The influence of Greek drama on Matthew’s Gospel

Abstract

This article presents the Greek influence on the genre of Matthew’s text. Greek and Roman tragedy is examined, from which the five basic elements of tragedy are identified. A brief examination of the characters in the Matthean text is done to identify Greek cultural influences on the structuring of the Gospel. This study offers evidence that Matthew may have intentionally orchestrated a drama with the intent of having an understandable, attractive way to present Jesus to Jew and gentile alike.