| Chapter 1 lays the foundation for the study of wordplay in the writing of Paul by first identifying the main types of wordplay which exist. These include wordplay which depends upon sound, that which depends upon sense, compound wordplay which used both, and play on proper names. Next, the prevalence of wordplay in the literature of Paul's time is established by a survey of wordplay in the OT, Greek and Roman sources, and NT writers other than Paul. After an examination of wordplay as a component of rhetoric, the chapter identifies major functions of wordplay. These include coherence, irony, satire, sarcasm, exploiting ambiguity, drawing attention, and giving emphasis.;Chapter 2 examines Paul's use of wordplay in the wider Pauline corpus, by surveying the phenomenon in the undisputed letters. This chapter shows that Paul uses soundplay for the purposes of euphony, clever sound, emphasis, and compactness. A survey of senseplay shows its functions to include emphasis, compactness, and clever semantics, which include semantic shift, double meaning, coherence, irony, sarcasm, and satire.;Chapter 3 turns the focus to Philippians, by an examination of the rhetorical contours of that letter. Following the suggestions of D. F. Watson and H. B. Harwell, this chapter shows that Philippians generally compares with a speech composed on the principles of deliberative rhetoric. That is to say, Philippians has an introductory section generally corresponding to rhetoric's exordium, a statement of the main issues generally corresponding to rhetoric's narratio, a two-part development of the argument generally corresponding to rhetoric's probatio, and a conclusion which corresponds to rhetoric's peroratio. An outline of the letter's flow of argument shows that the heart of Philippians consists of an appeal for unity (Chapter 2) and steadfastness (Chapter 3).;Chapter 4 examines the use of wordplay in Philippians. A study of some 20 occurrences shows that in this letter, Paul uses various types of repetition most frequently, including alliteration, homoeoteleuton, cognates, and synonyms. Functions of wordplay in Philippians include emphasis, irony, clever semantics, clever sound, coherence, sarcasm, and compactness. Chapter 5 concludes the study with an assessment of the role of wordplay in the rhetoric of Philippians. |
