Uploaded September 2024 | Updated September 2026, 6 days ago
Gary Burge uses the parenthetical remark from the narrator about Mary of Bethany in John 11:2 as an example of "seams" or "aporias" in John. He considers it to be a "problem" that this is a forward reference to John 12, the story of Mary anointing Jesus, which hasn't yet been narrated when John refers to her in John 11:2 as "the Mary" who anointed Jesus' feet.
How is this even *supposed* to be an argument, or even part of a cumulative case, for the activity of an editor in addition to the author? Burge doesn't say. In fact, there is no scenario in which this would be a plausible thing for an editor to do. It is far more like what we see in oral recollection of one's life, which often involves asides, digressions, unexplained allusions, and the like, as these happen to occur to the speaker. And in this case the remark also reflects an awareness of the need to disambiguate the popular name "Mary."
Gary Burge uses the parenthetical remark from the narrator about Mary of Bethany in John 11:2 as an example of "seams" or "aporias" in John. He considers it to be a "problem" that this is a forward reference to John 12, the story of Mary anointing Jesus, which hasn't yet been narrated when John refers to her in John 11:2 as "the Mary" who anointed Jesus' feet.
How is this even *supposed* to be an argument, or even part of a cumulative case, for the activity of an editor in addition to the author? Burge doesn't say. In fact, there is no scenario in which this would be a plausible thing for an editor to do. It is far more like what we see in oral recollection of one's life, which often involves asides, digressions, unexplained allusions, and the like, as these happen to occur to the speaker. And in this case the remark also reflects an awareness of the need to disambiguate the popular name "Mary."
