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Identity formation and the Gospel of Matthew : a socio-narrative reading
Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2021.
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Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
2021
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| _version_ | 1867613770516267008 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Negewo, Tekalign Duguma |
| author2 | Nel, Marius Johannes |
| author_browse | Negewo, Tekalign Duguma Nel, Marius Johannes |
| author_facet | Nel, Marius Johannes Negewo, Tekalign Duguma |
| author_sort | Negewo, Tekalign Duguma |
| collection | Thesis |
| dc_rights_str_mv | Stellenbosch University |
| description | Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2021. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/123884 |
| institution | Stellenbosch University (South Africa) |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:41:25.747Z |
| license_str | Other — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| publishDate | 2021 |
| publishDateRange | 2021 |
| publishDateSort | 2021 |
| publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| publisherStr | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| spelling | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/123884 Identity formation and the Gospel of Matthew : a socio-narrative reading Negewo, Tekalign Duguma Nel, Marius Johannes Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Theology. Dept. of Old and New Testament. Bible. Matthew -- Criticism, interpretation, etc. Bible. New Testament -- Social scientific criticism Matthean community Ronald Barthes’ semiological reading method Judaism -- Relations -- Christianity Christianity and other religions -- Judaism UCTD Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2021. ENGLISH ABSTRACT: With the assumption that texts have identity-forming roles, this study attempted to answer the question: Why does the author of the Gospel of Matthew include non-Judean characters in his narrative? To explore a possible answer to this question, I coined and used the socio-narrative reading method, which merges socio-scientific criticism, narrative criticism, and semiological reading through social identity, characterisation, and semiotic theories as a heuristic interpretive tool. I contend that the implied author of Matthew used the non-Judean characters to form the identity of the ideal readers’ community. This community is not a specific, isolated community, but an imagined 1st-century group of people, i.e., an ideal readers’ community, who could read, grasp, and accept the ideology1 propagated by the Gospel of Matthew as it was expressed by the implied author in the narrative. Many Matthean scholars have pointed to the role of the non-Judean characters in the Matthean narrative as having implications for the mission to the non-Judeans, but without providing a theoretical basis. I argue that Ronald Barthes’ semiological reading method, specifically the second order meaning of stories, fills this lacuna in Matthean scholarship. Furthermore, most of the studies on the non-Judean characters in the Gospel of Matthew considered them as a reflection of the addressed community. However, I contend that these characters have an identity forming role. I argue that, on the one hand, the implied author used the negatively stereotyped non-Judeans in the Matthean Jesus’ teaching (i.e. Matt. 5:47; 6:7; 6:32; 18:17; and 20:19), which are exemplified in the stories of the negatively characterised non-Judean individuals such as the Gadarenes (Matt. 8:32-34), Pilate (Matt. 27:1-6; 27:62-66), and the Roman soldiers (Matt. 27: 27-28:15), to demonstrate the “otherness”, the “outsiderness” of the non-Judeans. On the other hand, the positively characterised non-Judeans in the genealogy account (Matt. 1:1-17), the Magi (Matt. 2:1-12), the centurion (Matt. 8:5-13), and the Canaanite woman (Matt. 15: 21-28) are used in the Matthean narrative to form the identity of 1 In this disseretation ideology has the meaning of what the implied author wants to promote, shuch as in the first century context in which the idea of non-Judeans being a part of God’s people and rightful beneficries of the kingdom blessings was contested, the implied author promote the possibility of the non-Judeans being a part of such people. the ideal readers’ community. If the positively characterised non-Judeans were shown to be rightful beneficiaries of the messianic blessings, the social boundary that excluded non-Judeans, who were perceived as others and