Griesbach hypothesis
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The Griesbach hypothesis is a solution to the synoptic problem which gives priority to the Gospel of Matthew.
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[edit] Griesbach's proposal
The Griesbach hypothesis was first expounded 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). Griesbach sees the Gospel of Matthew as the first gospel and source of the other two, and his theory is therefore a theory of dependence. According to Griesbach, the historical order of the gospels is Matthew, Luke, and Mark, entailing that Mark is dependent on both. In proposing this hypothesis, Griesbach affirms the Matthean priority, as in the Augustinian hypothesis.
Griesbach tried to meet the challenge presented by the Gospel of Mark, seeing the book as mostly as a digest and conflation, narrating the points on which Matthew and Luke agree. The Gospel of Mark appears somewhat strange to many readers, as it omits the common tradition of Matthew and Luke (Q document).
[edit] Proof from Minor Agreements
Griesbach's main support for his thesis lies in passages where Matthew and Luke agree over and against Mark (e.g. Matthew 26:68; Luke 22:64; Mark 14:65), the so-called Minor Agreements. It is unclear whether these minor passages are a mere coincidence or a proof of Lukean dependence on Matthew.
[edit] Status of the hypothesis
Today the Griesbach hypothesis is followed by only a few (W. R. Farmer 1964, B. Orchard 1976, 1982, 1983, 1987, and D. L. Dungan), but the many problems it poses make it less accepted than the more common Two-source hypothesis supported by the majority of scholars.
[edit] See also
[edit] 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 0-521-02055-7).
