A. The Last Supper contains phrases in which show that it has been passed through the Greek-speaking community as well as the Jewish community. One in particular is the word “that”. In Scripting Jesus, L. Michael White, it is note worthy that in Greek oral tradition the word “that” is used as means to quote something. This suggests that what Paul is saying in 1 Corinthians is likely to have been passed down from the oral tradition. Thus making it likely he has received this information from elsewhere. Although Paul’s account of the Last Supper is the earliest recollection of the event, it still shows an evolution of oral tradition (White, 114). The basic story of the Last Supper is consistent between the four Gospels in this way: Jesus’ body is compared to the loaf of bread, his blood is related to the cup; however, the wording and patterns vary between traditions of Jewish and Greek culture, therein White suggests that there are indeed subtle manipulations of the oral traditions that are present when comparing the phrasing in Mark and Matthew and Paul’s letters to Corinth. 

B. White suggests that the gospels have been narrativized by describing variation of word usage between the four gospels. It could be argued that these differences in the synoptics and Pauline writings are possibly just differences in writing styles. But there’s no denying that the specific usage of certain phrasing and words demonstrates how oral traditions of the Jewish culture was influenced by the Greek communities they were in proximity with. 

The time in which the Gospels were written correlates to unique phrasing that points to the possibility of the Gospel authors reading, editing, and incorporating new ideas and concepts from a previous Gospel or even previous oral tradition. It seems that White is pointing out a differing time period of each of these books, as well as recognizing the redaction of oral tradition. As these stories were shared, they continued to morph over time to fit in with the evolving cultural traditions within that society.