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What Is this Place Doing Here?

Places do things in stories. They give readers information and add to the story. You may notice several functions as you look at how the location(s) of a biblical story influence what you see in that story.

The five functions of location listed here are from Prof. Matt Skinner's work on settings in Acts. See Matthew Skinner, "Settings and Their Literary Functions," in Locating Paul: Places of Custody as Narrative Settngs in Acts 21-28, SBL Academia Biblica 13 (Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2003), 27-55. Maybe the places you find in your text are working in some of these ways.

1. Limiting Possibilites for Action

Example: Philemon

Locations provide the boundaries for the action in a scene. For instance, when Paul writes the letter to Philemon, Paul is in prison. Think of the letter as a story. As this story unfolds, Paul cannot go to Philemon and ask him to receive Onesimus. Paul is limited by place, and his powers of persuasion are limited to what he can convey in a letter.

2. Contributing to the Mood of a Story

Example: Jesus Praying

Mark 1

3. Help Create Archetypes or Highlight Contrasts

Example: Jesus Feeding People in the Desert

John 6

4. Multiple Settings: Look for Contrasts

Example: Philemon (prison vs. house)

Multiple settings can work together to "create oppositions that enhance an understanding of the plot" (52).

5. Multiple Settings: Look for Patterns in the Whole Story

Example: Lazarus and Jesus (Stibbe's work)

"Movement throughout various settings in a story can be a means of patterning events and anticipating or intensifying new horizons in the plot" (53).

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