Woes on Three Villages

Matt. 11:20-24; Luke 10:13-15

(Huck 66, 139; Aland 108, 178; Crook 127, 202)^[160]

Updated: 28 June 2023

‏[וַיָּחֶל לְחָרֵף אֶת הֶעָרִים שֶׁלֹּא עָשׂוּ תְּשׁוּבָה לֵאמֹר] אִי לָךְ כְּרָזִין אִי לָךְ בֵּית צַיְדָן שֶׁאִילּוּ בְּצוֹר וְצִידוֹן נַעֲשׂוּ הַגְּבוּרוֹת שֶׁהָיוּ עוֹשִׂים בָּכֶן כְּבָר הָיוּ ישְׁבוֹת בְּשַׂק וָאֵפֶר וְעוֹשׂוֹת תְּשׁוּבָה אֲבָל לְצוֹר וְצִידוֹן נוֹחַ יִהְיֶה בַּדִּין מִכֶּן וְאַתְּ כְּפַר נַחוּם הַשָּׁמַיִם תִּתְעַלִּי אֶל שְׁאוֹל תּוּרְדִי שֶׁאִילּוּ בִּסְדוֹם נַעֲשׂוּ הַגְּבוּרוֹת שֶׁהָיוּ עוֹשִׂים בָּךְ הָיְתָה קַיֶּמֶת עַד הַיּוֹם אֲבָל לִסְדוֹם נוֹחַ יִהְיֶה בַּדִּין מִמֵּךְ

[Thereupon Yeshua began upbraiding certain villages that had not repented, saying:] “Woe to you, Kerazin! Woe to you, Bet Tzaydan! For if the mighty deeds that God performed in you had been performed in Tzor and Tzidon, the inhabitants of those cities would have long since sat in sacking and ashes and repented. But now it will be easier in the final judgment for Tzor and Tzidon than it will be for you.

“And as for you, Kefar Nahum! Will you be elevated to the celestial spheres? No! You will end up in the netherworld. For if the mighty deeds that God performed in you had been performed in Sedom, it would have continued to be a thriving city to this very day. But now it will be easier in the final judgment for Sedom than it will be for you.^[161]

Reconstruction

To view the reconstructed text of Woes on Three Villages, click on the link below:

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• ^[1] For a brief introduction to Lindsey's hypothesis, see Robert L. Lindsey, “Unlocking the Synoptic Problem: Four Keys for Better Understanding Jesus.” ↩
• ^[2] See our discussion in Sending the Twelve: Commissioning, under the subheading “Conjectured Stages of Transmission.” ↩
• ^[3] On this block of John the Baptist material contained in Matt. 11:2-19 ∥ Luke 7:18-35, see “Yohanan the Immerser and the Kingdom of Heaven” complex. ↩
• ^[4] On Apostle and Sender as the final pericope in the Sending the Twelve discourse, see Apostle and Sender, under the subheading “Story Placement.”
  
