Birth Narratives

[Guest]

Hi, Rick,

I just realized I've been misspelling your name.......sorry.

It happens quite frequently. Too many ways to spell Emmet/Emmit/Emmett/Emmitt .

Shalom,
Emmet

[Guest]

Emmet, thank you for clarifying because I thought you were saying something completely different. I took your statement to mean Matthew was attempting to cover up something by pulling out an obscure text from the Prophets and unjustifiably laying it down in his gospel. I agree that there are more clear prophecies about Christ but Matthew's knowledge of the Heberw scriptures far outweighs my own so I'd hesitate to criticize his usage. He also knew Jesus personally so perhaps he had some personal insight.

From a plain reading of the text, comparing Isaiah's prophecy to the virgin birth narrative, it could be seen as a fullfillment, or not. If not for Matthew I probably wouldn't have seen that prophecy (or the 'out of Egypt' prophecy) as applynig to Jesus. This doesn't both me, however, because I'm 2,000 years removed from that culture and Matthew was not.

[Guest]

Hello, JC,

Thank you for your response.

I took your statement to mean Matthew was attempting to cover up something by pulling out an obscure text from the Prophets and unjustifiably laying it down in his gospel.

I'm not sure whether the interpretive move was justifiable or not. It would depend upon Matthew's thought in doing so, and upon the way his audience might fairly have been expected to understand his doing so. As you say,

...I'm 2,000 years removed from that culture and Matthew was not.

- and that makes evaluating whether the move was justifiable or not challenging.

I think the interpretive move is widely misunderstood today, however, which is problematic.

Shalom,
Emmet