Like Children Complaining

Matt. 11:16-19; Luke 7:31-35

(Huck 65, 82; Aland 107; Crook 126)^[137]

לְפִיכָךְ לְמָה אֲדַמֶּה אֶת הַדּוֹר הַזֶּה וּלְמַה הֵם דּוֹמִים לִילָדִים יוֹשְׁבִים בַּשּׁוּק שֶׁקּוֹרְאִים זֶה לָזֶה וְאוֹמְרִים הִכִּינוּ לִפְנֵיכֶם בֶּחָלִיל וְלֹא רִקַּדְתֶּם קוֹנַנּוּ לִפְנֵיכֶם קִינָה וְלֹא סְפַדְתֶּם שֶׁבָּא יוֹחָנָן הַמַּטְבִּיל אֵינוּ אוֹכֵל וְאֵינוּ שׁוֹתֶה וְאוֹמְרִים הַשֵּׁד בּוֹ בָּא בַּר אֱנָשׁ אוֹכֵל וְשׁוֹתֶה וְאוֹמְרִים הֲרֵי אִישׁ רַעַבְתָן וְגַרְגְּרָן אוֹהֵב שֶׁלְּמוֹכְסִים וּרְשָׁעִים וְנִזְדַּכָּה הֶחָכְמָה מִבָּנֶיהָ

“So, what comparison can I make that will describe the behavior of this generation? What are they like? They are like children playing in a market who complain about their friends with the chant, ‘We struck up a tune for you on the pipe, but you would not dance! We sang you a sorrowful tune, but you would not show signs of grief!’

“For when Yohanan the Immerser came partaking of neither food nor drink with them, this generation said, ‘He must be possessed by a demon!’ But when the Son of Man came partaking of both food and drink with them, this generation said, ‘He must be a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of toll collectors and sinners!’

“But Lady Wisdom is vindicated by her sons and daughters.”^[138]

Updated: 19 May 2022

Reconstruction

To view the reconstructed text of Like Children Complaining click on the link below:

Conclusion

Like Children Complaining compares the resentment and jealousy people harbored against John the Baptist and Jesus to children who complained that their friends would not play with them.

