The Hebrew Gospel and the Development of the Synoptic Tradition

by James R. Edwards

Publisher:

Eerdmans

, 2009

Overview

This book offers a new explanation of the development of the first three Gospels based on a careful examination of both patristic testimony to the “Hebrew Gospel” and internal evidence in the canonical Gospels themselves. James Edwards breaks new ground and challenges assumptions that have long been held in the New Testament guild.

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Key Features

• Offers a new explanation of the developoment of the first three Gospels
• Discusses the patristic testimony to the “Hebrew Gospel” and internal evidence in the canonical Gospels
• Challenges assuptions that have been long held in the New Testament guild

Contents

• References to a “Hebrew Gospel” in Early Christianity
• Quotations from the Hebrew Gospel in Early Christianity
• Taking Stock of the Hebrew Gospel in Early Christianity
• Semitisms in the Gospel of Luke
• The Hebrew Gospel
• The Neglect of the Hebrew Gospel in Christian Tradition
• Adieu to “Q”
• The Hebrew Gospel and the Gospel of Matthew

Top Highlights

“The Hebrew Gospel was widely known and, in general, highly esteemed in early Christianity. The examination of its content in the following chapters will not only demonstrate that esteem but present extensive data for its influence on the Synoptic tradition, and in particular on the Gospel of Luke.” (Page 43)

“But in the Gospel of Luke—or at least in parts of it—the subtext became much more visible. The Hebrew words seem to have been erased less completely than elsewhere in the Gospels. They are more evident, intrusive, and inescapable.” (Page xx)

“‘The Hebrew Gospel’ was not a specific document, but simply the transmission of the gospel tradition by Jewish Christian circles.” (Page xxv)

“scholars have repeatedly recognized an inordinately high number of Semitisms in the Third Gospel.” (Page xx)

“Reading the Greek NT with a knowledge of biblical Hebrew is like reading a palimpsest.” (Page xx)

Praise for the Print Edition

This landmark study, a decade in the making, advances a bold and fresh interpretation of Gospel origins that seems sure to generate interest, debate, and controversy for some time to come. Against the established ‘Two Source’ (Mark and ‘Q’) and the increasingly popular ‘Farrer-Goulder’ (Mark-Matthew-Luke) hypotheses, Edwards revives an older scholarly fascination with the mysterious ‘Hebrew Gospel’ that was held in high regard by many church fathers and attributed to Matthew the apostle . . . This is an important and exciting work that offers students an excellent introduction to early Christian views of the Gospel tradition—and it gives Synoptic scholars much to chew on!

—Markus Bockmuehl, professor of biblical and early Christian studies, University of Oxford

For a long time, scholarship on the Synoptic Gospels has stalemated around well-worn questions. James Edwards’s fascinating and well-researched study opens up an angle that needs to be heard today. This book is a real contribution that will be studied and discussed for years to come!

—Loren T. Stuckenbruck, Richard J. Dearborn Professor of New Testament Studies, Princeton Theological Seminary

Product Details

• Title: The Hebrew Gospel and the Development of the Synoptic Tradition
• Author: James R. Edwards
• Publisher: Eerdmans
• Print Publication Date: 2009
• Logos Release Date: 2014
• Pages: 402
• Era: era:contemporary
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subjects: Bible. N.T. Gospels › Criticism, interpretation, etc; Bible. N.T. Gospels. Hebrew › Versions; Synoptic problem; Two source hypothesis (Synoptics criticism); Q hypothesis (Synoptics criticism)
• ISBNs: 9780802862341, 0802862349
• Resource ID: LLS:HBRWGSPLSYTRDTN
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2025-01-16T19:15:06Z

About James R. Edwards

James R. Edwards is professor of religion at Whitworth College in Spokane, Washington. He has written numerous articles in scholarly and popular journals and is a contributing editor of Christianity Today. His other books include The Layman’s Overview of the Bible, The Divine Intruder: When God Breaks into Your Life, and the volume on Mark in the Pillar New Testament Commentary Series.