Restricted accessResearch articleFirst published online 2017-3
Rhetorical Chain-Link Construction and the Relationship between Romans 7.1-6 and 7.7–8.39: Additional Evidence for Assessing the Argument of Romans 7–8 and the Identity of the Infamous ‘I’
Scholars often find structural and/or logical deficiencies in Rom. 7.1-6 and 7.7–8.39. Such findings often lead to confusion regarding the argument of Rom. 7–8. Bruce Longenecker’s identification of chain-link construction in 7.7–8.39 convincingly resolves many problems, but 7.1-6 remains in the lurch. A similar examination of 7.1-6, however, clarifies the structure and argument of that passage, its relationship to 7.7–8.39, and the argument of Rom. 7–8 as a whole. Indeed, 7.1-6 anticipates the structure and content of 7.7–8.39 through its own miniature chain-link construction. This provides not only additional but significant evidence for the rhetorical function of 7.1-6, the argument of Rom. 7–8 and the identity of the infamous ‘I’ in Rom. 7.7-25.
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