From Slaves to Sons: A New Rhetoric Analysis on Paul's Slave Metaphors in His Letter to the Galatians

by Sam Tsang

Overview

Researchers on Greco-Roman slavery, formative Christianity, and New Testament theology will surely benefit from this groundbreaking book, a study of the Apostle Paul's slave metaphors in Galatians using the New Rhetoric Model as the lens of analysis. From Roman slave laws in the first century C.E. to the text of Galatians, this book provides an excellent test case for all other studies of first-century metaphors, parables, analogies, and other related genres. Moreover, this book demonstrates explicitly, using examples and a clear step-by-step method to clarify the meanings behind Paul's metaphors.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780820476360
Publisher:	Peter Lang Inc., International Academic Publishers
Publication date:	04/06/2005
Series:	Studies in Biblical Literature , #81
Pages:	235
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.63(d)

About the Author

The Author: Sam Tsang received his Ph.D. from the University of Sheffield Biblical Studies Department. He has given seminars and spoken widely on Pauline subjects in parts of the U.S., Britain, and Asia.

Editorial Reviews

«This book illumines Paul’s use of the slavery metaphor with rigor and freshness, intelligently marshaling Greco-Roman sources with the wealth of Pauline research into slavery in the last decade – all the while maintaining exegetical credibility with the text of Galatians. No mean feat. Much has been written on the social and rhetorical functions of slavery in Paul’s letters, but no one has combined all the relevant results into a unified metaphor as Sam Tsang has. This study will surely open up new questions in Pauline studies for years to come. Bravo!» (Sze-kar Wan, John Norris Professor of New Testament Interpretation, Andover Newton Theological School, Massachusetts)
«This work is thoroughly informed both by Greco-Roman contextual study and by contemporary rhetorical/argumentative theory of metaphor. Sam Tsang offers a fine-grained analysis of the slavery metaphors in Galatians, identifying the apologetic, polemical, and didactic uses of Paul’s slavery language. This close study of the rhetorical function of such language thus marks important distinctions within material otherwise run together in contemporary research. Students of Paul and Galatians, Greco-Roman social context, metaphor, and rhetoric will find this insightful book a most welcome addition to the literature.» (R. Barry Matlock, Department of Biblical Studies, University of Sheffield, United Kingdom)

From the Publisher