Q IN THE SINGLE TRADITION OF MATTHEW (QMt)

Thus far, examination has been made of only such material as is somewhat closely duplicated in Matthew and Luke. Examination will now be made of the sayings that are found in Matthew, unduplicated in Luke, to see whether any of these may also be assigned, with any great probability, to Q. In this unduplicated material no data are at hand for distinguishing QMt from simple Q; but since QMt is the symbol for the copy of Q used by Matthew, that symbol will be employed here instead of Q.

The criteria for distinguishing Q material in Matthew unduplicated by Luke are the general character of the material, chiefly its eschatological use of the phrase “the kingdom of heaven,” its Jewish coloring, its antipathy to the Pharisees, the absence of indications of Matthean invention, and the proximity to and connection with other material heretofore attributed to Q or QMt. This last item is not so important in Matthew, on account of his habit of transposing his Q material; yet within limits it is a valuable criterion.

Examination will be made of all passages in which there is reason to suspect the possible presence of Q material. This having been done in the case of the Gospel of Matthew, a similar examination will be made of the Gospel of Luke. The results of these two examinations will give us data for the comparison of Q as used by Matthew and Q as used by Luke. We shall then be able to say whether the differences between what we have called QMt and what we have called QLk are too great for the assumption that they are different recensions of the same ground-document. Matter already assigned to Q (or QMt or QLk) will not be examined again. As the sayings reported in each Gospel are examined, in cases where the material is rejected from QMt or QLk, suggestions will be made as to possible or probable sources.

TWO BEATITUDES

(Mt v, 4-5)

Many manuscripts invert the order of these beatitudes. Vs. 4a is a quotation from Ps xxxvii, 11. Vs. 5 sounds like a reminiscence of Ps cxxvi, 5, and Isa lxi, 2. The tendency to apply prophecy to Jesus is especially strong in Matthew; but whether this should be charged to him or his source remains to be determined. The ??? of the Hebrew, or the ????se? of the Greek, of Isa lxi, 1, would forcibly suggest such application in this case. Of the Judaistic and the universalistic tendencies found side by side in Matthew it is probable that the Judaistic are earlier, and therefore that they belonged in the source; the universalistic, naturally assumed to be later, will be more easily attributed to Matthew. Aside from this it is hardly to be assumed that Matthew invented any beatitudes on his own account. From both these considerations it is reasonable to conclude that these two beatitudes were added to Q before it reached Matthew.

FOUR MORE BEATITUDES

(Mt v, 7-10)

For vs. 7 there is no close Old Testament exemplar, tho Joel ii, 13, has been suggested. The suggestion is the more plausible since the same verse would also have served as an indirect source of the next beatitude in vs. 8. There is no reason for crediting Matthew with the manufacture of either of these beatitudes. Vs. 8 may be reminiscent of Ps xxiv, 4; li, 10; lxxiii, 1, as well as of the verse in Joel. “They shall see God” is probably used here in an eschatological sense. An expression combining the ideas and in part the wording of vss. 8 and 9 is found in Heb xii, 14: ??????? d???ete ... ?? ????? ??de?? ??eta? t?? ??????. If this is not a reminiscence of these beatitudes in Matthew, it at least embodies a similar tradition. The d??a??s???? of vs. 10 is peculiar to Matthew among the Gospels. From its Judaistic coloring it is to be ascribed to Matthew’s Q rather than to the evangelist himself. If I Peter iii, 14, be allowed to be a direct reference to this beatitude, this will heighten the probability that all these beatitudes were added to Q before its use by Matthew. It is not impossible that Matthew found in Q only the beatitudes now standing in Luke, and that he added these others (also making correction in those now duplicated in Luke), not inventing these himself, but possibly taking them from an oral tradition, or from a separate written source. But this theory seems to the writer to be much more complicated and less probable than the one here advocated. It is quite out of the question that Luke should have found these six beatitudes in his Q and should have omitted them. Yet the beatitudes common to Matthew and Luke are by all scholars attributed to Q. Harnack is undoubtedly correct in saying, “The beatitudes certainly circulated in various recensions from the beginning.”[101] The process of alteration and accretion would begin long before the days of Matthew.

“YE ARE THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD”

(Mt v, 14)

In the Johannine tradition this saying has become “I am the light of the world.” Like the saying, “Ye are the salt of the earth” (in Mt v, 13), it emphasizes, as against Luke’s version, the direct address of the beatitudes and the conjoined sayings to the disciples. It probably stood in Matthew’s Q.

“LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE”

(Mt v, 16)

The intervening vs. 15 is found in Luke. With that verse omitted, the connection between vss. 14 and 16 is improved. I Peter ii, 12, is a reminiscence, or almost a direct quotation, of vs. 16. Of vss. 13a, 14, and 16 it should be observed that, while they are unduplicated in Luke, they change the character of all the words in their context from the character which those words have, so far as they are duplicated, in Luke; for they make of them no longer general remarks, but words of extremely earnest exhortation addressed directly to the disciples. It is extremely unlikely that Matthew should have found the sayings in Q as mere general remarks, and should himself have given them this character of pointed exhortation by inserting the words, “Ye are the salt of the earth,” “Ye are the light of the world,” etc. But it is equally improbable that Luke should have found these pointed words in his recension of Q, and should by their omission have degraded the sayings to the rank of mere general observations. The best way to save these sayings for Q is by the hypothesis of the recensions.

VARIOUS SAYINGS FROM THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT

(Mt v, 17, 19-24, 27-28)

Concerning the section v, 17-48, Hawkins says, “I would place this section by itself as one which we may regard as more likely to have formed part of Q than any other which is to be found in a single Gospel.”[102] Yet it is to be noted that in the section of which Hawkins makes this statement there are eleven verses (vss. 18, 25, 26, 32, 39, 40, 42, 44-47) which are not “found in a single Gospel,” but which have very close parallels in Luke, and would on this latter consideration be assigned to Q. This fact heightens the probability that the unduplicated verses should also be assigned to some form of that document. Only those verses are considered here which have no parallel in Luke.

Thruout these verses there is a strong Judaistic coloring. They may be compared in this respect with such other New Testament passages as Rom iii, 31; x, 4; Jas ii, 10; II Pet ii, 14. The words, “till heaven and earth pass away” at the beginning of vs. 18 do not quite agree with the words “until all things be fulfilled” at the end of the verse; the latter words have been suggested by Schmiedel as being a gloss. If, with the two verses that follow them, they be not such a gloss, they are, says Schmiedel,[103] not from the final editor, who does not care for Jewish legalism, but from some earlier editor. In other words, universally attributed as the section is to Q, these words were not in Luke’s version of that document, and it is inconceivable that Matthew should have added them. They are part of the accretion that took place in Matthew’s recension of Q before it reached Matthew. Harnack, however, maintains that there is no inconsistency in attributing the words to Jesus himself. Vs. 20 illustrates the unchronological placing of the sayings, since it implies that the break with the pharisees has already occurred. In vss. 21 and 22 is the word ??????, occurring four times; Matthew uses it in one other passage where he has taken it from Mark, who uses it twice; but Luke consistently avoids it, both in his Gospel and in Acts. Unchronological in their setting are also the words in vss. 23-24; they were evidently spoken in Jerusalem, not in Galilee. They would not have been added from an oral tradition, much less invented, in times as late as those of the final editor of the Gospel.

A SAYING ABOUT OFFENSES

(Mt v, 29-30)

For this saying there is a doublet in Mt xviii, 8-9, taken from Mk ix, 43-48. Mark may in this passage also have been following Q. That this saying should have been absent from Luke’s recension of Q, while present in that of both Matthew and Mark, and that it should also, as Dr. Stanton maintains, have been absent from Luke’s copy of Mark, seems rather too much of a coincidence. But the saying is like several others which Luke omits because of their strong tincture of asceticism, or because the instructions in them might be understood in too literal a way. Whether it was or was not in Luke’s recension of Q, its character and connection seem to indicate its presence in Matthew’s recension of that document.

THE COMMANDMENT ABOUT DIVORCE

(Mt v, 31)

Like vss. 21, 27, 33, 38, and 43 of this same chapter, this verse quotes an Old Testament commandment, as introductory to the teaching of Jesus upon the subject of that command. Since much of the teaching of Jesus upon these items is duplicated in Luke, but this quotation of the Old Testament commandment is omitted by him each time, the quotation will be ascribed either to Matthew or his source. The fact that it is his source, and not the final editor (who for convenience is all along here called Matthew), who is responsible for the Judaistic coloring of the Gospel, the universalistic tendency being attributed to Matthew, inclines us to assign all these verses in quotation of the commandments to QMt.

ABOUT OATHS

(Mt v, 33-37)

This passage has also a strong Judaistic coloring. It is reminiscent of Ps xlviii, 3. Most students assign it simply to Q. If it stood in Luke’s recension of that document, the same non-Jewish bias which is observable in many of his omissions of Marcan material would account for his omission of the saying. It is neither possible nor necessary to prove that these verses were not in Luke’s recension. But considering their character and their context, it is much more likely that Matthew took them from his recension of Q than from any other source known to us.

