Consolation in Philippians: Philosophical Sources and Rhetorical Strategy (Society for New Testament Studies Monograph Series)

Rhetorical criticism seeks to understand and comment on the way texts function in their social and cultural contexts. Holloway puts Paul's letter in the context of ancient theories and literary practices of "consolation" and argues that Paul wrote to the Philippians in order to console them. He shows that the letter has a unified overall strategy and provides a convincing account of Paul's argument.