Isaiah 35.4-6: 4 Say to those with anxious heart, “Take courage, fear not. Behold, your God will come with vengeance; the retribution of God will come, but He will save you.” 5 Then the eyes of those who are blind will be opened, and the ears of those who are deaf will be unstopped. 6 Then those who limp will leap like a deer, and the tongue of those who cannot speak will shout for joy. For waters will burst forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert. / 4 Παρακαλέσατε οἱ ὀλιγόψυχοι τῇ διανοίᾳ, «Ἰσχύσατε· μὴ φοβεῖσθε· ἰδοὺ, ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν κρίσιν ἀνταποδίδωσιν καὶ ἀνταποδώσει αὐτὸς ἥξει καὶ σώσει ἡμᾶς.» 5 τότε ἀνοιχθήσονται ὀφθαλμοὶ τυφλῶν καὶ ὦτα κωφῶν ἀκούσονται· 6 τότε ἁλεῖται ὡς ἔλαφος ὁ χωλός καὶ τρανὴ ἔσται γλῶσσα μογιλάλων, ὅτι ἐρράγη ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ ὕδωρ καὶ φάραγξ ἐν γῇ διψώσῃ.
Isaiah 61.1-3: 1 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord anointed me to bring good news to the poor; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim release to captives and freedom to prisoners; 2 to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn, 3 to grant those who mourn in Zion, giving them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the cloak of praise instead of a disheartened spirit. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified. / 1 Πνεῦμα κυρίου ἐπ᾽ ἐμέ οὗ εἵνεκεν ἔχρισέν με· εὐαγγελίσασθαι πτωχοῖς ἀπέσταλκέν με, ἰάσασθαι τοὺς συντετριμμένους τῇ καρδίᾳ, κηρύξαι αἰχμαλώτοις ἄφεσιν καὶ τυφλοῖς ἀνάβλεψιν, 2 καλέσαι ἐνιαυτὸν κυρίου δεκτὸν καὶ ἡμέραν ἀνταποδόσεως, παρακαλέσαι πάντας τοὺς πενθοῦντας, 3 δοθῆναι τοῖς πενθοῦσιν Σιων δόξαν ἀντὶ σποδοῦ, ἄλειμμα εὐφροσύνης τοῖς πενθοῦσιν, καταστολὴν δόξης ἀντὶ πνεύματος ἀκηδίας, καὶ κληθήσονται γενεαὶ δικαιοσύνης, φύτευμα κυρίου εἰς δόξαν.
Matthew 11.5 = Luke 7.22 seems to have influenced Justin's wording of the bits which ultimately derive from Isaiah:
Code: Select all
JM: πτωχοὶ εὐαγγελίζονται· τυφλοὶ βλέπουσι
Is: εὐαγγελίσασθαι πτωχοῖς | ἀνοιχθήσονται ὀφθαλμοὶ τυφλῶν
M: πτωχοὶ εὐαγγελίζονται | τυφλοὶ ἀναβλέπουσιν
L: πτωχοὶ εὐαγγελίζονται | τυφλοὶ ἀναβλέπουσιν
Luke 7.22-23: 22 And He answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up; the poor have the gospel preached to them. 23 And blessed is anyone who does not take offense at Me.” / 22 Καὶ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς, «Πορευθέντες ἀπαγγείλατε Ἰωάννῃ ἃ εἴδετε καὶ ἠκούσατε· τυφλοὶ ἀναβλέπουσιν, χωλοὶ περιπατοῦσιν, λεπροὶ καθαρίζονται καὶ κωφοὶ ἀκούουσιν, νεκροὶ ἐγείρονται, πτωχοὶ εὐαγγελίζονται· 23 καὶ μακάριός ἐστιν ὃς ἐὰν μὴ σκανδαλισθῇ ἐν ἐμοί.»
