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

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2.2.7 Titus 3:1-2: Persuading the Cretans of the compulsory treatment of all unbelievers in a manner consistent with sound doctrine Several commentators consider this section as a continuation of the instructions given in 2:1-10 (Johnson, 1996:246; Quinn, 1990:182; Fee, 1988:200; Collins, 2002:356). Mounce (2000:443) even views it as a repetition of 2:1-14. It is, however, possible to view this as a new section that introduces a different rhetorical objective. Paul’s dominant rhetorical objective can be summarised as persuading the Cretans of the compulsory treatment of all unbelievers in a manner consistent with sound doctrine. Commentators agree that the pronoun aujtouv" refers to all believers. However, Quinn (1990:182) interprets the pronoun as a reference to, what he calls, the Jewish Christian opponents of 1:10, 16. Some differences are however noticeable between these two sections. The earlier section in 2:1-10 distinguished between various categories of believers, with instructions specific to each group. In the present section, the pronoun aujtouv" suggests that the earlier categories are now viewed as the collective group of Cretan believers. Thus far, Titus has been given many instructions. The verb uJpomivmnh/skw, in this instance, indicates another aspect of his ministry as a teacher of sound doctrine. It is also in the imperative second person singular like that of 2:15 and expresses a continuation of the ministry of Titus, who here represents legitimate teaching. The choice of this word to describe an aspect of legitimate teaching could indicate a caution against accepting novel teachings. Paul turns the attention in this section to the whole congregation. The pronoun aujtouv" refers to everyone who was mentioned in chapter 2:1-10. The use of the pronoun signifies a comprehensive expansion of the teaching ministry. Whereas in the previous section the apostle specified particular categories of people, he now includes everyone by the use of the pronoun. Verses 1-2 are a single sentence in Greek. It contains a list of seven virtues. This is counterbalanced in verse 3 by a list of seven vices. The strategy that PDF created with pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com 117
the apostle adopts to persuade his audience consists of an argument based on an appeal to the prior knowledge of his audience to motivate them to manifest the ensuing list of positive behavioural traits. The verb uJpomivmnh/skw represents a possible variation in vocabulary to distinguish the ministry of Titus from that of the false teachers. The function of this verb is open to several interpretive possibilities. It, first of all, seems to introduce another dimension of legitimate teaching, namely “remembering”. Next, the use of the verb suggests a polemic against novel teachings. It also suggests the succession of legitimate ministry. In other words, if sound doctrine is consistent and void of novelties, it becomes transmittable from one generation to the next by a succession of teachers. The task of new teachers would therefore involve reminding the congregations. This implies that the audience is expected to be familiar with the teaching, since one reminds people of things that they already know. In other words, they have had prior exposure to the instructions that are about to follow, having already received instruction in it. It is as if the apostle is saying, “Here are things that people already know but need to be reminded of again”. In 1:13, Titus had to ejlevgcein aujtouv", with particular reference to the false teachers. In the present sentence, the verb uJpomivmnh/skw has as its direct object the pronoun aujtouv". Titus is hereby authorised to take up the task of reminding the believers. He is given the responsibility to continue what someone else has begun. This is therefore another instance of apostolic affirmation of Titus’ ministry, through the use of an alternative verb in the imperative mode. The choice of the verb demands further explanation. “Remind them” implies knowledge pre-existent or known beforehand to the hearers. In other words, at some stage, when they were first exposed to the gospel, the Cretans were exposed to this information. It thus constitutes an argument based on the existence of prior knowledge or an argument based on the appeal to memory. This argument emphasises the temporal priority of legitimate teaching that the Cretans were initially exposed to, over against the illegitimate teaching, which must have come afterwards. This argument thus puts the hearers in a position to evaluate the veracity of the legitimate teaching. They are able to measure PDF created with pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com 118
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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
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novel. To the best of my knowledge,
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ather than as a supplement to the T
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Accordingly, the research hypothesi
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•Step 3: Where deemed necessary,
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The rhetorical situation correspond
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Titus' primary assignment is to app
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Throughout the letter, Paul shares
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equally negative conduct (1:16). In
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2.2.1.1 Emphasising the legitimacy
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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
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Page 99 and 100: The subject is the older women. Thi
Page 101 and 102: negatively upon the oJ lovgo" tou`
Page 103 and 104: 2.2.5.6 The behaviour of slaves In
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: Another technique is personificatio
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
Page 153 and 154: their salvation by God. The divine
Page 155 and 156: discourse. In this regard, consider
Page 157 and 158: two groups is accentuated and the d
Page 159 and 160: Verse 9 opens with the adversative
Page 161 and 162: awareness of the insidiousness of f
Page 163 and 164: This is a very tight unit, carefull
Page 165 and 166: turn, requires the presence of soun
Page 167 and 168: closing greeting to the Cretans inv
Page 169 and 170: 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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