While reviewing the first three chapters of Q the Earliest Gospel, by John Kloppenborg, I discovered what Q means and what I found to be most interesting about the document so far. Q is an abbreviation for the German word, Quelle, which means source. It is a source which scholars think account for about the 4,500 words that Matthew and Luke did not seem to get from Mark. After learning much about what Q is, I enjoyed reading about the reconstruction of Q. What was most interesting was the fact that Q was probably written in Greek, even though many documents of that time were written in Aramaic. The support behind this thesis is the fact that Q contains many words that were Greek, for example Luke uses the word opheilonti (indebted) in the Lord’s prayers because he knows this Greek word can be used in a different context from monetary debts. The book Q also may have been written in Greek, instead of the language of Jesus’s Jewish Palestinian followers. Kopplenborg’s answer leads into another one of my favorite parts of the book Q the Earliest Gospel, which is the scribes who wrote Q were probably Eastern Mediterranean. As I had gone along in my reading, I never thought about who wrote Q until Kloppenborg brought it up. I was actually surprised to find out that scribes wrote the document, because I had pictured one man writing it. However, Kloppenborg supports his theory by pointing out the fact that Q contains many matters of debt, divorce, etc. which are all important to scribes. He even gives an example of the Lord’s prayer, which contains topics that are important to scribes, like debt relief. Finally, I enjoyed when Kloppenborg elaborated on why he refers to Q as a Gospel. This is because it documents and elaborates on Jesus’s journey to help change the world through God. By discovering this backstory of Q, I feel like I am better able to visualize what it would be like and contain. Knowing who wrote it, what it was written in, and what it should be categorized as makes me feel like I understand what I am reading more.
I enjoyed thinking about Q written in Greek instead of the common Arabic language of the time because it makes me think about Q as a unique gospel. Also, it helps me understand why Matthew and Luke interpret some words differently. Likewise, it was interesting to know who probably wrote Q because it helps me visualize its creation more. Instead of thinking that just one random man wrote all of Q, I can think about scholars writing it and how they left their mark on Q. Finally, this book helped me clear up the confusing about what a gospel is exactly and if Q actually was one. Up until now, I thought the gospels were written by men chosen by God and were set in stone. Knowing that Q is a gospel and the actual document has never been found changes my mind about what a gospel is.
