Appendix A: [Return to Essay]
Verbal Comparison of Parallel Synoptic Pericopes
Words Verbatim Longest Verbatim Words Verbatim Longest Verbatim
Mark Matthew Luke in Mk in Mt string in Mt % Notes on verbatim simil., esp. longest string in Mk in Lk String in Lk % Notes on verbatim simil., esp. longest string
1:1 1:1 1:1-4 Prologue 5
1:2-6 3:1-6 3:1-6 John the Baptist 97 64 8 66% textual? 52% excl 27-wd LXX 97 42 6 43% textual? 21% excl 27-wd LXX; concentrated in v4
1:7-8 3:11-12 3:15-18 John's Messianic Preaching 27 17 4 63% textual? 27 22 6 81% textual?
1:9-11 3:13-17 3:21-22 Baptism of Jesus 52 32 6 62% textual? 52 20 10 38% textual? concentrated in v11
1:12-13 4:1-11 4:1-13 The Temptation 30 11 3 37% oral 30 9 3 30% oral
1:14a 4:12 4:14a Journey into Galilee 12 5 3 42% oral 12 5 3 42% oral
1:14b-15 4:13-17 4:14b-15 Ministry in Galilee 23 7 3 30% oral 23 0 0 0% none
1:16-20 4:18-22   Call of the Disciples 82 54 9 66% textual? 82
1:21-22 7:28-29 4:31-32 Teaching in Synagogue at Capernaum 31 18 18[1] 58% TEXTUAL Mk.1:22 "And they were amazed at his teaching… 31 15 7 48% textual?
1:23-28 4:33-37 Healing of Demoniac in Synagogue 92         92 51 26 55% TEXTUAL v24-25
1:29-31 8:14-15 4:38-39 Healing of Peter's Mother-in-Law 44 14 5 32% oral 44 18 4 41% oral
1:32-34 8:16-17 4:40-41 The Sick Healed at Evening 46 17 4 37% oral 46 13 2 28% oral
1:35-38   4:42-43 Jesus Departs from Capernaum 48 48 8 3 17% oral
1:39 4:23 4:44 First Preaching Tour in Galilee 15 1 1 7% none 15 5 4 33% oral
1:40-45 8:1-4 5:12-16 Cleansing of the Leper 98 40 8 41% textual? 58% of 1:40-44, 69 wds 98 44 8 45% textual? 58% of 1:40-44, 69 wds
2:1-12 9:1-8 5:17-26 Healing of the Paralytic 196 75 12 38% textual? strongest in dialogue; excl v 1-4, 71/137=52% 196 77 9 39% textual?
2:13-17 9:9-13 5:27-32 Call of Levi (Matthew) 108 63 15 58% TEXTUAL v15 saying; also 14wds in v14 Call of Levi 108 48 6 44% textual?
2:18-22 9:14-17 5:33-39 The Question about Fasting 129 75 13 58% textual?[2] 2:19 (saying); also 2:20 129 75 11 58% textual?
2:23-28 12:1-8 6:1-5 Plucking Grain on the Sabbath 108 53 11 49% textual? 2:25b-2:26a (teaching) 108 60 6 56% textual?
3:1-6 12:9-14 6:6-11 Man with the Withered Hand 94 38 10 40% textual? v5b: "He looked around…" 94 36 5 38% textual?
3:7-12 12:15-16[3] 6:17-19 Jesus heals Multitudes by the Sea 104 23 4 22% oral 104 24 8 23% oral v11b "saying: Thou art the son of the living God"
3:13-19 10:1-4 6:12-16 Choosing of the Twelve 90 17 3 19% oral 90 30 10 33% oral v18
3:20-21 Jesus Thought to Be Beside Himself 23 23
3:22-27 12:22-30 11:14-15 On Collusion with Beelzebub/Satan 98 45 6 46% textual? 98 21 7 21% oral "By the prince of demons he is driving out.."
