Matthew as resurrection witness: Can skepticism of canonical Greek Matthew be justified?

The early patristic statements on Matthew’s authorship all claim not just that he authored a gospel, but that he wrote it in Hebrew letters.  At the end of the following list, notice that Jerome said Matthew was translated into Greek in his (Jerome’s) day, but by an unknown hand: 

Papias (120 a.d.)

But concerning Matthew he writes as follows: “So then Matthew wrote the oracles in the Hebrew language, and every one interpreted them as he was able.”  (Eusebius, Church History, 3:39)

Hippolytus [a.d. 170–236.]

7. And Matthew wrote the Gospel in the Hebrew tongue, and published it at Jerusalem, and fell asleep at Hierees, a town of Parthia. (On The Twelve Apostles, Schaff, P. (2000). The Ante-Nicene Fathers (electronic ed.). Garland, TX: Galaxie Software.)

Irenaeus [A.D. 120-202]

Matthew also issued a written Gospel among the Hebrews in their own dialect, while Peter and Paul were preaching at Rome,… (Against Heresies, 3:1:1, Schaff, P. (2000). The Ante-Nicene Fathers (electronic ed.). Garland, TX: Galaxie Software.

Origen [a.d. 185–254]

Concerning the four Gospels which alone are uncontroverted in the Church of God under heaven, I have learned by tradition that the Gospel according to Matthew, who was at one time a publican and afterwards an Apostle of Jesus Christ, was written first; and that he composed it in the Hebrew tongue and published it for the converts from Judaism.  (Commentary on Matthew, Book 1),

Schaff, P. (2000). The Ante-Nicene Fathers (electronic ed.). Garland, TX: Galaxie Software.

Eusebius (a.d. 320) quoting Irenaeus

 “Matthew published his Gospel among the Hebrews in their own language, while Peter and Paul were preaching and founding the church in Rome.  (Church History, Book 5, ch. 8)

Pantaenus.

Pantaenus was one of these, and is said to have gone to India. It is reported that among persons there who knew of Christ, he found the Gospel according to Matthew, which had anticipated his own arrival. For Bartholomew, one of the apostles, had preached to them, and left with them the writing of Matthew in the Hebrew language, which they had preserved till that time. (Church History, Book 5, ch. 10).  Guthrie says “The veracity of this story must be doubted…” New Testament Introduction, Matthew, Authorship, op. cit.).

Epiphanius (a.d. 367):

Matthew himself wrote and issued the Gospel in the Hebrew alphabet, and did not begin at the beginning, but traced Christ’s pedigree from Abraham.  (“Against Quartodecimans.1 Number 30, but 50 of the series “ in  “Panarion, Book 2”, from “The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis

Books II and III. De Fide, Nag Hammadi and Manichaean Studies”, Vol. 79,  transl. Frank Williams, Brill © 2013.

Epiphanius

3.7 They too accept the Gospel according to Matthew. Like the Cerinthians and Merinthians, they too use it alone. They call it, "According to the Hebrews," and it is true to say that only Matthew expounded and preached the Gospel in the Hebrew language and alphabet 16 in the New

Testament.” (Panarion, Book 1, “Against Ebionites, Number ten, but thirty of the series”, Brill, Id.

Epiphanius

9.4 They have the Gospel according to Matthew in its entirety in Hebrew. " For it is clear that they still preserve this as it was originally written, in the Hebrew alphabet. But I do not know whether they have also excised the genealogies from Abraham till Christ. ((Panarion, Book 1, “Against Nazoraeans.  Number nine, but twenty-nine of the series”, Section II, Brill, Id).

Jerome (a.d. 492):

Matthew, also called Levi, apostle and aforetimes publican, composed a gospel of Christ at first published in Judea in Hebrew31 for the sake of those of the circumcision who believed, but this was afterwards translated into Greek though by what author is uncertain.

------Footnote 31:  Gospel …in Hebrew. Jerome seems to regard the Gospel according to the Hebrews mentioned by him above as the original Hebrew Text of Matthew. cf. Lightfoot, Ignatius v. 2. p. 295.--endfootnote.--------

The Hebrew itself has been preserved until the present day in the library. at Caesarea which Pamphilus so diligently gathered. I have also had the opportunity of having the volume described to me by the Nazarenes32 of Beroea,33 a city of Syria,who use it. In this it is to be noted that wherever the Evangelist, whether on his own account or in the person of our Lord the Saviour quotes the testimony of the Old Testament he does not follow the authority of the translators of the Septuagint but the Hebrew. Wherefore these two forms exist “Out of Egypt have I called my son,” and “for he shall be called a Nazarene.”

