For reasons I've yet to fathom, I was granted a sneak-peak at a book to be published by Baylor University Press as part of their Fall 2005 offerings. The book is by Bruce W. Longenecker: Rhetoric at the Boundaries: The Art and Theology of the New Testament Chain-Link Transitions. Here's the blurb from the Baylor University Press site:
In Rhetoric at the Boundaries, Bruce W. Longenecker explores the way in which New Testament authors used an ancient rhetorical device to effect smooth transitions, both large and small. His study demonstrates how recognition of this rhetorical technique proves decisive for New Testament interpretation. Longenecker accomplishes this by examining the evidence for chain-link interlocks in a variety of ancient sources, including the Hebrew scriptures, Jewish and Roman authors of the Graeco-Roman world, and the Graeco-Roman rhetoricians. He then applies the results of the survey to fifteen problematic passages of the New Testament. In each case, Longenecker establishes the presence of chain-link interlock and highlights the structural, literary, and theological significance of the rhetorical device for New Testament interpretation.
I'm not through the book yet (nearly, but not quite) but I couldn't hold off writing about it anymore. I've learned a lot I hadn't considered in the past, specifically dealing with transitions between major and minor sections of text. I've only had one year of formal instruction in classical (Attic) Greek, the rest has sort of come along through reading references and trying to read Greek, so I've a lot to learn. Longenecker's book has helped me greatly in thinking about how sections transition from one to another.
I should also say: If you've only had a little bit of Greek and find running Greek text in books a daunting prospect, then the good news is that Longenecker has both Greek text and translation for most of his examples (both NT and other examples).
In the first section of his book, Longenecker actually takes the time to explain some different sorts of transitions that one comes across in Greek text of the New Testament period. He examines excerpts of Quintillian and of Lucian of Samosata, showing that the "chain-link" transition is something that was accepted rhetorical style of this period. He examines other non-canonical sources to establish that this transition style was used in different genres and by different writers.
He then applies his focus to the New Testament, and this is the most interesting part, at least to me. Longenecker identifies and elaborates upon several instances of the chain-link transition in various NT books and shows how they have been mis-identified and (in several instances) mishandled by most previous interpreters. These worked examples (for Romans, Gospel of John, the Apocalypse, and Acts) provide a good basis for understanding this type of structure.
Longenecker only examines a subset of potential links of this type, but he lays the proper foundation for identification and examination of these sorts of things. Looking back, I wish I'd read this before I started Ray Van Neste's Cohesion and Structure in the Pastoral Epistles, because Van Neste spends a lot of time examining transitions (the "boundaries" in Longenecker's title) for cohesion between sections. And there are times where Van Neste identifies chain-link transitions without calling them by that label.
If you're into discourse analysis, rhetoric, studies of textual cohesion, studies having to do with redaction criticism, or just working your way through the Greek text of a particular NT book, then you should consider reading Longenecker's work.
Update (2005-08-24): First off, thanks for the link, Wayne! Secondly, in the comments, John Kendall mentions George Guthrie's The Structure of Hebrews: A Text-Linguistic Analysis. I should say that Longenecker favorably mentions and interacts with this title from Guthrie. Ray Van Neste interacts with Guthrie's work as well. So I'd just recently put Guthrie on my to-buy list. The confirmation from John seals the deal.