Mt 12:18–21 has supplied ammunition for those contending that our
evangelist drew upon a collection of testimonia. The following points have been
made. (i) The quotation contains several Matthean hapax legomena. (ii) Papyrus Rylands Greek 460 is a Christian
testimony collection which includes Isa 42:3–4 (folio 1, recto). (iii) Isa
42:1–4 was probably a messianic text in first-century Judaism (as it is in the
targum). (iv) It is alleged that there is only one point of contact with the
Matthean context—Jesus’ silence (cf. Strecker, Weg, p. 69). Lindars
even goes so far as to assert that ‘the text owes nothing to its present
context’ (Apologetic, p. 145, n. 1).
(v) It is possible to imagine Isa 42:1ff. being used in the pre-Matthean
tradition in connexion with the resurrection, the baptism, Jesus’ gentleness,
and the Gentile mission (so Lindars, Apologetic,
pp. 144–52).
Despite these five points, we strongly suspect that Mt 12:18–21 gives
us Matthew’s own original work (so also Gnilka, Matthäusevangelium 1,
p. 453). Not only is the textual form not attested elsewhere, but it seems to
us that the quotation is, from beginning to end, adapted to its present context
(cf. Barth, in TIM, pp. 125–8). We
would counter the claim of Lindars and others with these observations. (i) ὁ ἀγαπητός κ.τ.λ. shows assimilation to Mt 3:17 and 17:5.
(ii) ‘I shall put my Spirit on him’ not only recalls the baptism but links up
nicely with the following pericope, where the theme is Jesus and the Spirit
(12:22–37; see Cope, pp. 35–40). (iii) The double mention of the Gentiles
(12:18d, 21) harmonizes with a major Matthean interest. (iv) The translation in
12:19 of yiṣ˓aq by ἐρίσει is best explained by 12:15: Jesus did not
choose to wrangle or quarrel with the Pharisees. (v) In 12:19 the rendering of
the adverbial baḥûṣ by ἐν ταῖς πλατείαις (rather than, say, ἔξω) makes sense in the light of 12:16: Jesus
was not heard ‘in the streets’. He asked people not to make him known. (vi) For
yôṣî˒ in Isa 42:1 the LXX has ἐξοίσει. Matthew’s ἀπαγγελεῖ, though perfectly proper, is less natural
and is due to his concern for preaching (cf. 8:33; 11:4; 28:8, 10). There may
also be a link with 12:38–42, which concerns preaching to the Gentiles (to the
men of Nineveh and the queen of the South; see Cope, pp. 40–4, and note the use
of κρίσις in 12:41 and 42).
(W. D. Davies and Dale C. Allison, Jr., A Critical and Exegetical
Commentary on the Gospel According to Saint Matthew, 3 vols. [International
Critical Commentary; London: T&T Clark International, 2004], 2:323-34)
