# L source

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/L_source
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/L_source.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L_source
> Source revision: 1357013694
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

Inferred oral tradition behind Luke's gospel

Visualisation of the [four-document hypothesis](/source/Four-document_hypothesis). "L" is the term for material unique to the Gospel of Luke.

In [textual criticism of the New Testament](/source/Textual_criticism_of_the_New_Testament), the **L source** is a hypothetical oral or textual tradition which [the author of Luke–Acts](/source/Authorship_of_Luke%E2%80%93Acts) may have used when composing the [Gospel of Luke](/source/Gospel_of_Luke).[1][2] Support for a distinct L source has largely faded in modern scholarship.[3]

## Composition

The question of how to explain the similarities among the Gospels Matthew, Mark, and Luke is known as the [synoptic problem](/source/Synoptic_problem). The hypothetical L source fits a contemporary solution in which Mark was the first gospel and Q was a written source for both Matthew and Luke. According to the [four-document hypothesis](/source/Four-document_hypothesis), the author combined [Mark](/source/Mark's_Gospel), the [Q source](/source/Q_source), and L to produce his gospel.[1] The material in L, like that in M, probably comes from the oral tradition.[1] [I. Howard Marshall](/source/I._Howard_Marshall) (1994) stated: "Luke rightly regarded these sources as reliable".[4]

[James R. Edwards](/source/James_R._Edwards) (2009) equated the L source with the [Hebrew Gospel](/source/Hebrew_Gospel_hypothesis) referred to by [patristic authors](/source/Church_Fathers).[5] His thesis has not been accepted by other scholars.[6][7][8]

## Contents

See also: [Authorship of Luke–Acts § Language](/source/Authorship_of_Luke%E2%80%93Acts#Language)

According to Honoré (1968), the unique material in the third Gospel amounted to 35% of that gospel.[9] Theissen (1998) went further, stating that the special material comprises nearly half of the Gospel of Luke.[10]

L includes the [Annunciation](/source/Annunciation), the [Visitation](/source/Visitation_(Christianity)), the Lukan account of the [virgin birth of Jesus](/source/Virgin_birth_of_Jesus) (including the [Adoration of the Shepherds](/source/Adoration_of_the_Shepherds), the [Circumcision](/source/Circumcision_of_Jesus) and [Presentation of Jesus at the Temple](/source/Presentation_of_Jesus_at_the_Temple)), the [Finding in the Temple](/source/Finding_in_the_Temple), many [parables of Jesus](/source/Parables_of_Jesus), and [Jesus at Herod's court](/source/Jesus_at_Herod's_court). Like [Matthew](/source/Gospel_of_Matthew)'s unique source, known as [M](/source/M_source), the L source has several parables such as the [Parable of the Good Samaritan](/source/Parable_of_the_Good_Samaritan) (Luke 10:25–37) and the [Parable of the Prodigal Son](/source/Parable_of_the_Prodigal_Son) (Luke 15:11–32).[1]

According to [E. Earle Ellis](/source/E._Earle_Ellis) (1999), the L source material exhibits the highest prevalence of [Semitisms](/source/Semitism_(linguistics)) [within the Luke–Acts corpus](/source/Authorship_of_Luke%E2%80%93Acts), so that Semitic sources were probably at the basis of L source verses such as Luke 1:5–2:40; 5:1–11; 7:11–17, 36–50; 8:1–3; 9:51–56; 11:27f.; 13:10–17; 14:1–6; 17:11–19; 19:1–10; 23:50–24:53.[11] By contrast, the portions of the Gospel of Luke that parallel the contents of the Gospel of Mark represented 'a more polished Greek' than Mark's, and show fewer Hebraisms.[11]

## Decline

The study of hypothetical pre-Gospel sources is declining in scholarship, with the tendency most visible with the M and L sources. Interest in L and proto-Luke virtually disappeared by the latter half of the twentieth century, though Paffenroth's 1997 monograph renewed interest.[3]

