homiletic elaborations of the Beatitudes." J. A. Loubser, University of Zululand, South Africa, Heythrop Journal * Heythrop Journal *
Author Bio
H. Benedict Green was formerly Principal, College of the Resurrection, Mirfield (1975-84) and Associate Lecturer in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies, University of Leeds (1967-87).
