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Authorship, date, and setting
The preface presents the work as Matthew's Hebrew text translated by Jerome, but this claim belongs to its literary frame and does not establish apostolic authorship or a translation by Jerome. The Latin narrative reshapes material from the Protevangelium of James and adds episodes about the journey to Egypt and Jesus's childhood. Its manuscript tradition has several forms, so one precise date cannot be assigned to every scene. The e-Clavis catalogue records a Latin witness to part of the work in a compilation from about 800, a firm latest point for the existence of that material.
Structure of the forty-three chapters
Chapter 1 on this site contains the prefaces; the story begins in 2. In 2–9 Joachim and Anna receive the promise of Mary, who grows up in the temple and is entrusted to Joseph. Chapters 10–18 run from the annunciation through birth, Magi, and flight. In 19–26 animals, a palm tree, and idols respond to the child on the journey to Egypt. Chapters 27–43 collect childhood episodes involving play, teaching, healing, and family. This local division shifts references by one from editions that start counting with Joachim.
Themes and key passages
Mary's dedication in the temple in 5–9 gives her a story before Jesus's birth. The water test in 13 answers accusations against Mary and Joseph within the narrative. In the manger scene in 15 an ox and a donkey recognize the child; the palm of 21–22 supplies food and water during the flight. The falling idols in 23–25 cast the stay in Egypt as a religious confrontation. Childhood signs in 27–43 include healing but also harsh punishments, a feature easily hidden by a selective account of the family scenes.
Summary by parts
1–9: Prefatory letters claim the names of Matthew and Jerome. Joachim is excluded from worship because he has no child, and Anna laments too. Heavenly messages promise Mary, who enters the temple and is later placed in Joseph's care.
10–18: Mary receives news of the conception; Joseph is troubled, and both face suspicion. The journey to Bethlehem leads to birth in a cave and the manger scene. Magi visit, Herod orders boys killed, and Joseph flees with the family.
19–26: On the Egyptian route dragons and wild animals yield to Jesus. A palm bends with fruit and a spring appears. In Egypt images of gods fall, and a local ruler responds to the sign. An angel orders the family home.
27–43: Jesus makes clay pools and birds, debates teachers, and heals. Some children die after confrontations, while others are restored. The sequence ends among Joseph's relatives, who wait for Jesus to begin their meal.
Reception and manuscripts
The e-Clavis catalogue describes numerous Latin manuscripts in distinct textual families. Some later forms add miracles associated with the Infancy Gospel of Thomas; this edition's final block belongs to an expanding tradition. Scenes such as the palm, ox, and donkey also entered Christian art without making the work one of the four canonical gospels. The preface's claim about Jerome translating Matthew is not independent evidence for that origin.
Sources
- Alexander Walker, The Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew (1886).
- Brandon W. Hawk, Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew (2023).