Any testable theory proposed to explain a set of observable facts. All knowledge depends on hypotheses that account for the regular behavior of phenomena. A working hypothesis is confirmed by testing its ability to predict the behavior of phenomena other than the facts on which it is based. "The sun rises" & "a man dies" are descriptions of observed facts. "The sun always rises" & "all humans are mortal" are hypotheses that are tested & verified with every dawn or funeral. Such propositions are accepted as true because they have yet to be falsified by direct observation.

Hypotheses are established as valid when they are able to account for the bulk of the evidence. For instance, it can be observed that Matthew was given first place when the NT was composed (2nd c. CE). The notion that Matthew was written first (1st c. CE), is a hypothesis that can be considered valid only if its contents can be shown to be earlier than the contents of Mark & Luke. It is validated or falsified by comparing all the details of the complete works, not just a few passages.

Sometimes observed facts may not confirm a hypothesis and still not threaten its validity. Clouds may obscure the sky; a person may disappear without a trace. In such cases circumstances limit observation & thus prevent the occasion from being cited as a valid test of the hypotheses of daily dawn & human mortality. When sunrises & deaths generally continue to occur, one may safely assume that these hypotheses remain verifiable if we were only in a position to observe what happened.

Other observations may indicate that a hypothesis needs to be refined, corrected, or abandoned. All advances in human knowledge are based on discoveries that lead to the formulation of new hypotheses that better account for all observed facts. But there will always be people who cling to a traditional hypothesis, until they too observe facts that indicate that the new theory is superior to the old.

Like all areas of scientific research, biblical scholarship depends upon sets of hypotheses that are subject to testing, correction & refinement. The historical priority of the gospel of Matthew was the dominant working hypothesis for much of the history of biblical research until some scholars observed that patterns of relationship between the synoptic texts made it more likely that Mark was written earlier. Scholars convinced by textual evidence that Matthew & Luke used Mark as a basic source of information about Jesus found that this hypothesis did not account for the presence of similar blocks of sayings in later gospels which are not found in Mark. Thus, the hypothesis of Markan priority led to the discovery of a hypothetical source of sayings material that is commonly called "Q."

Other On-line resources:

• What is a Scientific Hypothesis? - Alina Bradford defines and explains the use of hypotheses and hypothesis testing in experimental science (Live Science).

• Logical Basis of Hypothesis Testing in Scientific Research - course handout defining and outlining the logic of hypothesis formulation and testing (Dartmouth University).