HuntSteven978-1-4331-0606-4:Greek DD.qxd 4/7/2011 1:19 PM Page 1 125 Rewriting the Feeding of Five Thousand reveals the connection between John and the Rewriting Synoptics with a focus on John 6.1–15. Statistical analyses establish the percentages of verbal and word order agreement between John 6.1–15 and the Synoptic paral- H THE lels. An analysis of contextual agreements between the narratives in John and the U Synoptics facilitates observing the percentage of agreement between them on a verse- N by-verse basis, the average percentage of agreement between them, and the aver- T Feeding age percentage of agreement between them when Johannine material without parallel in the Synoptics is excluded from the data. Furthermore, this book analyzes OF the Matthean and Lukan redaction of Mark in their versions of the feeding of the five thousand and their influence on the Johannine narrative, as well as how John’s narrative can be understood as a thorough rewriting of the Synoptic Five Thousand accounts. R “In critical dialogue and making excellent use of previous and contemporary e w scholarship on the feeding miracle in the Fourth Gospel, Steven A. Hunt argues that John had read and thoroughly digested all three of the Synoptic Gospels. This first- r i rate book is highly recommended to all Johannine scholars who are still wrestling t i with the question of John’s dependence on the Synoptics. A provocative, scholarly n John 6.1–15 as a and readable book.” g Gilbert Van Belle, Professor Ordinarius of New Testament, t Faculty of Theology of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Leuven, Belgium h e Test Case for Johannine “Like a canny detective, Steven A. Hunt re-opens the file on John’s relationship to F the Synoptics and, on the incident of the loaves and fishes, goes over the data with e e an unmatched combination of comprehensiveness, precision,and patience. In the d end the jury’s task is easy. The simplest explanation that accounts for the data— i Dependence on the the preferred explanation in scientific method—is that John used the Synoptics.” n Thomas L. Brodie, Director, Dominican Biblical Institute, Limerick, Ireland g o “A compelling case for John’s use of the Synoptics! Steven A. Hunt definitely con- f Synoptic Gospels vinced me that, in John 6:1–15 anyway, the author’s use of the Synoptics amounts F to ‘transformative imitation’(to use his words). Any future study of the relation- i v ship between John and the Synoptics cannot neglect this important contribution.” e D. Francois Tolmie, Dean, Professor of New Testament, Faculty of Theology T of the University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa h o STEVENA. HUNTreceived his Ph.D. from the University of Sheffield. He is Asso- u ciate Professor of Biblical Studies at Gordon College in Wenham, Massachusetts. s Focusing on the New Testament, he specializes in narrative approaches to the a Gospel of John and socio-rhetorical approaches to the letters of Paul. His most recent n publications include articles on John’s characterization of Nicodemus, Lazarus, Abra- d ham, and Jesus. S T E V E N A . H U N T P E T E R L A N G Studies in Biblical Literature 125 www.peterlang.com HuntSteven978-1-4331-0606-4:Greek DD.qxd 4/7/2011 1:19 PM Page 1 125 Rewriting the Feeding of Five Thousand reveals the connection between John and the Rewriting Synoptics with a focus on John 6.1–15. Statistical analyses establish the percentages of verbal and word order agreement between John 6.1–15 and the Synoptic paral- H THE lels. An analysis of contextual agreements between the narratives in John and the U Synoptics facilitates observing the percentage of agreement between them on a verse- N by-verse basis, the average percentage of agreement between them, and the aver- T Feeding age percentage of agreement between them when Johannine material without parallel in the Synoptics is excluded from the data. Furthermore, this book analyzes OF the Matthean and Lukan redaction of Mark in their versions of the feeding of the five thousand and their influence on the Johannine narrative, as well as how John’s narrative can be understood as a thorough rewriting of the Synoptic Five Thousand accounts. R “In critical dialogue and making excellent use of previous and contemporary e w scholarship on the feeding miracle in the Fourth Gospel, Steven A. Hunt argues that John had read and thoroughly digested all three of the Synoptic Gospels. This first- r i rate book is highly recommended to all Johannine scholars who are still wrestling t i with the question of John’s dependence on the Synoptics. A provocative, scholarly n John 6.1–15 as a and readable book.” g Gilbert Van Belle, Professor Ordinarius of New Testament, t Faculty of Theology of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Leuven, Belgium h e Test Case for Johannine “Like a canny detective, Steven A. Hunt re-opens the file on John’s relationship to F the Synoptics and, on the incident of the loaves and fishes, goes over the data with e e an unmatched combination of comprehensiveness, precision,and patience. In the d end the jury’s task is easy. The simplest explanation that accounts for the