David I. Yoon, «Prominence and Markedness in New Testament Discourse.», Vol. 26 (2013) 3-26
Paul's testimony of his post-conversion experience in Galatians—the only place in the New Testament this is found—is the starting point for the rest of his polemic against his opponents who avert the gospel he first taught his readers. What is interesting is that he highlights or emphasizes certain portions of his testimony, using the linguistic method of prominence. As others have written already, prominence in Hellenistic Greek is conveyed in many ways, but one major way is by the writer's choice of verbal aspect. By first identifying a theory of prominence in the Greek of the New Testament, the paper then applies that theory to Gal 1:11–2:10 to discover that Paul emphasizes preaching and gospel related items in his testimony.
Prominence and Markedness in New Testament Discourse 25
his current ministry of advancing the gospel; his opinion of the “reputable
people” in Jerusalem; and the apostles’ desire for Paul and his team to
“remember” the poor.
There is one frontground material in this discourse: that Paul had
been entrusted with the gospel by God. The intent does not seem to be
out of arrogance, that somehow Paul earned this entrustment from God,
but that his ministry of the gospel is motivated by God’s trust in him. By
frontgrounding this statement, he states that what he does is not for any
other motive than that it was commissioned to him by God. Thus, the
gospel he preaches is from God.
4. Conclusion
In this paper, I have defined and outlined a broad theory of prominence
and the various criteria for determining prominence in the Greek of
the New Testament. Prominence is based on the idea that a particular
discourse is diverse and contains elements that are more or less prominent
than other elements in the discourse. The purpose of prominence is to
determine what parts of a given discourse are emphasized, assuming that
a discourse is characterized by varying degrees of prominence. I applied
my theory to an important discourse, Paul’s post-conversion testimony
to the Galatians, and found that he emphasizes, primarily through the
use of aspect but also mood and voice, the preaching of the gospel that
was commissioned to him by God. This analysis makes sense, in light of
the subsequent discourse in 2,11ff., where, after relating to his readers
what happened in the Antioch incident, Paul explicates the message that
he preaches, a gospel that he accuses the Galatians of having abandoned
(cf. 1,6–7). Though his travels provide supplementary material to the
discourse—and perhaps when read in a translation such as English,
the focus could be interpreted as his travels—these are not indicated as
prominent elements. Rather Paul is concerned with defending that the
gospel was given to him by God, and that it is not relayed simply as
secondary information from others.
David I. YOON
McMaster Divinity College
1280 Main St. West
Hamilton, ON L8S 4K1
CANADA
daveiyoon@gmail.com
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