- Estimate by Verses.
According to the calculation of Reuss,^883
Matthew contains 330 verses peculiar to him.
Mark contains 68 " " "
Luke contains 541 " " "
Matthew and Mark have from 170 to 180 verses in common, but not found in Luke.
Matthew and Luke have from 230 to 240 verses in common, but not found in Mark.
Mark and Luke have about 50 verses in common, but not found in Matthew.
The total number of verses common to all three Synoptists is only from 330 to 370. But, as
the verses in the second Gospel are generally shorter, it is impossible to make an exact mathematical
calculation by verses. - Estimate by Words.
A still more accurate test can be furnished by the number of words. This has not yet been
made as far as I know, but a basis of calculation is furnished by Rushbrooke in his admirably printed
Synopticon (1880), where the words common to the three Synoptists, the words common to each
pair, and the words peculiar to each, are distinguished by different type and color.^884 The words
found in all constitute the "triple tradition," and the nearest approximation to the common Greek
source from which all have directly or indirectly drawn. On the basis of this Synopticon the following
calculations have been made:
A. –– Number of words in
Words common to all
Per cent of words in common.
Matthew 18,222
2,651, or
.14 1/2
Mark 11,158
2,651, or
.23 3/4
Luke 19,209
2,651, or
.13 3/4
Total 48,589
7,953, or
.16 1/3
B. –– Additional words in common. Whole per cent in common
Matthew 2,793 (or in all 5,444) with Mark 29+
Mark 2,793 (or in all 5,444) with Matthew 48+
Matthew 2,415 (or in all 5,066) with Luke 27+
Luke 2,415 (or in all 5,066) with Matthew 26+
(^883) Gesch., etc., I., p. 175, followed by Archbishop Thomson in Speaker’s Com. New Test., vol. I., p. viii.
(^884) See the Literature above. Dr. Edwin A. Abbott, of London, suggested the work, and quotes a specimen (though all in black
type) in his art. "Gospels" in the "Encycl. Brit." He draws from it a conclusion favorable to the priority of Mark, from whom,
he thinks, Matthew and Luke have borrowed. The specimen is the parable of the wicked husbandmen, Matt. 21:33-44; Luke
20:9-18; Mark 12:1-11.
A.D. 1-100.