  Scholars working from the perspective of the Two-source Hypothesis generally agree that the Q version of the Sending discourse included Woes on Three Villages. See Kilpatrick, 86; Bundy, 171 §86; Knox, 53; Catchpole, 172; Luz, 2:151; Bovon, 2:42; Nolland, Matt., 466. See also Arland D. Jacobson, “The Literary Unity of Q Lc 10,2-16 and Parallels as a Test Case,” in Logia Les Paroles de Jésus—The Sayings of Jesus: Mémorial Joseph Coppens (ed. Joël Delobel; Leuven: Leuven University Press, 1982), 419-423, esp. 421. Cf. Richard A. Edwards, “Matthew’s Use of Q in Chapter 11,” also in Logia Les Paroles de Jésus—The Sayings of Jesus: Mémorial Joseph Coppens, 257-275, esp. 262. For a different view see Beare, 157 §139. ↩
• ^[5] Not only do both pericopae mention Sodom, the phrase ἀνεκτότερον ἔσται (anektoteron estai, “it will be more bearable”) also occurs in both passages (Matt. 10:15 ∥ Luke 10:12; Matt. 11:22 ∥ Luke 10:14; Matt. 11:24). ↩
• ^[6] See Robert L. Lindsey, “The Hebrew Life of Jesus,” under the subheading “The Two Versions of the Beatitudes.” ↩
• ^[7] See “Yohanan the Immerser and the Kingdom of Heaven” complex. ↩
• ^[8] Cf. Manson, Sayings, 77. Marshall (424) and Davies-Allison (2:164, 236) follow Manson. ↩
• ^[9] Cf. Flusser’s comment that “the main guilt of Jesus’ generation was its apocalyptic fever [sic fervor?—DNB and JNT] which found its dangerous expression in Zealotism” (“Jesus and the Sign of the Son of Man” [Flusser, JOC, 526-534, esp. 531]). ↩
• ^[10] On the rising tide of a militant form of Jewish nationalism in the first century as witnessed in the works of Josephus and the New Testament, see Peter J. Tomson, “Romans 9-11 and Political Events in Rome and Judaea with Some Thoughts on Historical Criticism and Theological Exegesis,” Zeitschrift für Dialektische Theologie 33.1 (2017): 48-73; idem, “Sources on the Politics of Judaea in the 50s CE: A Response to Martin Goodman,” Journal of Jewish Studies 68.2 (2017): 234-259. ↩
• ^[11] On the political aspect of Jesus’ call to repentance, see N. T. Wright, Jesus and the Victory of God (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1996), 246-258. ↩
• ^[12] Bethsaida, being within Philip’s tetrarchy, was not within the borders of Galilee, but the Jewish population within Philip’s territory had strong cultural affinities with the Jewish population in the Galilee. ↩
• ^[13] On the allusion to Deut. 8:20 in Jesus’ warnings in Luke 13:1-5, see Calamities in Yerushalayim, Comment to L13. ↩
• ^[14] See, for instance, Montefiore, 2:167; Bultmann, 112; Bundy, 173 §86; Vermes, Authentic, 324; Herbert Basser and Marsha B. Cohen, The Gospel of Matthew and Judaic Traditions (Leiden: Brill, 2015), 279. For a rebuttal of Bultmann’s objections, see Gerd Theissen, “Israel and the Nations: Palestine-Centered Cultural Perspectives in the Sayings of Jesus” (Theissen, Gospels, 43-59, esp. 51 n. 73). ↩
• ^[15] As Flusser noted, while the pre-synoptic tradition reflects Jesus’ emphasis on the importance of faith (Matt. 9:2 ∥ Mark 2:5 ∥ Luke 5:20; Matt. 9:22 ∥ Mark 5:34 ∥ Luke 8:48; Matt. 9:29 ∥ Mark 10:52 ∥ Luke 18:42; Luke 7:50; 17:19), it is only in redactional passages that Jesus demands belief in himself (Matt. 18:6; cf. Mark 9:42). See Flusser, Jesus, 65-66, 176; idem, “The Synagogue and the Church in the Synoptic Gospels” (JS1, 17-40, esp. 25). ↩
• ^[16] Pace Wright, Jesus and the Victory of God, 246-258. ↩
• ^[17] We find that 45 words out of a total of 49 in Luke’s version of Woes on Three Villages are identical to those in Matthew’s version, yielding a rate of verbal identity with Matthew’s version of over 90%. Cf. Fitzmyer, 2:851. For these figures and on verbal identity in Double Tradition (DT) pericopae as an indicator of the sources used by the authors of Luke and Matthew, see LOY Excursus: Criteria for Distinguishing Type 1 from Type 2 Double Tradition Pericopae. ↩
• ^[18] See Allen, 120; Bundy, 172 §86; Conzelmann, 182 n. 4; Schweizer, 266; Fitzmyer, 2:851; Davies-Allison, 2:236; Theissen, “Israel and the Nations,” 49; Catchpole, 171; Nolland, Matt., 466; Luz, 2:151. ↩
• ^[19] See Manson, Sayings, 77. ↩
• ^[20] On τότε as an indicator of Matthean redaction, see Jesus and a Canaanite Woman, Comment to L22. Joseph A. Comber (“The Composition and Literary Characteristics of Matt 11:20-24,” Catholic Biblical Quarterly 39.4 [1977]: 497-504, esp. 497), Davies-Allison (2:266) and Edwards (“Matthew’s Use of Q in Chapter 11,” 269) concur in regarding the τότε in Matt. 11:20 as redactional. ↩
• ^[21] See Randall Buth, “Distinguishing Hebrew from Aramaic in Semitized Greek Texts, with an Application for the Gospels and Pseudepigrapha” (JS2, 247-319, esp. 253-263). ↩
• ^[22] See Davies-Allison, 2:266. ↩
• ^[23] The only instances of τότε + ἄρχειν in Luke occur in direct speech (Luke 13:26; 14:9; 23:30). ↩
• ^[24] Cf. Edwards, “Matthew’s Use of Q in Chapter 11,” 269. ↩
• ^[25] The verb ὀνειδίζειν occurs in Matt. 5:11; 11:20; 27:44; Mark 15:32; 16:14; Luke 6:22. ↩
• ^[26] See Hatch-Redpath, 2:994. ↩
• ^[27] See Hatch-Redpath, 2:994. Cf. Davies-Allison, 2:266. ↩
• ^[28] See Dos Santos, 70. ↩
• ^[29] Theissen (“Israel and the Nations,” 49) questioned whether Bethsaida ever really attained full status as a polis. ↩
• ^[30] On the date of Bethsaida’s elevation to polis status, see Fred Strickert, “The Founding of the City of Julias by the Tetrarch Philip in 30 CE,” Journal of Jewish Studies 61.2 (2010): 220-233. ↩
• ^[31] Although, as Lindsey noted (LHNC, 813), Matthew’s use of πλεῖστος ὄχλος (“largest crowd”; Matt. 21:8) in the account of the Triumphal Entry may be dependent on Mark’s use of ὄχλος πλεῖστος (“largest crowd”; Mark 4:1) in the narrative introduction to the Four Soils parable. ↩
• ^[32] Cf. Davies-Allison, 2:266. ↩
• ^[33] For a discussion of the possibilities, see Moule (Idiom, 95). ↩
• ^[34] See Hatch-Redpath, 2:1027-1028. Cf. McNeile, 159. ↩
• ^[35] The LXX translators rendered -אוֹי לְ with οὐαί + dative in Num. 21:29; 1 Kgdms. 4:7, 8; Hos. 7:13; 9:12; Isa. 3:9, 11; Jer. 4:13; 6:4; 13:27; Lam. 5:16; cf. Prov. 23:29. Cf. Davies-Allison, 2:266. ↩
• ^[36] Cf. Delitzsch’s translation of Matt. 11:21 ∥ Luke 10:13 and the reconstruction proposed by Resch (60). ↩
• ^[37] The interjection אוֹי occurs, for instance, in the important rabbinic denunciation of high priestly families that were prominent at the end of the Second Temple period:

  על אילו ועל כיוצא בהן ועל הדומה להן ועל העושין כמעשיהן היה אבא שאול בן בטנית ואבא יוסי בן יוחנן איש ירושלם אוי לי מבית ביתוס אוי לי מאלתן אוי לי מבית קדרוס אוי לי מקולמסן אוי לי מבית אלחנן אוי לי מבית לחישתן אוי לי מבית אלישע אוי לי מאגרופן אוי לי מבית ישמעאל בן פאבי שהם כהנים גדולים ובניהם גזברים וחתניהם אמרכלין ועבדיהן באין וחובטין עלינו במקלות

