[B-Greek] Matthew 9:20, Matthew 14:36 (TOU KRASPEDOU) cf Malachi 4:2 (LXX 3:20) KANAPH/TAIS PTERUXIN
William Ross
woundedegomusic at gmail.com
Thu Sep 7 10:40:33 EDT 2006
We are all probably familiar with the many obvious indications that
Matthew is dependent on the LXX, such as his quote of Isaiah 7:14 LXX,
so I am surprised to see something that appears to me to be from the
Hebrew rather than the LXX and I am wondering if I knew more about the
etymology or extant usage of PTERUXIN that it would show that the
Greek could have been his source for Matthew 9:20 and 14:36.
It seems obvious to me that these verses:
Mt 9:20 And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of
blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his
garment:
Mt 14:36 And besought him that they might only touch the hem of his
garment: and as many as touched were made perfectly whole.
were inspired by Malachi 4:2 (LXX 3:20). Here is the KJV (from the
Masoretic Hebrew text):
Malachi 4:2 But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of
righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth,
and grow up as calves of the stall.
The word translated "wings" is KANAPH which has the following semantic range:
03671 Pnk kanaph kaw-nawf'
from 03670; n f; {See TWOT on 1003 @@ '1003a'}
AV-wing 74, skirt 14, borders 2, corners 2, ends 2, feathered 2, sort
2, winged 2, misc 8; 108
1) wing, extremity, edge, winged, border, corner, shirt
1a) wing
1b) extremity
1b1) skirt, corner (of garment)
ISTM that it was originally penned to refer to the rays of the sun of
righteousness. This could have had the double meaning of the coming
Davidic ruler, the periphery of who's very garments would extend
divine healing - and thus makes a natural background for Matthew's
stories.
But if Matthew was reading the LXX, which he obviously normally did,
he would have encountered PTERUXIN rather than KANAPH. My question
then is, would PTERUXIN have a similar usage in its semantic range?
Could he get "hem of his garment" from PTERUXIN?
If not, would anyone think he could have been astute enough to catch
the idea that "the sun of righteousness" was a man and the "wings"
were his garment fringe?
I think he could have made the interpretation from the LXX reading,
but I am thinking it would be an easier sell if PTERUXIN lent itself
to that reading.
Sorry for such a complex, lengthy question.
William Ross
VGB, Argentina
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