Sayings Source Q

The first volume in the series Documenta Q is concerned with the reconstruction of the Q text behind Luke 11:1-4 par. Matt 6:7-13 (The Lord's Prayer). The database and evaluations are expanded and revised versions of those presented and discussed at the meeting of the International Q Project in Anaheim, CA 1989. The International Q Project’s presentation of the critical text of Q 11:2b-4, together with the exhaustive history of research on which it is based, will enhance considerably research in the Sayings Gospel Q, the historical Jesus, and New Testament theology.

Anhand von Q 10,2-16 wird der Frage nachgegangen, wie die Jesusüberlieferung durch die Integration in Q transformiert wurde. In einem ersten Schritt muss Q 10,2-16 rekonstruiert werden. Dann wird versucht, die Überlieferungsgeschichte der einzelnen Worte nachzuzeichnen und die Rückfrage nach dem historischen Jesus zu stellen. In einem dritten Schritt wird die Q-Redaktion der Missionsinstruktion beleuchtet.

1. Introduzione. 1.1. Oggetto, limiti e impostazione di questo studio. 1.2. Breve stato della ricerca. Prima parte - Memoria. 2. La relazione tra Gesù e Giovanni in Q: introduzione e ricostruzione. 2.1. Questioni generali su Q. 2.2. Ricostruzione dei testi. 2.3. Riepilogo. I testi di Q su Gesù e Giovanni. 3. La relazione tra Gesù e Giovanni in Q: analisi dei testi. 3.1. La struttura della prima unità letteraria di Q: Q 3,2.3-7,35. 3.2. Analisi esegetica dei passi su Gesù e Giovanni. 3.3. Riepilogo. 4. La relazione tra Gesù e Giovanni in Marco. 4.1. Riepilogo. 5. La relazione tra Gesù e Giovanni in Matteo. 5.1. Una tradizione viva: Matteo e Q. 5.2. Analisi narrativa dei passi su Gesù e Giovanni. 5.3. Riepilogo. 6. Riepilogo della prima parte. Seconda parte - Storia. La memoria di Gesù e Giovanni. 7. Profilo storico di Giovanni il Battista. 7.1. Non un ebreo marginale. 7.2. Giovanni il purificatore. 7.3. Maestro di giustizia. 7.4. Profeta dell'Altissimo. 7.5. Araldo del regno di Dio? 7.6. Excursus. Itineranza e ascetismo. 7.7. Conclusione. 8. La connessione. Battesimo e discepolato. 8.1. Battesimo e vocazione profetica? 8.2. Discepolo e collaboratore di Giovanni. 9. Altering the Default Setting. Ripensare la relazione tra Gesù e Giovanni. 9.1. Gesù e Giovanni visti dall'esterno (Mc 6,14b-15; Mc 2,18b-19a). 9.2. Gesù si richiama a Giovanni contro i suoi avversari (Q 7,31-34; Mc 11,27-33; Mt 21,31c-32ab). 9.3. Gesù parla di Giovanni a seguaci e discepoli (Q 7,24b-26.28a; Q 16,16; Mc 9,11-12a.13a). 9.4. Riepilogo. 10. Gesù continuatore di Giovanni. 10.1. Escatologia. 10.2. Direttive morali e programma sociale. 10.3. Missione penitenziale. 10.4. Gesù battezzatore. 10.5. Riepilogo e bilancio. 10.6. Addendum. Gesù oltre Giovanni? 11. Conclusione. Sintesi e risultati di questa ricerca

Excerpt of the Introductory remarks by Daniel A. Smith and Christoph Heil:

