The Understanding Scribe

(Paperback)

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Matthew's sharpening of Jesus' attacks on the scribes and Pharisees is an embarrassment to many Christian interpreters and an outrage to some Jewish ones. It is commonly alleged that Matthew in fact has no particular knowledge of distinctions between the Jewish leadership groups. In a fresh examination of Matthew's treatment of the scribes, the author argues that the first Evangelist is actually at pains to protect the esteem in which the office of the Jewish scribe itself was traditionally held, reserving Jesus' direct criticism for the unenlightened Pharisees.

Author Bio

David E. Orton, PhD (University of Sheffield, 1987), FCIL, has been a publisher and editor in biblical and related studies for more than 35 years, latterly as proprietor of Deo Publishing. An elected Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Linguists, in a parallel career he has translated many books and was editor-in-chief of the 14-volume English edition of the encyclopaedia Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart (4th ed.): Religion Past and Present. In semi-retirement, he continues to work as an academic translator and editor.