This is the second part of a post that started here about the use of near and far demonstratives to clarify the current center of attention in the discourse, identifying which participant or topic is thematically central. In the gospels, we would expect Jesus to be thematically central, but this is not always the case. In other words, there are instances where it is not “all about Jesus”. When writers do something potentially in conflict with such default expectations, they have the option of marking these entities as either thematically central or athematic (i.e. of passing interest) using demonstrative pronouns. The near symbol marks thematic entities, and the farmarks the athematic ones.

The last post noted how Simeon is introduced in Luke 2:25 using the near demonstrative to signal that he is thematically central to what follows. The same kind of thematic encoding is found again a few verses later at the introduction of Anna.

Just like Simeon, she is introduced in one clause, and then reiterated in the next using a substantival near demonstrative. She too plays an important role in affirming Jesus’ identity, but only a passing one. In v. 38 another near demonstrative affirms the continuity in time between Simeon’s interaction with the holy family and that of Anna. Verse 37 continues the description of Anna, so Luke provides a temporal frame of reference with the near demonstrative to affirm the temporal continuity as he transitions from background material to the event line of the narrative.

 luke-2-37-38

The default expectation in narrative is that the event are sequentially ordered and that  there is continuity of time between events unless otherwise specified. It appears that Luke intends to make explicit that the encounters with Simeon and Anna are back-to-back, rather than leaving it implicit.

In v. 40, the focus of the story returns to “the child” as the center of attention. So in the end, it’s mostly all about Jesus. Had you worried for a moment, huh.

Demonstrative pronouns are used for much more than stylistic variation. They play a significant role in the discourse as thematic markers, helping the reader assign the proper status to entities in the discourse. For more on the thematic use of demonstratives, check out the series of posts that begin here, as well as the introduction to near/far distinctions.

Isn’t “this” wonderful?

The explanation in this post (and the others) is drawn from a forthcoming discourse grammar of the Greek NT.