Rhetorical analyses of the Pauline letters concentrate on the way in which Paul went about persuading his readers by means of his letters. Normally scholars employ ancient rhetorical models to explain this. D. Francois Tolmie's study represents the first attempt to reconstruct Paul's rhetorcial strategy in the Letter to the Galatians in a different way, namely by concentrating on the letter itself in order to develop the best categories for describing the way in which Paul tried to persuade his readers.

The normal approach to the rhetorical analysis of the Letter to the Galatians is to choose a specific rhetorical model (usually an ancient one) whereby the letter is then analysed. D. Francois Tolmie's study represents an alternative in that the author does not choose a particular rhetorical model to "apply" to the text. Instead, he follows a text-centred approach in that Paul's rhetorical strategy is carefully reconstructed from the letter itself. The letter is divided into 18 rhetorical phases; the dominant rhetorical strategy in each phase is then identified and described, in conjunction with all the supportive strategies and rhetorical techniques used in the particular phase. Finally, the results of the analysis are integrated in two ways: Firstly, Paul's overall argument in the letter is outlined in terms of six broad objectives that he wishes to achieve by means of the letter. Secondly, the wide variety of arguments that Paul uses in the letter is discussed.

Autorentext
Born 1959; 1992 DTh; 2004 PhD in Greek (University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa); Professor of New Testament at the Faculty of Theology and Religion of the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein (South Africa).