Ursula Schattner-Rieser (Martin-Buber-Institut für Judaistik, Universität zu
Köln/University of Cologne) investigates the Aramaic foundations of the Lord’s Prayer (Q 11:2b–4; Matt 6:9–13; Luke 11:2b–4) in her contribution, “The Lord’s Prayer in the Context of Jewish-Aramaic Prayer Traditions in the Time of Jesus.” Schattner-Rieser
begins by assessing the relevance of the Aramaic Qumran materials for our understanding of prayer in early Judaism, and of the linguistic situation in Palestine
at the time of Jesus. The Qumran materials provide evidence that prayer in Aramaic was acceptable, and also that there was a developing trend towards fixed formulae in prayers. Next, Schattner-Rieser presents an Aramaic retroversion of the Lord’s Prayer in its Matthean and Lukan forms, and gives a detailed petition-by-petition commentary on ancient Aramaic parallels. Even though our only certain texts are in Greek, translation (back) into Aramaic is made possible by the numerous formulaic and morphological correspondences to ancient Aramaic materials. Such a (re-)translation does not afford access to “the original Lord’s Prayer,” but to a possible primitive Aramaic Urform, illustrating how consistent the Prayer was to its Palestinian Jewish milieu. “For every [Greek] petition there is a clear underlying Jewish-Semitic background, one that could display both cross-linguistic influences (with Hebrew or Aramaic in the background), as well as cross-cultural influences in relation to the Jewish milieu, the biblical history, and the expectations of that time” (p. 46). This Semitic background is reflected in Septuagintal parallels as well. Schattner-Rieser finds the strongest correspondences to the individual petitions of the Lord’s Prayer in Aramaic materials that tell, re-tell, or evoke aspects of the Exodus story (especially
Exod 16:4–5).

The aim of this book is to contribute to the wisdom apocalypticism debate in contemporary historical Jesus research by investigating the relationship between wisdom and (apocalyptic) eschatology in Q. The central question will be whether the Sayings Gospel Q portrays Jesus as apocalyptic, eschatological, prophetic, sapiential or some amalgam of these. In case of the latter, did any of these attributes enjoy preference, or were they equally important to the person and message of Q’s Jesus? Due to its geographical and chronological proximity to the historical Jesus, the Sayings Gospel Q is one of the most important sources for reconstructing an image of this elusive human being. Out of all the sources used to reconstruct an image of the historical Jesus, Q is perhaps in the best position to specifically address the wisdom-apocalypticism debate in Jesus studies, primarily because sapiential and eschatological traditions are both integral to Q’s thematic content and linguistic structure.

Zunächst wird begründet, dass es sich um eine Parabel aus dem schriftlichen Q-Dokument handelt, und es wird der wahrscheinliche Wortlaut rekonstruiert. Dann werden zwei Punkte der Erzählung untersucht: (a) die Bedeutung der Exposition, in der ein Mensch zehn seiner Sklaven Geld anvertraut und (b) die Charakterisierung des dritten Sklaven und dessen Herrn. Geht es hier eher um eine theologische oder um eine politische Erzählabsicht? Ein kurzer traditionsgeschichtlicher Exkurs behandelt die Frage, ob die Q-Parabel auf den historischen Jesus zurückzuführen ist, und wenn ja, welche Absicht er mit der Parabel verbunden hat.

Eine Q-Gruppe - oder vielleicht besser: ein Netzwerk von Q-Gruppen - kann aus dem Q-Dokument erschlossen werden. Die "Q-Leute" lebten sehr wahrscheinlich in der Region nördlich des Sees Gennesaret, wo Jesus seine Botschaft predigte und Anhänger sammelte. Es ist möglich, dass die Endredaktion von Q auch in Galiläa stattfand. Allerdings scheint es plausibler, dass die "Endfassung" von Q im südlichen Syrien verfasst wurde, bedenkt man die Abfassung in griechischer Sprache und die Datierung im Kontext des Jüdischen Krieges.

Nach der Nennung der wichtigsten Stationen der Q-Forschung werden die Methodik des Internationalen Q-Projekts, seine Ziele, Voraussetzungen und Arbeitsweise erläutert. Dann werden die Resultate und fünf Konsequenzen für die neutestamentliche Exegese formuliert.

