Abstract
This article ofers a new approach for reconstructing the original form and meaning of Jesus's legal woe sayings in Matt 23:16-26 (and the parallel in Luke 11:39-44) as part of a broader Jewish intersectarian discourse. A close analysis of this unit alongside an early rabbinic source embedded in Mishnah tractate Yadayim 4:5-8 reveals that Jesus's condemnation of the Pharisees was not unique. His arguments concerning oaths, tithes, and ritual purity belong to a pre-Matthean stratum, and they match a familiar rhetorical pattern condemning the Pharisees' lenient and compromising approach. According to this pre-Matthean tradition, Jesus drew his argument and depiction of the Pharisees from the current inter-sectarian debate concerning the essential principles of torah observance. Jesus is portrayed as exploiting current anti-Pharisaic accusations, familiar also from Qumran literature and directed originally against the Pharisees' distorted conceptions of purity and holiness, as he attempts to uncover their moral faults.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 769-788 |
| Number of pages | 20 |
| Journal | Journal of Biblical Literature |
| Volume | 139 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 1 Jan 2020 |
| Externally published | Yes |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Religious studies
- Literature and Literary Theory