Table Of ContentTHE NAVARRE BIBLE
Saint Matthew's Gospel
in the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate
with a commentary by members of the
Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre
FOUR COURTS PRESS. DUBLIN
SCEPTER PUBLISHERS. NEW YORK
Nihil oh.flar: Stephen J. Greene. l.'l!tf.mr dl'plltulu.f
Imprimi poust: Desmond. Archbishop of Dublin
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Contents
Alap 6
Preface and Preliminary Noles 7
Abbrevialions 9
IllIrodllclion 10 Ihe Gmpe/ according to Alal/helV II
The author II
Date of composition 13
Authenticity and canonicity 14
The purpose of this Gospel 14
Content 15
Special features 18
Literary style 21
St Matthew'S Gospel in the life of the Church 22
The Gospel according 10 Alal/helV: English version, lVilh lIoles 23
Nell' Vlligale Texl 187
Explanalory Notes 207
Headings added 10 Ihe Biblical Texl 211
SOllrces qlloted in Ihe COII/melllary 213
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Medlt,mJlnean Sa
AURANITI8
NABATEA
IDUIIEA
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Palestille ill the tillle of Jesus
Preface and Preliminary Notes
The English edition of The Navarre Bible: Nell' Testamellt was published in
twelve volumes in 1985-92. These books have been constantly reprinted and
have obtained a very wide acceptance.
The project of a new Spanish translation of the Bible, with commentary,
was originally entrusted to the faculty of theology at the University of Navarre
by St losemaria Escriva, the founder of Opus Dei and the university's first
chancellor. Because it involved making a new translation of the Bible from
the original languages, the project was a much more substantial undertaking
than might appear from the English edition. J The completion of the project
was celebrated in Madrid in February 2005.
The main feature of the English edition, The Navarre Bible, is the com-
mentary, that is, the notes and introductions provided by the editors; rarely
very technical, these are designed to elucidate the spiritual and theological
message of the Bible. Quotations from commentaries by the Fathers, and
excerpts from other spiritual writers, not least St losemaria Escriva, are
provided to show how they read Scripture and made it meaningful in their
lives. The Standard Edition also carries the Western Church's official Latin
version of the Bible, the etlifia /ypica alfera of the New Vulgate (1986).
For the English edition we consider ourselves fortunate in having the
Revised Standard Version as the translation of Scripture and wish to record our
2
appreciation for permission to use that text.
PRELIMINARY NOTES
The headings in the biblical text have been provided by the editors (they are
not taken from the RSV); this is true also of the cross references in the
marginal notes. These headings are listed in a section at the end of the book.
to provide an overview of its content.
References in the margin of the biblical text or its headings point to parallel
passages or other passages which deal with the same theme. With the exception
of the New Testament and Psalms, the marginal references are to the New
Vulgate, that is, they are not normally adjuSled (where applicable) to the RSV.
I. Sugmdll n;blitl : Amiglw TeJICltIJelltO Lilmls poeticttJ ." ,wpiencitdf!.f (Pamplona, 2001) at pp. 7- 8
dt:scribcs the prinCiples Bo\'crning its translation. 2. Intcgr.tllo which arc the RSV rootnote).. which
arc indicated by superior leiters .
7
Prefnce
An asterisk in the biblical text refers the reader to the Explanatory Notes
that appear in the RSV Catholic Edition of the Bible.
8
Abbreviations
J. BOOKS OF HOLY SCRIPTURE
Acts Acts of the Apostles I Kings I Kings
Amos Amos 2 Kings 2 Kings
Bar Baruch Lam Lamentations
I Chron I Chronicles Lev Leviticus
2 Chron 2 Chronicles Lk Luke
Col Colossians I Mac I Maccabees
I Cor I Corinthians 2 Mac 2 Maccabees
2 Cor 2 Corinthians Mal Malachi
Oan Daniel Mic Micah
Oeut Deuteronomy Mk Mark
Eccles Ecclesiastes (Qoheleth) Mt Matthew
Esther Esther Nah Nahum
Eph Ephesians Neh Nehemiah
Ex Exodus Num Numbers
Ezek Ezekiel Obad Obadiah
Ezra Ezra I Pet I Peter
Gal Galatians 2 Pet 2 Peter
Gen Genesis Phil Philippians
Hab Habakkuk Philem Philemon
Hag Haggai Ps Psalms
Heb Hebrews Prov Proverbs
Hos Hosea Rev Revelation (Apocalypse)
Is Isaiah Rom Romans
Jas James Ruth Ruth
Jer Jeremiah I Sam I Samuel
Jn John 2 Sam 2 Samuel
I Jn I John Sir Sirach (Ecclesiasticus)
2 Jn 2John Song Song of Solomon
3 Jn 3John I Thess I Thessalonians
Job Job 2 Thess 2 Thessalonians
Joel Joel I Tim I Timothy
Jon Jonah 2Tim 2 Timothy
Josh Joshua TIt Titus
Jud Judith Wis Wisdom
Jude Jude Zech Zechariah
Judg Judges Zeph Zephaniah
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Abbreviations
2. OTHER ABBREVIATIONS
ad lac. ad locum, commentary on Exhort. Exhonation
this passage f and following (pl. fl)
