TY  - BOOK
AU  - Erdey, Zoltan Levente
TI  - ὁ κλαυθμὸς καὶ ὁ βρυγμὸς τῶν ὀδόντων: Its Function and Contribution to the Theme of Apocalyptic Judgement in Matthew's Gospel
PY  - 2009///
CY  - Johannesburg, South Africa
PB  - South African Theological Seminary
KW  - Matthew, Gospel of
KW  - Judgment Day
N2  - On six occurrences (8:12; 13:42; 13:50; 22:13; 24:451 and 25:30), Matthew recorded Jesus pronouncing judgment utilising the idiom weeping and gnashing of teeth. Although the majority of commentators acknowledge the uniqueness of this phrase, virtually none deal  with  its  function  within  Matthew’s  gospel  or  theology.  This  gap  in  the  literary landscape  of  Matthean  literature  marked  the  bifold rationale  of  this  literary  study, namely, to investigate the nature and function of this Matthean maxim, and consequently, seek  to  deduce  its  contribution  to  the  theme  of  apocalyptic  judgment  in  Matthew’s Gospel. Having established the literary milieu of Matthew’s gospel (part 1), a diachronic analysis of  the  words weeping (κλαυθμWς)  and gnashing  (βρυγμWς)  (part  2)  revealed  that although the individual terms were conventional, the phrase en bloc is a unique New Testament  idiom  disclosing  a  particular  theological  message.  An  exegesis  of  the  six passages containing the phrase (part 3) revealed that each occurrence played a central role in Matthew’s gospel, communicating an essential messages pertaining to the theme of  apocalyptic  eschatological  judgment.  The  phrase likewise  appears  in  structurally relevant  sections,  seemingly  increasing  in  literary  potency  with  each  emergence. Moreover, the idiom is almost always uttered in the context of false disciples, who stand in total contrast to the righteous. In light of this, the expression weeping and gnashing of teeth has four possible functions (part 4), namely, (a) a method or system by which the Evangelist  hopes  to  make  the  message  of  the  particular  parable  unforgettable,  (b)  a prophetic anticipation of an aspect of the larger shape of history, (c) a linguistic device, which increases the degree of emphasis or heightens the force given to the message of eschatological judgment, and (d) a literary connector that holds together a number of specific passages of Scripture. In Matthew’s case, the phrase glues together the passages that communicate a holistic theology of eschatological judgment
ER  -