DREAMS OF JOSEPH AND THEIR REVELATORY ROLE
Keywords:
Dreams, Gospel of Matthew, Joseph, Obedience, TheophanyAbstract
In general, the dreams in the Bible function as a means of communication of the divine will. The dreams of Joseph narrated in Mt 1:18–2:23 are of special importance in this regard. The OT dreams together with the Greco-Roman dream narratives provide a general background to them. Matthew employs the Greek phrase kat’ onar to introduce the dream references in his Gospel. They are theophanic since they contain messages revealing the will of God, and sometimes the presence of an angel of God. Joseph perfectly obeys to the divine will revealed in his dreams. The evangelist depicts his obedience making use of the same vocabulary from the commands. These dreams are closely related to the Emmanuel theme and Kingdom of heaven theme in the Gospel. They act as proofs for God’s providence in the birth of Jesus and the events following it, as well as his concern for salvation of humanity.
References
“חלם,” HALOT I, 320.
A. Leo Oppenheim, “The Interpretation of Dreams in the Ancient Near East,” Transactions of the American Philosophical Society 46 (1956) 179-373.
A. Oepke, “ὄναρ,” 220-238, 221, 234, 236.
A. Tosato, “Joseph, Being a Just Man (Mt 1:19),” Catholic Biblical Quarterly 41 (1979) 547-551, at 547-548.
B. Estrada, “La giustizia in Matteo: Presenza del regno,” Rivista Biblica 59 (2011), 373-403, at 377-402.
B. Przybylski, Righteousness in Matthew and His World of Thought, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 1980, 13-38.
Brown, The Birth of the Messiah, 104-119.
C. Clivaz – A. Dettwiller et alii (eds.), Infancy Gospel: Stories and Identities (WUNT 281), Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck 2011, 94-115, at 108.
D. Hill, “A Note on Matthew I,19,” Expository Times 76 (1965) 133-134.
D. Hill, “Δίκαιοι as a Quasi-Technical Term,” New Testament Studies 11 (1965) 296-302.
D.A. Carson, “Matthew,” in Gaebelein, F.E. – Douglas, J.D. (eds.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary. With the New International Version of the Holy Bible, VIII.
Matthew, Mark, Luke, Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House 1984, 3-599, at 75.
D.A. Hagner, “Righteousness in Matthew’s Theology” (WBC 33A), Dallas: Word Books 1993 107-118.
D.J. Harrington, The Gospel of Matthew (SPS 1), Collegeville: Liturgical Press 1991, 37.
D.J. Verseput, “The Role and Meaning of the ‘Son of God’ Title in Matthew’s Gospel,” 533-534.
D.N. Freedman—B.E. Willoughby, “מַלְאַךְ,” TDOT VIII, 308-325, at 311.
Davies—Allison, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Gospel according to Saint Matthew I, 202, 205, 207.
Edgar Conrad, “The Annunciation of Birth and the Birth of the Messiah,” Catholic Biblical Quarterly 47 (1985) 656-663
F. Flannery-Dailey, Dreamers, Scribes, and Priests, (SJSJ 90), Leiden: Brill 2004, 42-44.
G. Schrenk, “δίκη, δίκαιος, κτλ.,” TDNT II, 174-225, at 185-186.
G.M. Soares Prabhu, The Formula Quotations in the Infancy Narrative of Matthew: An Enquiry into the Tradition History of Mt 1-2 (AnBib 63), Roma: Biblical Institute Press 1976, 235-236.
H. Hendrickx, The Infancy Narratives(SSG), London: East Asian Pastoral Institute 1984, 15-16.
Hagner, Matthew 1-13, 18; Przybylski, Righteousness in Matthew and His World of Thought, 101-104.
Harrington, The Gospel of Matthew, 34; S.T. Lachs, A Rabbinic Commentary on the New Testament, 6.
Holger Gzella, “חלם, הרהר,” TDOT XVI, 278-283, at 279.
Idem, “The Interconnection between the Emmanuel Theme and the Forgiveness of Sins Theme in the Gospel of Matthew,” Studia Biblica Slovaca 13 (2021) 20-48.
