The systematic analysis of an
author's techniques of integrating source material into a literary work. By
studying narrative transitions, repeated themes, & organization of
material, the redaction critic tries to clarify that author's personal views,
the character of the original audience & the circumstances that prompted
the composition.
Redaction criticism of the
gospels developed after WW2 as the inevitable sequel to form criticism,
which arose after WW1. While form critics focus on distinguishing small
elements of oral tradition from their current gospel contexts, redaction
critics focus on patterns that are typical of a particular work by contrasting
it with others.
The principles of redaction
analysis were anticipated by
- William Wrede, whose study of
Mark
concluded that the motifs of disciples misunderstanding & the
messianic secret were theological concepts of the author rather than
historical reports; &
- Martin
Dibelius, who
argued that each gospel was molded by the author's views of God's
historical plan.
But the discipline was defined
by the work of three disciples of Rudolf
Bultmann:
- Gunther Bornkamm, Tradition &
Interpretation in Matthew (1948);
- Hans Conzelmann, Theology of St. Luke (1954);
&
- Willi Marxsen, Mark the Evangelist (1956).
It was Marxsen who coined the
name "redaction history," which English scholars translated as
redaction criticism.
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