Metaphor and the Portrayal of the Cause(s) of Sin and Evil in the Gospel of Matthew by Judith V. Stackr

Abstract

Reviewed by: Metaphor and the Portrayal of the Cause(s) of Sin and Evil in the Gospel of Matthew by Judith V. Stackr J. R. C. Cousland judith v. stack, Metaphor and the Portrayal of the Cause(s) of Sin and Evil in the Gospel of Matthew (BIS 182; Leiden: Brill, 2020). Pp. x + 219. €105/ $126. Matthew's Gospel offers a rich harvest for those wishing to glean insights into how Jesus and the Gospel make use of metaphor, and Judith Stack's monograph on metaphors for sin and evil in Matthew offers a fruitful rumination on that topic. Her volume is particularly welcome because, despite the prominent role that metaphor assumes in the Gospel of Matthew, it has still not received the scholarly attention that it merits. Moreover, even though the book's ostensible focus is on metaphors for sin, S. engages with a surprising number of the features that characterize Jesus's (and Matthew's) distinctive voice. The volume opens with an introductory chapter devoted to defining metaphor, which is then followed by a selective but substantial assessment of how sin and evil are characterized in various Second Temple texts, including 1 Enoch, Jubilees, 4 Ezra, 2 Baruch, Sirach, and selected passages from Qumran. She concludes that these writings cumulatively offer "a wide variety of perspectives and metaphors for understanding and portraying the source or sources of sin in humans" (p. 103). The second half of the book addresses the metaphors associated with sin and evil in Matthew. S. begins with a brief review of the earlier monographs by Benno Przybylski (Righteousness in Matthew and His World of Thought [SNTSMS 41; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1980]) and Roger Mohrlang (Matthew and Paul: A Comparison of Ethical Perspectives [SNTSMS 48; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1980]), [End Page 511] before moving to an exegesis of the terminology associated with sin (the hamart- root, planaō, skandalizō, and skandalon). S. determines that hamartia and hamartanō adhere to the conventional usage of the LXX and further notes that hamartia's metaphorical sense of "missing the mark" is absent here: instead of being unintentional, the word(s) connote a deliberate act. By contrast, planaō and skandalizō tend to signify instances where sin is not deliberate or where the source of sin lies outside the sinner. Somewhat controversially, S. affirms that, when individuals reject Jesus, it is Jesus who is the cause of their stumbling. Stack then embarks on an examination of the various metaphors relating to the causes of sin. They involve (1) body parts (e.g., "If your right hand causes you to sin …" [5:30]); (2) metaphors of illness ("those who are well have no need of a physician" [9:12]); and (3) the heart ("adultery … in his heart" [5:28]). These three groups of metaphors describe increasing levels of sin at work within individuals—moving from a sinful body part working against the whole, to a morbid state of sin in the body, to a sinful heart, connoting the person as a whole, especially in relation to their decision-making faculties. The following chapter considers genetic and familial metaphors for sin, which include metaphors of (1) trees and fruit ("every sound tree bears good fruit" [7:17]); (2) animals ("brood of vipers" [12:34]); and (3) family ("an evil and adulterous generation" [12:39; 16:4]). S. sees these various metaphors as expressive of the ontological dualism of good and evil—a feature that is prominent also in Second Temple literature. The final chapter deals with satanic activity, which provides the Gospel's most explicit etiology for sin in the interpretation of the parable of the wheat and the tares. Based on these assessments, S. concludes that sin and evil in Matthew are expressed in terms of metaphor. The wide-ranging metaphors exhibit "a diversity that spans a spectrum from those that indicate essentially external causes to those that … [are] inherent to who the person is" (p. 201). This diversity, moreover, is consistent with the wealth of images to be found in the Second Temple literature examined in the first half of the book. For those interested in metaphor, S.'s initial chapter provides a helpful treatment of the question...