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• ^[1] On the block of material pertaining to John the Baptist found in Luke 7 and Matthew 11, see our introduction to the “Yohanan the Immerser and the Kingdom of Heaven” complex. ↩
• ^[2] Cf. Bundy, 201 §112. ↩
• ^[3] Cf. Bundy, 171 §85; Nolland, Luke, 1:341. ↩
• ^[4] See Lindsey, JRL, 160-163; idem, “Jesus’ Twin Parables,” under the subheading “Jesus’ Parables and Their Contexts.” Cf. LHNS, 53 §65, 65 §82. ↩
• ^[5] However, as we will discuss in Comment to L14-15, it is by no means obvious that John the Baptist’s fasting is at issue in Like Children Complaining. ↩
• ^[6] We also found that the Anthologizer left the “Yeshua and Levi the Toll Collector” complex intact. See our discussion in Call of Levi, under the subheading “Story Placement.” ↩
• ^[7] See Generations That Repented Long Ago, Comment to L10. ↩
• ^[8] Cf. M. Jack Suggs, Wisdom, Christology, and Law in Matthew’s Gospel (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1970), 35-36. The personification of Wisdom in Luke 11:49 (Innocent Blood) and Luke 7:35 (Like Children Complaining) may put the statements about Jesus’ being filled with wisdom (Luke 2:40) and increasing in wisdom (Luke 2:52) in a new light. ↩
• ^[9] We have found that 69.23% of Matthew’s wording in Like Children Complaining is identical to Luke’s, while 59.21% of Luke’s wording in Like Children Complaining is identical to Matthew’s. For these figures see LOY Excursus: Criteria for Distinguishing Type 1 from Type 2 Double Tradition Pericopae. ↩
• ^[10] Cf., e.g., Kloppenborg, 110-111. ↩
• ^[11] Cf., e.g., Bultmann, 172; Bundy, 171 §85; Wendy J. Cotter, “The Parable of the Children in the Market-place, Q (Lk) 7:31-35: An Examination of the Parable’s Image and Significance,” Novum Testamentum 29.4 (1987): 289-304, esp. 293-294. ↩
• ^[12] See John P. Meier, A Marginal Jew (5 vols.; New York: Doubleday, 1991-2016), 2:150-154; Bovon, 1:287. Luz (2:146) regarded Matt. 11:19b ∥ Luke 7:35 as a Christian accretion added to the end of Like Children Complaining. ↩
• ^[13] This despite the fact that the early Christians appear not to have been fond of this title. As a title for Jesus, “Son of Man” is most common in the Synoptic Gospels, occurs somewhat less often in the Gospel of John, and then falls into relative disuse. ↩
• ^[14] See Bultmann, 155; Bundy, 171 §85. ↩
• ^[15] Wendy J. Cotter, “Children Sitting in the Agora: Q (Luke) 7:31-35,” Forum: Foundations and Facets 5.2 (1989): 63-82, esp. 74-79. ↩
• ^[16] Cf. Luz, 2:148. ↩
• ^[17] On John the Baptist’s anticipation of an eschatological high priest who would purify the Temple, see Yohanan the Immerser’s Eschatological Discourse. ↩
• ^[18] Josephus seems to indicate that there was a popular misconception that simply by undergoing John’s immersion a person could receive pardon for his or her sins (Ant. 18:117). John’s message was far more nuanced and rigorous than an offer of cheap grace. ↩
• ^[19] Cf. Kloppenborg, 110. ↩
• ^[20] For a survey of the ways in which the simile of the children in the market has been interpreted, see John P. Meier, “John the Baptist in Matthew’s Gospel,” Journal of Biblical Literature 99.3 (1980): 383-405, esp. 398 n. 51. ↩
• ^[21] For the identification of the children who pipe and sing laments with Jesus and John the Baptist, see McNeile, 157; Creed, 108; Fitzmyer, 1:679; Vermes, Religion, 103 n. 29; Meier, A Marginal Jew, 2:148; Nolland, Luke, 1:344; Bovon, 1:236. ↩
• ^[22] For the identification of the children in the market who pipe and sing laments with the critics of John the Baptist and Jesus, see Plummer, Luke, 207; Jeremias, Parables, 161; Marshall, 301; Cotter, “The Parable of the Children in the Market-place,” 302-303; Davies-Allison, 2:262; Luz, 2:147. See also Olof Linton, “The Parable of the Children’s Game: Baptist and Son of Man (Matt. XI. 16-19 = Luke VII. 31-5): A Synoptic Text Critical, Structural and Exegetical Investigation,” New Testament Studies 22.2 (1976): 159-179, esp. 173; R. Steven Notley, “Luke 5:35: ‘When the Bridegroom Is Taken Away’—Anticipation of the Destruction of the Second Temple,” in The Gospels in First-Century Judaea (ed. R. Steven Notley and Jeffrey Paul García; Leiden: Brill, 2016), 107-121, esp. 110-111. ↩
• ^[23] See Suggs, Wisdom, Christology, and Law in Matthew’s Gospel, 35. ↩
• ^[24] On the meaning of “son of peace” in Luke 10:6, see Sending the Twelve: Conduct in Town, Comment to L88. ↩
• ^[25] Cf. Cotter, “The Parable of the Children in the Market-place,” 290. ↩
• ^[26] See Linton, “The Parable of the Children’s Game,” 160 n. 3. ↩
• ^[27] Pace Fitzmyer, 1:678. ↩
• ^[28] Cf. Gundry, Matt., 211. ↩
• ^[29] The phrase “this generation” occurs in Generations That Repented Long Ago (L10, L17), Innocent Blood (L17, L26) and Sign-Seeking Generation (L26, L27, L44). ↩
• ^[30] Cf. Harnack, 18; Linton, “The Parable of the Children’s Game,” 160; Fitzmyer, 1:679; Cotter, “The Parable of the Children in the Market-place,” 290; Davies-Allison, 2:260; Bovon, 1:279. Pace Hagner, 1:309. ↩
• ^[31] Linton, “The Parable of the Children’s Game,” 161. ↩
• ^[32] See Harnack, 18. Marshall’s suggestion (300) that the author of Luke added τοὺς ἀνθρώπους in order to imply that the adult men of “this generation” behave no better than immature children is not convincing, since the noun ἄνθρωπος does not mean “adult.” ↩
• ^[33] Cf. Harnack, 18; Bultmann, 172; Linton, “The Parable of the Children’s Game,” 161; Marshall, 299; Fitzmyer, 1:678; Gundry, Matt., 211; Cotter, “The Parable of the Children in the Market-place,” 290; Davies-Allison, 2:260; Nolland, Luke, 1:343; Luz, 2:145. Harnack (18) believed that Luke’s source read καὶ τίνι ἐστὶν ὁμοία (kai tini estin homoia, “And to what is it [i.e., this generation] like [fem.]?”), which the author of Luke changed to καὶ τίνι εἰσὶν ὅμοιοι (kai tini eisin homoioi, “And to what are they like [masc.]?”) on account of his insertion of “the people of” in L2. We, on the other hand, agree with Linton that it was the change in number and gender in the second question that motivated the author of Luke to insert “the people of” in L2. ↩
• ^[34] See Henry J. Cadbury, “Animals and Symbolism in Luke (Lexical Notes on Luke-Acts, IX,” in Studies in New Testament and Early Christian Literature: Essays in Honor of Allen P. Wikgren (ed. David Edward Aune; Leiden: Brill, 1972), 3-15, esp. 13. ↩
• ^[35] See David Flusser, Die rabbinischen Gleichnisse und der Gleichniserzähler Jesus (Bern: Peter Lang, 1981), 154. ↩
• ^[36] Cf. Fitzmyer, 1:678; Nolland, Luke, 1:343. ↩
• ^[37] Cf. Davies-Allison, 2:261; Bovon, 1:280 n. 17; Brian C. Dennert, “‘The Rejection of Wisdom’s Call’: Matthew’s Use of Proverbs 1:20-33 in the Parable of the Children in the Marketplace (Matthew 11:16-19//Luke 7:31-35),” in Searching the Scriptures: Studies in Context and Intertextuality (ed. Craig A. Evans and Jeremiah J. Johnson; London: Bloomsbury, 2015), 46-63, esp. 47-48, 55. Elsewhere in his Gospel the author of Luke had no compunction about using the plural of ἀγορά (agora, “market”; Luke 11:43; 20:46), so there is no reason why he would have avoided the plural form in Like Children Complaining had it occurred in his source. ↩
• ^[38] Cf. McNeile, 157; Cotter, “The Parable of the Children in the Market-place,” 290; Bovon, 1:280 n. 17. ↩
• ^[39] See Hatch-Redpath, 1:16. ↩
• ^[40] In Eccl. 12:4, 5 the LXX translators rendered the definite phrase בַּשּׁוּק (bashūq, “in the market”) as ἐν ἀγορᾷ (en agora, “in a market”). The same indefinite rendering of בַּשּׁוּק appears to have taken place in Like Children Complaining. Incidentally, in the second half of Acts, where the author of Luke’s personal writing style is most clearly visible, he used the definite article with ἀγορά: εἰς τὴν ἀγοράν (eis tēn agoran, “to the market”; Acts 16:19); ἐν τῇ ἀγορᾷ (en tē agora, “in the market”; Acts 17:17). Therefore, it is likely that the anarthrous ἐν ἀγορᾷ (“in a market”) in Luke 7:32 came from Anth. Cf. Bovon, 1:280 n. 17. ↩
• ^[41] See Cotter, “The Parable of the Children in the Market-place,” 298-302; idem, “Children Sitting in the Agora,” 67-68. Dennert (“‘The Rejection of Wisdom’s Call,’” 50-51) accepted Cotter’s suggestion. ↩
• ^[42] Cf. Luz, 2:147 n. 21. ↩
• ^[43] Cf. Bovon, 1:280 n. 17. Luke 7:32 is a single sentence in which two participles, καθημένοις (kathēmenois, “sitting”) and προσφωνοῦσιν (prosfōnousin, “addressing”), in the dative (modifying παιδίοις [paidios, “to children”]) are subordinate to the main verb, λέγει (legei, “he says”), which, true to proper Greek form, is singular:

  They are like children (that sit in the market and address one another) who say....

  Matthew 11:16-17 consists of two sentences:

  It is like children sitting in the markets who address the others. They say....

  Not only is Matthew’s syntax less streamlined, his verb λέγουσιν (legousin, “they say”), being plural, is less correct than Luke’s singular verb λέγει, since in polished Greek plural neuter nouns, like παιδία (paidia, “children”), take singular verbs. ↩

• ^[44] Cf. Cotter, “The Parable of the Children in the Market-place,” 291; Bovon, 1:280. ↩
• ^[45] The table in the next footnote shows that every time the author of Matthew wrote ἀλλήλων in his Gospel he did so without the agreement of Mark or Luke. ↩
• ^[46] See Cadbury, Style, 195; Randall Buth and Brian Kvasnica, “Critical Notes on the VTS” (JS1, 259-317), 292 (Critical Note 22). The pronoun ἀλλήλων occurs 3xx in Matthew (Matt. 24:10 [2xx]; 25:32), 5xx in Mark (Mark 4:41; 8:16; 9:34, 50; 15:31), 11xx in Luke (Luke 2:15; 4:36; 6:11; 7:32; 8:25; 12:1; 20:14; 23:12; 24:14, 17, 32) and 8xx in Acts (Acts 4:15; 7:26; 15:39; 19:38; 21:6; 26:31; 28:4, 25). The table below shows each of the instances of ἀλλήλων in the Synoptic Gospels and the parallels (if any):

  Matt. 24:10 [2xx] TT (cf. Matt. 10:21-22; Mark 13:12-13; Luke 21:16-17) Matt. 25:32 U Mark 4:41 TT = Luke 8:25 (cf. Matt. 8:27) Mark 8:16 Mk-Mt (cf. Matt. 16:7) Mark 9:34 TT (cf. Matt. 18:1; Luke 9:46) Mark 9:50 TT (cf. Matt. 5:13; Luke 14:35) Mark 15:31 TT (cf. Matt. 27:41; Luke 23:35) Luke 2:15 U Luke 4:36 Lk-Mk (cf. Mark 1:27) Luke 6:11 TT (cf. Matt. 12:14; Mark 3:6) Luke 7:32 DT (cf. Matt. 11:16) Luke 8:25 TT = Mark 4:41 (cf. Matt. 8:27) Luke 12:1 TT (cf. Matt. 16:6; Mark 8:15) Luke 20:14 TT (cf. Matt. 21:38; Mark 12:7) Luke 23:12 U Luke 24:14 U Luke 24:17 U Luke 24:32 U Key: TT = pericope has parallels in all three Synoptic Gospels; DT = Lukan-Matthean pericope; Mk-Mt = Markan-Matthean pericope; Lk-Mk = Lukan-Markan pericope; U = verse unique to a particular Gospel

