Reversing Lamech's Vengeance
Uncovering the Genesis 4:24 allusion in Jesus' teaching on forgiveness in Matthew 18:22.
Biblical Theology and the New Testament Use of the Old Testament
The discipline labeled biblical theology has multiple compatible approaches. Many of these approaches are driven by an intense interest in how Scripture uses Scripture, especially in how the New Testament authors use the Old Testament. One of the best resources for studying the NT use of the OT first-hand is the Nestle-Aland Greek New Testament.
As the front matter to the Nestle-Aland explains, the outer margins contain references to (1) parallels and doublets within the New Testament writings, (2) quotations from and allusions to the Old Testament, and (3) places in the Old and New Testaments and in early Jewish writings which relate to the New Testament material. Readers are alerted to the New Testament’s use of the Old Testament through these references, providing an easy entry into first-hand study. Alternatively, a good cross-reference English Bible also alerts readers to these links.
But what if you want to identify all the relevant references in the New Testament to a particular Old Testament book? For example, I’m preaching through Genesis, so I am interested in identifying how the New Testament uses the book of Genesis. I don’t have time to look at the margins of every page to find cross-references to Genesis, so what alternatives are there? In the back matter, Nestle-Aland offers a full listing of references to the Old Testament and ancient Jewish literature (pp. 836-878).
Matthew 18:22’s Allusion to Genesis 4:24
Let’s look at one example. Nestle-Aland identifies that Genesis 4:24 has a connection to Matthew 18:22. Let’s compare these two texts to determine the use of the Old Testament in Matthew’s Gospel.
The Genesis text contains Lamech’s vengeance poem. Lamech, the final descendant in Cain’s line, essentially replaces God by pledging to avenge himself. More than that, he escalates the scale of his vengeance! God promised to avenge Cain seven times over (Gen 4:15), but Lamech pledges to avenge himself seventy-seven times over (Gen 4:24).
The Matthew text contains Jesus’ saying in response to Peter’s question about forgiveness (Matt 18:21). Jesus responds that Peter should forgive not only seven times, but seventy times seven (490x)! At this point, however, the allusion is not clear. Although the texts express contrasting themes (vengeance and forgiveness) and both use a number with seven in it, the texts don’t seem to share a lexical connection.
However, the CSB has a footnote, indicating that the number could be translated “seventy-seven times.” If this translation is correct, there is likely a lexical connection in the underlying Greek text. But which translation is accurate?
Among several major English translations, there is nearly an even split regarding the translation of the number in Matthew 18:22. The CSB, NASB, NLT, and KJV all opt for 70x7, while the ESV, NIV, and NET opt for 77x. But every translation opts for 77x when it comes to translating the number in Genesis 4:24. As you can see, only the NIV and NET consistently translate the phrase in both texts. I’m excluding the ESV because of the difference in phrasing (seventy-sevenfold vs. seventy-seven times). Only the NIV and the NET render the verse in a way that hints at a possible allusion.
But how does the Greek text of the Old Testament (the LXX) compare with the Greek text of the New Testament?
Even if you don’t know Greek, you can see that the highlighted text is identical. Although there may be reasons to translate these texts differently, the Greek texts correspond in a way that firmly suggests an allusion. What is more, these two texts represent the only appearance of this number in the Greek Old and New Testaments, making the allusion more likely.
D. A. Carson notes that “The Greek could just barely be taken to mean 70 x 7 (490) instead of 70 + 7 (77), but it follows the LXX of Genesis 4:24 exactly, which is a rendering of the Hebrew 77.”1 Based on the correlation with the Hebrew text, the best translation would render the number seventy-seven rather than seventy times seven.
Setting the issue of the actual number aside, I’m concerned about the issue of consistency between the two. For readers of the English New Testament, inconsistently translating the number in Genesis 4:24 and in Matthew 18:22 obscures the allusion. It seems best to translate the number as seventy-seven and to do so using identical English phrasing in both texts so that the allusion is more readily identifiable.
So What? Why the Allusion Matters
It seems clear that Peter alludes to God’s vengeance against those who would harm Cain (Gen 4:15) and that Jesus’ response alludes to Lamech’s vengeance poem (Gen 4:24). But what is the payoff for this observation?
These allusions draw listeners into an early story of forgiveness denied and vengeance celebrated. Lamech’s poem is part of a pattern of escalating violence and wickedness that is built on the twin pillars of grasping for vengeance and denying forgiveness. Jesus’ teaching reminds that vengeance belongs to God and that for humans to truly flourish, they must reject Lamech’s disposition in favor of endless forgiveness.
Jeannine K. Brown observes, “The multiplied revenge that Lamech invokes for any who would harm him is reversed by Jesus’ exhortation to multiplied forgiveness towards an offending brother or sister. In fact, it is likely that the phrase connotes unlimited forgiveness just as Lamech’s words imply unlimited revenge.”2
Grant Osborne emphasizes the contrast between Jesus and Lamech. “Lamech celebrated his vengeance; Jesus here abrogates it altogether.”3 Similarly, A. H. McNeile comments, “The unlimited revenge of primitive man has given place to the unlimited forgiveness of Christians.”4
Most interpreters agree that Jesus isn’t legislating a certain number of times one must forgive, after which it is okay to take vengeance. His teaching is much more profound than that.5 Rather, “the emphasis is not on the number but on the boundless nature of forgiveness.”6
More than that, however, when the allusion is recognized, Jesus is presented as offering an ethic that leads to human flourishing and that brings about a reversal of the natural human disposition to take vengeance as demonstrated in Lamech’s poem.
In this light, when we fail to forgive, we identify ourselves with Lamech, the offspring of Cain—and ultimately, the offspring of the serpent. In contrast, our acts of forgiveness align us with Jesus, the serpent-crushing seed of the woman, the one who secures our forgiveness from God and enables us to forgive others without reservation or limitation.
D. A. Carson, Matthew in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Matthew–Mark (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2010), 459.
Jeannine K. Brown, “Genesis in Matthew’s Gospel,” in Genesis in the New Testament (New York: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2012), 51.
Grant R. Osborne, Matthew, Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2010), 693.
A. H. McNeile, Matthew (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1980), 268.
Timothy Keller, Forgive: Why Should I and How Can I? (New York: Viking, 2022), 3-4.
Osborne, 693.