Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Bible Samuel'

This thesis takes up the question of intertextuality between the Bible and Samuel Beckett’s oeuvre. It starts with the contention that this relationship has acquired something of the status of a commonplace within Beckett studies; not that substantial scholarly works have not widened out considerably the way that this is understood, but in Ruby Cohn’s words: ‘today every Beckett student knows his literary allegiances—the Bible and Dante, above all’. The Bible’s status for Beckett comes to be treated as a matter of common sense. In response to this critical situation, one aspect of the thesis is to disclose and analyse previously overlooked examples of the Bible’s presence in Beckett’s work, engaging with hitherto occluded parts of the oeuvre (unpublished manuscript texts and the French works, for example). But at the same time, it looks to critically question what is at stake in the claim that the Bible is a matter of common knowledge for Beckett. The methodology put to work in the thesis always begins in close readings of Beckett’s texts, and also of the discourses surrounding his oeuvre. In doing so, it resists an idea that close reading entails a retreat into an ahistorical formalism; rather, it argues for an historicism that does not simply rest on broad notions of orthodoxy and shared values. Rather than taking for granted a common sense idea of what the Bible is (even in the limited sense of what it is for Beckett), the thesis argues for its instability as a ‘text’ across more than one language. Nor, I argue, does Beckett’s oeuvre fix down a particular, single notion of the Bible as the relevant one for its own purposes (the King James Bible, for instance); on the contrary, his work is deeply engaged with the Bible in all its complex, multilingual textuality. The thesis contends that the particular relationship between Beckett and the Bible poses distinctive problems for the kinds of epistemological value invested in a certain understanding of intertextuality; indeed, I look throughout to interrogate the authority invested in familiarity—both that of the author and that of the critic. Following this thread, the thesis also undertakes a sustained engagement with the way in which archival materials are used and valued by a critical practice interested in questions of intertextuality. Through this, I look to do two things at once: both to respond to the extraordinary value of archival documentation for opening up new possibilities within Beckett studies, and at the same time to analyse closely the extents and limitations of what can be claimed on the basis of such analyses. In working through these kinds of question, and responding to the particular exigencies produced by the Bible in relation to the Beckett oeuvre, I also engage with critical issues having to do with theories of affect, the notion of style (asking what it means to adduce some piece of text as ‘biblical’ or ‘Beckettian’), and the analysis of intertextuality in performance. Through all of these readings, the thesis is interested in what it means to read intertextuality in relation to a Beckett ‘oeuvre’, when the ambit of that oeuvre, its internal interrelationships and its points of connection with the world, constantly shift and reformulate themselves. Rather than treating the Bible as a thread that can be safely followed from one end of the oeuvre to the other, guaranteeing a continuity that remains free from the complexities, irruptions and discontinuities performed in Beckett’s texts, the thesis argues that biblical intertextuality is actively involved in those complex Beckettian movements.

The examination of the final chapters of the books of Samuel offered here proceeds initially from an unease about the frequent pejorative appraisal of them as an unsuitable, late addition that is out of place in its context. Taking a cue from the recent interest in initial and concluding texts in the context of literary and "Canonical" methods, the work attempts to describe this text complex, with its six chiastically arranged units, in terms of its literary function as a concluding text in relation to the rest of the preceding book. Following remarks of W. Brueggemann and J. Flanagan, the ring structure is further compared with other groups of texts in the Samuel corpus. The specific, overarching macrostructure which is thus perceived is structured not according to linear-chronological principles but according to patterns of parallelism and chiasmus. This observation of a concept of order that is distinct from modem western convention is understood, following Emma Brunner-Traut, as deriving from an "aspectival" perception of reality. By means of this kind of reading, many inner relationships open up, binding the closing chapters to the other parts of the book in such a way that it is shown to be a unified literary work. The two poetic texts are shown to stand in a complex relationship with the four other songs of the books of Samuel. The allusion to the prophet Gad belongs in a series of six encounters between David and prophets, arranged as a set of three pairs. The two lists of soldiers are interpreted by analogy with the double lists of the sons and ministers of David. The final contrast, in the closing chapter, between the two kings, Saul and David, and the polarity - expressed in the tension between centre and periphery - between rule of Yahweh and sin of the kings, both mirror and finally draw together the main themes of the book. These relationships suggest that the appraisal of the closing chapters as a late addition is in need of revision. It will be argued that they should be interpreted in close connection with the rest of the book.

