jewish-christian gospels recovered . Finally, the ideal of giving up one’s property and becoming a poor
follower of Jesus (fragment ) coheres with the central ethos of Q
as it appears in Q’s sermon, Q’s mission instructions and Q :–
.The point of these comparisons is not to claim a direct literary depen-
dence between Q and theGospel of the Hebrews.AsIseeit,theGospel of
the Hebrewswas clearly a post-synoptic writing. However, these points of
contact suggest that the framers of theGospel of the Hebrewswere preoc-
cupied with the same topics as the Q people, and were, therefore, possibly,
their post-synoptic successors.
As regards provenance, I have already argued that the Syro-Pales-
tinian area is the most likely region where theGospel of the Hebrews
was composed. The observed affinities with the Q-tradition fit with this
hypothesis because Q seems to presume Galilee as its social setting.^120
The above-sketched topics also have clear connections to Matthew’s
gospel. The Deuteronomistic scheme is further emphasized in Matthew’s
redaction (parables in Matt :–:), and the exhortations to forgive
one’s brother (Matt :–) and the passage where Jesus promises rest
to his followers (Matt :–) can be located in Matthew’s special tradi-
tion. Thus, from the viewpoint of theGospel of the Hebrewsreconstructed
in this book, it is easy to agree with James Robinson who sees a close rela-
tionship between Q, Matthew and later Jewish-Christian groups.^121
To summarize, if the new reconstruction is on the right track, then the
Gospel of the Hebrewswould exemplify a sort of post-synoptic reclaiming
of some of Q’s central ideas by successors of the Q people. As compared
to the synoptic gospels, the ideology of the framers of theGospel of the
Hebrewsstayed closer to Semitic Wisdom thinking when they depicted
the Holy Spirit as a feminine being and Jesus’ mother. The first version
was probably edited on the basis of Greek canonical gospels and then
translated into Syriac. In this scenario, the Jewish Christianity of Q, was
not totally out of the game after its message was partly compromised with
gentile Christianity in the Gospel of Matthew. One branch of the succes-
sors of the Q people prepared a new gospel where they used the synop-
tic gospels and their own living Wisdom traditions. When Eusebius pre-
pared his list of canonical writings, this gospel was still hanging around,
being relatively highly valued in some early Christian circles.
(^120) See Kloppenborg Verbin , –.
(^121) Robinson , , .