J. Nolland, The Gospel of Matthew: A Commentary on the Greek Text (NIGTC), Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company 2005, 98
J. Reumann, “Righteousness (NT),” ABD V, 745-773, at 749-750; Schrenk, “δίκη, δίκαιος, κτλ.,” 188-191.
J.D. Kingsbury, Matthew: Structure, Christology, Kingdom, Minneapolis: Fortress Press 1989, 137-149.
J.G.S.S. Thomson—J.S. Wright, “Dream,” in J.D. Douglas, ed., New Bible Dictionary, Leicester, Inter-Varsity Press 1996, 281-282, at 281.
J.S. Hanson, “Dreams and Visions in the Graeco-Roman World and Early Christianity,” in W. Haase (ed.), Principat (ANRW II.23.2), Berlin: Walter de Gruyter 1980, 1395-1427, at 1421.
Jean-Marie Husser, Dreams and Dream Narratives in the Biblical World, (Biblical Seminar 63), Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press 1999, 16-85, 93-94, 95.
Karl Jaroš, Die Stellung des Elohisten zur kanaanäischen Religion, (Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis 4); Freiburg Schweiz, Universitätsverlag, 1974, 69-98.
L. Morris, The Gospel according to Matthew, (PC), Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company 1992, 27.
Laura Quick, “Dream Accounts in the Hebrew Bible and Ancient Jewish Literature,” Currents in Biblical Research 17 (2018) 8-32, at 10, 11
M. Krämer, “Die Menschwerdung Jesu Christi nach Matthäus (Mt 1). Sein Anliegen und sein literarisches Verfahren,” Bibica 45 (1964), 1-50, at 26-33.
M. Munari, Il compimento della Torah: Gesù e la Scrittura in Mt 5,17-48 (SBF.A 81), Milano: Edizioni Terra Santa 2013, 80-83.
Magnus Ottosson–J. Bergman–G. Johannes Botterweck, “חָלַם, חֲלוֹם,” TDOT IV, 421-432, at 427.
Matthew also mentions that Joseph was a carpenter (Mt 13,55).
Other mentions of visions using the term oroma (“vision”) are found in Mt 17:9; Acts 7:31; 9:10; 9:12; 10:3, 17; 11:5; 12:9.
Paul Kunjanayil, “The Extension of Jesus’ Presence in the Disciples Sent on Mission (Mt 10,40),” JeevaDarshana 7 (2020) 29-50
Pesch, “Eine alttestamentliche Ausführungsformel im Matthäus-Evangelium,” 79-80, 222-245.
Przybylski, Righteousness in Matthew and His World of Thought, 78-99
R. Mach, Der Zaddik in Talmud und Midrasch, Leiden: E.J. Brill 1957, 14-19.
R. Pesch, “Eine alttestamentliche Ausführungsformel im Matthäus-Evangelium,” Biblische Zeitschrift 10 (1966) 220-245, 91.
R.H. Gundry, Matthew: A Commentary on His Handbook for a Mixed Church under Persecution, Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company,2 1994, 23.
R.T. France, The Gospel of Matthew, 658; Luz, Matthew 8-20, 405.
Robert E. Brown, The Birth of the Messiah: A Commentary on the Infancy Narratives in Gospels of Matthew and Luke, New York: Doubleday 21993, 108, 111-112, 559.
Robert E. Brown—K.P. Donfried et alii, Maria nel Nuovo Testamento, Assisi: Cittadella Editrice 1985, 99-100; Brown, The Birth of the Messiah, 125-129.
Robert Gnuse, “Dream Genre in the Matthean Infancy Narratives,” 100, 104, 106, 112.
Shaul Bar, A Letter That Has Not Been Read: Dreams in the Hebrew Bible, Lenn J. Schramm, tran., Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College Press, 2001, 3.
U. Luz, Matthew 1-7. A Commentary (Hermeneia), Minneapolis: Fortress Press 2001, 122.
Verseput, “The Role and Meaning of the ‘Son of God’ Title in Matthew’s Gospel,” 533; R.T. France, The Gospel of Matthew (NICNT), Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company 2007, 35.