In this thesis, the concept of the character as reader is explored as a means of revealing the poetics of the text of 2 Samuel. A preliminary examination of David's interpretation of the story of the Amalekite messenger in 2 Sam 1 leads to the conclusion that the polysemy of the Amalekite's utterances is turned against him. David as reader re-writes the Amalekite's utterances. This leads to a theoretical investigation of what it might mean to refer to a character as reader. The concept of mise en abyme suggests that the character's reading may be both a model and an antimodel of the reading strategy revealed by the character. The concept of the 'character as reader' is then investigated using theories of the literary character from Aristotle to Greimas coupled with theories of reading as inference and the linguistic theories of Bakhtin and Austin. These all combine to reinforce the contention that meaning is a dialogic process, dependent on the response of the interlocutor, but in inviting response, provokes the hearer or reader to utter. The character as reader is defined as a signed site of translation, a particular interpretative transformation of perlocutionary force into illocution which is given coherence by a proper name. Character as reader is character as utterer. This definition is then used to look at two stories where David 'interprets' a text, 2 Samuel 12: 1-15 and 2 Sam 14. Here the parodic relationship between these two texts is explored, and the difference in reading stances which are labelled by the name David is pointed out. This parodic relationship foregrounds the fact that both stories share the device of provoking an oath.

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 1993.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: My Ph.D. dissertation proposed a four-step procedure for recovering the earliest possible text of the Old Testament: (1) detennining the lexical and grammatical characteristics of the various secondary (non-Hebrew) witnesses; (2) determining the literary and theological characteristics of the same witnesses; (3) retroverting the non-Hebrew witnesses wherever significant variants occur; (4) evaluating the Hebrew and retroverted variants and reconstructing a Hebrew Vorlage presumed to lie behind all of the extant witnesses. The dissertation itselfcompleted the fIrst two of these steps, which a..rnount to a determination of the significant variants (i.e., those that probably point to a Hebrew reading different from M'I) of the secondary wiblesses. It is the goal of this thesis to complete the analysis and produce a critical, eclectic Hebrew text of 1 Samuel 3. Before attempting to retrovert the different secondary witnesses, a number ofproblem areas need to be addressed, including developing a methodology for retroverting versional readings that is as scientific as possible, the Hebrew script used in the Vorlagen of the various versions, and the orthography of the Vorlagen and of the reconstructed archetype. The methodology used for retroverting secondary witnesses is informed by the works of Margolis, Tov, and others, and the translation techniques of the versions as. determined in mydissertation playa large role. The methodology must be modified somewhat when analyzing the partial secondary witnesses (the Lucianic and Hexaplaric recensions of LXX). Once the secondary witnesses have been retrov~their data is combined with that of MT, 4QSama, and a few other Hebrew witnesses and evaluated. The problems of multiple literary editions and conjectural emendations are examined, as are the merits ofexternal and internal evidence in making text-critical decisions. After each of the units ofvariation has been evaluated, the possibility that LXX represents an edition of Samuel different from MT is considered on the basis of the evidence from chapter 3. Finally, a critical edition of the chapter, replete with critical apparatuses containing both the original and retroverted readings of the secondary witnesses, presents the fruits of the study.