3:28-30 12:31-37 12:10 Sin Against the Holy Spirit 43 8 3 19% oral 43 6 2 14% oral
3:31-35 12:46-50 8:19-21 Jesus' True Kindred 83 48 9 58% textual? dialogue 83 25 7 30% oral
4:1-9 13:1-9 8:4-8 Parable of the Sower 151 83 8 55% textual? 151 45 7 30% oral
4:10-12 13:10-17 8:9-10 Reason for Parables 53 21 2 40% oral 53 20 4 38% oral
4:13-20 13:18-23 8:11-15 Interpretation of Parable of Sower 146 59 8 40% textual? 4:17 saying 146 41 3 28% oral
4:21-23 5:14-16 8:16-18 Light of the World; "He who has ears…" 46 9 3 20% oral 46 17 3 37% oral
4:24-25 7:1-5;13:12 6:37-42 On Judging 28 20 8 71% oral saying: "Whoever has… whoever has not…" 28 19 4 68% oral in Lk follows beatitudes & loving enemies; high verbatim %
4:26-29 Parable of Seed Growing Secretly 58 58
4:30-32 13:31-32 13:18-19 Parable of Mustard Seed 58 19 5 33% oral 58 14 4 24% oral follows pure Lukan Material 13:1-17
4:33-34 13:34-35   Jesus' Use of Parables 25 5 2 20% oral 25        
4:35-41 8:23-27 8:22-25 Stilling the Storm 120 33 4 28% oral 120 33 8 28% oral
5:1-20 8:28-34 8:26-39 Gadarene Demoniacs 324 62 8 19% oral 5:13 swine cast selves into sea 324 130 12 40% textual? 5:13 cast swines into sea
5:21-43 9:18-26 8:40-56 Jairus' Daughter & Woman w/ Hemorrhage 374 54 5 14% oral 374 113 10 30% textual? v34a, And he said, "Daughter, thy faith has made thee whole"
6:1-6a 13:53-58 4:16-30 Jesus' Preaching at Nazareth 120 56 9 47% textual? saying 6:4 120 14 4 12% oral continues from 'Ministry in Galilee' above
6:6b 9:35 8:1 "Jesus went from village to village"[4] 6 4 4 67% textual? 6 0 0 0% none
6.7-13 10:1-16 9:1-6 Commissioning of the Twelve 106 40 4 38% oral 106 34 3 32% oral
6:14-16 14:1-2 9:7-9 Opinions regarding Jesus 54 17 5 31% oral 54 22 3 41% oral
6:17-29 14:3-12 3:19-20 Death of John the Baptist 248 96 9 39% textual? localized; 17b; also "Give me the head..." 248 9 3 4% none all in v17; saying Herod had imprisoned John
6:30-31 9:10a Return of the Twelve 42         42 6 2 14% none "the apostles"
6:32-44 14:13-21 9:10b-17 Feeding of 5000 194 90 14 46% TEXTUAL localized; v41 taking loaves & fishes, giving thanks 194 53 12 27% oral v41; triple trad, bless and breaking loaves, and fishes
6:45-52 14:22-33 Walking on Water 139 68 6 49% textual? 139
6:53-56 14:34-36   Healings at Gennesaret 74 32 6 43% textual? 74        
7:1-23 15:1-20 11:37-41[5] Defilement - Traditional and Real 359 141 9 39% oral 32% excl 37 wds LXX; v18 saying, excl 20wd (v6-7), 11 (v10-11)  359 0 0 0% none
7:24-30 15:21-28 Syrophoenician (Canaanite) Woman 130 30 8 23% oral 7:27b saying 130
7:31-37 15:29-31 [6] Healing of a Deaf Mute and Many Others 114 10 4 9% oral 114
8:1-10 15:32-39 Feeding of 4000 148 72 16 49% TEXTUAL v2 quotation 148
8:11-13 16:1-4[7] 11:16, 29 Sign of Jonah 47 18 3 38% oral 47 13 3 28% oral
8:14-21 16:5-12 12:1 Leaven of the Pharisees 104 34 7 33% oral middle v17 saying 104 5 3 5% none
8:22-26     Blind Man Healed at Bethsaida 80         80        
8:27-30 16:13-20 9:18-21 Peter's Confession 75 41 7 55% textual? 75 31 6 41% textual? v29 "But who do you say that I am?"