  ↩

• ^[47] Cf. Cotter, “The Parable of the Children in the Market-place,” 291. ↩
• ^[48] But cf. Exod. 14:20, where the LXX translators rendered זֶה אֶל זֶה as ἀλλήλοις. ↩
• ^[49] On textual variants at this point in Luke 7:32 (some textual witnesses read λέγοντες instead of ἃ λέγει), see Wolter, 1:313-314. ↩
• ^[50] Cf. Davies-Allison, 2:263. ↩
• ^[51] Additional examples of קָרָא...וְאָמַר (“call...and say”) occur in Gen. 19:5; 24:58; Exod. 32:5; Judg. 9:7; 15:18; 2 Sam. 18:28; 1 Kgs. 2:36, 42; 17:10, 11, 20, 21; 2 Kgs. 4:22; Jonah 1:14; 3:4; Dan. 8:16. ↩
• ^[52] On the avlos, see Anderson, Music And Musicians In Ancient Greece (Ithaca, N. Y.; Cornell University Press, 1994), 179-184. For discussions of avloi that have survived from antiquity, see J. G. Landels, “A Newly Discovered Aulos,” Annual of the British School at Athens 63 (1968): 231-238; Stefan Hagel, “Re-evaluating the Pompeii Auloi,” Journal of Hellenic Studies 128 (2008): 52-71. ↩
• ^[53] See Hatch-Redpath, 1:177. ↩
• ^[54] The LXX translators read מְחַלְּלִים (m^eḥal^elim, “playing pipes”) not as coming from the root ח-ל-ל (“play the pipe”) but as coming from ח-ו-ל (“dance”). ↩
• ^[55] For pipers in funerary contexts, see m. Shab. 23:4; m. Ket. 4:4. Cf. Matt. 9:23. ↩
• ^[56] The same word, חָלִיל, can mean “pipe” or “piper” depending on the context. See Jastrow, 468. ↩
• ^[57] On the procession of the first fruits into Jerusalem and Hellenistic analogies, see Lee I. Levine, Jerusalem: Portrait of the City in the Second Temple Period (538 B.C.E.-70 C.E.) (Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2002), 259. ↩
• ^[58] Cf. b. Arach. 10b. ↩
• ^[59] Text and translation according to A. D. Godley, trans., Herodotus (Loeb; 4 vols.; Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1920-1925), 1:180-181. ↩
• ^[60] Text and translation according to Ben Edwin Perry, ed. and trans., Babrius and Phaedrus (Loeb; Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1965), 14-17. ↩
• ^[61] On Aesop’s fables in rabbinic sources, see Joseph Jacobs, ed., The Fables of Aesop, as first printed by William Caxton in 1484, with those of Avian, Alfonso and Poggio (2 vols.; London: David Nutt in the Strand, 1889), 1:110ff.; Haim Schwarzbaum, “Aesop’s Fables and the Parables of the Sages,” WholeStones.org. ↩
• ^[62] See Arnold A. T. Ehrhardt, “Greek Proverbs in the Gospel,” Harvard Theological Review 46.2 (1953): 59-77, esp. 66; Flusser, Jesus, 55; idem, Die rabbinischen Gleichnisse und der Gleichniserzähler Jesus, 153-154. ↩
• ^[63] Like Children Complaining has nothing at all in common with Rabbi Akiva’s parable. ↩
• ^[64] As Cotter put it, “the pairs ‘fluting’ and the responsive ‘dancing’ [were] ‘in the air’ of the Hellenistic world." See Cotter, “Children Sitting in the Agora,” 69. Cotter also noted the Aesopic proverb ὡς αὐλεις, ὀρχοῦμαί σοι (“As you play the pipes, I will dance for you”), which seems more apropos than the fables. For the proverb, see Ben Edwin Perry, Aesopica: A Series of Texts Relating to Aesop or Ascribed to Him or Closely Connected with the Literary Tradition that Bears His Name (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1952), 282 §115. ↩
• ^[65] See Hatch-Redpath, 1:654-655. ↩
• ^[66] The verb קוֹנֵן occurs in 2 Sam. 1:17; 3:33; Jer. 9:16; Ezek. 27:32; 32:16 (3xx); 2 Chr. 35:25. The LXX translators rendered קוֹנֵן with θρηνεῖν in 2 Kgdms. 1:17; 3:33; Jer. 9:16; Ezek. 32:16 (3xx); 2 Chr. 35:25. ↩
• ^[67] Jeremias (Parables, 160 n. 37) thought that κόπτεσθαι and κλαίειν in the two versions of Like Children Complaining were translation variants of an Aramaic verb, but his translation variant hypothesis cannot explain the otherwise high degree of verbal agreement between the Lukan and Matthean versions of Like Children Complaining. For a critique of the translation variant hypothesis in general, see Kloppenborg, 55-56. For a dismissal of the translation variant hypothesis with respect to Like Children Complaining in particular, see Linton, “The Parable of the Children’s Game,” 164. ↩
• ^[68] See Ehrhardt, “Greek Proverbs in the Gospel,” 67; Marshall, 300; Nolland, Luke, 1:343; Davies-Allison, 2:263 n. 119. ↩
• ^[69] See Luz, 2:145 n. 8. ↩
• ^[70] We might also add that Josephus, who wrote for a Greek-speaking Roman audience, had no reservations about describing chest pounding as an expression of grief (cf., e.g., Ant. 6:377; 13:399). ↩
• ^[71] Text and translation according to Frank Cole Babbitt et al., trans., Plutarch’s Moralia (Loeb; 16 vols.; Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1927-2004), 2:174-175. ↩
• ^[72] Text and translation according to A. M. Harmon, K. Kilburn and M. D. Macleod, trans., Lucian (Loeb; 8 vols.; Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1913-1967), 4:118-119. ↩
• ^[73] Cotter (“Children Sitting in the Agora,” 64-65) is one of the few scholars to argue for the originality of Luke’s κλαίειν in Like Children Complaining. She noted that on at least one other occasion the author of Matthew avoided κλαίειν when it appeared in (one of) his source(s), viz. Mark 5:38 (cf. Matt. 9:23), so perhaps he also avoided κλαίειν in Like Children Complaining (Matt. 11:17). Cotter also noted that the author of Matthew added κόπτειν in Matt. 24:30 where it did not occur in his source (Mark 13:26), which may be taken as evidence that the author of Matthew also inserted κόπτειν in Matt. 11:17. Finally, Cotter noted that since the author of Luke was willing to pair κόπτεσθαι with θρηνεῖν in Luke 23:27, there is no reason why he should have been unwilling to pair these two verbs in Like Children Complaining (Luke 7:32). As far as they go, none of Cotter’s reasons for preferring κλαίειν in Like Children Complaining are invalid. (Note that in her previous article, “The Parable of the Children in the Market-place,” 291, Cotter had opined that “ἐκόψασθε...represents Q’s formulation.”) ↩
• ^[74] Cf. Zech. 12:10 LXX (κατορχεῖσθαι vs. κόπτειν). Flusser noted the bearing Eccl. 3:4 has on Like Children Complaining. See David Flusser, “Hystaspes and John of Patmos” (Flusser, JOC, 390-453, esp. 423 n. 121). Cf. Luz, 2:147-148 n. 28. ↩
