From: "Antonio Jerez" To: Cc: Subject: critique of Stevan Davies Neotestamentica article 3 Date: Tue, 7 Oct 1997 18:06:01 +0100 Here is the last installment in my critique of Stevan Davies Neotestamentica articles. I now turn my attention to the second article. There Stevan makes a studie of 20 sayings that are common to Mark and Thomas, and which he thinks strengthens even more his conclusions in the first article. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mark 2:18-22 (GTh 104) ABOUT FASTING AND PRAYING Anyone can see for himself see Stevan's study of this pericope in a message that he sent to crosstalk today. I don't find it convincing. Besides, as anyone can see in my own study (and my synoptic table) all the thematic threads are equally found in all the synoptics. To be really relevant to a study like this something in Mark should stand out against Mtt/Luke and fit better with Thomas. On the contrary the ones who have details that are missing in the others are Luke and Thomas. Both have "fast" and "pray". --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Then Stevan gets into a discussion where he tries to show that Thomas sequence of sayings in GTh 47 is more original than and more "primitive" than GMark. It could well be that so is the case (and if somebody took the time he could possibly find arguments to the contrary. I leave that problem though to Tucket et al). But again I think the thing to start with at least is to see how close Mark is to Thomas in wording and word order. As to GTh 47c (Young and old wine) we find that Luke is closer to Thomas than Mark. As I have shown in my study only Luke and Thomas have the saying about "no one who drinks old wine wants to drink the new after" placed here. In GTh 47d Mark has one word in common with Thomas against Mtt/Luke: "sew". One of Stevan's few "minor agreements". ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mark 3:27 (GTh 35) ABOUT TAKING A HOUSE BY FORCE I find nothing to suggest that Mark is closer to Thomas in this saying. In wording and word order Matthew and Mark stand in the same relation to Thomas. An irrelevancy to the study of marcan dependence on Thomas. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mark 3:28-29 (GTh 44) SIN AGAINST HOLY SPIRIT I append my comments from my earlier study: Not a clearcut case, but I would say that Thomas and Matthew are in total closest to each other. Thomas is the lone man in letting men blaspheme against the Father (any gnostic tinge here? The gnostics weren't very happy about the jewish god). Both Thomas, Matthew and Luke talk about "anyone (whoever) speaks a word (blasphemes) against the Son of Man (Son). With a few modifications in Thomas it is practically the same saying. Mark has nothing about blaspheming against Son/ Son of Man. Thomas and Mtt/Luke are word by word the same in the last part: "but anyone (whoever) blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven". Mark is the lone man again in having "never" in this part of the saying. Interestingly enough both Thomas and Matthew have a little last comment that qualifies the "not be forgiven". Thomas has "EITHER on earth OR in heaven." Matthew has "EITHER in this age OR the age to come". The EITHER ...OR-saying in both Thomas and Matthew has persuaded me that those two are closest. It is not hard to understand why Thomas would have changed the chronological dimension in Mathew (this and the next age) to a spatial dimension (earth-heaven). Gnostics were not very fond of apocalyptic thinking. This saying hardly supports Stevan's case - quite to the contrary. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------- Mark 3:31-35 (GTh 99) JESUS REAL FAMILY Here Stevan again indulges in a lot of "ifs" and mays". "Mark may have altered Father to God..." or "if Mark's A and B are conceded to be redactional..." Why not do the logical thing, Steve? I quote from my own study: In the first part of the saying Thomas is alone in letting "the disciples" tell Jesus about his family waiting for him outside. Mark has "a crowd", Mtt/Luke have "someone". Thomas has also switched around the order of "mother" and brother" as compared to the synoptics. In the last two sentences of the pericope sometimes Matthew, sometimes Luke are closest to Thomas. Only Thomas and Matthew has Jesus talking about doing the "Father(s)" will. Luke and Mark have "God" in the same place. Only Thomas and Luke have " my mother and brother" (switched around again to " my brothers and my mother" in Thomas) in Luke's verse 21 and Thomas similar saying. In this saying Mtt/Mark are dissimilar to Thomas/Luke by also adding "sister". Interestingely both Thomas and Mtt/Mark have Jesus new family in the order "brothers...