Pochi personaggi hanno avuto un impatto tanto decisivo quanto misconosciuto sulla nascita del cristianesimo come Giovanni Battista. Figura tutt'altro che marginale nello scenario politico-religioso giudaico del i secolo, paradossalmente Giovanni non ha mai potuto brillare di luce propria. Accantonando certi schemi interpretativi teologici che ne hanno a lungo distorto la comprensione e criticando il luogo comune che vorrebbe vedervi un esseno ex membro della comunità di Qumran, il volume restituisce il Battista alla sua reale fisionomia storica di stimato profeta sacerdotale, fedele al tempio e impegnato in un'opera di rinnovamento sociale d'Israele all'insegna della purità, della giustizia e della solidarietà. Una visione che influenzò il suo discepolo Gesù di Nazaret così profondamente da farne il programmatico continuatore.

Indice
Introduzione
1. Non un ebreo marginale
Un sacerdote.../... in libera uscita
2. Tracce di una vita radicale
In cammino verso la gente/Due enigmatiche notizie: dieta e abito/La morte di un santo politicamente offensivo
3. Il Battista, Qumran e gli esseni
Giovanni a Qumran: le ragioni di un’ipotesi fantasiosa/Contatti generici: sacerdozio ed escatologia/Una dieta essena vincolante?/Immersione e “movimento battista”/Adozione a Qumran e attività nello stesso deserto?/Isaia 40,3 e la nuova prospettiva su Qumran e gli esseni/Giovanni esseno non settario/enochico?
4. Giovanni il purificatore
«Per la purità del corpo»/Che tipo d’impurità rimuoveva l’immersione di Giovanni?/Una sfida al tempio?/«E vide discendere lo Spirito»: ordinaria amministrazione?
5. Maestro di giustizia
Amico dei pubblicani, dei peccatori e dei poveri/Imitare Abramo per essere figli di Abramo
6. Profeta dell’Altissimo
Tra giudizio e salvezza/Il battesimo escatologico/Chi era il Veniente?/Giovanni annunciava il regno di Dio?/Un profilo sintetico del Battista
7. Giovanni e Gesù
Un penitente al Giordano/Che cosa accadde appena uscito dall’acqua?/Discepolo e collaboratore
8. Gesù il Battista
La causa di Giovanni continua/Gesù battezzatore nel Vangelo di Marco/Gesù battezzatore nel Vangelo dei segni
Note
Bibliografia
Indice dei nomi

In this two-part essay a new perspective on the pre-Johannine Signs Gospel is put forth. The first part, published in this issue, sets out the reasons for thinking that the Gospel of Signs knew the Gospel of Mark and, to a lesser extent, the Sayings Source Q. It is argued that the relationship between these texts should be conceived in terms of hypertextuality, i.e. as a "relecture" by which the author of the Signs Gospel accepted and reshaped only those contents that were suitable to the messianic propaganda for which his text was intended. The second part of the essay, which will appear in the next issue of ASE, will offer a series of historical considerations on the post-70 context in which the Gospel of Signs was written, its hope for the rebuilding of the Jerusalem temple, the Baptist matrix of the group that produced it and the historical value of the (residual) non-synoptic tradition it conveys.

Matthew C. Williams' "Two Gospels from One: A Comprehensive Text-Critical Analysis of the Synoptic Gospels" promises more than it can deliver, misleads readers with its subtitle, and stymies rather than advances the agendas of text-critical research and gospel criticism. Williams' study not only fails to shed new light on the synoptic problem, but also misappropriates (and misapplies) text-critical criteria to problems beyond their purview. The result is a work that amounts to little more than a cataloguing of well-known arguments for Marcan priority, encumbered by repeated attempts to tether a text-critical approach to the Synoptic Problem. Despite the appearance of copious detail, the work is selective in its treatment and founded upon a number of abstractions.

Dans Q, nous avons principalement la tradition des communautés judéo-chrétiennes de l'espace syro-palestinien, tradition que Luc transpose avec une certaine liberté dans sa communauté urbaine hellénistique, l'actualisant suivant une interpretatio graeca.

