Bringing characters alive: sensory development in the Fourth Gospel’s characterisation

The present thesis is an interdisciplinary investigation of the work of biblical character construction drawing from biblical studies, cultural anthropology and semiotics. It surveys how the author of the Fourth Gospel alludes to the human senses to build his characters to impact his readers. The research proposes the methodological joint approach to survey the sensory development of the characterisation of Nicodemus (3:1-21; 7:45-51; 19:38-42), the Samaritan woman of Sychar (4:1-42), and the man born blind (9:1-38). Specifically, it attempts to address the question, how might the author of the Fourth Gospel have employed sensory experiences to establish a model of sensory perception to highlight somatic outcomes to develop his characters? To date, there has been no thorough investigation of the sensory development of Johannine portrayals. The analysis through such an exegetical method reveals facets that assist contemporary readers of this Gospel in understanding how its author elaborates on characters by creating unique sensory generative trajectories of meaning for each portrayal while also revealing the impact of sensory perceptions on somatic actions. The survey proposes a biblical sensory model of sensory hermeneutics to provide an alternative perspective of the Johannine characters’ interaction with Jesus that purposefully impacts the readers’ perception of this Gospel’s goal (20:30-31).