(Lives of Illustrious Men, ch. 3, Schaff, P. (1997). The Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers Second Series Vol. III. Theodoret, Jerome, Gennadius, Rufinus: Historial Writings, etc. Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems.

 So the patristic witness of the first 4 centuries is

a)      Matthew authored a gospel in Hebrew letters/language.

b)      The Greek version of Matthew is never mentioned until Jerome asserts in the 4^th century that it is a translation made in his day by an unknown person.

Conservative Christian textual scholar Daniel Wallace makes his own translation of Papias’s words, and inserts therein a positive denial that Matthew had written in Greek:

2. External Evidence

The earliest statement that Matthew wrote something is by Papias: “Instead [of writing in Greek], Matthew arranged the oracles in the Hebrew dialect, and each man interpreted them as he was able.”

---Footnote # 3:  “Fragments of Papias 2:16 (my translation).”

Another problem is that Jerome says Hebrew Matthew was “translated” into Greek.  However, most scholars agree that canonical Greek Matthew does not look to them like it translation Greek.   

Says Wallace:

(1) Papias probably was not referring to the Gospel, since we have no trace of it in Hebrew or Aramaic until the medieval ages (all of which are clearly translations of the Greek, at least as far as most scholars are concerned). This view, therefore, is shipwrecked on early textual evidence. Further, Matthew does not show strong evidence of being translation Greek. (2) Some have suggested therefore (as an expedient to salvage the first view) that Papias was referring to Matthew’s literary method, rather than linguistics, but such is by no means a natural interpretation of διαλέκτος

In summary, Matthew's writing a gospel for Jews in Judea would appear to corroborate the other universal testimony that he wrote it in Hebrew.  Getting Matthew to author a Greek version doesn't work here.

The fact that most of the early fathers are willing to assert the language Matthew wrote his gospel in, while not asserting he ever wrote anything in Greek, rationally supports the notion that there was no Greek gospel authored by Matthew that these fathers ever heard of.  Getting Matthew to author a Greek version doesn't work here.

The fact that nobody mentions a Greek Matthew gospel until Jerome does in the 4th century, supports the above-cited premise that a Greek version of Matthew did not appear in history until the 4th century, which would thus exclude Matthew, who died in the first century, from having anything to do with it's production or composition. Getting Matthew to author a Greek version doesn't work here.

The fact that Jerome says the Greek version of Matthew was "translated" from the Hebrew version requires skeptics to decide whether he is correct, or most modern scholars are correct to say that canonical Greek Matthew doesn't look like translation-Greek. Getting Matthew to author a Greek version doesn't work here.

Apologists will say at least this settles the fact that Matthew did author a gospel, even if other details remain obscure.  But not even this can be granted:  Since the earliest mention is that Matthew wrote the logia in Hebrew (see Papias, supra), it could very well be that all the later fathers who testify similarly, are standing on the authority of Papias, in which case their statements are not independent corroborations, all they are doing is repeating prior tradition (exactly what  in which case Papias in the solitary witness, making it far less certain that Matthew wrote a gospel.  Furthermore, Christian conservative textual scholar Wallace says Papias wasn’t asserting that Matthewwrote a gospel:

Although it is quite impossible to decide conclusively what Papias meant since we are wholly dependent on Eusebius for any excerpts from this early second century writer, some general considerations are in order: (1) Papias probably was not referring to the Gospel, since we have no trace of it in Hebrew or Aramaic until the medieval ages (all of which are clearly translations of the Greek, at least as far as most scholars are concerned). This view, therefore, is shipwrecked on early textual evidence.

Furthermore, in light of the patristic testimony, establishing the Matthew wrote a gospel, without more, would not suffice for apologetics purposes, because the question is who is the source for the resurrection testimony in Matthew 28?  Are skeptics being a bit too skeptical when they say the source or sources for chapter 28 are too obscure to nail down with any confidence?

Skepticism of the apostolicity of canonical Greek Matthew is therefore rationally warranted.  Therefore, canonical Greek Matthew's resurrection testimony can be dismissed from the list of resurrection eyewitnesses.