Its Function and Contribution to the Theme of Apocalyptic Judgment In

273 Pages·2010·1.23 MB·English

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I hereby declare that the work contained in this thesis is my own original work, and has
not previously been submitted to any academic institution for degree purposes.
Zoltan Levente Erdey
Johannesburg, South Africa
August, 2009

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It is a pleasure to thank those who made this thesis possible.
I would like to thank my supervisor, Dr. Kevin Smith, whose guidance, leadership and
support from the initial to the final level enabled me to develop an understanding of the
subject. He has made available his support in many ways, none of which required so
much as a knock at his office door. His expertise was likewise a source of inspiration and
encouragement to me.
To my wife, Bridgette, I would like to express my deepest gratitude. Without her support
and understanding, this project would exist only in my mind.
Thank you to the South African Theological Seminary for the numerous books purchased
in the field of Matthean studies.
Most importantly, I would like to thank my Lord and Saviour, whose atoning sacrifice
saved me from eternal judgment. To Him forever I belong.
Zoltan Erdey

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On six occurrences (8:12; 13:42; 13:50; 22:13; 24:451 and 25:30), Matthew recorded
Jesus pronouncing judgment utilising the idiom weeping and gnashing of teeth. Although
the majority of commentators acknowledge the uniqueness of this phrase, virtually none
deal with its function within Matthew’s gospel or theology. This gap in the literary
landscape of Matthean literature marked the bifold rationale of this literary study,
namely, to investigate the nature and function of this Matthean maxim, and consequently,
seek to deduce its contribution to the theme of apocalyptic judgment in Matthew’s
Gospel.
Having established the literary milieu of Matthew’s gospel (part 1), a diachronic analysis
of the words weeping (κλαυθµός) and gnashing (βρυγµός) (part 2) revealed that
although the individual terms were conventional, the phrase en bloc is a unique New
Testament idiom disclosing a particular theological message. An exegesis of the six
passages containing the phrase (part 3) revealed that each occurrence played a central
role in Matthew’s gospel, communicating an essential messages pertaining to the theme
of apocalyptic eschatological judgment. The phrase likewise appears in structurally
relevant sections, seemingly increasing in literary potency with each emergence.
Moreover, the idiom is almost always uttered in the context of false disciples, who stand
in total contrast to the righteous. In light of this, the expression weeping and gnashing of
teeth has four possible functions (part 4), namely, (a) a method or system by which the
Evangelist hopes to make the message of the particular parable unforgettable, (b) a
prophetic anticipation of an aspect of the larger shape of history, (c) a linguistic device,
which increases the degree of emphasis or heightens the force given to the message of
eschatological judgment, and (d) a literary connector that holds together a number of
specific passages of Scripture. In Matthew’s case, the phrase glues together the passages
that communicate a holistic theology of eschatological judgment.
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CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................. 1
1.1 RATIONALE ........................................................................................................................................... 1
1.2 THE STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM ....................................................................................................... 3
1.3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND DESIGN ............................................................................................... 4
CHAPTER 2 PRELIMINARY STUDIES -- STRUCTURAL, LITERARY, THEMATIC ................... 9
2.1 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................................... 9
2.2 THE GENRE CLASSIFICATION OF THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW ................................................................. 9
2.3 AUTHORIAL RATIONALE ......................................................................................................................22
2.4 LITERARY STRUCTURE AND OUTLINE..................................................................................................41
2.5 MATTHEW’S THEOLOGICAL EMPHASES ................................................................................................47
2.6 THE THEME OF JUDGMENT IN MATTHEW’S GOSPEL .............................................................................67
2.7 CHAPTER CONCLUSION........................................................................................................................88
CHAPTER 3 WORD STUDIES .................................................................................................................91
3.1 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................91
3.2 ΒΡΥΓΜΟ(cid:8)Σ -- DIACHRONIC RANGE OF USE ..............................................................................................94
3.3 ΚΛΑΥΘΜΟΣ -- DIACHRONIC RANGE OF USE ........................................................................................101
3.4 THE METAPHORICAL USE OF Ο∆ΟΝΤES IN THE BIBLE ........................................................................109
3.5 CHAPTER CONCLUSION ..................................................................................................................112
CHAPTER 4 EXEGESIS OF SIGNIFICANT PASSAGES ..................................................................113
4.1 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................................113
4.2 EXEGESIS OF MATTHEW 8:5-13 .........................................................................................................114
4.3 EXEGESIS OF MATTHEW 13:24-30, 36-43 AND 47-50 ........................................................................132
4.4 EXEGESIS OF MATTHEW 22:1-14 .......................................................................................................158
4.5 EXEGESIS OF MATTHEW 24:45-51 AND 25:14-30 ..............................................................................186
4.6 CHAPTER CONCLUSION......................................................................................................................227
CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION...................................................................................................................239
5.1 A BRIEF REITERATION OF THE PROBLEM ............................................................................................239
5.2 SUMMARY OF RESEARCH PROCEDURES AND FINDINGS.......................................................................239
5.3 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH .................................................................................246
WORKS CITED ........................................................................................................................................249