Raymond O'Brien Boeken

What was the original purpose of the Gospel of Matthew? For whom was it written? In this two-volume commentary, Walter Wilson interprets Matthew as a catechetical work reflecting the ideological and institutional concerns of disaffected Jewish followers of Jesus in the late first century CE. Wilson argues that Matthew's Gospel serves as both a continuation of the biblical narrative and a didactic text aimed at shaping the identity of a beleaguered minority. The text emphasizes Jesus's Jewish identity as the "Son of David," while contrasting him with contemporary religious leaders, particularly the Pharisees, and illustrating his openness to non-Jews. Through careful analysis of the Greek text and relevant sources, Wilson provides valuable insights into the first book of the New Testament. The introduction covers the text's background, genre, literary features, and theological orientation. Wilson then offers detailed commentary on each passage, addressing the intended messages to first-century readers regarding morality, liturgy, mission, group discipline, and eschatology. Scholars, students, pastors, and readers interested in the distinctiveness of Matthew among the Synoptics will find Wilson's contextualization of the text both enlightening and beneficial, drawing from his extensive study of the New Testament and Christian origins.

This book surveys and analyzes twenty-seven major collections of wisdom sayings from antiquity, including texts from ancient Egypt, the ancient Near East, ancient Israel and early Judaism, early Christianity, and the Greco-Roman world. Through the diversity of these selections, readers are exposed to wisdom literature from a wide array of historical, cultural, and linguistic settings, which unfolds into a larger understanding of how different ancient peoples articulated a gnomic understanding of life. Throughout this useful guide, Walter Wilson keeps a constant eye on the relation of the wisdom texts to the worlds from which they emerged--paying close attention to each text's distinctive thematic profile and how its moral agenda was mapped onto the reader's social landscape. Where appropriate, he discusses affinities between the different collections and draws conclusions about ancient wisdom literature as a genre. For further study, each entry includes a short bibliography directing the reader to an up-to-date translation of the collection in question and other relevant secondary texts, making this an ideal starting point for anyone studying wisdom literature of the ancient world.