Sayings Gospel Q Greek English [Paperback]

James McConkey Robinson (Author), John S. Kloppenborg (Editor), Paul Hoffmann (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0800634942 | ISBN-13: 978-0800634940 | Publication Date: September 1, 2002 | Edition: Bilingual

The International Q Project has been working for many years to establish the text of Q-the source for sayings of Jesus utilized by both Matthew and Luke. This edition provides a student version that includes both Greek text and English translation of the Sayings Gospel Q. In addition, it includes a glossary of Q's vocabulary, with English definitions. The introduction provides orientation for the student on the nature of Q and a brief history of research

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

--James M. Robinson is Professor of New Testament Emeritus at Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, California.

--Paul Hoffmann is Professor of New Testament Emeritus at the University of Bamberg, Germany.

--John S. Kloppenborg is Professor of New Testament, University of Toronto School of Theology.

--Managing Editor Milton C. Moreland is Assistant Professor of Religion at Huntingdon College (Montgomery, Alabama).

Product Details

• Paperback: 184 pages
• Publisher: Fortress Press; Bilingual edition (September 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0800634942
• ISBN-13: 978-0800634940
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,469,100 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating..., October 20, 2004

By 

FrKurt Messick "FrKurt Messick" (Bloomington, IN USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Sayings Gospel Q Greek English (Paperback)

This volume, The Sayings Gospel Q , contains a bit of history unknown to most about the origins of Christian documents. The book deals with the Q, or Sayings, gospel, a hypothesised document most likely shared by Matthew and Luke as a basis for their gospels, but which did not get incorporated into the final Christian canon of any community surviving past the ancient period.

The Q (short for Quelle, German for 'source') does not come down to modern times in any direct documentary form. Rather, it is a document whose existence has been theoretically accepted as a likely source for material that is shared by Matthew and Luke, but which is not found in Mark. The first three canonical gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke, are called synoptic gospels, as they look at essentially the same events in the essentially the same way; Matthew and Luke both contain substantial parts of Mark (albeit with some revisions), and each contain original material, but the amount of material they share apart from the Markan material led scholars to believe there was another source (hence Quelle, source) they held in common. The introductory essay by James M. Robinson, a noted biblical scholar also known for work on the Nag Hammadi texts, discusses this theory, as well as the method of reconstruction for Q. This is not without controversy, both in the theory and in the reconstruction, which the authors admit freely.

The translation work into English is done by James M. Robinson. The concordance of Q by John Kloppenborg is based upon his earlier work on Q, a new text based upon Greek texts (so any particular English version may not agree with the translations here). Q is set out in Matthew's framework with notations for Lukan differences; the annotations shows verbatim agreements between the two in the Greek text, with various other notations used to show the differences. Where these refer to Mark or other scriptural texts, this is also noted.

This book comes out of a process of almost two decades of work done by thge International Q Project, a team of scholars who put together the more substantial 'Critical Edition of Q', of which this is an abbreviation of sorts, largely for students.

This book presents a fascinating introduction to some alternative theories and readings, and shows the diversity of opinion about Jesus in the early church. To understand the historical context and documentary progression that leads from early Christianity to the present is to better understand our own world, and this text is one small part of that path to understanding.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Q." for a Mass Audience, August 22, 2007

By 

David E. Blair (Columbia, PA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Sayings Gospel Q Greek English (Paperback)

For those up to it, "The Critical Edition...," by the same authors is the current last word on "Q." This short consideration running to one hundred seventy six pages should delight and more than satisfy all but the most sophisticated specialist and certain special pleaders. "Q." of course is the hypothetical sayings source embedded in the gospels of Matthew and Luke. In one form or another, it has been speculated on and studied for nearly the last two hundred years. However, there are still quarters in which the very existence of "Q." is hotly denied. As to special pleaders, there are two other translations and short general considerations of "Q." These are from scholars associated with the Jesus Seminar. But, it is the opinion of this reader that those books are somewhat agenda driven by the individual foundational biases of each author, Burton Mack and Marcus Borg. And in each case, they try to interpret "Q." which this book does not even attempt.

This book is from the International "Q." Project. It consists of an extended sixty odd page introduction by James M. Robinson. A short section on "sigla" is included to familiarize the reader with the interpretive notations within the translated texts. Then the consensus Greek recension of "Q." is provided with its parallel English translation. This is followed by an abbreviated concordance by John S. Kloppenborg. A short suggested reading list closes the book. The introduction traces "Q." scholarship from its inception until the present. It is a gold mine in many ways. The reader is led through the various scholarly assumptions, methods and exegesis from the Aramaic "Q." of Papias supporting apostolic Matthean authorship suggested by Schleiermacher in the early 1800's to the current consensus Greek text. All the major scholars are quoted at length in this chronological history. In essence, a short course in Biblical exegesis and its methodologies covering the last two centuries is provided. This material is illuminating both as to the search for "Q." and the historical Jesus. The parallel translations follow. No explanations or commentaries are provided. Also included are parallels from the Gospels of Mark and Thomas where applicable. It is this readers impression that there is an immense power rendered to these sayings by having them stand alone. You the reader are confronted with the purported sayings of Jesus. You are left to make of them what you will.

Is there dissent in the scholarly community from the work of the International "Q." project. Yes, there is both in English and in German. If there was an Aramaic text or multiple Greek texts, the consensus Greek text fails as a matter of fact. However, there has been a general slow building acceptance of the consensus Greek text over the last thirty or so years. Intense redactional analysis has clarified much. Possibly the most controversial aspect of all this is the dating of "Q." The authors conclude that the original stratum of sapiential material was probably written down in the early fifties with final redactions about the time of the fall of Jerusalem around 70 CE. If this dating is correct, it raises a host of serious questions about the literary critical search for the historical Jesus that has occupied so much of the last quarter of the twentieth century. According to the International "Q" Project, it would seem that Jesus had a lot to say and those sayings first show up in written form in a text that is nearly contemporaneous with the written passion narrative of the gospel of Mark.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Very Handy Edition, August 15, 2005

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GZP "--GP" (Pittsburgh, PA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sayings Gospel Q Greek English (Paperback)

At a slight 150 pages in paperback, Robinson's 'Sayings Gospel Q' is a handy little volume to have around, particularly because it provides the Greek version of the Q sayings, not only the English translations. I've also used Robinson's 600-page, exhaustively complete critical edition of Q in the Hermeneia series and find the shorter version a simple, well-presented, and useful companion in this area of Scripture study. --GP.