Abraham’s reinterpretation and life’s meaning

This article contributes to the theme of life’s fullness by emphasising the struggle for meaning during the Persian era as reflected in Genesis 15 and 17. The community’s ‘strategy’ was to reflect on their identity in order to find their place in the Persian-ruled society and experience something of life’s meaning. Different answers were given and each must be understood separately. In order to survive, one group opted for a broader view of the community and God (Genesis 17), while others were of the opinion that a narrower view had to be followed (Genesis 15). The arguments of both groups are discussed in this article.This article represents a theological reflection on the Faculty Research Theme (FRT) of the Faculty of Theology, University of Pretoria, entitled ‘Ecodomy – Life in its fullness’. The theme is portrayed from the perspective of various theological disciplines. A conference on this theme was held on 27–28 October 2014.http://www.ve.org.zaam201

Reliving the past

The awareness of the historical nature of our human existence had a profound influence on Old Testament scholarship. The historical nature of the Hebrew Bible was also realised and historical criticism was the result, but in the 20th century there was resistance against this method. This article is an attempt to emphasise the importance of historical understanding as a means of reliving the experiences of others in the present. To illustrate this we focus on the work of Eckart Otto and his exposition of the golden calf narrative in Deuteronomy 9:9–21; 10:1–5*. The importance of his work for us lies in his blending of synchrony and diachrony in the study of the book of Deuteronomy.http://www.hts.org.zaam201

Kontoere van 'n weerwoord

The outline of an answer: This article is a response to J A Loader's evaluation of my book, "A story of two ways". It is argued that neither Loader nor any other scholar referred to in the book were deliberately belittled or degraded. Every Old Testament scholar mentioned in "Story" was depicted with the greatest respect and a sincere attempt was made to understand each one. Loader is therefore accused of a one-sided Loader-centric reading. To illustrate my point some important aspects with regard to "Story" are highlighted: the intention of the book, the way in which the book received its name, the problems attached to contemporary history writing, etcetera. The main part of the paper consists of an investigation into Loader's historical approach to the Old Testament.Continued 2001 as 'Verbum et Ecclesia'Spine cut of Journal binding and pages scanned on flatbed EPSON Expression 10000 XL; 400dpi; text/lineart - black and white - stored to Tiff Derivation: Abbyy Fine Reader v.9 work with PNG-format (black and white); Photoshop CS3; Adobe Acrobat v.9 Web display format PDFhttp://explore.up.ac.za/record=b102527

Politieke mag, die Ou Testament en kerkeenheid

Political power, the Old Testament and church unity: The family of Dutch Reformed Churches in South Africa are involved in tense discussions on church unity. One aspect which must be discussed thoroughly is the legitimation of political power. Not only in the past but also the present Mandela government is religiously supported. It is argued that this a dangerous venture. Some examples from the Old Testament are used to illustrate this point. It is stated that Israel became disillusioned in political power and therefore reformulated royal theology.Continued 2001 as 'Verbum et Ecclesia'Spine cut of Journal binding and pages scanned on flatbed EPSON Expression 10000 XL; 400dpi; text/lineart - black and white - stored to Tiff Derivation: Abbyy Fine Reader v.9 work with PNG-format (black and white); Photoshop CS3; Adobe Acrobat v.9 Web display format PDFhttp://explore.up.ac.za/record=b102527

Pro pent: a project for the study of the Pentateuch in South Africa

This article focused on Pro Pent (or the Project for the Study of the Pentateuch) which was established in August 2000 after professor Eckart Otto from the Ludwig Maximilian University (LMU) of Munich visited the University of Pretoria (UP). Pro Pent is a joint project of UP and the LMU and since 2001 annual seminars drive the initiative. These seminars are held in Pretoria and sometimes in Munich. Pro Pent is now an established international study group on the Pentateuch. In order to understand Pro Pent in the South African context, the article briefly discussed the work of previous South African Pentateuch scholars like John William Colenso, Johannes du Plessis and Ferdinand Deist. Their contributions were firstly assessed before Pro Pent’s contribution to the study of the Pentateuch was discussed and its relevancy for the South African context assessed, and highlight Pro Pent’s intention to be relevant.http://www.hts.org.zaam2013mn201

