The Influence of the Gospel of Saint Matthew on Christian Literature Before Saint Irenaeus (New Gospel Studies) [Hardcover]

Edouard Massaux (Author), Norman J. Belval (Author), Suzanne Hecht (Author)

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Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: French

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Mercer Univ Pr (March 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0865543771
• ISBN-13: 978-0865543775
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.5 x 3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,376,402 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Which Parts of the NT Did the Apostolic Fathers Use?, August 12, 2004

By 

C. Price "Layman, Lawyer, Blogger" (Southern California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Influence of the Gospel of Saint Matthew on Christian Literature Before Saint Irenaeus (Hardcover)

This book, one of a series of three, is deceptively named. Although the title focuses on the Gospel of Matthew, Massaux actually discusses each New Testament book and how it was used by the post-New Testament early Christian writers (such as 1 Clement and Ignatius).

Although I have seen lists of supposed allussions to the NT by Apostolic Fathers, Massaux goes into much more detail. He ably and soberly sorts through the possible New Testament allusions and quotes. He organizes his material by devoting a chapter to each Apostolic Father and sections within each chapter to pariticular writings. Then there are subsections devoted to how the particular Apostolic Father's writing uses each New Testament book. There is also a very helpful scripture index at the end, which allows you to research particular verses and how they were used by all of the Apostolic Fathers.

This is not light reading. The translation of the French is pretty good, but not always lucid. And much of the discussion is about the use of particular greek phrases. Even so, laypersons can manage and benefit from the material. Indeed, I have not found anything else that covers this kind of material in this kind of depth.

If you are looking to discover which New Testament books were used by which Apostolic Fathers, this is the best resources I have found.

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Addition To Matthean & Didache Studies, February 9, 2008

By 

David A. Bielby "Ev Xpistw" (Normal, IL USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Influence of the Gospel of Saint Matthew on Christian Literature before Saint Irenaeus (New Gospel Studies 5/3) (Hardcover)

As a pastor working through Matthew's gospel, and as one who often refers to the Didache for study and insight, I found this book particularly refreshing. Although I do not agree with everything he says, the core work in this volume is excellent and very handy for anyone who is doing exegesis in either Matthew or the Didache.

The author believes the Didache may be written around 150 A.D. Newer scholarship has proposed that this document was written between 50 and 70 A.D. I think that the newer scholarship is more convincing than Massaux's view here. However, that only adjusts the potential direction of the influence of these two documents. All the other work he lays out, demonstrating contact between Matthew and Didache remains valid. The question now becomes, which document influenced the other. If the Didache is truly older than Matthew, then some ideas would need to be reversed.

The opening segment on the Didache is what I will focus on for this review, although he deals with other links in the first two centuries as well.
Massaux shows Matthew 28:18-20 demonstrates contact with Didache's opening statement by using the terms 'Didaskovtes' (Didaxn) and Ethvesiv (Ethvn). He also points out that many believe the Didache is to be used at a baptism and that the first six chapters are to be spoken over a baptismal subject during the baptismal ceremony...and that this then links directly with 'baptizing them in the name of the Father...in Matt 28:18-20. His premise is very interesting and the evidence is clear that Matthew and Didache are closely linked. Which came first is another question to be studied...and may be a debate among scholars...I'm not really sure.

In this volume Massaux lays out the Greek text along with English text showing links between Didache passages and the Sermon on the Mount. He also shows other parallels when they occur in the NT and in almost every case (there are two or three exceptions) the Matthew citation is much closer to the Didache than Luke or Mark's citation is to the Didache.

He shows parallels with Matthew's SOTM (Sermon on the Mount) and discusses them in depth with the following references in the Didache:
1:2a, 1:2b, 1:3, 1:4 & 5a, 1:5, 3:7, 6:2, 8:1-2, 9:5, 14:2, 15:4.

He then goes on to discuss 17 other links between Didache and passages outside of the SOTM in Matthew.

He gives synoptic style charts for some of the longer parallels-which is wonderful. He works through the nitty gritty of why the Matthew links are closer in text to the Didache than the Luke or Mark links are...and when they are not, he gives that as well. This book is a goldmine for demonstrating primary source relationship between Matthew's gospel and the Didache.

I love this book and highly recommend you consult it.