Kloppenborg Verbin, John.
Excavating Q: The History and Setting of the Sayings Gospel. Fortress, $32.00.
Journal of Religion: “
Excavating Q is a welcome monograph, covering every major aspect of the history of this early Christian document that can be ‘excavated’ from Matthew and Luke. This outstanding book is not only a major contribution to New Testament exegesis but also helps to understand the undercurrents of research, which makes it very important indeed.—Marco Frenschkowski, University of Duisburg.”
Theological Studies: “I predict that this volume, the fruit of more than 20 years of research and reflection, will stand as the benchmark study from which new students of the Gospels will begin their study of Q…[W]hat is fresh and inviting is K.V.’s declared intent to state not only what we can know of Q but ‘the difference it makes.’…The scholarship and documentation are a tour de force.—Julian Hills, Marquette Univ.”
Catholic Biblical Studies: “an undertaking that more than justifies itself for the breadth of its argument and the thoroughness of its analysis…the book becomes a primer on critical method and Christian origins…presented with thoroughness and clarity…K.’s objective…is so carefully stated and so overwhelmingly demonstrated that the book succeeds in forging both a history and an evaluation of Q scholarship that no book before it has achieved…models civility, dispassionate scholarship, and the measured claims for its subject that are so often lacking both in Q scholarship and in biblical and theological studies generally…This book will deservedly serve as the field map for a long time to come.—Daniel Goodman, Palm Beach Atlantic College.”
Journal of Biblical Literature: “Kloppenborg Verbin’s insightful and incisive review of this literature is itself a valuable contribution…Kloppenborg Verbin’s careful and judicious treatment of evidence or the social location of Q is a welcome contribution…This is an outstanding book, well written and carefully researched…Anyone who would talk about Q must reckon with this book. Its heft, in several senses of that word, means that it will be useful mainly to advanced students of the Gospels and to scholars, though diligent and informed lay persons could profit greatly from reading it.—Arland D. Jacobson, Concordia College.”
Christian Century: “K.V.’s sustained effort to achieve clarity should please researchers, for whom his book is meant.”
Expository Times: “K. puts up a good case for the existence of Q and for its basic genre as ‘instruction.’ The attempt to identify phases of editing is bound to be more conjectural…Where K. seems most speculative is in his attempt to define the social identity of the ‘Q people.’ The postulated document is simply too short to enable the kind of social profile he attempts, which leads to grasping at straws….I cannot help feeling that the postulated ‘theology’ of Q, with its lack of soteriological content, is impoverished, compared even with Mark’s…A major contribution to Q scholarship which merits close attention by Synoptic specialists and experts in Christian origins. Though detailed and in places heavy-going, it will also be found invaluable by conscientious students seeking to understand the concept of ‘Q’.—The Revd. Canon Dr Ruth Edwards, Aberdeen.”
Interpretation: “Readers will need substantial curiosity about Q in order to sustain interest through this lengthy work.
Excavating Q is a combination of introductory, background information for non-specialists in Q studies, and technical analysis that seems directed toward Q scholars. It vacillates between basic explanations for beginners and material that presupposes considerable background in the subject matter. On the positive side, the book makes available a wealth of information generated by the International Q Project.—Michael Cosby, Messiah College.”