THE SECOND MILE

(Mt v, 41)

This sounds like a secondary accretion. It adds little or nothing to the force of the injunction, and rather interrupts the connection between vss. 40 and 42. It may have been added by Matthew from some source of his own; but more probably stood in Matthew’s Q.

ANOTHER OLD TESTAMENT COMMANDMENT

(Mt v, 43)

In this verse and the five others which quote the commandments, the word ?????? occurs; it is not used by Mark or Luke, and by Matthew is used only in these verses. So far as this may be said to throw any light upon the origin of these verses, it would indicate their presence in Matthew’s recension of Q, rather than their invention or addition by Matthew.

ABOUT ALMS-GIVING

(Mt vi, 1-4)

Dr. Robinson, in his Study of the Gospels,[104] maintains, quite correctly, that Matthew’s chap. vi breaks the connection in his Sermon on the Mount. If it is omitted, the connection is not only better, but is the same as that of Luke’s in his Sermon on the Plain. He also considers that Mt vi, 7-15, breaks the connection between the verses that immediately precede and immediately follow them. He therefore concludes that Mt vi, 1-5, 16-18, at one time had a separate existence of its own. This is not impossible. The disarrangement by the insertion of chap. vi is indeed obvious. Bacon, in his Sermon on the Mount, and Votaw, in his article under the same title in Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible, bring out the same composite character of the Sermon as Matthew has it. But much of this material which Matthew has inserted in his Sermon on the Mount is duplicated word for word in other connections in Luke, and so is uniformly accredited to Q. This creates a presumption that the rest of this interpolated material, especially where it is obviously homogeneous in character with the Q material generally, was taken by Matthew from his recension of Q. It is not contended that none of this material which Matthew has here inserted and which is nowhere duplicated in Luke was in Luke’s recension; it is only contended that since Matthew’s recension and Luke’s recension are demonstrated to have been different from each other in certain passages, it is fair to press the argument from this difference to its reasonable limit, and assume that much if not most of this logian matter peculiar to Matthew stood before him in his source. In the case of the verses now before us, however, it seems extremely improbable that Luke with his interest in alms-giving (see Lk xi, 41; xii, 33) should have found them in his source and have omitted them.

ABOUT PRAYER

(Mt vi, 5-8)

This sounds like a “midrash” on the Lord’s Prayer. There are several Matthean words in the passage. ??s??? is used ten times by Matthew as against once by Mark and thrice in Luke’s Gospel. ?atta????? is found here only in the New Testament, and not in the Septuagint. ????????a is found here only in the New Testament. ??sa???? is an infrequent word in the New Testament, being used only in this passage, in Luke’s chap. i, once in Acts, and twice in the Epistles. ?p?d?d?? is used eighteen times by Matthew; seven of these uses are found in the section xviii, 25-34, and three in the unduplicated verses vi, 4, 6, 18. It is used once by Mark and eight times by Luke in his Gospel. These facts are hardly enough to establish any verdict as to the origin of the section now in question, tho they would rather look toward Matthew’s derivation of it, with its corresponding sections vi, 1-4, and vi, 16-18, from some written source. Such being the case, Matthew’s recension of Q will certainly fit the requirements better than any other known document.

ABOUT FASTING

(Mt vi, 16-18)

If the Lord’s Prayer, which Luke gives in another and better connection, be omitted from Matthew’s chap. vi, we shall have here three consecutive sections which have very striking literary resemblances; they are the sections on alms-giving, on prayer, and on fasting. That these should have found no echo in the Gospel of Luke, if they stood in his source, is strange; especially considering his peculiar interest in alms-giving and prayer. As to the literary affinities among these three sections, the use of ?s???, four times, has been noted. The phrase ?p????s?? t?? ?s??? a?t?? occurs three times; the longer phrase ?? t? ???pt?, ?a? ? pat?? s?? ? ??p?? ?? t? ???pt? ?p?d?se? s??, three times.[105] Quite without these recurrences of the same formulae, the form and sentiment of the three sections are so markedly the same as to suggest that they were originally consecutive, and that they have been taken from one written source. No more probable source can be suggested than QMt.

