Ancient Rhetoric and the Style of Paul's Letters

by Timothy A. Brookins
Ancient Rhetoric and the Style of Paul's Letters
Author: Timothy A. Brookins
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 249
Release: 2022-10-14
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 153269895X
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Previous scholarship that has examined Paul’s letters in light of Greco-Roman rhetoric has focused predominantly on their argumentative strategies (inventio) and overall arrangement (dispositio). In this book Brookins turns attention to the heretofore underexplored area of style (elocutio). With complete coverage of ten of the thirteen letters in the Pauline corpus, the book evaluates these letters according to the standards of the major stylistic virtues taught in rhetorical theory: correctness, clarity, and ornament. Treating ornament most extensively, the book includes a full inventory of tropes, figures of speech, and figures of thought contained in these letters. This work results in a synopsis of stylistic tendencies that not only illustrates differences in letter type within the Pauline corpus but also enables a fresh means of comparing style in the disputed and undisputed letters. This analysis also furnishes new evidence for consideration in the debate about the extent of Paul’s rhetorical education. Finally, it helps illuminate the process of exegesis and thus the meaning of the text itself.

Paul and Ancient Rhetoric

by Stanley E. Porter
Paul and Ancient Rhetoric
Author: Stanley E. Porter
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 349
Release: 2016-02-24
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1316589226
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The Apostle Paul lived and breathed in a Hellenistic culture that placed high value on the art of rhetoric, and recent advances in rhetorical criticism of the New Testament have resulted in a new emphasis on the rhetorical aspect of his letters. As many scholars have pointed out, however, it is not clear to what extent ancient rhetoric actually influenced Paul and his writing or how important rhetoric is for interpreting the Pauline corpus. This volume, containing contributions from major figures in the field, provides a nuanced examination of how ancient rhetoric should inform our understanding of Paul and his letters. The essays discuss Paul's historical context, present innovative advances in and trenchant critiques of rhetorical theory, and offer fresh readings of key Pauline texts. Outlining the strengths and weaknesses of a widely used approach, Paul and Ancient Rhetoric will be a valuable resource for New Testament and Classics scholars.

Opening Paul's Letters

by Patrick Gray
Opening Paul's Letters
Author: Patrick Gray
Publisher: Baker Books
Total Pages: 192
Release: 2012-03
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0801039223
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An experienced teacher provides an accessible textbook on the Pauline letters that orients beginning students to the genre in which Paul writes.

Paul and Rhetoric

by J. Paul Sampley
Paul and Rhetoric
Author: J. Paul Sampley
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Total Pages: 288
Release: 2013-06-20
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0567128628
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Paul and Rhetoric contains essays presented in a seminar called "Paul and Rhetoric" in the annual meetings of the Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas, the leading international forum for New Testament and Christian Origin scholars. Translated into English, these essays, by leaders in the field and in the topic, engage and represent modern scholarship on Paul and rhetorical studies. The foundational essays are listed under the heading "State of the Discussion", attempting to take the major rhetorical categories of the time contemporary with Paul (types of rhetoric, invention and arrangement, and figures and tropes) and, first, lays out where the discussion is now. They then note the problems and highlight where continued discussion and deliberation would be helpful. The "Broad Questions" section asks what can be learned about reading Paul's letters to congregations in light of ancient epistolography, how theology and rhetoric are related (because the two are often treated as if they are alien to one another), and how ancient rhetoric and ancient psychology are associated with one another. This volume illustrates, examines and assesses where we are now in the study of rhetorical traditions in Pauline scholarship, and suggests the direction of future studies.

Paul's Letter to the Romans

by Ben Witherington
Paul's Letter to the Romans
Author: Ben Witherington
Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
Total Pages: 464
Release: 2004-03-02
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1467429600
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While Paul’s letter to the Romans is the most studied and commented-on document from the biblical period, the major exegetical books on Romans from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries have been overwhelmingly shaped by the Reformed tradition. Through a careful survey of work on Romans by both ancient Church Fathers and modern exegetical scholars, Ben Witherington III here argues that the interpretation of Romans since the Reformation has been far too indebted to — and at key points led astray by — Augustinian readings of the text as filtered through Luther, Calvin, and others. In this first full-scale socio-rhetorical commentary on Romans, Witherington gleans fresh insights from reading the text of Paul’s epistle in light of early Jewish theology, the historical situation of Rome in the middle of the first century A.D., and Paul’s own rhetorical concerns. Giving serious consideration to the social and rhetorical background of Romans allows readers to hear Paul on his own terms, not just through the various voices of his later interpreters. Witherington’s groundbreaking work also features a new, clear translation of the Greek text, and each section of the commentary ends with a brief discussion titled “Bridging the Horizons,” which suggests how the ancient text of Romans may speak to us today.

