Chronology of the Synoptic Problem


I. Ancient Period

c.125   Papias apud Eusebius: Mark had been the interpreter (ermhneuthV, hermêneutês) of Peter. Matthew put together the reports (logia, logia) in a Hebrew manner of speech (dialektw, dialectôi, dialect, style).
c.200   Clement of Alexandria apud Eusebius: Progegrafqai elegen twn euaggeliwn ta perieconta taV genealogiaV. "The Gospels with the genealogies [Matthew and Luke?] were written before." Commonly thought to be a statement of Mark's posteriority to Matthew and Luke, Clement's comments are better interpreted
c.400 AH Augustine: Successive dependence; order was Mt, Mk, Lk; each wrote with knowledge of previous Gospel.

II. Enlightenment

New Theories

1712   LeClerc: Evangelists could have used earlier sources. (LeClerc 1712: 429; accord Michaelis 1777: ¶ 125; see Farmer 1964/76: 9 n.11).
1764 2GH Owen: Mk used Lk as well as Mt. (Owen 1764: 53-75; see Farmer 1964/76: 7 n.8, Farmer 1990: 147-156)
1766 BH Büsching: Order is Lk, Mt, Mk. (Büsching 1766: 109-119; see Farmer 1964/76: 7 n.8)
1776   Griesbach: Publication of the first literary Synopsis. (see Farmer 1964/76: 3, 5-6; Greeven 1978: 26-28; Reicke 1978b: 69-70)
1778 UrG Lessing (pub. 1784): Aramaic Ur-Gospel source (Gospel of the Nazarenes) used independently by Mt, Mk, and Lk.
1782   Koppe: Marcus non epitomator Matthaei [Mark not the abridger of Matthew] because Mark deviated in order from Mt but which Lk supports over the apostle. Gospels compiled from Greek and Hebrew fragments.
1783 2GH Griesbach: Successive dependence with order Mt, Lk, Mk. Mk is a conflation of Mt and Lk, not an epitome of Mt.
1786   Storr: contra Koppe, authoritativeness of Mark comes from Peter via Papias' testimony. Early proponent of Mark's priority.
1794   Eichhorn: Original Aramaic Gospel in four revisions. A - basis for Mt; B - basis for Lk; C from A and B - basis for Mk; and D - used by both Matt. and Luke but not Mark.
1797   Herder: oral gospel (Lk1:2), and Mk similar to Peter's words in Ac1:22.
1798 2GH Marsh (pub. 1801): Two Greek, common sources :- an Ur-Gospel (Aleph) which contains the Triple Tradition, and a primitive sayings source (Beth), both independently used by Evangelists.

III. German Period

The Development of the Markan Hypothesis

1832   Schleiermacher: Fragmentary Hypothesis, gospels are a collection of various written materials. Papias' Mark is a gospel written by Mark, but not the canonical Mk. Papias' "Logia" is a collection of Jesus' sayings that formed a "Proto-Matthew" to which narrative material was added. but not by Luke who used Mt. (Canonical Mk is a later gospel as in GH.)
1835   Lachmann: Order of the fragments in oral tradition best reflected in Mark.
1835 2GH Tübingen School, D.F.Strauss & F.C.Baur: Greisbach Hypothesis adherents with late date (c. 130) for Mt. Mt is not eyewitness but myth. Lasted until 1864 with the appointment of Weizsäcker.
1838 Wilke Wilke: Markan priority, with both Matt. and Luke using Mark. The Double Tradition is from Matt.'s use of Luke.
1838 2SH Weisse: Both Matt. and Luke combined Papias' Mark and the Logia. Papias' Mark was first identified as the canonical Mk, thus making the first formulation of the Two-Source Hypothesis.
1842   De Wette/1862 Bleek: Mk a conflation of Mt and Lk, but both Mt and Lk independently based on an Ur-Gospel.
1848   Ewald: 9-Source Hypothesis: (1) Ur-Gospel, (2) Logia, (3) Mk on 1+2, (4) "book of higher history", (5) Mt on 1+2+3+4, (6) (7), (8), and (9) Lk on 1+2+3+4+6+7+8, not Mt!
1856 MkH Weisse: Retreats from his identification of Papias' Mark (and hence Mt & Lk's source) with our Mk, but with an Ur-Markus, containing the shared narrative between Mt & Lk.
1863 MkH Holtzmann: Two-Source Hypothesis: (1) Alpha (Ur-Marcus), an early gospel similar to Mk and (2) Lambda [later called Q by J.Weiss], a sayings source used by Mt and Lk. Mt and Lk are independent. Both sources are thought of in terms of Papias.
1880 3SH Simons & Holtzmann: Luke also used Matthew as subsidiary source. Proposal basically went unnoticed.
1899 2SH Wernle: Attributes Mt & Lk's shared narrative to Q also, allowing Ur-Markus to be identified with canonical Mk.