(sisters: only in Mtt/Mark)...mother". In total the version of the pericope in Mark is furthest away from Thomas. Matthew is closest to Thomas. If I were Stevan I should keep as quiet as possible about this pericope... ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mark 4:3-8 (GTh 9) PARABLE OF THE SOWER Here Mark and Thomas are closest. I gave conceded this parable to Stevan on my list. Both Thomas and Mark have the exclamation "Listen!" at the beginning. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mark 4:10-13 (GTh 62a) The saying in Thomas is very unlike Mark 4:10-13 et.par . It is just as far away from Mark as from Mtt/Luke. The saying could be seen as a paraphrase on the versions in the synoptics. Concerning this saying Stevan also goes into a lenghty excursus on H. Koester's theories on GMark and the parable mystery theme. Interesting, but again nothing to show that Mark could only have used Thomas for this saying. Another thing is that I often do not trust Koester's analysis' in matters related to the relationship between the canonical and non-canonical gospels. Koester is weird - his study on Secret Gospel of Mark shows it more than anything. At the end of his analysis of this pericope Stevan writes: " It is very significant that when Mark characterizes sayings as 'parables', in every instance he does so in in reference to material that is found in GThomas". Why so? This would only surprise somebody who has already decided that Thomas could not have known Matthew and Luke. All Mark's parables, with the exception of Mark 4:26-29) are in Mtt/Luke and they are also "mysteries" there. Besides, Thomas seems fond of mysteries (just look at the first saying in GTh!) and would naturally have hooked on to anything that smacks of secrecy and mystery in the synoptics - which is precisely what I think Thomas has done. Stevan ends by saying: "It should be very difficult to affirm that if Mark had a "parables source" that source was something other than GThomas". I should rather say that the "evidence" Stevan has so far presented makes it very unlikely that Mark ever used GThomas. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mark 4:21 (GTh 33b) THE LAMP Again Stevan does a lot of assumptions on what Mark could have done with Thomas version. I am content to note the following from my own stydy. "Luke and Thomas again! "No one lights a lamp and puts it...under a bowl ("basket" in Thomas). Both Luke and Thomas are also the only ones talking about the lamp being HIDDEN. In the second part of the saying Luke and Thomas are also very close, almost word for word. Only Luke and Thomas talk about "all (those) who come in". Mark is the furthest away from Thomas. In the other gospels Jesus makes a statement. In Mark he makes it in the form of two questions. Mark has no mention of LIGHT in connection with the lamp, like the other three gospels." No speculation - simple observation that talks heavily against Stevans hypothesis. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- Mark 4:22 (GTh 5, 6b) EVERYTHING WILL BE MADE MANIFEST Stevan finds one of his "minor agreements" between Thomas and Mark here in greek Thomas. Mark shares the word "faneron" with Thomas. Unfortunately Stevan's peculiar "blindness" to parallels between Thomas and Mtt/Luke makes him overlook the fact that Luke and Thomas share a lot more than Mark and Thomas. As I explained in my study: "I made a study of the similar verse in GTh 5 b in an earlier message, but I forgot that there is also GTh 6b to put into the equation. Here the parallel to Luke 8:17 is even clearer. Luke and Thomas are the only ones to having the word "nothing" in both parts of the saying. Both Matthew and Luke are closer to Thomas than Mark. Luke and Thomas are also the only ones to have the saying two times in their gospels." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------- Mark 4:26-29 (GTh 21) THE REAPER This parable has no direct parallel in Matthew and Luke. So it won't do for a study of the quadruple tradition. But it is interesting that Thomas and Mark at least share one parable that isn't found in Mtt/Luke. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------- Mark 4:30-32 (GTh 20) THE SEED Here is one to Stevan. On the whole Mark and Thomas are closer than Mtt/Luke. But no special word or expression connects Thomas and Mark against Mtt/Luke. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------ Mark 6:1-6 (GTh 31) NO ONE IS PROPHET IN HIS HOMETOWN Stevan discusses what Mark could have done to the, in his view, more "primitive" version in Thomas. But Stevan doesn't comment on my observation: "I don't think it is hard to see that Luke and Thomas are by far closest to each other. Both are virtually identical in "no prophet is accepted in his hometown". Both Thomas and Luke are also similar in having a saying about a doctor healing in close proximity to the prophet saying. Luke has the doctor before the prophet - Thomas after. Mark is a far way off from Thomas in wording and word order." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------- Mark 7:14-23 (GTh 14c+45b) NO FOOD IS UNCLEAN, ONLY EVIL FROM INSIDE Stevan speculates more on what Mark may have done to Thomas. I am content again with showing plain facts on GTh 14c: "No question about it here either - the sayings in Matthew and Thomas are virtually identical. Matthew has only stuck to Mark's more impersonal " a man" (any man), while Thomas makes the saying more personal by talking about "your" (own) mouth. Both Thomas and Matthew also have "mouth" in both parts of the saying. Mark doesn't even mention the mouth. The "defile" in Thomas could as well be translated as "unclean" Stevan also speculates on Mark 14:21-23. Stevan also notes that the parallel sayings in Mtt/Luke are virtually identical to Thomas - they are in fact much closer to Thomas than Mark. I think Stevan makes it to easy for himself by attributing the "coincidences" to influence of oral tradition. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------- Mark 9:35 and par. (GTh 4b) More speculations from Stevan. I note that Mark is not closer to Thomas than the other synoptics. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------- Mark 11:15-19 (GTh 64b) THE TEMPLE TANTRUM Here Stevan piles up even more speculations. He even tries to find support in Bill Arnal's writings. I note that in this short saying Thomas is as far off from Mark as from the other synoptics. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- Mark 11:22-23 (GTh 48) FAITH CAN MOVE MOUNTAINS This is a saying I actually forgot about in my study. Good that Stevan reminded me. We start with a synoptic table: Mark 11:22-23 Jesus answered: " I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, "Go throw yourself into the sea' and does not doubt in his heart but believes what he says will happen, it will be done for him." Matt 17:20 He replied: "Because you have so little faith, I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ´Move from here to there and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you Thomas 48 Jesus said, If two make peace with each other in a single house , they will say to the mountain . "Move from here!' and it will move Thomas 106 Jesus said: "When you make the two into one you will become children of Adam, and when you say, ´Mountain, move from here´, it will move." My earlier comments on GTh 106 can just as well apply to GTh 48. I wrote: "In the first part of GTh 106 Thomas has a saying that is unique to him. In the second saying only Thomas and Matthew talk about the mountain "moving". They are also alike in the expression "it will move". Matthew is closer to Thomas than Mark." I can add that in the first part of GTh 48 Thomas seems to have made a paraphrase on Matthew 18:19. I don't find anything substantial in Stevans discussion on this saying. A lot of "ifs" and "mays" again. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------- Mark 12:13-17 (GTh 100) CEASAR'S COIN Stevan gives a meager reason why Thomas version is probably more original than Mark's. Thomas doesn't have Jesus asking whose portrait is on the gold coin. Mark does. Mark's comment is unnecessary, thinks Stevan, since everybody in the empire knew that only Ceasar's head was to be found on goldcoins. Therefore, reasons Stevan, Thomas is earlier than Mark and Mark used Thomas. In wording or themes no synoptic writer stands out against Thomas. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------- Finally! Stevan has reached the end of his long study and not surprisingly concludes that most things talk for the fact that Mark used Thomas. I conclude by observing that Stevan's study reminds me of the old proverb about how to "cook a lot of soup on a small nail". Best wishes Antonio antonio jerez antonio.jerez@swipnet.se