There is a “grey zone” within the gospel tradition, where the standard and otherwise sound distinction between traditional (possibly historical) and redactional material is somewhat hard to apply and may indeed be potentially misleading (Mark 1:15 immediately comes to mind; see also Luke 19:11). One interesting, and often neglected, case in point is Matthew 21:31c-32: notwithstanding heavy Matthean redaction in v. 32 (unlike v. 31c), the joint consideration of these two verses yields an impressive amount of historically valuable information, both on John the Baptist and Jesus’ opinion of him, so that their original connection, although debatable on purely traditio-historical grounds, is definitely to be retained from a historical point of view.

This volume contains the proceedings of an international Q symposium held at Graz University in 2011. The conference presented the current state of Q studies and spelled out their future directions through interpretations of particular texts and methodological reflections. One important thrust of the discussions during the conference concerned the literary character of Q: Is it possible or indeed necessary to reconstruct the wording of Q? How coherent, “finished” and scribalized was Q? Other central topics related to the social and theological importance of Q: What were the contexts of the composition of Q? How can the relationships between Q and ancient Judaism(s) and nascent Christ groups be described?
Particular attention was given to the issues of (1) oral and scribal factors, (2) narratological and intertextual approaches, (3) reconstruction and redaction criticism, (4) ethos and Torah, (5) Q and the Gospel of Matthew, (6) Q and the Gospel of John and (7) new approaches to the Q hypothesis and the Synoptic Problem.

Für das Verständnis der Jesusüberlieferung und deren Rezeption ist die Frage sehr wichtig, auf welche Weise Texte in der Antike produziert und weitergegeben wurden. Im vorliegenden Beitrag wird das Verhältnis von Mündlichkeit und Schriftlichkeit in den homerischen Epen sowie im Spruchevangelium Q untersucht.

This article is the first of three on the relationship between the Sayings Gospel Q and the ancient concept of ‘psychostasia,’ which is the ancient notion that a divine or supernatural figure weighed people’s souls when judging them. The ultimate goal of all three articles is to enhance our understanding of Q 6:37–38, as well as of the Q document as a whole. In the current article, attention is focused on intertexts from the Old Testament, and the occurrences therein of the word ‘measure’ and the concept of ‘psychostasia’. The implications of these results for our interpretation of Q 6:37–38 are briefly noted. A second (future) article will focus on intertexts in apocryphal and pseudepigraphical writings from Second Temple Judaism dealing with ‘psychostasia’. A third study will ultimately spell out in more comprehensive detail the implications of the foregoing intertextual investigations on both our understanding of Q 6:37–38 and our understanding of the Sayings Gospel Q as a whole.

This article examines the parable of the loyal and wise slave in Q 12:42-46 by considering the ancient institution of agricultural slavery. Particular attention will be given to the managers of ancient slave-run farms, who were at times also slaves themselves. Methodologically, each verse of the parable will be read against the background of the ancient institution of agricultural slavery. The aim is not to interpret the metaphorical meaning of the parable, but merely to contextualise and illuminate its literal meaning.

Este estudio forma parte de una investigación más amplia, cuyo objetivo es identificar indicios que revelen la existencia de una tradición popular sobre Jesús en el cristianismo naciente. El evangelio de Mateo, el evangelio de Lucas y el Documento Q se analizan para averiguar cómo aparecen en ellos tres aspectos estrechamente relacionados con la tradición popular: las historias de milagro, los pasajes en los que se habla de la relación de Jesús con Elías, y las referencias al grupo de los portadores de esta tradición. El examen de estos indicios no sólo confirma la existencia de dicha tradición, sino que proporciona algunas informaciones acerca de ella y del grupo de sus transmisores.

In his influential 1987 monograph, Kloppenborg identified three layers in the Sayings Gospel Q: the ‘formative stratum’ (or Q¹), the ‘main redaction’ (or Q²), and the ‘final recension’ (or Q³). He ascribed the cluster of sayings in Q 12:39-59 to the main redaction. This cluster is introduced by the saying about the Son of Man coming like a robber (Q 12:39-40). In my view, however, Kloppenborg’s attribution of Q 12:39 to Q’s redactional layer rests on flimsy foundations. It will presently be argued that only the Son of Man saying (Q 12:40) belongs to the main redaction, while the saying about the robber (Q 12:39) belongs to the formative stratum. In the process, a novel reading of the robber saying will be exposed.

