The Letters to Philemon, the Colossians, and the Ephesians
by Witherington, Ben, IIIFormat: Paperback
Pub. Date: 2007-11-26
Publisher(s): Eerdmans Pub Co
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Summary
This volume completes Ben Witherington??'s own contributions to the Eerdmans socio-rhetorical series of commentaries on the New Testament. Besides the usual features of this series, Witherington offers an innovative way of looking at Colossians, Ephesians, and Philemon as inter-related documents written at different levels of moral discourse. Colossians is first order moral discourse (the opening gambit), Ephesians is second order moral discourse (what one says next after the opening salvo to the same audience), and Philemon is third order moral discourse (what one says to a personal friend or intimate). Witherington successfully analyzes these documents as examples of Asiatic rhetoric, explaining the difference in style from earlier Pauline documents. He further shows that Paul is deliberately engaging in the transformation of existing social institutions. As always, Witherington??'s work is scholarly and engaging, and will be welcome on any shelf.
Author Biography
Ben Witherington III is professor of New Testament at Asbury Theological Seminary, Wilmore, Kentucky, and is a member of the doctoral faculty at St. Andrews University, Scotland
Table of Contents
| Abbreviations | p. xi |
| Introduction | p. 1 |
| Differences in Rhetorical Style | p. 4 |
| The Different Rhetorical Situations | p. 10 |
| Other Stylistic Objections to the Pauline Character of Ephesians and Colossians | p. 11 |
| Epistolary and Rhetorical Structures | p. 19 |
| The Social Settings of Paul and of His Audiences | p. 21 |
| An Annotated Bibliography | p. 37 |
| The Letter to Philemon | p. 51 |
| The Epistolary Prescript - vv. 1-3 | p. 53 |
| Thanksgiving/Exordium - A Refresher Course - vv. 4-7 | p. 57 |
| A Closer Look: When Rhetoric Is Not Mere Rhetoric | p. 62 |
| An Appeal for a Useful Servant - vv. 8-16 | p. 65 |
| A Closer Look: Paul in Chains, Onesimus in Bondage | p. 68 |
| Peroratio - Summing Up and Touching the Heart of the Matter - vv. 17-22 | p. 82 |
| A Closer Look: The Cost of Manumission | p. 87 |
| Epistolary Conclusion - vv. 23-24 | p. 91 |
| Bridging the Horizons - Philemon | p. 93 |
| The Letter to the Colossians | p. 99 |
| The Authorship of Colossians | p. 100 |
| Further Thoughts on the Relationship of Colossians and Ephesians | p. 103 |
| The False Teaching/Philosophy in Colossae | p. 107 |
| The Theology of Colossians | p. 111 |
| The Occasion of Colossians | p. 113 |
| Epistolary Prescript - 1.1-2 | p. 115 |
| Exordium/Thanksgiving Prayer - 1.3-14 | p. 118 |
| Narratio - The Pattern of Christ - 1.15-20 | p. 128 |
| A Closer Look: The Formation of the Christ Hymn | p. 130 |
| Propositio/Partitio - 1.21-23 | p. 137 |
| Probatio - Argument One - Minister of the Mystery - 1.24-2.5 | p. 142 |
| Probatio - Argument Two - The Bone of Contention - 2.6-3.4 | p. 151 |
| A Closer Look: The Colossian "Philosophy" | p. 164 |
| A Closer Look: The Theological Substance of Colossians | p. 168 |
| Probatio - Argument Three - The Necessity of Virtue - 3.5-4.1 | p. 174 |
| Vice and Virtue Lists - 3:5-17 | p. 175 |
| The Household Code - 3:18-4:1 | p. 181 |
| A Closer Look: Evaluating the Household Codes Fairly in Paul's Context | p. 183 |
| A Closer Look: Paul on Marriage and Slavery in Context | p. 188 |
| Peroratio - Prayer and Wisdom - 4.2-6 | p. 197 |
| Epistolary Closing - 4:7-18 | p. 201 |
| Bridging the Horizons - Colossians | p. 208 |
| The Homily Called Ephesians | p. 215 |
| Homilies in the New Testament Era | p. 215 |
| Ephesians as a Letter to Ephesus? | p. 217 |
| Epideictic Rhetoric: The Art of Persuasive Sermon-Making | p. 219 |
| Pseudonymity? | p. 223 |
| Epistolary Prescript - 1.1-2 | p. 225 |
| Exordium - A Blessing of a Eulogy - 1.3-14 | p. 227 |
| A Closer Look: For Heaven's Sake | p. 232 |
| Thanksgiving Prayer/Captatio Benevolentiae - 1.15-23 | p. 238 |
| A Closer Look: The Ethos of Community in Ephesians | p. 247 |
| Narratio - Gentiles Then and Now and Their Apostle - 2.1-22; 3.2-13 | p. 250 |
| Concluding Prayer and Doxology - 3.1, 14-21 | p. 270 |
| Exhortatio - Reminder of Community Values and Virtues - 4.1-6.9 | p. 279 |
| The Formation of a More Perfect Union - 4.1-16 | p. 283 |
| A Closer Look: What Goes Up Must Come Down - Pneumatic Exegesis | p. 288 |
| New Creatures - 4-17-24; Putting Off and Putting On - 4.25-32 | p. 293 |
| The Imitation of God, the Image of Holiness - 5.1-21 | p. 302 |
| Christians in the House - 5.21-6.9 | p. 313 |
| A Closer Look: The Christian Household Code Revisited | p. 319 |
| Peroratio - Standing notwithstanding the Opposition - 6.10-20 | p. 344 |
| Epistolary Postscript - The End of the Matter - 6.21-24 | p. 356 |
| Bridging the Horizons - Ephesians | p. 359 |
| Index of Authors | p. 366 |
| Index of Scripture and Other Ancient Writings | p. 370 |
| Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved. |
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