Book Review: Ancient Rhetoric and the New Testament

Abstract

This book argues that features of New Testament can be better understood by looking at how pupils in the Graeco-Roman world were taught to write and speak. Aristotle and Cicero offer examples of advanced rhetorical practice, less well-known writers such as Theon of Alexandria tell us more about early stages of training in speech and writing. Pupils were taught early on to paraphrase, to vary syntax, to vary noun cases, and to assess events in moral ways. This is relevant to understanding editorial practice in the NT. New Testament writers do use many of the features listed and analysed by Greek theorists. A Greek chreia is a saying which makes a point. Examples of these are cited and compared with pointed sayings in the Gospels e.g. that the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath, or that the temple has been made a den of robbers. Parables are a form of fable which reflect some of the practices Greek pupils learned. They were taught to memorize, recite, and paraphrase, also to expand or contract stories, as happens with different versions of NT parables. Students practiced writing both fictional and factual narratives with a focus on persons, actions, place, time, manner and cause. Examples from Greek literature and Josephus are compared with others such as the visions of Peter and of Paul in Acts, and the accounts of Jesus’ baptism. The focus on action in narrative is also noted in a rather brief comparison with works such as Joshua and Judges (p. 78). Speech in character was also part of early training. Examples from the New Testament include the Parable of the Rich Fool (Luke 12) and the speech of Festus (Acts 25). The two concluding chapters turn to Encomium and Syncrisis (passages praising someone or comparing them with others). Passages extolling someone often follow a pattern which includes their origin, bodily features, mental qualities and so forth. Similar patterns can be found in texts by Jewish writers influenced by Greek culture such as Tobit, Judith and works by Josephus. Greek passages praising deities have similarities with Egyptian and Jewish hymns, and with Syriac Christian odes such as Odes of Solomon 29, suggesting that this pattern belongs to the Mediterranean world more generally. The authors also cite passages praising virtues (1 Cor 13) Melchizedek (Hebrews 7) and Christ (1 Peter 2:21ff). Of course it is not too surprising to find passages resembling Greek encomium in writings such as Acts and the letters of Paul, 1 Peter, and Hebrews. Syncrisis, or comparison, was a well-developed rhetorical feature in the ancient world. Amongst the authors cited are Philo (Jacob and Esau), Justin (Jesus and the Greek deities), Paul (Adam and Christ), and Luke (John the Baptist and Jesus). The examples from Greek writings and the NT are well chosen, and are the parts which the non-specialist reader will probably find the most rewarding. The reviewer would like to give more weight to the comment (p. 212) that some features belong not just to Greek, but also to the more general culture of the ancient Mediterranean world.