Source Criticism

Question 1

What is source criticism ?

Answer 1

The search for the original sources which lie behind a given biblical text

Question 2

What does source criticism do?

Answer 2

-Identifies possible earlier sources behind a text.
-Compares texts to find shared material.
-Explains similarities/differences between biblical accounts.
-Helps show how the biblical texts developed over time.

Question 3

Give an example of where SC is used ?

Answer 3

The feeding of the 5,000
-All three Gospels tell almost exactly the same story of Jesus feeding 5,000 people.
-The wording is often identical, especially in Greek.

-Matthew and Luke likely used Mark’s version as a source and copied sections of it into their own Gospels.

Question 4

Who did Augustine give priority to?

Answer 4

Matthew.
Order of MML
Said gospels were interdependent on eachother

Question 5

What does source criticism try and solve ?

Answer 5

What the first source was