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

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Cretans are only saved by the gracious condescension of God who manifested his e[leo". Inclusive language also functions to foster a sense of community and identification. Paul, by indicating his own unworthiness to be saved, as well as that of Titus, facilitates thereby a full identification with the Cretans. The presentation of a Jew as a co-recipient of divine grace must communicate powerfully against any temptations towards proud superiority. The rhetorical impact of this line of communication harnesses a sense of community and unity, while discouraging any latent allegiance to teaching and teachers that encourage the opposite. In verse 7 we find the word cavri~ which is repeated from 2:11. The rhetorical objective of this repetition is to demonstrate the relationship between grace and righteousness. Here, it also concludes a conglomeration of related terms or synonyms used in this sentence to distinguish the divine action vis-a-vis the human action. From 3:4-7, the following terms are employed to describe God’s behaviour: hJ crhstovth" kai; hJ filanqrwpiva (v. 4) e[leo" (v. 5) cavriti (v. 7) This conglomeration is emphatic, highlighting the supremacy and totality of the divine action. In each of the above instances, the accompanying pronoun or modifier reiterates that with reference to the salvation of people, including the Cretans, God alone is the author thereof: God’s kindness and love for mankind (tou` … qeou'), His mercy (aujtou` e[leo"), and His grace (ejkeivnou cavriti). This triple emphasis stands in stark contrast to human effort with its emphatic first person plural pronoun following after the verb: oujk ejx e[rgwn tw`n ejn dikaiosuvnh/ a} ejpoihvsamen hJmei`". PDF created with pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com 147
The next two words in v. 7 are examples of kinship and inclusive language respectively. The noun klhronovmo~ evokes images of family and privilege. Together with the verb givnomai, it serves as a very powerful confirmation of the transformation shared by all the believers without discrimination or exception. It is reminiscent of the earlier paternal reference to God as “our Father” (1:4) and parent-sibling images in Paul calling Titus his “true child” (1:4). The verb, genhqw`men, being in the passive voice, reaffirms the consistent emphasis throughout this sentence on the passivity of man and the radical activity of God. The prepositional phrase, katÆ ejlpivda zwh`" aijwnivou, introduces a shift in the temporal emphasis of this sentence. Hope points to that which is still to come or to be expected, thus some future event. More importantly though, this phrase repeats the reference in 1:2, ejpÆ ejlpivdi zwh`" aijwnivou, where the apostle ties present godliness to the future hope. The repetition has the rhetorical effect of bolstering the coherency of the discourse, particularly as it also relates to 2:13 and the makarivan ejlpivda. The three references to hope (ejlpiv~) impact on the temporal momentum of the discourse by introducing a future dimension to it. This future perspective serves an important rhetorical function. Positively, those who embrace sound doctrine and obey it can anticipate eternal life with its implicit rewards. Negatively, those who reject sound doctrine or who embrace false teaching are “warned” by the notion of a future reckoning. In other words, the teaching about the future serves to ground or anchor adherence to sound doctrine in the present while also warning those who risk ignoring sound doctrine. The obedient ones will have something good to look forward to, while those who are reckless in this life will, by implication, also have something to look forward to, but less pleasant. The overall rhetorical effect of this future perspective is to communicate the truth that present godliness has future implications, while present ungodliness will also have future implications. This is an ingenious way to motivate the believers to embrace sound doctrine that results in godliness (1:1-2). Furthermore, the certainty of this hope is stressed by the triple repetition thereof throughout this letter. Additionally, in each of the theological sections, PDF created with pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com 148
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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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strategically throughout this secti
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This section is suffused with the r
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and trustworthiness. This choice of
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“By whose authority are you imple
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“shared knowledge”. The qualiti
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espectively within the same sentenc
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dichotomy at the front end of this
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church. Implicit contrasting is als
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aijscrokerdhv", and these false tea
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The second part of verse 13 contain
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different groups. He relentlessly p
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implicit contrasting. The negative
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marker is the use of the plural of
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instruction in this regard. “Heal
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almost desirable. Thus, legitimate
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 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: The certainty and completeness of t
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,
Page 171 and 172: 7: Titus 3:1-2: Persuading the Cret
Page 173 and 174: apostles and lay leaders appointed
Page 175 and 176: In unit 7 (3:1-2), the relationship
Page 177 and 178: The second objective is to highligh
Page 179 and 180: These four objectives may be summar
Page 181 and 182: expected manner can look forward to
Page 183 and 184: f. Arguments based on the use of vi
Page 185 and 186: m. Example. For example, in 3:4-7 G
Page 187 and 188: ehaviour expected of older men. In
Page 189 and 190: BIBLIOGRAPHY Aageson, J. W. (1997).
Page 191 and 192: Everts, J. M. (1993). Hope Dictiona
Page 193 and 194: Lea, D. and H. P. Griffin (1992). 1
Page 195 and 196: Sumney, J. L. (1996). “A Reading
Page 197 and 198: ABSTRACT This study has been conduc
Page 199 and 200: 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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