Subject: Re: Thomas/Synoptic Parallels
Date: Wed, 21 Oct 1998 16:00:41 -0400
From: "Stevan Davies" <miser17@epix.net>
To: crosstalk@info.harpercollins.com, Synoptic-L@bham.ac.uk

> From:          "Mark Goodacre"
> (3)  I would be intereested to see the figures for Matthew // Luke // Thomas.
> Ideally we would need two sets of figures here, (a) Matthew // Luke // Thomas
> and (b) Matthew // Mark // Luke // Thomas. The importance of this is
> accentuated in that the figure given for Q // Thomas is a maximising one,
> i.e. it includes material from both (a) (Matthew // Luke // Thomas) and (b)
> (Matthew // Mark // Luke // Thomas).  Matthew // Mark // Luke // Thomas
> material, like the Mustard Seed and the Lamp, currently does double service in
> the results, once for triple tradition and once for Q.

My list of Mt//Lk//Th gives 30 examples.
http://www.miseri.edu/davies/thomas/thq.htm

> Rene Joseph Salm wrote:
>
> > 1. As is known, GTh does not seem to follow the Q-Luke order at all.
>
> Not at all may be too strong for Luke, though not for Q.  The order of sayings
> 63-65/66 follows Luke's (relative) order -- Rich Fool (Thomas 63 // Luke
> 12.15-21); Great Supper (Thomas 64 // Luke 14.15-24); Husbandman (Thomas 65 //
> Luke 20.9-19).  It may well be coincidence.  If not, then this is evidence of
> Thomas's use of Luke because we have here L + Q + Mk material, i.e. the order
> is Luke's and not a source's.

If we have 90 accepted // sayings in Thomas, the chance of
coincidental similarity in order between TH and MT or MK or Lk for
three of them or, indeed, a few sets of three, is pretty high.
Shuffle two decks of cards, subtracting the K and Q  and record the result.
Do it again and record the result. How often will the same three
cards be in sequence for those sets of 88 cards? How many if we
do as you did, by analogy also adding in the possibility of three
numbers of the same suit occurring in the same sequence even though
separated by any number of other cards? (You did this with parables,
but it could be done with proverbs, or controversies, or sayings
about light, or beatitudes, etc.)

Steve