Table 5 Formal Categories Dibelius Bultmann Taylor Paradigms Apophthegms Pronouncement Tales (Novellen) Miracle Stories Miracle Stories Legends Historical Stories Stories About Jesus Myths Legends Paränesis Dominical Sayings Sayings and Parables Unclassified Miscellaneous Fourth, form criticism assumes that these oral traditions were passed on according to some basic laws of transmission: (1) a tendency to expand (Matt. 16:13–23; Mark 8:27–33); (2) a tendency to clarify or elaborate details