The current article considers two intertexts of Q 22:28, 30, namely the Psalms of Solomon and the Community Rule found in the first Qumran cave. Each of these documents is examined to understand its view of the restoration of Israel, the messianic age, the apocalyptic end and the final judgement. Additional attention is paid to the way in which these documents draw boundaries around their respective in-groups. By illustrating that these texts foresaw a process of judgement at the apocalyptic end that would entail both the liberation and the condemnation of greater Israel, the current article argues against the popular claim that a wholesale liberation of everyone in Israel was expected during the Second-Temple period. The broader context of this investigation is the attempted refutation of Horsley’s influential claim that, in Q 22:28–30, the verb κρίνω actually means ‘liberate’ and not ‘judge’.

An analysis of the Sermon on the Mount and its parallels in the Sermon on the Plain, throughout the rest of Luke, and in other early Christian literature. Since the text of the Sermon on the Mount is not a unified composition in the Sermon on the Plain one must conclude that either the author of Matthew has the original structure of a sermon given by Jesus and the author of Luke has broken it apart and placed it in several disparate places throughout his gospel, or Matthew took several sources and composed a new sermon to reflect the didactic nature of his view of Jesus. It is argued that the latter position is the best to follow.

In this final part of a two-part essay an attempt is made to identify the most plausible historical context and the socio-religious matrix in which the Johannine Signs Gospel took shape. The essay argues that the document is the product of a Jesuanic-Baptist group of southern origin, whose distinctive memory of Jesus as a baptizer and miracle-worker in Judaea was subsequently expanded, through contact with the Gospel of Mark and its Galilean tradition, into a full-blown missionary gospel with one single purpose: to demonstrate that Jesus is the awaited royal and prophetic Messiah who, as shown by his powerful signs, is able to rebuild the Temple and restore the nation after the catastrophe of 70 C.E.

Q, Luke and Matthew put Ps 6,9 on Jesus' lips, but all three with slightly different intentions. The psalm, Q and Luke agree that at some point the true state of affairs, of attitudes and deeds will be revealed. Persons who have appeared as friends up to now will be uncovered as enemies.

At the turn of the second millennium AD, Tuckett dubbed Q 22:28–30 an ‘exegetical stepchild’, given that it has traditionally and commonly received very little attention in Q research. This article addresses this shortcoming. Specific attention is devoted to the refutation of Horsley’s influential claim that, in Q 22:28 30, the verb κρίνοντες actually means ‘liberate’ and not ‘judge’. The discoveries made along the way have significant implications not only for our understanding of this specific Q text, but also for our understanding of the Sayings Gospel Q and its people in general. The latter pertains especially to their particular view of the final judgement, as well as their relationship to greater Israel.

Q und Lukas wollen durch die Anspielung auf Mi 7,6 deutlich machen, dass die Verkündigung Jesu zur Entscheidung ruft. Dieser - für Q apokalyptische, für Lukas alltägliche - Ruf zur Entscheidung nimmt selbst vor familiärer Loyalitätspflicht keine Rücksicht.

In his influential 1987 monograph, Kloppenborg identified three layers in the Sayings Gospel Q: the ‘formative stratum’ (or Q¹), the ‘main redaction’ (or Q²), and the ‘final recension’ (or Q³). He ascribed the cluster of sayings in Q 12:39–59 to the main redaction. Within this cluster appears the parable of the loyal and wise slave (Q 12:42–46). In my view, some portions of this parable actually originate with the formative stratum. The aim of the current article is to reconsider the redactional make-up of this parable by appealing to Kloppenborg’s own criteria for distinguishing between Q1 and Q2, including those of ‘characteristic forms’, ‘characteristic motifs’ and ‘implied audience’.

