This book uses insights from a modern theory of communication, Relevance Theory, to examine the function of the particle i(/na [SET IN SpIonic] in New Testament Greek. It claims that the particle does not have a lexical meaning of "in order that," contrary to accepted wisdom, but that it alerts the reader to expect an interpretation of the thought or attitude of the implied speaker or author. Evidence is adduced from pagan Greek and in particular the writings of Polybius, Dionysius of Halicarnassus, and Epictetus, as well as the New Testament. The implications of this claim give an...

"A Relevant Way to Read' helps to demystify communication theory in such a way as to encourage biblical scholars and students to open their minds to new ideas about how humans attempt to communicate with one another. It shows how much exegesis in intuitive and gives a theoretical account and support for the processes which we engage in as we attempt to analyse a text. Contextual presuppositions and biases are also considered and factored into the interpretive process. By using Relevance Theory consistently, rather than employing the eclectic method favoured by some scholars who have dabbled...

In A Relevant Way to Read, Margaret G. Sim draws on her in-depth knowledge of New Testament Greek to forge a new exegesis of the Gospels and Paul's letters. Locating her studies in the linguistic concept of relevance theory, which contends that all our utterances are laden with crucial yet invisible context, Sim embarks on a journey through some of the New Testament's most troubling verses. Here she recovers lost information with a meticulous analysis that should enlighten both the experienced scholar and the novice. Whether discussing Paul's masterful use of irony to shame the Corinthians,...

In A Relevant Way to Read, Margaret G. Sim draws on her in-depth knowledge of New Testament Greek to forge a new exegesis of the Gospels and Paul's letters. Locating her studies in the linguistic concept of relevance theory, which contends that all our utterances are laden with crucial yet invisible context, Sim embarks on a journey through some of the New Testament's most troubling verses. Here she recovers lost information with a meticulous analysis that should enlighten both the experienced scholar and the novice. Whether discussing Paul's masterful use of irony to shame the Corinthians,...