  Concerning these and concerning those who were like them and concerning those whose deeds were like their deeds Abba Shaul ben Bitnit and Abba Yose ben Yohanan of Jerusalem [said]: "Woe to me [אוֹי לִי] on account of the House of Boethus! Woe to me [אוֹי לִי] on account of their lances! Woe to me [אוֹי לִי] on account of the House of Kadros! Woe to me [אוֹי לִי] on account of their pens! Woe to me [אוֹי לִי] on account of the House of Elhanan! Woe to me [אוֹי לִי] on account of the place of their whispering! Woe to me [אוֹי לִי] on account of the House of Elisha! Woe to me [אוֹי לִי] on account of their usurpation! Woe to me [אוֹי לִי] on account of the House of Ishmael ben Phiabi, because they are high priests and their sons are treasurers and their sons-in-law are superintendents and their slaves come and strike us with staves!" (t. Men. 13:21; Vienna MS)

  ↩

• ^[38] See Kutscher, 99 §160. ↩
• ^[39] Whereas the Kaufmann and Cambridge MSS read אִי לִי in this passage, printed editions often read אוֹי לִי. Cf. m. Kel. 17:16 (ed. Blackman, 6:124). Likewise, a parallel to m. Kel. 17:16 in the Tosefta reads אוֹי לִי according to the Erfurt MS (t. Kel. Bab. Metz. 7:9 [ed. Zuckermandel, 586]). This passage is missing from the Vienna MS. ↩
• ^[40] For exclamations of “Woe!” in response to a death, see 1 Kgs. 13:30. For exclamations of “Woe!” in response to a catastrophic event, see Num. 21:29; 1 Sam. 4:7, 8; Eccl. 4:10; 10:16. ↩
• ^[41] For exclamations of “Woe!” in anticipation of impending disaster, cf., e.g., Hos. 7:13; 9:12; Amos 5:16, 18; 6:1; Hab. 2:6; 2:12, 19; Zeph. 2:5. ↩
• ^[42] See the discussion of the imminent and eschatological aspects of Woes on Three Villages in John P. Meier, “The Debate on the Resurrection of the Dead: An Incident from the Ministry of the Historical Jesus?” Journal for the Study of the New Testament 77 (2000): 3-24, esp. 17-18. Meier resolved this tension by attributing to Jesus an imminent eschatology. ↩
• ^[43] See David Flusser, “The Stages of Redemption History According to John the Baptist and Jesus” (Flusser, Jesus, 258-275). ↩
• ^[44] See Calamities in Yerushalayim, Comment to L18-19. ↩
• ^[45] Dalman discussed the baraita in b. Men. 85a but cited it as t. Men. 9:2, a parallel but contradictory tradition that will be discussed shortly. See Gustaf Dalman, Sacred Sites and Ways: Studies in the Topography of the Gospels (trans. Paul P. Levertoff; New York: Macmillan, 1935), 153. Cf. Rainey-Notley, 356, where they cited t. Mak. 3:8 but presumably intended t. Men. 9:2. ↩
• ^[46] Some scholars, working from the assumption that the NT Chorazin is the true identity of the first village Rabbi Yose mentions in this baraita, have sought to identify Kefar Ahim/Ahus with Capernaum (Kefar Nahum). See, for instance, Joseph Klausner, “The Economy of Judea in the Period of the Second Temple,” in The World History of the Jewish People: The Herodian Period (ed. Michael Avi-Yonah; New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 1975), 179-205, 361-365, esp. 180, 361 n. 9. Klausner depended on the opinion of Graetz, Geschichte der Juden: von den ältesten Zeiten bis auf die Gegenwart, 3:291 n. 1. Such an association of Chorazin and Capernaum in an ancient source outside the New Testament would be welcome corroboration of the testimony in the Gospels, but the identifications are highly tenuous. See Theissen, “Israel and the Nations,” 49-50. ↩
• ^[47] The shift could occur in the process of translation from Hebrew to Greek or even within Hebrew itself. Kutscher (121-122 §199), for example, discussed the variants מֵרוֹן (mērōn) and מֵרוֹם (mērōm) as a Galilean toponym. The toponyms נָעִים (nā‘im) and נָעִין (nā‘in) may be another example. See Widow’s Son in Nain, Comment to L2. ↩
• ^[48] Delitzsch rendered Χοραζείν as כּוֹרָזִין in Matt. 11:21 and Luke 10:13. Resch (60) also used כּוֹרָזִין as the equivalent of Χοραζείν. ↩
• ^[49] Similar to reconstructing the Χο- of Χοραζείν with -כְּ are the LXX transliterations of כְּדָרְלָעֹמֶר (k^edorlā‘omer) as Χοδολλογομορ (Chodollogomor) in Gen. 14:1, 4, 5, 9, 17 and of כְּרִית (k^erit) as Χορραθ (Chorrath) in 3 Kgdms. 17:3, 5. ↩
• ^[50] Similar to reconstructing the Χορ- of Χοραζείν with -חוֹר is the LXX transliteration of חוֹרִי/חֹרִי (ḥōri/ḥori) as Χορρεί (Chorrei), var. Χορρί (Chorri) in Gen. 36:22, 29, 30; 1 Chr. 1:39. ↩
• ^[51] See Tal Ilan, Lexicon of Jewish Names in Late Antiquity: Part I Palestine 330 BCE—200 CE (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2002), 19. ↩
• ^[52] Compare the LXX renderings of כֹּזֵבָא (kozēvā’, “Cozeba” [the name of a town]) as Χωζηβα (Chōzēba) in 1 Chr. 4:22 and כּוֹנַנְיָהוּ (kōnanyāhū) with Χωνενια (Chōnenia) in 2 Chr. 31:13. ↩
• ^[53] The LXX translators rendered כְּבָר (k^evār, “Chebar” [the name of a canal]) as Χοβαρ (Chobar) in Ezek. 1:1, 3; 3:15, 23; 10:20, 22; 43:3. ↩
• ^[54] On כְּדָרְלָעֹמֶר=Χοδολλογομορ and כְּרִית=Χορραθ, see prior footnotes. ↩
• ^[55] The LXX translators rendered רָחָב (rāḥāv, “Rahab” [the name of a woman]) as Ρααβ (Raab) in Josh. 2:1, 3; 6:17, 23, 25. ↩
• ^[56] The LXX translators rendered רָמָה (rāmāh, “Ramah” [the name of a town]) as Ραμα (Rama) in Josh. 18:25; 19:29; Judg. 4:5; 19:13; 1 Kgdms. 19:19, 22, 23 (2xx); 20:1; 22:6; 3 Kgdms. 15:17, 21, 22; 2 Chr. 16:1, 5, 6; 22:6; Isa. 10:29; Jer. 38[31]:15. ↩
• ^[57] The LXX translators rendered רָאמֹת (rā’mot, “Ramoth” [the name of a city]), var. רָמוֹת (rāmōt), as Ραμωθ (Ramōth) in Deut. 4:43; Josh. 21:38; 1 Chr. 6:65; 2 Chr. 18:2, 3, 5, 11, 14, 19, 28. ↩
• ^[58] The LXX translators treated רָפָה (rāfāh, “giant”) as a name, rendering it as Ραφα (Rafa) in 2 Kgdms. 21:16, 18, 20, 22; 1 Chr. 20:8. ↩
