Listening to the Text: Oral Patterning in Paul's Letters (Evangelical Theological Society Studies Series)

Rating:
Summary: "For the the proficient in Koine Greek only."
Review: This book is a very technical, heavily footnoted, treatment of the GREEK auditory structures of several Pauline Epistles. The author does a nice job of initiating the reader to the oral nature of preliterate people. He walks the reader step by step through literary devices used by Greco-Roman, Septuagint, and first century writers to catch the "ear" and give structure to the hearers. He defines the categories and controls for the devices used and then applies them to several of the Apostle Paul's New Teatament letters.

As a relitive novice in this area I must admit the introduction created an expectation that went unfulfilled in the application to biblical material. First, many of the "Readily Apparent Oral Patterns" were simply not apparent to me. Many of the "patterns" seemed unnatually forced and complicated. One wonders if Paul would have understood let alone planned some of the arrangments expressed. Second, Six of Paul's epistles (granted they are debated in some circles) were not even addressed by the author.

All in all the book was a good introduction to orality but it left me expecting much much more.