Journal: Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society
Volume: JETS 58:1 (Mar 2015)
Article: “Almost Thou Persuadest Me…”: The Importance Of Greco-Roman Rhetoric For The Understanding Of The Text And Context Of The NT
Author: Ben Witherington III

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JETS 58:1 (March 2015) p. 63

“Almost Thou Persuadest Me…”:
The Importance Of Greco-Roman Rhetoric
For The Understanding
Of The Text And Context Of The NT

Ben Witherington III*

* Ben Witherington III is Jean R. Amos Professor of NT for Doctoral Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary, 204 North Lexington Avenue, Wilmore, KY 40390. This essay was originally presented at the annual meeting of the Institute for Biblical Research, Chicago, 2012, and is here revised for publication.

“It is time to bring the rhetoric of the apostle and the rhetoric of his ancient interpreters together.” — Margaret Mitchell1

“Some adults have experience with texts but others do not. To the latter a document is just parchment and ink, not a means by which the living voice of an absent friend is known.” — John Chrysostom2

The study of the rhetoric of the NT, and the rhetoric in the NT, took new life in the modern era when Hans Dieter Betz published his landmark commentary on Galatians in the Hermeneia series.3 This was followed by a series of publications by George Kennedy on Greco-Roman rhetoric and the NT that were to prove to be enormously influential.4 After this initial thrust there was an attempt by Vernon Robbins to blend modern and ancient rhetorical analysis as a means of studying the NT.5 The discipline basically divided into two camps—those focusing more strictly on historical rhetorical criticism (namely analyzing the rhetoric the writers of the NT themselves may have used) and those prepared to follow Robbins in the use of ancient and modern rhetorical analysis of the NT. Like Margaret Mitchell, a former student of Betz, I fall into the camp interested in pursuing the historical question of what sort of rhetoric the writers of the NT themselves may or may not have used. I do so in significant part because of the need to go ad fontes, back to the original sources in the original languages. It is an emphasis I think it is still right to embrace, despite growing resistance to historical contextual readings of the Bible.

From the outset of this modern discussion over the previous thirty plus years, there has been considerable pushback against such analyses of the NT, for various

JETS 58:1 (March 2015) p. 64

reasons.6 The first portion of this essay will be devoted to a ground-clearing exercise refuting the usual criticisms ...

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