David Friedrich Strauss died on 8 February 1874. His Leben Jesu of 1835 was said by Albert Schweitzer to be ‘no mere destroyer of untenable solutions, but also the prophet of a coming advance in knowledge’, namely eschatology. The claims that it ‘has a different significance for modern theology from that which it had for his contemporaries’ and that it ‘marked out the ground which is now occupied by modern critical study’ appear even more true in the light of subsequent history of religions and form-critical research than Schweitzer himself realized. But as well as marking an epoch in the historical critical study of the New Testament, this book, and with it the fate of its author, remains a symbol of something else: the tension between historical research and the formation of a systematic or doctrinal theological position. Ecclesiastical authorities have in the meantime learned to live with theological pluralism and become more tolerant, but the problem itself has not disappeared. The investigation and development of Strauss' generally unappreciated contribution is perhaps an appropriate centenary celebration.

La parution du second tome de la Synopse des Quatre Evangiles en 1972, après celle du premier tome en 1965, peut être considérée comme un événement remarquable dans le cadre de la recherche biblique actuelle. Après la Bible de Jérusalem cette Synopse constitue un second succès incontestable pour l'Ecole Biblique de Jérusalem.

To refer to ‘modern developments’ of Griesbach's hypothesis makes clear that the present revival of interest in Griesbach's work is not simply an uncritical return to the past. For example, Griesbach accepted the traditional view of Augustine that Luke used Matthew even as he broke with tradition in affirming that Mark came after Luke as well as after Matthew. To the extent that Griesbach assumed Luke's use of Matthew while never discussing the relationship between those two gospels, his solution to the synoptic problem, for over a century and a half, remained in what must be judged as a critically undeveloped condition. Contemporary advocates of the Griesbach hypothesis have been obliged to explain the relationship of Luke to Matthew and in other ways develop a more convincing explanation of this hypothesis. This essay gives an account of the progress that has been made during the past twelve years in clarifying the merits of Griesbach's solution to the synoptic problem. In answering some of the objections that have been raised against this solution, an effort has been made to advance the discussion even further toward a more adequate resolution of this important question. The Epilogue includes some clarifying statements on the argument(s) from order.