Ancient Rhetoric and the New Testament

by Mikeal Carl Parsons
Ancient Rhetoric and the New Testament
Author: Mikeal Carl Parsons
Publisher:
Total Pages: 326
Release: 2018
Genre: Bible
ISBN: 9781481306416
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For the ancient Greeks and Romans, eloquence was essential to public life and identity, perpetuating class status and power. The three-tiered study of rhetoric was thus designed to produce sons worthy of and equipped for public service. Rhetorical competency enabled the elite to occupy their proper place in society. The oracular and literary techniques represented in Greco-Roman education proved to be equally central to the formation of the New Testament. Detailed comparisons of the sophisticated rhetorical conventions, as cataloged in the ancient rhetorical handbooks (e.g., Quintilian), reveal to what degree and frequency the New Testament was shaped by ancient rhetoric's invention, argument, and style. But Ancient Rhetoric and the New Testament breaks new ground. Instead of focusing on more advanced rhetorical lessons that elite students received in their school rooms, Michael Martin and Mikeal Parsons examine the influence of the progymnasmata--the preliminary compositional exercises that bridge the gap between grammar and rhetoric proper--and their influence on the New Testament. Martin and Parsons use Theon's (50-100 CE) compendium as a baseline to measure the way primary exercises shed light on the form and style of the New Testament's composition. Each chapter examines a specific rhetorical exercise and its unique hortatory or instructional function, and offers examples from ancient literature before exploring the use of these techniques in the New Testament. --

Questions and Rhetoric in the Greek New Testament

by Douglas Estes
Questions and Rhetoric in the Greek New Testament
Author: Douglas Estes
Publisher: Zondervan Academic
Total Pages: 400
Release: 2017-03-28
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 031052508X
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While there are almost 1000 questions in the Greek New Testament, many commentators, pastors, and students skip over the questions for more ‘theological’ verses or worse they convert questions into statements to mine them for what they are saying theologically. However, this is not the way questions in the Greek New Testament work, and it overlooks the rhetorical importance of questions and how they were used in the ancient world. Questions and Rhetoric in the Greek New Testament is a helpful and thorough examination of questions in the Greek New Testament, seen from the standpoint of grammatical, semantic, and linguistic analysis, with special emphasis on their rhetorical effects. It includes charts, tools, and lists that explain and categorize the almost 1000 questions in the Greek New Testament. Thus, the user is able to go to the section in the book dealing with the type of question they are studying and find the exegetical parameters needed to understand that question. Questions and Rhetoric in the Greek New Testament offers vibrant examples of all the major categories of questions to aid the reader in grasping how questions work in the Greek New Testament. Special emphasis is given to the way questions persuade and influence readers of the Greek New Testament.

Paul the Ancient Letter Writer

by Jeffrey A. D. Weima
Paul the Ancient Letter Writer
Author: Jeffrey A. D. Weima
Publisher: Baker Academic
Total Pages: 287
Release: 2016-11-15
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1493405799
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This clear and user-friendly introduction to the interpretive method called "epistolary analysis" shows how focusing on the form and function of Paul's letters yields valuable insights into the apostle's purpose and meaning. The author helps readers interpret Paul's letters properly by paying close attention to the apostle's use of ancient letter-writing conventions. Paul is an extremely skilled letter writer who deliberately adapts or expands traditional epistolary forms so that his persuasive purposes are enhanced. This is an ideal supplemental textbook for courses on Paul or the New Testament. It contains numerous analyses of key Pauline texts, including a final chapter analyzing the apostle's Letter to Philemon as a "test case" to demonstrate the benefits of this interpretive approach.

Apostle of Persuasion

by James W. Thompson
Apostle of Persuasion
Author: James W. Thompson
Publisher: Baker Academic
Total Pages: 335
Release: 2020-05-19
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1493423614
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This book is the culmination of a career of researching and teaching Paul's letters. Highly respected senior New Testament scholar James Thompson offers a unique approach to Pauline theology, focusing on Paul's attempts to persuade his audience toward moral formation. Thompson recognizes Paul as a pastor who brought together theology and rhetoric to encourage spiritual formation in his communities. Attempts to find total consistency in Paul's writings fail, says Thompson, because Paul's persuasive tactics changed depending on the situation he was addressing.