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In my Ph.D. proefskrif het ek vier stappe voorgestel wat as prosedure gevolg kan word om die oudste moontlike teks van die au Testament te bepaal.: (1) die vasstelling van die leksikale en grammatikale kenmerke van die onderskeie sekond~re (nie-Hebreeuse) getuies; (2) die vasstelling van die liter~re en teologiese kenmerke van dieselfde getuies; (3) die hervertaling (retrovertion) van die nie-Hebreeuse getuies waar daar betekenisvolle variante voorkom; (4) die evaluering van die Hebreeus en die hervertaa1de variante en die rekonstruksie van 'n Hebreeuse Vorlage wat aanvaar word agter aIle beskikbare getuies te l~. Die proefskrif self het die eerste twee stappe voltooi, wat neergekom het op die vasstelling van die betekenisvolle variante (d.i. die wat waarskynlik heenwys na 'n lesing wat van MT verskil) van die sekondere getuies. Dit is die doel van hierdie tesis om die analise te voltooi en om 'n kritiese, eldektiese teks van die Hebreeuse teks van 1 Samuel 3 daar te stel. Voordat ek egter poog am die verskillende sekond~re getuies te hervertaal, moet 'n aantal probleem areas eers aangespreek word. Dit sluit in die ontwerp van 'n metode om variante lesings uit die vroee vertalings so wetenskaplik moontlik te hervertaal, die Hebreeuse skriftipe wat in die onderskeie Vorlagen gebruik is, en die ortografie van die Vorlagen en van die rekonstrueerde oertipe vas te stel. Die metode wat aangele word om sekond~re getuies te hervertaal steun gedeeltelik op die navorsing van Margolis, Tov en ander. Verder speel die vertaaltegniek van die vroee vertalings wat in my proefskrif bepaal is 'n groot ro!. Die voorgestelde metode moet ietwat aangepas word wanneer die gedeeltelik sekondere getuies (die Lukiaanse en Heksaplariese resensies van die LXX) geanaliseer word. Nadat die sekondere getuies hervertaal is, word hulle data gekombineer met die van MT, 4QSama, en enkele ander Hebreeuse getuies en geevalueer. Die probleme verbonde aan meervondige literere uitgawes en hipotetiese emendasies word ondersoek, SODS ook die meriete van eksterne en interne getuienis wanneer tekskritiese beslissings gevel word. Nadat elkeen van hierdie eenhede van variasie geevalueer is, word die moontlikheid ondersoek dat die LXX 'n uitgawe verteenwoordig van Samuel wat verskil van MT op grond van die getuienis van hoofstuk 3. Laastens word 'n kritiese uitgawe van hierdie hoofstuk, volledig met kritiese apparaat wat beide die oorspronklike en die hervertaalde lesings van die sekondere getuies bevat, as vrugte van hierdie studie aangebied.

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2013.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study seeks to identify and classify idioms in the Hebrew Bible. Based on a survey of literature on idioms in general, and in Biblical Hebrew in particular, the necessary conditions for idiomaticity are identified as (1) multi-word character, (2) semantic noncompositionality, (3) unit status, (4) conventionalisation, (5) a verbal nucleus, and (6) a content message. Restricted variability and uniqueness may also be indicative of idiomaticity, although these are not regarded as necessary conditions. Accordingly, idiom is defined as a conventionalised multi-word symbolic unit with a verbal nucleus and a content message, whose global meaning is a semantic extension of the combined meanings of its constituent elements. These criteria were applied to 1 and 2 Samuel, and 104 idioms were identified. The results suggest that the proposed definition is an effective aid to identifying idioms, with certain caveats. In line with Granger and Paquot’s phraseological classification, the multi-word character of idioms is interpreted to imply a verb plus at least one more semantic (as opposed to grammatical) element. Semantic compositionality is shown to be a complex concept that should be understood as the overall meaning of an expression being an extension of the combined meanings of its individual lexical constituents. Conventionalisation and unit status prove to be virtually impossible to determine with certainty for expressions in the Hebrew Bible. Researchers should also be aware that there is an inevitable degree of subjectivity involved in the application and interpretation of the idiom characteristics proposed in this study. A preliminary semantic classification of the idioms found in 1 and 2 Samuel is proposed, based on the lexicographical system developed by De Blois (2000) for the