Heaven and Earth in the Gospel of Matthew
A
much-overlooked aspect of the Gospel of Matthew is the theme of heaven
and earth. Rather than being a reverential circumlocution for God,
'heaven' in Matthew is part of a highly developed discourse of heaven
and earth language. Matthew's idiolectic way of using heaven language
consists of four aspects: 1) a distinction in meaning between singular
and plural forms of "ouranos"; 2) frequent use of the heaven and earth
word pair; 3) regular reference to the Father in heaven; and 4) the
recurrent use of the Matthean expression, kingdom of heaven. This book
examines the historical precedents for each of these aspects and shows
in Matthew how they serve one overriding theological purpose: to
highlight the tension that currently exists between heaven and earth or
God and humanity, while looking forward to its eschatological
resolution.
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