• ^[59] The LXX translators rendered רָחֵל (rāḥēl) as Ραχηλ (Rachēl) in Gen. 29:6, 9, 10, 11, 12, 16, 17, 18 (2xx), 20, 25, 28, 29, 30 (2xx), 31; 30:1 (2xx), 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 14, 15, 22, 23, 25; 31:4, 14, 19, 32, 33, 34; 33:1, 2, 7; 35:16, 19, 20, 24, 25; 46:19, 22, 25; 48:7; Ruth 4:11; 1 Kgdms. 10:2; Jer. 38[31]:15. ↩
• ^[60] See Ilan, Lexicon of Jewish Names in Late Antiquity, 19. ↩
• ^[61] See Dalman, Sacred Sites and Ways, 164; Mendel Nun, “Has the Lost City of Bethsaida Finally Been Found?” under the subheading “Bethsaida Renamed Julias.” ↩
• ^[62] See W. F. Albright, “New Identifications of Ancient Towns,” Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 9 (1923): 5-10, esp. 9, where Albright discussed the possible identification of the town of Bethany (Βηθανία [Bēthania]) known from the Gospels with the town of עֲנָנְיָה (‘^anānyāh, “Ananiah”) mentioned in Neh. 11:32. Rainey-Notley (363) accepted Albright’s identification. ↩
• ^[63] The spelling בֵּית צַיְדָא is supported by McNeile (160) and Rainey-Notley (357). Delitzsch (Matt. 11:21; Luke 10:13) and Resch (60) adopted the spelling בֵּית צַיְדָה. ↩
• ^[64] Cf. Davies-Allison, 2:267 n. 143. ↩
• ^[65] The LXX translators rendered בֵּית אֵל (bēt ’ēl, “Bethel”) as Βαιθηλ (Baithēl) in Gen. 12:8 (2xx); 13:3 (2xx); 35:1, 3, 6, 7, 8, 15, 16, and many times elsewhere. ↩
• ^[66] The LXX translators rendered בֵּית לֶחֶם (bēt leḥem, “Bethlehem”) as Βαιθλεεμ (Baithleem) in Gen. 48:7; Judg. 12:8; Ruth 1:1, 2, 19, 22; 2:4; 4:11; 2 Kgdms. 2:32; 23:14, 15, 16, 24; 1 Chr. 11:16, 17, 18; 2 Chr. 11:6; 2 Esd. 2:21; 17:26. ↩
• ^[67] The LXX translators rendered בֵּית חוֹרֹן (bēt ḥōron, “Beth-horon”) as Βαιθωρων (Baithōrōn) in Josh. 16:3, 5; 18:13, 14; 21:22; 1 Kgdms. 13:18; 1 Chr. 6:53; 7:24; 2 Chr. 8:5 (2xx); 25:13. ↩
• ^[68] The LXX translators rendered בֵּית עַזְמָוֶת (bēt ‘azmāvet, “Beth-azmaveth”) as Βηθασμωθ (Bēthasmōth) in 2 Esd. 17:28. ↩
• ^[69] The LXX translators rendered בֵּית הַכֶּרֶם (bēt hakerem, “Beth-hakerem”) as Βηθαχαρμ (Bēthacharm) in 2 Esd. 13:14. ↩
• ^[70] The LXX translators rendered בֵּית צוּר (bēt tzūr, “Beth-zur”) as Βηθσουρ (Bēthsour) in 2 Esd. 13:16. ↩
• ^[71] On Rabbi Yehoshua’s interactions with Emperor Hadrian, see Moshe David Herr, “The Historical Significance of the Dialogues Between the Jewish Sages and Roman Dignitaries,” Scripta Hierosolymitana 22 (1971): 123-150, esp. 142-144. ↩
• ^[72] Thus the Soncino translation of this passage reads, “pheasants from Zidon,” with a footnote explaining that Zidon (i.e., “Sidon”) is a “Phœnician town.” Jastrow (1275), too, conflated צִידוֹן (“Sidon”) and צַיְדָן (“Tzaydan”), assuming that both names referred to the Phoenician city. ↩
• ^[73] Scholars have noted that the βηθ-/בֵּית component of place names was sometimes added or dropped. See W. F. Albright, “Bethany in the Old Testament,” The Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research 4 (1924): 158-160, esp. 160. ↩
• ^[74] See Mendel Nun, “Has the Lost City of Bethsaida Finally Been Found?”; R. Steven Notley, “The Search for Bethsaida: Is It Over?”; idem, “Et-Tell Is Not Bethsaida,” Near Eastern Archaeology 70.4 (2007): 220-230; Notley-Rainey, 356-359. ↩
• ^[75] For more information on the ongoing excavations at el-Araj, visit the el-Araj Excavation Project website, and see Ruth Schuster, "Has the ‘Lost City’ of the Gospels Finally Been Found?" haaretz.com (Aug. 3, 2021) (archived here on the Internet Archive's WayBack Machine). ↩
• ^[76] On reconstructing εἰ with אִם, see Tower Builder and King Going to War, Comment to L4. ↩
• ^[77] See Segal, 230 §490. ↩
• ^[78] See Hatch-Redpath, 3:151. ↩
• ^[79] See Hatch-Redpath, 3:145. ↩
• ^[80] See Harnack, 19. ↩
• ^[81] See Fitzmyer, 2:851. ↩
• ^[82] Jastrow (338) does not list occurrences of ה-י-ה in the nif‘al stem. ↩
• ^[83] See Hatch-Redpath, 1:350-353. ↩
• ^[84] See Dos Santos, 33. ↩
• ^[85] Cf. Davies-Allison, 2:266. ↩
• ^[86] See Harnack, 19. ↩
• ^[87] See Fitzmyer, 2:854; Nolland, Matt., 467; idem, Luke, 2:556; Wolter, 2:62-63. ↩
• ^[88] Text and translation according to Frank Cole Babbit et al., trans., Plutarch’s Moralia (16 vols.; Loeb; Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1927-2004), 2:474-475. ↩
• ^[89] See Hatch-Redpath, 2:1051. ↩
• ^[90] In Mark 15:44, for instance, πάλαι is often translated as “already.” ↩
• ^[91] On reconstructing ἤδη with כְּבָר, see Friend in Need, Comment to L11. ↩
• ^[92] See Hatch-Redpath, 2:1257. Cf. Davies-Allison, 2:267. See also LOY Excursus: Greek Transliterations of Hebrew, Aramaic and Hebrew/Aramaic Words in the Synoptic Gospels. ↩
• ^[93] See Dos Santos, 201. ↩
• ^[94] We encounter the term σάκκος in the writings of Classical Greek authors such as Herodotus (Hist. 9:80; fifth cent. B.C.E.) and Aristophanes (Ach. 745; ca. 425 B.C.E.). ↩
• ^[95] See Hatch-Redpath, 2:1285. Cf. Davies-Allison, 2:267. ↩
• ^[96] See Dos Santos, 15. ↩
• ^[97] Resch (60) similarly reconstructed μετανοεῖν with עָשָׂה תְּשׁוּבָה in Woes on Three Villages. ↩
• ^[98] Cf. Fitzmyer, 2:851; Nolland, Matt., 467. ↩
• ^[99] See Randall Buth, “Evaluating Luke’s Unnatural Greek: A Look at His Connectives,” in Discourse Studies and Biblical Interpretation: A Festschrift in Honor of Stephen H. Levinsohn (ed. Steven E. Runge; Bellingham, Wash.: Logos Bible Software, 2011), 335-369, esp. 353. ↩