Semantic Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew. The results of this study suggest that, with some improvements and adjustments, De Blois’s framework is suitable for classifying and representing Biblical Hebrew idioms. The greatest obstacle in using this system is shown to be the counterintuitive names of a number of categories. A complete alphabetical list of idioms from 1 and 2 Samuel is provided in Appendix A, together with the relevant semantic information for each. A classification of these idioms according to lexical semantic domains is presented and discussed in Chapter 5, while alternative ways of arranging them (viz. by contextual semantic domains, underlying conceptual metaphors, and terms for body parts) are provided in Appendices B to D. This study demonstrates that idioms are semantically motivated (by conceptual metaphor, metonymy, symbolic acts, etc.) although their meaning is semantically noncompositional. It also indicates the need for a more systematic treatment of idioms in Biblical Hebrew lexicons.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie poog om idiome in die Hebreeuse Bybel te identifiseer en te klassifiseer. Die volgende noodsaaklike voorwaardes vir idiomatisiteit is geïdentifiseer op grond van ’n oorsig van die literatuur oor idiome in die algemeen en in Bybelse Hebreeus in die besonder: (1) meerwoordigheid, (2) semantiese nie-komposisionaliteit, (3) eenheidstatus, (4) konvensionalisering, (5) ’n werkwoordelike kern en (6) ’n inhoudelike boodskap. Beperkte veranderbaarheid en uniekheid kan ook dui op idiomatisiteit, maar dit word nie as noodsaaklike voorwaardes beskou nie. Gevolglik word idioom gedefinieer as ’n gekonvensionaliseerde, meerwoordige simboliese eenheid met ’n werkwoordelike kern, waarvan die geheelbetekenis ’n semantiese uitbreiding is van die gekombineerde betekenisse van die elemente waaruit dit saamgestel is. Die bogenoemde kriteria is in 1 en 2 Samuel toegepas, en daar is 104 idiome geïdentifiseer. Die resultate dui daarop dat die voorgestelde definisie van idiomatisiteit, met inagneming van sekere voorbehoude, ’n effektiewe hulpmiddel vir die indentifisering van idiome is. In lyn met Granger en Paquot se fraseologiese klassifikasie word daar van die veronderstelling uitgegaan dat die meerwoordigheid van idiome ’n werkwoord plus minstens een ander semantiese (teenoor grammatikale) komponent behels. Daar word aangetoon dat semantiese komposisionaliteit ’n komplekse begrip is en dat dit verstaan moet word as ’n uitbreiding van die kombinasie van die betekenisse van die afsonderlike leksikale elemente waaruit ’n uitdrukking saamgestel is, om ’n geheelbetekenis te vorm. Om die konvensionalisering en eenheidstatus van uitdrukkings in die Hebreeuse Bybel met sekerheid vas te stel, blyk feitlik onmoontlik te wees. Navorsers moet ook daarvan bewus wees dat daar ’n onvermydelike mate van subjektiwiteit betrokke is by die toepassing en verstaan van die idioomkenmerke wat in die huidige studie voorgestel word. ’n Voorlopige semantiese klassifikasie van die idiome wat in 1 en 2 Samuel geïdentifiseer is, word voorgestel, gebaseer op die leksikografiese sisteem wat deur De Blois (2000) vir die Semantic Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew ontwikkel is. Die resultate van hierdie studie doen aan die hand dat De Blois se raamwerk, met ’n paar veranderinge en verbeteringe, geskik is vir die klassifisering en uiteensetting van idiome in Bybelse Hebreeus. Daar word aangetoon dat die grootste hindernis om die genoemde sisteem te gebruik, die teen-intuïtiewe benaminge van ’n aantal kategorieë is. ’n Volledige alfabetiese lys van die idiome uit 1 en 2 Samuel, met toepaslike semantiese inligting by elk, word in Bylae A aangebied. ’n Klassifikasie van hierdie idiome volgens leksikale semantiese domeine word in Hoofstuk 5 voorgehou en bespreek, terwyl alternatiewe indelings (nl. volgens kontekstuele semantiese domeine, onderliggende konsepsuele metafore en terme vir liggaamsdele) in Bylaes B tot D aangebied word. Hierdie studie toon aan dat idiome semanties gemotiveer word (deur konsepsuele metafore, metonimie, simboliese handelinge ens.), alhoewel hulle betekenis niekomposisioneel is. Die behoefte aan ’n meer sistematiese bewerking van idiome in Bybelse Hebreeuse leksikons word ook uitgewys.

