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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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Furthermore, the name Jesus Christ appears within a very definite context,<br />

namely a theological cluster that once precedes (1:1-4) and twice succeeds<br />

(2:11-14; 3:4-7) sections containing instructions (1:5-16; 2:1-10; 3:1-3). Most<br />

scholars agree that these theological clusters appear in at least the second<br />

and third chapters while some do not regard the section in the salutation as<br />

the third theological section. Nevertheless, within these theological hubs both<br />

God and Jesus Christ are mentioned. More importantly though, are the<br />

remarkable titles attached <strong>to</strong> the name Jesus Christ or Christ Jesus.<br />

As mentioned elsewhere, the title swthvr makes ten appearances in the<br />

Pas<strong>to</strong>ral <strong>Letter</strong>s. God and Jesus Christ equally share six uses <strong>of</strong> this title. In<br />

<strong>Titus</strong>, Jesus is referred <strong>to</strong> as Saviour in chapters 1:4, 2:13 and 3:6. This titular<br />

attribution designates Jesus implicitly a co-Saviour with the Father, who is<br />

also referred <strong>to</strong> as swthvr (Bailey, 1994:344; Thurs<strong>to</strong>n, 1999:183).<br />

b) Jesus Christ: Deity<br />

One verse, in <strong>Titus</strong> 2:13, has been the subject <strong>of</strong> much debate with reference<br />

<strong>to</strong> the deity <strong>of</strong> Christ. Scholars have long debated whether the verse applies <strong>to</strong><br />

Jesus Christ only or whether it makes separate reference <strong>to</strong> God and Jesus<br />

Christ.<br />

Murray J. Harris, in his paper entitled “<strong>Titus</strong> 2:13 and the deity <strong>of</strong> Christ”,<br />

<strong>of</strong>fers an evaluative summary <strong>of</strong> the various interpretive options on this verse.<br />

His conclusion is that the verse should be unders<strong>to</strong>od <strong>to</strong> refer <strong>to</strong> a singular<br />

predicate, namely Jesus Christ (Harris, 1980:171). His comprehensive<br />

<strong>analysis</strong> is well documented and should be consulted for a detailed overview<br />

<strong>of</strong> the possibilities (Quinn, 1990:156; Harris 1980:263-271). For the purposes<br />

<strong>of</strong> this study, only a bare summary <strong>of</strong> the different categories will be<br />

replicated. He lists and discusses several translation possibilities under three<br />

main interpretive constructions.<br />

PDF created with pdfFac<strong>to</strong>ry Pro trial version www.pdffac<strong>to</strong>ry.com<br />

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