• ^[100] Cf. Schweizer, 266; Gundry, Matt., 214. The phrase ἐν ἡμέρᾳ κρίσεως occurs in only one other place in the Synoptic Gospels, in a saying unique to the Gospel of Matthew (Matt. 12:36). It is difficult to say whether the author of Matthew used “in the day of judgment” in Matt. 12:36 because he found ἐν ἡμέρᾳ κρίσεως in his source or because he remembered this phrase from the previous chapters of his Gospel. If ἐν ἡμέρᾳ κρίσεως occurred in his source for Matt. 12:36, it is possible that it encouraged him to combine ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ with ἐν τῇ κρίσει and use the phrase ἐν ἡμέρᾳ κρίσεως in Matt. 10:15; 11:22, 24. ↩
• ^[101] Cf. Marshall, 425; Fitzmyer, 2:851; Davies-Allison, 2:268. ↩
• ^[102] See Hatch-Redpath, 2:789-790. ↩
• ^[103] See Dos Santos, 43. ↩
• ^[104] Cf., e.g., Gen. 44:17; Num. 31:19; 2 Sam. 13:13; 1 Kgs. 1:20; Ezek. 34:17; 39:17. ↩
• ^[105] Cf. Delitzsch’s translation of καὶ σύ Καφαρναούμ as וְאַתְּ כְּפַר נַחוּם (Matt. 11:23; Luke 10:15). On the other hand, Resch (61) reconstructed καὶ σύ Καφαρναούμ as וְאַתָּה כְּפַר נַחוּם. ↩
• ^[106] Many LXX MSS omit 3 Kgdms. 14:12, but it appears in Codex Alexandrinus. ↩
• ^[107] According to Tov, the corruption of transliterated words was a common occurrence in the transmission of LXX texts. See Emanuel Tov, “Loan-Words, Homophony, and Transliterations in the Septuagint,” in his The Greek and Hebrew Bible: Collected Essays on the Septuagint (Leiden: Brill, 2014), 165-182, esp. 174. ↩
• ^[108] As we saw with the name “Chorazin” (Χοραζείν=כְּרָזִין), the Greek letter chi could be used to represent the Hebrew letter kaf (see above, Comment to L5). ↩
• ^[109] This latter passage (Eccl. Rab. 7:26 §3) also mentions towns called כפר גבוריא and כפר סאמא. ↩
• ^[110] Printed editions of the Mishnah read כְּפַר עֵיטָם (k^efar ‘ēṭām) in m. Yev. 12:6. See Blackman, 3:92. ↩
• ^[111] See Rainey-Notley, 355. ↩
• ^[112] Ibid. ↩
• ^[113] See Benedikt Niese, Flavii Iosephi Opera (7 vols.; Berlin: Weidmann, 1885-1895), 4:385. Another variant reading is Καρφανώμων (Karfanōmōn), where we witness the same inversion of consonants as we saw in Josh. 18:24, where כְּפַר הָעַמֹּנָה=Καραφα. ↩
• ^[114] See Beare, 89 §66. Cf. J. Green, 416. ↩
• ^[115] In this respect, we might compare the relationship between the first-century Jewish pietists known as the Hasidim and the general population. It appears that the Hasidim were regarded affectionately, and those who experienced healings through the intercessory prayers of the Hasidim were certainly grateful. But this affection and gratitude did not translate into widespread adoption of Hasidut, the distinctive halachic practices of the Hasidim. Of course, the Hasidim did not attach the same redemptive significance to Hasidut that Jesus attached to following the ways of the Kingdom of Heaven. On the Hasidim and their similarities to Jesus, see Shmuel Safrai, “Jesus and the Hasidim” and the literature he cites there. ↩
• ^[116] See Shmuel Safrai, “The Jewish Cultural Nature of Galilee in the First Century,” under the subheading “Sages in Galilee: Rabban Johanan ben Zakkai.” ↩
• ^[117] See above, Comment to L5. The theme of destruction emerges even more sharply if we are correct in regarding Woes on Three Villages as the continuation of Calamities in Yerushalayim. ↩
• ^[118] See Chana Safrai, “The Kingdom of Heaven and the Study of Torah” (JS1, 169-189). ↩
• ^[119] See Plummer, Luke, 277; Allen, Matt., 121; McNeile, 160; Creed, 146; Manson, Sayings, 77; Marshall, 425; Albright-Mann, 143; Fitzmyer, 2:852; Davies-Allison, 2:268; Hagner, 2:314; Luz, 2:153; Nolland, Matt., 468; Bovon, 2:30; Wolter, 2:63. ↩
• ^[120] There must have been more than a hint of irony in comparing the village of Capernaum to the mighty king of Babylon. ↩
• ^[121] Whereas it does appear that the Greek translator of the Hebrew Life of Yeshua made use of LXX for direct quotations, when it came to biblical allusions he often displayed considerable independence from LXX. On the use of LXX by the Greek translator of the Hebrew Life of Yeshua, see Yohanan the Immerser’s Question, Comment to L43. ↩
• ^[122] See Hatch-Redpath, 2:1422. ↩
• ^[123] Nevertheless, Delitzsch used the ר-ו-מ root in his translations of Matt. 11:23 and Luke 10:15 (his translations of the two verses are not identical). Likewise, Resch (61) reconstructed ὑψωθήσῃ (hūpsōthēsē, “you will be exalted”) with the ר-ו-מ root. ↩
• ^[124] See Charles Cutler Torrey, “The Biblical Quotations in Matthew,” in his Documents of the Primitive Church (New York: Harper & Bros., 1941), 41-90, esp. 63. Torrey’s full reconstruction of Jesus’ allusion to Isa. 14:13-15 in Woes on Three Villages reads: הַעַד הַשָּׁמַיִם תֵּעָלִי עַד שְׁאוֹל תּוּרְדִי (ha‘ad hashāmayim tē‘āli ‘ad sh^e’ōl tūr^edi, “Will you be brought up unto the heavens? Unto Sheol you will be brought down!”). Some of the differences between our reconstruction and Torrey’s reflect our preference to reconstruct direct speech in Mishnaic-style Hebrew. Thus we have dispensed with the interrogative -ה, which became rare in MH (Segal, 220 §461), and preferred to put the ע-ל-ה root in the hitpa‘el stem. ↩
• ^[125] See Jastrow, 1082. ↩
• ^[126] Cf. Gundry, Matt., 214. ↩
• ^[127] See McNeile, 161; Metzger, 31, 151-152; Gundry, Use, 81. ↩
• ^[128] Cf. France, Matt., 436 n. 5. ↩
• ^[129] On reconstructing ἕως with עַד, see Lost Sheep and Lost Coin, Comment to L22. ↩
• ^[130] Another possibility is that Jesus’ allusion to Isa. 14:15 was not exact and that ἕως should be reconstructed with עַד, or that Jesus alluded to a pre-Masoretic version of Isa. 14:15 that read עַד instead of אֶל. Since the text of Isa. 14:15 has not been preserved among DSS, this hypothesis can be neither disproven nor confirmed. ↩
• ^[131] See Hatch-Redpath, 1:24. Cf. Fitzmyer, 2:855; Davies-Allison, 2:269; Nolland, Luke, 2:557. ↩
• ^[132] See Dos Santos, 202. ↩
• ^[133] See Hatch-Redpath, 2:727-728. ↩
• ^[134] See Dos Santos, 85. ↩
