Andries van Aarde se Matteusinterpretasie

Abstract

This article focuses on Andries van Aarde's interpretation of the Gospel of Matthew. His book, 'God-with-us: The dominant perspective in Matthew's story, and other essays', consists of a number of articles covering different aspects of this Gospel. It is argued that Van Aarde changed his approach to Matthew in the course of time. At the beginning of his career, he focused on structural analysis and made an important contribution to the 'Gattung' problem. Then his attention shifted to narratology and social-scientific criticism. Van Aarde's consistent narratological interpretation of Matthew enabled him to identify Matthew's ideology and to determine the way in which it took shape on the surface structure. This narratological investigation also shed new light among others, on the parables, the characters and the problem of direct and indirect discourse. To conclude the article, some critical statements with regard to the historical understanding of the Gospel of Matthew are formulated.