The Byzantine martyrdom of Daniel and the three youths as textual evidence of Matt 27:53
EDN: MILAQT
Abstract
The article is devoted to a study of exegetical and textual problems in Matt 27:53. This verse belongs to a large section of the Gospel of Matthew that recounts the events at the time of Jesus’ death on the Cross and his resurrection (27:45–53). 27:52– 53 deals with the fact that at the time of Jesus’ death, not only the earth shook, the temple veil was torn and the rocks split, but also the tombs were opened, and certain holy righteous ones were raised up and came to Jerusalem after the resurrection of Jesus and appeared to many. The meaning of 27:53 is not entirely clear: the word ἔγερσις ‘resurrection’, which is unique for the New Testament, is used here, then, the expression μετὰ τὴν ἔγερσιν αὐτοῦ (“after his resurrection”) breaks the structural integrity of this verse and creates problems in understanding it. Several biblical scholars support the idea that this expression was not originally in Matthew’s text, but that it appeared there later for some theological reasons. The article discusses the likelihood that this expression was in Matthew originally, as well as that it was added later by the scribes. The possibility that it was inserted into the text of the Gospel is supported by textual evidence from some ancient texts, both New Testament manuscripts and indirect textual evidence in quotations and allusions from ancient authors. Such evidence includes the little-known early Byzantine martyrdom of Daniel and the Three Youths. In Greek recensions of this legend Matt 27:52– 53 is quoted, but the expression “after his resurrection” is missing. This fact might be regarded as further evidence that this expression was absent from the original text of Matt 27:53, but our analysis demonstrates that this omission in the legend of the martyrdom of Daniel and the Three Youths is most likely due to internal reasons related to its composition and theology. This fact indicates that conclusions about the textual evidence of the New Testament should be drawn not only at the textual level, but also after a thorough contextual and theological investigation of the textual evidence itself.
Keywords
New Testament,
Gospel,
Jesus,
Matthew,
resurrection,
martyrdom,
Daniel,
Youths,
Alexandria,
Babylon,
textual analysis
Supporting agencies: The article is a part of the RANEPA state assignment research programme.
About the Author
A. B. Somov
The Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration ; St. Philaret’s Orthodox Christian Institute ; Institute for Bible Translation
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Alexey Borisovich Somov, PhD Senior Researcher, Center for Oriental Studies, School for Advanced Studies in the Humanities, Institute for Social Sciences; Assistant Professor, Faculty of Theology; Translation Consultant
119571, Moscow, Prospekt Vernadskogo, 82
105066, Moscow, Tokmakov Lane, 11
119334, Moscow, Andreevskaya Emb., 2
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Review
For citations:
Somov A.B. The Byzantine martyrdom of Daniel and the three youths as textual evidence of Matt 27:53. Shagi / Steps. 2025;11(3):158-176. (In Russ.) EDN: MILAQT
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