Walter T. Wilson, «Matthew, Philo, and Mercy for Animals (Matt 12,9-14)», Vol. 96 (2015) 201-221
After comparing Matt 12,11-12 with its synoptic parallels (Mark 3,4; Luke 13,15-16; 14,5) and with texts that discuss the treatment of animals on the Sabbath (e.g., CD 11.13-14), the passage is compared with Philonic texts (Spec. 2.89; 4.218; Virt. 81, 133, 139-140, 160; cf. Plutarch, Cato 5.5; Esu carn. 996A; Iamblichus, Vit. Pythag. 30.186; Porphyry, Abst. 3.26.6) in which the Alexandrian discerns a principle informing a law that refers to the treatment of animals, and then suggests that the principle applies by analogy to the treatment of people, illuminating the principle with reference to mercy and similar concepts.
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221 MATTHEW, PHILO, AND MERCY FOR ANIMALS (MATT 12,9-14) 221
ing more broadly on the responsibilities that human beings have to
one another. While Philo interprets laws about the treatment of an-
imals in terms of their implications for the treatment of people,
Matthew addresses a legal question about the treatment of people
with an illustration about the treatment of animals. For the latter,
the merciful treatment of animals is presented not as a stipulation
of the Law but as a matter of convention. In this regard it is similar
to texts such as Plutarch, Cato 5.5, where the practice of extending
kindness to animals is presented as a type of training in humanity
that contributes to the moral formation of its observers.
Candler School of Theology Walter T. WILSON
Emory University
Atlanta, GA 30322
U.S.A.
SUMMARY
After comparing Matt 12,11-12 with its synoptic parallels (Mark 3,4;
Luke 13,15-16; 14,5) and with texts that discuss the treatment of animals
on the Sabbath (e.g., CD 11.13-14), the passage is compared with Philonic
texts (Spec. 2.89; 4.218; Virt. 81, 133, 139-140, 160; cf. Plutarch, Cato
5.5; Esu carn. 996A; Iamblichus, Vit. Pythag. 30.186; Porphyry, Abst.
3.26.6) in which the Alexandrian discerns a principle informing a law that
refers to the treatment of animals, and then suggests that the principle ap-
plies by analogy to the treatment of people, illuminating the principle with
reference to mercy and similar concepts.