8:31-33 16:21-23 9:22 First Prediction of Passion 69 39 10 57% textual? 69 19 10 28% textual? all in v31: 19/35=54%
8:34-9:1 16:24-28 9:23-27 "If Any Man Would Come after Me" 135 83 29 61% TEXTUAL quotation v34-35 135 78 16 58% TEXTUAL quotation v34-35
9:2-10 17:1-9 9:28-36 The Transfiguration 157 91 10 58% textual? 9:1, 9:5 dialogue 157 51 7 32% oral quotation v5
9:11-13 17:10-13 The Coming of Elijah 52 25 7 48% oral all others no more than 2 52
9:14-29 17:14-21 9:37-43a Healing a Boy Possessed by a Spirit 270 46 6 17% oral 270 41 4 15% oral
9:30-32 17:22-23 9:43b-45 Second Prediction of Passion 47 12 7 26% oral 47 18 5 38% oral
9:33-37 18:1-5 9:46-48 True Greatness 85 28 7 33% oral 85 24 10 28% textual? v37
9:38-41 10:42 9:49-50 The Strange Exorcist 77 12 6 16% oral saying 9:41 77 27 8 35% textual? v38
9:42-48 18:6-9 17:1-2 Warnings about Temptations 122 65 8 53% oral sayings 122 16 5 13% oral all in v42, saying; continues with Lukan material
9:49-50 5:13 14:34-35 Salt of the Earth 25 8 2 32% none 25 7 2 28% none "the salt" (x2); in block of Lukan material
10:1 19:1-2 9:51 Crossing Jordan into Judea 25 13 5 52% textual? 25 0 0 0% none
10:2-12 19:3-12 16:18 On Divorce and Celibacy 122 86 10 70% textual? excl LXX: 62/95 =65% 122 4 4 3% none "ten gunaika auton kai" "his wife and"; in Lukan block
10:13-16 19:13-15 18:15-17 Jesus Blesses the Children 64 36 6 56% textual? 64 46 29 72% TEXTUAL v14-15
10:17-22 19:16-22 18:18-23 The Rich Young Man 109 53 7 49% textual? v22 109 70 14 64% TEXTUAL v18
10:23-31 19:23-30 18:24-30 Riches and Rewards of Discipleship[8] 171 76 6 44% textual? 171 75 11 44% textual?
10:32-34 20:17-19 18:31-34 Third Prediction of Passion 73 35 13 48% textual? v33 73 19 3 26% oral
10:35-45 20:20-28 22:24-27 Precedence among the Disciples 190 115 17 61% TEXTUAL v45 quote 190 14 2 7% none
10:46-52 20:29-34[9] 18:35-43 Two Blind Men 122 30 4 25% oral 122 57 7 47% oral
11:1-10 21:1-9 19:28-40 Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem 170 68 8 40% oral v2 quote 170 67 7 39% oral
11:11 21:17? Return to Bethany at Night 14 3 2 21% oral 14
11:12-14 21:18-19 Cursing of Fig Tree 59 23 4 39% oral 59        
11:15-17 21:12-13 19:45-46 Cleansing of the Temple 61 37 17 61% TEXTUAL v15 61 21 9 34% textual? v15a
11:18-19 [21:14-17a][10] 19:47-48 Priests and Scribes Conspire against Jesus 32 13 5 41% none "the priests and the scribes"; part in Mt 7:28 32 9 4 28% none "priests and the scribes"
11:20-26[11] 21:20-22[12] Fig Tree is Withered 101 37 6 37% oral v23 quote "throw yourself into the sea" 101 6 2 6% none
11:27-33 21:23-27 20:1-8 Question about Authority 125 84 9 67% textual? v30, 33 125 70 10 56% textual? v33b
12:1-12 21:33-46 20:9-19 Parable of Wicked Husbandmen 181 100 8 55% textual? excl 20wd LXX 181 89 9 49% textual? excl 10wd LXX
12:13-17 22:15-22 20:20-26 Paying Tribute to Caesar 105 69 12 66% textual? v14 Pharisees quote 105 47 10 45% textual?