• ^[135] Marshall (425) and Gundry (Matt., 214) incline toward this view. Nolland (Luke, 2:557) equivocates. ↩
• ^[136] Plummer (Luke, 277), McNeile (161), France (Matt., 439) and Luz (2:153 n. 22) adopt the spatial view. ↩
• ^[137] Cf., e.g., Davies-Allison (2:269), who rely on W. J. P. Boyd, “Gehenna—According to J. Jeremias,” in Studia Biblica 1978 II. Papers on the Gospels (ed. E. A. Livingstone; Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1980), 9-12. Note that Boyd does not take into consideration any ancient Jewish or early Christian sources external to the New Testament. ↩
• ^[138] On the conception of Hades in ancient Jewish and early Christian sources, see Joachim Jeremias, “ᾅδης,” TDNT, 1:146-149. ↩
• ^[139] The eschatological character of Gehenna is clear in m. Avot 5:19 from its contrast with the world to come. In t. Sanh. 13:3 the eschatological character of Gehenna is implied by the quotation of Dan. 12:2, the most explicit resurrection text in the Hebrew Scriptures. ↩
• ^[140] Text and translation according to William Hornbury and David Noy, Jewish Inscriptions of Graeco-Roman Egypt (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992), 95-96. ↩
• ^[141] Text according to Johannes Geffcken, ed., Die Oracula Sibyllina (Leipzig: J. C. Hinrichs, 1902), 9. Translation according to Charlesworth, 1:336. ↩
• ^[142] Cf. T. Abraham (A) 19:7. Text and translation according to Michael E. Stone, trans., The Testament of Abraham: The Greek Recensions (Missoula, Mont.: Society of Biblical Literature, 1972), 18-19. ↩
• ^[143] It is true that some ancient Jewish sources indicate that the righteous and the wicked are kept in separate holding cells within Hades/Sheol as they await the resurrection (1 Enoch 22:1-14; Luke 16:22-26; Jos., Ant. 18:14) and that the holding cells of the wicked are unpleasant, but this does not amount to conflating Hades/Sheol with Gehenna. For Jewish sects that did not believe in the resurrection, Hades/Sheol was indeed the end of the wicked (and of the righteous). Cf. Jub. 22:22. Josephus, who had difficulty explaining Jewish beliefs about the afterlife to his non-Jewish readers, seems to stake out a middle ground, also attested in some rabbinic sources, that only the righteous take part in the resurrection, whereas the punishment of the wicked is to be abandoned to Hades/Sheol forever. Thus, in J.W. 2:163 Josephus explains that the Pharisees believe in resurrection, but only of good people. Evil persons, on the other hand, are punished in Hades (cf. J.W. 3:374-375; Ant. 18:14). Such a eschatological scheme does not conflate Hades/Sheol with Gehenna; Gehenna is excluded from the picture entirely. ↩
• ^[144] Cf. Bundy, 335 §206; Marshall, 426. ↩
• ^[145] See Beare, 89 §66; Gundry, Matt., 215; Davies-Allison, 2:236, 269; Luz, 2:151. See also Comber, “The Composition and Literary Characteristics of Matt 11:20-24,” 500. ↩
• ^[146] See Bultmann, 112; Manson, Sayings, 77; Edwards, “Matthew’s Use of Q in Chapter 11,” 270. ↩
• ^[147] See Shimon’s Mother-in-law. ↩
• ^[148] See Nolland, Luke, 2:557. ↩
• ^[149] See Harnack, 16; Bovon, 2:465 n. 57. ↩
• ^[150] See Lindsey, GCSG, 2:139. We judged μέχρι to be redactional in Luke 16:16. See The Kingdom of Heaven Is Increasing, Comment to L12. ↩
• ^[151] Cf. Nolland, Matt., 468. ↩
• ^[152] See Hatch-Redpath, 2:910. ↩
• ^[153] We find examples of עַד הַיּוֹם in Gen. 19:37, 38; 35:20; 2 Kgs. 10:27; Ezek. 20:31; 2 Chr. 20:26; 35:25. ↩
• ^[154] See Beare, 89 §66; Gundry, Matt., 215; Davies-Allison, 2:236; Catchpole, 172; Hagner, 2:313; Nolland, Matt., 466, 468 n. 69. See also Comber, “The Composition and Literary Characteristics of Matt 11:20-24,” 500. ↩
• ^[155] Cf. Catchpole, 171-172. ↩
• ^[156] Sloppiness does appear to be a feature of Matthean redaction. We have noted other instances of the author of Matthew’s carelessness, for instance:
  • the Baptist’s recognition of Jesus as the Coming One in Matt. 3:14-15 followed by the Baptist’s uncertainty in Matt. 11:2-3 (see Yeshua’s Immersion, Comment to L12-22);
  • the dissonance created by the author of Matthew’s transformation of the disciples’ expression of concern into a prayer for salvation (Matt. 8:25) followed by Jesus’ rebuke of the disciples for their lack of faith (Matt. 8:26) despite their prayer being a clear expression of faith (see Quieting a Storm, Comment to L35);
  • the creation of an inaccurate prophecy that just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth (Matt. 12:38), even though the author of Matthew knew this pseudo-prophecy did not match his own timeline for Jesus’ death and resurrection (see Sign-Seeking Generation, Comment to L39).
  • the reference to Herodias’ daughter dancing “in the midst” but the failure to refer to the banquet and the guests in Matt. 14:6 (see Yohanan the Immerser’s Execution, Comment to L41);
  • the creation of an unfulfilled prophecy in Matt. 16:28 by referring to the Son of Man’s coming instead of “seeing the kingdom of God” during the lifetime of Jesus’ audience (see Completion, Comment to L26-27);
  • attributing contradictory statements to Jesus in Matt. 17:20 by having Jesus tell the disciples that they were unable to expel a demon because of their “little faith” but going on to tell them that with faith as small as a mustard seed they can move mountains (see Faith Like a Mustard Seed, under the subheading “Story Placement”);
  • the addition of “or on the Sabbath” (Matt. 24:20) to the command to pray that the flight from Jerusalem not take place in winter in apparent ignorance of the fact that flight was permitted on the Sabbath (see Yerushalayim Besieged, Comment to L36).