X. Léon-Dufour, “L’annonce à Joseph,” in Mélanges bibliques. Rédigés en l’honneur de André Robert (TICP 4), Paris: Bloud & Gay 1955, 390-397, at 396-397.
A. Leo Oppenheim, “The Interpretation of Dreams in the Ancient Near East,” Transactions of the American Philosophical Society 46 (1956) 179-373.
A. Oepke, “ὄναρ,” 220-238, 221, 234, 236.
A. Tosato, “Joseph, Being a Just Man (Mt 1:19),” Catholic Biblical Quarterly 41 (1979) 547-551, at 547-548.
B. Estrada, “La giustizia in Matteo: Presenza del regno,” Rivista Biblica 59 (2011), 373-403, at 377-402.
B. Przybylski, Righteousness in Matthew and His World of Thought, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 1980, 13-38.
Brown, The Birth of the Messiah, 104-119.
C. Clivaz – A. Dettwiller et alii (eds.), Infancy Gospel: Stories and Identities (WUNT 281), Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck 2011, 94-115, at 108.
D. Hill, “A Note on Matthew I,19,” Expository Times 76 (1965) 133-134.
D. Hill, “Δίκαιοι as a Quasi-Technical Term,” New Testament Studies 11 (1965) 296-302.
D.A. Carson, “Matthew,” in Gaebelein, F.E. – Douglas, J.D. (eds.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary. With the New International Version of the Holy Bible, VIII.
Matthew, Mark, Luke, Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House 1984, 3-599, at 75.
D.A. Hagner, “Righteousness in Matthew’s Theology” (WBC 33A), Dallas: Word Books 1993 107-118.
D.J. Harrington, The Gospel of Matthew (SPS 1), Collegeville: Liturgical Press 1991, 37.
D.J. Verseput, “The Role and Meaning of the ‘Son of God’ Title in Matthew’s Gospel,” 533-534.
D.N. Freedman—B.E. Willoughby, “מַלְאַךְ,” TDOT VIII, 308-325, at 311.
Davies—Allison, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Gospel according to Saint Matthew I, 202, 205, 207.
Edgar Conrad, “The Annunciation of Birth and the Birth of the Messiah,” Catholic Biblical Quarterly 47 (1985) 656-663
F. Flannery-Dailey, Dreamers, Scribes, and Priests, (SJSJ 90), Leiden: Brill 2004, 42-44.
G. Schrenk, “δίκη, δίκαιος, κτλ.,” TDNT II, 174-225, at 185-186.
G.M. Soares Prabhu, The Formula Quotations in the Infancy Narrative of Matthew: An Enquiry into the Tradition History of Mt 1-2 (AnBib 63), Roma: Biblical Institute Press 1976, 235-236.
H. Hendrickx, The Infancy Narratives(SSG), London: East Asian Pastoral Institute 1984, 15-16.
Hagner, Matthew 1-13, 18; Przybylski, Righteousness in Matthew and His World of Thought, 101-104.
Harrington, The Gospel of Matthew, 34; S.T. Lachs, A Rabbinic Commentary on the New Testament, 6.
Holger Gzella, “חלם, הרהר,” TDOT XVI, 278-283, at 279.
Idem, “The Interconnection between the Emmanuel Theme and the Forgiveness of Sins Theme in the Gospel of Matthew,” Studia Biblica Slovaca 13 (2021) 20-48.
J. Nolland, The Gospel of Matthew: A Commentary on the Greek Text (NIGTC), Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company 2005, 98
J. Reumann, “Righteousness (NT),” ABD V, 745-773, at 749-750; Schrenk, “δίκη, δίκαιος, κτλ.,” 188-191.
J.D. Kingsbury, Matthew: Structure, Christology, Kingdom, Minneapolis: Fortress Press 1989, 137-149.
J.G.S.S. Thomson—J.S. Wright, “Dream,” in J.D. Douglas, ed., New Bible Dictionary, Leicester, Inter-Varsity Press 1996, 281-282, at 281.
