The Kingdom of Heaven Is Increasing

Matt. 11:12-15; Luke 16:16
(Huck 65, 176; Aland 107, 226; Crook 125, 272)^[106]

Revised: 12 December 2022

מִימֵי יוֹחָנָן הַמַּטְבִּיל וְעַד עַכְשָׁיו מַלְכוּת שָׁמַיִם פּוֹרֶצֶת וּפוֹרְצִים פּוֹרְצִים בָּהּ שֶׁכָּל הַנְּבִיאִים וְאַף הַתּוֹרָה עַד יוֹחָנָן מִתְנַבְּאִים

“Since Yohanan the Immerser, and continuing into the present time, God’s redeeming reign has begun to increase, and the number of participants in his reign is on the rise.

“For all the prophets—and even the Torah—down to Yohanan tell of the coming redemption. But now the redemption is happening before your very eyes!”^[107]

Reconstruction

To view the reconstructed text of The Kingdom of Heaven Is Increasing click on the link below:

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• ^[1] See LHNS, 53 §65. Lindsey proposed an alternate reconstruction of The Kingdom of Heaven Is Increasing, which appears in Brad Young’s Jesus the Jewish Theologian:

  מִימֵי יוֹחָנָן הַמַּטְבִּיל וְעַד עַתָּה מַלְכוּת שָׁמַיִם פּוֹרֶצֶת וְכֹל פּוֹרֵץ בָּהּ

  From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven breaks forth and everyone breaks forth with it. (Young, JJT, 54)

  ↩

• ^[2] Llewelyn, citing legal terminology in Greek papyri, made a case for understanding βιάζεσθαι (biazesthai) in Matt. 11:12 in the sense of “illegal appropriation of property” and rendered the verse as, “From the days of John the Baptist until now the Kingdom of Heaven is acquired by force and violent men plunder it.” See Stephen R. Llewelyn, “Forcible Acquisition of the Meaning of Matt. 11.12,” in New Documents Illustrating Early Christianity 7 (1994): 130-162. Were Llewelyn’s suggestion to be adopted, the Matthean version of The Kingdom of Heaven Is Increasing might be understood as a polemical statement against false (i.e., Pauline) Christians. Sim has shown how the author of Matthew edited his sources with an anti-Pauline agenda. See David C. Sim, “Matthew’s anti-Paulinism: A neglected feature of Matthean studies,” HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies 58.2 (2002): 767-783; idem, “Matthew 7.21-23: Further Evidence of its Anti-Pauline Perspective,” New Testament Studies 53 (2007): 325-343; idem, “Matthew, Paul and the origin and nature of the gentile mission: The great commission in Matthew 28:16-20 as an anti-Pauline tradition,” HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies 64.1 (2008): 377-392. Nevertheless, the anti-Pauline interpretation of Matt. 11:12 founders on the dating of the forceful acquisition of the Kingdom of Heaven to the time of John the Baptist rather than to the time of the Apostle Paul. ↩
• ^[3] For this interpretation of Luke 16:16, see Juan B. Cortés and Florence M. Gatti, “On the Meaning of Luke 16:16,” Journal of Biblical Literature 106.2 (1987): 247-259. Cf. Fitzmyer, 2:1117; Bock, 268. Ramelli interprets Luke 16:16 similarly, but takes βιάζεται as a divine passive (i.e., “God forces everyone into it”). Ramelli notes that early Syriac, Latin and Ethiopic versions understood βιάζεται in Luke 16:16 as a passive, as did Cyril of Alexandria (late fourth to mid-fifth century C.E.). See Ilaria L. E. Ramelli, “Luke 16:16: The Good News of God’s Kingdom Is Proclaimed and Everyone Is Forced into It,” Journal of Biblical Literature 127.4 (2008): 737-758. ↩
• ^[4] See Harnack, 16; Creed, 207; Knox, 2:99; Daube, 294. ↩
• ^[5] See Robert L. Lindsey, “From Luke to Mark to Matthew: A Discussion of the Sources of Markan ‘Pick-ups’ and the Use of a Basic Non-canonical Source by All the Synoptists,” under the subheading “Lukan Doublets: Sayings Doublets”; idem, TJS, 36-37. Collections of sayings we have identified as FR “strings of pearls” are found in Luke 8:16-18; 9:23-27; 16:16-18; 17:1-6. On the small collections of sayings we refer to as “strings of pearls” scattered about in Luke’s Gospel as stemming from FR, see the LOY Excursus: Sources of the “Strings of Pearls” in Luke’s Gospel. ↩
• ^[6] As Catchpole observed, “The verbal agreement between Matthew and Luke is sufficient to show that we are dealing with Q material.” See David R. Catchpole, “On Doing Violence to the Kingdom,” Journal of Theology for Southern Africa 25 (1978): 50-61, esp. 51. The “Q” of the Two-source Hypothesis is roughly equivalent to the Anthology of Lindsey’s hypothesis. ↩
• ^[7] Justin Martyr quotes Jesus’ saying as follows:

  ὁ νόμος καὶ οἱ προφῆται μέχρι Ἰωάννου τοῦ βαπτιστοῦ ἐξότου ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν βιάζεται, καὶ βιασταὶ ἁρπάζουσιν αὐτήν.

  The law and the prophets until John the Baptist; from then the Kingdom of Heaven is oppressed, and oppressors grasp at it. (Dial. chpt. 51 [ed. Trollope, 104])

