Robert Lisle Lindsey (1917–1995), founded together with
David Flusser
David Flusser (Hebrew: דוד פלוסר; born 1917; died 2000) was an Israeli professor of Early Christianity and Judaism of the Second Temple Period at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Biography
David Flusser was born in Vienna on Septem ...
the
Jerusalem School of Synoptic Research
The Jerusalem School of Synoptic Research is a consortium of Jewish and Christian scholars that study the Synoptic Gospels in light of the historic, linguistic and cultural milieu of Jesus. The beginnings of the collegial relationships that forme ...
.
He spent most of his adult life as pastor in the
Holy Land
The Holy Land; Arabic: or is an area roughly located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Bank of the Jordan River, traditionally synonymous both with the biblical Land of Israel and with the region of Palestine. The term "Holy ...
. He is especially known for pastoring the Narkis Street Baptist Church in
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
. His biography has recently been published under the name ''One Foot In Heaven: The Story of Bob Lindsey of Jerusalem''.
While rescuing an Arab orphan from the dangerous Israel-Jordan border in 1960 Lindsey was seriously injured after stepping on a land mine which resulted in the loss of his left foot.
He was an Israeli New Testament scholar. He was a contributor to the ''
Jerusalem Perspective'', an academic journal of a consortium of Israeli scholars, including Jews, Christians, and others, of
Jesus Research, the
Quest for the Historical Jesus
The quest for the historical Jesus consists of academic efforts to determine what words and actions, if any, may be attributed to Jesus, and to use the findings to provide portraits of the historical Jesus.. Since the 18th century, three scholarl ...
.
Contributions to scholarship
Lindsey is the author of ''A Hebrew Translation of The Gospel of Mark''. The book is notable for its solution to the
Synoptic Problem
The gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke are referred to as the synoptic Gospels because they include many of the same stories, often in a similar sequence and in similar or sometimes identical wording. They stand in contrast to John, whose con ...
. He argues the existence of a Proto-Mark gospel ("Ur Markus"), which was a highly literal translation from an originally Hebrew source into Greek, which he calls the Proto-Narrative. The text of the Gospel of Luke is the most faithful to and best preserves this Proto-Narrative. Especially in the "
minor agreements" between Matthew and Luke against Mark, it is evident that Mark deviates paraphrastically from the Proto-Narrative. Mark's paraphrases Graecize the text, including many phrases that are "non-Hebraic", being common in Greek but lacking an idiomatic counterpart in Hebrew. Luke knows this Mark-like Hebraic Proto-Narrative, but does not know the Gospel of Mark as we know it today.
[''A Hebrew Translation of the Gospel of Mark: A Greek-Hebrew Diglot with English Introduction'', Second Edition, Jerusalem: Dugit, 1973]
While it is easy to show that Luke knows a Proto-Mark (which happens to be closer to Hebrew) and not Mark, Lindsey speculates further with more surprising conclusions, and argues for
Lucan priority
The Jerusalem School Hypothesis is one of many possible solutions to the synoptic problem, that the Gospel of Luke and the Gospel of Matthew both relied on older texts which are now lost. It was developed by Robert Lindsey, from the Jerusalem ...
. Thus, the first gospel texts are in Hebrew. These were translated into Greek as the Proto-Narrative and the collection of sayings, often called
Q. Luke knows PN and
Q. Lindsey argues Mark knows both PN and Luke, as well as other New Testament documents, including Acts, James, and Paul's Corinthians 1&2, Thessalonians 1&2, and Romans. Then Matthew knows both PN and Mark (but not Luke). Matthew is faithful to both PN and Mark and weaves their texts together, thus often agrees with Luke through PN against Mark.
Despite the surprising claim that Mark depends partially on Luke, Lindsey emphasizes that his solution to the Synoptic Problem agrees substantially with the majority who hypothesize
Marcan priority
Marcan priority is the hypothesis that the Gospel of Mark was the first of the three synoptic gospels to be written, and was used as a source by the other two (Matthew and Luke). It is a central element in discussion of the synoptic problem; the q ...
, since this Proto-Narrative is identical with "Ur-Markus", and that all three synoptic gospels - Luke, Mark, and Matthew - depend directly on the Proto-Narrative.
See also
*
Jerusalem school hypothesis
The Jerusalem School Hypothesis is one of many possible solutions to the synoptic problem, that the Gospel of Luke and the Gospel of Matthew both relied on older texts which are now lost. It was developed by Robert Lindsey, from the Jerusalem ...
References
Bibliography
During his life he published a few books and articles, namely (''this list may not be exhaustive''):
* ''Jesus, Rabbi and Lord: The Hebrew Story of Jesus Behind Our Gospels'', Oak Creek, WI: Cornerstone Publishing, 1990,
* ''The Jesus Sources'', Tulsa, OK: Hakesher, 1990
* ''A Comparative Greek Concordance of the Synoptic Gospels'', 3 volumes, Jerusalem: Dugit, 1985-1989
volume 1volume 2
an
volume 3
on the internet archive)
''A Hebrew Translation of the Gospel of Mark: A Greek-Hebrew Diglot with English Introduction''
Second Edition, Jerusalem: Dugit, 1973
* "A Modified Two-Document Theory of the Synoptic Dependence and Interdependence" in ''Novum Testamentum'' 6 (1963), 239-263.
*
From Luke to Mark to Matthew: A Discussion of the Sources of Markan “Pick-ups” and the Use of a Basic Non-canonical Source by All the Synoptists
" on JerusalemPerspective.com.
*
Gospel Origins: From a Hebrew Story to the Canonical Gospels
" on JerusalemPerspective.com.
*
The Hebrew ''Life of Jesus''
" on JerusalemPerspective.com.
*
Introduction to ''A Hebrew Translation of the Gospel of Mark''
" on JerusalemPerspective.com.
*
An Introduction to Synoptic Studies
" on JerusalemPerspective.com.
*
Jesus’ Twin Parables
" on JerusalemPerspective.com.
*
The Kingdom of God: God’s Power Among Believers
" on JerusalemPerspective.com.
*
The Major Importance of the “Minor” Agreements
" on JerusalemPerspective.com.
*
Measuring the Disparity Between Matthew, Mark and Luke
" on JerusalemPerspective.com.
*
My Search for the Synoptic Problem’s Solution (1959-1969)
" on JerusalemPerspective.com.
*
A New Approach to the Synoptic Gospels
" on JerusalemPerspective.com.
*
A New Two-source Solution to the Synoptic Problem
" on JerusalemPerspective.com.
*
Paraphrastic Gospels
" on JerusalemPerspective.com.
*
Unlocking the Synoptic Problem: Four Keys for Better Understanding Jesus
" on JerusalemPerspective.com.
*
“Verily” or “Amen”—What Did Jesus Say?
" on JerusalemPerspective.com.
External links
About Robert L. Lindsey (1917-1995)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lindsey, Robert L
1917 births
1995 deaths
People from Norman, Oklahoma
Christianity in Jerusalem
American biblical scholars
20th-century Baptist ministers from the United States