What Is Redaction Criticism

Redaction criticism is a form of criticism which analyzes the question of whether a particular text, for example, the Biblical Gospels, was edited or redacted to suit the author's agenda. It delves into the question of whether a source has been altered to suit a different narrative than what was intended by the original author.

The Synoptic Gospels - Matthew, Mark, and Luke - share striking similarities, with some passages being nearly identical. The dominant theory to explain this duplication is called the two-source hypothesis, which suggests that both Matthew and Luke used Mark as a source document, along with another hypothetical source known as "Q." Redaction criticism has been applied to analyze how the authors of Matthew and Luke might have modified and arranged the material from their sources to create their unique narratives.

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Jamie Larson
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