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

to quell the opposition and the detailed nature of the instructions suggest a
second layer of recipients. Paul has already instructed Titus (1:5), so why
would he have to repeat himself to Titus in such detail? Additionally, Paul's
use of inclusive language suggests that the intended audience of the letter
extends beyond that of Titus.
Paul's rhetorical objective is to persuade Titus directly, and the congregations
indirectly (3:15 uJmw`n) that divinely sanctioned church leadership and divinely
sanctioned doctrine is necessary for the maintenance of the divine character
of God's people in the present world. He does this through positive and
negative stereotyping, persuading the congregation to avoid the latter while
pursuing the former.
2.2 RHETORICAL ANALYSIS
2.2.1 Titus 1:1-4: Adapting the salutation to emphasise the
divine basis of legitimate ministry
The salutation is one of five categories of a typical Pauline letter. In it, Paul
would identify himself as the sender, specify the recipient(s), followed by a
greeting, thanksgiving or a prayer (McRay, 2003:265, 267; Harvey, 1998:18;
Tolmie, 2005:31). Titus demonstrates that Paul could deviate from his normal
pattern with relative ease, since this letter, for example, does not contain a
thanksgiving section. Scholars recognise the unusual nature of this salutation
and in this regard Collins (2000:59) observes that “salutations were much
more than an envelope for a letter: they too had a rhetorical function”, which
he argues involved getting the attention of the audience and rehearsing facts
upon which the audience and the speaker agreed. He continues by observing
that salutations were similar to the first century rhetorical categories of
exordium and narratio. In the case of the Letter to Titus, the dominant
rhetorical objective of the salutation is to emphasise the divine basis of
legitimate ministry. The analysis of this section will show that multifaceted
objectives lie behind Paul’s digression from his usual pattern.
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