“Our Father Who Art in Heaven,” Similarities and Discrepancies Between two Different Theological Contexts: Matthew Versus the Targums of the Pentateuch
(2026) Exploring Theology and Ethics in Ancient Bible Translations — accepted/in-press
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- Abstract
- The opening phrase of the prayer “Our Father, who art in heaven” (Matt 6:9) is not specific to Christianity: it is found on several occasions in the Targums of the Torah as well, i.e. in the Targum Neofiti and the Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, but also, and above all, in the Fragmentary Targums. Yet a close analysis shows that the use of the technical expression “your, his, her, their Father in heaven” in the Targums of the Torah occurs in the same literary or theological contexts as in the Gospel of Matthew. However, there are two essential differences. First, the person of Jesus, although similar to that of Moses or even Abraham, is portrayed differently. Jesus plays a role that neither Abraham nor Moses took, when he says: “My Father in heaven.” Second, being sons of the Father in heaven involves the Christian disciples to an even higher degree of trust and faith in him, and a closer collaboration to his plan, that does not only concern their identity, but affects their very being.
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Citations
Naveau, S. (2026). “Our Father Who Art in Heaven,” Similarities and Discrepancies Between two Different Theological Contexts: Matthew Versus the Targums of the Pentateuch. In Bryan Beeckman et Martijn Jaspers (ed.), Exploring Theology and Ethics in Ancient Bible Translations. Peeters. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/268704