12:18-27 22:23-33 20:27-40 Question about Resurrection 170 96 10 56% textual? v24b 170 90 14 53% textual? v19, paraphrase of Gen 38:8
12:28-34 22:34-40 10:25-28 The Great Commandment 153 32 1 21% none excl 7 wd LXX, v31 153 23 2 15% none excl 6wd, 5wd LXX
12:35-37a 22:41-46 20:41-44 Question about David's Son 56 33 3 59% oral excl 19wd LXX: 14/37=38% 56 26 2 46% oral excl 15wd, 3wd LXX
12:37b-40 23:1-36 20:45-47 Woe to Scribes and Pharisees 51 13 4 25% oral v39 only - saying 51 40 14 78% TEXTUAL v38b-40
12:41-44 21:1-4 The Widow's Mite 75 75 34 11 45% textual?
13:1-2 24:1-2 21:5-6 Prediction of Destruction of Temple 39 15 5 38% oral 39 11 2 28% oral
13:3-8 24:3-8 21:7-11 Signs before the End 93 63 8 68% textual? 93 48 9 52% textual?
13:9-13 24:9-14[13] 21:12-19[14] Persecutions Foretold 93 67 31 72% TEXTUAL v12-13, incl 4-wd LXX 93 33 9 35% textual? v13
13:14-20 24:15-22 21:20-24 The Desolating Sacrilege 115 81 23 70% TEXTUAL v16-18; also 15-wd v14, cont w prev, 45wd tot 115 38 11 33% textual? v17
13:21-23 24:23-28 17:23-24 False Christs and Prophets 37 24 5 65% textual? 37 4 1 11% none in Lukan material
13:24-27 24:29-31 21:25-28 Coming of the Son of Man 72 50 9 69% textual? excl 14wd LXX, v25-26 incl 5wd LXX 72 19 10 26% textual?
13:28-32 24:32-36 21:29-33 Parable of the Fig Tree 86 75 16 87% TEXTUAL v29-30; also 12wd 28a 86 43 15 50% TEXTUAL
13:33-37 24:42-44 21:34-36[15] Take Heed, Watch! 65 9 2 14% none continues with Matthaean parables/apocalypse 65 4 2 6% none
14:1-2 26:1-5 22:1-2 Jesus' Death is Premeditated 34 16 4 47% oral 34 12 7 35% oral v1
14:3-9 26:6-13 7:36-50 Anointing in Bethany 124 68 7 55% oral v7 saying 124 0 0 0% none in Lukan material
14:10-11 26:14-16 22:3-6 Betrayal by Judas 30 15 3 50% oral 30 12 5 40% oral
14:12-17 26:17-20 22:7-14 Preparation for the Passover 106 39 6 37% oral Mt omits kai starting 3:18, but Lk includes it 106 56 8 53% textual?
14:18-21 26:21-25 22:21-23 Jesus Foretells His Betrayal 76 58 22 76% TEXTUAL v21 76 21 5 28% oral
14:22-25 26:26-29 22:15-20 The Last Supper 69 55 15 80% TEXTUAL v25 69 37 5 54% textual?
