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R. DEAN. ANDERSON, JR., Ancient Rhetorical Theory and Paul (CBET 18; Kampen: Kok Pharos, 1996). Pp. [ii] + 315. Paper Nlg 65.
In this dissertation from Kampen (Broederweg), supervised by Professor Jakob van Bruggen, the author, R. Dean Anderson, Jr., assigns himself the task of assessing the relevance of Greco-Roman rhetorical theory to the study of Paul's writings. A's book contains a brief survey of modern rhetorical criticism in NT studies, a detailed introduction to the major extant sources for ancient rhetorical theory with an assessment of their relevance to Paul's writings, a short discussion of the relationship between epistolography and rhetorical theory, a consideration of Gal 1:1-5:11; Romans 1-11; I Corinthians (including as assessment of existing scholarship and the author's own rhetorical analyses), and concluding remarks about Paul's relationship to rhetorical theory. A's main contentions are (1) that only "Hellenistic" or "traditional school rhetoric" is even potentially applicable to Paul, (2) that the rhetorical genres (deliberative, forensic, and epideictic) are not relevant for the Pauline epistles, (3) that rhetorical arrangement (XiSt), likewise, is neither to be expected nor to be found in the Pauline epistles, and (4) historically, that "Paul had no real contact with rhetorical theory as such" (p. 251). Consequently, A. thinks that ancient rhetorical theory is useful for Pauline scholarship only in the area of style, and (more vaguely) that it can be of some help in tracing the flow of Paul's arguments. The brand of rhetorical analysis which A. advocates is, in the main, a return to that in vogue at the end of the last century.
The main contribution of this book lies in the second chapter, which is a thorough and painstakingly detailed survey of sources for ancient rhetorical theory (supplemented by a glossary of selected terms in an appendix). Although much...