## See also

- [Authorship of Luke–Acts](/source/Authorship_of_Luke%E2%80%93Acts)

- [Criterion of multiple attestation](/source/Criterion_of_multiple_attestation)

- [Mary, mother of Jesus](/source/Mary%2C_mother_of_Jesus)

- [M source](/source/M_source)

- [List of Gospels](/source/List_of_Gospels)

- [Marcion hypothesis](/source/Marcion_hypothesis)

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-5GIntro_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-5GIntro_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-5GIntro_1-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-5GIntro_1-3) Funk, Robert Walter; Hoover, Roy W.; [Jesus Seminar](/source/Jesus_Seminar) (1993). "Introduction". [*The Five Gospels: The Search for the Authentic Words of Jesus. New Translation and Commentary*](https://archive.org/details/fivegospelssearc0000unse). HarperSanFrancisco. pp. 1–30. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-02-541949-0](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-02-541949-0).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Jones, Brice (2011). [*Matthean and Lukan Special Material: A Brief Introduction with Texts in Greek and English*](https://web.archive.org/web/20140531180933/https://wipfandstock.com/store/Matthean_and_Lukan_Special_Material_A_Brief_Introduction_with_Texts_in_Greek_and_English). Wipf and Stock Publishers. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-61097-737-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-61097-737-1). Archived from [the original](https://wipfandstock.com/store/Matthean_and_Lukan_Special_Material_A_Brief_Introduction_with_Texts_in_Greek_and_English) on 2014-05-31. Retrieved 2012-02-01.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:0_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:0_3-1) Foster, Paul (2023). *The Oxford Handbook of the Synoptic Gospels*. Oxford University Press. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0190887452](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0190887452). While the study of pre-Gospel sources has in general seen a waning of interest among scholars, this tendency is nowhere more pronounced than in relation to the two proposed early sources M and L, and the early intermediary stage of Proto-Luke. Given the importance of these three hypothetical sources in theories of the solution to the Synoptic Problem during the late nineteenth century and for most of the twentieth century, it is instructive to trace the emergence of these source-critical hypotheses, to discuss the reasons for the demise of adherence, and to consider whether anything of value endures from these earlier theories.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Marshall, I. Howard (1994). "LUKE. Introduction". In Carson, D. A.; et al. (eds.). *New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition*. Inter-Varsity Press. p. 979. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-85110-648-9](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-85110-648-9).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Edwards_2009_5-0)** Edwards, James (2009). *The Hebrew Gospel and the development of the synoptic tradition*. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-8028-6234-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-8028-6234-1). [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [368048433](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/368048433).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Friedrichsen, Timothy A. (2010). ["Book review: The Hebrew Gospel and the Development of the Synoptic Tradition"](https://web.archive.org/web/20150923193749/http://www.bookreviews.org/pdf/7382_8043.pdf) (PDF). *Review of Biblical Literature*. Archived from [the original](https://www.bookreviews.org/pdf/7382_8043.pdf) (PDF) on 2015-09-23. Retrieved 2020-08-12.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** Sweeney, James P. (2010). ["Book review: The Hebrew Gospel and the Development of the Synoptic Tradition"](https://web.archive.org/web/20201027050954/https://www.bookreviews.org/pdf/7382_8044.pdf) (PDF). *Review of Biblical Literature*. Archived from [the original](http://www.bookreviews.org/pdf/7382_8044.pdf) (PDF) on 2020-10-27. Retrieved 2020-08-12.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** Kloppenborg, John S. (2011-04-14). ["The Hebrew Gospel and the Development of the Synoptic Tradition (review)"](https://muse.jhu.edu/article/422277). *Toronto Journal of Theology*. **27** (1): 109–111. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1353/tjt.2011.0000](https://doi.org/10.1353%2Ftjt.2011.0000). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [1918-6371](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/1918-6371). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [144873030](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:144873030).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Honoré_9-0)** Honoré, A.M. (1968). "A statistical study of the synoptic problem". *Novum Testamentum*. **10** (2/3): 95–147. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.2307/1560364](https://doi.org/10.2307%2F1560364). [JSTOR](/source/JSTOR_(identifier)) [1560364](https://www.jstor.org/stable/1560364).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** Theissen, Gerd; Merz, Annette (1998). "Chapter 2. Christian sources about Jesus.". *The Historical Jesus: A Comprehensive Guide*. Translated from German (1996 edition). Fortress Press. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-8006-3123-9](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-8006-3123-9).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Ellis_11-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Ellis_11-1) [Ellis, E. Earle](/source/E._Earle_Ellis) (1999). ["The Origin and Making of Luke-Acts"](https://brill.com/downloadpdf/book/9789004496842/back-3.pdf) (PDF). *The Making of the New Testament Documents*. Leiden: Brill. pp. 387–388. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780391041684](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780391041684). (PDF)