  ↩

• ^[8] See Fitzmyer, 1:662; Richard A. Edwards, “Matthew’s Use of Q in Chapter 11,” in Logia Les Paroles de Jésus—The Sayings of Jesus: Mémorial Joseph Coppens (ed. Joël Delobel; Leuven: Leuven University Press, 1982), 257-275, esp. 263-264. Some scholars have suggested that precisely because the Lukan context of The Kingdom of Heaven Is Increasing is difficult it must, therefore, be original, since there is no reason why the author of Luke would have moved the saying to its current, improbable location. Cf., e.g., Burnett H. Streeter, “On the Original Order of Q,” in Studies in the Synoptic Problem (ed. W. Sanday; Oxford: Clarendon, 1911), 141-164, esp. 156-157; Vincent Taylor, “The Original Order of Q,” in New Testament Essays: Studies in Memory of Thomas Walter Manson (ed. A. J. B. Higgins; Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1959), 246-269, esp. 255-256; Ron Cameron, “‘What Have You Come Out to See?’ Characterizations of John and Jesus in the Gospels,” Semeia 49 (1990): 35-69, esp. 37. However, if the author of Luke found an improved Greek version of The Kingdom of Heaven Is Increasing in FR, which was also easier to understand than the Anth. version, then it becomes clear why the author of Luke would have preferred FR’s version and arrangement in a cluster of three loosely-related statements on the Jewish Law. ↩
• ^[9] Other scholars have likewise concluded that the arrangement of Luke 16:16-18 is pre-Lukan, since the theme of the Jewish Law is unrelated to the rest of the material in Luke 16. See Luz, 2:137 n. 4. ↩
• ^[10] Jeremias (Theology, 46) similarly concluded that Matthew preserves the original setting of The Kingdom of Heaven Is Increasing. ↩
• ^[11] For our discussion of Anth.’s block of material on John the Baptist, see “Yohanan the Immerser and the Kingdom of Heaven” complex. ↩
• ^[12] Llewelyn similarly suggested that εὐαγγελίζειν in Luke 16:16 was due to the influence of Yohanan the Immerser’s Question, although he attributed the change to the author of Luke himself. See Stephen R. Llewelyn, “The Traditionsgeschichte of Matt. 11:12-13, par. Luke 16:16,” Novum Testamentum 34.4 (1994): 330-349, esp. 339-342. ↩
• ^[13] See Harnack, 16. ↩
• ^[14] Catchpole noted that since the formula “days of X” occurs in the DT Days of the Son of Man pericope (αἱ ἡμέραι τοῦ Νῶε [“the days of Noah”; Matt. 24:37] ∥ ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις Νῶε [“in the days of Noah”; Luke 17:26]), the “days of X” formula in Matt. 11:12 may well be “pre-Matthaean.” See Catchpole, “On Doing Violence to the Kingdom,” 57. In Luke the “days of X” formula occurs 4xx (Luke 1:5; 4:25; 17:26, 28), all of which have a good claim to derivation from Anth. Did the author of Matthew pick up the phrase ἐν ἡμέραις Ἡρῴδου (“in [the] days of Herod”; Matt. 2:1) from the Infancy Narrative in Anth. (ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις Ἡρῴδου [“in the days of Herod”; Luke 1:5])? ↩
• ^[15] See Jeremias, Theology, 47. ↩
• ^[16] Additional examples include 2 Chr. 30:26; 2 Esd. 18:17 (= Neh. 8:17); Jer. 43[36]:2. ↩
• ^[17] See Lindsey’s reconstruction in the Reconstruction section above, where he placed הַמַּטְבִּיל (“the Immerser”) in brackets in his Hebrew reconstruction. On the other hand, הַמַּטְבִּיל appears in the reconstruction Young (JJT, 54) attributed to Lindsey. ↩
• ^[18] The author of Matthew displayed a strong preference for τότε (tote, “then”) throughout his Gospel and usually accepted τότε when it appeared in Mark. We also find that the author of Matthew inserted the phrase ἀπὸ τότε where it likely did not appear in his source (Matt. 4:17; 16:21; 26:16). See Catchpole, “On Doing Violence to the Kingdom,” 57. It might seem, therefore, that had ἀπὸ τότε appeared in Anth.’s version of The Kingdom of Heaven Is Increasing the author of Matthew would have accepted it. But this argument fails because the overall perspective of Matthew’s version of the saying prohibited him from using ἀπὸ τότε in L6. “From the days of John the Baptist from then” is nonsensical. ↩
• ^[19] Note, too, that although ἄρτι occurs 12xx in LXX (Jdt. 9:1; 2 Macc. 3:28; 9:5, 8; 10:28; 13:11; 3 Macc. 4:6; 5:23; 6:16, 29; Dan. 9:22; 10:11), it only occurs twice with a Hebrew equivalent in MT. On the two occasions when ἄρτι does have a Hebrew equivalent in MT, that equivalent is עַתָּה (‘atāh, “now”; Dan. 9:22; 10:11). ↩
• ^[20] The phrase ἕως [τοῦ] νῦν occurs in Gen. 15:16; 18:12; 32:5; 46:34; Num. 14:19; Deut. 12:9; Judg. 16:13; 1 Kdgms. 1:16; 2 Kgdms. 19:8; 3 Kgdms. 3:2; 4 Kgdms. 8:6; 2 Esd. 5:16; 1 Macc. 2:33; Eccl. 4:2; Ezek. 4:14. ↩
• ^[21] See Catchpole, “On Doing Violence to the Kingdom,” 59; D. A. Carson, “Do the Prophets and the Law Quit Prophesying before John? A Note on Matthew 11.13,” in The Gospels and the Scriptures of Israel (ed. Craig A. Evans and W. Richard Stegner; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1994), 179-194, esp. 188. ↩
• ^[22] Additional examples are found in Ps. 93[94]:13; 2 Esd. 9:7; 19:32. ↩
• ^[23] Of the fifteen instances of ἕως [τοῦ] νῦν in LXX (Gen. 15:16; 18:12; 32:5; 46:34; Num. 14:19; Deut. 12:9; Judg. 16:13; 1 Kdgms. 1:16; 2 Kgdms. 19:8; 3 Kgdms. 3:2; 4 Kgdms. 8:6; 2 Esd. 5:16; 1 Macc. 2:33; Eccl. 4:2; Ezek. 4:14), six are the translation of עַד עַתָּה (Gen. 32:5; 46:34; Deut. 12:9; 2 Kgdms. 19:8; 4 Kgdms. 8:6; Ezek. 4:14). ↩
• ^[24] The phrase עַד עַתָּה, which occurs 9xx in MT, is usually translated ἕως τοῦ νῦν in LXX (Gen. 32:5; 46:34; Deut. 12:9; 2 Kgdms. 19:8; 4 Kgdms. 8:6; Ezek. 4:14). In Exod. 9:18 the LXX translators rendered עַד עַתָּה as ἕως τῆς ἡμέρας ταύτης (“until this day”). There is no equivalent to עַד עַתָּה in 4 Kgdms. 13:23. In Ruth 2:7 עַד עַתָּה is rendered ἕως ἑσπέρας (“until evening”). ↩
• ^[25] For Lindsey’s reconstruction, see the Reconstruction section above. For Flusser’s retroversion of Matt. 11:12 to Hebrew, see David Flusser, “Reflections of Jewish Messianic Beliefs in Early Christianity,” in his Judaism of the Second Temple Period: Sages and Literature (ed. Serge Ruzer; Jerusalem: Yad Izhak Ben-Zvi and Magnes, 2002 [in Hebrew]), 246-277, esp. 248 (repr. from Messianism and Eschatology: A Collection of Articles [ed. Zvi Baras; Jerusalem: Zalman Shazar Center, 1983], 103-134). ↩
• ^[26] See Segal, 134 §294. ↩
• ^[27] The work (Pseudo-Jubilees) from which the above text is excerpted was probably composed in the second century B.C.E. The Herodian script in which 4QpsJub^a was written suggests that it was copied sometime between 30 B.C.E. and 20 C.E. On 4QpsJub^a, see Geza Vermes, “New Light on the Sacrifice of Isaac from Qumran,” in his Jesus in his Jewish Context (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2003), 109-113, 181-184. ↩
• ^[28] There are many examples of the Hebrew phrase עַד→מִן, with the conjunction -וְ prefixed to עַד, which are translated in LXX without a conjunction (cf. GR, L6). Examples from the Pentateuch alone include Gen. 13:3; 14:23; 19:4, 11; 46:34; 47:21; Exod. 9:18, 25; 11:7; 12:12; 13:15; 23:31; 28:42; Lev. 13:12; 27:3, 5, 6; Num. 4:30, 35, 39, 43, 47; 6:4; 14:19; Deut. 3:16; 4:32; 13:8; 28:35, 64. Lindsey’s reconstruction (as reported in Young, JJT, 54) also had the conjunction prefixed to עַד. Cf. Dalman, 142. ↩
• ^[29] See David N. Bivin and Joshua N. Tilton, “LOY Excursus: The Kingdom of Heaven in the Life of Yeshua,” under the subheading “Which is Correct: ‘Kingdom of Heaven’ or ‘Kingdom of God’?” ↩
• ^[30] On the term מַלְכוּת שָׁמַיִם (malchūt shāmayim, “the Kingdom of Heaven”) in the teachings of Jesus, and the different senses in which he used this important phrase, see David N. Bivin and Joshua N. Tilton, “LOY Excursus: The Kingdom of Heaven in the Life of Yeshua.” ↩
• ^[31] In Hebrew the phrase מַלְכוּת שָׁמַיִם מִתְבַּשֶּׂרֶת would mean, “the Kingdom of Heaven is informed of good news.” Thus, for example, the statement כבר נתבשרה בחלב means, “she [i.e., Sarah] had already been informed of the good news that she would produce milk [for her son Isaac]” (Gen. Rab. 47:2 [ed. Theodor-Albeck, 1:472]). Cf. Dalman, 102. ↩
• ^[32] See Harnack, 16; Creed, 207; Black, 263 n. 3; Marshall, 629; Jeremias, Theology, 47 n. 1; Davies-Allison, 2:253; Catchpole, 233. ↩
• ^[33] Luke 9:6 forms the conclusion of the FR version of the Mission of the Twelve (Luke 9:1-6). On the attribution of Luke 9:1-6 to FR, see Sending the Twelve: Commissioning, under the subheading “Conjectured Stages of Transmission.” On Luke 9:6, see Sending the Twelve: Conduct in Town, Comment to L124-132. ↩
• ^[34] See Harnack, 16; T. W. Manson, 134; Marshall, 629. ↩
• ^[35] Text and translation (with minor adaptation) according to W. R. M. Lamb, Lysias (Loeb; Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1930). ↩
• ^[36] Additional examples of βιάζεσθαι used to describe forcing through a barrier are found in Philo, Deus §166; Jos., J.W. 2:262, 328. ↩
• ^[37] In the few places where they seem to have done so (1 Kgdms. 28:23 [παραβιάζεσθαι]; 2 Kgdms. 13:25, 27; 4 Kgdms. 5:23 [Alexandrinus]) פָּרַץ occurs in the sense of “urge,” a sense that does not properly belong to פָּרַץ, and therefore the editors of BDB conjectured that the correct reading is not פָּרַץ but פָּצַר (pātzar, “press,” “urge”) in these cases. See BDB, 823, 829. This conjecture has since been confirmed with the discovery of pre-Masoretic manuscripts of the Books of Samuel and Kings among DSS (see below), and we can safely conclude that the LXX translators read פָּצַר in the Hebrew texts behind 1 Kgdms. 28:23; 2 Kgdms. 13:25, 27; and 4 Kgdms. 5:23.

