Solving the Synoptic Puzzle: Introducing the Case for the Farrer Hypothesis

The question of how the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke relate to each other has become the subject of often intense debate. No longer is it safe to assume that the long dominant Two Document Hypothesis can be accepted without much question. In this book, Eve introduces students and other interested readers to the issues surrounding the Synoptic Problem and goes on to argue for an alternative theory (the Farrer Hypothesis) which does away with the need for the hypothetic source Q. In the course of doing so he also provides a helpful discussion of the how and why of first-century Gospel authorship. While the reader is alerted to the difficulties and complexities that surround solving the puzzle of Synoptic relations, the discussion is kept as accessible as possible and assumes no prior knowledge of New Testament scholarship or Greek.

Eric Eve is Fellow and Tutor in Theology at Harris Manchester College, Oxford. He is the author of The Jewish Context of Jesus' Miracles (2002), The Healer from Nazareth (2009), Behind the Gospels (2013), Writing the Gospels (2016), Relating the Gospels (2021), and a number of articles and contributed chapters variously related either to Jesus' miracles or to the Synoptic Problem.