Texts in Conversation
Jesus in Matthew 18 and Rabbinic tradition in Pirkei Avot share a similar saying that a small group can bring the divine presence, indicating it only takes two or three to come together.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Matthew 18:19
New Testament
16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others with you, so that at the testimony of two or three witnesses every matter may be established. 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. If he refuses to listen to the church, treat him like a Gentile or a tax collector. 18 “I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you release on earth will have been released in heaven. 19 Again, I tell you the truth, if two of you on earth agree about whatever you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you. 20 For where two or three are assembled in my name, I am there among them.” 21 Then Peter came to him and said, “Lord, how many times must I forgive my brother who sins against me? As many as seven times?”
Pirkei Avot 3:2
Mishnah
Rabbinic
2 Rabbi Hanina, the vice-high priest, said: pray for the welfare of the government, for were it not for the fear it inspires, every man would swallow his neighbor alive. Rabbi Hananiah ben Teradion said: if two sit together and there are no words of Torah spoken between them, this is a session of scorners, as it is said: "he does not sit in the seat of the scornful; rather, the teaching of the Lord is his delight" (Psalms 1:1). But if two sit together and there are words of Torah spoken between them, the Shekhinah dwells among them, as it is said: "then those who feared the Lord spoke with one another, and the Lord listened and heard, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who feared the Lord and thought upon His name" (Malachi 3:16). This gives scriptural proof only for two; how do we know that even when one person sits and studies Torah, the Holy One, blessed be He, fixes his reward? As it is said: "though he sits alone in stillness and meditates, he takes a reward for himself" (Lamentations 3:28). 3 Rabbi Shimon said: if three have eaten at one table and have not spoken words of Torah there, it is as if they had eaten sacrifices offered to the dead, as it is said, "for all tables are full of filthy vomit, when the All-Present is absent" (Isaiah 28:8). But if three have eaten at one table and have spoken words of Torah there, it is as if they had eaten at the table of the All-Present, blessed be He, as it is said, "And He said to me, 'this is the table before the Lord'" (Ezekiel 41:22).
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Notes and References
"... A third reason Matthew 18:15-20 generates so much interest is because of the intriguing parallels in Jewish texts. "For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them" recalls a saying attributed to Rabbi Hananiah ben Teradion in the Mishnah: 'But if two sit together and words of the Torah are between them, the divine presence rests between them', Abot 3:2. Similar is the saying attributed to Rabbi Simeon ben Yohai in Abot 3.3: 'If three have eaten at one table and have spoken over it words of Torah, it is as if they had eaten from the table of God.' It is possible that the saying of Rabbi Haninah was called forth by the gospel saying as a kind of counterblast. More probably, however, it expresses what was a rabbinic commonplace - so that Matthew 18:20 is a Christian revision of a rabbinic sentiment, in which Jesus replaces the Shekinah, or divine presence ..."
Allison, Dale C.
Scriptural Allusions in the New Testament: Light from the Dead Sea Scrolls
(p. 24) Wipf & Stock Publishers, 2019
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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