outsiders in relation to God’s people, is either compromised or demolished. Therefore, the positive and negative characterisations of non-Judeans in the Matthean narrative have a role in forming the identity of the ideal readers’ community. AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie het, met die aanname dat tekste ʼn identiteit-vormende rol speel, gepoog om die vraag te beantwoord: “Waarom sluit die skrywer van die Evangelie van Matteus nie-Judese karakters in sy vertelling in?” Om die vraag te ondersoek, het ek ʼn leesmetode ontwikkel wat ek die sosio-narratiewe leesmetode noem. Dit is ʼn samesmelting van sosio-wetenskaplike kritiek, narratiewe kritiek, en semiologiese lees, deur gebruik te maak van sosiale identiteit, karakterisering en semiotiese teorieë as ʼn heuristiese werktuig. Ek voer aan dat die geïmpliseerde skrywer die nie-Judese karakters gebruik het om die identiteit van die ideale lesersgemeenskap te vorm. Hierdie gemeenskap is nie ʼn spesifieke, geïsoleerde gemeenskap nie, maar ʼn verbeelde groep mense uit die eerste eeu, dit wil sê ʼn ideale lesersgemeenskap wat die ideologie wat deur die Matteus-evangelie gepropageer is, sou kon lees, begryp en aanvaar soos dit deur die geïmpliseerde outeur vertel is. Baie navorsers het al daarop gewys dat die rol van die nie-Judese karakters in die boek Matteus, implikasies het vir die sending aan nie-Jode, maar geen teoretiese basis daarvoor gebied nie. Ek meen dat Ronald Barthes se semiologiese leesmetode, spesifiek die tweede-orde betekenis van die verhale, hierdie leemte in die Matteus-navorsing kan vul. In studies oor die nie-Judese karakters in die Evangelie van Matteus, word hulle dikwels beskou as ʼn weerspieëling van die kontekstuele gemeenskap aan wie die boek gerig was. Ek beweer egter dat hierdie karakters ʼn identiteit-vormende rol speel. Ek argumenteer dat die geïmpliseerde skrywer aan die een kant die negatiewe stereotipering van nie-Judeërs deur Jesus (cf. Matt. 5:47; 6:7; 6:32; 18:17; en 20:19), en voorbeelde van negatief gekarakteriseerde nie-Jode, soos die Gadareners (Matt. 8:32-34), Pilatus (Matt. 27:1-6; 27:62-66) en die Romeinse soldate (Matt. 27:27-28:15) gebruik het om die “andersheid”, “buitestaanderheid” van nie-Jode te toon. Aan die ander kant is die positief gekarakteriseerde nie-Jode in die genealogiese verslag (Matt. 1:1-17), die wyse manne (Matt. 2:1-12), die offisier (Matt. 8:5-13) en die Kanaänitiese vrou (Matt. 15:21-28) in die Matteus-verhaal gebruik om die identiteit van die ideale lesersgemeenskap te vorm. As die positief gekarakteriseerde nie-Jode beskou word as mense wat die reg het om te deel in die messiaanse seëninge, word die sosiale grens wat nie-Jode uitsluit en hulle as “anders” of “buitestanders” in verhouding tot God se volk beskou, gekompromitteer of afgebreek. Daarom speel die positiewe en negatiewe karakterisering van nie-Jode in die Mattheus-verhaal ʼn rol in die vorming van die identiteit van die ideale lesersgemeenskap. Doctoral 2021-12-02T10:34:38Z 2021-12-22T14:27:01Z 2021-12-02T10:34:38Z 2021-12-22T14:27:01Z 2021-12-02 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/123884 en Stellenbosch University xiv, 231 leaves application/pdf Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| spellingShingle | Bible. Matthew -- Criticism, interpretation, etc. Bible. New Testament -- Social scientific criticism Matthean community Ronald Barthes’ semiological reading method Judaism -- Relations -- Christianity Christianity and other religions -- Judaism UCTD Negewo, Tekalign Duguma Identity formation and the Gospel of Matthew : a socio-narrative reading |
| title | Identity formation and the Gospel of Matthew : a socio-narrative reading |
| title_full | Identity formation and the Gospel of Matthew : a socio-narrative reading |
| title_fullStr | Identity formation and the Gospel of Matthew : a socio-narrative reading |
| title_full_unstemmed | Identity formation and the Gospel of Matthew : a socio-narrative reading |
| title_short | Identity formation and the Gospel of Matthew : a socio-narrative reading |
| title_sort | identity formation and the gospel of matthew a socio narrative reading |
| topic | Bible. Matthew -- Criticism, interpretation, etc. Bible. New Testament -- Social scientific criticism Matthean community Ronald Barthes’ semiological reading method Judaism -- Relations -- Christianity Christianity and other religions -- Judaism UCTD |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/123884 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT negewotekalignduguma identityformationandthegospelofmatthewasocionarrativereading |