Heaven and Earth in the Gospel of Matthew

by Jonathan T. Pennington

Overview

The theme of heaven and earth is a much-overlooked aspect of the Gospel of Matthew. In this work, rising scholar Jonathan Pennington articulates a fresh perspective on this key interpretive issue, challenging both the scholarly and popular understandings of the meaning of Matthew's phrase, "kingdom of heaven."

Pennington argues that rather than being a reverent way of referring to God as is typically assumed, "heaven" in Matthew is part of a highly developed discourse of heaven and earth language. Matthew's way of using heaven language serves one overriding theological purpose: to highlight the tension that currently exists between heaven and earth or God and humanity, while looking forward to its eschatological resolution. This affordable North American paperback edition was previously published in hardcover by Brill.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780801037283
Publisher:	Baker Publishing Group
Publication date:	07/01/2009
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	416
Sales rank:	1,048,032
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Jonathan T. Pennington (PhD, University of St. Andrews) is associate professor of New Testament interpretation and director of research doctoral studies at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. He has published a number of biblical language learning tools, including New Testament Greek Vocabulary and Old Testament Hebrew Vocabulary.

Table of Contents

Introduction
Part 1: Clearing Ground and Building Anew
1. Challenging the Circumlocution Assumption
2. A Survey of Heaven in the Old Testament and Second Temple Literature
3. A Survey of Heaven in Matthew
4. Heaven and Earth in the Context of Matthean Studies and Theology
Part 2: Matthew's Idiolectic Use of Heaven Language and the Theme of Heaven and Earth
5. Οuρανoς and Οuρανοi in the Septuagint and Second Temple Literature
6. Οuρανoς and Οuρανοi in Matthew
7. Heaven and Earth in the Old Testament and Second Temple Literature
8. Heaven and Earth in Matthew
9. God as Father in the Old Testament and Second Temple Literature
10. The Father in Heaven in Matthew
11. The Kingdom of God in the Old Testament and Second Temple Literature
12. Matthew's "Kingdom of Heaven"
Conclusion: Heaven and Earth in the Gospel of Matthew
Appendix: Data from a Synoptic Comparison of Οuρανoς
Indexes

Editorial Reviews

"Pennington's study underlines the importance of the heaven-and-earth theme and offers a helpful way of considering its significance. This study makes a worthy contribution..."
"...this book makes an important contribution to Matthean studies. Even if one does not entirely agree with Pennington’s fresh proposal about Matthew’s use of “heaven,” he has convincingly argued that the old Dalman paradigm should be firmly rejected." – Osvaldo Padilla, Bulletin for Biblical Research 19.4

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