“First”, “Only”, “One of a Few”, and “No One Else” 87 Finally, throughout this examination of epideictic rhetoric and the principle of uniqueness, we have been studying the cultural value of honor, so prevalent and so prized in both Israelite and Greco-Roman antiquity. Honor, which refers to the worthiness of persons, their reputation and the respect due to them, is contained in the names and titles of the gods or God, their achievements, their benefactions, and the dovxa kai; timhv ascribed to them at the end of the prayers. But the honor of God is expressed most eloquently when God’s uniqueness is noted, that God is the “only” deity or the “most” or has some role or attribute or is distinguished entirely from mortals by negative predicates. Nothing is more honorable than being glorified and praised. University of Notre Dame Jerome H. NEYREY, S.J. Notre Dame, IN 46556 USA SUMMARY The distinctive way of honoring gods or God was to celebrate what is unique about them, that is, praise of persons who were the “first”, “only”, or “one of a few” to do something. Rhetoric from Aristotle to Quintilian expounded the theory of “uniqueness”, which the authors of Greek hymns and prayers employed. One finds a Semitic counterpart in the “principle of incomparability” describing Israelite kings. “Uniqueness” pervades the New Testament, especially its doxologies. In them, “uniqueness” was richly expressed in rhetorical mode, as well as by predicates of negative theology which elevated the deity above those praising.