Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Jonathan D. Safren" <yon_saf AT bezeqint.net>]

Ian Hutchesson wrote:>
> Perhaps then, Jonathan, you might be able to give some procedure which
would
> be able to ascertain the "ethnicity" of the writer of the text, especially
> when there is good evidence to say that the text went through a number of
> redactions. Which level then would you want to say was your hypothetical
> Matthew and then how on earth would you know his "ethnicity"?

I haven't the slightest idea, Ian. As I said before, I'm not a NT scholar.
If one assumed the author was a gentile, then one would have to ask one set
of questions. But if one assumed he was a Jew, one have to ask another set
of questions, similar to those I asked in my previous letter. And I'm sure
ther are other questions which I didn't hink to ask, this not being my
expertise.
>
> We have no clear idea when the text was written, who wrote it, where it
was
> written, why it was written, for whom it was written. In short, we have a
> text which evinces dependence on another text (GMk, with similar problems)
> with two layers of redaction, one using Hebrew sources for citations, the
> other LXX. So, unless one can come up with some procedure for ascertaining
> this "ethnicity", can we let it rest for a while?

That's a great idea.
Sincerely,
Jonathan D. Safren
Chairman
Dept. of Biblical Studies
Beit Berl College
44905 Israel