PEARLS BEFORE SWINE

(Mt vii, 6)

Schmiedel has suggested that this fragment may “indicate a time when the eucharist had been so long celebrated as materially to influence the general tradition of the doctrines of Jesus.” A passage somewhat similar in tone is that occurring in the story of the Canaanitish woman: “it is not proper to take the bread of the children and give it to the dogs.” Matthew takes this story from Mark; but, significantly, he has omitted one sentence of Mark’s which tones down the Jewish particularism of the passage, “let the children first be fed.” He also inserts in that story the sentence, not in Mark, “I am not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel,” which corresponds somewhat closely with this statement concerning the command of Jesus to his disciples, also peculiar to Matthew, “Into the way of the nations do not go, and into a city of the Samaritans do not enter; but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” It is only fair to admit that these instances, in which Matthew heightens, once by insertion and once by omission, the Jewish coloring in a story taken from Mark, tell against the theory generally advocated by the writer, that the Judaistic features of Matthew’s Gospel are referable to his source, and the universalistic features to Matthew himself. But, on the other hand, this vs. 6 has no discernible connection in its present context, and no reason suggests itself for Matthew’s insertion of it, except his desire to retain what was in his source. This source may have been a special one, perhaps even an oral one; but considering the Judaistic character of so many sayings attributed to Matthew’s Q, that recension would also fit this saying.

THE FALSE PROPHETS

(Mt vii, 15)

The mention of “the” false prophets, as a class to be avoided, has a late sound. It is not found elsewhere in the Gospels except in the “little apocalypse” and in Luke vi, 26. It is not necessarily as late as Matthew, and may fairly be assigned to his recension of Q.

A SAYING ABOUT TREES

(Mt vii, 19)

In an earlier place this saying is attributed by both Matthew and Luke to John the Baptist. In that earlier connection it evidently was taken from Q. It probably did not occur twice in that document, but was inserted here by Matthew from memory, being suggested naturally by the context. It offers no new Q material.

“BY THEIR FRUITS”

(Mt vii, 20)

This verse is a repetition, with the particle ??a?e prefixed, of vs. 16. Vs. 18 is also a repetition in the form of a declarative sentence of what is said in vs. 17 in the form of a question. The whole speech is considerably longer than the corresponding speech in Lk vi, 43-44. These repetitions and duplications suggest a good deal of re-working; but not the sort of re-working that would be done by Matthew, whose tendency is to condense instead of to expand. Vs. 20 may be a gloss, tho I am not aware of any manuscript authority against it. There is no new Q material here.

AN OFT-REPEATED FORMULA

(Mt vii, 28a)

This formula must be considered, as it is also found in five other places in Matthew (xi, 1; xiii, 53; xix, 1; xxvi, 1). The first six words of the formula are precisely alike in all five instances, ?a? ????et? ?te ?t??ese? ? ??s???. In two instances these words are followed by the words t??? ?????? t??t???; in one instance by the words p??ta? t??? ?????? t??t???; in another instance by the words t?? pa?a???? ta?ta?. In these four instances the formula not only follows a group of sayings, but is followed by a narrative section; and so apparently marks the transition from one of Matthew’s sources to another. In the fifth instance, however, the closing words of the formula are d?at?ss?? t??? d?de?a a??ta?? a?t??; and in this instance the formula does not mark a transition from Q to Mark, but is followed as it is preceded by Q material. It is generally argued that since the formula does not occur in either Mark or Luke, and since the construction ????et? ?te does not occur in Matthew outside of these five passages, but is found twenty-two times in Luke, the formula was each time taken by Matthew from his source. This source must have been Matthew’s recension of Q, since the formula is always found with Q material. Considering Matthew’s tendency to repeat himself, all that need be affirmed is that in at least one of the five instances Matthew did find the formula in Q. It certainly could not have occurred five times, or even three or four times, in Luke’s source, and have been each time omitted by him.

THE CONCLUSION OF THE STORY OF THE CENTURION’S SERVANT

(Mt viii, 13)

Harnack thinks this verse of Matthew’s and the corresponding verse in Luke (Lk vii, 10) were not in Q, tho the rest of the story was. But the deviation here is no greater than it is in the earlier part of the story, in the item of the messengers. Matthew has separated this conclusion of the story from the body of it by his insertion of Jesus’ saying, “Many shall come from the east and west,” which Luke gives in another context (Lk xiii, 28-29). Luke’s conclusion evidently belongs with his version of the story, for it contains the reference to the messengers who do not appear in Matthew’s version. Some manuscripts give the conclusion to the story in Matthew in words almost identical with Luke’s. If this deviation in manuscripts suggests that the verse in Matthew may be a gloss, this suggestion may be held to be strengthened by the assumption that if Matthew himself had inserted this concluding verse he would hardly have cut it off from the rest of the story by the saying “Many shall come,” etc. Chiefly on the ground of the alternative reading in ?, and the ease with which a gloss would be suggested to a scribe who had the Lucan narrative also before him, the writer inclines to the opinion that the verse is a later addition.