  Whereas MT reads וַיִּפְרָץ בּוֹ (vayifrotz bō) in 2 Sam. 13:25, 4QSam^a 106 I, 19 reads ויפצר בו (vayiftzor bō, “and he urged him”), which agrees with the LXX translation καὶ ἐβιάσατο αὐτόν (kai ebiasato avton, “and he urged him”; 2 Kgdms. 13:25). Likewise, in 2 Sam. 13:27 MT again has וַיִּפְרָץ בּוֹ, but 4QSam^a 106 I, 21 reads ויפצר בו, and in agreement with this pre-Masoretic reading LXX has καὶ ἐβιάσατο αὐτόν (2 Kgdms. 13:27). Unfortunately, the text of 1 Sam. 28:23 and 2 Kgs. 5:23 has not been preserved among DSS, but it is probably safe to infer from καὶ παρεβιάζοντο αὐτόν (kai parebiazonto avton, “and they were urging him”) in 1 Kgdms. 28:23 and καὶ ἐβιάσαντο αὐτόν (kai ebiasanto avton, “and they urged him”) in 4 Kgdms. 5:23 (Alexandrinus) that there, too, the LXX translators read ויפצרו בו (“and they urged him”) and ויפצר בו (“and he urged him”) in their vorlage. ↩

• ^[38] Lindsey describes how Flusser excitedly shared with him his new insight in JRL, 75-76. Flusser discussed his interpretation in “Jewish Messianism Reflected in the Early Church” (Flusser, JSTP2, 158-288, esp. 260 n. 6); idem, Jesus, 52, but his interpretation is already reflected in David Flusser, “The Literary Relationship Between the Three Gospels,” in his Jewish Sources in Early Christianity: Studies and Essays (Tel Aviv: Sifriat Poalim, 1979 [in Hebrew]), 28-49, esp. 41. Joseph Frankovic pointed out to Lindsey that in 1672 Edward Pococke had arrived at a similar interpretation of Jesus’ words based on Mic. 2:13 (Lindsey, TJS, 56). See Edward Pococke, A Commentary on Micah, in Leonard Twells, ed., The Theological Works of the Learned Dr. Pocock (2 vols.; London: R. Gosling, 1740), 1:22. Cf. Young, JJT, 65-66. Young (JJT, 73 n. 2) also notes that in 1559 the reformer Calvin was already aware of this interpretation of Mic. 2:13. See John Calvin, Commentaries on the Twelve Minor Prophets (5 vols.; trans. John Owen; Edinburgh: Calvin Translation Society, 1846-1849), 3:211. See also R. Steven Notley, “The Kingdom of Heaven Forcefully Advances,” in The Interpretation of Scripture in Early Judaism and Christianity: Studies in Language and Tradition (ed. Craig A. Evans; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 2000), 279-322, esp. 305. Daube (286-287) also discussed the possibility of interpreting Matt. 11:12 in light of Mic. 2:13. ↩
• ^[39] On the pastoral imagery Micah employed in this passage, see Robert L. Lindsey, “The Kingdom of God: God’s Power Among Believers.” ↩
• ^[40] See Rabbi David Kimhi, Duodecim Prophetæ cum comentariis R. Dauid Kimhi (Paris: ex officina Roberti Stephani, typographi Regii, 1539), on Mic. 2:13. ↩
• ^[41] Black (262 n. 3) also suggested that βιάζεσθαι might represent “the Semitic root p r ṣ,” but he did not make the connection to Mic. 2:13. ↩
• ^[42] It is uncertain whether it is to this passage in Pesikta Rabbati that Rabbi David Kimhi referred or to a different messianic interpretation of Mic. 2:13. Young (JJT, 73 n. 19) supposes that he was acquainted with an earlier source. ↩
• ^[43] If our reconstruction is correct, and if Jesus did intend to allude to Mic. 2:13, then we might well ask why the Greek translator of the Hebrew Life of Yeshua did not use the verb διακόπτειν (diakoptein, “to cut apart,” “to divide”) with which LXX rendered פָּרַץ in Mic. 2:13, for as we have discussed elsewhere, the Greek translator typically relied on LXX when he encountered Scripture quotations in his source (see Yohanan the Immerser’s Question, Comment to L43). One explanation may be that the Greek translator of the Hebrew Life of Yeshua simply did not recognize the intended allusion, and therefore did not consult the LXX version of Mic. 2:13. Another explanation is that the LXX version of Mic. 2:13 is rather different from the sense of the Hebrew text, and for that reason the Greek translator made his own translation.

