The Poetics of Matthew 1

“Here is a crucially new approach to the interpretation of Matthew 1, with significant potential for impacting Matthean studies more broadly and enriching biblical studies overall. Timothy Lewis’s use of ‘text-based’ questions in the search for ‘text-based answers’ opens intriguing new insights into long-debated questions concerning the literary role of the women within Matthew’s genealogy (1:1–17) and results in a strikingly new assessment of Joseph’s marital dilemma (1:18–25). An important read for students of Matthew’s Gospel.”


—Dorothy Jean Weaver, professor emerita of New Testament, Eastern Mennonite Seminary





“This is a standout work, and its thesis is meticulously argued. Timothy Lewis forges a clearly articulated method that focuses on what he calls the poetics of the text. The prioritization of a text-driven framework is a key component. He puts his method to work on Matthew 1 with special attention to the five references to mothers and their significance for the portrayal of Joseph. The approach generates rich veins of insight.”


—John Nolland, author of The Gospel of Matthew in the NIGTC series