What is the “Q Document”?
“The Q document or Q (from the German Quelle, “source”) is a postulated lost textual source for the Gospel of Matthew and Gospel of Luke. It is a theoretical collection of Jesus’ sayings, written in Koine Greek. Although many scholars believe that “Q” was a real document, no actual document or fragment has been found.” “The recognition of 19th-century New Testament scholars that Matthew and Luke share much material not found in their generally believed common source, the Gospel of Mark, has suggested a second common source, termed the Q document. This hypothetical lost text — also called the Q Gospel, the Sayings Gospel Q, the Secret of Q, the Synoptic Sayings Source, the Q Manuscript, and (in the 19th century) The Logia — seems most likely to have comprised a collection of Jesus’ sayings. Recognizing such a Q document is one of two key elements in the “two-source hypothesis” alongside the priority of Mark. (See also the Gospel of the Hebrews and Streeter) The two-source hypothesis is
