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

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

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other <strong>to</strong> explain what these critics call the “incoherence” <strong>of</strong> these letters<br />

(Carson, Moo, et al. 1992:366). Harrison originally identified five genuine<br />

fragments: Tit. 3:12-15; 2 Tim. 4:13-15, 20, 21a; 2 Tim. 4:16-18a and 2 Tim.<br />

4:9-12,22b. He later modified his findings, reducing the number <strong>of</strong> fragments<br />

<strong>to</strong> three.<br />

James D. Miller, in his book, The Pas<strong>to</strong>ral <strong>Letter</strong>s as composite documents,<br />

critiqued Harrison’s theory. Miller amended the theory, arguing that the<br />

fragments should not be regarded as haphazardly preserved scraps <strong>of</strong><br />

Pauline letters. Instead, the fragments should be seen as the original Pas<strong>to</strong>ral<br />

letters. Miller best puts it as follows: “Each <strong>of</strong> our three Pas<strong>to</strong>rals originated as<br />

an authentic note written by the apostle <strong>to</strong> Timothy and <strong>Titus</strong>” (1997:146).<br />

During the process <strong>of</strong> transmission from one generation <strong>to</strong> the next, these<br />

original letters were expanded by various edi<strong>to</strong>rs who wanted <strong>to</strong> preserve the<br />

traditions as taught by the apostle for their own contexts. Miller claims, in<br />

support, that a similar process accounts for the book <strong>of</strong> Jeremiah. It must be<br />

conceded that Old Testament literature has influenced New Testament<br />

literature. However, what must be borne in mind is that the book <strong>of</strong> Jeremiah<br />

is not only an Old Testament document, but is also a different literary genre<br />

compared <strong>to</strong> the Pas<strong>to</strong>rals. The Pas<strong>to</strong>rals are epis<strong>to</strong>lary literature, largely<br />

modelled after Greco-Roman pro<strong>to</strong>types. Moreover, it cannot be categorically<br />

maintained that the book <strong>of</strong> Jeremiah originated in the manner alleged by<br />

Miller. According <strong>to</strong> Miller, there are more than fifteen original “core Pauline<br />

notes” within the corpus (1997:147, 149, 150).<br />

Harrison’s original theory does not enjoy much support among scholars <strong>to</strong>day,<br />

largely due <strong>to</strong> the lack <strong>of</strong> indisputable evidence (Hanson, 1982:10; Hultgren,<br />

1984:18, Ellis, 1979:54). Its waning popularity is also related <strong>to</strong> the fact that<br />

this theory raises more questions than the answers it attempts <strong>to</strong> give<br />

(Carson, Moo, et al. 1992:366; Guthrie, 1990:636; Lea and Griffin, 1992:23,<br />

24).<br />

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