Making Progress with Matthew

So I'm going to try and get a few posts rolling here over the next few days. I've been knee deep trying to nail down paper topics & reading an INSANE amount of material for Dale Martin. This week we've got about 1,000 pages on the docket dealing with medicine in the ancient world (primarily using Galen as an entry point). Dr. Martin makes the case that the medical material in the ancient world consistently uses terminology that emphasizes seeking balance. If someone was sick or ill, they were "out of balance." Something was too hot, so you made it cold. Something was too cold, so you made it hot. Naturally, you can see how this leads to draining blood. Removing the "bad" blood restored a good an healthy condition. What's fascinating is that these terms and this concept shows up extensively in the political literature of the period.

Regarding Matthew, I'm looking at the function of gift-giving in Matthew's gospel & this means I get to spend way too much time trying to work through Seneca's De Beneficiis. The question, which has some functional value for contemporary discussion, is whether or not one can have pure interests in giving a gift. Can a gift be given without an eye toward some sort of return?  I think you can investigate this in Matthew and I think the cool thing is that Matthew uses the concept to navigate the Gentile mission. Paul uses Seneca's conception of gift-giving in Romans 1-8. 

In terms of 4 Maccabees, I'm trying to look at how the ancient world viewed old age. I'm hoping it's as interesting as I think it can be. There's some pretty good material on youth that Beverly Gaventa of Princeton has recently edited. 

Anyway...sorry for just kind of throwing up a little bit on this post!