‘The Jenny and the Colt’ in Matthew’s messianic entry, Part 2: Matthew 21:7 as a reading of Mark 11:7 in Light of Zechariah 9:9

Journal article


Carlson, Stephen C.. (2019). ‘The Jenny and the Colt’ in Matthew’s messianic entry, Part 2: Matthew 21:7 as a reading of Mark 11:7 in Light of Zechariah 9:9. Catholic Biblical Quarterly. 81(2), pp. 235 - 251. https://doi.org/10.1353/cbq.2019.0105
AuthorsCarlson, Stephen C.
Abstract

Matthew's description of Jesus taking his mount in 21:7 as "and he sat on top of them" has been a crux interpretum for centuries. Some take it literally even though it is impossible for a human to sit on two donkeys at once. Others try to avoid the problem by referring the plural pronoun "them" to the coats the disciples placed on the donkeys instead. I contend that both readings are unsatisfactory, and I bring new evidence and arguments, including Matthew's plenary reading of Zech 9:9 set forth in part 1 of the study (see CBQ 81 [2019] 62-84), to argue that the plural pronoun functions for Matthew as a whole-for-part synecdoche, where the jenny and the colt constitute a conceptual whole such that when Jesus sits on top of "them," he takes his mount on the part that fulfills the Hebrew prophecy.

Keywordstriumphal entry; Matthew 21:7; anaphoric ambiguity; synecdoche
Year2019
JournalCatholic Biblical Quarterly
Journal citation81 (2), pp. 235 - 251
PublisherCatholic Biblical Association of America
ISSN0008-7912
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1353/cbq.2019.0105
Page range235 - 251
Research GroupInstitute for Religion and Critical Inquiry
Publisher's version
File Access Level
Controlled
Place of publicationUnited States of America
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