Rhetorical Texture and Narrative Trajectories of the Lukan Galilean Ministry Speeches: Hermeneutical Appropriation by Authorial Readers of Luke-Acts

Varying degrees of attention are paid to Jesus' four speeches in the Galilean ministry of the Gospel of Luke. Despite increasing interest in ancient Graeco-Roman rhetoric in biblical studies, few scholars examine the speeches from the lens of ancient rhetorical argument. In addition, with the exception of the inaugural speech in Luke 4.14-30, little attention is afforded to the relevance of the speeches for understanding larger nuances of the narrative discourse and how this affects the hermeneutical appropriation of authorial readers. In contrast, Spencer examines each speech from the context of ancient rhetorical argument and pinpoints various narrative trajectories-as associated with theme, plot, characterization, and topoi-that emerge from the rhetorical texture. In doing so, he shows that the four speeches function as "sign posts" that are integral to guiding the Lukan narrative from the "backwaters" of Galilee to the center of the Roman Empire.

• Table of Contents
• Part One: Current Status of Research and Methodological Foundation
  • 1. Understanding Today's Scholarly Landscape: Jesus' Four Lukan Galilean Ministry Speeches
  • 2. A Methodological Foundation for Investigation: Towards Reading as Conduction
  • 3. Graeco-Roman Rhetorical Argument: Delimiting Rhetorical Texture
• Part Two: Rhetorical Texture of the Four Lukan Galilean Speeches
  • 4. First Galilean Speech (4.14-30): Hometown Synagogue Rejects New Patronal Boundaries
  • 5. Second Galilean Speech (Lk 6.17-49): A New Ethical Mode of (Non-Reciprocal) Benefaction
  • 6. Third Galilean Speech (Lk 7.24-35): Jesus, John the Baptist, and Their Disciples and Opponents
  • 7. Fourth Galilean Speech (Lk 8.4-18): Sowing Character Taxonomies for the Implied Reader
   
• Part Three:Narrative Trajectories and Hermeneutical Appropriation by Authorial Readers
  • 8. Disputed Issues: The Unity of Luke-Acts and the Representation of the Jewish People
  • 9. Rhetorical Texture and Narrative Trajectories: Generation of Plot, Characterization, and Topoi
  • 10. Hermeneutical Appropriation by Authorial Readers and Ideological Transformation
   
• Part Four: Concluding Summary - From Galilee to Rome
  • 11. Conclusion: Rhetorical Texture, Narrative Trajectories, and Appropriation by Authorial Readers
• Bibliography