• ^[75] Linton, “The Parable of the Children’s Game,” 162. ↩
• ^[76] See Hatch-Redpath, 2:799. ↩
• ^[77] See Dos Santos, 143. ↩
• ^[78] See Bovon, 1:286. ↩
• ^[79] See Jeremias, Parables, 161. ↩
• ^[80] Cf. Dennert, “‘The Rejection of Wisdom’s Call,’” 50-51. ↩
• ^[81] See Harnack, 18; Marshall, 301; Cotter, “The Parable of the Children in the Market-place,” 292; Bovon, 1:280 n. 19. For a dissenting view, see Gundry, Matt., 212; Luz, 2:145. Nolland (Luke, 1:345) was non-committal. ↩
• ^[82] See Cadbury, Style, 163. There are no instances of ἔρχεσθαι or ἐξέρχεσθαι in the perfect tense in Matthew. Mark has two instances of ἔρχεσθαι in the perfect tense (Mark 9:1, 13) and two instances of ἐξέρχεσθαι in the perfect tense (Mark 7:29, 30). Luke has four instances of ἔρχεσθαι in the perfect tense (Luke 5:17, 32; 7:33, 34) and one instance of ἐξέρχεσθαι in the perfect tense (Luke 8:46). There are two instances of ἔρχεσθαι in the perfect tense in Acts (Acts 18:2; 21:22). ↩
• ^[83] Cf., e.g., Linton, “The Parable of the Children’s Game,” 163-164; Cotter, “The Parable of the Children in the Market-place,” 292; Davies-Allison, 2:263. ↩
• ^[84] For an analysis of all the instances of the Baptist’s full title in the Synoptic Gospels, see Yeshua’s Words about Yohanan the Immerser, Comment to L32. ↩
• ^[85] Cf. Gundry, Matt., 212; Meier, A Marginal Jew, 2:211 n. 146; Hagner, 1:310. ↩
• ^[86] See the Story Placement discussion above. ↩
• ^[87] Examples of μήτε...μήτε occur in 3 Macc. 3:7; 4 Macc. 2:9; Philo, Leg. 1:93, 95; 2:53, 64, 65; Det. §8, 58; Jos., J.W. 1:209, 459, 474, 585; 5:61; and elsewhere. ↩
• ^[88] Cf. Davies-Allison, 2:263. ↩
• ^[89] See Harnack, 18; Creed, 108; Linton, “The Parable of the Children’s Game,” 164; Marshall, 301; Fitzmyer, 1:678; Cotter, “The Parable of the Children in the Market-place,” 292; Nolland, Luke, 1:344; Davies-Allison, 2:263; Meier, A Marginal Jew, 2:211 n. 147; Bovon, 1:280; Wolter, 1:314. Gundry (Matt., 212) and Hagner (1:310) are exceptional in supposing that the author of Matthew omitted “bread” and “wine.” ↩
• ^[90] See Bovon, 1:280 n. 18. ↩
• ^[91] See Bovon, 1:280. ↩
• ^[92] See Harnack, 18; Davies-Allison, 2:263 n. 123; Wolter, 1:314. Nolland (Luke, 1:344), on the other hand, suggested that the Lukan addition of “bread” and “wine” was intended to limit the scope of Jesus’ saying so as not to give the impression that the Baptist never ate or drank anything. ↩
• ^[93] See McNeile, 158; Linton, “The Parable of the Children’s Game,” 175-177; Marshall, 302; Fitzmyer, 1:681; Cotter, “The Parable of the Children in the Market-place,” 303; Nolland, Luke, 1:345; Hagner, 1:310; Wolter, 1:314. For a different view, see Bovon, 1:287. ↩
• ^[94] It is true that Matt. 3:4 ∥ Mark 1:6 highlight the Baptist’s unusual diet consisting of locusts and wild honey, but emphasizing what John did eat is hardly the same thing as drawing attention to his fasting. ↩
• ^[95] See Cotter, “Children Sitting in the Agora,” 74. ↩
• ^[96] Ibid. ↩
• ^[97] See Cotter, “Children Sitting in the Agora,” 71-73. ↩
• ^[98] Compare the accusation of misanthropy that some Gentiles leveled against Jews on account of restrictive table fellowship practices (Tacitus, Hist. 5:5 §2; Philostratus, Life of Apollonius 5:33) and the heated rhetoric in Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians concerning the issue of table fellowship (Gal. 2:11-14). ↩
• ^[99] The Baptist’s demand in Yohanan the Immerser’s Exhortations that those with food should share with those who are hungry (Luke 3:11) might seem to challenge our hypothesis that John did not eat with the crowds who came out to him. Would not John have taken his own advice and shared his food with the hungry members of the crowd? But, according to Josephus, the Essenes were also known to give alms to outsiders, and Josephus specifically mentions their practice of giving food to the needy (J.W. 2:134). Since we may safely assume that the Essenes’ almsgiving did not undermine their separatist practices regarding table fellowship, John’s demand that food be shared with those who lack it need not undermine our hypothesis regarding John’s table fellowship either. Thus, in answer to our question, John undoubtedly would have shared his food with the hungry, but he probably would not have sat down with them to eat while they consumed what he had given them. ↩
• ^[100] Cf. Harnack, 18; Fitzmyer, 1:678; Bovon, 1:280 n. 19. ↩
• ^[101] See McNeile, 158. ↩
• ^[102] On the immunity of sect members from demon possession, see Menahem Kister, “Demons, Theology and Abraham’s Covenant (CD 16:4-6 and Related Texts),” in The Dead Sea Scrolls at Fifty (ed. Robert A. Kugler and Eileen M. Schuller; Atlanta, Ga.: Scholars Press, 1999), 167-181. ↩
• ^[103] Pace Linton, “The Parable of the Children’s Game,” 175-177. Linton admits that “we never hear that Jesus ‘ate and drank’ on the great common fasting days, only that he ate and drank on days when some pious people fasted.” On Jesus’ fasting observances, see Notley, “Luke 5:35: ‘When the Bridegroom Is Taken Away’—Anticipation of the Destruction of the Second Temple,” 108-109. ↩
• ^[104] See Moulton-Howard, 433; Black, 249-250; Moule, Birth, 218; Hidden Treasure and Priceless Pearl, Comment to L12. ↩
• ^[105] See Jeremias, Parables, 160; Gundry, Matt., 213; Nolland, Luke, 1:346; Dennert, “‘The Rejection of Wisdom’s Call,’” 52-53; Wolter, 1:315. Other scholars question whether an allusion to Deut. 21:20 is intended. See Fitzmyer, 1:681; Meier, A Marginal Jew, 2:212 n. 155; Luz, 2:149 n. 39. ↩
• ^[106] In other words, sophisticated scriptural allusions are appropriate to teaching discourses but out of place in popularly circulated derogatory remarks. ↩
• ^[107] Ben Sira evidently wrote אל תהי זולל וסובא ומאומ[ה] אין בכיס (“Do not be a squanderer and a drunkard and one who has nothing in his purse”; Sir. 18:33 according to MS C; cf. 4Q525 25 I, 4), but he was clearly echoing Prov. 23:20. ↩
• ^[108] Examples of the noun רַעַבְתָן (and various spellings) are found in the following sources:

  ר′ אֶלְעָזָר חַסָמָא אוֹ′ לֹא יֹאכַל פּוֹעֵל יָתֵר עַל שְׂכָרוֹ וַחֲכָמִ′ מַתִּירִין אֲבַל מְלַמְּדִים אֶת הָאָדָם שֶׁלֹּא יְהֵא רוֹעְבְתָן וִיהֵא סוֹתֵם אֶת הַפֶּתַח לְפָנָיו

  Rabbi Eleazar Hasama says, “A worker may not eat more than [the worth of—DNB and JNT] his wage.” But the sages permit, yet they instruct the person not to be a glutton [רוֹעְבְתָן] or to slam the door in his face [i.e., by making himself undesirable for hire—DNB and JNT].” (m. Bab. Metz. 7:5)

  ר′ שמעון בן לעזר אומ′ מערבין לחולה ולאסטניס ולקטן במזונו ולרעבתן בבינונית של כל אדם

  Rabbi Shimon ben Lazar says, “They make an eruv for a sick person and a frail person and for a child with his [accustomed] food, but for a glutton [וּלְרַעַבְתָן] with what is typical for any person.” (t. Eruv. 6:4; Vienna MS)

  אמרו אוכל כשיעור הזה הרי זה בריא ומבורך פחות מכאן קללה במעיו יותר מכן הרי זה רעבתן

  They said, “The one who ate [the manna—DNB and JNT] according to this measure: Behold! This one is healthy and blessed. [The one who ate] less than that, it was a curse to his gut. [The one who ate] more than that: Behold! This one is a glutton [רַעַבְתָן]!” (Mechilta de-Rabbi Ishmael, Vayassa‘ §5 [ed. Lauterbach, 1:242])

  ↩

• ^[109] Cf. Gill, 7:121. The noun גַּרְגְּרָן does not exclusively refer to a guzzler of drink; depending on the context it can have the broader meaning of an “overindulger” of any sort (cf. m. Toh. 7:9; t. Sot. 13:7; m. Nid. 10:8). An early example of גַּרְגְּרָן is found in the following source:

  ולא תהיה גרגרן פן תמאס

  And do not be a guzzler lest you be despised. (Sir. 31:16 according to MS B)