“I WILL HAVE MERCY AND NOT SACRIFICE”

(Mt ix, 13)

There is a duplicate of this quotation in Mt xii, 7. In each instance Matthew has inserted the quotation into a Marcan narrative. Considering the fact of this insertion in each case, and the absence of a duplicate in Luke, the verses may be ascribed to Matthew, perhaps upon the basis of an oral tradition.

THE HEALING OF TWO BLIND MEN

(Mt ix, 27-31)

There is a strong similarity between this story and the story of the healing of two blind men near Jericho (Mt xx, 29-34). In the latter case Matthew substitutes the two men for Bartimaeus in the story of Mark and Luke. The source is apparently a special one, perhaps an oral tradition influenced by Mk x, 46-52.

THE HEALING OF A DUMB MAN

(Mt ix, 32-34)

Vs. 34 is a doublet of Mt xii, 24; the latter is from Mk iii, 22, where Mark also appears to be following Q. Perhaps ix, 27-34, has been inserted at just this place, in order to warrant the statement of Jesus to John the Baptist that “the blind see and the deaf hear.” It is hardly necessary to assign it to a special literary source.

INSTRUCTIONS TO THE DISCIPLES

(Mt x, 5-8)

These verses have a strong Judaistic coloring: “Into a way of the Gentiles do not go, and into a city of the Samaritans do not enter,” etc. They also betray the expectation of the early coming of the parousia. These two items are inconsistent with the invention of these verses by Matthew. They must have arisen long before Matthew’s time. Yet they are imbedded in Q material. No theory of their origin suits all these facts so well as that they are a portion of the Q material which was added to that document after its original compilation, and in the recension that was finally used by Matthew. It is interesting to observe that Matthew here makes Jesus teach his disciples (vs. 7) the same formula which he himself had learned from John the Baptist.

FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS TO THE DISCIPLES

(Mt x, 16b-25, 41-42)

Of the chapter in which this section occurs Mr. Streeter says that Matthew begins with Mark, adds some Q material parallel to Luke’s Q material in the same connection, then Q material unparalleled, then Q material paralleled in other connections in Luke, then material from a totally different part of Mark.[106] The verses enumerated here are not paralleled in either Mark or Luke. They are not like the verses, for the most part, which Matthew and Luke agree in taking from Q; and they show marked difference in some respects from those which we have thus far assigned to Matthew’s recension of Q. In his Apostolic Age Professor James Hardy Ropes[107] suggests that at least one purpose of the collection of Jesus’ sayings was “to furnish a kind of handbook of missionary practice for those times.” These verses, better almost than any other section out of the instructions to the disciples, answer this purpose. If they rest upon words of Jesus spoken at the time he sent out his disciples, they are at least colored by the needs of Christian missionaries who went out toward the end of the apostolic age. They betray the conviction that the time of the parousia is near. As coming from Jesus they contain a prediction so obviously unfulfilled as to make their later invention and ascription to him very difficult. On the other hand no words ascribed to him would by themselves more easily originate in the times of the early Christian missions. Considering their position here, and giving due weight to Professor Ropes’s suggestion, it seems much more probable that they are taken by Matthew from some written source than from an oral tradition. If so, no better source can be posited than Matthew’s recension of Q.

A SAYING ABOUT ELIJAH

(Mt xi, 14)

Like the reference to Elijah in Mk ix, 12, this verse sounds like a parenthesis. It adds nothing to the context, and rather interrupts than furthers the matter. If not inserted by Matthew from some unknown, perhaps oral, source, it may perhaps best be considered as a gloss.

“HE THAT HATH EARS, LET HIM HEAR”

(Mt xi, 15)

This is a proverbial saying occurring seven times in the Gospels (eight times in the received text); three times in Matthew, twice each in Mark and Luke. It also occurs eight times in the Apocalypse. Each evangelist has a form of his own, to which he adheres thruout. The saying sounds here as if it were intended to drive home what has just been said about Elijah, and may with propriety be assigned to the same hand as the preceding verse.

THE OCCASION OF PRONOUNCING WOES UPON THE GALILEAN CITIES

(Mt xi, 20)

This verse is quoted here chiefly because it furnishes so excellent an illustration of the nature of the introductory formulae found in Matthew and Luke in conjunction with their Q material. Sometimes, as in the case of the Lord’s Prayer, such an introduction is present in Luke and absent in Matthew. In the present instance Matthew alone has it. Yet few passages from Q disclose a closer verbal agreement with the corresponding passage in Luke than the passage to which this verse is an introduction. In all such instances as this the writer sees no difficulty in ascribing the introductions to the evangelist in whose pages they are found.

