Richard Bauckham And Eyewitness Testimony: Does His Narrative Device Occur Outside Of The Synoptics? -- By: Rick Brannan

Journal: Global Journal of Classical Theology
Volume: GJCT 10:2 (Oct 2012)
Article: Richard Bauckham And Eyewitness Testimony: Does His Narrative Device Occur Outside Of The Synoptics?
Author: Rick Brannan


Richard Bauckham And Eyewitness Testimony:
Does His Narrative Device Occur Outside Of The Synoptics?

Rick Brannan

Information Architect, Greek Databases

Logos Bible Software

Abstract: Richard Bauckham’s Jesus and the Eyewitnesses describes something he calls the “plural to singular narrative device”. Using this device, Bauckham posits Mark’s usage of Peter’s eyewitness testimony as underlying source for 21 different movements of Jesus. Bauckham’s exploration of this narrative device is limited to the synoptic gospels. This essay argues that if such a thing as the plural-to-singular narrative device exists, then Ac 18.19 should be considered an additional Lucan instance of the device.

Introduction

The genesis of this essay is a rabbit trail.

The trail began upon reading Richard Bauckham’s recently published book, Jesus and the Eyewitnesses: The Gospels as Eyewitness Testimony.1 In it, he endeavors to show that traces of eyewitness testimony within gospel narrative occur more frequently than had been previously thought. Chapter 7 describes a narrative device he calls the “plural-to-singular narrative device.”2 Bauckham describes the device as that

… in which a plural verb (or more than one plural verb), without an explicit subject, is used to describe the movements of Jesus and his disciples, followed immediately by a singular verb or pronoun referring to Jesus alone. … This narrative pattern is thus overwhelmingly used to refer to the movements of Jesus and the disciples from place to place.3

This set my mind in motion. Bauckham defines this structure in syntactic terminology. Is it a potential indicator of eyewitness testimony? And if, so, does it occur outside of the synoptic gospels?

My curiosity got the best of me. Assuming the device has merit, I set upon using the syntactic searching capabilities of Logos Bible Software4 to analyze the Gospels and Acts for further potential instances of the plural-to-singular narrative device.

The Plural-To-Singular Narrative Device

In his discussion of the plural-to-singular narrative device,5 Bauckham relies upon and extends the work of C.H. Turner, who originally noted this feature of Mark’s Gospel.6 Turner describes this feature as follows:

The first and perhap...

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