RT Article
T1 Matt 27.51–4 Reconsidered: Its Role in the Passion Narrative, Meaning and Origin
JF New Testament studies
VO 48
IS 1
SP 30
OP 47
A1 Troxel, Ronald Lewis 1951-
LA English
YR 2002
UL https://ixtheo.de/Record/1785737236
AB This report of opened tombs and risen saints is conventionally deemed to mark Jesus’ death as the dawn of the new age. However, this understanding obscures Matthew's studied climax in v. 54. Defending the theory that vv. 51b–54 are a Matthean creation, it is argued here that Matthew drew his scene of risen saints from 1 Enoch 93.6, where ‘visions of the Holy Ones’ accompany the gift of the Torah. Matthew utilized this motif from the Mosaic era not to infuse Jesus’ death with eschatological significance, but to provoke the centurion's acclamation of Jesus as ‘son of God’ as the climax of the crucifixion narrative.
DO 10.1017/S0028688502000036