AAA Acta Aposwlicae Sedi. . ibid. ibidelll, in the same place
Apost. Apostolic in loe. in locu"" commentary on
can. canon this passage
chap. chapter loc. locum. place or passage
cr. confer. compare par. parallel passages
Canst. Constitution Past. Pastoml
Oed Dcclamtion RSVCE Reviscd Standard Version,
Dz-Sch Dcnzinger-Schonmetzer, Catholic Edition
Ellchiridioll BibliclIlII (4th SCDF Sacred Congregation for
edition, Naples-Rome, 1961) the Doctrine of the Faith
Enc. Encyclical sess. session
V. verse (pl. vv.)
"Sources quoted in the Commentary", which appears at the end of this book,
explains other abbreviations used.
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Introduction to
the Gospel according to Matthew
With the help of God we are going to enter a golden city, more pre-
cious than all the gold the world contains. Let us notice what its foun-
dations are made of, and find its gates to be composed of sapphires
and precious stones. In Matthew we have the best of guides. Matthew
is the door by which we enter, and we must enter eagerly, for if the
guide notices that someone is distracted, he will exclude him from the
city. What a magnificent and truly stately city it is; not like our cities,
which are a mixture of streets and palaces. Here all are palaces. Let
us, then, open the gates of our soul, let us open our ears, and as we
prepare reverently to cross its threshold, let us adore the King who
holds sway therein. What immense splendour shall we not find when
we enter!1
THE AUTHOR
As is the case with many other sacred books, the name of the author does not
appear in the text of this Gospel. This fact is significant in itself: it indicates
that the author was not writing a book of his own; he was bearing witness,
briefly and in written form, to Jesus' life on earth, his teachings, his redemptive
passion and death, and his glorious resurrection. He was seeking to show that
Jesus of Nazareth, a descendant of David, a descendant of Abraham according
to the flesh, who was virginally conceived in the pure womb of Mary by the
working of the Holy Spirit, was the Messiah promised in the Old Testament
prophecies; that he was the Incarnate Son of God, the Saviour of mankind, who
had come to set men free from the slavery of sin, from the devil and from eter-
nal death . In the presence of the divine and human majesty of Jesus Christ, St
Matthew makes no appearance. Jesus is what matters, and what he said, and
what he did.
However, the constant Tradition of the Church from earliest times identi-
fies the human author of this Gospel a~ the apostle St Matthew, one of the first
I. SI John Chryso.!> tom. Hom. (1/1 Sf MClltlu.". . '. 1. 8,
II
Introduction to St Matthew's Gospel
Twelve, whom Jesus himself called when he was working at his job as a "pub-
lican", that is, as a tax collector.
We have referred to St MaUhew as being the "human author" of the first
Gospel, the reason being that the principal author of the sacred books is God
himself, who "inspired" the human authors, or hagiographers, in their literary
work and "by supernatural power so moved and impelled them to write-he
so assisted them when writing-that the things which he ordered, and those
only, they, first, rightly understood, then willed faithfully to write down, and
finally expressed in apt words and with infallible truth".'
However, when he communicates his grace to men, God, in his providence,
does not destroy nature-in this case, the human qualities of the writers;
rather, he raises nature on to a new level, perfects it and uses it to suit his pur-
pose, in the same kind of way as a musician brings out all the qualities of a
good violin. In two important respects, however, the comparison does not fit:
firstly, because God, as well as using the writer as his instrument, also created
him and endowed him with those qualities which he wanted him to have, to
equip him to perform the task he planned for him; and secondly, because the
sacred writer is not an inert instrument in God's hands: he is a living instru-
ment, gifted with all his faculties. By virtue of this divine inspiration, a sacred
book-in its entirety-is the end-product of close collaboration between God
and the particular writer: each and every part of the book is really and in the
proper sense of the word a work composed by God and a work composed by
his instrument, the hagiographer; but, first and foremost, it is God's book,
because God is its principal author.
St MaUhew's Gospel, therefore-like any other biblical text-has charac-
teristics of its own, which we will later examine. These help to identify the
human author and they combine perfectly with the divine hallmark that is to
be found in all the books of Holy Scripture.
Much less is known about St Mauhew than about certain other New
Testament authors, such as St Peter, St Paul and St John. We do know that very
soon after being called 10 be an apostle, the immense joy he felt over his voca-
tion led him to give a large dinner-party for his old friends and colleagues, a
party attended by Jesus and by Matthew's new companions in the apostolate
(cf. Mt 9: 10-13; Mk 2: 15-17; Lk 5:29-32). St Luke describes it as a "great
feast" for "a large company": this shows that Mauhew was well-to-do, had
many friends and was held in high regard in Capemaum, despite the low opin-
ion the Jews generally had of tax collectors.
St MaUhew himself tells about how Jesus first called him (cf. Mt 9:9-12).
When Jesus addressed him personally, in affectionate and at the same time
imperative terms, Mauhew immediately left his position as a tax collector and
2. Leo XIII. Ene. PnJl'idemin;mll:r DeliS.
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