  Compare the Hebrew and Greek versions of Mic. 2:13:

  עָלָה הַפֹּרֵץ לִפְנֵיהֶם פָּרְצוּ וַיַּעֲבֹרוּ שַׁעַר וַיֵּצְאוּ בוֹ וַיַּעֲבֹר מַלְכָּם לִפְנֵיהֶם וַיי בְּרֹאשָׁם

  The breaker-through will go up before them. They will break through and pass the gate and go out by it. And their king will pass through before them, and the LORD at their head.

  διὰ τῆς διακοπῆς πρὸ προσώπου αὐτῶν διέκοψαν καὶ διῆλθον πύλην καὶ ἐξῆλθον δι᾿ αὐτῆς, καὶ ἐξῆλθεν ὁ βασιλεὺς αὐτῶν πρὸ προσώπου αὐτῶν, ὁ δὲ κύριος ἡγήσεται αὐτῶν

  They have cut through the breach before them, and they passed through the gate and went out through it. And their king went out before them, but the Lord shall lead them. (NETS)

  ↩

• ^[44] Examples of פָּרַץ in the sense of “increase” or “spread out” occur in Gen. 28:14; 30:30, 43; Exod. 1:12; Isa. 54:3; Hos. 4:10; Job 1:10; 1 Chr. 4:38; 2 Chr. 31:5. ↩
• ^[45] Cf. Nigel Turner, Grammatical Insights into the New Testament (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1965), 59-60. Some scholars have attempted to read Matt. 11:12 as an antithetical parallelism (i.e., “the Kingdom of Heaven is forcing through but oppressors are grasping it”), thereby ascribing a positive meaning to ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν βιάζεται (cf., e.g., Nolland, Matt., 458). Were this interpretation correct, however, we would expect to find an adversative conjunction such as ἀλλά (alla, “but”) rather than καί (kai, “and”) to make the antithesis clear. See Llewelyn, “Forcible Acquisition and the Meaning of Matt. 11:12,” 159. Read on its own, without taking Luke 16:16 into account, which the author of Matthew never saw, it is more natural to interpret Matt. 11:12 as a statement about violence done to the Kingdom of Heaven. See Gottlob Schrenk, “βιάζομαι,” TDNT, 1:609-613, esp. 610-611; H. B. Green, 116; Schweizer, 262; Davies-Allison, 2:255-256; Hagner, 1:307; Luz, 2:141; Witherington, 233; France, Matt., 429-430. ↩
• ^[46] On the author of Matthew’s non-Jewish status, see Praying Like Gentiles, under the subheading “Conjectured Stages of Transmission.” Moore points out that, at least in the writings of Josephus, βιάζεσθαι is rarely intransitive, hence, “It is difficult to find the middle of βιάζω used simpliciter, or absolutely, with some such meaning as ‘pressing violently forward’, ‘showing its power’, ‘makes its way with triumphant force’.” See Ernest Moore, “BIAZΩ, APΠAZΩ and Cognates in Josephus,” New Testament Studies 21.4 (1975): 519-543, esp. 519, cf. 520. Thus, it would be natural for the author of Matthew to have taken this verb as a passive. Moreover, if the instances of βιάζεσθαι in the writings of Josephus may be regarded as representative of general usage, then βιάζεσθαι was typically used in contexts concerning military or sexual conquest or otherwise violent imposition upon the will of others. See ibid., 521-523. This too would lead a Greek-speaking Gentile with no appreciation for the Hebrew substratum of the Gospels, like the author of Matthew, to instinctually interpret (the source behind) Matt. 11:12 as a negative statement about the maltreatment of the Kingdom of Heaven. ↩
• ^[47] On the tendency of the author of Matthew to modify Jesus’ sayings to reflect conditions within his own community, see Sending the Twelve: Conduct on the Road, Comment to L52-62; Sending the Twelve: Conduct in Town, Comment to L82-83. On editorial remarks in the Gospel of Matthew that appear to be a response to the reforms of Rabban Gamliel II in the period after the destruction of the Temple, see Peter J. Tomson, “The Wars Against Rome, the Rise of Rabbinic Judaism and of Apostolic Gentile Christianity, and the Judaeo-Christians: Elements for a Synthesis,” in The Image of the Judaeo-Christians in Ancient Jewish and Christian Literature (ed. Peter J. Tomson and Doris Lambers-Petry; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2003), 1-31; idem, “Transformation of Post-70 Judaism: Scholarly Reconstructions and Their Implications for our Perception of Matthew, Didache, and James,” in Matthew, James, and Didache: Three Related Documents in Their Jewish and Christian Setting (ed. Huub van de Sandt and Jürgen K. Zangenberg; Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2008), 91-121; idem, “The Didache, Matthew, and Barnabas as Sources for Early Second Century Jewish and Christian History,” in Jews and Christians in the First and Second Centuries: How to Write Their History (CRINT 13; ed. Peter J. Tomson and Joshua Schwartz; Leiden: Brill, 2014), 348-382. ↩
• ^[48] See Moore, “BIAZΩ, APΠAZΩ and Cognates in Josephus,” 525-526. In LXX ἁρπάζειν usually occurs as the translation of גָּזַל (gāzal, “rob,” “take by force”; Lev. 5:23; 19:13; Deut. 28:31; Judg. 21:23; 2 Kgdms. 23:21; Ps. 68[69]:5; Job 20:19; 24:2, 9, 19; Mic. 3:2; Isa. 10:2; Ezek. 18:7, 12, 16, 18) or טָרַף (ṭāraf, “tear”; Gen. 37:33; Ps. 7:3; 21[22]:14; 49[50]:22; Hos. 5:14; 6:1; Amos 1:11; Mic. 5:7; Nah. 2:13; Ezek. 19:3, 6; 22:25, 27). ↩
• ^[49] See Schrenk, “βιάζομαι,” TDNT, 1:611; Moore, “BIAZΩ, APΠAZΩ and Cognates in Josephus,” 528-530; Catchpole, 234; Luz, 2:140.