J.S. Hanson, “Dreams and Visions in the Graeco-Roman World and Early Christianity,” in W. Haase (ed.), Principat (ANRW II.23.2), Berlin: Walter de Gruyter 1980, 1395-1427, at 1421.
Jean-Marie Husser, Dreams and Dream Narratives in the Biblical World, (Biblical Seminar 63), Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press 1999, 16-85, 93-94, 95.
Karl Jaroš, Die Stellung des Elohisten zur kanaanäischen Religion, (Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis 4); Freiburg Schweiz, Universitätsverlag, 1974, 69-98.
L. Morris, The Gospel according to Matthew, (PC), Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company 1992, 27.
Laura Quick, “Dream Accounts in the Hebrew Bible and Ancient Jewish Literature,” Currents in Biblical Research 17 (2018) 8-32, at 10, 11
M. Krämer, “Die Menschwerdung Jesu Christi nach Matthäus (Mt 1). Sein Anliegen und sein literarisches Verfahren,” Bibica 45 (1964), 1-50, at 26-33.
M. Munari, Il compimento della Torah: Gesù e la Scrittura in Mt 5,17-48 (SBF.A 81), Milano: Edizioni Terra Santa 2013, 80-83.
Magnus Ottosson–J. Bergman–G. Johannes Botterweck, “חָלַם, חֲלוֹם,” TDOT IV, 421-432, at 427.
Matthew also mentions that Joseph was a carpenter (Mt 13,55).
Other mentions of visions using the term oroma (“vision”) are found in Mt 17:9; Acts 7:31; 9:10; 9:12; 10:3, 17; 11:5; 12:9.
Paul Kunjanayil, “The Extension of Jesus’ Presence in the Disciples Sent on Mission (Mt 10,40),” JeevaDarshana 7 (2020) 29-50
Pesch, “Eine alttestamentliche Ausführungsformel im Matthäus-Evangelium,” 79-80, 222-245.
Przybylski, Righteousness in Matthew and His World of Thought, 78-99
R. Mach, Der Zaddik in Talmud und Midrasch, Leiden: E.J. Brill 1957, 14-19.
R. Pesch, “Eine alttestamentliche Ausführungsformel im Matthäus-Evangelium,” Biblische Zeitschrift 10 (1966) 220-245, 91.
R.H. Gundry, Matthew: A Commentary on His Handbook for a Mixed Church under Persecution, Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company,2 1994, 23.
R.T. France, The Gospel of Matthew, 658; Luz, Matthew 8-20, 405.
Robert E. Brown, The Birth of the Messiah: A Commentary on the Infancy Narratives in Gospels of Matthew and Luke, New York: Doubleday 21993, 108, 111-112, 559.
Robert E. Brown—K.P. Donfried et alii, Maria nel Nuovo Testamento, Assisi: Cittadella Editrice 1985, 99-100; Brown, The Birth of the Messiah, 125-129.
Robert Gnuse, “Dream Genre in the Matthean Infancy Narratives,” 100, 104, 106, 112.
Shaul Bar, A Letter That Has Not Been Read: Dreams in the Hebrew Bible, Lenn J. Schramm, tran., Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College Press, 2001, 3.
U. Luz, Matthew 1-7. A Commentary (Hermeneia), Minneapolis: Fortress Press 2001, 122.
Verseput, “The Role and Meaning of the ‘Son of God’ Title in Matthew’s Gospel,” 533; R.T. France, The Gospel of Matthew (NICNT), Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company 2007, 35.
X. Léon-Dufour, “L’annonce à Joseph,” in Mélanges bibliques. Rédigés en l’honneur de André Robert (TICP 4), Paris: Bloud & Gay 1955, 390-397, at 396-397.
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Published
2022-03-31
How to Cite
Kunjanayil, P. . (2022). DREAMS OF JOSEPH AND THEIR REVELATORY ROLE. Asian Horizons, (2), 101–114. Retrieved from https://dvkjournals.in/index.php/ah/article/view/3716
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