Matthew was sent as a shaliach/apostle to Ethiopia and Persia. Some have questioned the authorship of this scroll since Matthew is not specifically named as the writer. The consensus of early historians (Irenaeus, Origen, and others) is that Matthew was indeed the writer. This seems to be a logical conclusion, as it would be strange for some other writer to attribute the scroll to a despised tax collector if it were not so. Other internal evidences also point to Matthew’s authorship.