Matthew's Hebrew gospel

 Of the four canonical gospels, only Matthew is strongly believed to have been written originally in Jesus’ own language, Aramaic. Unfortunately, the original is lost; we only have a Greek translation that strongly points to an Aramaic original.

 It is one of the synoptic gospels, derived from Mark and oral traditions that scholars call “Q” (probably from the first letter of the German word Quelle, meaning “source”).

 Matthew’s story is commonly read as divided into the following “chapters”: Infancy Narrative (1:1–2:23), Proclamation of the Kingdom (3:1–7:29), Ministry and Mission in Galilee (8:1–11:1),  Opposition from Israel (11:2–13:53),  Jesus, the Kingdom, and the Church (13:54–18:35), Ministry in Judea and Jerusalem (19:1–25:46), Passion and Resurrection (26:1–28:20).

 Matthew is the “Hebrew” gospel not only because of its probable original language, but because of the text’s focus on Jewish thought. This is particularly notable in its emphasis on Jesus’ sayings on the Mosaic Law, righteousness and Jewish piety.

 In particular, the Beatitudes (or blessings) spoken by Jesus in Matthew refer to the poor as πτωχός (ptōkhós). Among Jews who spoke common Koine Greek, this word, which literally means “one who crouches and cringes,” was usually applied to the very pious who approached God with great humility. 

 In Matthew 5:3, it is translated as “poor in spirit” because it is understood to mean pious believers who fully recognize that they have nothing spiritually to offer God. The original word is thought to be the Hebrew word עָנָו (anav).

 Finally, Matthew was traditionally identified (principally by Church fathers Irenaeus and Clement of Alexandria) as Luke’s tax collector Levi (Hebrew name), a Galilean who converts and reappears as the apostle Matthew (Greek name). In later commentaries scholars point out, however, that it seems odd that a first-hand witness would have relied so heavily on Mark and Q.

 The extant text is almost certainly post-A.D. 70, meaning after the revolt that led to Roman legionaries, under Emperor Vespasian's son Titus, to storm and level Jerusalem, and notably destroy the great Temple. This is confirmed within the text by Mt 22:7, which refers to the destruction of Jerusalem.

 The year 70 was the beginning of the dispersal of Jews from the original Promised Land to the Mediterranean, and later Europe and elsewhere. Rabbinical Judaism developed its current, largely Talmudic form — derived from the Pharisee school, to which Jesus may have belonged — abandoning the free-for-all competition of sects such as the Saducees. Post-70 rabbinical Judaism adopted a hard line against those who claimed Jesus was the Messiah.