  ↩

• ^[110] Cotter (“The Parable of the Children in the Market-place,” 292) regarded Matthew’s placement of φίλος as awkward, while Bovon (1:280 n. 19) regarded Matthew’s placement of φίλος as elegant. ↩
• ^[111] Cf., e.g., Sifre Num. §86 (ed. Horovitz, 85). ↩
• ^[112] Cf., e.g., Sifre Num. Zuta, BeHa‘alotcha 11:2 (ed. Horovitz, 268). ↩
• ^[113] Cf., e.g., Sifre Num. Zuta, BeHa‘alotcha 11:8 (ed. Horovitz, 276). ↩
• ^[114] See Cotter, “The Parable of the Children in the Market-place,” 303 n. 58. ↩
• ^[115] For a comparison of Jesus’ attitude toward toll collectors with the attitudes of the rabbinic sages, see Shmuel Safrai, “A Friend of Tax Collectors.” ↩
• ^[116] Cf. Luz, 2:147-148. ↩
• ^[117] See Hatch-Redpath, 1:334. ↩
• ^[118] On verbs formed from the צ-ד-ק root in MH, see Jastrow, 1263. ↩
• ^[119] Marshall (303) was correct that the ἀπό in Luke 7:35 likely reflects מִן, but his citation of Is. 45:25 did not prove his point. In Isa. 45:25 ἀπὸ κυρίου δικαιωθήσονται (“from the Lord they will be vindicated”) is the translation of בַּיי יִצְדְּקוּ (“in the LORD they will be righteous”). ↩
• ^[120] See Jastrow, 399. ↩
• ^[121] The different agents of vindication—“children” in Luke vs. “works” in Matthew—color the meaning of ἀπό (“from”) in the two versions: “by” in Luke vs. “because of” in Matthew. See Luz, 2:149.
  
  The suggestion that Luke’s τέκνα (tekna, “children”) and Matthew’s ἔργα (erga, “deeds”) are translation variants of the Aramaic עבדיה, which McNeile (159) and Manson (Sayings, 71) cautiously considered as a possibility, has not found acceptance among more recent scholars (cf. Gottlob Schrenk, “δικαιόω,” TDNT, 2:211-219, esp. 214 n. 13; Suggs, Wisdom, Christology, and Law in Matthew’s Gospel, 35 n. 9; Metzger, 30 n. 1; Linton, “The Parable of the Children’s Game,” 164; Luz, 2:145 n. 7), even among those who typically espoused Aramaic explanations for discrepancies in the Gospels (cf., e.g., Jeremias, Parables, 162 n. 44; Zimmermann, 49). ↩
• ^[122] For examples of the personification of Wisdom in ancient Jewish sources, see Prov. 1:20-33; 8:1-36; 9:1-12; Sir. 24:1-17. ↩
• ^[123] Cf. Sir. 15:2. Given the examples in Prov. 8:32; Sir. 4:11; 15:2 of the portrayal of Wisdom as a mother, it is surprising that Ilan regarded Luke 7:35’s portrayal of Wisdom as a mother to be an innovation. See Tal Ilan, “The Women of the Q Community within Early Judaism,” in Q in Context II: Social Setting and Archaeological Background of the Sayings Source (ed. Markus Tiwald; Göttingen: V&R Press, 2015), 195-209, esp. 204. ↩
• ^[124] See Innocent Blood, Comment to L2. ↩
• ^[125] See 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. 266; Cotter, “The Parable of the Children in the Market-place,” 293; Kloppenborg, 110 n. 36. ↩
• ^[126] Cf. Bundy, 202 §112; Catchpole, 48. ↩
• ^[127] See Cotter, “Children Sitting in the Agora,” 66. ↩
• ^[128] See Harnack, 18; Creed, 109; Linton, “The Parable of the Children’s Game,” 165; Cotter, “The Parable of the Children in the Market-place,” 292; Nolland, Luke, 1:346; Davies-Allison, 2:264. On the generalizing tendency in Luke, see Cadbury, Style, 115. ↩
• ^[129] See Fitzmyer, 1:678; Kloppenborg, 110 n. 36. ↩
• ^[130] Cf. Bovon, 1:287. ↩
• ^[131]

  Like Children Complaining
  Luke’s Version		Anthology’s Wording (Reconstructed)
  τίνι οὖν ὁμοιώσω τοὺς ἀνθρώπους τῆς γενεᾶς ταύτης καὶ τίνι εἰσὶν ὅμοιοι ὅμοιοί εἰσιν παιδίοις τοῖς ἐν ἀγορᾷ καθημένοις καὶ προσφωνοῦσιν ἀλλήλοις ἃ λέγει ηὐλήσαμεν ὑμῖν καὶ οὐκ ὠρχήσασθε ἐθρηνήσαμεν καὶ οὐκ ἐκλαύσατε ἐλήλυθεν γὰρ Ἰωάνης ὁ βαπτιστὴς μὴ ἔσθων ἄρτον μήτε πείνων οἶνον καὶ λέγετε δαιμόνιον ἔχει ἐλήλυθεν ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐσθίων καὶ πείνων καὶ λέγετε ἰδοὺ ἄνθρωπος φάγος καὶ οἰνοπότης φίλος τελωνῶν καὶ ἁμαρτωλῶν καὶ ἐδικαιώθη ἡ σοφία ἀπὸ πάντων τῶν τέκνων αὐτῆς		τίνι οὖν ὁμοιώσω τὴν γενεὰν ταύτην καὶ τίνι εἰσὶν ὅμοιοι ὅμοιοί εἰσιν παιδίοις καθημένοις ἐν ἀγορᾷ ἃ προσφωνοῦντα τοῖς ἑτέροις λέγουσιν ηὐλήσαμεν ὑμῖν καὶ οὐκ ὠρχήσασθε ἐθρηνήσαμεν καὶ οὐκ ἐκόψασθε ἦλθεν γὰρ Ἰωάννης ὁ βαπτιστὴς μὴ ἐσθίων μήτε πίνων καὶ λέγουσιν δαιμόνιον ἔχει ἦλθεν ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐσθίων καὶ πίνων καὶ λέγουσιν ἰδοὺ ἄνθρωπος φάγος καὶ οἰνοπότης φίλος τελωνῶν καὶ ἁμαρτωλῶν καὶ ἐδικαιώθη ἡ σοφία ἀπὸ τῶν τέκνων αὐτῆς
  Total Words:	76	Total Words:	70
  Total Words Identical to Anth.:	58	Total Words Taken Over in Luke:	58
  Percentage Identical to Anth.:	76.32%	Percentage of Anth. Represented in Luke:	82.86%

