The meaning of the Niphal and the Hithpael of ברך in the Abrahamic blessing for the nations (Gen. 12.3b; 18.18; 22.18; 26.4; 28.14) has been a long-standing debate among scholars. Traditionally, scholars have assumed that the variation of the wording is stylistic. Therefore, they have usually argued that the force of the verb is either passive, middle or direct reflexive consistently in all five instances. More recently, some scholars have proposed that the Niphal and the Hithpael of ברך bear distinct nuances, though they do not agree on those specific nuances. Based on grammatical evidence as well as support from the literary and narrative context of Genesis, this article argues that while the Niphal and the Hithpael of ברך largely overlap in their meaning, they also bear distinct nuances—the Niphal is passive (‘be blessed’) and the Hithpael is an indirect reflexive that bears an estimative-declarative force (‘regard themselves as blessed’). Finally, this article will also discuss the theological implications arising from such an understanding.

This article examines how John crafts the narratives and discourses to address the issue of fear and secrecy and to guide his audience/readers on how to face persecution. It is proposed that: first, John uses dualistic language with the rhetorical purpose of bringing across ironies, exposing underlying motives of characters, and heightening the impossibility of a middle ground; second, he deliberately portrays a few characters ambiguously to reflect the complexities of life -one cannot and should not easily classify everyone neatly into dualistic categories; and, third, John has a distinctive emphasis on divine providence with regard to facing persecution.

Most commentators suggest that ‘rest from toil’ in Rev. 14.13 refers to relief from the enduring hardships of persecution. Based on the cultural and narrative contexts of the book of Revelation, it is argued in this study that this ‘rest’ reflects two Jewish traditions: (1) rest from work and (2) rest from enemies. It also proposes that ‘rest from toil’ also carries a strong connotation of victory over persecutors – a reading with important implications for understanding John’s rhetorical strategy of increasing the motivation for his readers/hearers to remain faithful to Christ, even when facing death.

This study examines how the author of Hebrews uses the motif of empathy to achieve his rhetorical goals and it demonstrates that, in line with the use of exemplars and pathos in Greco-Roman and Jewish rhetoric, the author not only cites exemplars of empathy for emulation, he also arouses his audience’s empathy as a catalyst to induce them to help fellow believers who are suffering due to their faith in Christ. These rhetorical effects are key to not only maintaining the individual’s faithfulness to God, but also creating community support for maintaining each other’s faithfulness to God when facing persecution.