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• ^[157]

  Woes on Three Villages
  Luke’s Version		Anthology’s Wording (Reconstructed)
  οὐαί σοι Χοραζείν οὐαί σοι Βηθσαϊδά ὅτι εἰ ἐν Τύρῳ καὶ Σειδῶνι ἐγενήθησαν αἱ δυνάμεις αἱ γενόμεναι ἐν ὑμῖν πάλαι ἂν ἐν σάκκῳ καὶ σποδῷ καθήμενοι μετενόησαν πλὴν Τύρῳ καὶ Σειδῶνι ἀνεκτότερον ἔσται ἐν τῇ κρίσει ἢ ὑμῖν καὶ σύ Καφαρναούμ μὴ ἕως οὐρανοῦ ὑψωθήσῃ ἕως τοῦ ᾅδου καταβήσῃ		[καὶ ἤρξατο ὀνειδίζειν τὰς πόλεις ἃς οὐ μετενόησαν λέγων] οὐαί σοι Χοραζείν οὐαί σοι Βηθσαϊδάν ὅτι εἰ ἐν Τύρῳ καὶ Σειδῶνι ἐγενήθησαν αἱ δυνάμεις αἱ γενόμεναι ἐν ὑμῖν πάλαι ἂν ἐν σάκκῳ καὶ σποδῷ καθήμενοι μετενόησαν πλὴν Τύρῳ καὶ Σειδῶνι ἀνεκτότερον ἔσται ἐν τῇ κρίσει ἢ ὑμῖν καὶ σύ Καφαρναούμ μὴ ἕως οὐρανοῦ ὑψωθήσῃ ἕως τοῦ ᾅδου καταβιβασθήσῃ ὅτι εἰ ἐν Σοδόμοις ἐγενήθησαν αἱ δυνάμεις αἱ γενόμεναι ἐν σοί ἔμεινεν ἕως τῆς σήμερον πλὴν Σοδόμοις ἀνεκτότερον ἔσται ἐν τῇ κρίσει ἢ σοί
  Total Words:	49	Total Words:	73 [82]
  Total Words Identical to Anth.:	48	Total Words Taken Over in Luke:	48
  Percentage Identical to Anth.:	97.96%	Percentage of Anth. Represented in Luke:	65.75 [58.54]%

