What's in the Word : Rethinking the Socio-Rhetorical Character of the New Testament

Written in clear, and at times colorful, prose, Ben Witherington’sWhat’s in the Wordexplains how the recognition of the oral and socio-rhetorical character of the New Testament and its environment necessitates a change in how the New Testament literature is read. Expanding on the work in which he has been fruitfully engaged for over a quarter century, Witherington challenges the previously assured results of historical criticism and demonstrates chapter by chapter how the socio-rhetorical study shifts the paradigm.Taken together, the chapters inWhat’s in the Wordcoalesce around three of Witherington’s ongoing academic concerns: orality and rhetoric; New Testament history, including issues of authenticity and canonicity; and the exegesis of given words in their canonical and socio-cultural contexts. Always unpredictable, this book never fails to pique interest and proffer instruction.

Ben Witherington III is Amos Professor for Doctoral Studies, Asbury Theological Seminary. Twice named the Christianity Today book of the year winner, he is the author of The Living Word of God, Making a Meal of It, Troubled Waters, and The Problem with Evangelical Theology. He lives in Lexington, Kentucky.