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n Matt. 9,35, if the καὶ before κηρύσσων
were rendered ’both’, the two clauses introduced respectively with καὶ
κηρύσσων and καὶ θεραπεύων
would be in explanatory apposition to διδάσκων.
By this translation we have emphasis laid on ‘preaching and healing’
as parts of ‘teaching’, an emphasis which to my mind is exceedingly necessary
to a right understanding of the miracles; and we remove what seems to be something
of a pleonasm in the mere conjunction of ‘teaching and preaching’, – as though
there were no mutual inclusion, and only parallel connection. But perhaps there
is something in the grammar against me, which my eye has missed. – R.B.
The phrase περιῆγεν … διδάσκων
ἐν ταῖς συναγωγαῖς
αὐτῶν καὶ κηρύσσων
… καὶ θεραπεύων
occurs twice in St. Matthew (4,23; 9,35). In both instances it appears to be
a summary of our Lord's itinerant ministry in Galilee. St. Mark, in a corresponding
passage, stops at διδάσκων (6,6); St. Matthew at once limits διδάσκων
by adding ἐν ταῖς συναγωγαῖς
αὐτῶν, and expands it by proceeding καὶ
κηρύσσων … καὶ θεραπεύων,
κ. τ. λ. The question is whether the expansion merely interprets
διδ. ἐν ταῖς συν.
αὐτῶν, or refers to other activities.
Your correspondent's view is, I think, grammatically possible; comp. Lk. 2,46, καθεζόμενον
… καὶ ἀκούοντα …
καὶ ἐπερωτῶντα
(R.V. ‘sitting – both hearing and asking them questions’). But, on exegetical
grounds, I prefer the ordinary interpretation. To construe καὶ
κηρ. καὶ θερ. as in apposition
to διδ ἐν τ. συν. αὐτ.
(1) limits the ministry in the towns and villages of Galilee to the synagogues,
whereas it certainly included street preaching (Lk. 13,26);
and (2) it represents the synagogues as the usual scene of the miracles of healing,
whereas other passages show that the majority of these miracles were wrought
in the open places, where our Lord was surrounded by a multitude.
On the other hand, the usual rendering, ‘Jesus went about – teaching in their
synagogues, and preaching …, and healing all manner of disease’ (R.V.), includes
every form of ministerial work – the synagogue homily, the street of field preaching,
and the working of cures among the crowd who flocked to the latter (ἐν
τῷ λαῷ, Mt. 4,23). Of course, the last of these
three activities grew out of the first and second, and stood in a real and important
relation to them; but this, although true, does not appear on the surface of
the simple synoptic narrative. Nor is διδάσκων
καὶ κηρύσσων really
pleonastic. Though κηρύσσων may be
used of synagogue teaching (Mk. 1,39; Lk. 4,44; Acts 9,20),
it is specially applicable to the more public and direct proclamation of the
kingdom to the crowd outside. ‘Teaching and ‘preaching’ present Christ's instructions
in two different aspects, and the words may therefore be associated without
pleonasm; see Mt. 11,1; Ac. 28,31.
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