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• ^[158] Note that Martin (Syntax 1, 92) classified Luke’s Version of Woes On Three Villages as a bit more Semitic than Matthew’s. ↩
• ^[159]

  Woes on Three Villages
  Matthew’s Version		Anthology’s Wording (Reconstructed)
  τότε ἤρξατο ὀνειδίζειν τὰς πόλεις ἐν αἷς ἐγένοντο αἱ πλεῖσται δυνάμεις αὐτοῦ ὅτι οὐ μετενόησαν οὐαί σοι Χοραζείν οὐαί σοι Βηθσαϊδάν ὅτι εἰ ἐν Τύρῳ καὶ Σειδῶνι ἐγένοντο αἱ δυνάμεις αἱ γενόμεναι ἐν ὑμῖν πάλαι ἂν ἐν σάκκῳ καὶ σποδῷ μετενόησαν πλὴν λέγω ὑμῖν Τύρῳ καὶ Σειδῶνι ἀνεκτότερον ἔσται ἐν ἡμέρᾳ κρίσεως ἢ ὑμῖν καὶ σύ Καφαρναούμ μὴ ἕως οὐρανοῦ ὑψωθήσῃ ἕως ᾅδου καταβήσῃ ὅτι εἰ ἐν Σοδόμοις ἐγενήθησαν αἱ δυνάμεις αἱ γενόμεναι ἐν σοί ἔμεινεν ἂν μέχρι τῆς σήμερον πλὴν λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι γῇ Σοδόμων ἀνεκτότερον ἔσται ἐν ἡμέρᾳ κρίσεως ἢ σοί		[καὶ ἤρξατο ὀνειδίζειν τὰς πόλεις ἃς οὐ μετενόησαν λέγων] οὐαί σοι Χοραζείν οὐαί σοι Βηθσαϊδάν ὅτι εἰ ἐν Τύρῳ καὶ Σειδῶνι ἐγενήθησαν αἱ δυνάμεις αἱ γενόμεναι ἐν ὑμῖν πάλαι ἂν ἐν σάκκῳ καὶ σποδῷ καθήμενοι μετενόησαν πλὴν Τύρῳ καὶ Σειδῶνι ἀνεκτότερον ἔσται ἐν τῇ κρίσει ἢ ὑμῖν καὶ σύ Καφαρναούμ μὴ ἕως οὐρανοῦ ὑψωθήσῃ ἕως τοῦ ᾅδου καταβιβασθήσῃ ὅτι εἰ ἐν Σοδόμοις ἐγενήθησαν αἱ δυνάμεις αἱ γενόμεναι ἐν σοί ἔμεινεν ἕως τῆς σήμερον πλὴν Σοδόμοις ἀνεκτότερον ἔσται ἐν τῇ κρίσει ἢ σοί
  Total Words:	93	Total Words:	73 [82]
  Total Words Identical to Anth.:	63 [69]	Total Words Taken Over in Matt:	63 [69]
  Percentage Identical to Anth.:	67.74 [74.19]%	Percentage of Anth. Represented in Matt.:	86.30 [84.15]%

  ↩

• ^[160] For abbreviations and bibliographical references, see “Introduction to ‘The Life of Yeshua: A Suggested Reconstruction.’” ↩
• ^[161] This translation is a dynamic rendition of our reconstruction of the conjectured Hebrew source that stands behind the Greek of the Synoptic Gospels. It is not a translation of the Greek text of a canonical source. ↩