The 'Powers' of Personification - Rhetorical Purpose in the 'Book of Wisdom' and the Letter to the Romans

While scholars have often found value in comparing Wisdom and Romans, a comparison of the use of personification in these works has not yet been made, despite the striking parallels between them. Furthermore, while scholars have studied many of these personifications in detail, no one has investigated an individual personification with respect to the general use of the trope in the work. Instead, most of this research focuses on a personification in relation to its nature as either a rhetorical device or a supernatural power. The ‛Powers’ of Personification seeks to push beyond this debate by evaluating the evidence in a different light – that of its purpose within the overall use of personification in the respective work and in comparison with another piece of contemporaneous theological literature.


Joseph R. Dodson, Ouachita Baptist University, Arkadelphia, AR, USA.