Rhetoric and Galatians Assessing an Approach to Paul's Epistle [Hardcover]

A study of the relationship between the New Testament epistles of Paul and classical rhetoric.This study discusses the relationship between the epistles of Paul and classical rhetoric by focussing on recent studies of Galatians. The argument, built upon a close reading of handbook evidence, receives support from a survey of the Church Fathers' discussions of the nature of New Testament Greek. Philip Kern concludes that Paul did not write according to the conventions of oratory and that therefore the ancient handbooks can contribute little to the interpretation of his epistles.This study discusses the relationship between the epistles of Paul and classical rhetoric by focussing on recent studies of Galatians. The argument, built upon a close reading of handbook evidence, receives support from a survey of the Church Fathers' discussions of the nature of New Testament Greek. Philip Kern concludes that Paul did not write according to the conventions of oratory and that therefore the ancient handbooks can contribute little to the interpretation of his epistles.This study discusses the relationship between the epistles of Paul and classical rhetoric by focusing on recent studies of Galatians. The argument, built on a close reading of handbook evidence, receives support from a survey of the Church Fathers' discussions of the nature of New Testament Greek. Philip Kern concludes that Paul did not write according to the conventions of oratory and that therefore the ancient handbooks can contribute little to the interpretation of his epistles.Preface; List of abbreviations; 1. Introduction; 2. Towards a definition of rhetoric; 3. Methods of rhetorical analysis and Galatians; 4. Rhetorical structure and Galatians; 5. Rhetorical species and Galatians; 6. The language of Paul's Letters 1. As evaluated by early Christian writers; 7. The language of Paul's Letters 2. The contribution of modern studies; 8. Conclusions; Select bibliography; Index of subjects; Index of modern authors.lï