Deconstructing the Opposition between Grace and Recompense: The Case of the Workers in the Vineyard (Matt 20) and Rabbi Boun (y. Ber. 2:8)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21906/rbl.3761Keywords:
Matt 20:1–15, y. Berakhot 2:8, grace, merit, comparative readingAbstract
This article offers a comparative rereading of Matt 20:1–15 and y. Ber. 2:8 in order to move beyond the conventional opposition between evangelical grace and rabbinic merit. Against a strand of exegetical scholarship often shaped by apologetic concerns, especially in the work of Jeremias and Strack-Billerbeck, it argues that these two narratives should not be understood as embodying mutually exclusive theological logics. The Matthean parable does not eliminate the idea of recompense; rather, it holds together justice and the master’s sovereign generosity. Likewise, the mashal of Rabbi Boun cannot be reduced to a merely calculative notion of merit: the quality of study, the brevity of the sage’s life, and the king’s intimate companionship with him point to a more nuanced understanding of reward. A comparative reading of these texts thus makes it possible to move beyond a schematic grace-versus-merit dichotomy and to show how justice, mercy, and consolation are closely intertwined in both traditions.
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