Rhetorical Criticism

An approach to the biblical text that concerns itself with the way language is used in a text to persuade its audience. Style, structure and figures of speech have an affect on the audience or reader of a text, and the rhetorical critic focuses on how this “rhetoric” works rather than focusing on the historical setting of a story or poem. In the OT, this approach is successful in stories where a Leitwort or Leitmotiv (“lead-word, “lead-theme”) recurs throughout the story and is used in various ways (e.g., the term “brother” occurs seven times in the short passage concerning Cain and Abel to highlight the disturbing enmity of these two). It is also particularly helpful in poetry, where the conscious and unconscious selection of words and images—and the rejection of alternate words and images—creates an impression on the reader. For example, Micah 2:6–11 uses various forms of the word drip to entrap those who scoff at the prophet and accuse him of dripping/ prophesying: these scoffers who prophesy of wine will “drip” (words) for the people (Mic 2:11). In NT studies, a number of scholars have attempted to interpret the NT letters according to ancient rhetorical categories. These usually include: (1) introduction (exordium); (2) narration (narratio); (3) proposition (propositio); (4) confirmation (probatio); (5) refutation (refutatio); and (6) conclusion (peroratio). The rhetorical critic focuses on the effect the words in a passage have on an audience, how the passage was intended to persuade its audience to a particular point of view.

Arthur G. Patzia and Petrotta, Anthony J, Pocket Dictionary of Biblical Studies (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2002), 101