Die betekenis van geregtigheid (dikaiosune) in Matteus : 'n openbaringshistoriese studie
Meiring, Casper Francois
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The word δηθαηνζύλε occurs 92 times in 86 verses in the Greek New Testament. With regard to the four gospels, its incidence is the highest (70%) in Matthew. Among the other synoptic writers, only Luke uses it, and only once. The word δηθαηνζύλε occurs seven times in the Gospel of Matthew, and five of these occurrences are found in the Sermon on the Mount. It is clear that righteousness constitutes an important concept in the Gospel. With the term δηθαηνζύλε as the key element, the Gospel shows a structure in which the Sermon on the Mount with its five occurrences of δηθαηνζύλε is framed by 3:15 and 21:32, each one of these containing δηθαηνζύλε once. Matthew emphasises the enduring validity of the law and its fulfilment, of which the consequence is referred to in 5:20 as righteousness that could be described as more abundant righteousnessi. Therefore, to Matthew the relationship between law and righteousness is indicated by ἐληνιή in 5:19. The righteousness proposed by Matthew must comply with the will of God and the demands of the “kingdom of heaven”. From 6:1, it is clear that this is righteousness before your father. Matthew wants to impress it on the reader that righteousness must not be practised before people but before God eventually. I would appear that Matthew and Paul use the term δηθαηνζύλε in different ways. The aim of this study was therefore to ascertain what meaning Matthew wants to convey by δηθαηνζύλε in the Gospel, and in what way he applies this meaning to his arguments in the Gospel. In Chapter 1, the background and the problem statement are set out. The objective of Chapter 2 was to ascertain if Matthew‟s use of the concept of righteousness was influenced by the situation that gave rise to the Gospel of Matthew coming into being (Sitz im Leben der alten Kirche). It was concluded that Matthew wanted to present a more abundant δηθαηοζύλε to the community in Antioch in order to assist them in defining their identity. In Chapter 3, the meaning of the word δηθαηνζύλε outside the Gospel of Matthew was investigated. It was found that context plays an important role in establishing the meaning of the word. It also became clear that δηθαηνζύλε is a wide concept that comprises both the meanings of “ethical action by man” and “gift of God”. The objective of Chapter 4 was to ascertain what δηθαηνζύλε meant to Matthew. It was concluded that he used the term in an ethical sense. In Chapter 5, the statement that there might be a tension between the Sermon on the Mount and the rest of the Gospel was investigated in order to find out in what way Matthew applied his interpretation of righteousness in his arguments. The conclusion was that there is no tension between the Sermon on the Mount and the rest of the gospel. It was also found that Matthew and Paul do not differ from each other theologically with regard to the meaning of the word δηθαηνζύλε; indeed, they are close to each other in this respect. In Chapter 6, a final conclusion was made regarding the use of δηθαηνζύλε in the Gospel of Matthew, viz. that Matthew and Paul complement each other in their semantic interpretation of the word δηθαηνζύλε in such a way that the result is a comprehensive concept of righteousness. It was found that Matthew‟s presentation of the concept associated with the term δηθαηνζύλε provides important ethical values that could be applied the South African society.
- Theology