answersLogoWhite

0


Best Answer

John Shelby Spong says the author was a Jew familiar with midrash storytelling, but his primary language must have been Greek. Hershel Shanks believes Matthew was probably written for a Christian community in Antioch. This community could of course have consisted of former Jews.

If indeed Matthew's Gospel was written for Jews, they could only have been Greek-speaking Jews of the diaspora, unfamiliar with the Hebrew scriptures, as Matthew only refers to the Septuagint Old Testament and even relies on translation errors in the Septuagint.

User Avatar

Wiki User

8y ago
This answer is:
User Avatar

Add your answer:

Earn +20 pts
Q: Was Matthew's Gospel written primarily for Jews?
Write your answer...
Submit
Still have questions?
magnify glass
imp
Continue Learning about Math & Arithmetic

Which gospel contains the most references to the Old Testament?

----------------------- Matthew's Gospel contains the most references to the Old Testament, so much so that some believe that it could only have been written for Jews.


Was Matthew's Gospel written for a Jewish audience?

Another answer from our community:If you mean 'was Matthew originally written in aramaic' then the answer is "possibly". If you mean "was it written for a Jewish audience" then the answer is definitely yes.


Where and When was the Gospel of Matthew written?

A:Christians generally assume Matthew's Gospel to be the most Jewish of the New Testament gospels, but Jews themselves dispute this, saying that John's Gospel shows more understanding of first-century Judaism than does Matthew. It is because of this assumption that Matthew is often thought of as written for Jews, even perhaps in Palestine. But the fact that the author clearly uses the Septuagint, a flawed early Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures, as his Old Testament reference, means that Matthew could not really have been written in Palestine or for Palestinian Jews. Matthew was written in Greek Koine, the lingua franca of the ancient Near East. Although Matthew's two main sources, Mark's Gospel and 'Q', were both written in Greek Koine, we could nevertheless assume that the use of Greek Koine tells us that the Gospel was written somewhere in the Near East. Had it been written in, for example, Greece, we could expect that it might have been written in classic Greek. Various possibilities have been put forward to suggest where in the Near East the Gospel of Matthew was written, but these are speculative and usually based on assumptions that the actual author was the apostle Matthew or that it was written for Jewish converts.In fact, the New Testament gospels were all anonymous and only attributed to the apostles they now bear, later in the second century. Modern scholars say none of the gospels could have been written by an eyewitness to the events portrayed, thus the apostle Matthew was not the author of this Gospel. Scholars have demonstrated, by parallel readings in the original Greek language that Matthew was largely based on Mark's Gospel, containing som 600 of the 666 verses of Mark. Mark's Gospel was written approximately 70 CE, and scholars say that Matthew can be dated to the 80s of the first century, although Raymond E. Brown (An Introduction to the New Testament) says that several years should be allowed either side of that decade.Matthew's Gospel was written somewhere in the Near East in the eighties of the first century, but we can not reliably give a more precise location.


Why did Mark's Gospel appeal to Romans?

The gospel of Mark seems to have been written with non-Jews in mind because it's terminology was different than other gospel accounts. Mark's account includes explanations that were not necessary for natural Jews. For example, He explains that the Jordan was a "river" and that you could see the temple of Jerusalem from the "Mount of Olives" ... even explaining to the reader that the Pharisees were "fasting" and did not believe in the "resurrection". So in this way, Mark's account is more descriptive and geared for someone with more limited knowledge of the Jewish ways. Since Mark was known to accompany the Apostle Paul (as the Apostle to the nations) and visited him when he was imprisoned in Rome, it is acceptable that his gospel would help continue the preaching of the good news to non-Jews.


What are facts about the Gospel of Matthew?

The Gospel of Matthew was originally written anonymously and was only attributed to the disciple Matthew by the Church Fathers later in the second century. biblical scholars say that the book is most unlikely to have been written by an eyewitness to the life and mission of Jesus.Matthew's Gospel is considered to have used Mark's Gospel as its main source of information about the life and mission of Jesus. Whenever Matthew agrees with Mark it does so quite faithfully in the Greek language, using almost exactly the same words. Along with the author of Luke, the author of this Gospel also used the hypothetical 'Q' document as a source for sayings attributed to Jesus. Because 'Q' generally contains no context for the sayings, each evangelist had to create his own, generally different, context and time for these sayings, which were generally attributed to Jesus as parables. more than any other gospel, Matthew portrays the Old Testament scriptures as prophesying or foreshadowing Jesus.Some believe that Matthew was a gospel written to the Jews, but this is perhaps naive, as the Jews would have realised immediately that the virgin birth in the Matthew's nativity account was based on the Greek Septuagint, not on the original Hebrew scriptures. Also, the level of anti-Jewish sentiment in Matthew militates against the book being addressed to Jews in general. It may have been intended for Jews of the diaspora, or more probably for "God Fearers" - pagans who had become interested in Judaism.

