Griesbach hypothesis
From Free net encyclopedia
The Griesbach hypothesis is a solution to the synoptic problem which gives priority to the Gospel of Matthew.
Contents |
Griesbach's proposal
It is given in the work A Demonstration that the Whole Gospel of Mark is Excerpted from the Narratives of Matthew & Luke (1789) by the German scholar Johann Jakob Griesbach (January 4, 1745 - March 24, 1812). He sees the Gospel of Matthew as the first gospel and source of the other two, and his theory is therefore a theory of dependence, making the order Matthew, Luke, and Mark (making Mark dependent on both). In proposing so he supported the Matthean priority as we also know it from Augustinian hypothesis.
Griesbach tried to meet the challenge given by Mark, and sees it mostly as a digest and a conflation that gives an account of the material where Matthew and Luke agree. It is somewhat strange as Mark omits the common tradition of Matthew and Luke (Q document).
"Proof" from Minor Agreements
The main support for the thesis Griesbach finds in passages where Matthew and Luke agree over against Mark (e.g. Matt. 26:68; Luke 22:64; Mark 14:65), the so-called Minor Agreements. Is agreement on these minor passages a mere coincidence or a proof of Lukean dependence on Matthew?
Status of the hypothesis
Today this hypothesis is followed by an select few (W. R. Farmer 1964, B. Orchard 1976, 1982, 1983, 1987, and D. L. Dungan), but the many problems it poses makes it a less accepted hypothesis than the more common Two-source hypothesis supported by the majority of scholars.
See also
References
For Griesbach's life and work, including the full text of the cited work in Latin and in English translation, cf. Bernard Orchard and Thomas R. W. Longstaff (ed.), J. J. Griesbach: Synoptic and Text-Critical Studies 1776-1976, Volume 34 in SNTS Monograph Series (Cambridge University Press, hardback 1978, paperback 2005 ISBN 0521020557).