Sources of the Synoptic GospelsPatton, Carl S. (Carl Safford)
Religion
Sources of the Synoptic Gospels
Patton, Carl S. (Carl Safford)
Bible. Gospels -- Criticism, interpretation, etc.
Matthew's vs. 11 and Luke's vs. 16 are closely parallel to Mark i, 7-8.
But they are still more closely parallel with each other, and contain
common deviations from Mark which cannot be explained upon the supposition
that they are taken from the latter. The wording in the two Gospels, for
twenty-six consecutive words, is identical, except for Luke's omission of
καὶ in his vs. 17, and his consequent change of verbs from the finite to
the infinitive mood. This section is universally assigned to Q.
THE TEMPTATION
(Mt iv, 3-11; Lk iv, 3-13)
The whole story of the temptation as told by Matthew and Luke includes the
two verses of each Gospel which immediately precede the section here
specified. These verses are not included here because they seem to the
writer to be taken by Matthew and Luke from Mark and not from Q. The
common avoidance by Matthew and Luke of Mark's statement that Jesus was
"with the wild beasts," and their common substitution of διάβολος for
Mark's σατανᾶς, would point toward their exclusive use of Q and their
avoidance of Mark in these verses. On the other hand, Matthew and Luke use
very different phraseology to express their common idea of the hunger of
Jesus (Luke saying οὐκ ἔφαγεν οὐδὲν ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις ἐκείναις, καὶ
συντελεσθεισῶν αὐτῶν ἐπείνασεν, while Matthew says καὶ νηστεύσας ἡμέρας
τεσσεράκοντα καὶ τεσσεράκοντα νύκτας, ὕστερον ἐπείνασεν). Matthew agrees
with Mark in six consecutive words (except for the transposition of two of
them) where Luke has a wording of his own. Whereas Mark says that Jesus
was tempted forty days, saying nothing about his hunger, Matthew says he
fasted for forty days and was tempted at the expiration of this time, and
Luke that he fasted forty days and was tempted during that time. The best
explanation for these divergences and similarities is that Matthew and
Luke take these verses from Mark but correct him freely under the
influence of Q. Q also of course contained these verses, and they will be
assigned to him when we come to consider the Q material in Mark. In the
rest of the temptation narrative, where Mark has no parallel, there is
great verbal similarity. The enlargement of the Old Testament quotation
may perhaps be ascribed to Matthew. The transposition of Matthew's second
temptation to the third place in Luke seems to spoil the climax in the
narrative; Mr. Streeter (_Oxford Studies_, p. 152) argues that Luke would
not have spoiled so good an arrangement if he had found it in his source.
If this argument were allowed, the section would have to be assigned to
QMt and QLk. The writer does not feel that the divergences are great
enough to necessitate this, and so assigns it to Q.
"BLESSED ARE THE POOR"
(Mt v, 3; Lk vi, 20_b_)
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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