Four-source hypothesis
E943357
New Testament hypothesis
biblical studies theory
source criticism theory
synoptic problem hypothesis
The Four-source hypothesis is a scholarly theory about the origins of the Synoptic Gospels that proposes Matthew and Luke drew on four distinct sources, including Mark and a lost sayings source called Q.
All labels observed (1)
| Label | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Four-source hypothesis canonical | 1 |
How this entity was disambiguated
This entity first appeared as the object of triple T11712129 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.
NED1
Entity disambiguation (via context triple)
gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07
Target entity: Four-source hypothesis Context triple: [Markan priority hypothesis, oftenCombinedWith, Four-source hypothesis]
-
A.
Augustinian hypothesis
The Augustinian hypothesis is a theory of the Synoptic Gospels’ literary relationship that holds Matthew was written first, Luke used Matthew, and Mark later abridged and drew from both.
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B.
Griesbach hypothesis
The Griesbach hypothesis is a minority theory of the Synoptic Problem that proposes Matthew was written first, Luke used Matthew, and Mark later condensed both, rejecting the need for a separate Q source.
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C.
Markan priority hypothesis
The Markan priority hypothesis is the widely supported view in New Testament scholarship that the Gospel of Mark was the first written of the Synoptic Gospels and served as a primary source for Matthew and Luke.
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D.
History of the Synoptic Tradition
History of the Synoptic Tradition is a seminal work of New Testament scholarship that critically examines the formation and transmission of the Gospel traditions within early Christianity.
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E.
The Early Versions of the New Testament: Their Origin, Transmission, and Limitations
The Early Versions of the New Testament: Their Origin, Transmission, and Limitations is a scholarly study by Bruce M. Metzger that examines the history, textual significance, and constraints of the earliest translations of the New Testament.
- F. None of above. chosen
- G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.
NED2
Entity disambiguation (via description)
gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07
Target entity: Four-source hypothesis Target entity description: The Four-source hypothesis is a scholarly theory about the origins of the Synoptic Gospels that proposes Matthew and Luke drew on four distinct sources, including Mark and a lost sayings source called Q.
-
A.
Augustinian hypothesis
The Augustinian hypothesis is a theory of the Synoptic Gospels’ literary relationship that holds Matthew was written first, Luke used Matthew, and Mark later abridged and drew from both.
-
B.
Griesbach hypothesis
The Griesbach hypothesis is a minority theory of the Synoptic Problem that proposes Matthew was written first, Luke used Matthew, and Mark later condensed both, rejecting the need for a separate Q source.
-
C.
Markan priority hypothesis
The Markan priority hypothesis is the widely supported view in New Testament scholarship that the Gospel of Mark was the first written of the Synoptic Gospels and served as a primary source for Matthew and Luke.
-
D.
History of the Synoptic Tradition
History of the Synoptic Tradition is a seminal work of New Testament scholarship that critically examines the formation and transmission of the Gospel traditions within early Christianity.
-
E.
The Early Versions of the New Testament: Their Origin, Transmission, and Limitations
The Early Versions of the New Testament: Their Origin, Transmission, and Limitations is a scholarly study by Bruce M. Metzger that examines the history, textual significance, and constraints of the earliest translations of the New Testament.
- F. None of above. chosen
Statements (49)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
New Testament hypothesis
ⓘ
biblical studies theory ⓘ source criticism theory ⓘ synoptic problem hypothesis ⓘ |
| addresses | synoptic problem ⓘ |
| assumes |
Markan priority
ⓘ
existence of Q ⓘ lost written sources behind Matthew and Luke ⓘ |
| claims |
Luke used L as a unique source
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Luke used Mark as a source NERFINISHED ⓘ Luke used Q as a source NERFINISHED ⓘ Matthew used M as a unique source ⓘ Matthew used Mark as a source ⓘ Matthew used Q as a source NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| classifiesSource |
L as special Lukan source
ⓘ
M as special Matthean source ⓘ Mark as narrative source ⓘ Q as sayings source ⓘ |
| concerns |
Gospel of Luke
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Gospel of Mark NERFINISHED ⓘ Gospel of Matthew NERFINISHED ⓘ Synoptic Gospels NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| contrastsWith |
Augustinian hypothesis
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Farrer hypothesis NERFINISHED ⓘ Griesbach hypothesis ⓘ |
| dateOfFormulation | late 19th century ⓘ |
| developedFrom | Two-source hypothesis NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| explains |
double tradition material
ⓘ
special Lukan material ⓘ special Matthean material ⓘ triple tradition material ⓘ |
| hasComponent |
L source
ⓘ
M source ⓘ Markan source NERFINISHED ⓘ Q source NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| includesSource |
Gospel of Mark
GENERATED
ⓘ
L source GENERATED ⓘ M source GENERATED ⓘ Q source GENERATED ⓘ |
| involvesConcept |
literary dependence
ⓘ
lost gospel sources ⓘ oral tradition ⓘ redaction ⓘ |
| proposesNumberOfSources | 4 ⓘ |
| usedInDiscipline |
New Testament studies
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
historical Jesus research ⓘ |
| usedInMethod |
form criticism
ⓘ
source criticism ⓘ |
| usedToExplain | literary relationships among Synoptic Gospels ⓘ |
How these facts were elicited
The pipeline generated the facts above by prompting gpt-5.1 with this entity's name + description and the instruction below.
Instruction
You are a knowledge base construction expert. Given a subject entity and a description of it, return factual statements that you know for the subject as a JSON list of dictionaries(triples), where keys must be "subject", "predicate" and "object". The number of facts may be very high, between 25 to 50 or more, for very popular subjects. For less popular subjects, the number of facts can be very low, like 5 or 10. # Requirements - If you don't know the subject at all, return an empty list. - If the subject is not a named entity, return an empty list. - Include at least one triple where predicate is "instanceOf". - Do not get too wordy. - Separate several objects into multiple triples with one object.
Input
Subject: Four-source hypothesis Description of subject: The Four-source hypothesis is a scholarly theory about the origins of the Synoptic Gospels that proposes Matthew and Luke drew on four distinct sources, including Mark and a lost sayings source called Q.
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.