0
Another answer from our community:
If you mean 'was Matthew originally written in aramaic' then the answer is "possibly". If you mean "was it written for a Jewish audience" then the answer is definitely yes.
Wiki User
∙ 8y ago
Wiki User
∙ 8y agoThe gospel of Matthew, like all the other New Testament Gospels, was originally anonymous and only attributed to Matthew, the disciple of Jesus, later in the second century. However, scholars say that the gospel could not have been written by an eyewitness to the events in the gospel. Scholars can, however, demonstrate that the author of Matthew relied on Mark's Gospel for everything he knew about the life and mission of Jesus, as well as taking sayings material from the hypothetical 'Q' document. So, Matthew's Gospel was a rewriting of Mark's Gospel, and the question is whether it was rewritten for a Jewish audience. More than any other gospel, Matthew refers back to the Hebrew scriptures for supposed prophecies and foreshadowing of the events in the life of Jesus.
Matthew certainly could not have been written for Palestinian Jews. It was clearly written in the Greek language. Also, while the Jews of Palestine continued to read their scriptures in the Hebrew language, when Matthew makes reference to the scriptures it is to the Septuagint, an early and flawed Greek translation from Hebrew. A Jew from Palestine would have quickly realised the difference and recognised that the author was unfamiliar with what were regarded as the original Jewish scriptures.
Matthew does correct some minor errors in Mark, particularly errors of geography, but also carries forward some cultural errors, demonstrating an unfamiliarity with Jewish culture. Although no one suggests that the author of Johnwas writing for a Jewish audience, he nevertheless shows more awareness of Jewish culture than does the author of Matthew.
In early Christian times, Matthew was thought to have been the first gospel, written at a time when few Gentiles had yet joined the church, with Mark and Luke copied from it. Having been attributed to Matthew, a Jewish disciple of Jesus, it was therefore natural to think of it as written for Jews. Based on what we now know about Matthew's Gospel, it was certainly not written for the Jews of Judea and Galilee, and was probably not written for Jews of the diaspora.
Add your answer:
Earn +20 pts
What was the gospel Matthews cultural background?
Jewish
What was Christ's message in the Gospel of Matthew?
Christ's message is the same in all four Gospels. The writers' differences are differences in emphasis, not content. Matthew's Gospel was aimed at a Jewish audience, so his placed greater emphasis on Christ fulfilling ancient Jewish prophecy. Christ's message is that He is the Messiah and the King of the Jews. He came to redeem the Jewish nation as well as the gentiles.
Who The author wrote the epistle to the Hebrews to?
The epistle is not addressed to anyone in particular, but some think it was written for a Jewish audience.
What is the context of the Gospel of Mark?
Although not at first apparent, the context of Mark's Gospel was the First Jewish War and the destruction of the Temple. There had been no gospel written in the decades since the time of Jesus, but scholars say that this gospel was written within about two years either side of the year 70 CE, when the Romans entered Jerusalem. The apocalyptic material in Mark was the consequence of the civil war in Jerusalem and the terrible destruction that eventuated.
Why is God's name not mentioned in the Book of Esther?
The book of Esther was written to a Jewish audience long after the events it portrays, and sought to portray the Jews in a positive light. There was no role for God in the storyline.
What was the gospel Matthews cultural background?
Jewish
What is the message in the gosple of Matthew?
That Jesus is the promised Messiah, as prophesied in the Old Testament. The Gospel was written for a largely Jewish audience.
Whom was the audience john was writing to?
The audience John was writing to in the Gospel of John is believed to be primarily gentile Christians, as evidenced by his focus on theological themes and the universality of Jesus' message. This sets it apart from the synoptic Gospels, which were written with a more Jewish audience in mind.
What group of people did mark write for?
Mark wrote for the Roman population. They were into power, so he addressed his gospel to them to show the power of Jesus. Matthew was written toward the Jews. Luke to the Greeks. John's gospel was written to show the love of Jesus.
What did St. Matthew write?