  It was not uncommon prior to the Enlightenment period for Matt. 11:12 to be interpreted in positive terms. Clement of Alexandria (mid-second to early third century C.E.), for example, interpreted “and oppressors are grabbing it” in a positive sense, as follows:

  πάλιν καὶ τοῦτο μεγάλης σοφίας μεστόν ἐστιν, ὅτι καθ᾽ αὑτὸν μὲν ἀσκῶν καὶ διαπονούμενος ἀπάθειαν ⟨ὁ⟩ ἄνθρωπος οὐδὲν ἀνύει, ἐὰν δὲ γένηται δῆλος ὑπερεπιθυμῶν τούτου καὶ διεσπουδακώς, τῇ προσθήκῃ τῆς παρὰ θεοῦ δυνάμεως περιγίνεται βουλομέναις μὲν γὰρ ταῖς ψυχαῖς ὁ θεὸς συνεπιπνεῖ, εἰ δὲ ἀποσταῖεν τῆς προθυμίας, καὶ τὸ δοθὲν ἐκ θεοῦ πνεῦμα συνεστάλη τὸ μὲν γὰρ ἄκοντας σῴζειν ἐστὶ βιαζομένου, τὸ δὲ αἱρουμένος χαριζομένου. οὐδὲ τῶν καθευδόντων καὶ βλακευόντων ἐστὶν ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ, ἀλλ᾽ οἱ βιασταὶ ἁρπάζουσιν αὐτήν. αὕτη γὰρ μόνη βία καλή, θεὸν βιάσασθαι καὶ παρὰ θεοῦ ζωὴν ἁρπάσαι, ὁ δὲ γνοὺς τοὺς βιαίως, μᾶλλον δὲ βεβαίως αντεχομένους [συνεχώρησεν] εἶξεν χαίρει γὰρ ὁ θεὸς τὰ τοιαῦτα ἡττώμενος.

  This again is full of great wisdom, because when practising and striving after the passionless state by himself man achieves nothing, but if he makes it clear that he is eagerly pursuing this aim and is in deep earnest, he prevails by the addition of the power that comes from God. For God breathes His own power into souls when they desire, but if ever they desist from their eagerness, then too the spirit given from God is withdrawn; for to save men against their will is an act of force [βιαζομένου], but to save them when they choose is an act of grace. Nor does the kingdom of God belong to sleepers and sluggards, but “the men of force seize it.” This is the only good force [βία], to force [βιάσασθαι] God and to seize [ἁρπάσαι] life from God; and He, knowing those who forcibly [βιαίως], or rather persistently, cling to Him, yields; for God welcomes being worsted in such contests. (The Rich Man’s Salvation §21; Loeb)

  Text and translation according to G. W. Butterworth, Clement of Alexandria (New York: Putnam, 1919), 312-315.

  The reformer Martin Luther (sixteenth century C.E.) interpreted Matt. 11:12 along similar lines, likening violence and seizure to impetuosity and persistence in prayer:

  “Be constant in prayer” [Rom. 12:12]. In this passage he [i.e., Paul—DNB and JNT] is emphasizing that Christians ought to engage in frequent as well as diligent prayer. For “to be constant” means not only to take a great deal of time, but also to urge, to incite, to demand. For just as there is no work which for Christians ought to be more frequent, so no other work that requires more labor and effort and therefore is more efficacious and fruitful. For here “the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and men of violence take it by force” (Matt. 11:12). For prayer in my opinion is a constant violent action of the spirit as it is lifted up to God, as a ship is driven upward against the power of the storm. ...Thus we must all practice violence and remember that he who prays is fighting against the devil and the flesh. (Lectures on Romans: Scholia, to Rom. 12:12)

  Translation of Luther according to Jacob A. O. Preus in Luther’s Works (55 vols.; ed. Jaroslav Pelikan and Helmut T. Lehmann; Saint Louis, Mo.: Concordia; Philadelphia: Fortress, 1958-1986), 25:460-461.

  France (Matt., 340) is among the minority of modern scholars who attempt to put a positive spin on Matt. 11:12. ↩

• ^[50] Text and translation according to Bernadotte Perrin, trans., Plutarch’s Lives (11 vols.; Loeb; New York: MacMillan; Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1914-1926), 1:148-149. ↩
• ^[51] Text and translation according to Perrin, Plutarch’s Lives, 9:390-391. ↩
• ^[52] Text and translation according to Frank Cole Babbit et al., trans., Plutarch’s Moralia (16 vols.; Loeb; Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1927-2004), 3:206-207. ↩
• ^[53] Text and translation according to K. Kilburn et al., trans., Lucian (8 vols.; Loeb; Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1933-1967), 4:104-105. ↩
• ^[54] Text and translation according to Kilburn, Lucian, 6:300-301. ↩
• ^[55] As Moore noted, “if the last few words of Matt. xi. 12 were isolated from the rest, and we read βιάζεται καὶ βιασταὶ ἁρπάζουσιν αὐτήν, we might think we were reading about a rape: ‘...is being raped, and violent men seize her’.” See Moore, “BIAZΩ, APΠAZΩ and Cognates in Josephus,” 522. Cf. W. Ernest Moore, “Violence to the Kingdom: Josephus and the Syrian Churches,” Expository Times 100 (1989): 174-177, esp. 174. ↩
• ^[56] The following table shows all of the instances of ἁρπάζειν in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke and the parallels (if any) in the other Synoptic Gospels:

  Matt. 11:12 DT (cf. Luke 16:16) Matt. 12:29 TT (cf. Mark 3:27; Luke 11:22) Matt. 13:19 TT (cf. Mark 4:15; Luke 8:12) Key: TT = pericope has parallels in all three Synoptic Gospels; DT = Lukan-Matthean pericope.

  ↩

• ^[57] According to Young (JJT, 54), Lindsey suspected that the author of Matthew inserted ἁρπάζειν into Matt. 11:12. ↩
• ^[58] The entry for βιαστής in LSJ (315) cites only Matt. 11:12 and refers users to the cognate adjective βιατάς (biatas, “violent,” “forceful”). BDAG (176) cites a variant reading in the works of Philo (Agr. §89), a single instance in the works of Aretaeus (second century C.E.), and an example in a twelfth-century C.E. Byzantine author. Cf. Gottlob Schrenk, “βιαστής,” TDNT, 1:613-614. ↩
• ^[59] The noun פָּרִיץ occurs in Isa. 35:9; Jer. 7:11; Ezek. 7:22; 18:10; Ps. 17:4; Dan. 11:14. ↩
• ^[60] See Jastrow, 1227. ↩
• ^[61] Examples of פָּרִיץ with a negative connotation in rabbinic sources include:

  ויאכל וישת הכניס עמו כת שלפריצים

  And he [i.e., Esau—DNB and JNT] ate and drank [Gen. 25:34]. He brought in with him a band of ruffians [פָּרִיצִים]. (Gen. Rab. 53:14 [ed. Theodor-Albeck, 1:699])

