Inventing Hebrews: Design and Purpose in Ancient Rhetoric: 171 (Society for New Testament Studies Monograph Series, Series Number 171)
Cambridge University Press, 6/7/2018
EAN 9781108429467, ISBN10: 1108429467
Hardcover, 318 pages, 21.6 x 14 x 2.2 cm
Language: English
Originally published in English
Inventing Hebrews examines a perennial topic in the study of the Letter to the Hebrews, its structure and purpose. Michael Wade Martin and Jason A. Whitlark undertake at thorough synthesis of the ancient theory of invention and arrangement, providing a new account of Hebrews' design. The key to the speech's outline, the authors argue, is in its use of 'disjointed' arrangement, a template ubiquitous in antiquity but little discussed in modern biblical studies. This method of arrangement accounts for the long-observed pattern of alternating epideictic and deliberative units in Hebrews as blocks of narratio and argumentatiorespectively. Thus the 'letter' may be seen as a conventional speech arranged according to the expectations of ancient rhetoric (exordium, narratio, argumentatio, peroratio), with epideictic comparisons of old and new covenant representatives (narratio) repeatedly enlisted in amplification of what may be viewed as the central argument of the speech (argumentatio), the recurring deliberative summons for perseverance. Resolving a long-standing conundrum, this volume offers a hermeneutical tool necessary for interpreting Hebrews, as well as countless other speeches from Greco-Roman antiquity.
1. Structuring Hebrews
modern approaches to an ancient text
Part I. Laying the Foundation – Syncrisis in Hebrew
2. Comparing covenants
the syncritical backbone of Hebrews
3. Choosing the advantageous
deliberative syncrisis and epideictic syncrisis in Hebrews
Part II. Arranging the Speech – The Ancient Rhetorical Design of Hebrews
4. Arranging an ancient speech
ancient compositional theory and a proposal for modern analysis
5. Proving the case
argumentatio in Hebrews
6. Presenting the facts relevant to the case
narratio in Hebrews
7. Beginning with favor
exordium in Hebrews
8. Ending with recapitulation and emotion
Peroratio in Hebrews
9. Putting it all together
the rhetorical arrangement and aim of Hebrews
10. Examining implications
Early Christian sermons and apostasy in Hebrews.