Rabbinical Translations of Matthew

Matthew in the list of Apostles, usually pairing him with St. Thomas, the New Testament offers scanty and uncertain information about him. Outside the New Testament, a statement of importance about him is the passage from the Apostolic Father Papias of Hierapolis preserved by Bishop Eusebius of Caesarea: “So then Matthew composed the Oracles in the Hebrew language, and each one interpreted them as he could.” The Gospel According to Matthew was certainly written for a Jewish-Christian church in a strongly Jewish environment, but that this Matthew is definitely the synoptic author is seriously doubted. Tradition notes his ministry in Judaea, after which he supposedly missioned to the East, suggesting Ethiopia and Persia. Legend differs as to the scene of his missions and as to whether he died a natural or a martyr’s death. Matthew’s relics were reputedly discovered in Salerno (Italy) in 1080. His symbol is an angel.