Actually the resolution in Matthew comes by considering the whole of Jesus’ stay in Jerusalem being the sign of Jonah. In this case, it is the whole of Jesus suffering in Jerusalem that is considered the sign of Jonah, not the erroneous length of time for his death. Matthew did not have any problems going on, he just contextually understood the entirety of Jesus’ stay in Jerusalem as the sign.

Anyways, as for whether or not “three days” is a theme, it is most certainly one. Interestingly enough, it is not one which exists in any dying-rising narratives of deities. It is specifically in messianic tradition in Judaism.

Robert said

Chris_Hansen said

Actually the resolution in Matthew comes by considering the whole of Jesus’ stay in Jerusalem being the sign of Jonah. In this case, it is the whole of Jesus suffering in Jerusalem that is considered the sign of Jonah, not the erroneous length of time for his death. Matthew did not have any problems going on, he just contextually understood the entirety of Jesus’ stay in Jerusalem as the sign.

That’s hard to reconcile with Matthew’s actual language of “the Son of Man being in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights.” I suppose you could try to interpret Matthew as thinking of the Jerusalem Temple as being built at the center of the world, but that’s not really where Jesus is buried in Matthew.

  

Not really, because Jerusalem is the center of all Jewish religion, it is the heart of the earth where everything is connected to God. It is metaphorical for the struggle, “heart of the earth” is a reference to Sheol which is commonly used in Biblical tradition metaphorically to refer to great hardships, hence Jonah and the Book of Job use it in this fashion, even though neither of them die.

It hasn’t to do with burial or even crucifixion specifically, but the hardship endured. Otherwise the Jonah passage makes no sense no matter what book you look at, since Jonah… never dies.

Robert said
I’m not yet convinced. Yes, it is a way to try and make sense out of Matthew’s use of Jonah, but Matthew’s use of the Jewish scriptures is not always that impressive so I wouldn’t work too hard to interpret it in a way that makes perfect sense. Besides, Matthew follows Mark in having Jesus spend his first two nights in Bethany, not Jerusalem (Mt 21,17 26,6.18). As for the idea of Jerusalem being the ‘heart of the earth’, what’s the earliest tradition you know of that speaks of Jerusalem in this way? Some might point to Ezekiel 38,12, but that might be somewhat ambiguous with respect to applying to Jerusalem, and it speaks of the navel (טַבּוּר, ὀμφαλός, umbilicus, תְּקֹף) or the choice/beautiful part (ܫܘܦܪܐ) of the earth, not the ‘heart’ of the earth. Are you aware of any 2nd-temple uses of this idea and wording?

  

I think it is more often the case that our opinions of Matthew are unnuanced, than Matthew “is not always impressive” with his use of Jonah.

Also, Isa. 66:24 uses Sheol imagery and sets this about Jerusalem as well. Again the “heart of the earth” reference here is not to being the “center” of the earth, but is a likely reference to Hades/Sheol, which resides below earth. It is common to call the place of struggle by such a name, or to refer to one entering Sheol when then endured hardship. Job 7:6-10 specifically has Job in cry out he will never be happy again, and compares his situation as one entering into Sheol never to be seen again. Job 14:13 likewise does this. Jonah 2 is likewise using Sheol (the heart of the earth) as a cry about how much trouble he has been put through. As such, Matthew is doing this too. The city of Jerusalem shall serve as Jesus’ Sheol, just as the fish served as Jonah’s. Also, Matthew may have him spend, explicitly, his nights in Bethany, but not his days.

As Kenneth Waters noted:

The “heart of the earth” like “the heart of the sea” (Jonah 2:4 LXX) refers to Sheol. When Jonah says that “I went down to the earth” (Jonah 2:7 LXX), he is again referring to Sheol (pp. 19–20).

Also, you have an issue with your readings of Matthew. Matthew never says he spent another night in Bethany, and moreover, Matthew 26:18 is in regard to the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and he is making arrangements for where he will be before his appointed time. Matthew 26:6 likewise only says “he was in Bethany” not that he stayed a night or even a whole day there. Matthew 26:18 is in a different context and takes place some time later on the first day of the Feast of Unleavened bread. This means Jesus had been in and around Jerusalem for at least one to two days already, based on Matthew 21.

Also, Isaiah 24:23 has Jerusalem as the center of the world, where God himself reigns on high. Ezekiel 5:5 states that Jerusalem is the center of all nations. Also, the navel of the earth would make it the center, it is parallel terminology in Ezekiel according to Kenneth Waters. 1 Enoch also refers going down to the center of the Earth where a holy mountain (Zion) was found,  to this, which as Kenneth Waters notes:

The key feature at the center of the earth is “a holy mountain,” which would be recognized by an ancient Hebraic audience as a reference to Mount Zion, the location of Jerusalem (Psalm 3:4; etc.). Undoubtedly, the “blessed place” (Eth: makāna buruka; Gk: τόπον ηὐλογημένον) at the center of the earth would have been recognized as Jerusalem.

Waters goes through all the data (** you do not have permission to see this link **). It all conforms to Jerusalem being the center/navel of the earth, and therefore validates this interpretation of Matthew as seen in this light.

FocusMyView said
“Anyways, as for whether or not “three days” is a theme, it is most certainly one. Interestingly enough, it is not one which exists in any dying-rising narratives of deities. It is specifically in messianic tradition in Judaism.” 

Innana. Turned into a corpse for three days. As you pointed out earlier. 

  

No, I pointed out that it is three days until the mourning rituals. We have no idea how long she is a corpse for. It is never stated. It only states that three days after, mourning rituals begin. Which is not parallel at all with the Gospels (where mourning begins immediately).

You should try reading what I said, and not imagining what I said.

FocusMyView said
No other period of time mentioned. 

  

So what. You don’t get to assume from three days until mourning rituals that she is only dead for three days. The text never says that. That is a conjecture. It is only three days until mourning rituals, and that is all we know.