Abstract:
Without disregarding the value of a diachronic approach, priority is
given to a synchronic understanding of the Sermon on the Mount in
its present form. Emphasis on diachronics, or even a shuttling
between the diachronic and the synchronic, tends to cloud the holistic
message that the Sermon was intended to convey to its real-world
Syriac audience. The situation of that audience and its bearing on the
content of the Sermon on the Mount are discussed. Compositional
and thematic aspects of the Sermon are highlighted, such as its
position within the macro-structure of Matthew, the author’s
predilection for triads, the inner structure and theme of the Sermon. It
is proposed that the basic theme of the Sermon on the Mount is the
very special identity of Jesus’s end-time community and that its main
purpose is the shaping and affirming of that identity. Contrary to the
normal view that there are presently nine beatitudes, stylistic as well
as contentual considerations indicate that the so-called ninth
beatitude is in reality an actualising and personalising amplification of the eighth. Aspects of the antitheses such as their significance, the
Jesus of the antitheses, and, finally, the Lord’s Prayer also receive
attention.
