In the NWT it says at the back that Matthew was written in 41CE. How do they base this, as i have read books by scholars that say it had to be much later. Possibly in the 60's CE or even later. What say you? Anyone have any info on this I would much appreciate it. And thanks in advance for your responses.
When was the book of Matthew written?
by ssn587 4 Replies latest watchtower scandals
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maninthemiddle
Here is the official answer. I need to research the subscriptins mentioned, because I also have learned it to be much later.
*** si p. 176 par. 6 Bible Book Number 40—Matthew ***
6 Matthew wrote his account in Palestine. The exact year is not known, but subscriptions at the end of some manuscripts (all later than the tenth century C.E.) say that it was 41 C.E. There is evidence to indicate that Matthew originally wrote his Gospel in the popular Hebrew of the time and later translated it into Greek. In his work De viris inlustribus (Concerning Illustrious Men), chapter III, Jerome says: “Matthew, who is also Levi, and who from a publican came to be an apostle, first of all composed a Gospel of Christ in Judaea in the Hebrew language and characters for the benefit of those of the circumcision who had believed.” Jerome adds that the Hebrew text of this Gospel was preserved in his day (fourth and fifth centuries C.E.) in the library that Pamphilus had collected in Caesarea.
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Giordano
http://www.infidels.org/library/historical/marshall_gauvin/did_jesus_really_live.html
There is not the smallest fragment of trustworthy evidence to show that any of the Gospels were in existence, in their present form, earlier than a hundred years after the time at which Christ is supposed to have died. Christian scholars, having no reliable means by which to fix the date of their composition, assign them to as early an age as their calculations and their guesses will allow; but the dates thus arrived at are far removed from the age of Christ or his apostles. We are told that Mark was written some time after the year 70, Luke about 110, Matthew about 130, and John not earlier than 140 A.D. Let me impress upon you that these dates are conjectural, and that they are made as early as possible. The first historical mention of the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, was made by the Christian Father, St. Irenaeus, about the year 190 A.D. The only earlier mention of any of the Gospels was made by Theopholis of Antioch, who mentioned the Gospel of John in 180 A.D.
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maninthemiddle
I can't find any mention of "subscriptions" in matthew.
This says the earileiest anyone is willing to propose is 63.
Date of gospel
Biblical scholars generally hold that Matthew was composed between the years c. 70 and 100. [72] [73] [74] [75] A minority of scholars believe, however, that the gospel could have been written as early as 63 AD. [8] Ignatius seemed to have knowledge of four Pauline epistles and the Gospel of Matthew" [76] , which gives a terminus ad quem of c. 110. The author of the Didache (c 100) probably knew it as well. [7] Many scholars see the prophecy of the siege and destruction of Jerusalem [77] as suggesting a date of composition after the year 70. [78] However, John A. T. Robinson argues that the lack of a passage indicating the fulfillment of the prophecy suggests an earlier date. [79] . Futhermore theGospel of Matthew does not mention the death of James in 62 nor the persecutions of the early Christians by Nero.This view has been challenged by two scholars almost a century apart, The Reverend C. B. Huleatt and Carsten Peter Thiede. In December 1994, Carsten Peter Thiede redated the Magdalen papyrus, which bears a fragment from the Gospel of Matthew, to roughly the year 60 on palaeographical grounds, and thus the Gospel of Matthew could have been written by an eye-witness to Jesus. [80] [81] [82] According to many scholars, however, it is not necessary for the gospel to have been written at an early date, in order for the apostle to have written it. [8] Many scholars who hold that the apostle wrote the gospel contend that Matthew's old age might have been the motivating factor behind the writing of the book.
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maninthemiddle
From here: http://gospel-of-matthew.co.tv/#cite_note-carson-moo_8
Matthew was also said to have written the very first Gospel [66] [67] [68] in Hebrew near Jerusalem for Hebrew Christians and it was translated into Greek, but the Greek copy was lost. The Hebrew original was kept at the Library of Caesarea. The Nazarene Community transcribed a copy for Jerome http://books.google.ca/books?id=Cb4CAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA82&dq=Matthew+Jerome+%22The+Fathers+of+the+Church%22+%22+Gospel+according+to+the+Hebrews%22++extant&num=100#v=onepage&q=Matthew%20Jerome%20%22The%20Fathers%20of%20the%20Church%22%20%22%20Gospel%20according%20to%20the%20Hebrews%22%20extant&f=false which he used in his work. [69] Matthew's Gospel was called the Gospel according to the Hebrews http://books.google.ca/books?id=_wLZAAAAMAAJ&q=Hebrew+%22Gospel+of+matthew%22+%22in+the+New+Testament+expounded+and+declared+the+gospel+in+Hebrew+%22+%22Gospel+according+to+the+Hebrews+%22+Cerinthus+Merinthus,&dq=Hebrew+%22Gospel+of+matthew%22+%22in+the+New+Testament+expounded+and+declared+the+gospel+in+Hebrew+%22+%22Gospel+according+to+the+Hebrews+%22+Cerinthus+Merinthus or sometimes the Gospel of the Apostles [70] [71] and it was once believed that it was the original to the Greek Matthew found in the Bible, although this is currently disputed by modern Biblical Scholars. [8]