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Document Details : Title: 'Called by Name' Subtitle: Anonymity and Naming in the Johannine Tradition Author(s): LIEU, Judith M. Journal: Ephemerides Theologicae Lovanienses Volume: 100 Issue: 1 Date: 2024 Pages: 3-26 DOI: 10.2143/ETL.100.1.3292850 Abstract : From the perspective of narrative criticism, a marked characteristic of John’s Gospel is the naming of characters and the detailed attention paid to narratives in which they feature. Yet the Gospel makes equal use of the narratological potential of anonymous characters, not least in the ways they can transcend the particularity of their narratives. Drawing on recent studies of naming and anonymity in classical literature, this paper explores how both features function in John’s Gospel, most notably in the presentation of 'the mother of Jesus' and 'the disciple whom Jesus loved'. The changing narrative role of the latter and the other anonymous voices in chapter 21 challenge the reader’s expectation of the authority and reliability of the witness in the written text. The deliberate adoption of anonymity is equally characteristic of 2 John and of 1 John and must be seen as a distinctive characteristic of the Johannine tradition and its presentation of the location of authority. |
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