St. Matthew wrote the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament of the Bible, which focuses on the life, teachings, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He was one of Jesus' twelve apostles and his gospel emphasizes Jesus as the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy.
What is the socio-linguistic background of the Gospel of John?
The Gospel of John is written in Koine Greek, the common language of the Eastern Mediterranean during the time of its writing. It reflects a Jewish-Christian community's perspective with theological depth and distinctive literary style compared to the synoptic gospels. The Gospel of John was likely composed towards the end of the 1st century CE and shows influences from both Jewish and Hellenistic cultural contexts.
Did Matthews great use of the old testament prophecies give greater appeal to the gentiles?
Not so very much at first. Matthew's gospel was written more to the Jew. perhaps the Hellenistic Jews. The Gentiles would have had a more difficult time reading Matthew's gospel as Matthew cited Jewish cites, namesand Jewish customs without explaining them. The Gentile would have had to put in much research in reading Matthew's gospel. Today there is no problem in reading Matthew because most of the research has already been done for the reader.
Who was mathews audience?
As a biblical figure, Matthew's audience is believed to have been primarily Jewish-Christian readers since his Gospel emphasizes Jesus' fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies and teachings. Matthew may have also intended for his Gospel to reach a wider audience of Gentile believers, given his emphasis on Jesus' universal role as Savior.
What was Christ's message in the Gospel of Matthew?
Christ's message is the same in all four Gospels. The writers' differences are differences in emphasis, not content. Matthew's Gospel was aimed at a Jewish audience, so his placed greater emphasis on Christ fulfilling ancient Jewish prophecy. Christ's message is that He is the Messiah and the King of the Jews. He came to redeem the Jewish nation as well as the gentiles.
Who The author wrote the epistle to the Hebrews to?
The epistle is not addressed to anyone in particular, but some think it was written for a Jewish audience.
Which gospel was written to early Christians?
It is likely that all the gospels were written to early Christians.Mark's Gospel was the first of the gospels, written around 70 CE. It appears to have been written to believers, although a secondary audience might have been the Romans who were suspicious of the new religion and who could have been pacified by being shown that Christians were actually Jews who also followed a holy man.Matthew's Gospel is often said to have been written to the Jews, but modern Jews say that errors in the Gospel would have quickly been detected by any Jews, and they do not believe that it could have been written for Jews. At most it was written for Jews of the diaspora and, if so, more likely for Jewish Christians. The author was at pains to demonstrate the antiquity of Christianity, by frequent references to the Old Testament, but this is more likely to have been defensive than to appeal to pious Jews.Luke's Gospel is addressed to an unknown patron, Theophilus. Some theologians see Theophilus as a symbolic name, representing all Christians. Whether or not there was a real Theophilus, few seem him as the primary audience for Luke. It was more likely written to members of a community that was already using a copy of Mark's Gospel and were therefore Christians. The author was at pains to demonstrate the historicity of Jesus so, like Matthew, this Gospel might have had as a secondary audience those who scoffed at the new religion.John's Gospel is widely considered to have been written to a local Christian community now known as the Johannine community. This may well have been a community of Gnostic Christians.
Why is it reasonable to assume Mark's Gospel was written primarily for non-Jewish readers?
A:Palestinian Jews spoke Aramaic, whereas Mark's Gospel was written in Greek Koine, a language in which few of them would have been fluent. The fact that the language use was Greek Koine would also appear to rule out Romans and Greeks as the intended audience, but rather people of the Near East. The geographic errors and cultural anomalies in the Gospel would also have been detected by Palestinian Jews, again making them an unlikely audience for Mark. However, many Jews living in Egypt, Babylon and elsewhere in the Near East had adopted Greek Koine as their everyday language. They would have been able to use Mark's Gospel and would probably have been unaware of the geographic errors therein. However, they should have been able to detect cultural anomalies, so again they were probably not the intended audience. This means that Mark's Gospel was more probably written for gentile Christians of the ancient Near East.
