Aspiration Toward Inspiration

My newest educational toy is my Bible edited by Wayne A. Meeks. Upon its arrival, I tore open its packaging and drooled over the amount of footnotes. I also think I need to purchase a couple other books to further boost my studies. I’ll look into those soon.

In any case, as I caught myself up to my current chapter in Matthew in my new Bible, here are some notes I made, all courtesy of the lovely editor’s notes in my new Bible.

Literally, “Messiah” or “Christ” is “The Anointed.” Kings and priests were anointed with oils.

Matthew traces Jesus to Abraham, the father of the Chosen People, but also “ancestor of a multitude of nations,” which can be taken to include the Gentiles.

The women included in Matthew’s genealogy were Gentiles or Jewesses with irregular sexual unions considered important for God’s plan (logos?), like Mary.

When Matthew concludes Jesus’ genealogy, he divides the generations into groups of 14. Fourteen is the numerical value of David’s name.

Oftentimes the word “virgin” is more accurately translated “young woman.”

The light in your eye… the passage in Matthew (6.22-23) which speaks of light and darkness is better understood in the original language and context. It reads, “If your eye is unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness” (NRSV). The word translated here as “unhealthy” is literally “evil.” The translator chose “unhealthy” because of the connotations of “evil” in the English language. However, if you understand the context, you understand the phrase is different than it looks at face value in English. An evil eye was a metaphor for jealousy. Recalling courses on both Religion and Anthropology and Jewish Mysticism, I can also submit that in some traditions, the evil eye can even do one harm. Some cultures will mark the faces of beautiful children to avoid the evil eye. Protective makeup and amulets are also often employed. In any case, this passage speaks truth– jealousy is consuming. When one can be free of jealousy, one can be free to love more openly and embrace God’s light. When seen through these lenses, the passage also makes more sense with the passage following, which talks about serving God vs. serving wealth.

Both Matthew and Paul indicate that Peter was married.

Naming is an act of power. When demons call Jesus “Son of God,” they are attempting to gain power over the exorcist.

I knew a lot of this stuff, but was reminded of how interesting it was/how often people don’t know it upon reading it. So enjoy. Try not to let your brain dribble out your ear.