Terrance Callan, «The Style of Galatians», Vol. 88 (2007) 496-516
Especially since the publication of H. D. Betz’s commentary in 1979 much attention has been given to rhetorical analysis of Paul’s letter to the Galatians. Discussion has focused on the species of Galatians’ rhetoric, i.e., whether it is forensic, deliberative or epideictic; little attention has been given to its style. This paper is an attempt to supply that lack. It begins by describing stylistic ornamentation of Galatians with respect to vocabulary and syntax and proceeds to discuss the presence of plain, middle and grand styles in Galatians. Finally it considers the implications of stylistic analysis for interpretation of Galatians.
498 Terrance Callan
metaphorically (7). In addition there are metaphors implicit in the proverbs
cited in 5,9 and 6,7. The metaphors in 6,7 are elaborated in 6,8-9. Many
of these metaphors can be seen as expressions of five basic metaphors,
namely, the metaphors of the family of God (8), freedom vs. slavery (9),
(7) qeou' patro" (1,1.3.4; 4,6); ajdelfoiv (1,2.11; 2,4; 3,15; 4,12.28.31; 5,11.13;
v
6,1.18); Cristou' doulo" (1,10); trevcw h] edramon (2,2; 5,7); pareisavktou" (2,4);
' [
pareish'lqon kataskoph'sai (2,4); katadoulwvsousin (2,4; 4,3); stu'loi (2,9);
orqopodousin (2,14); Cristw/' sunestaurwmai (2,19; 5,24); uiJoiv (3,7.26; 4,6.7);
j ' v
ejxhgovrasen (3,13; 4,5); paidagwgov" (3,24-25); ejneduvsasqe (3,27; BETZ,
Galatians, 187-188); klhronovmoi (3,29; 4,1.7); nhvpioi (4,3); dou'lo" (4,7);
ejdouleuvsate (4,8.9.25; 5,13); ejpistrevfete (4,9); tevkna (4,19.25.28.31); wjdivnw
(4,19); douleivan (4,24); zugw'/ douleiva" (4,24); mhvthr (4,26); ojfeilevth" (5,3; K.A.
MORLAND, The Rhetoric of Curse in Galatians. Paul Confronts Another Gospel
[Emory Studies in Early Christianity; Atlanta 1995] 229-230); ejxepevsate (5,4);
enekoyen (5,7); davknete kai; katesqiete — ajnalwqh'te (5,15); peripatei'te (5,16);
jv v
basileivan qeou' (5,21); klhronomhvsousin (5,21); karpov" (5,22); stoicw'men
(5,25; 6,16); ∆Allhvlwn ta; barh bastazete (6,2; BETZ, Galatians, 299) / e{kasto"
v v
ga;r to; i[dion fortivon bastavsei (6,5); oijkeivou" (6,10); di∆ ou} ejmoi; kovsmo"
ejstauvrwtai kajgw; kovsmw/ (6,14); ta; stivgmata tou' ∆Ihsou' ejn tw'/ swvmativ mou
bastazw (6,17; BETZ, Galatians, 324; E.D.W. BURTON, A Critical and Exegetical
v
Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians [ICC; Edinburgh 1921] 360-361).
(8) God as father (1,1 etc.); Christians as brothers (1,2 etc.); Christians as sons
of God (3,26 etc.) and heirs of God (4,1 etc.) who will inherit the kingdom of God
(5,21); once they were infants (4,3; on this see Betz, Galatians, 204, n. 26; R.N.
LONGENECKER, Galatians [WBC 41; Dallas 1990] 156); as young children under
pedagogue (3,24-5; on this see MORLAND, Rhetoric of Curse, 227; TSANG, From
Slaves to Sons, 105-116; D.J. WILLIAMS, Paul’s Metaphors. Their Context and
Character [Peabody, MA 1999] 61-63); they are the household of faith (6,10;
BETZ, Galatians, 311, n. 199; BURTON, Galatians, 346; LONGENECKER, Galatians,
283). They are also sons of Abraham (3,7) and heirs of Abraham (3,29); their
mother (allegorically Sarah) is the Jerusalem above (4,26), and they are her
children (4,28.31), not children of the present Jerusalem (allegorically Hagar)
(4,25.31). The Galatians are also Paul’s children whom he labors to deliver (4,19;
BURTON, Galatians, 248; WILLIAMS, Metaphors, 56-57; WITHERINGTON, Grace in
Galatia, 314-316).
(9) Paul is a slave of Christ (1,10); Christians serve one another as slaves
(5,13). Paul may also present himself as a slave in 6,17 if the marks to which he
refers are the marks of a slave (so TSANG, From Slaves to Sons, 76-77; WILLIAMS,
Metaphors, 114-115). At the Jerusalem conference the false brothers sought to
enslave Gentile Christians (2,4; on this see TSANG, From Slaves to Sons, 81-87);
this would be a return to slavery associated with infancy (4,1; 5,1), slavery to the
elements of the universe (4,3.9; on 4,1-10 see TSANG, From Slaves to Sons, 116-
131), after Christ has freed them from slavery by purchase (3,13; 4,5; BEtz,
Galatians, 150; T. CALLAN, “The Soteriology of the Second Letter of Peterâ€, Bib
82 [2001] 549-559, especially pp. 549-550); for Jews this was a matter of being
under the law (4,5), of being children of Hagar a slave girl (4,22-23) whose