Andries van Aarde as historical Jesus scholar

This article focuses on Andries van Aarde’s work on the historical Jesus and especially his book, Fatherless in Galilee, which made an important contribution to historical Jesus study in South Africa. In the first part of the article Van Aarde’s historical and social approaches are highlighted, his ongoing reflection on the resurrection described and his work on the Infancy Gospel of Thomas accentuated. In the second part we discuss Van Aarde’s depiction of Jesus as someone who grew up fatherless. For Jesus this meant a lifelong struggle against slander and exclusion from the temple and the presence of God. Jesus nevertheless trusted God who filled Jesus’ emptiness. Jesus was baptised and then started a ministry, focusing on the outcasts of society. He preached that the kingdom of God had come and that the people of this kingdom could experience God, as well as forgiveness of sins. Jesus died but arose in the kerygma. The article also refers to the struggle of the authors of the New Testament writings to understand and express the Jesus event.http://www.hts.org.z

Two Africans and the elusiveness of meaning

This article highlights the impossibility of ever grasping fully the meaning of an OT text and how this loss can be approached. Historical criticism underscored the notion that the OT/HB originated over many years: texts were constantly re-interpreted, contexts often changed, older parts were re-adapted and therefore many (even opposing) voices can be heard in the Hebrew Scripture. Notwithstanding difficulties and the elusiveness of meaning, OT scholarship can still be of great value and to elaborate this point the views of two African born scholars are discussed and their “solutions” accentuated. The one suggested that studying the text can be a joyful enterprise and the other African advised that we must always be open to future possibilities.http://www.journals.co.za/content/journal/oldtestam2017Old Testament Studie

Andries van Aarde’s Matthew interpretation

This article focused on Andries van Aarde’s interpretation of the Gospel of Matthew. It argues that Van Aarde has changed his approach to Matthew in the course of time. At the beginning of his career he focused on structural analysis and even made a contribution to the Gattung problem from a structural perspective. Then his attention shifted to narrative criticism and social-scientific criticism. Van Aarde’s consistent narratological interpretation of Matthew enabled him to identify Matthew’s ideology and to determine the way in which it took shape on the surface structure. This narratological investigation also shed new light on, amongst others, the parables, the characters and the problem of direct and indirect discourse. To conclude the article, some critical statements with regard to the historical understanding of the Gospel of Matthew were formulated.http://www.hts.org.z

The different manifestations of suffering and the Lukan Jesus

Eben Scheffler wrote much on poverty and social injustice, and this article focusses on his understanding of the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts in order to comprehend the different dimensions of suffering and the healing ministry of the Lukan Jesus. Scheffler stressed that Jesus’ life, from birth to cross, was immersed in suffering thus becoming part of the human condition of sorrow and misery, but Scheffler ultimately stressed the compassion of Jesus’ ministry which continued in the early church and which must be reflected by his followers to all people.This research is part of the research projects of Prof. Dr Jurie le Roux, Emeritus professor of the Department of Old Testament Studies and Hebrew Scriptures, Faculty of Theology and Religion, University of Pretoria.http://www.hts.org.zaam2020Old Testament Studie

The Book of Ruth in the time of the Judges and Ruth, the Moabitess

This article addresses two issues in the Book of Ruth that have not yet received much scholarly attention: why is the narrative plotted in the time of the judges, whilst the time of narration dates to the postexilic period, and why is one of the protagonists Ruth, the Moabitess, whilst the law in Deuteronomy 23:3–4 (HB 4–5) clearly forbids the presence of Moabitess and Ammonites in the community of YHWH? A suggestion is made that a possible explanation to both these questions may be found in tensions regarding Israel’s identity in the Second Temple period. Two different yet not completely opposite viewpoints are illuminated: that of the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah who envisioned an exclusive Israel that is construed along genealogical and religious lines, and that of the Book of Ruth where solidarity with the people of Israel and the worship of YHWH are embraced by foreigners. Both sides are concerned about the identity of Israel and loyalty to YHWH, yet they employ a different jargon in order to argue for the inclusion or exclusion of foreigners. Furthermore, Ezra and Nehemiah consider mixed marriages as a serious threat to Israel’s identity, and they justify the expulsion of foreign wives on the basis of the Book of Moses. According to the Book of Deuteronomy, Moses interpreted the Torah for the children of Israel at Mount Nebo in Moab: Moab thus functioned as an interpretive space for the Torah. The Book of Ruth proposes an alternative interpretation of the Torah, also from the plains of Moab and the exegesis comes in the person of Ruth, the Moabitess. INTRADISCIPLINARY AND/OR INTERDISCIPLINARY IMPLICATIONS : This article challenges the point of view that the Book of Ruth is a charming narrative of loyalty and love. Research reveals that this Book is a polemic document and its main contribution is to the intradisciplinary field of biblical hermeneutics that requests a re-interpretation of texts for changing circumstances.This article is based on a PhD dissertation with the title: Israel se Identiteit en die Boek Rut. The degree was awarded on 14 February 2016. J.l.R. was the promotor and G.d.V. was the candidate.http://www.ve.org.zaam2016Old Testament Studie