The Gospel as Literary Genre and Form of Language

Pasquale Basta

Pontifical Urbaniana University, Rome , Italy
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3972-5853


Abstract

The studies on the literary genre “gospel” are often compared with the so-called Greco-Roman bíoi and popular literature. The points of contact are numerous and undeniable. As well as the differences and peculiarities of the gospels, whose link with the Hebrew Bible is a unicum to be taken into account. In particular, the typology, with its network of references, makes the canonical gospels a text proceeding through continuous phenomena of association and repetition with the ancient Scriptures. As result, the nar­rative takes on particular tones insofar as it indulges little in the chronicle, concentrating rather on the richness of meaning hidden in entire story of Christ. Consequently, the gos­pels are evidence of a mixed genre, having some characteristics of the Greco-Roman bíoi and contemporary popular Lives, together with constant re-elaboration of OT elements re-read and applied in a typological key. And it could not be otherwise because the events and the protagonist of the gospels perfectly intersect the horizontal and vertical dimensions of a story merging with the eternal.

 

Keywords:

Gospels, literary genre, Greco-Roman bíoi, volks literature, typology

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Published
2021-07-16


Basta, P. (2021). The Gospel as Literary Genre and Form of Language. The Biblical Annals, 11(3), 441–458. https://doi.org/10.31743/biban.12683

Pasquale Basta  donpasqualebasta@gmail.com
Pontifical Urbaniana University, Rome https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3972-5853



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