A Text centred rhetorical analysis of Paul's Letter to Titus

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direct repetition occurs in the word didaskaliva, which here is part of a prepositional phrase, in regard to which Titus must be incorruptible (ajfqoriva). The combination of three nouns, of which two are modified, is another instance of emphatic clustering. The trio comprises the nouns ajfqoriva, semnovth~ and lovgo~ uJgihv~, which are here modified by the adjective ajkatavgnwsto~ (irreproachable). The minister of legitimate teaching must be unmistakably distinguishable from the illegitimate teachers. A more important implication is this: even Titus is not above sound teaching. His life must correspond to the doctrine. This is totally in line with everything that has been taught so far in this letter. As in verse 5, where the integrity of the teaching (oJ lovgo" tou` qeou`) was tied to the conduct of submissive wives, so in the case of Titus the integrity of the teachers are tied to the example of Titus. The second i{na-clause alludes to opposition (ejx ejnantiva") who would be put to shame (ejntrevpw) and prevented from saying bad things about the legitimate teachers. Most commentators understand this sentence to refer to Paul and Titus only. But it begs the question as to whether Titus, who is introduced as a “son” of the apostle, would behave in a manner that would compromise the integrity of the mission and even that of the apostle. A conclusion in the negative seems more probable, coupled with the suggestion that the pronoun hJmei`~, represents the entire Christian movement. The use of the pronoun is a rhetorical technique to facilitate identification; to engender the “us-them” sentiment. The apostle speaks as an insider. In this way, he is in effect saying that if they (the opposition) bad-mouth you, they bad-mouth me. This part of the sentence also evinces assonance of the e-sound: “… ejx ejnantiva" ejntraph`/ mhde;n e[cwn levgein peri; hJmw`n …”. This is for emphatic purposes, to highlight the serious consequences of compromising conduct. Believers must conduct themselves in compliance with sound doctrine because the apostle expects this behaviour from them. This constitutes an argument based upon apostolic authorisation. PDF created with pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com 99
2.2.5.6 The behaviour of slaves In verses 9-10 the behaviour of Christian slaves (douvloi) is addressed. There are several instances of direct repetition from earlier sections that ties this section to the content of the entire discourse. It includes the following words: dou`lo" (1:1), uJpotavssw (2:4), ajntilevgw (1:9), pa`~ (1:15, 16; 2:7), pivsto~ (1:1, 4, 6, 9, 13; 2:2), ajgaqov~ (1:16; 2:5), didaskaliva (1:9, 11; 2:1, 7), swth`r (1:3, 4), qeov~ (1:1 – twice, 7, 16; 2:5), and the expression swthvr hJmw`n qeov~ (1:3). The rhetorical significance of this extensive repetition lies in the parallels and comparisons that are drawn through it. It is also important for the cohesion of this unit. Paul introduced himself as a douvlo~ in 1:1. This self-signification softens any negative connotation associated with this word. In fact, it places the master- slave relationship in a positive light, thus serving an ameliorative purpose. Furthermore, Paul’s identification with those at the bottom end of the social ladder would do much to commend him and especially the content of this letter to the congregation. On another level, Paul takes the place of a role model as he demonstrates his obedience to God. There is therefore, a sense in which Paul is speaking here, not as a high-handed apostle, but rather as a fellow slave in submission to the great Master. It is from this perspective that he can “urge” slaves in the congregation to follow his example. The rest of the congregation would be hard pressed to reject those who are lower in the social order, since they would then have to reject even Paul. Thus, through the use of this word, the apostle is facilitating harmony within the congregation. Slaves must “submit” (uJpotavssw) to their (own) masters in the same way that younger women are expected to “submit” (uJpotavssw) to their (own) husbands (2:4). By contrast, the false teachers have been vilified as ajnupovtaktoi (1:10). Through paronomasia, Paul establishes on the one hand, a positive connection between the various groups of believers while on the other hand facilitating a contrast with the opposition. The paranomasia maintains the polarity between those who are “sound” and those who are “unsound”. Paul PDF created with pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com 100
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A TEXT-CENTRED RHETORICAL ANALYSIS
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DECLARATION I declare that the diss
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SECTION 2 RHETORICAL ANALYSIS 2.1 R
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SECTION 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 OVERVIEW
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The content of the authorship debat
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consistently identified as pioneer
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J. Quinn. Their list of scholars ad
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Uncharacteristic Pauline theology:
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etc. are not referring to actual pe
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History never lies” (Titus 1:2)?
