Q and the History of Early Christianity: Studies on Q

Christopher Tuckett will be well known to academics who specialize in studying the New Testament and especially those who specialize in studying Q, that hypothetical source behind the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. What Tuckett presents here is a monograph examining the status of Q and a number of its key themes - at least as Tuckett reads the evidence. Clearly Tuckett believes that Q existed even if there is no actual manuscript evidence for it; a 40 page opening chapter tells us why he thinks so. Following a further essay on how Q has been treated by its scholarly "discoverers" and another on Q's "nature", we are into 10 chapters each concentrating on a topic pertinent to the hypothesised textual contents of Q from John the Baptist (Q is the most important witness to him if Q was the Matthean and Lukan source for him) to "Wisdom in Q" and "Q and Israel". The tone of these chapters is scholarly and serious. The book is closely argued and readers are expected to be cognizant of scholarly protocols and discussions. The book has no conceivable religious agenda.All that said I found the book to be excellent, the conclusions balanced and the evidence exhibited with all due care and attention. A valuable addition to scholarship on Q.