REASON ASSIGNED FOR THE PRONUNCIATION OF THE WOES

(Mt xi, 23b-24)

Following the woes, Matthew alone has this statement of the reasons for their being given. He has a doublet for vs. 24 in x, 15. As this latter is paralleled by Lk x, 12, it may in that context be assigned to Q; here it may be assigned either to Matthew or one of his early editors. There is at least no new Q material here.

“COME UNTO ME”

(Mt xi, 28-30)

It is impossible to suppose that this unusually fine utterance could have been in Luke’s copy of Q and could have been omitted by him. Yet of the five scholars quoted in Table II (pp. 110-11), Wellhausen alone attributes it to Q. The others all attribute the preceding section to Q, but stop at vs. 27, where the parallelism between Matthew and Luke breaks off. This is necessary, of course, upon the assumption that nothing should be attributed to Q except what is thus paralleled. But if anything stood in Matthew’s recension of Q that was not also in Luke’s, certainly these verses stood there. Weiss’s remarks concerning them indicate that he has no reason for assigning them, as he does, to a special source, except the fact that they do not appear in Luke. He says “Since these words are not in Luke we have no right to refer them to Q. This is not to say that they are the work of Matthew; they have been taken from another source, oral or written.”[108] It has been pointed out by Montefiore that these verses are largely made up of quotations. “The last bit of vs. 29 comes from Jer xi, 7, and the rest is an adapted echo of Sirach li, 23 seq.”[109] The parallel, however, as Montefiore also says, covers vss. 25-27 as well as those now under consideration. Loisy[110] argues that the words cannot safely be ascribed to Jesus, but adds, “It may be readily admitted that the evangelist found them in the collection of Logia.”

A SAYING ABOUT THE LAW

(Mt xii, 5-7)

This saying occurs, not in the midst of Q material, but as an appendix to a discussion which Matthew and Luke both take from Mark. The passage seems to be well attested textually. Considering its context, and its relation to the material immediately preceding, it seems natural to assign the verses either to Matthew himself or to some early editor, rather than to seek a special source for them or to attribute them to Matthew’s Q. Vs. 7 has already been considered in connection with ix, 13. If the ??a?t???? in this latter verse were singular instead of plural it would certainly be taken as a reference to the condemnation and death of Jesus; indeed, it may naturally, tho not with so much assurance, be so taken as it stands.

AN OLD TESTAMENT QUOTATION

(Mt xii, 17-21)

This long quotation, occurring as it does in the midst of a Marcan narrative, may be ascribed either to Matthew or one of his sources; but there is no evidence that such quotations were part of Q.

“GENERATION OF VIPERS”

(Mt xii, 34a)

Ge???ata ???d??? is used once by Matthew and Luke in common (Mt iii, 7; Lk iii, 7) and twice by Matthew alone. The question in which it occurs here seems to render the statement in vss. 36-37 less justifiable. The repetition, not only of the one phrase, but of the idea, in the section might be taken to indicate that this half of a verse is an addition either by Matthew or by some later hand.

A SAYING ABOUT THE JUDGMENT

(Mt xii, 36-37)

If Matthew be credited with the insertion of vs. 34a, it is not unlikely that he added these verses also, as a corrective of the impression that might be drawn from the previous insertion. In character, however, the verses are similar enough to Q, and might be assigned to Matthew’s recension.

AN INTERPRETATION OF THE SIGN OF JONAH

(Mt xii, 40)

This verse occurs in a passage concerning the demand for a sign, which Matthew and Luke have evidently taken from Q. Luke’s form of the saying about Jonah is evidently the original one. Matthew’s reference to the three days spent by Jesus “in the heart of the earth” is post eventum, and even so cannot be early. It may perhaps be taken for a gloss, or it may have been added by Matthew. It may equally well have been added by some editor of Q before that document fell into Matthew’s hands; there is nothing to determine, except that the strong resemblance, almost amounting to identity, between Matthew and Luke in the rest of the passage may properly incline one toward the assumption of a late addition.

THE WEED IN THE FIELD

(Mt xiii, 24-30)

This parable, tho it has a Q sound in the first verse, is too long for any recension of that document. It is better assigned to a special source, oral or written. The allegorical character of the parable, with its elaborate interpretation in vss. 36-43, seems to indicate its comparatively late origin, and it may be based upon Mk iv, 26-29. At all events it should not be ascribed to Q.

