Abay Trupbergenov
The article examines the philosophical-theological and methodological foundations of the Jewish hermeneutical tradition of the Second Temple period and its applicability to the interpretation of the Nativity prologue in the Gospel of Matthew. The study argues that Jewish hermeneutics represents a historically formed system of interpretive techniques that includes divination, creative philology, and adaptation. These elements enable the identification of multiple layers of meaning that extend beyond the literal sense of the text. Drawing on comparative studies of ancient Near Eastern religious systems, the article demonstrates structural parallels between Jewish interpretive practices and traditional forms of mantics used to discern the divine will. The article reconstructs the epistemological foundations of three approaches to biblical interpretation — premodern, modern, and postmodern — that shape the scholarly status of Jewish hermeneutics in the history of research. It is shown that the modern historical-critical method restricts the use of Jewish interpretive techniques by requiring a single literal meaning. In contrast, the postmodern paradigm, which affirms methodological pluralism and textual multivalence, provides the conceptual conditions for restoring the scholarly legitimacy of Jewish hermeneutics. A comparison of the retelling of Judges 13 in Josephus’ Jewish Antiquities and Matthew 1:1–25 reveals the employment of analogous interpretive strategies aimed at constructing apologetic and theological meanings. The study proposes a three-stage analysis based on a five-step methodology that enables the identification of implicit interpretive layers arising from the use of Jewish hermeneutical techniques. The findings demonstrate the significance of Jewish hermeneutics as a methodological instrument for historical-theological research on the New Testament and its relevance for analysing the theological argumentation of the Nativity in the Gospel of Matthew.