First Glance

Readers sometimes ask us how we find our stories. One of the ways is by listening to scholars present their ideas at scholarly colloquia around the world. George Howard’s article, “Was the Gospel of Matthew Originally Written in Hebrew?” was born at such a meeting in 1985 in Trondheim, Norway, where we heard Howard’s paper delivered to scholarly acclaim. It has yet to appear in the scholarly literature, but BR is proud to present this first publication to our subscribers.

Matthew, Mark, Luke and John—the four canonical Gospels—as we know them today in English translations are based on Greek manuscripts assumed to be copies of original Greek autographs. But at least one of the Gospels, and perhaps more, may originally have been written in Hebrew! Howard presents formidable evidence that he has found an original Hebrew copy of Matthew buried in a little-known 14th-century Hebrew manuscript.

Chairman of the University of Georgia’s department of religion, George Howard is a former president of the Society for Biblical Literature, Southeastern Region, and author of Paul: Crisis in Galatia—A Study in Early Christian Theology. He is also the author of “The Name of God in the New Testament,” BAR 04:01.

Hidden within the text of the Hebrew Bible are signs of changes that took place over time. Careful readings elicit clues as to how and why those changes occurred. Two articles in this issue are textual detective stories that explain some of the changes.