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2002.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Modern society is plagued by an intense conflict of political ideologies. These conflicts in many instances reflect very serious religious overtones. Each person or group claims the right to react to socio-political issues on the basis of their own worldviews that are shaped by their cultural backgrounds, religious belief systems and political ideals. Human diversity serve to complicate matters even more and has in many instances found expression in political and religious intolerance, a fact testified to by the large-scale abuse of human rights that took place with increased intensity in the 20th century. Many Christians have failed to challenge the injustices that have resulted from these political ideologies and have instead opted to become 'apolitical' or simply hiding behind the argument that politics and religion does not mix. The author through a careful study of biblical political structures in the ancient Near East attempts to demonstrate the extent to which political ideologies of communities were influenced by the cultural milieu within which they existed. The feelings of ambivalence we experience in our faith are a direct result of these influences. An understanding of political ideology from a biblical perspective is essential to understand current world conflicts especially those that relate to the Middle East region. The author also argues for a reconciliation of politics and religion in the collective psyche of Christians. This would enhance a sense of sociopolitical responsibility in terms of the biblical mandate. The responsibility of government structures in terms of this mandate is also important and needs to be emphasised. The primary responsibility of any government is the welfare of its citizens and the management of public resources in an orderly, moral and efficient manner. A large percentage of government officials find it extremely difficult to face up to the challenge. The perspectives presented not only gives one insight into the historical development of biblical political worldviews. but presents us with challenges to pursue opportunities for peace and justice that would recognise and advance human dignity, human equality and human responsibility.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die moderne samelewing is oorweldig deur konflikte van politieke ideologies. Hierdie konflikte is in baie gevalle 'n weerspieëling van baie ernstige godsdienstige motiewe. Elke persoon of groep behou hom die reg voor om te reageer op socio-politiese aangeleenthede op grond van 'n eie wêreldsiening wat geskep word deur kulturele agtergronde, godsdienstige geloofsstelsels en politieke ideale. Menslike verskeidenheid maak hierdie aangeleenthede meer ingewikkeld en het in baie gevalle gelei na politieke en godsdienstige onverdraagsaamheid. Dit het verder aanleiding gegee tot die grootskaalse menseregte skendings wat plaasgevind het met groter intensiteit gedurende die 20ste eeu. Vele Christene het nie daarin geslaag om die uitdagings van ongeregtighede, wat voortspruit uit hierdie politieke ideologieë, die hoof te bied nie en het verkies om of hulself as 'apolities' te verklaar of om te argumenteer dat politiek en die godsdiens nie bymekaar hoort nie. Die skrywer, deur 'n indringende studie van bybelse politieke strukture van die ou Nabye Ooste te onderneem, poog om te demonstreer dat politiek ideologies gekleur was deur die kulturele samestelling van die gemeenskap. Gevoelens van ambivalensie wat ons ervaar in ons geloof is regstreeks as gevolg van hierdie omstandighede. Politieke ideologie vanuit 'n bybelse perspektief gee vir ons die geleentheid om huidige wêreldkonflikte beter te verstaan veral dit wat betrekking het op die Midde Ooste streek. Die skrywer stel ook voor die versoening van politiek en die godsdiens in die kollektiewe psige van Christene. As gevolg hiervan word die socio-politiese verantwoordelikheid van die Christen verhef in lyn met die bybelse mandaat. Die verantwoordelikheid van regerings strukture in terme van hierdie mandaat is ook belangrik en behoort beklemtoon word. Die primêre doel van enige regering is die welvaart van sy burgers sowel as die bestuur van sy openbare hulpbronne op 'n ordelike, sedelike en doeltreffende manier. 'n Groot aantal regeringsbeamptes vind dit moeilik om hierdie uitdaging die hoof te bied. Hierdie perspektiewe, wat hier aangebied word, gee nie net vir ons insig tot die historiese ontwikkeling van bybelse politieke wêreldsieninge nie, maar daag ons uit om geleenthede vir vrede en geregtigheid wat menslike waardigheid, menslike gelykheid en menslike verantwoordelikheid erken, na te jag.