  אין דור שאין בו ליצנים מה היו פריצי הדור עושין היו הולכין אצל חלונותיו של דוד ואומרים לו דוד אימת יבנה בית המקדש

  There is no generation that has no scoffers in it. What were the ruffians of [פְּרִיצֵי] that generation [i.e., the generation of King David—DNB and JNT] doing? They would go near David’s windows and say to him, “David, when will you build the Temple?” (y. Ber. 2:1 [13a])

  ↩

• ^[62] Jastrow (1227) believed the reading in Gen. Rab. 85:14 ought to be הַפָּרִצִים, which is supported by the parallel in Yalkut Shimoni §145, which reads הפריצים. But the textual evidence for Gen. Rab. 85:14 shows that some copyists believed the correct reading was הפורצים (see critical notes in Theodor-Albeck, 2:1049), which is the most natural reading given the citation of Mic. 2:13 that follows. ↩
• ^[63] The phrase וּפוֹרְצִים פּוֹרְצִים אוֹתָה could only be understood as “but transgressors are breaking through it.” ↩
• ^[64] Lindsey attempted to interpret וּפוֹרְצִים פּוֹרְצִים בָּהּ as “and breakers-through are breaking through with it [i.e., the Kingdom of Heaven]” (see Reconstruction section above), but we have not found a single example in which -פָּרַץ בְּ means “break through with.” ↩
• ^[65] See Cortés and Gatti, “On the Meaning of Luke 16:16,” 247-259. That βιάζεσθαι could be used in the sense of “urge” can be seen in the following example (cited by Fitzmyer, 2:1117) from a letter composed by a man named Sarapion in Alexandria in the early part of the first century C.E., which was discovered among the Oxyrhynchus Papyri:

  ἐγὼ δὲ βιάζομαι ὑπὸ φίλων γενέσθαι οἰκιακὸς τοῦ ἀρχιστράτορος Ἀπολλωνίου

  I am being pressed [βιάζομαι] [i.e., urged—DNB and JNT] by my friends to enter the service of Apollonius, the chief usher.... (P. Oxy. II 294)

  Text and translation according to Bernard P. Grenfell and Arthur S. Hunt, The Oxyrhynchus Papyri (15 vols.; London: Egypt Exploration Fund, 1898-1922), 2:294-295.

  Clearly in the above example βιάζεσθαι cannot be taken to imply violence, since those who are doing the urging are described as the author’s friends and he expresses no hint of resentment. Another example of βιάζεσθαι in the sense of “urge” (cited by Cortés and Gatti, “On the Meaning of Luke 16:16,” 254) is found in the Hellenistic Jewish romance Joseph and Aseneth (early second century C.E.), where we read:

  Καὶ εἶπε πρὸς αὐτὸν Ἀσενέθ· οὐχί, κύριε, διότι αἱ χεῖρές μου χεῖρές σου καὶ οἱ πόδες σου πόδες μου, καὶ οὐ μὴ νίψῃ ἄλλη τοὺς πόδας σου. Καὶ ἐβιάσατο αὐτὸν καὶ ἔνιψε τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ.

  And Aseneth said to him, “No, lord, for my hands are your hands and your feet are my feet, and no one but myself will wash your feet.” And she urged [ἐβιάσατο] him and washed his feet. (Jos. Asen. 20:3)

  Since Joseph and Aseneth is a love story, it is clear that Aseneth’s urging in the above example does not imply violence. Cortés and Gatti (“On the Meaning of Luke 16:16,” 253) pointed out that the compound verb παραβιάζεσθαι (parabiazesthai, “to do something by force”) is similarly used in the sense of “urge” in the Gospel of Luke. In the Emmaus Road story we read:

  καὶ παρεβιάσαντο αὐτὸν λέγοντες· μεῖνον μεθ᾿ ἡμῶν, ὅτι πρὸς ἑσπέραν ἐστὶν καὶ κέκλικεν ἤδη ἡ ἡμέρα

  And they urged [παρεβιάσαντο] him saying, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is already far gone.” (Luke 24:29)

  Likewise, in Luke’s account of the baptism of Lydia in Philippi we read:

  ὡς δὲ ἐβαπτίσθη καὶ ὁ οἶκος αὐτῆς, παρεκάλεσεν λέγουσα· εἰ κεκρίκατέ με πιστὴν τῷ κυρίῳ εἶναι, εἰσελθόντες εἰς τὸν οἶκόν μου μένετε· καὶ παρεβιάσατο ἡμᾶς

  When she and her household were baptized, she entreated him saying, “If you deem me to be faithful to the Lord, enter my house and stay with me.” And she urged [παρεβιάσατο] us. (Acts 16:15)

  The verb παραβιάζεσθαι is also used in LXX with the meaning “to urge” (1 Kgdms. 28:23), as is βιάζεσθαι, for instance:

  καὶ ἐβιάσατο αὐτόν καὶ ἔλαβεν

  And he urged him [καὶ ἐβιάσατο αὐτόν] and he received it. (Gen. 33:11)

  καὶ ἐβιάσατο αὐτὸν ὁ γαμβρὸς αὐτοῦ, καὶ πάλιν ηὐλίσθη ἐκεῖ

  And his father-in-law urged him [καὶ ἐβιάσατο αὐτὸν], so he again spent the night there. (Judg. 19:7)

  καὶ ἐβιάσατο αὐτόν, καὶ οὐκ ἠθέλησεν τοῦ πορευθῆναι

  ...and he urged him [καὶ ἐβιάσατο αὐτόν], but he was not willing to go.... (2 Kgdms. 13:25)

  καὶ ἐβιάσατο αὐτὸν Αβεσσαλωμ, καὶ ἀπέστειλεν μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ τὸν Αμνων καὶ πάντας τοὺς υἱοὺς τοῦ βασιλέως

  And Absalom urged him [καὶ ἐβιάσατο αὐτὸν], and he sent with him Amnon and all the sons of the king. (2 Kgdms. 13:27)

  ↩

• ^[66] A third, and even more improbable, interpretation would be to take καὶ πᾶς εἰς αὐτὴν βιάζεται to mean “and everyone in it is being oppressed,” but in that case we would expect the preposition ἐν (en, “in”) rather than εἰς (eis, “into”). Cf. Schrenk, “βιάζομαι,” TDNT, 1:612. ↩
• ^[67] See Cortés and Gatti, “On the Meaning of Luke 16:16,” 258. ↩
• ^[68] On the order νόμος→προφῆται in Luke 16:16 as secondary, see Jeremias, Theology, 47 n. 1; Llewelyn, “The Traditionsgeschichte of Matt. 11:12-13, par. Luke 16:16,” 335. We note, moreover, that in Matthew the order is always νόμος→προφῆται, except in Matt. 11:13, the one time νόμος and προφῆται definitely occurred in his source. In all the other instances (Matt. 5:17; 7:12; 22:40) it is likely that the author of Matthew added “prophets.” See Catchpole, “On Doing Violence to the Kingdom,” 53; cf. Flusser, Jesus, 91 n. 29. If the author of Matthew was so particular about adding “prophets” after “law” in all these other instances, why would he give the order “prophets”→“law” in Matt. 11:13 unless that was the order he found in his source? ↩
• ^[69] Observe in the following examples how LXX avoided translating the Hebrew phrase “prophets prophesy”:

