Paul's Paradigmatic "I"

By Brian J. Dodd

This study claims that Paul uses his personal example as an explicit literary strategy in 1 Corinthians, Galatians and Philippians, and as an arguably implicit strategy in 1 Thessalonians and Philemon. He uses his own example to ground and illustrate his argumentation in a rhetorically sophisticated manner, often structuring his argument on such a basis. In places a crisp statement of his own case serves as a thesis statement of the argument that follows (e.g., Rom. 1.17; Gal. 1.10), while at other times it serves to summarize the argument and to provide a transition to the next phase (especially in 1 Corinthians and Gal. 2.15-21). All the while Paul's self-portrayals in his letters serve not autobiographical or egoistic purposes but pedagogical and argumentative aims.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1850759146
• ISBN13: 9781850759140
• Release Date: February 1999
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 1.21 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.3" x 9.5"