IV. Oxford School

The Refinement of the Two-Source Hypothesis

1872 MkH Sanday: brings Holtzmann's synthesis to Oxford.
1879 MkH Abbott: Encyclopaedia Britannica article. Argument from wording against 2GH: there is an almost total lack of additional matter in common between Mt and Lk in Triple Tradition contexts. Minor agreements accounted for by independent editorial changes.
1884 MkH Abbott & Rushbrooke: Another argument from wording against 2GH, Mark must have carefully underlined the words common to Mt and Lk and include all those and still be a natural composition.
1886 MkH Woods: Applying Lachmann's argument from order, Ur-Marcus is substantially the canonical Mk. Four objections to Griesbach: (1) argument from omission, (2) Mark's selections are inscrutible, (3) argument from order, and (4) Griesbach does not explain relationship between Mt and Lk as well as 2SH.
1891   Sanday: Minor agreements are a problem to the 2SH, perhaps to be cleared up by textual criticism.
1893   Stanton: Explains how copyist errors can create minor agreements.
1899 MkH Hawkins: Horae Synopticae Argues that many of the Minor Agreements are independent editing by Matthew and Luke of Ur-Marcus, rather than by the final revisor of Mark. Ur-Markus, then, is almost identical to Mark.
1901 dMk Abbott: Minor agreements now best explained by a recension of Mk which was used by Mt and Lk.
1906   Burkitt: If Ur-Marcus existed, then either Mk copies Ur-Marcus exactly or whenever Mark didn't, either Mt or Lk also didn't.
1911   Oxford Studies with Streeter: Mark/Q overlaps: Mk knew Q.
1924 4SH Streeter: The Four Gospels, "Fundamental Solution" Mt and Lk dependent on canonical Mk, not Ur-Marcus. Mk did not know Q. Minor agreements explained by (1) Irrelevant Agreements: compression of details and improvements in the Greek; (2) Deceptive Agreements: coincidental stylistic improvements; (3) Mark/Q overlaps; (4) Textual Corruptions.
1924 Streeter Streeter: The Four Gospels, proposes proto-Luke = Q + L.

V. Modern Period

New Challenges

1922 AH Jameson: Minor agreements is positive evidence for Lk's use of Mt.
1924   Springer: Argument from order is invalid if Gospels are directly dependent.
1934 FH Ropes: Q is unnecessary if Luke used Matthew. [Quotation]
1937 AH Chapman: Defense of Augustinian Hypothesis, literary evidence against 2SH, reiterates Jameson's criticisms of 2SH.
1951 AH Butler: Streeter committed the "Lachmann Fallacy," which is a misapplication of Lachmann's argument from order to directly dependent gospels. Lachmann's argument really means that Mark is some kind of a "middle term."
1953 Parker I Parker: Challenges Markan priority by merging Mark and "M" into a proto-Matthew, which is the source for Matthew and Mark.
1955 FH Farrer: Dispensing with Q with Luke's use of Matthew.
1962 2SH Styler: Accepts Butler's critique of the Lachmann Fallacy, but defends Marcan priority on other grounds (by literary phenomena).
1964 2GH Farmer: Revives the Griesbach Hypothesis. Lachmann's argument also supports Mk being a conflation. Eschews reliance on hypothetical sources (i.e., Q). Calls attention to the pattern of alternating agreement over Mark's order between Mt and Lk, in addition to much noticed absence of agreement between Mt and Lk over Mk's order.
1971 3SH Morganthaler: Posits Luke subsidary use of Matthew based on statistics.
1974 FH Goulder: Argues for Matthew's used of Mark without Q.
1979 3SH Gundry: Posits Luke subsidary use of Matthew based on Matthean foreign bodies.
1984 2SH Tuckett: The pattern of alternating agreement is also mathematically possible under the 2SH.
1987 2SH Kloppenborg: Q was composed in stages.
1989 FH Goulder: Argues that a Matthean Vocabulary Fallacy and a Lukan Priority Fallacy is used in favor of Q.

References:


Stephen C. Carlson
Created: December 1995
Revised: December 22, 2000

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