011: Concluding Matthew 1

In this episode I offer some conclusions for Matthew chapter 1 as I begin to prepare to move on to study other chapters.

In the last 9 minutes I read from the Epilogue of my forthcoming book looking at how Matthew 28 corresponds to Matthew 1.

010: Flipping Patriarchal Agendas. The human pattern of five

Finally in this episode I get to answer the question: Why does the genealogy in Matthew chapter one refer to five stories of how particular heirs were produced in a particular way by particular patriarchs from particular mothers ...? So why five? Why five stories? Is there some pattern? 

Last time in episode nine I compared the first story with the final the fifth story so this time in episode 10 I'm concentrating on the middle three stories and how do they fit the overall pattern; particularly the middle of the middle story: the story of how Boaz produced Obed from Ruth.

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009: The parallel story to how Joseph became the father of Jesus

PG Contains mild adult themes and sexual references.

This episode is about the parallel story to how Joseph almost does not become known as the father of Jesus because he thought it would not be right for him to claim to be the father of Mary's child nor pursue marital relations with Mary.

There's actually a parallel story that for some reason we haven't previously studied even though it's such a close story parallel, much closer than the apocryphal story of Noah's birth, or the apocryphal story of Moses's conception. So it's time to study this story parallel, and to help answer the question of why Matt 1:18-25 is so focused on Joseph. What Joseph is doing what Joseph is not doing. What Joseph is told to do and what he ends up doing or not doing. Why is it so focused on Joseph. 

Verse three of Matthew chapter one has already dropped a hint as to what the parallel story is. So I'll begin reading aloud the relevant portions of Matthew chapter one, in this case, the first three verses and then verses 18 to 25.

 

008: Connecting both units in Matthew chapter 1 (5 mothers)

This episode is about what connects the first unit and the second unit in what we usually call Matthew chapter one, as if they might be intended to function together as a single, whole as a single unit? It's very easy to treat them separately as two distinct literary units. But how are they meant to be connected together as a single unit?  

And what about Mary? Why does Mary appears in both units? Somehow Marry seems to be connected back to the earlier references to four previous mothers in the genealogy. But what is the connection? 

This episode won't be about unpacking the pattern just looking at, what kind of connection it is that we find in Matthew chapter one between the two units?

 

 

What I took away from episodes 7a and 7b

What I took away from studying the structural patterns in episodes 7a&b...

 

007b: What's "all this" that's happened? (Matt 1:22)

This is the second part of episode 7 which completes the structural analysis of Matt 1:18-25 by examining the centerpiece of the literary unit, namely verse 22.

What is verse 22 referring to when it says "this whole thing happened..." if it has not yet happened (not yet been narrated)?

The solution turns out to be pretty obvious.

 

007a: The Jesus Messiah's genesis was thus..? Unpacking the heading in Matt 1:18

This episode is about the seemingly vague heading at the beginning of the story unit in verses 18 to 25 of Matthew chapter 1, which says: 

"The Jesus Messiah's progeneration was this way."

What is it saying..? What was this way..?

What actually ends up being narrated in the story unit is presumably what the heading is trying to introduce.

It might actually be a good heading if only we knew how to unpack it.

Fortunately we do now.

I'll be demonstrating how to unpack the heading in verse 18 and how the heading connects with the story unit it introduces.

 

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006: What Was Joseph Thinking? (Six Assumptions)

What was Joseph thinking about Mary when he decided to divorce her quietly?

Why did he not consult Mary before making his decision?

Does the text indicate an answer? Yes!

But first we need to examine six common assumptions. 

Timestamps for Episode 006:

0:00:00 blurb & reading aloud of Matt 1:18–25

0:03:30 the double question (What was Joseph thinking? Why doesn't he consult Mary?)

0:09:35 1st assumption (mixing in Luke with Matthew?)

0:13:45 2nd assumption (how Joseph knew Mary was pregnant is missing?)

0:20:40 3rd assumption (scandalous rumors within the story?)

0:30:45 4th assumption (becoming pregnant? It says Mary conceived?)

0:42:50 5th assumption (Joseph expected to accuse Mary for death sentence?)

0:58:25 6th assumption (Joseph thought Mary was guilty of adultery?)

1:14:55 Solution (the answer in the text)

1:59:59 Appraisal (exegetical ramifications)

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005: Why 5 mothers? Feminist solution? Can we find the answer in the text?

This episode introduces a mystery: Why does the messianic lineage include references to a few mothers?

In the first section of Matthew chapter 1 (the so-called genealogy) prior to identifying Mary as the mother of Jesus the Messiah (verse 16) it refers to four other mothers, three identified by name: Tamar (verse 3); Rahab and Ruth (verse 5); and verse 6 mentions Uriah's wife (we can identify her as Bathsheba).

Why include only a select few mothers in the Messiah's lineage? Why these mothers in particular?

None of the traditional matriarchs were mentioned (namely the first four matriarchs are not mentioned: Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, Leah).

And why are the select messianic mothers not fully included as co-producers of the heirs (grammatically, the mothers are not presented as active participants of the verb "produced")?

There is an answer in the text, hidden in plain sight, staring us in the face.

Why haven't we noticed it before?

This episode introduces how we can find the answer in the text.

Basically it involves becoming more conscious of when we're underestimating the text (making assumptions about what is not in the text) and overestimating the text (making assumptions about what is in the text).

Episodes 006–010 continue the analysis.

(Next episode will begin with what we're assuming is in the text by examining six things we've been assuming are in the text but are not necessarily there...)

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004: Fourteen Interpretations (the gap in the text of Mt 1:17)

Episode 4. Exploring multiple interpretations of the meaning of the number fourteen in Matt 1:17.

Why is it important that the number of generations should be fourteen?
The text points out that the number of generations is fourteen plus fourteen plus fourteen as if there's some significance attached to the number fourteen but then it doesn't tell us what it all means.


What do we do about this gap in the text?
What do we do about having so many interpretations of the gap?
What does any of this have to do with masculinity?
So let's explore ... fourteen interpretations.