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

by Ben Witherington III

Written in clear, and at times colorful, prose, Ben Witherington's What's in the Word explains 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 in What's in the Word coalesce around three of Witherington's ongoing academic 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.

Genres: Biblical Studies, Christian, Religion

203 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2009

About the author

Ben Witherington III (PhD, University of Durham) is Amos Professor of New Testament for Doctoral Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky, and is on the doctoral faculty at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. He is the author or coauthor of more than thirty books, including The Jesus Quest, The Paul Quest, and The New York Times bestseller The Brother of Jesus. He has appeared on the History Channel, NBC, ABC, CBS, and CNN.

Reviews

[Robert]

I was intrigued by Witherington's assertion that a key element to interpreting the NT literature is (what he calls) the socio-rhetorical context. Though I'm not at all schooled in rhetoric, his arguments make a lot of sense.

However, I found the book a bit of a chore to read. Witherington's writing has always left me with an impression of arrogance and stereotypical scholarly snottiness, and this book didn't do much to change that impression. It was written on a much more technical/academic level than I had anticipated. I first heard of this book right after it's release when I saw Witherington discussing it in an interview on - of all places - a comedy central late night show (either the Daily Show or Colbert Report, I can't remember which). That being the case, I wasn't expecting a particularly academic book. Furthermore, there were times when I felt like the book was little more than a collection of unrelated essays, each of which was dealing with one or another unorthodox interpretation that Witherington has become convinced of. The strand that (according to the closing paragraph) was supposed to be binding all these chapters together was Socio-Rhetorical analysis, but too often that strand seemed to vanish - leaving me wondering what on earth Witherington was on about in THIS chapter. Perhaps that is an indication that I did a poor job as a reader, but I suspect that in this case it is also the fault of poor writing.

...which is a shame because I'd like to hear more about the socio-rhetorical context of the Scripture.

[Josue]

In the final chapter of this book, Witherington states, "the world in which the NT was written was a rhetorically saturated environment and an oral culture, beyond cavil." As such, in this book Witherington has tried to show "that it is necessary to study the NT in light of Greco-Roman rhetoric, because numerous NT writers, all literate persons, were also rhetorically skilled persons. They wrote knowing and using rhetorical conventions." Thus, "if one wants to get at the intended meaning of the texts, due attention must be given to the social world in which they were created and the social context for which they were created."

This was a well written and scholarly book. Witherington begins by explaining what it means to have texts that are surrogates for oral communication in an oral culture, and throughout the book he discusses specific topics and passages in light of said culture.

I freely admit that I have a lot more to learn with regard to rhetoric. With that said, I do not agree with every conclusion Witherington makes as he seeks to get at the intended meaning of a text based on rhetoric (and the social world of the author). Nevertheless, the importance of considering the rhetoric and social context of the NT is very clear to me. So read this book with discernment, and with Bible in hand.

[Jared]

It was an interesting book. The author took a few different controversial topics and applied his method for understanding the NT. Once again he is showing why his socio-rhetoroic model is the best for understanding the NT. He covers a few controversial Bible words, and difficult passages of scripture as well. In general he is readable, but he uses some strange words as well. There is a spot where he kind of makes a fool of himself (I think he was trying to be funny, but it does not work for this book). Ultimately, I wish this book had more direction, it seems like a random group of essays. But there were chapters that were quite interesting and useful.

[David]

This book has some very good points that stress the need to keep in mind the oral nature of the culture in which the NT documents were composed.

[Beau]

I really liked this collection of essays. I learned a lot and had to rethink my own views on a number of issues.