The Q document

[Enlightenedtruth]

In some of my research I have found reference to a "hypothetical" Q document....Q from the German word Quelle, meaning source. Does anyone know anything about such a document?

 

[Who Me]

There are similarities in the synoptic gospels, which is assumed to mean that they all used a common document called' Q ' , which is lost to us.

 

[Vinny37]

In some of my research I have found reference to a "hypothetical" Q document....Q from the German word Quelle, meaning source. Does anyone know anything about such a document?

It's a guess - based on some idea of how disciples recorded their rabbis' sayings - that before the cross Jesus' disciples wrote down many of his sayings, and that Matthew and Luke both used such a source, which indeed might have developed variants. I think it's a sensible enough idea, but it remains educated guesswork, part of trying to understand how the Gospels were written up. And when Mt/Lk. have a saying missed by Jhn. or Mk., some say Ah, they've used Q! It can be useful to know what scholars mean by Q, in order to follow certain scholarly discussions if you're looking into how and when the four Gospels were written, the same as it's useful to know what Dark Matter means if you're looking into cosmology.