History of the Synoptic Tradition [Hardcover]

Rudolf Bultmann (Author)

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Language Notes

Text: English, German (translation) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Harper San Francisco (October 1976)
• ISBN-10: 0060611723
• ISBN-13: 978-0060611729
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,101,724 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Seminal work in form criticism of the Synoptic Gospels, December 4, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The History of the Synoptic Tradition (Paperback)

This translation of Bultmann's concise and erudite work in the form-critical method of understanding the composition of the Synoptic Gospels is not for the beginner. Like Bultmann, the translator leaves the Greek untranslated. While a boon for serious scholars, this will make it difficult for those unfamiliar with the Greek of the Gospels. However as a complete work it remains unsurpassed in the school of form-critical method, but this also demonstrates the work's age, since source criticism has drawn the attention of scholars in recent decades. It is, however, a work that cannot be ignored; Bultmann's reputation as a scholar and theologian of the finest quality is permanent, and this book is an excellent illustration of why that is.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A TRUE "CLASSIC" OF JESUS/NEW TESTAMENT STUDIES, June 9, 2010

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Steven H. Propp (Sacramento, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The History of the Synoptic Tradition (Paperback)

Rudolf Bultmann (1884-1976) was a German theologian and professor of New Testament at the University of Marburg.

Although the founder of Form Criticism of the gospels was actually Martin Dibelius (e.g., see his From Tradition to Gospel (Library of Theological Translations), this minutely-detailed 1921 book is the cornerstone of the discipline. It is still of considerable value to even modern, post-Jesus Seminar students of Jesus and the gospels.

In the first chapter, Bultmann states, "more than anybody else, M. Dibelius ... has subjected the different units in the Gospel tradition to form-critical inquiry. Admittedly, he has not examined the whole content of the Gospel material, but has contented himself with certain types of material essentially narrative, and brilliantly shown how fruitful the method is for discovering the stages in the development of the tradition as well as for the Gospels as a whole. The following investigation therefore sets out to give an account of the history of the individual units of the tradition, and how the tradition passed from a fluid state fo the fixed form in which it meets us in the Synoptics."

He states the aim of form criticism as "to determine the original form of a piece of narrative, a dominical saying or a parable. In the process we learn to distinguish secondary additions and forms, and these in turn lead to important results for the history of the tradition."

His Conclusion is that "The collection of the material of the tradition began in the primitive Palestinian Church. Apologetic and polemic led to the collection and production of apophthegmatic (i.e., terse and witty) sections. The demands of edification and the vitality of the prophetic spirit in the Church resulted in the handing on, the production and the collection of prophetic and apocalyptic sayings of the Lord. Further collections of dominical sayings grew out of the need for paranesis (i.e., advice or exhortation) and Church discipline. It is only natural that stories of Jesus should be told and handed down in the Church."

Bultmann's exhaustively-precise analysis of the gospels is impossible to summarize in an Amazon review. Interested persons should simply obtain a copy and read for themselves.

5 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Five stars for effort, August 8, 2007

By 

Geronimo (Tampa, FL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: History of the Synoptic Tradition (Hardcover)

This was one of the hardest books I've ever read. That's not because Bultmann's arguments are difficult to follow or because a large part of it is written in untranslated Greek. I follow the arguments fine and the Greek is mostly from the NT which I can read easily enough. The book is difficult to read because Bultmann quotes so many verses and if one wants to follow the arguments one will have to look up thousands of verses by the time the book is over - unless, of course, you have virtually the entire Gospel tradition memorized so that the mere mention of, say, Luke 12:21 means something to you.

Anyway, I am amazed that anyone could put something together like this. The book must have required immense amount of labor. One cannot help but feel saddened, however, that Bultmann has been so influencial. His works are rife with methodological fallacies and hyper-critical judgments. For a good critique of Bultmann - and one that is also easy to read - I'd recommend Bauckham's book, "The Gospel for all Christians" which seriously criticizes the whole form critical notion that scholars are able to determine - with any useful degree of accuracy - the Sitz im Leben of the Gospel traditions. For the serious students I'd also recommend Sanders' book "Tendencies of the Synoptic Tradition", which is a thoroughgoing critique of Bultmann but is, unfortunately, even more tedious and agonizing to read than Bultmann's book. For a good study on methodology that will address many of the conclusions Bultmann reaches in his "History", I'd further recommend, "New Testament Interpretation" by I.H. Marshall. It's a little old but still helpful.