Journal: Tyndale Bulletin
Volume: TYNBUL 34:1 (NA 1983)
Article: The Structure Of The Gospel Of Matthew As Narrative
Author: H. J. Bernard Combrink

TynBul 34:1 (1983) p. 61

The Structure Of The Gospel Of Matthew As Narrative*

H. J. Bernard Combrink

* Research for this paper was made possible by a grant from the Human Sciences Research Council of South Africa. The guidance and advice of Roland M. Frye, Felix E. Schelling Professor of English Literature at the University of Pennsylvania, is gratefully acknowledged.

I. Problem

Concerning the structure - or composition - of the Gospel of Matthew, no consensus has thus far been reached among New Testament scholars. This is actually quite surprising in the light of the great number of redaction-critical studies devoted to the Gospel of Matthew in recent times.1 But perhaps it is really not so surprising, since the tension, between tradition and redaction, so important for redaction- critics, very often leads to an emphasizing of the additions and changes in the redactional sections of a gospel, without really coming to grips with the problem of the composition as a whole.2

Research in recent years has also underlined that there are various structural features in Matthew which can be utilized in determining the composition of this gospel. Recently D. O. Via again drew attention to two of the most obvious competing structures in Matthew, viz. the well-known five-fold formula (7:28; 11:1; 13:53; 19:1; 26:1), and the repetition of the phrase ἀπὸ τότε ἤρξατο ὁ Ἰησοῦς in 4:17

TynBul 34:1 (1983) p. 62

and 16:21.3 The first scheme remains to this day the basis for many varying outlines of Matthew based on the five discourses of Jesus and alternative narrative sections, with a strong emphasis on such matters as the law, the five books of Moses, and Jesus as the new Moses.4 The second scheme divides the gospel into three sections dealing with: (1) the person of Jesus Messiah (1:1–4:16); (2) the proclamation of Jesus Messiah (4:17–16:20); (3) the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus Messiah (16:21–28:20...