This kind of listing of miracles performed seems to be the same sort of thing we find in the synoptic summary statements:
Matthew 7.28b-29 = Mark 1.21b-22 = Luke 4.31b-32: Jesus teaches in the synagogues on the sabbath days (K+L), and the crowds (M) are amazed at his teaching (M+K+L), since his word (L) or teaching (M+K) is with authority (M+K+L), unlike the scribes (M+K).
Matthew 8.16-17 = Mark 1.32, 34 = Luke 4.40-41: Jesus casts out demons (M+K+L), not allowing them to speak (K+L), and heals (K+L) or carries away (M) various diseases (M+K+L), illnesses (M+K), and sicknesses (M+L).
Matthew 4.23 = Mark 1.39 = Luke 4.44: Jesus walks about (M), teaching (M) and preaching (M+K+L) in the synagogues (M+K+L) of Galilee (M+K) or of Judea (L), healing diseases and maladies (M).
Matthew 4.24: Rumor spreads to Syria (M); Jesus heals the diseased and tormented, as well as the demoniacs, lunatics, and paralytics (M).
Matthew 4.25 = Mark 3.7-8 = Luke 6.17-18a: A crowd follows Jesus from Galilee (M+K), Decapolis (M), Judea (M+K+L), Jerusalem (M+K+L), Idumea (K), beyond the Jordan (M+K), and around Tyre and Sidon (K+L).
Matthew 12.15-16 = Mark 3.10-12 = Luke 6.18b: Jesus heals (M+K+L) people of disease (L), unclean spirits (K+L), and afflictions (K), warning the people (M) or the spirits (K) not to make him known (M+K). People wish to touch Jesus (K+L) because of the power to cure that comes from him (L).
Matthew 9.35a = Mark 6.6b = Luke 13.22: Jesus goes about (M+K) or journeys (L) by cities (M+L) and villages (M+K+L), teaching (M+K+L) in the synagogues (M) on his way to Jerusalem (L).
Matthew 9.35b = Luke 8.1: Jesus preaches the gospel of the kingdom (M+L) and heals every disease and malady (M).
Matthew 14.35-36 = Mark 6.54-56: People bring their sick to Jesus (M+K), or he goes to cities, to villages, or into the country (K), and they beg him to let them touch the fringe of his clothing (M+K), and as many as touch it are cured (M+K).
Matthew 19.2 = Mark 10.1 = Luke 9.51: Crowds (M+K) follow (M) or journey to (K) Jesus, and he heals them (M) and teaches them, as is his custom (K).
Generic miracles are listed (among other activities, such as teaching or traveling), in contrast with the more specific narratives which feature particular miracles as events in the life of Jesus.
The Epistle of the Apostles combines both specific and generic miracles:
If we extract the two shorter, generic summary statements from among the specific miracles we get a longer, generic summary statement, essentially:
The gospels treat these activity lists almost as a collective résumé of what the Messiah is supposed to do, thus validating Jesus as the Messiah, since he did those things.
And the idea for a list of this kind seems to have predated the gospels, even apart from Isaiah:
Both the gospels and this Qumran text are drawing from those two passages in Isaiah; the blind receiving their sight comes from Isaiah 35.5, and the poor being brought good news comes from Isaiah 61.1. So already the combination of these two Isaianic passages to create such a list connects Matthew and Luke to the Qumran fragment (which comes from the so called Messianic Apocalypse). But the most striking parallel is the raising of the dead, which Matthew, Luke, and the Qumran passage all list as one of the miracles; it is not present in the two from Isaiah. Furthermore, this miracle immediately precedes the gospel message:
Luke: the dead are raised up; the poor have the gospel preached to them.
Qumran: he... will make the dead live; he will bring good news to the poor.
Isaiah is not the proximal source, then, for Matthew and/or Luke; Qumran, too, listed miracles associated with the coming of a Messiah figure, and in ways which line up with Matthew and Luke but not with Isaiah.
If you know of any similar lists of marvels attributed to the advent of a Messiah figure, by all means let me know. Thanks in advance.
Ben.