THE PARABLES OF THE TREASURE, THE PEARL, THE FISH-NET, AND THE SCRIBE INSTRUCTED IN THE KINGDOM

(Mt xiii, 44-52)

In this chapter Matthew has eight parables.[111] The parables of the Sower and of the Mustard Seed he has taken from Mark. That of the Yeast he and Luke have taken from Q. That of the Weed in the Field has just been assigned to some special source. The four in vss. 44-52 we assign to Matthew’s recension of Q. The grounds upon which this assignment is made are the following: the parables are extremely similar in form and content to those that admittedly come from Q, as the parable of the Yeast in this same chapter. They are so brief as to come under the category of “sayings” rather than of “parables” in the ordinary sense. They are, with one exception, without allegorical or other interpretation. These facts establish their general Q character. The parable of the Fish-Net, in vss. 47-50, contains an allegorical interpretation. Vs. 50 also contains the phrase ??e? ?sta? ? ??a???? ?a? ? ????? t?? ?d??t??, which Matthew employs in five other connections. This phrase occurred at least once in Q (Mt viii, 12; Lk xiii, 28).

But in spite of a tendency toward repetition which may be observed in Matthew, it seems hardly fair to charge him with having inserted the phrase in the other five places where it occurs. It seems strange also that Matthew should record the parables of the Treasure, the Pearl, and the Converted Scribe without interpretation, but should himself be responsible for the interpretation of the parable of the Fish-Net. It is much more likely that he found the interpretation, with the parable, in his source.

In these four parables obviously there are two items which most scholars would agree in calling secondary: the allegorical interpretation of the parable of the Fish-Net, and the entire parable of the Converted Scribe. Yet the parables of the Pearl and the Treasure are as primary as any utterances recorded of Jesus. The strong general similarity in form and content between these parables and those taken by Matthew and Luke from Q argues the probability of their presence in some form of that document. Their absence from the Gospel of Luke indicates their absence from the recension in his hands. And the presence in them of these secondary traits argues their addition to Q at some time after its original compilation. All these considerations make the assignment of these four little parables to QMt in a high degree probable.

PETER WALKING ON THE WATER

(Mt xiv, 28-31)

The presence of so much narrative material in this section argues at once against its derivation from any form of Q. It belongs to a cycle of Peter-sayings preserved in Matthew alone. The source appears to have been a special one, very probably oral.

“TO THE LOST SHEEP OF THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL”

(Mt xv, 22-24)

These verses are an insertion of Matthew’s into the story of the Syrophoenician woman, which he has copied from Mark. It is worthy of note that thruout the entire story the verbal agreement is much more slight than is usual in narratives, especially such as contain sayings of Jesus, taken by Matthew from Mark. Luke has no parallel. Considering the very slight proportion of narrative, and the great preponderance of sayings-material, in the section, it would not be strange if it stood in Q. If it stood in Luke’s recension, the attitude of Jesus toward non-Jewish peoples, as implied in the story, would be sufficient to account for Luke’s omission of it. The sentiment of vs. 24, in particular, is extremely “primary.” It could hardly have been invented and ascribed to Jesus after his time. Mark’s words, “Let the children first be fed,” tone down the excessively Jewish particularism of Matthew’s account; even aside from these words, which are absent from Matthew, Matthew’s entire version of the incident is more primary than Mark’s. This may be, and has been, explained by saying that Mark’s story has been worked over by an editor, subsequent to Matthew’s use of his Gospel. But since Mark and Q have been shown to coincide in a certain amount of material, a simpler explanation is that they coincided in this story of the Syrophoenician woman; the more primitive character of Matthew’s account is then explained by its dependence upon Q, which is older than Mark. It cannot be shown to have been absent from Luke’s recension, and its presence there may be probable, but cannot be demonstrated. It is therefore assigned—but with some hesitation—to QMt.

A SUMMARY OF JESUS’ HEALING WORK

(Mt xv, 29-31)

This little summary, like that in Mt iv, 23-25, would naturally be ascribed to Matthew. It might be regarded as a re-working of Mk vii, 31, and a substitute in general terms for the story which immediately follows that verse in Mark.[112] The use by Matthew of such a phrase as t?? ?e?? ?s?a?? would be explained by the fact that the cures are represented as being worked outside of Jewish territory. With this explanation the verses may be ascribed to Matthew.

THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN

(Mt xvi, 17-19)

This is another Peter-section inserted in a story taken from Mark. Luke has the story but not this insertion. The section apparently belongs to the same cycle of Peter-stories with the incident of the walking on the water, already considered. It should be ascribed to some special and undetermined source. The general character of this particular section would indicate its very late origin.

AN INSERTION IN THE STORY OF THE TRANSFIGURATION

(Mt xvii, 6-7)

No special source, other at least than oral tradition, is necessary to account for so slight an addition. Yet considering Matthew’s general tendency to condense, rather than to expand, Mark’s narratives, and the faithfulness with which he has transcribed the rest of this narrative, it may be easier to regard this insertion as a gloss.

“WHOSOEVER HUMBLES HIMSELF AS THIS LITTLE CHILD”

(Mt xviii, 4)

The verse immediately preceding this is found in Mark, but in another context, from where Matthew has evidently transposed it to this place. This vs. 4 is found in Matthew alone. A variant of it is found in Mt xxiii, 12. This latter is closely similar to, but not identical with, the saying twice given by Luke (Lk xiv, 11; xviii, 14). Considering his dislike for doublets, the fact that the saying occurs twice in Luke may naturally be taken to indicate its presence in both Mark and Q. But the verse under consideration here can be at most but a reminiscence of the saying which occurs twice in Luke and in Mt xxiii, 12. Considering the fact that Matthew is here obviously exercising his talent at combination, the verse should probably be ascribed to his editorial hand.

THE UNFORGIVING SERVANT

(Mt xviii, 23-35)

In spite of its reference to the kingdom of Heaven this parable is much too long for Q, and should be assigned to a special source.

ABOUT EUNUCHS

(Mt xix, 10-12)

This saying is appended to a discussion taken from Mark. Considering its loose connection in the context, it is perhaps safer to assume that it has been added from some oral authority.

THE LABORERS IN THE VINEYARD

(Mt xx, 1-16)

The parable is too long for Q, tho like the Q parables it has to do with the kingdom of God. The last verse is an apparently proverbial saying, for which Matthew has a doublet in xix, 30, and Luke a variant in Lk xiii, 30.

THE TWO SONS

(Mt xxi, 28-32)

Like the other matter in this vicinity peculiar to Matthew, and like the parables of this length thruout, this parable should be assigned to a special source.

THE WEDDING FEAST

(Mt xxii, 1-14)

J. Weiss assigns this parable, with Lk xiv, 16-24, to Q. But upon the principle we have been following the parable is too long for Q. While it is evidently the same parable as that told in Lk xiv, 16-24, there is clearly no literary connection between Matthew and Luke here. Both Wellhausen and Wernle assign it to Q; Harnack and Hawkins to a special source. This instance brings up the question of what degree of literary similarity must be present in order to warrant the assumption of literary connection. No words are identical here except such as had to be to enable two men to tell the same story.

AGAINST THE PHARISEES

(Mt xxiii, 2-3, 5, 8-10, 15-22)

Matthew here conflates his Q material with his Marcan material. The matter is partially duplicated in Luke’s chap. xi. The similarities and the differences between the Matthean and Lucan versions are precisely such features as have led to the hypothesis of the two recensions. The verses should be assigned to QMt.

THE PARABLES OF THE TEN VIRGINS, THE TALENTS, THE JUDGMENT

(Mt xxv, 1-46)

The first two of these parables J. Weiss assigns to Q; presumably on the ground that parallels for them are found in Luke’s chaps. xii and xix. But if Q be extended to include so many such long parables as these, it loses entirely its character as a collection of “sayings.” Moreover, the parallelism between Matthew’s and Luke’s versions of these two parables is extremely slight. The subject-matter is the same, but there is no indication of dependence upon a common written source. The parable of the Judgment is peculiar to Matthew. It seems better to assign all three of these parables to a special source.

“TWELVE LEGIONS OF ANGELS”

(Mt xxvi, 52-54)

This is an insertion of Matthew’s in the story which he has taken from Mark. There is no indication of Q in it.

We have now gone over all the logian sections of Matthew unparalleled in either Mark or Luke. We have found some of these that ought, in our judgment, to be assigned to Matthew’s recension of Q. This assignment cannot claim to be anything more than a suggestion; in many instances, however, it may reach a very high degree of probability; and we have tried to restrict it to such instances. By saying that a certain section should be assigned to a “special source,” it is not meant that this is one and the same source for all sections so assigned; but only that these sections cannot be assigned either to Matthew or to his recension of Q. In a few instances I have ventured to suggest an oral rather than a written source. Further comments will be made upon this analysis when a similar study has been made of the sections peculiar to the Gospel of Luke.