Related questions

Who was Matthew's gospel written for and by?

Matthews Gospel was written by Matthew [also called Levi] for fellow Jews. His account highlights many of the Hebrew messianic prophecies that were fulfilled in connection with Jesus.


Which gospel is written to the Jews?

Matthew


Why were many of the Jews unhappy that peter had preached the gospel to the gentiles?

because they thought that the gospel was for the Jews only


Why was Matthew written to the Jews?

A:There are two principal reasons that Matthew's Gospel has traditionally been thought to have been written for Jews. The first is the traditional attribution of this originally anonymous gospel to the disciple Matthew and the second is its extensive use of references from the Old Testament .Modern New Testament scholars now say that the Gospel could not have been written by an eyewitness to the events portrayed, which rules out Matthew as the real author. They also point to clear evidence that the Gospel was written in Greek, meaning that it was written for a Greek-speaking audience. Its Old Testament references were taken from the Septuagint and include errors that Palestinian Jews would hve quickly recognised. Matthew's Gospel may perhaps have been written for Jews of the Greek-speaking diaspora, but not for Palestinian Jews.


Who are what group or people were the gospels written for?

The gospels were written for early Christian communities in the first century to share the life, teachings, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. They were intended to instruct, inspire, and strengthen the faith of believers and to provide a written record of Jesus's ministry for future generations.


What has the author Moses Rischin written?

Moses Rischin has written: 'The promised city' -- subject(s): History, Jews 'The American gospel of success' -- subject(s): Success 'The promised city' -- subject(s): Jews


When was British Society for the Propagation of the Gospel Among the Jews created?

British Society for the Propagation of the Gospel Among the Jews was created in 1842.


Why is it important that you learn about the gospel of Paul?

Technically speaking, there is no "Gospel of Paul" as there is a Gospel of Luke or a Gospel of John. I think what you are referencing is that Paul believed the that Gospel (the Good News about Jesus) was intended for non-Jews as well as Jews, and that God had called him to carry the Gospel to non-Jews. In addition, it is from Paul that we learn that we are made right with God through faith and not through works.


What has the author Samuel Stokes written?

Samuel Stokes has written: 'The Gospel according to Jews and pagans' -- subject(s): Accessible book, Criticism, interpretation, Bible


Which gospel was written to early Christians?

It is likely that all the gospels were written to early Christians.Mark's Gospel was the first of the gospels, written around 70 CE. It appears to have been written to believers, although a secondary audience might have been the Romans who were suspicious of the new religion and who could have been pacified by being shown that Christians were actually Jews who also followed a holy man.Matthew's Gospel is often said to have been written to the Jews, but modern Jews say that errors in the Gospel would have quickly been detected by any Jews, and they do not believe that it could have been written for Jews. At most it was written for Jews of the diaspora and, if so, more likely for Jewish Christians. The author was at pains to demonstrate the antiquity of Christianity, by frequent references to the Old Testament, but this is more likely to have been defensive than to appeal to pious Jews.Luke's Gospel is addressed to an unknown patron, Theophilus. Some theologians see Theophilus as a symbolic name, representing all Christians. Whether or not there was a real Theophilus, few seem him as the primary audience for Luke. It was more likely written to members of a community that was already using a copy of Mark's Gospel and were therefore Christians. The author was at pains to demonstrate the historicity of Jesus so, like Matthew, this Gospel might have had as a secondary audience those who scoffed at the new religion.John's Gospel is widely considered to have been written to a local Christian community now known as the Johannine community. This may well have been a community of Gnostic Christians.


Which gospel was written for the gentiles?

The Gospel of Luke is often considered the Gospel written with a Gentile audience in mind. It emphasizes Jesus's universal message of salvation to all people, including Gentiles, and includes details and perspectives that would have been appealing and relevant to a non-Jewish audience.


Which gospel contains the most references to the Old Testament?

----------------------- Matthew's Gospel contains the most references to the Old Testament, so much so that some believe that it could only have been written for Jews.