  ↩

• ^[132]

  Like Children Complaining
  Matthew’s Version		Anthology’s Wording (Reconstructed)
  τίνι δὲ ὁμοιώσω τὴν γενεὰν ταύτην ὁμοία ἐστὶν παιδίοις καθημένοις ἐν ταῖς ἀγοραῖς ἃ προσφωνοῦντα τοῖς ἑτέροις λέγουσιν ηὐλήσαμεν ὑμῖν καὶ οὐκ ὠρχήσασθε ἐθρηνήσαμεν καὶ οὐκ ἐκόψασθε ἦλθεν γὰρ Ἰωάνης μήτε ἐσθίων μήτε πείνων καὶ λέγουσιν δαιμόνιον ἔχει ἦλθεν ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐσθείων καὶ πείνων καὶ λέγουσιν ἰδοὺ ἄνθρωπος φάγος καὶ οἰνοπότης τελωνῶν φίλος καὶ ἁμαρτωλῶν καὶ ἐδικαιώθη ἡ σοφία ἀπὸ τῶν ἔργων αὐτῆς		τίνι οὖν ὁμοιώσω τὴν γενεὰν ταύτην καὶ τίνι εἰσὶν ὅμοιοι ὅμοιοί εἰσιν παιδίοις καθημένοις ἐν ἀγορᾷ ἃ προσφωνοῦντα τοῖς ἑτέροις λέγουσιν ηὐλήσαμεν ὑμῖν καὶ οὐκ ὠρχήσασθε ἐθρηνήσαμεν καὶ οὐκ ἐκόψασθε ἦλθεν γὰρ Ἰωάννης ὁ βαπτιστὴς μὴ ἐσθίων μήτε πίνων καὶ λέγουσιν δαιμόνιον ἔχει ἦλθεν ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐσθίων καὶ πίνων καὶ λέγουσιν ἰδοὺ ἄνθρωπος φάγος καὶ οἰνοπότης φίλος τελωνῶν καὶ ἁμαρτωλῶν καὶ ἐδικαιώθη ἡ σοφία ἀπὸ τῶν τέκνων αὐτῆς
  Total Words:	65	Total Words:	70
  Total Words Identical to Anth.:	58	Total Words Taken Over in Matt.:	58
  Percentage Identical to Anth.:	89.23%	Percentage of Anth. Represented in Matt.:	82.86%

  ↩

• ^[133] See Rangar Leivestad, “An Interpretation of Matt 11¹⁹,” Journal of Biblical Literature 71.3 (1952): 179-181; Lindsey, JRL, 162; idem, TJS, 19-20. ↩
• ^[134] Both Leivestad (“An Interpretation of Matt 11¹⁹,” 181) and Lindsey (TJS, 20 n. 7) acknowledged the lack of attestation of this “proverb.” ↩
• ^[135] Phillips has suggested that “wisdom is justified by its works (or its children)” should not be read against the background of ancient Jewish wisdom literature but as part of the Hellenistic discourse concerning drunkenness. See Thomas E. Phillips, “‘Will the Wise Person Get Drunk?’ The Background of the Human Wisdom in Luke 7:35 and Matthew 11:19,” Journal of Biblical Literature 127.2 (2008): 385-396. “The problem of drunkenness,” Phillips noted, “was commonly discussed in the context of wisdom and madness. The wise were expected to adopt a position between the extremes of abstinence...and excessive drunkenness (a habit leading to ‘madness’)” (“‘Will the Wise Person Get Drunk?’” 393-394). Based on these arguments, Phillips regarded the “proverb” in Matt. 11:19 ∥ Luke 7:35 not as a rebuttal from Jesus but as the continuation of the people’s accusation against John and Jesus: “John the Baptist’s total abstinence is madness (= he has a demon), Jesus’ indulgence is excessive (= he is a glutton and a dipsomaniac). Wisdom is plain for everyone to see, and since neither John nor Jesus avoided extremes, neither can be wise.”
  
  Nevertheless, Phillips’ interpretation is fraught with difficulties. Like others before him, Phillips was unable to produce evidence of any such proverb's having existed. In addition, madness in the Hellenistic discourse on drunkenness was associated not with abstinence but with drinking to excess. Therefore, it is Jesus, not John the Baptist, who ought to have been accused of madness if the Hellenistic discourse on drunkenness really was the background of Like Children Complaining. Finally, Phillips too easily equates the Hellenistic discourse on drunkenness with the eating and drinking of John and Jesus. As we have argued above (Comment to L14-15), the real issue was not what John and Jesus ate and drank, nor how little or how much, but the company they kept. John the Baptist observed a Qumran-like separatism from the broader Jewish population, while Jesus practiced a policy of openness with regard to table fellowship. Jewish table fellowship, not a Greek philosophical debate on the propriety of drinking alcoholic beverages, is the proper contextualization of Like Children Complaining. ↩
• ^[136] Cf. Dennert, “‘The Rejection of Wisdom’s Call,’” 54 n. 47. ↩
• ^[137] For abbreviations and bibliographical references, see “Introduction to ‘The Life of Yeshua: A Suggested Reconstruction.’” ↩
• ^[138] 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. ↩