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meaning as determined by historical
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other to explain what these critics
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1.1.2.4 Conclusion The various theo
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Excursus: Cumulative-complimentary
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Lumping or clustering apparent oppo
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these letters on a more individual
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Furthermore, the name Jesus Christ
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C. 1. qeou` and swthvr depend on do
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accentuate the unmistakable role of
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order to prove issues of authorship
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Miller (1997:124) is particularly u
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Next, Van Neste goes on to show how
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There have been some recent excepti
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The first part of the analysis is e
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offer any translations in this rega
Page 51 and 52: novel. To the best of my knowledge,
Page 53 and 54: ather than as a supplement to the T
Page 55 and 56: Accordingly, the research hypothesi
Page 57 and 58: •Step 3: Where deemed necessary,
Page 59 and 60: The rhetorical situation correspond
Page 61 and 62: Titus' primary assignment is to app
Page 63 and 64: Throughout the letter, Paul shares
Page 65 and 66: equally negative conduct (1:16). In
Page 67 and 68: 2.2.1.1 Emphasising the legitimacy
Page 69 and 70: strategically throughout this secti
Page 71 and 72: This section is suffused with the r
Page 73 and 74: and trustworthiness. This choice of
Page 75 and 76: “By whose authority are you imple
Page 77 and 78: “shared knowledge”. The qualiti
Page 79 and 80: espectively within the same sentenc
Page 81 and 82: dichotomy at the front end of this
Page 83 and 84: church. Implicit contrasting is als
Page 85 and 86: aijscrokerdhv", and these false tea
Page 87 and 88: The second part of verse 13 contain
Page 89 and 90: different groups. He relentlessly p
Page 91 and 92: implicit contrasting. The negative
Page 93 and 94: marker is the use of the plural of
Page 95 and 96: instruction in this regard. “Heal
Page 97 and 98: almost desirable. Thus, legitimate
Page 99 and 100: The subject is the older women. Thi
Page 101: negatively upon the oJ lovgo" tou`
Page 105 and 106: or originating from God (tou' … q
Page 107 and 108: to God and this paves the way for t
Page 109 and 110: This explains the use of inclusive
Page 111 and 112: Furthermore, through the direct rep
Page 113 and 114: what grace is instructing the belie
Page 115 and 116: Paul demonstrates that he is himsel
Page 117 and 118: The section closes with the apostle
Page 119 and 120: Another technique is personificatio
Page 121 and 122: the apostle adopts to persuade his
Page 123 and 124: Most commentators treat ejxousivai
Page 125 and 126: person. Interestingly, both instanc
Page 127 and 128: 2.2.8 Titus 3:3: Evoking disgust wi
Page 129 and 130: purpose while Mounce (2000:446) bel
Page 131 and 132: negative. Paranomasia and the metap
Page 133 and 134: conformity to the divine example. I
Page 135 and 136: as traditional, with verse 3 as an
Page 137 and 138: aptism effected by the Holy Spirit
Page 139 and 140: exclusively or that this constitute
Page 141 and 142: through self-vilification in the op
Page 143 and 144: crhstovth" and filanqrwpiva of God
Page 145 and 146: ejpoihvsamen hJmei`" (works) ajlla;
Page 147 and 148: these titles. The future appearance
Page 149 and 150: The certainty and completeness of t
Page 151 and 152: The next two words in v. 7 are exam
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their salvation by God. The divine
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discourse. In this regard, consider
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two groups is accentuated and the d
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Verse 9 opens with the adversative
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awareness of the insidiousness of f
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This is a very tight unit, carefull
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turn, requires the presence of soun
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closing greeting to the Cretans inv
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SECTION 3 CONCLUSION In Section 1,
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7: Titus 3:1-2: Persuading the Cret
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apostles and lay leaders appointed
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In unit 7 (3:1-2), the relationship
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The second objective is to highligh
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These four objectives may be summar
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expected manner can look forward to
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f. Arguments based on the use of vi
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m. Example. For example, in 3:4-7 G
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ehaviour expected of older men. In
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BIBLIOGRAPHY Aageson, J. W. (1997).
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Everts, J. M. (1993). Hope Dictiona
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Lea, D. and H. P. Griffin (1992). 1
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Sumney, J. L. (1996). “A Reading
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ABSTRACT This study has been conduc
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In Section 3 the results of the stu
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amanuensishipotese en die allonieme
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KEY TERMS 1. Pastoral Letters 2. Rh
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A Text centred rhetorical analysis of Paul's Letter to Titus

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