The Galatians Debate: Contemporary Issues in Rhetorical and Historical Interpretation [Hardcover]

Mark D. Nanos (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 2002

Students and scholars reading the secondary literature on Galatians must often negotiate specialized language and complex lines of argument. In addition to the theological jargon that traditionally characterizes discussion of Galatians, one now encounters a significant amount of rhetorical and sociohistorical terminology, and the reader's familiarity with this specialized language is increasingly assumed.

This volume is designed to facilitate familiarity with the contemporary issues central to the interpretation of Galatians and to present examples of the prevailing points of view as well as some recent challenges to them. The essays included explore the rhetorical and epistolary approaches to examining Galatians, comprise a comprehensive introduction to significant research in the field, and represent some of the best work available. Mark Nanos offers an introduction and glossary of terms to help students begin their study and a comprehensive volume bibliography and modern author and ancient sources indexes for those who are continuing on to further study.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 517 pages
• Publisher: Hendrickson Pub (November 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1565634683
• ISBN-13: 978-1565634688
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,157,654 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Comprehensive Contributors' List - Perfect for Classroom Use, April 21, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Galatians Debate: Contemporary Issues in Rhetorical and Historical Interpretation (Hardcover)

This volume offers a comprehensive introduction to the contemporary debates on Paul's Epistle to the Galatians. Perfect for classroom use. In addition to complete indexes and a volume bibliography, there is a glossary of technical terms that arise in the volume.

The essays are separated into three major topical areas to cover discussion of: 1) Rhetorical and Epistolary Genre; 2) The Autobiographical Narratives; 3) The Galatian Situation(s).

Contents include:

Introduction, Mark D. Nanos

Part 1. Rhetorical and Epistolary Genre:
A. Rhetorical Approaches:

1. The Literary Composition and Function of Paul's Letter to the Galatians, Hans Dieter Betz

2. The Rhetorical Outline for Galatians: A Reconsideration, Robert G. Hall

3. The Letter of Paul to the Galatians: A Deliberative Speech, Joop Smit

4. Galatians (1:1-5): Paul and Greco-Roman Rhetoric, Robert M. Berchman

5. Apostasy to Paganism: The Rhetorical Stasis of the Galatian Controversy, Troy Martin

6. Paul's Epistles and Ancient Greek and Roman Rhetoric, Carl Joachim Classen

B. Epistolary Approaches

7. Paul's Letter to the Galatians: Epistolary Genre, Content, and Structure, Nils A. Dahl

8. A Paradigm of the Apocalypse: The Gospel in the Light of Epistolary Analysis, G. Walter Hansen

Part 2: Autobiographical Narratives:
A. Rhetorical Approaches

9. Rhetorical Identification in Paul's Autobiographical Narrative: Galatians 1.13-2.14, Paul E. Koptak

10. Paul's Argumentation in Galatians 1-2, Johan S. Vos

11. Epideictic Rhetoric and Persona in Galatians One and Two, James D. Hester

B. Socio-historical Approaches

12. The Incident at Antioch (Gal. 2.11-18), James D. G. Dunn

13. Judaism, the Circumcision of Gentiles, and Apocalyptic Hope: Another Look at Galatians 1 and 2, Paula Fredriksen

14. Making and Breaking an Agreement Mediterranean Style: A New Reading of Galatians 2:1-14, Philip F. Esler

15. What Was at Stake in Peter's `Eating with Gentiles' at Antioch? Mark D. Nanos

Part 3: The Galatian Situation(s)

16. The Opposition to Paul, A. E. Harvey

17. The Agitators and the Galatian Congregation, Robert Jewett

18. A Law-Observant Mission to Gentiles, J. Louis Martyn

19. Paul and the Opponents of the Christ-Gospel in Galatia, Nikolaus Walter

20. Mirror-Reading a Polemical Letter: Galatians as a Test Case, John M. G. Barclay

21. The Argumentative Situation of Galatians, B. C. Lategan

22. The Inter- and Intra-Jewish Political Context of Paul's Letter to the Galatians, Mark D. Nanos

23. Foolish Galatians?-A Recipient-Oriented Assessment of Paul's Letter, Dieter Mitternacht

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Paul's Rhetoric, June 19, 2009

By 

David Hindley (Warren, OH United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Galatians Debate: Contemporary Issues in Rhetorical and Historical Interpretation (Hardcover)

Ever since Hans Dieter Betz proposed, in his 1979 Hermeneia commentary on Galatians, that Paul was employing elements of Greco-Roman rhetoric, this idea has dominated modern criticism of the Pauline corpus, especially the books of Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthians and Galatians.

It is unfortunate that few of the rhetorical critics of Paul can agree as to exactly which rhetorical elements mentioned in the surviving ancient Greek or Latin handbooks correspond to the chapters of Paul's letters. This inability to make rhetorical sense of Paul was examined in Philip Kern's 1998 book _Rhetoric in Galatians_. Part of the problem is that the "rules" of rhetoric, both ancient and modern, are not written in stone.

Mark Nanos, the editor of _The Galatians Debate_, has himself written on the subject of Paul's use of language in _Mystery of Romans_ (1996) and _Irony of Galatians_ (2002). I thought he did an excellent job of bringing together, and juxtaposing, several critics with very different views on the subject.

Well worth the read.

Dave H