Rhetoric and the New Testament: Essays from the 1992 Heidelberg Conference

What role did classical rhetoric play in the writing of the New Testament? What role does classical and modern rhetoric play in interpreting the New Testament today? What role should classical and modern rhetoric play in New Testament interpretation? These and related questions are asked in this collection of over twenty essays originally delivered as papers at the 1992 Heidelberg Conference on Rhetorical Criticism of Biblical Documents. This conference, the first of several scheduled to address fundamental rhetorical issues of increasing importance in New Testament study, drew scholars from three continents and over fourteen countries, making it a truly international scholarly event and this a truly cosmopolitan publication. The authors' varying contexts resulted in a lively and challenging discussion well reflected in this volume's essays. The first part discusses rhetoric in the light of extended interpretation of a variety of New Testament texts. Luke and Acts, most of Paul's letters, and other New Testament documents are scrutinized using various rhetorical categories. In the second part, questions of rhetoric and methodology are raised. New approaches are tested in a number of essays that push the boundaries of traditional rhetorical study. These essays provide an excellent sampling of some of the major work being done in rhetorical study of the New Testament and suggest several avenues for future research.

• Contents
• Preface
• List of Contributors
• Abbreviations
• Dedication to Wilhelm Wuellner
• Introduction: The Heidelberg Papers in Perspective
• Part I Rhetoric And New Testament Interpretation
  • The Parable Of The Rich Man And Lazarus (Luke 16.19-31) And Graeco-Roman Rhetoric - Frank W. Hughes
  • Mass Communication And Prose Rhythm In Luke-Acts - Folker Sffigert
  • Rhetorical Issue And Rhetorical Strategy In Luke 10.2s-37 And Acts 10.1-11.18 - J. Ian H. Mcdonald
  • The End Of Acts (28.16-31) And The Rhetoric Of Silence - Daniel Marguerat
  • Early Christianity As A 'Persuasive Campaign': Evidence From The Acts Of The Apostles And The Letters Of Paul - James J. Murphy
  • The Theoretical Justification For Application Of Rhetorical Categories To Pauline Epistolary Literature - Stanley E. Porter
  • Amplification In The Macro-Structure Of Romans - David Hellholm
  • Strategies Of Persuasion In Romans 1.16-17 - Johannes N. Vorster
  • The Hyperbolic Sublime As A Master Trope In Romans - Marc Schoeni
  • Rethinking The Rhetorical Situation: The Entextualization Of The Situation In New Testament Epistles - Dennis L. Stamps
  • Argument And Genre Of 1 Corinthians 12-14 - Joop Smtt
  • Paul's Rhetorical Strategy In 1 Corinthians 15 - Duane F.Watson
  • Speaking Like A Fool: Irony In 2 Corinthians 10-13 - Glenn Holland
  • St Paul's Epistles And Ancient Greek And Roman Rhetoric - C. Joachim Classen
  • Using Ancient Rhetorical Categories To Interpret Paul's Letters: A Question Of Genre - Jeffrey T. Reed
  • Persuasion In Philippians 4.1-20 - A.H. Snyman
  • Philippians 2.6-11: The Rhetorical Function Of A Pauline 'Hymn' - Claudio Basevi; Juan Chapa
  • Paul's Ethical Appeal In Philippians - John W. Marshall
  • Hebrews As Amplification - Thomas H.Olbricht
• Part II Rhetoric And Questions Of Method
  • Rhetorical Criticism, New Form Criticism And New Testament Hermeneutics - Klaus Berger
  • Textual Space As Rhetorical Device - Bernard Lategan
  • The Verbal Art Of The Pauline Letters: Rhetoric, Performance And Presence - Peter J.J. Botha
  • The Dancing Of An Attitude: Burkean Rhetorical Criticism And The Biblical Interpreter - Jeffrey A. Crafton
  • Rhetoric And Culture: Exploring Types Of Cultural Rhetoric In A Text - Vernon K. Robbins
  • On Studying Ethical Argumentation And Persuasion In The New Testament - Lauri Thuren
  • Rhetoric And Hermeneutic—On A Rhetorical Pattern: Chiasmus And Circularity - Angelico-S Alvatore Dl Marco
  • Biblical Exegesis In The Light Of The History And Historicity Of Rhetoric And The Nature Of The Rhetoric Of Religion - Wllhelm Wuellner
• Index of References
• Index of Authors