Re: Flight to Egypt (was Re: [asa] Gospel in the Stars WAS Star of Bethlehem presentation?)

Pete Enns wrote:
> Very interesting. I wasn't aware of that---although we are looking at several possible levels of conjectured connections.....

Absolutely! :)

P.Cair. 10 735 is obviously not something one would want to put much
weight on as the likelihood that a 6th/7th century fragment has textual
dependence on the synoptics is obviously very high.

But if one considers that a textual variation of this sort most likely
arose before the tradition ossified in its Matthean form, then it should
perhaps give one pause.

I can think of two inferences which one could make in light of dual
accounts of the event - either it affirms the historical reliability of
Matthew, or it affirms the exegetical flexibility of the tradition.

Doesn't help much to resolve the extent to which the account is history
or midrash though, does it?

As always a far less fragmentary version of such a text wouldn't hurt.
Sigh...

Blessings,
Murray

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Received on Tue Nov 24 18:17:35 2009