Gospel Parallels:
Examples of Online Resources
Prepared by Gordon Matties
1. Synopsis by John W. Marshall, University of Toronto
http://www.utoronto.ca/religion/synopsis/
This site provides a link to the Four Canonical Gospel Synopsis and to the three Synoptic Gospels.
Each gospel is colour coded:
- Matthew is purple
- Mark is blue
- Luke is green
- John is red
Each of the four columns will scroll independently. When you want to see a
parallel column in another gospel, click on the coloured book corresponding to
the gospel you want to see. When you do that, that gospel's column will move to
the parallel text.
2. Gospel Parallels Chart
Based on the Synopsis Quattuor Evangeliorum of Kurt Aland, 13th edition (Stuttgart:
Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 1985). This Synopsis allows you to use Bible Gateway
in a way that that site does not seem to allow using its own search
capabilities.
http://www.bible-researcher.com/parallels.html#sect2
The tables are supplied with hypertext links in the first column. Click on
the links (numbers in the left hand column) to view the parallel passages
together (in the American Standard Version) at the Bible Gateway website. Once there, you may choose to view the same passages together in any of
the versions on the Bible Gateway server.
3. A Synoptic Gospels Primer by Mahlon H. Smith
http://virtualreligion.net/primer/
This Synoptic Gospels Primer is designed for students in college level
courses on the gospels or anyone else interested in the “Synoptic
Problem.” It was created for undergraduate New Testament courses at Rutgers
University (New Brunswick campuses). A Synoptic Gospels Primer is an electronic gateway for English speakers into the history of literary
analysis of gospels that were originally composed in Greek.
4. Four Colour Synopsis of the Synoptic Gospels (in Greek)
by Stephen C. Carlson.
http://www.hypotyposeis.org/synoptic-problem/2004/09/parallel-synoptic-table.html
Although this Synopsis is incomplete, it is interesting for its use of
colour. Check also the link to Carlson’s Synoptic Problem Home Page: http://www.hypotyposeis.org/synoptic-problem/
Each synoptic gospel is divided by pericope into separate sections according
to divisions of Huck’s and Throckmorton’s synopses. Each section has the Greek
text in three parallel columns in canonical order, and in order to faciliate the
presentation of relevant parallel the Huck sections are broken down if the
parallel synoptic text is out of sequence within a section. The Greek text of
each column is colour coded according to the following assignments:
| Matthew |
Mark |
Luke |
| Blue |
Red |
Green |
9:17 Neither is new
wine put into old wineskins;
otherwise
the skins burst,
and the wine is spilled,
and the skins are destroyed;
but new wine is put
into fresh wineskins,
and so both are preserved. |
2:22 And no one puts new
wine into old wineskins;
otherwise the wine
will burst the skins,
and the wine is lost,
and so are the skins;
but one puts new wine
into fresh wineskins. |
5:37 And no one puts new
wine into old wineskins;
otherwise the new wine
will burst the skins
and will be spilled,
and the skins will be destroyed.
38 But new wine must be put
into new wineskins. |
In each column, black denotes that text is literally shared by
the other two Evangelists. The presence of a colour belonging to another gospel
means that the text is shared by only that Gospel. Text in the same colour
pertaining to that gospel indicates unique material to that gospel. For example,
red text in Matthew’s column indicates textual agreement with Mark only; green
text with Luke only; and blue text means uniquely Matthew wording. Similarly,
blue text in Mark’s column means that material shared only with Matthew. The
minor agreements of Matthew and Luke against Mark can easily be found by looking
for green text in Matthew’s column (on the far left) or blue text in Luke’s
column.
In addition to exact matches, the colour coding will also indicate partial
matches if the Evangelists use a different inflected form of a word by having
the stem and the ending coloured appropriately. |