  וַיִּרְאוּ וְהִנֵּה עִם נְבִאִים נִבָּא וַיֹּאמֶר הָעָם אִישׁ אֶל רֵעֵהוּ מַה זֶּה הָיָה לְבֶן־קִישׁ הֲגַם שָׁאוּל בַּנְּבִיאִים

  And they saw, and behold, with the prophets he prophesied [עִם נְבִאִים נִבָּא]. And the people said to one another, “What is this that has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?” (1 Sam. 10:11)

  καὶ εἶδον καὶ ἰδοὺ αὐτὸς ἐν μέσῳ τῶν προφητῶν, καὶ εἶπεν ὁ λαὸς ἕκαστος πρὸς τὸν πλησίον αὐτοῦ Τί τοῦτο τὸ γεγονὸς τῷ υἱῷ Κις; ἦ καὶ Σαουλ ἐν προφήταις;

  ...and [they] saw, and behold, he was in the midst of the prophets, and the people said each to his neighbor, “What is this that has happened to the son of Kis? Is Saoul also among the prophets?” (1 Kgdms. 10:11; NETS)

  וַיַּרְא אֶת לַהֲקַת הַנְּבִיאִים נִבְּאִים וּשְׁמוּאֵל עֹמֵד נִצָּב עֲלֵיהֶם

  And he saw the company of the prophets prophesying [הַנְּבִיאִים נִבְּאִים] and Samuel was standing appointed over them. (1 Sam. 19:20)

  καὶ εἶδαν τὴν ἐκκλησίαν τῶν προφητῶν, καὶ Σαμουηλ εἱστήκει καθεστηκὼς ἐπ᾿ αὐτῶν

  ...and they saw the assembly of the prophets, and Samouel stood as appointed over them.... (1 Kgdms. 19:20; NETS)

  אַל תִּשְׁמְעוּ עַל דִּבְרֵי הַנְּבִאִים הַנִּבְּאִים לָכֶם מַהְבִּלִים הֵמָּה אֶתְכֶם חֲזוֹן לִבָּם יְדַבֵּרוּ לֹא מִפִּי יי

  Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are prophesying [הַנְּבִאִים הַנִּבְּאִים] to you; they are making you empty, they speak a vision of their own hearts, not from the mouth of the LORD. (Jer. 23:16)

  Μὴ ἀκούετε τοὺς λόγους τῶν προφητῶν, ὅτι ματαιοῦσιν ἑαυτοῖς ὅρασιν, ἀπὸ καρδίας αὐτῶν λαλοῦσιν καὶ οὐκ ἀπὸ στόματος κυρίου

  Do not hear the words of the prophets, because they are rendering a vision empty. They speak from their own heart and not from the mouth of the Lord. (Jer. 23:16; NETS)

  הַאַתָּה הוּא אֲשֶׁר דִּבַּרְתִּי בְּיָמִים קַדְמוֹנִים בְּיַד עֲבָדַי נְבִיאֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל הַנִּבְּאִים בַּיָּמִים הָהֵם שָׁנִים לְהָבִיא אֹתְךָ עֲלֵיהֶם

  Are you the one whom I spoke about in earlier days by the hand of my servants the prophets of Israel who were prophesying [נְבִיאֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל הַנִּבְּאִים] in those days of years in which I would bring you against them? (Ezek. 38:17)

  Σὺ εἶ περὶ οὗ ἐλάλησα πρὸ ἡμερῶν τῶν ἔμπροσθεν διὰ χειρὸς τῶν δούλων μου προφητῶν τοῦ Ισραηλ ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις ἐκείναις καὶ ἔτεσιν τοῦ ἀγαγεῖν σε ἐπ᾿ αὐτούς

  You are the one of whom I spoke before the former days by a hand of my slaves, the prophets of Israel, in those days and years to bring you up against them. (Ezek. 38:17; NETS)

