04_Biblica_1_C_Thiessen_Layout 1 30/01/13 13:16 Pagina 544 544 MATTHEW THIESSEN Despite the significant attention scholars have given to the mean- ing of plhro/w Matthew’s Jesus uses the verb only once in Matt 5,17- 20 (and, more broadly, in the Sermon on the Mount). In contrast, twice in Matthew 5,17 Jesus says that he has not come to abolish (kataluw) the law or the prophets, while once in verse 19 he warns / that anyone abolishing (lu/w) the smallest of commandments, or teaching others to do so, will be the least in the kingdom of heaven 7. The threefold occurrence of the words katalu/w and lu/w suggests that their meanings are of central importance for understanding Matthew’s concerns in this passage, yet few have attempted to under- stand their usage in Matt 5,17-20 in light of other occurrences of the word in Jewish literature 8. The following argument addresses this la- cuna in the secondary literature by focusing on two particular events around which these words cluster: the Antiochan persecution and the destruction of the Temple in 70 C.E. Although Jewish literature uses kataluw and lu/w with reference to the abolishment of the law else- / where 9, I believe that their use in reference to the Antiochan persecu- tion and the destruction of the Temple are particularly informative for understanding Matthew’s concerns in Matt 5,17-20. In contrast to D.L. BALCH (“The Greek Political Topos peri\ no/mwn and 7 Matthew 5:17, 19, and 16:19”, Social History of the Matthean Community. Cross-Disciplinary Approaches [ed. D.L. BALCH] [Minneapolis, MN 1991] 68- 84 [79]), F. BÜCHSEL (“luw”, TDNT IV, 328-356) demonstrates that the cognates / (kata)luw and lu/w may be used synonymously when referring to the law. / Cf., for instance, the discussions of katalu/w in U. LUZ, “Die Erfüllung 8 des Gesetzes bei Matthäus (Mt 5:17-20)”, ZTK 75.4 (1978) 398-435, and BALCH, “The Greek Political Topos”. (Kata)lu/w never occurs in the LXX translation of the HB in reference to abolishing the law. This usage also occurs in non-Jewish Greek literature. For instance, Dio Chrysostom claims that a city cannot be saved if the law has been abolished (luqe/ntoj, Oration 75.10). Similarly, Josephus uses katalu/w in reference to Julius Caesar, who, he says, overthrew Roman democracy (katalu&sei th~j dhmokrati/aj), bringing great evils upon the entire city of Rome (A.J. 19.173-174), thereby demon- strating that abolishment of any people’s law has disastrous consequences. Josephus likewise claims that Izates’ subjects accused him of abolishing an- cestral customs and embracing foreign (i.e. Jewish) customs (katalu&santa me\n ta_ pa&tria ce/nwn d 0 e0rasth_n e0qw~n geno&menon, A.J. 20.81). Outside of these two clusters, (kata)lu/w is used another eighteen times 9 in Jewish literature in relation to the law, almost all of which deal with laws such as Sabbath, circumcision, dietary laws, and temple service. © Gregorian Biblical Press 2012 - Tutti i diritti riservati