03_Biblica_Foster_Layout 1 08/07/13 12:56 Pagina 383 383 IS Q A “JEWISH CHRISTIAN” DOCUMENT? 1. Synagogues in Q In attempting to locate Q on this spectrum, the initial question is whether there is evidence either for participation or separation from the synagogue. Passages such as Q 12.11 at the very least demon- strate that synagogues are viewed as places of opposition and cross- examination, ὅταν δὲ εἰσφέρωσιν ὑµᾶς ἐπὶ τὰς συναγωγὰς µὴ µεριµνήσητε πῶς ἢ τί εἴπητε (Q 12.11). Within the Q context of 12.8-12, after the opening theoretical discussion of confessing and denying (vv. 8-10) a concrete example is provided which relates to interrogation within the synagogue context. Admittedly the Matthean form of this saying with its redactional description of “their syna- gogues” (Matt 10,17) 49, heightens the implied degree of separation, but this is already clearly present in this Q passage. Since the recon- struction of Q 12.11 is not entirely certain, it is best not to place too great a weight on this one verse. However, if it is original it evidences the degree of opposition and separation that existed between the Q community and the synagogue. The only other occurrence of the term συναγωγή in Q occurs in the sequence of the woes against the Pharisees (Q 11.43 = Matt 23,6), and like the previous example this tradition is also a case of a Mk-Q overlap (cf. Mk 12,39). Here the attitude to synagogues is more neu- tral. While they are seen as places where Pharisees practice their hypocrisy, it is not the synagogue location itself that is criticised or viewed as a place of danger for the community. Thus the ostentatious behaviour attributed to Pharisaic opponents stands in contrast with the form of spirituality promoted in Q that sees the poor as recipients of the Kingdom (cf. 6.20b). As Fleddermann observes, “The adver- saries do not show the humility that constitutes an essential precondi- tion for faith” 50. However, within this critique of Pharisaic behaviour synagogues are mentioned as the location of such false displays, yet are not themselves rejected. Consequently the attitude of Q towards synagogues is somewhat ambiguous. At best they are places where, It appears that if the word συναγωγή was originally part of Q 12.11, 49 then Matthew has not replicated this element from Q, since it already occurred in the scene-setting introduction which is drawn from the triple tradition pas- sage (Matt 10.17//Mk 13.9//Lk 21.12). Thus Matthew may have conflated traditions that overlap in Mk and Q. FLEDDERMANN, Q: A Reconstruction and Commentary, 559. 50 © Gregorian Biblical Press 2013 - Tutti i diritti riservati