RE: Matthew's attempt to counter the rumor that the disciples stole the body
December 25, 2011 at 3:06 pm
Quote:Is there any probable explanation as to how the author knew about the bribe? There is none. It is pure fabrication,
Yes, and far from the only such example. "Jesus" soliloquizing in the Garden before his arrest is another. His merry men are sleeping but somehow the very words he spoke were recorded by someone.
The various examples of the so-called trials before the Sanheddrin, Pilate, and even Antipas are another. Who was the court reporter taking notes?
What is forgotten in the modern world is that "the speech" was a well-known and well-used method by ancient writers to put specific ideas into the mouths of specific characters for the purpose of advancing the tale. We can be reasonably certain that when Livy writes "Quintus Fabius Maximus took to the rostrum and addressed the citizens thusly:" that Quintus Fabius Maximus said no such thing. Stenographers were unknown in Ancient Rome but Livy writing 2 centuries later strives to capture the emotions of the moment by putting them into the mouth of a well known hero of the republic.
