1 John and the Public Reading of Scripture

Nonliterate people can remember large amounts of oral material if they are stated memorably. Characteristic oral devises—aphorisms, balanced structures, parallelisms, antitheses, alliterations, assonances, verbal jingles—help an auditory audience follow along. Designed for reading aloud publicly, 1 John is full of identifiable oral features. These illuminate its character, message, and structure.