Studies on the Synoptic Problem
David Gentile
Three connected studies on the composition of the Gospel of Mark, with a supplement.
They run from the most firmly grounded to the least — and perhaps, as a consequence,
from the least interesting to the most. Each builds on the one before it, but each can
also be read on its own.
Some of these are posted as preprints on Qeios and also here. Where both exist,
the version on this site is the more recent. All are preprints; comments and
criticism are welcome.
Study One
A statistical approach to the synoptic problem, finding for the Three Source
Hypothesis: Mark first, Matthew drawing on Mark and a sayings source, and Luke drawing on
all three.
Read herenewer
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PDF
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Earlier version on Qeios
Supporting material
Results table
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Spreadsheet, no macro
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Full spreadsheet
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Spreadsheet guide
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Appendix A
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Appendix B
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Luke 14 supplement
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Raw data for SAS
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SAS program to replicate spreadsheet results and implement the additional negative binomial model
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Suppliment: Negative Binomial results
Study Two
Argues that canonical Mark is an expansion of an earlier proto-Mark by the
gospel's own author. The added material is identified on formal source-critical grounds,
without reference to theme — and turns out, as a result rather than a premise, to be
uniformly pro-Gentile.
Read herenewer
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PDF
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Earlier version on Qeios
A further candidate for the expansion, raised in correspondence after the study was
drafted, and treated at length: the night trial of Mark 14:55–64.
Read here
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PDF
Study Three
The most venturesome of the three. Argues that Mark wrote a deliberately
reserved text — a public surface and a disclosed sense given in the telling —
and that the salt sayings of 9:49–50 encode a Pauline soteriology.
Read herenewer
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PDF
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Earlier version on Qeios
More
A rough-draft reconstruction of proto-Mark, drawn largely
from canonical Mark, and following Luke where noted. Annotated throughout to show what is read as original, what belongs to the
expansion, and what is held in reserve. Offered as a companion to the studies rather than
an argument in its own right.
Read here