Colometric Analysis of Paul’s Letters

Methodological Foundations and Application to 2 Corinthians 10-13

by Priscille Marschall

Book cover: Colometric Analysis of Paul’s Letters

Extent: 362 pages

Publisher: Mohr Siebeck

Subjects: Biblical Studies, Classical Studies, Language & Linguistics

Series: Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 2.Reihe

Series volume number: 603

Language: English

Paperback (Published)

(March 2024)

ISBN: 9783161624506

9.09 x 6.06 inches

Price: $124.00

In stock

Priscille Marschall explores some stylistic aspects of Paul’s letters, in particular their oral-oriented logic of structuration, employing Chapters 10-13 of Second Corinthians as a case study. The method of analysis draws upon the rhetorical treatises of the Greco-Roman world.


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” (κῶλα) and “periods” (περίοδοι). 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.

  • By (author) Priscille Marschall