Searching for the heart
In the Moore and Jackson (1931) translation of Tacitus (Annals73.1), Junius Blaesus, proconsul of Africa in the time of Tiberias, received honors for defeating the rebel Tacfarinas who had “recruited his forces in the heart of Africa” (reparatis per intima Africae auxilius huc ) (p.637).
Also, while recalling the Roman fleet’s voyage to Britain under command of Agricola, Tacitus (Agricola 10.6), in the Hutton and Peterson (1914) translation, describes incoming tides of the sea that reach so deeply inland that they “even steal into the heart of hills and mountains” (etiam ac montibus inseri ) (pp. 45-47).
These English translations of the Latin phrases use “heart” in the same metaphorical sense that I propose for Matt 12:40. However, the Latin terms intimus and insertus, unlike cor, arenot specifically equivalent to “heart.”11Plautus (c.205-184 B.C.E.) was a Roman playwright. In his Epidicus 384, Periphanes, a retired Athenian soldier, wishes that people had mirrors that would allow them to see into the “heart of wisdom” (cor sapientiae ) so that they could examine their character. The meaning of “heart” in this case is ambiguous. It could connote “centrality” or “depth,” or most likely, both at the same time. In any case, it indicates that the metaphorical use of “heart” was not absent from pre-Vulgate Latin literature. These English translations are therefore interpretive judgments.
The same could be said of the Trapp (2018) translation of Aelius Aristides (Oration 1.80) where he speaks of the heroism of Athenian soldiers in “the heart of Boeotia” (ἐν μέσῃ τῄ Βοιωτίᾳ) (p. 86). Trapp’s translation is certainly acceptable, however, the Greek term μέσος, unlike καρδία, is not specifically equivalent to “heart.”
While these English examples are noteworthy, they do little to advance my argument. I mention them to show similarity between ancient and modern language uses, and also to show what more is needed. We would need uses of καρδία or equivalent terms, other than the ones I have already mentioned, to provide further support for my interpretation of “heart” in Matt 12:40. Intriguingly, we find such usage in the Hebrew Scriptures. In Deut 4:11, Moses recounts a theophanic experience of the children of Israel at Mount Horeb, saying:
And you came near and stood at the base of the mountain,
and the mountain burned with fire to the heart of the heavens
(עד־לב השׁמים ; LXX: ἕως τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ), shrouded in darkness,
clouds of smoke, and thick billows of ash.
In this passage we see the same metaphorical use of “heart” (לב) that I propose for Matt 12:40. The verse supports my earlier observation about the sometime equivalency between “heart” and “center” in biblical tradition.
In 2 Kgdms 18:14 LXX=2 Sam 18:14 MT we have an account of the death of Absalom: “Joab took three darts in his hand and thrust them into the heart of Absalom while he was yet alive in the heart of the tree ” (ἐν τῇ καρδία τῆς δρυὸς; MT: בלב האלה ). In both the Greek and Hebrew versions of this text we see the same metaphorical use of “heart” that I see in Matt 12:40.
Intriguingly still, we find further support for my argument in the writings of the neo-platonic philosopher Proclus of Athens (412-485 C.E.), specifically in his Hymn to the Sun . Here (Hymni1.6) Proclus observes:
μεσσατίην γὰρ ἐὼν ὑπὲρ αἰθέρος ἒδην καὶ κόσμον κραδιαῖον ἒχων ἐριφεγγέα κύκλον παντα τεῆς ἒπλησας ἐγερσινόοιο προνοίης (For your abode is on high in the midst of the sky, And you keepthe heart of the cosmos encircled with your brilliance; You awaken all things, when you presciently fill them with your power).
When Proclus refers to “the heart of the cosmos ” or “the heart of the world” (κόσμον κραδιαῖον), we see the same metaphorical use of “heart” that I propose for Matt 12:40.22Proclus here uses the adjective masculine accusative form of κραδῖαος, which is the adjective form of κραδία, which is the Doric form of κραδίη, which is the Ionic or Epic form of καρδία. Although using a different Greek dialect in a remote, fifth-century, non-biblical setting, Proclus is still antiquarian support for the sometime equivalency between “heart” and “center” that I see in the First Gospel. If Matthew’s “heart of the earth” is equivalent to “center of the earth” as I contend, then Deut 4:11 and 2 Kgdms 18:14 LXX=2 Sam 18:14 MT show that usage has precedence in biblical tradition. Furthermore, these same passages along with Proclus show that this usage is neither eccentric nor idiosyncratic.
When we add these examples (Deut 4:11, 2 Kgdms 18:14=2 Sam 18:14 MT, and Proclus) to those where “the heart of the seas” clearly denotes “the center of the seas” (Ezek 27:2, 25; 28:2), we have strong indication of how we should interpret Matthew’s “heart of the earth.” The real challenge is letting go of long- standing assumptions that equate “the heart of the earth” with the tomb of Jesus or the literal underworld.
What further makes the equivalency between “center of the earth” and “heart of the earth” not only possible, but probable, and perhaps, more probable than previous understandings? A simple and plain observation: Jesus did not spend three days and three nights in the tomb, not even in Matthean perspective. This time interval mustrefer to some other circumstance. We begin to see this circumstance when we note what may be the closest parallels we have in biblical and extrabiblical tradition to the phrase “heart of the earth.” In biblical and extrabiblical tradition, “the center of the earth” and equivalent phrases can only mean one place, Jerusalem and its environs. Understanding the phrase “heart of the earth” as one of these equivalent phrases adequately solves all the difficulties we have mentioned, especially the chronological one.