Resumo

MUSHAYABASA, Godwin. Conceptual blending in Matthew 2:23. In Skriflig (Online) [online]. 2023, vol.57, n.1, pp.1-7. ISSN 2305-0853.  http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/ids.v57i1.2929.

The research presented in this article formed part of an ongoing quest into the possibilities of using conceptual blending to understand the unresolved question of the sources of Matthew's fulfilment quotations (FQs). The way Matthew handled his purported Old Testament (OT) texts in driving home the fulfilment motif in his Gospel, has been noted to depart from the normative use of Scripture in quotations, even of his own time. Further, establishing the source(s) of the quotations is of interest to OT text critical studies, as well as New Testament (NT) hermeneutics. Most of the studies so far on the FQs, have centred around hermeneutics, while the aspect of the use of texts, their transmission and preservation, has been left to a few. This article focused on the textual sources of the Matthew 2:23 quotation and how those sources were brought together to result in the quotation. It sought to investigate the possibility that cognitive linguistic mechanisms of producing the FQs that closely resemble the processes of conceptual blending, can be traced to the FQs. The method used in this research was that of the linguistic theory called conceptual blending. It was employed to trace the thought processes that involved OT texts and those from Matthew's witness context. It was observed that the mechanisms of conceptual blending were behind the process of penning down the quote in Matthew 2:23, even though the author might not have been aware of such cognitive operations. Semiotic and linguistic relations that help explain the quotation, emerged from the study, using conceptual blending as an approach. It was concluded that Matthew's FQs should not be understood in the regular way that modern readers would understand a quotation but as a result of integrating events in the OT and those in Matthew's context of fulfilment. Matthew intended to clearly show the connection between perceived prophecy and its fulfilment, rather than produce quotations in the traditional sense of the word. CONTRIBUTION: This study contributes two key findings to the research field. Firstly, it reveals the potential of the conceptual blending theory as a critical scientific tool in resolving the text-critical problems scholars are faced with in the history of the transmission of the biblical text, with particular reference to Matthew 2:23. Secondly, the research contributes towards resolving the long-standing question of the textual sources of Matthew 2:23

Palavras-chave : Matthew 2:23; fulfilment quotations; conceptual blending; prophecy and fulfilment; textual criticism; cognitive linguistics; Old Testament; New Testament.

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