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Document Details : Title: 'First', 'Only', 'One of a Few', and 'No One Else' Subtitle: The Rhetoric of Uniqueness and the Doxologies in 1 Timothy Author(s): NEYREY, Jerome H. Journal: Biblica Volume: 86 Issue: 1 Date: 2005 Pages: 59-87 DOI: 10.2143/BIB.86.1.3191698 Abstract : The distinctive way of honoring gods or God was to celebrate what is unique about them, that is, praise of persons who were the 'first', 'only', or 'one of a few' to do something. Rhetoric from Aristotle to Quintilian expounded the theory of 'uniqueness', which the authors of Greek hymns and prayers employed. One finds a Semitic counterpart in the 'principle of incomparability' describing Israelite kings. 'Uniqueness' pervades the New Testament, especially its doxologies. In them, 'uniqueness' was richly expressed in rhetorical mode, as well as by predicates of negative theology which elevated the deity above those praising. |
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