Texts in Conversation
Matthew 21:9 uses the cry “Hosanna,” meaning “save now,” a term that echoes the plea for help spoken to King David in 2 Samuel 14:4. By echoing this language, Matthew connects the crowd’s cry to earlier expressions of royal dependence, reinforcing the portrayal of Jesus as a figure in the line of David.
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2 Samuel 14:4
Hebrew Bible
2 So Joab sent to Tekoa and brought from there a wise woman. He told her, “Pretend to be in mourning and put on garments for mourning. Don’t anoint yourself with oil. Instead, act like a woman who has been mourning for the dead for some time. 3 Go to the king and speak to him in the following fashion.” Then Joab told her what to say. 4 So the Tekoan woman went to the king. She bowed down with her face to the ground in deference to him and said, “Please help me, O king!” 5 The king replied to her, “What do you want?” She answered, “I am a widow; my husband is dead.
Date: 6th Century B.C.E. (Final composition) (based on scholarly estimates)
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Matthew 21:9
New Testament
5 “Tell the people of Zion, ‘Look, your king is coming to you, unassuming and seated on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’” 6 So the disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. 8 A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road. Others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 The crowds that went ahead of him and those following kept shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” 10 As he entered Jerusalem the whole city was thrown into an uproar, saying, “Who is this?”
Date: 70-90 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... Hosanna, Hebrew “save now” (Psalm 118:26). A form of this term (“Help!”) is earlier used in connection with King David (2 Samuel 14:4), making it clear that Jesus is the Davidic king ..."
Levine, Amy-Jill & Brettler, Marc Zvi
The Jewish Annotated New Testament
(p. 38) Oxford University Press, 2011
* 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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