Different versions of a story were conceived as sharing a foundational narrative core, termed a “hypothesis.” Early Christian readers embraced this conceptual framework to characterize gospel literature, validate its diverse forms, and constrain its variations.

Even prior to the explicit use of the term “hypothesis,” readers implicitly understood gospels in a similar manner. The literary nature of gospels wasn’t radically redefined at the close of the second century with the emergence of hypothesis terminology. Instead, the elements of this model were already evident in the earliest documented interpretations of the gospels. The prevailing model for understanding diverse narrative traditions in Hellenistic literary culture influenced both the creation and interpretation of gospel literature from its inception.