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  1. The Greek titles of the canonical gospels has three parts. List them
    bulleteuangelion (good news) 
    bulletkata (according to) 
    bulletauthor
  2. What is unusual about this title?
    bulleteuangelion is not used as a genre description in pre-Christian context
    bulletkata is unusual, one would expect the name of the author in genitive "of Matthew". But the Septuagint (LXX) carries the title "according to the seventy"
    bulletthe text of the gospels does not claim that the names in the title are the authors
  3. What is the difference between a narrator and an author?
    bulletNarrator is the voice we are listening to as we read (Robinson Crusoe's voice)
    bulletAuthor is the person who wrote the narrative (Daniel Defoe)
  4. Who is Matthew according to the first gospel?
    bulletMt 9:9 tax collector who is called to follow Jesus
    bullet10:3 one of the twelve apostles
  5. What is the significance of the genealogy in Mt 1
    bulletIt explains how someone from Nazareth could be related to King David. 
  6. What does Paul say in Rom 1:1-5 about the Son of God? How does he understand the prophecies of scripture?
    bulletAccording to the flesh he is son of David
    bulletAccording to the spirit he is son of God, demonstrated through his resurrection.
  7. Explain the difficulty of Mt 1:9 when compared to 1Ch 3:11-12 [Three names are missing]
  8. Explain the difficulty of Mt 1:12-16 when it comes to the number 14. [Last section only contains 13 generations]
  9. What is a "Midrash"
    bulletExplanation of a Bible passage either in the form of an exposition or in the form of a narrative. A commentary.

Concerning the Nestle-Aland edition of the Greek New Testament:

  1. Where do you find information about the critical signs? [In the introduction]
  2. Where do you find information about the manuscripts? [In the appendix]

Concerning Matthew 1-2

  1. Where do Joseph and Mary live when Jesus was born? [Mt 2:1]
  2. List at least five events in the childhood narrative of Jesus that are not told in Luke or are told differently there.
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Genealogy differs from Luke

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Mary and Joseph do not live in Nazareth

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Joseph's reluctance to marry Mary

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Flight to Egypt

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The visit of the magi

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The murder of the infants

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Move to Nazareth because their hometown Bethlehem was not safe

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etc.

  1. What is the narrative function of Mt 1-2? [The last sentence indicates that the story is told to explain how Jesus got to Nazareth. The expectations for the Messiah were that he come from the family of King David. Bethlehem is a more likely for the Messiah to be born than Nazareth.]
  2. What is the narrative perspective of Matthew's Gospel? Give examples to demonstrate it. [Omniscient narrator: knows Joseph's dreams, knows God's plan as indicated in prophetic scriptures, knows magi's dreams]

Compare the following accounts. Describe differences:

bulletThe Baptism of Jesus (Differences between Mt and Mk)
bulletThe Temptation of Jesus (Compare Mt with Mk and Lk)
bulletThe Beatitudes (Compare Mt 5 with Luke)

List the four Biblical Greek Manuscripts that originally contained the Old and New Testament: (Data see appendix of Nestle-Aland edition)

Abbreviation Name Century Library
À (Hebrew Aleph) Codex Sinaiticus    
A Codex  Alexandrinus    
B Codex Vaticanus    
C Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus    

Sketch the diagram for the Two-Source-Theory.

On the basis of the Two-Source-Theory: What did Matthew change in the account of Mark? Why? List at least three changes and argue why Matthew might have made this change. The argument is strong if you can refer to another passage where Matthew makes a comparable editorial change.

bulletJesus about Divorce and Second Marriages (Compare Mt 19:1-12 with Mark)
bulletThe Healing of the Paralytic (Compare Mt  9:1-8  with Mark)