Thesis (DTh (Old and New Testament))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie ondersoek die rol wat mag en ideologie speel in die konkrete interkulturele gespreksruimte wat tot stand kom as individue vanuit diverse kontekste mekaar ontmoet rondom Bybeltekste. Die interkulturele gespreksruimte word teoreties gefundeer vanuit die gesamentlike uitgangspunte van die Feminisme en 'n Afrika-hermeneutiek. Die kommunale ruimte bied hiervolgens teoreties die ruimte waarbinne individue vanuit diverse kontekste tot hulle reg kan kom in die kollektief. In Hoofstuk 2 van hierdie studie word die hermeneutiese raamwerk waaruit die studie sy vertrekpunte vind, omskryf wanneer die uitgangspunte van beide die Feminisme en 'n Afrika-hermeneutiek bespreek word. Die Feminisme beklemtoon die belang van die kontekstuele stem van die individu en Afrika-hermeneutiek stel die kommunale ruimte voor waarin die stemme tot hulle reg kan kom. Die interkulturele gesprek wat in hierdie studie ondersoek word, vind plaas met 2 Samuel 13:1-22 as gespreksdokument. In Hoofstuk 3 word 'n multidimensionele eksegetiese raamwerk beskryf wat gebruik word ten einde ‘n deurdagte interpretasie van 2 Samuel 13:1-22 te bied. ‘n In-diepte lesing van die teks word gedoen, sowel as ideologies(retories)-kritiese en leserrespons-kritiese analises. Ten slotte word in dié hoofstuk verwys na die interpretasiegeskiedenis van die teks vanuit ‘n dominant Westerse perspektief asook vanuit die Feminisme en ‘n Afrika-hermeneutiese konteks. Met die tweeledige hermeneutiese raamwerk as uitganspunt, en 2 Samuel 13:1-22 as gespreksdokument, word die empiriese komponent van die studie dan in die volgende hoofstukke beskryf. In die empiriese studie word die teoreties-geformuleerde interkulturele ruimte dan ‘n konkrete realiteit as kultureel-diverse vroue mekaar ontmoet in gesprek rondom die Tamar-verhaal van 2 Samuel 13. Die ontwerp van die empiriese studie wat in Hoofstuk 5 bespreek word, word in die vorige hoofstuk, Hoofstuk 4, gefundeer deur aandag te gee aan, onder andere, die omskrywing van sleutelterme soos kultuur, ideologie en mag. Die kwalitatiewe data wat ingewin is tydens die konkrete interkulturele gesprekke, word daarna geanaliseer en bespreek in Hoofstuk 6. Al die data wat ingewin is tydens die studie word as Bylae tot die proefskrif beskikbaar gestel in ‘n aparte meegaande bundel ten einde die lees-envergelyk- proses te vergemaklik. Die gevolgtrekking van die studie, in Hoofstuk 7, bring al die diverse besprekings soos dit in die argument hanteer is, bymekaar en poog om ‘n sinvolle interpretasie te bied van hoe mag en ideologie funksioneer in die interkulturele Bybelleesproses. Die teoretiese interkulturele ruimte wat deur die Feminisme en 'n Afrikahermeneutiek as oogmerk gestel word, word dus in die studie geproblematiseer deur te vra na die funksionering van mag en ideologie in daardie ruimte. Vanuit 'n kwalitatiewe analise van die data wat ingewin is tydens die empiriese komponent van die studie, word dit duidelik dat die interkulturele ruimte ‘n besondere spasie bied waarin individue tot hulle reg kom en waarin verandering gefasiliteer kan word. Dit wil egter verder blyk dat hierdie ruimte nie sonder uitdaging is nie aangesien die interkulturele ruimte nie die invloed van die magsdinamika vryspring nie. Daar is bevind dat die interkulturele gespreksruimte ‘n besondere instrument is wat ingespan kan word ten einde sosiale transformasie te fasiliteer, maar dit moet met groot omsigtigheid hanteer word.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study examines the role of power and ideology in a concrete intercultural conversation space which is established when individuals from diverse contexts meet one another to discuss Biblical texts. The intercultural conversation space is theoretically based on the joint presuppositions of Feminism and an African hermeneutics. The communal space provides a theoretical space in which individuals from diverse contexts are given an opportunity to express themselves in the collective. The hermenetical framework of the study is discussed in chapter 2 where the fundamental presuppositions of both Feminism and African hermeunetics are explored. Feminism emphasises the importance of the contextual voice of the individual, whereas African hermeneutics highlights the communal space where individual voices are given expression. The intercultural conversation in this study is conducted with 2 Samuel 13:1-22 as conversation document. Chapter 3 discusses a multidimensional exegetical framework that is applied in order to offer a reflective interpretation of 2 Samuel 13:1-22. A close reading of the text, as well as