Colometric Analysis of Paul’s Letters

Priscille Marschall focuses on a hitherto neglected aspect of the study of the elocutio of Paul's letters: colometry, i.e., the way in which ancient authors used to structure their orality-oriented compositions into "cola" (????) and "periods" (????????). Based on a thorough study of rhetorical treatises from the Greco-Roman world, the author first develops a set of criteria for delineating the cola and the periods. Using 2 Corinthians 10-13 as a case study, she then examines the extent to which Paul's style complies with the conventions of structuring prose outlined by the ancient rhetoricians. Lastly, she explores the links between colometric structure and punctuation, showing how colometric analysis can inform exegetical debates related to segmentation issues and questioning how we might (re)punctuate Paul's letters in order to render something of their oral logic of structuration.