v t e Gospel of Luke Bible (New Testament) Chapters Luke 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Verses Luke 22:43–44 Events Annunciation to Mary, Elizabeth, and the shepherds Adoration of shepherds John the Baptist's Birth Census of Quirinius Jesus' Birth Circumcision and Presentation at the Temple Finding in the Temple Genealogy Baptism Temptation Calling of Matthew Counting the cost Sermon on the Plain Beatitudes Calming the storm Feeding the 5000 Transfiguration Great Commandment Lord's Prayer Prodigal son Olivet Discourse Passion of Jesus Last Supper Pilate's court Crucifixion Burial Empty tomb Resurrection Road to Emmaus appearance Ascension Phrases Benedictus Fishers of men Magnificat New Wine into Old Wineskins Nunc dimittis (Song of Simeon) Parable of the Unjust Steward Rich man and Lazarus The four woes of Jesus People Abijah Andrew Anna Annas Augustus Bartholomew Caiaphas David Elisha Elizabeth Gabriel Herod Antipas Herod the Great James, son of Alphaeus James the Great Jesus Christ John John the Baptist Joseph Joseph of Arimathea Judas Iscariot Jude Lazarus Lysanias Martha Mary, mother of Jesus Mary Magdalene Mary, sister of Martha Matthew Naaman Philip (apostle) Philip (tetrarch) Pontius Pilate Quirinius Simeon Simon the Zealot Simon Peter Theophilus Thomas Tiberius Caesar Zebedee Zechariah Groups Angels Pharisees Sadducees Samaritans Sanhedrin Seventy disciples Places Abilene Bethany Bethsaida Capernaum Decapolis Emmaus Galilee Iturea Jerusalem Jordan River Judea Nain Samaria Sea of Galilee Trachonitis Related Luke the Evangelist Luke–Acts Authorship of Luke–Acts Synoptic Gospels Gospel of Mark Q source L source Two-gospel hypothesis Jerusalem school hypothesis Textual variants Gospel of Marcion Jiizas: di Buk We Luuk Rait bout Im Adaptations St Luke Passion, BWV 246 (1730) St Luke Passion (Penderecki, 1966) Jesus (1979 film) Witness: Five Plays from the Gospel of Luke (2007, radio) The Savior (2014 film) Manuscripts Papyrus 2 3 4 7 42 45 69 75 82 97 111 Codex Nitriensis Ohrid Glagolitic fragments Sources Greek Text Latin Vulgate Wycliffe Version King James Version American Standard Version World English Version

v t e Synoptic problem The Synoptic Gospels Gospel of Matthew Gospel of Mark Gospel of Luke Matthaean priority Two-gospel hypothesis Augustinian hypothesis Marcan priority Two-source hypothesis Farrer hypothesis Three-source hypothesis Matthean Posteriority hypothesis Four-document hypothesis Lucan priority Jerusalem school hypothesis Other or no priority Multi-source hypothesis Hebrew Gospel hypothesis Priority of the Gospel of Marcion Q+/Papias hypothesis Independence hypothesis Possible sources Q source M source L source

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [L source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L_source) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L_source?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.