Thursday, November 20, 2014

156. Matthew 13:11 - 13

David Inglis, "at the beginning of Adv. Haer. IV.29, Irenaeus appears to indicate that vv. 8:9-10 was not present in the Gospel used by the Marcionites: But, say they, God hardened the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants [Ex 9:35]. Those, then, who allege such difficulties, do not read in the Gospel that passage where the Lord replied to the disciples, when they asked Him, Why do You speak unto them in parables? [8:9?] Because it is given unto you to know the mystery of the kingdom of heaven; but to them I speak in parables, that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not hear, understanding they may not understand; [8:10?] in order that the prophecy of Isaiah regarding them may be fulfilled, saying, Make the heart of this people gross and make their ears dull, and blind their eyes. But blessed are your eyes, which see the things that you see; and your ears, which hear what you hear [Isa 6:10] The gospel text that Irenaeus quotes is much closer to Mt 13:11-13 than to vv. 8:9-10 (although it is not quite the same as either), so it is not certain what source he is quoting. For example, if Mt was his source then why did he omit Mt 13:11b-12, and does “understanding they may not understand” actually reflect v. 24:45 instead?


Email stephan.h.huller@gmail.com with comments or questions.


 
Stephan Huller's Observations by Stephan Huller
is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License.