Choose Life!: A Rhetorical-critical Investigation of Deuteronomy 28,69-30,20

Timothy A. Lenchak

Jan 1993 · Gregorian Biblical BookShop

About this ebook

During the past thirty years there has been a resurgence of interest in rethoric, both ancient and modern. One product of this interest is rethorical criticism, which approaches a biblical text from the point of view of rethoric. This work opts for an argumentative understanding of rethorical criticism. Basing itself on ancient rhetoric attempts to discover a rhetorical-critical methodology which can be applied to the Book of Deuteronomy. The investigation is limited to the Third Address of Moses (Dt 28,69-30,20). Chapter 1 of this work demonstrates that Deuteronomy is a prime candidate for rethorical analysis. Chapter 2 reviews the notion of rhetorical criticism and some fundamental concepts of both ancient and modern rethoric. Chapter 3 examines the audience and the rhetorical situation of Dt 28,69-30,20. Chapter 4 investigates inventio, the finding of arguments. It does this through an analysis of the ethos, pathos, and logos of the Third Address. Chapter 5 deals with rhetorical arrangement or disposition, while chapter 6 explores the text's style or elocution. Finally chapter 7 summarizes and concludes the work. This essay demonstrates that the authors of the Third Address of Moses made use of a wide variety of rational and emotional Yahweh and to obey his covenantal regulations. The type of rethorical criticism employed here reveals a rich and complex process of argumentation which appears in a biblical text.