  ↩

• ^[70] Cf. Jacob Jervell, “The Law in Luke-Acts,” in his Luke and the People of God: A New Look at Luke-Acts (Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1972), 133-151, esp. 150 n. 35; Marshall, 628; Fitzmyer, 2:1115; Bock, 268. A similar statement is attributed to Jesus’ brother James in Acts: “For since ancient generations Moses has those who proclaim him in every city; in the synagogues on every Sabbath he is being read” (Acts 15:21). For a provocative take on this verse (which we do not necessarily endorse), see Daniel R. Schwartz, “The Futility of Preaching Moses (Acts 15,21),” Biblica 67.2 (1986): 276-281. ↩
• ^[71] Translations of Luke 16:16 that imply that the Law and the prophets had become obsolete include James Moffatt, trans., A New Translation of the Bible Containing the Old and New Testaments (rev. ed.; New York: Harper & Brothers, 1935), which reads, “The Law and the prophets lasted till John,” and the NRSV, which reads, “The law and the prophets were in effect until John came.” Among scholars who take Luke 16:16 to imply a cessation of the law are Cortés and Gatti (“On the Meaning of Luke 16:16,” 258-259) and Bock (269). ↩
• ^[72] On attributing the arrangement of Luke 16:16-18 to FR, see above, Story Placement. ↩
• ^[73] Cf., e.g., Davies-Allison, 2:257; Catchpole, 46; Bovon, 2:465 n. 56. ↩
• ^[74] See Flusser, “The Literary Relationship Between the Three Gospels,” 41 n. 20 (Hebrew); Notley, “The Kingdom of Heaven Forcefully Advances,” 280. ↩
• ^[75] Additional instances where וְאַף was translated simply as καί are found in Lev. 26:40; Num. 11:33; Deut. 15:17; 1 Chr. 9:38; 2 Esd. 12:18; 23:15; Hab. 2:15; Isa. 44:19. ↩
• ^[76] See Hatch-Redpath, 2:947-949. ↩
• ^[77] See Dos Santos, 220. ↩
• ^[78] Cf., e.g., Davies-Allison, 2:256. ↩
• ^[79] In the writings of Luke we find “Moses” as a synonym for “law” (i.e., "Torah") in Luke 16:29, 31; 24:27; Acts 15:21. See Jervell, “The Law in Luke-Acts,” 137. ↩
• ^[80] See Harnack, 16; Bovon, 2:465 n. 57. ↩
• ^[81] Lukan-Matthean agreements to write ἕως in DT are found in Matt. 5:26 ∥ Luke 12:59; Matt. 11:23 ∥ Luke 10:15 (2xx); Matt. 13:33 ∥ Luke 13:21; Matt. 23:39 ∥ Luke 13:35. There is also a Lukan-Matthean agreement against Mark to write ἕως in Matt. 24:34 ∥ Luke 21:32 (cf. Mark 13:30, which has μέχρι). See Lindsey, GCSG, 1:401-403. ↩
• ^[82] See Catchpole, 233 n. 11. ↩
• ^[83] See Dalman, 140; T. W. Manson, 134; Marshall, 628; Catchpole, 46. Codex Bezae and a few other manuscripts supplied the verb προφητεύειν (“to prophesy”) in Luke 16:16; the interpolation is an obvious attempt on the part of later Christian scribes to harmonize Luke’s version of the saying with the parallel in Matt. 11:13. See Cortés and Gatti, “On the Meaning of Luke 16:16,” 248. ↩
• ^[84] Cf. Notley, “The Kingdom of Heaven Forcefully Advances,” 280. ↩
• ^[85] See Catchpole, 46; Notley, “The Kingdom of Heaven Forcefully Advances,” 280. ↩
• ^[86] See Hatch-Redpath, 2:1231-1232. ↩
• ^[87] See Dos Santos, 127. ↩
• ^[88] For an introduction to Seder Olam, see Chaim Milikowsky, “Seder Olam,” in The Literature of the Sages (CRINT II.3; 2 vols.; ed. Shmuel Safrai, Zeev Safrai, Joshua Schwartz and Peter J. Tomson; Philadelphia: Fortress, 1987-2006), 2:231-241. ↩
• ^[89] Cf. t. Sot. 13:3. The view that prophecy had ceased is also attested in 1 Macc. 4:46 (and cf. 1 Macc. 14:41). Since the author of 1 Maccabees was not a Pharisaic sympathizer, it appears that the concept of the cessation of prophecy had wider currency than just among the Pharisaic-rabbinic sages. ↩
• ^[90] The stock phrase שֶׁכָּל הַנְּבִיאִים מִתְנַבְּאִים is also found in Gen. Rab. 82:2 (ed. Theodor-Albeck, 2:979); cf. Pesikta Rabbati 17:2 (ed. Friedmann, 85b). ↩
• ^[91] Cf. 3 Kgdms. 22:10 and 2 Chr. 18:9, where וְכָל הַנְּבִיאִים מִתְנַבְּאִים (“and all the prophets were prophesying”) was rendered in the imperfect tense as καὶ πάντες οἱ προφῆται ἐπροφήτευον (“and all the prophets were prophesying”); cf. 3 Kgdms. 22:12; 2 Chr. 18:11. ↩
• ^[92] See Bultmann, 165; T. W. Manson, 185; Kilpatrick, 27; Bundy, 171 §84; Fitzmyer, 1:663; Edwards, “Matthew’s Use of Q in Chapter 11,” 267; Davies-Allison, 2:258. ↩
• ^[93] See Bundy, 171 §84. ↩
• ^[94] There is only one instance in the Synoptic Gospels where all three evangelists agree to use the εἰ + θέλειν construction (Matt. 16:24 ∥ Mark 8:34 ∥ Luke 9:23). The author of Luke did not use this construction anywhere else in his Gospel. The author of Mark used the εἰ + θέλειν construction on one other occasion (Mark 9:35). The author of Matthew used the εἰ + θέλειν construction on five additional occasions (Matt. 11:14; 17:4; 19:17, 21; 27:43). See Rich Man Declines the Kingdom of Heaven, Comment to L17. Cf. Edwards, “Matthew’s Use of Q in Chapter 11,” 267; Davies-Allison, 2:258. ↩
• ^[95] See Hatch-Redpath, 3:68. ↩
• ^[96] See 1 Esdr. 9:27; 1 Macc. 2:58; Sir. 48:1, 4, 12; Mal. 3:22. ↩
• ^[97] See J.W. 4:460; Ant. 8:329, 331, 335, 337, 338, 339, 343, 344, 345, 347, 348, 353, 354, 360, 407, 417; 9:20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 33, 99, 101, 119, 124, 129. ↩
• ^[98] Cf. Catchpole, “On Doing Violence to the Kingdom,” 51. ↩
• ^[99] See Edwards, “Matthew’s Use of Q in Chapter 11,” 267. ↩
• ^[100] See Malcolm Lowe and David Flusser, “Evidence Corroborating a Modified Proto-Matthean Synoptic Theory,” New Testament Studies 29.1 (1983): 25-37, esp. 36-37; Four Soils parable, Comment to L61. ↩
• ^[101] See Bundy, 171 §84; Nolland, Matt., 459. ↩
• ^[102] See Jeremias, Parables, 84 n. 88. ↩
• ^[103]

  The Kingdom of Heaven Is Increasing
  Luke’s Version		Anthology’s Wording (Reconstructed)
  ὁ νόμος καὶ οἱ προφῆται μέχρι Ἰωάνου ἀπὸ τότε ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ εὐαγγελίζεται πᾶς εἰς αὐτὴν βιάζεται		ἀπὸ τῶν ἡμερῶν Ἰωάνου τοῦ βαπτιστοῦ ἕως τοῦ νῦν ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν βιάζεται καὶ βιασταὶ βιάζονται εἰς αὐτήν πάντες γὰρ οἱ προφῆται καὶ ὁ νόμος ἕως Ἰωάνου ἐπροφήτευσαν
  Total Words:	18	Total Words:	29
  Total Words Identical to Anth.:	7	Total Words Taken Over in Luke:	7
  Percentage Identical to Anth.:	38.89%	Percentage of Anth. Represented in Luke:	24.14%

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• ^[104]

  The Kingdom of Heaven Is Increasing
  Matthew’s Version		Anthology’s Wording (Reconstructed)
  ἀπὸ δὲ τῶν ἡμερῶν Ἰωάνου τοῦ βαπτιστοῦ ἕως ἄρτι ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν βιάζεται καὶ βιασταὶ ἁρπάζουσιν αὐτήν πάντες γὰρ οἱ προφῆται καὶ ὁ νόμος ἕως Ἰωάνου ἐπροφήτευσαν		ἀπὸ τῶν ἡμερῶν Ἰωάνου τοῦ βαπτιστοῦ ἕως τοῦ νῦν ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν βιάζεται καὶ βιασταὶ βιάζονται εἰς αὐτήν πάντες γὰρ οἱ προφῆται καὶ ὁ νόμος ἕως Ἰωάνου ἐπροφήτευσαν
  Total Words:	28	Total Words:	29
  Total Words Identical to Anth.:	25	Total Words Taken Over in Matt:	25
  Percentage Identical to Anth.:	89.29%	Percentage of Anth. Represented in Matt.:	86.21%

  ↩

• ^[105] We believe the author of Matthew belonged to a Gentile community that regarded itself as the true Israel, which was on unfriendly terms with both the Jewish-Christian offshoots of the Jerusalem Church and with the Gentile-Christian offshoots of the Pauline mission. ↩
• ^[106] For abbreviations and bibliographical references, see “Introduction to ‘The Life of Yeshua: A Suggested Reconstruction.’” ↩
• ^[107] 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. ↩