ὡμοιώθη in parables of Matthew 13.24; 18.23; 22.2
Posted: April 6th, 2021, 9:53 pm
I'm trying to make sense of Matthew's use of ὡμοιώθη in 3 parables of Jesus.
-13.24: weeds and wheat w/ the fiery destruction of the weeds
-18.23: the unforgiving slave who ends up being tortured
-22.2: the wedding banquet where the city gets burned up and the one person w/out the garment ends up in outer darkness
I.e., these are all quite severe judgment parables.
The synoptics all regularly use some form of the ομοι- stem:
- ὁμοία ἐστὶν
- With Indicative: future passive: ὁμοιωθήσεται or future active: ὁμοιώσω
- With subjunctive: ὁμοιώσωμεν (ὁμοιώσω)
The odd usage is the Matthean aorist passive indicative ὡμοιώθη. >> The kingdom of the heavens was like...
I found this article by DA Carson in NTS 31.1985, 277-282 "The homoios word-group as introduction to some Matthean parables"
He noted that it was distinctive, and to summarize:
A) It’s a passive deponent >> NOT “was likened” but simply “was like”
B) He takes it as “gnomic” or “effective” aorist. >> NOT “was like” but “has become like”
C) the real sense is: “The kingdom of heaven has become like the case of a person who…”
>> “Mt uses the aorist to affirm that Jesus claims the kingdom has already dawned in his own mission, and therefore failure to recognize it in Jesus’ day was already a mark of spiritual hardness.”
While that certainly is a possibility, I am wondering if does indeed mean something more like: "The kingdom of heaven was (understood to be) like.."
I.e., I'm wondering if the aorist passive is similar to the aorist passive ἐρρέθη in Matt 5.21, 27, 31, 33, 38; 5.43 where Jesus states: "You heard that it was said..., but I say..."
I.e., in those three parables where ὡμοιώθη is used, we are not to read it as positive parable but as parable contrasting what common conception has been, in contrast to a new understanding of God's dominion that Jesus is trying to communicate.
(I will grant that my sense is that Matthew reads the parables as positive ones, but it's interesting that just the three parables noted used this introduction.)
Thanks for any insight!
-13.24: weeds and wheat w/ the fiery destruction of the weeds
-18.23: the unforgiving slave who ends up being tortured
-22.2: the wedding banquet where the city gets burned up and the one person w/out the garment ends up in outer darkness
I.e., these are all quite severe judgment parables.
The synoptics all regularly use some form of the ομοι- stem:
- ὁμοία ἐστὶν
- With Indicative: future passive: ὁμοιωθήσεται or future active: ὁμοιώσω
- With subjunctive: ὁμοιώσωμεν (ὁμοιώσω)
The odd usage is the Matthean aorist passive indicative ὡμοιώθη. >> The kingdom of the heavens was like...
I found this article by DA Carson in NTS 31.1985, 277-282 "The homoios word-group as introduction to some Matthean parables"
He noted that it was distinctive, and to summarize:
A) It’s a passive deponent >> NOT “was likened” but simply “was like”
B) He takes it as “gnomic” or “effective” aorist. >> NOT “was like” but “has become like”
C) the real sense is: “The kingdom of heaven has become like the case of a person who…”
>> “Mt uses the aorist to affirm that Jesus claims the kingdom has already dawned in his own mission, and therefore failure to recognize it in Jesus’ day was already a mark of spiritual hardness.”
While that certainly is a possibility, I am wondering if does indeed mean something more like: "The kingdom of heaven was (understood to be) like.."
I.e., I'm wondering if the aorist passive is similar to the aorist passive ἐρρέθη in Matt 5.21, 27, 31, 33, 38; 5.43 where Jesus states: "You heard that it was said..., but I say..."
I.e., in those three parables where ὡμοιώθη is used, we are not to read it as positive parable but as parable contrasting what common conception has been, in contrast to a new understanding of God's dominion that Jesus is trying to communicate.
(I will grant that my sense is that Matthew reads the parables as positive ones, but it's interesting that just the three parables noted used this introduction.)
Thanks for any insight!