This essay summarizes uses of a;xioj in non-biblical and biblical literature and analyzes Matthew's usages of a;xioj. These uses apply to (a) impersonal "fruit" that correlates with repentance (3:8); (b) faithful "workers" worthy of their food (10:10); and (c) persons' faithful/honourable behaviours of hearing and accepting Jesus' apostles and their kingdom preaching, accepting the apostles' other ministries, and loving Jesus supremely and following him (10:11, 13, 37-39; 22:8). The essay advances scholarship on matthew's uses of a;xioj in three original ways: it provides exegetical foundations for meaning(s) of a;xioj in its contexts; it establishes coherences between worthiness-unworthiness, honour-shame, and hospitality-inhospitality; and it demonstrates synthetic relationships between occurrences of a;xioj in Matthew.
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