This paper argues that the gender pairs in Jesus’ teachings and the narratives in the Gospel of Matthew have OT precedents in terms of the structure and content of OT male/female pairs, which build upon the concept from Gen 1:27. While the pairs in Luke have been mentioned by some scholars, the gender pairs in Matthew have been little discussed or their possible OT pre-texts considered. Ben Witherington postulates on the relevance of their usage in the Gospels, but primarily those in Luke. Matthias Konradt notes several of Matthew’s pairs but does not discuss their significance. Sara Parks helpfully highlights the significance of the shorter gender pairs, given that the masculine alone in some of these places would have sufficed.
Matthew can be considered to have seven gender pairs, plus the shorter pairs mentioned by Sara Parks. These include the birds of the air, lilies of the field (6:26-30); wise man versus foolish man, foolish bridesmaids versus wise bridesmaids (7:24-27, 25:1-13); healing of centurion’s servant, healing of Canaanite woman’s daughter (8:5-13, 15:21-28); men of Nineveh, Queen of the South (12:41-42); man’s mustard seed, woman’s yeast (13:31, 33); two (men) in the field, two women grinding meal (24:40, 41); and women at the crucifixion, Joseph’s tomb (27:55-61, 27:57-60). The shorter pairs mentioned by Sara Parks include fluting and wailing (11:17), tax collectors and prostitutes (11:19, 21:32), divisions in the household (10:35), and parents and children (10:37).
In terms of intertextuality, the duality of humans made male and female in the image and likeness of God in Genesis is suggested to be the foundational intertextual reference for the New Testament’s gender pairs (cf. Gen 1:26-31; 5:2; 6:19, 20; 7:2, 3, 9, 15, 16). Three additional OT gender pairs are examined and seen as similar to Matthew’s use of them—the Creator as a father and also having a womb and giving birth in Job 38:28-29; the LORD God as a master with a (male) servant and the LORD God as a mistress with a maid in Ps 123:2; and the LORD like a soldier and warrior and also like a woman in labor in Is 42:13-14. Comparisons are made between Matthew’s pairs and these three parallelisms. In Matthew, similar to God in Ps 123:2, the Father and Jesus provide care and mercy. Also similar to Ps 123:2, Matthew’s pairs reveal both genders as having the same responsibilities and spiritual capabilities. Beyond the OT gender pairs, though, in Matthew both men and women are responsible before God and able to sin, with the same eschatological judgment and consequences. Also, both genders are able to judge at the Day of Judgment.