God's Will and Testament

In his book God’s Will and Testament: Inheritance in the Gospel of Matthew and Jewish Tradition, Daniel Daley examines the concept of inheritance within the Jewish tradition and the Gospel of Matthew. Daley explains that biblical scholarship has overlooked the theme of inheritance despite its importance within the Old Testament (OT), Second Temple Jewish literature, and the New Testament (NT). This gap is particularly lamentable for Matthean studies, as Daley believes that the concept of inheritance illumines ongoing debates regarding Matthew’s portrayal of Israel and the gentiles. For these reasons, Daley sets out to study the inheritance concept within Jewish traditions and the gospel of Matthew.

After providing the rationale for the study, Daley begins his investigation of the theme of inheritance with the Hebrew Bible (HB). He observes that the Hexateuch: (1) claims that the promised land is the inheritance given by YHWH to the people of Israel, which is to be distributed amongst its tribes and families; (2) presents Israel as YHWH’s own inheritance; and (3) describes the Levites as receiving a distinct inheritance from the rest of the tribes of Israel. He also shows that the first six books of the OT link the Abrahamic promise with the concept of inheritance.

Turning to the Former Prophets (Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings), Daley contends that this section of the HB shows a “clear narrative shift” (107) in its presentation of the inheritance concept. The book of Judges primarily describes the inheritance as the land that “has been allotted and settled in” though “the dispossession of the inhabitants has not been completed” (77). On the other hand, the books of Samuel and Kings focus on YHWH’s own inheritance, which consists of both the Israelite people and the land of Israel. Daley closes this section of his study by analyzing the contribution of the Latter Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the Twelve). He finds that these OT books show a unique emphasis: they repeatedly posit that, through repentance, the nations will themselves receive a share in the inheritance of Israel in the eschaton.

The next two chapters focus on the witness of various Jewish texts from the Second Temple period. Daley’s study of these materials leads him to conclude that the concept of inheritance has undergone development during the post-exilic period. Thus, while some of these texts still refer to the land of Israel as the inheritance, others describe the inheritance as the reception of wisdom, the law, membership in the covenant community, a joyful fate after death, a place with the angels in God’s heavenly community, or even marriage. Moreover, the texts that do view the land as the inheritance differ regardingwhether it is to be received soon or in the eschatological future, and regarding whether the inheritance will be this-worldly or other-worldly.

Next, Daley sets his sights to inheritance language in the Gospel of Matthew. Inheritance language is first found in Matthew 5:5 and is taken to refer to the spatial, eschatological, and this-worldly aspect of the kingdom of heaven. The next verse that makes use of inheritance language is Matthew 19:29, where Jesus speaks of “inherit[ing] eternal life” in the context of his exchange with the rich young man. According to Daley, what is inherited is “the life lived within the kingdom by individuals who have been qualified for the inheritance” (321; italics original). Daley then turns to the next relevant passage: Matthew 21:38. He describes the inheritance  as all that is owned by God, which is otherwise described in Matthew as the kingdom of heaven/God. Daley closes his survey of inheritance in Matthew with an analysis of Matthew 25. He reasons that those described as “sheep” are those who received Christian missionaries and their message, while the “goats” are those who rejected those sent out by Christ.

Daley has succeeded at writing an informative, carefully researched, and well-argued book about inheritance within the OT, Second Temple literature, and the Gospel of Matthew. Researchers interested in the subject will be well-served by Daley’s detailed analysis of a host of relevant texts. Daley skillfully navigates current academic debates on several topics, including determinism and dualism within the Qumran texts, the nature of the Qumran community, the meaning of μακάριος (which Daley translates as “flourishing”), the purpose of the Sermon on the Mount, and Matthew’s perspective on Israel and the nations. While his conclusions regarding these subjects are not always convincing, his robust discussions will nevertheless serve readers who want to be informed regarding the current state of scholarship on these topics. Finally, Daley’s work is also helpfully synthetic, as he does more than simply exegete verses. He convincingly demonstrates that the inheritance concept in ancient Judaism and in the Gospel of Matthew is relational, as it is rooted in the theological conviction of the fatherhood of God.

Though God’s Will and Testament is certainly a notable contribution to biblical scholarship, it is not without shortcomings. For instance, it is surprising that the book pays no focused attention to the witness of the Ketuvim (the “Writings” of the HB). While such an inclusion would have added considerable length to an already large monograph, the omission prevents Daley’s study from being truly exhaustive. In addition, while some scholars may have overestimated the presence of determinism and dualism in Qumran texts, Daley seems overly skeptical of the influence that these ideas had on some of these documents. Furthermore, a few aspects of Daley’s reading of Matthew are questionable. For example, Daley’s perspective on the crowds in Matthew’s Gospel is overly positive, as he wrongly downplays the significance of Matthew 27:20–25 and he overlooks passages that describe God’s reprobating influence upon the crowds (cf. Matt. 11:25–27; 13:10–17).

While readers may not be convinced by each of his proposals, Daley has nevertheless done biblical researchers a service by penning God’s Will and Testament. He has ably succeeded in filling an important gap in scholarship, and all serious work on the theological concept of inheritance in Ancient Judaism and early Christianity will have to build on the foundation he has established.  

Richard M. Blaylock is an assistant professor of biblical studies at Western Seminary.

Richard Blaylock

Date Of Review:

August 30, 2023