The Art of New Testament Narrative

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Edition of Religions, “The Art of New Testament Narrative”, invites research papers from biblical scholars interested in continuing the insights and methodology of Robert Alter in his seminal study, The Art of Biblical Narrative (1980). The breakthrough work of Alter, and a few other Jewish scholars (e.g., Meir Sternberg and J.P. Fokkelman) has been discovery of the primary techniques of repetition that were used by the ancient literary artists in shaping a given narrative text. Our focus extends Alter’s goal and methodology into the New Testament (which has gotten only scant notice) by looking at a singular and recent work exploring the overall shape, or design, of each gospel: Written to be Heard: Recovering the Messages of the Gospels (Eerdmans, 2019; Paul Borgman and K. Clark; Borgman’s earlier work includes The Way According to Luke: Hearing the Whole Story of Luke-Acts, Eerdmans, 2006; David, Saul, and God: Rediscovering an Ancient Story, Oxford University Press, 2008).

The genius of this research project is in extending the method and flourishing outcomes of Alter’s work with Hebrew Bible narrative into scrutiny of the similarly orally-derived narratives of the New Testament.

Submissions must focus on exploration of the artful patterns of repeated elements that orchestrate the symphony-like “score” of each gospel narrative. Papers would be based on the literary arguments of Borgman in his critical analysis of each gospel, with research that extends or challenges. Rather than choose just one gospel narrative as a focus, the proposal can include any combination that suits a paper’s focus.

These ancient writers crafted their material to create a “good news” compelling to its preliterate and quite sophisticated listeners. To miss this primary shaping of each gospel and Acts is to miss essential meaning.

Papers are expected to help to track down aspects of this primary design of this or that gospel. Of primary concern in this special topics exercise is the golden rule of all literary criticism, i.e., that no narrative sequence of passage can be understood without attention to its textual context. For these ancient artists, textual contexts appear as patterns of repeated elements, from words and phrases up through entire dramatic scenarios (“type-scenes”) and thematic foci. Such patterns overlap, often in circular fashion, to create the shape of the whole.

One example helps to illustrate the presence and function of pattern. Luke groups the teaching of Jesus into ten chapters (9:51–19:44), following a pattern of duplication: Each theme is repeated once—spaced out within a chiastic circle; the repeated theme extends or qualifies the prior theme statement. First, we hear that the wealthy must sell all in order to follow Jesus and enter the kingdom; but a few chapters later, we hear a second “take.” Don’t give it away, but invest…as a wise steward in the coming kingdom of God. The two “truths” play off each other to produce a less comfortable but more challenging possibility. Each of the ten themes are within a circular (chiastic) repetition of teaching points. Without “hearing” this entire teaching of Jesus, and doing it, there can be no salvation (kingdom entrance—which is “the good news”): that is the larger shape of Luke’s gospel, which is continued in volume two, Acts.

To summarize: Submissions must focus on patterns of repeated elements that shape each gospel narrative, pushing back on or extending the arguments of Written to be Heard.

Prof. Dr. Paul Borgman
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Religions is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• narrative shape (design)
• patterns of repetition
• preliterate audience
• oral storytelling techniques
• textual context is central
• Robert Alter (scholar)
• the art of Biblical Narrative