The earliest strands of the Jesus tradition, including the one attested by the Sayings Gospel Q, show a keen interest in prayer. In this volume, specialists in Hebrew Bible, early and rabbinic Judaism, and early Christianity contribute essays on a broad range of topics relevant to the Q materials on prayer. Several contributors situate Q in its historical and religious context by relating it to other early Jewish texts and traditions concerning prayer. Others analyse Jesus' instructions on prayer in Q with respect to specific exegetical and interpretive questions, or track the reception of Q's materials on prayer in Matthew and Luke.

This publication argues for the existence of a seam between verses 44 and 45 of the parable in Q 12:42–46. In the process, a case is also made for identifying the second half of the parable (Q 12:45–46) as a redactional addition to a more original first half (Q 12:42–44). The arguments that make up this article form the basis for a follow-up article on the redaction of Q 12:42–46 within the context of the Sayings Gospel as a whole.

In his analysis, Kloppenborg (1987) identified a number of logia in the main redaction that were more proverbial than prophetic in nature. This article considers the possibility that these sayings originally formed part of Q¹, but were added to Q² by the main redactor during the redactional process. It also explores the possibility that the main redactor not only inserted and interpolated prophetic material into Q¹, but also transformed original wisdom sayings into prophetic Q² material.

“Psychostasia” is the notion that a divine or supernatural figure
weighs and/or measures the souls of people when judging them. The present effort represents the second of three articles on psychostasia. The first article focused on the occurrences of psychostasia in the OT. In the current article, attention is paid to the occurrences of psychostasia in apocryphal and pseudepigraphical Jewish writings from the Second Temple period, including the Qumran Scrolls. The current purpose is firstly to determine whether or not the concept of psychostasia was a recognised and recognisable feature of Second Temple Palestinian Judaism. Allowing for a positive answer to the latter,  the second purpose of this article is to ascertain how the idea of psychostasia was understood by Palestinian Jews of the Second Temple period.

The Q Document includes a significant number of references to characters and events of the Israelite history. The purpose of that intense recollection of the past was to construct a new social identity. Social memory studies have made an important contribution to the understanding of this process by which groups construct their identities. In this article some basic conclusions of social memory and social identity studies are applied to the analysis of the Q references to Abraham (Q 3:8; 13:29.28); to the persecuted prophets (Q 6:23; 11:33-34, 47-48, 49-51); and to non-Judean individuals and groups (Q 10:13-14; 11:30-32).

The ninth volume in the series Documenta Q is concerned with the reconstruction of the Q text behind Luke 6:37-42 par. Matt 7:1-5; 10:24-25a; 15:14. The database and evaluations are expanded and revised versions of those presented and discussed at the meetings of the International Q Project in New Orleans 1990, in Claremont, CA 1991 and Toronto 1993. Just prior to the bibliography at the conclusion of the volume the resultant critical text of Q 6:37-42 is printed. This Greek text is followed by English, German and French translations (Lucan chapter and verse numeration is used as a convenience and a mere convention). The International Q Project's presentation of the critical text of Q 6:37-42, together with the exhaustive history of research on which it is based, will enhance considerably research in the Sayings Gospel Q, the historical Jesus, and New Testament theology.

In the Q Document there are about twenty references that provide information about family life. Most of them mention different types of houses that are observed from different perspectives. By locating these references and the point of view they presuppose in the context of the different types of families that existed in first-century Galilee, this paper will illustrate how they can help identity more precisely the social location of the Q people.

Die Spruch- oder Logienquelle, nach der weithin anerkannten "Zweiquellentheorie" neben Markus die zweite Quelle des Matthäus und Lukas, gilt der neutestamentlichen Forschung als Dokument der Theologie und Geschichte der judenchristlichen Israelmission und erschließt damit einen Zugang zur ältesten palästinischen Jesus-Überlieferung. Diese Neuausgabe der Studienausgabe bietet den griechischen Text von Q und verwandten Überlieferungen im Markus- und Thomas-Evangelium samt einer synoptisch angeordneten deutschen Übersetzung.