Matthew's community, contrary to what many scholars believe, was a cosmopolitan, wealthy Jewish Christian community located in Galilee. Gale concludes that Matthew's community was a conservative Christian community located in Galilee that still believed the laws of the Torah were valid and required strict adherence. Gale's argument contrasts with many scholars who argue that the Matthean church was in the process of, or had already abolished, the Torah. Gale uses material evidence to indicate that Matthew's community was cosmopolitan and wealthy, and he argues that the community was also highly learned, comprised of many scribes. Gale concludes that the Matthean church was located near Sepphoris and was a wealthy, urban, and learned community.

Table of Contents:

PREFACE 8
INTRODUCTION 10
Research Topics and Presuppositions 10
A Final Note: The Case for Utilizing Rabbinic Sources in New Testament Study 17

CHAPTER 1: THE MATTHEAN COMMUNITY AND FORMATIVE JUDAISM 27
The State of Judaism following 70 C.E. 27
The State of Judaism in Galilee 33
The State of Christianity following the Jewish War 41
Struggles between Judaism and Jewish Christianity 43

Evidence of Tension in the Matthean Gospel 49
The Matthean Gospel as a Jewish Text 51

CHAPTER 2: TRADITION IN TRANSITION, OR ANTIOCH VS. SEPPHORIS: 63
RETHINKING THE MATTHEAN COMMUNITY'S LOCATION 63
Preliminary Observations: Matthew's Community as a City Church 63
The Matthean Community's Location: Antioch vs. Sepphoris 70

Sepphoris: The Home to the Matthean Community 87

CHAPTER 3: THE WEALTH OF THE MATTHEAN COMMUNITY 96
Galilean Economics: A First-Century View 96

Matthew as a Wealthy Galilean Community 105

The Matthean Community in the Context of the Roman Economy 113

Texts and Economics: The Existence of the Book Trade 118

CHAPTER 4: SCRIBES AND CONFLICTS: LEADERSHIP IN THE MATTHEAN COMMUNITY 129
The Role of the Scribe in the First Century 129

Jewish Education, the Scribe, and the Roman Empire 137

Matthew's View and Usage of the Term "Scribe" 145

Matthew the Scribe: The Transfiguration as Evidence 156

CHAPTER 5: EVIDENCE OF A LEARNED COMMUNITY 163
Matthew's Utilization of the Old Testament and Targums 163

Matthew's Jewish Exegetical Techniques 178

Matthew's Continued Use of Jewish Exegetical Techniques: The Kal Vehomer 194

The Matthean Gospel and Additional Literary Techniques 207

Unity, Irony, Allusion, Allegory, and Multiple Levels of Meaning 217

The Audience of Matthew: A Learned Group 229
Chapter Conclusions 230
CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSIONS 234
Matthew: A Jewish Christian Community 234
The Location of the Matthean Community 235
The Wealth of the Matthean Community 237
The Crux of the Debate: Matthew as a Learned Community 238
WORKS CITED 241
Index