data— i Dependence on the the preferred explanation in scientific method—is that John used the Synoptics.” n Thomas L. Brodie, Director, Dominican Biblical Institute, Limerick, Ireland g o “A compelling case for John’s use of the Synoptics! Steven A. Hunt definitely con- f Synoptic Gospels vinced me that, in John 6:1–15 anyway, the author’s use of the Synoptics amounts F to ‘transformative imitation’(to use his words). Any future study of the relation- i v ship between John and the Synoptics cannot neglect this important contribution.” e D. Francois Tolmie, Dean, Professor of New Testament, Faculty of Theology T of the University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa h o STEVENA. HUNTreceived his Ph.D. from the University of Sheffield. He is Asso- u ciate Professor of Biblical Studies at Gordon College in Wenham, Massachusetts. s Focusing on the New Testament, he specializes in narrative approaches to the a Gospel of John and socio-rhetorical approaches to the letters of Paul. His most recent n publications include articles on John’s characterization of Nicodemus, Lazarus, Abra- d ham, and Jesus. S T E V E N A . H U N T P E T E R L A N G Studies in Biblical Literature 125 www.peterlang.com Rewriting the Feeding of Five Thousand Studies in Biblical Literature Hemchand Gossai General Editor Vol. 125 PETER LANG New York (cid:121) Washington, D.C./Baltimore (cid:121) Bern Frankfurt (cid:121) Berlin (cid:121) Brussels (cid:121) Vienna (cid:121) Oxford Steven A. Hunt Rewriting the Feeding of Five Thousand John 6.1–15 as a Test Case for Johannine Dependence on the Synoptic Gospels PETER LANG New York (cid:121) Washington, D.C./Baltimore (cid:121) Bern Frankfurt (cid:121) Berlin (cid:121) Brussels (cid:121) Vienna (cid:121) Oxford Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Hunt, Steven A. Rewriting the feeding of five thousand: John 6.1–15 as a test case for Johannine dependence on the Synoptic Gospels / Steven A. Hunt. p. cm. — (Studies in biblical literature; v. 125) Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Bible. N.T. John VI, 1–15—Criticism, Redaction. 2. Bible N.T. Gospels—Criticism, interpretation, etc. I. Title. BS2615.52.H86 226.5’066—dc22 2010050503 ISBN 978­1­4539­0153­3 ISSN 1089-0645 (Print edition) Bibliographic information published by Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek. Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the “Deutsche Nationalbibliografie”; detailed bibliographic data is available on the Internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de/. The Scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright (©) 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council of Library Resources. © 2011 Peter Lang Publishing, Inc., New York 29 Broadway, 18th floor, New York, NY 10006 www.peterlang.com All rights reserved. Reprint or reproduction, even partially, in all forms such as microfilm, xerography, microfiche, microcard, and offset strictly prohibited. Printed in Germany In Memoriam Shannon D. Hunt (1968–2004) For Bridget Carmody Hunt Table of Contents Acknowledgments xi Series Editor’s Preface xiii Abbreviations xv 1. Introduction 1 2. As Many Scholars as Opinions: The Enigmatic Relationship Between John and the Synoptics 5 Introduction 5 The Supplementation Theory 6 The Supplementation Theory at the Turn of the 20 th Century 7 The Essential Weakness in the Supplementation Theory 10 Windisch: Supplanting the Supplementation Theory 11 Gardner-Smith: Forging a New Consensus 12 Dodd: Substantiating the New Consensus 14 An Ironic Aside 16 Standing Against Consensus 17 A New Approach to the Issue 21 Conclusion 22 3. Too Full of Adventure to Be Briefly Described 23 Introduction 23 A Simple Defense 26 A Singular Clarification 28 Excursus: Q and the Synoptic Problem 29 Resuming the Discussion: John and the Synoptics 36 Other Noteworthy Approaches 36 Oral Traditions: Moving Beyond the Impasse 51 The Program Presented Herein 64 Conclusion 66 viii R ewriting the Feeding of Five Thousand ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ 4. Verbal Agreements 69 Verbal Agreements 69 The Feeding of the Multitude: The Basis for the Comparisons 71 The Johannine Feeding Narrative 76 By Way of Comparison: The Synoptic Feeding Narratives 77 Unique Vocabulary in the Feeding Narratives 79 The Sea-Crossing: A Point of Comparison 80 Unique Vocabulary in the Sea-Crossing Narratives 82 Summary of the Data in Terms of Vocabulary 82 Conclusion 83 5. Word Order Agreements 85 Contextual Agreements 85 Word Order Agreements 86 The Johannine Feeding Narrative 87 By Way of Comparison: The Synoptic Feeding Narratives 89 The Sea-Crossing: A Point of Comparison 92 Summary of the Data in Terms of Word Order 93 Conclusion 94 6. Principles and Procedures: A Verse-by-Verse Analysis 99 Introduction: Mgr. Bruno de Solages 99 Pressing On 106 Principles 107 Procedures 108 Cocnlusion 110 7. John 6.1–15: A Verse-by-Verse Analysis 111 Introduction 111 Analysis #1 112 Analysis #2 148 Analysis #3 150 Miscellanea 152 Comparative Data: Analysis 2 of Matthew 14.13–21 and Mark 6.32–44 154 8. John 6.16–21: A Verse-by Verse Analysis 157 Introduction 157 Analysis #1 158