History of the Synoptic Tradition

by Rudolf Karl Bultmann

Book Overview

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• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060611723
• ISBN13: 9780060611729
• Release Date: January 1976
• Publisher: HarperOne
• Length: 470 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Five stars for effort

This was one of the hardest books I've ever read. That's not because Bultmann's arguments are difficult to follow or because a large part of it is written in untranslated Greek. I follow the arguments fine and the Greek is mostly from the NT which I can read easily enough. The book is difficult to read because Bultmann quotes so many verses and if one wants to follow the arguments one will have to look up thousands of verses by the time the book is over - unless, of course, you have virtually the entire Gospel tradition memorized so that the mere mention of, say, Luke 12:21 means something to you. Anyway, I am amazed that anyone could put something together like this. The book must have required immense amount of labor. One cannot help but feel saddened, however, that Bultmann has been so influencial. His works are rife with methodological fallacies and hyper-critical judgments. For a good critique of Bultmann - and one that is also easy to read - I'd recommend Bauckham's book, "The Gospel for all Christians" which seriously criticizes the whole form critical notion that scholars are able to determine - with any useful degree of accuracy - the Sitz im Leben of the Gospel traditions. For the serious students I'd also recommend Sanders' book "Tendencies of the Synoptic Tradition", which is a thoroughgoing critique of Bultmann but is, unfortunately, even more tedious and agonizing to read than Bultmann's book. For a good study on methodology that will address many of the conclusions Bultmann reaches in his "History", I'd further recommend, "New Testament Interpretation" by I.H. Marshall. It's a little old but still helpful.

Seminal work in form criticism of the Synoptic Gospels

This translation of Bultmann's concise and erudite work in the form-critical method of understanding the composition of the Synoptic Gospels is not for the beginner. Like Bultmann, the translator leaves the Greek untranslated. While a boon for serious scholars, this will make it difficult for those unfamiliar with the Greek of the Gospels. However as a complete work it remains unsurpassed in the school of form-critical method, but this also demonstrates the work's age, since source criticism has drawn the attention of scholars in recent decades. It is, however, a work that cannot be ignored; Bultmann's reputation as a scholar and theologian of the finest quality is permanent, and this book is an excellent illustration of why that is.