MATTHEW (math'thu), (Gr. MarOaios, mat thah'yos, probably from the Hebrew Mattathias, "gift of Jehovah").
(1) Name and Family. According to Mark ii :14. Matthew was a son of Alphxus. It is gen erally supposed that Jacobus, or James, the son of Alphxus, was a son of Mary, the wife of Cleo phas, who was a sister of the mother of Jesus ( John xix :25). If this opinion is correct, Mat thew was one of the relatives of Jesus.
(2) Collector of Customs. Matthew was a portitor, or inferior collector of customs at Caper nainn, on the Sea of Galilee. He was not a pub licanus, or general farmer of customs. We may suppose either that he held his appointment at the port of Capernaum, or that he collected the customs on the high road to Damascus, which went through what is now called Khan Minyeh, which place, as Robinson has shown, is the an cient Capernaum (Bibl. Res. in Palestine, vol. iii, pp. 288-295). Thus we see that Matthew be longed to the lower class of people.
(3) Also Called Levi. In Mark ij:14, and Luke v:27, he is called Levi. We hence conclude that Ile had two names. This circumstance is not mentioned in the list of the apostles (Matt.
x and Luke vi) ; but the omission does not prove the contrary, as we may infer from the fact that Leblizeus is also called Judas in Luke vi:16, in which verse the name Lebb:elis is omit ted. In Matt. ix:9 is related how Matthew was called to be an apostle. We must, however, sup pose that he was previously acquainted withJesus, since we read in Luke vi :13, that when Jesus, before delivering the Sermon on the Mount, se lected twelve disciples, who were to form the circle of his more intimate associates, Matthew was one of them. After this Matthew returned
to his usual occupation; from which Jesus, on leaving Capernaum, called him away. On this occasion Matthew gave a parting entertainment to his friends. After this event he is mentioned only in Acts i:r3.
(4) Abstinence from Animal Food. Accord ing to a statement in Clemens Alexandrinus (Predagog. r), Matthew abstained from ani mal food. Hence some writers have rather hastily concluded that he belonged to the sect of the Essenes. It is true that the Essenes prac ticed abstinence in a high degree; but it is not true that they rejected animal food altogether. Admitting the account in Clemens Alexandrinus to be correct, it proves only a certain ascetic strictness, of which there occur vestiges in the habits of other Jews (comp. Joseph. Vita, cap. ii and iii).
(5) Ministry. According to another account. which is as old as the first century, Matthew, after the death of Jesus, remained about fifteen years in Jerusalem. This agrees with the state ment in Eusebius (Hist. Eccles.iii, 24), that Mat thew preached to his own nation before he went to foreign countries. Rufinus (Hist. Eccles. x, 9) and Socrates (Hist. Eccles. i, 19) state that he afterwards went into Ethiopia; and other authors mention other countries. There also he probably preached specially to the Jews. According to Heracleon (about A. D. 15o), and Clemens Alex. (Strom. iv, 9), Matthew was one of those apos tles who did not suffer martyrdom.