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"PEARLS BEFORE SWINE": DID PAUL'S AUDIENCES UNDERSTAND HIS BIBLICAL QUOTATIONS?

"PEARLS BEFORE SWINE": DID PAUL'S AUDIENCES UNDERSTAND HIS BIBLICAL QUOTATIONS? “PEARLS BEFORE SWINE”: DID PAUL’S AUDIENCES UNDERSTAND HIS BIBLICAL QUOTATIONS? by CHRISTOPHER D. STANLEY Lebanon, IL 62254 Framing the Question One of the chief beneŽ ts of a rhetorical approach to the New Testament is its persistent attention to the complex web of relations between author, audience, and text. Particularly helpful are the ques- tions it raises about the manner in which both author and audience are portrayed within the text. Rhetorical analysis reminds us that we are hearing only one side of the story, that of the author. The depic- tions of the situation, the audience, and the author that we meet in the text are not objective reality, but the constructions of the author. To draw conclusions about the actual conditions of either author or audience from these characterizations is a perilous enterprise, to be pursued with great caution. Yet interpreters routinely use Paul’s letters to reconstruct the views and circumstances of Paul and his churches as though the same let- ters that distort the views of Paul’s “opponents” can give us an unvar- nished picture of the author and his audience. The problem with this approach becomes clear when we look at what scholars have http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Novum Testamentum Brill

"PEARLS BEFORE SWINE": DID PAUL'S AUDIENCES UNDERSTAND HIS BIBLICAL QUOTATIONS?

Novum Testamentum , Volume 41 (2): 124 – Jan 1, 1999

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Publisher
Brill
Copyright
© 1999 Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands
ISSN
0048-1009
eISSN
1568-5365
DOI
10.1163/156853699323281667
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

“PEARLS BEFORE SWINE”: DID PAUL’S AUDIENCES UNDERSTAND HIS BIBLICAL QUOTATIONS? by CHRISTOPHER D. STANLEY Lebanon, IL 62254 Framing the Question One of the chief beneŽ ts of a rhetorical approach to the New Testament is its persistent attention to the complex web of relations between author, audience, and text. Particularly helpful are the ques- tions it raises about the manner in which both author and audience are portrayed within the text. Rhetorical analysis reminds us that we are hearing only one side of the story, that of the author. The depic- tions of the situation, the audience, and the author that we meet in the text are not objective reality, but the constructions of the author. To draw conclusions about the actual conditions of either author or audience from these characterizations is a perilous enterprise, to be pursued with great caution. Yet interpreters routinely use Paul’s letters to reconstruct the views and circumstances of Paul and his churches as though the same let- ters that distort the views of Paul’s “opponents” can give us an unvar- nished picture of the author and his audience. The problem with this approach becomes clear when we look at what scholars have

Journal

Novum TestamentumBrill

Published: Jan 1, 1999

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