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‘The Jenny and the Colt’ in Matthew’s messianic entry, Part 1: Matthew 21:5 as a reading of Zechariah 9:9 in Light of Mark 11:1-10
Carlson, Stephen C.
Carlson, Stephen C.
Author
Abstract
The presence of a female donkey (a "jenny") in Matthew's account of the triumphal entry (Matt 21:1-9) has been perplexing because her presence is not mentioned in either of Matthew's sources, Mark 11:1-10 and Zech 9:9. Some scholars hold that the jenny comes from another tradition, but this does not make her presence a fulfillment of the prophecy. Others hold that Matthew broke the parallelism of Zech 9:9, where the humble Messiah is to ride into Jerusalem "on a (male) donkey, and on a colt," but this too does not account for a female donkey at the scene. In this article, I argue for a plenary reading of the Hebrew prophecy where Matthew sees the presence of the jenny fulfilled in Zechariah's characterization of the colt as a "son of jennies."
Keywords
triumphal entry, Matthew 21:5, the colt of a jenny, Zechariah 9:9, Hebrew parallelism
Date
2019
Type
Journal article
Journal
Catholic Biblical Quarterly
Book
Volume
81
Issue
1
Page Range
62-84
Article Number
ACU Department
Institute for Religion and Critical Inquiry
Faculty of Theology and Philosophy
Faculty of Theology and Philosophy
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Open Access Status
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Controlled