Griesbach hypothesis - Definition and Overview

The Griesbach hypothesis is a solution to the synoptic problem which gives priority to the Gospel of Matthew.

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 elect few (W.R. Farmer 1964, B. Orchard, and D.L. Dungan), but the many problems it poses makes it a less credible hypothesis than the more common Two-source hypothesis supported by the majority of scholars.

See also

• Synoptic Gospels

External links

• A Web Site for the Two Gospel Hypothesis (http://www.colby.edu/rel/2gh/)