“Rhetorical Criticism in Hebrews Scholarship: Avenues and Aporias,” in Method and Meaning: Essays on New Testament Interpretation in Honor of Harold W. Attridge (ed. by Andrew B. McGowan and Kent Harold Richards; Atlanta: SBL 2011), 213–236 (penultimate proofs). (original) (raw)

Introduction: From Classical Rhetoric to Rhetorical Criticism in Biblical and Hebrews Scholarship Eloquence (eloquentia) was an essential value in antiquity; whoever wanted to be known as an effective vir princeps had to be endowed with this quality. Accordingly, whoever earned respect showed themselves to be an abundantly gifted speaker, and whoever lacked that skill became an object of ridicule, even if he were the emperor himself (cf. Tacitus, Ann. 13.3.2-3; Cassius Dio, Hist. 68.7.4). 2 This premium on eloquence originated in the orality of ancient societies. However, according to tradition, once tyranny had been abrogated and lengthy private disputes could be fought out in court again, the interest in public speaking rose and led to the curricular establishment of rhetoric in the fifth century b.c.e. 3 Rhetorical theory in Greece was imparted within the context of ancient paideia, which apart from intellectual teaching always included ethical formation. Within the framework of the enkyklios paideia, a literary form of education, with its disciplines of grammar, dialectic, and rhetoric, quickly gained ascendancy over the mathematical-artistic forms, which included arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and music. Under the designation artes liberales, Rome followed the educational model of its predecessor, not only in regard to its traditional core topics but also Hebrews