14:26-31 26:30-35 22:31-34 Peter's Denial Predicted 87 62 9 71% textual? 87 15 5 17% oral
14:32-42 26:36-46 22:39-46 Gethsemane 179 120 10 67% textual? 179 19 3 11% oral
14:43-52 26:47-56 22:47-53 Jesus Arrested 140 85 12 61% textual? 140 37 8 26% oral v48, words of Jesus
14:53-65 26:57-68 22:54-71 Jesus Before the Sanhedrin 222 105 6 47% oral 222 34 3 15% oral
14:66-72 26:69-75 22:56-62 Peter's Denial 125 55 5 44% oral 125 42 4 34% oral
15:1 27:1-2 23:1 Jesus Delivered to Pilate 23 7 3 30% oral 23 4 2 17% oral
15:2-5 27:11-14 23:2-5 Trial before Pilate 47 22 8 47% oral "the king of the Jews" and particles before/after 47 19 8 40% oral "the king of the Jews" and particles before/after
15:6-14 27:15-23 23:17-23 Jesus or Barabbas? 103 42 4 41% oral 103 22 2 21% oral
15:15 27:24-26 23:24-25 Pilate Delivers Jesus to be Crucified 20 13 4 65% oral 20 6 1 30% oral
15:16-20a 27:27-31a Jesus Mocked by the Soldiers 63 33 6 52% oral 63
15:20b-21 27:31b-32 23:26-32 Road to Golgotha 25 9 5 36% oral 25 10 3 40% oral
15:22-26 27:33-37 23:33-34 The Crucifixion 55 22 5 40% oral 55 15 4 27% oral
15:27-32a 27:38-43 23:35-38 Jesus Derided on the Cross 72 55 9 76% textual? 72 18 2 25% oral
15:32b 27:44 23:39-43 The Two Thieves 7 6 4 86% textual? 7 1 1 14% none
15:33-39 27:45-54 23:44-48 The Death of Jesus 105 60 7 57% textual? 105 25 5 24% oral
15:40-41 27:55-56 23:49 Witnesses of the Crucifixion 43 19 6 44% oral "Mary the Magdalene and Mary and" 43 7 2 16% none
15:42-47 27:57-61 23:50-56 The Burial of Jesus 101 30 5 30% oral 101 22 5 22% oral
16:1-8 28:1-8 24:1-9 Women at the Tomb 135 40 8 30% oral words of angel, v7; concentrated v6-7,  incidental elsewhere 135 31 3 23% oral
[16:9-11] 28:9-10 24:10-11 Jesus Appears to the Women 34 0 0 0% none doubtful if this is even a parallel 34 5 1 15% none
[16:12-13] 24:13-35 Jesus Appears to 2 on the Way to Emmaus 22 22 6 2 27% none
[16:14-18] Jesus Appears to the Eleven at Table
TEXTUAL verbatim similarity can only be explained by copying from a source text (not necessarily another Synoptic)
textual? verbatim similarity strong enough to require some mediation by a written source, though perhaps not by direct copying
could be recall from memory; or oral tradition whose fixity is aided by use of written notes or more extensive texts
oral enough similarity to suggest common oral tradition, but not enough to require use of written sources, esp. directly
none verbatim similarity is negligible or non-existent; similarity in content could be pure coincidence w/o common source
[1]
Daniel Castellano:
Mk 1:22 "And they were amazed at his teaching… not as a scribe." Mt has this at end of Sermon on Mount near Capernaum.
[2]
Daniel Castellano:
verbatim similarity strongest in dialogue
[3]
Daniel Castellano:
Also 4:24-25; very fragmentary
[4]
Daniel Castellano:
Included in "The Harvest is Great" by Aland
[5]
Daniel Castellano:
Also 6:39
[6]
Daniel Castellano:
Also 13:28-29
[7]
Daniel Castellano:
Also 12:38-42
[8]
Daniel Castellano:
"Last shall be first…" paralleled in Mt 20:16
[9]
Daniel Castellano:
Also 9:27-31
[10]
Daniel Castellano:
Not counted as parallel by Aland
[11]
Daniel Castellano:
Aland thinks 25-26 is parallel with Lord's Prayer
[12]
Daniel Castellano:
Also 6:14-15
[13]
Daniel Castellano:
Also 10:17-25
[14]
Daniel Castellano:
Also 12:11-12
[15]
Daniel Castellano:
Also 19:12-13, 12:40