Maarten J.J. Menken, «The Old Testament Quotation in Matthew 27,9-10: Textual Form and Context», Vol. 83 (2002) 305-328

The source of the fulfilment quotation in Matt 27,9-10 must be Zech 11,13, but the biblical text is distorted to a degree that is unparalleled in the other fulfilment quotations, and Matthew ascribes the quotation to Jeremiah. Another difficulty is that the quotation seems to have influenced the context to a much larger extent than in the case of the other fulfilment quotations. A careful analysis of the text shows that the peculiar textual form can be explained in a relatively simple way. The influence of the quotation on Matt 27,3-8 is limited, and is best ascribed to Matthew’s redaction. After all, this fulfilment quotation appears to be less exceptional than it is sometimes supposed to be.

ultimate certainty is impossible here, but a reasonable guess is possible. When we have some idea of what belongs to the traditional materials used by Matthew and what belongs to his redaction, we can determine whether the quotation has influenced the story at either the pre-Matthean or the Matthean level. When these two steps have been taken, we are in a position to decide how peculiar this quotation really is.

I. The Textual Form of the Quotation

        In this section, I shall successively discuss each of the lines of the quotation, to determine the kind of biblical text used, and to explain the anomalies.

1. Matt 27,9b (Zech 11,13d)

        The first line of Matthew’s quotation is an adequate translation of the Hebrew of Zech 11,13d. Apart from the use of ta_ a)rgu/ria, it also agrees with Zech 11,13d LXX, but the agreement is not very significant, because another translation is hardly possible. The LXX’s a)rgurou=j is somewhat unusual: outside Zech 11,12-13, the adjective a)rgurou=j is not used in the LXX as a substantive to indicate pieces of money¹¹. Matthew’s plural a)rgu/ria, on the other hand, is somewhat unusual as well. It is rare in his linguistic Umwelt: while the singular a)rgu/rion occurs abundantly, the plural does not occur in the LXX or in what remains of the other ancient Greek OT translations, nor in Philo, nor in the OT pseudepigraphs written in Greek or translated into Greek, nor in the NT outside Matthew. It occurs twice in Josephus (Ant. 4.267; 17.308), once only in the Apostolic Fathers (Did. 11,12). Matthew, however, uses it several times¹². It is therefore probable that this element of the quotation comes from the evangelist. In rewriting Mark 14,11, Matthew already introduced the thirty silver pieces (see Matt 26,15). Mark has there the singular a)rgu/rion; Matthew adopted this word, and put it in the plural, in agreement with his habit ¹³. The neuter plural au)ta/ in 27,10a is then also due to Matthew.