ideological (rhetorical) critical and reader response critical analyses, are conducted. A reference to the interpretation history of the text concludes this chapter. The dominant Western perspective is discussed and is supplemented with Feminist and African hermeneutical readings of the text. The empirical component of this study is discussed in the chapters that follow, based on the two-tiered hermeunetical framework and 2 Samuel 13:1-22 as conversation document. The theoretically formulated intercultural space becomes a concrete reality as culturally diverse women meet one another to discuss the story of Tamar as found in 2 Samuel 13. Chapter 5 explains the research design of the empirical study based on key terms such as culture, ideology and power. These are illuminated in Chapter 4. The data that is collected in the concrete intercultural conversation is then analised qualitatively and in Chapter 6. The collected data is presented as a separate Appendix to the dissertation in order to assist the reader in the read and compare process. In the conclusion to this study, as presented in Chapter 7, all the diverse discussions converge and an attempt is offered towards a reflective interpretation of how power and ideology function in the intercultural Bible reading process.

The biblical story of Saul in 1 Samuel contains evidence of a tragic vision which has two central features. First, tragic themes are introduced and developed by means of multiple repetitions or typescenes in which the subsequent account emphasizes the tragic nature of the events described in the first. Second, the development of tragic themes is facilitated by the portrayal of the deity's ambivalence in enduring two kings simultaneously, terrorizing Saul with an evil divine spirit and sending a good spirit on David. The tragic vision in the Saul narrative has been perceived by Alphonse de Lamartine, and his drama Saül: Tragédie is an attempt to dramatize the events of 1 Samuel. The significant similarities and differences in plot and characterization between Lamartine's drama and the biblical narrative draw attention to the tragic themes in the anterior text and offer a new conception of Saul's suffering in the posterior text. Lamartine has borrowed from Greek tragic form as well as 1 Samuel for thematic materials and tragic devices. The deity is off-stage, as in much Greek drama, but the characters infer divine intervention in human affairs. Thomas Hardy also became fascinated with the story of Saul and in The Mayor of Casterbridge he has structured the relationship between Henchard and Farfrae on the relationship between Saul and David. There are similarities in both plot events and in characterization, but the most significant departure from the biblical material is the absence of the deity, which colours the tragic vision very differently, and idea of the supernatural is also of great significance in the novel. Hardy's novel displays evidence of the influence of Greek tragedy in plot and in theme. Also crucial to the novel are the role of fate and the sociological theme.

Thesis (DTh)--Stellenbosch University, 2006.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This dissertation seeks to develop further the theological interpretation of the books of Samuel, by examining I Samuel I: 1-2:10 in the context of fertility and barrenness as blessing and curse. This reading was related to the Karanga understanding of fertility and barrenness. The contribution shows how the Biblical narrative can become a resource for ethical reflection in African communities such as the Karanga women. The hypotheses that guided this study, were that: a-Fertility and barrenness in the Old Testament should be understood in close conjunction with blessing and cursing as theological concepts in ancient Israel. b-Fertility and barrenness could also be examined in a relevant and contextual manner by relating it to the culture and understanding of the Karanga people. In order to achieve this, two major tasks were attempted. One: An exegesis of I Samuel I: 12: 10 in which Vernon Robbins' method of Socio- Rhetorical criticism was used. The method helped to identify that the text is a narrative, and that the author might have been the Deuteronomistic historian, who wrote in the period of the decline of the Judean monarchy and when the Jews were in exile. The narrative is used to tell about the despair of the Jews, and to inform the Jews that there was hope for restoration if they obeyed God. This ideology is woven in the story of a barren woman Hannah who suffered the despair of barrenness and was later blessed with a child because of her prayer and obedience to God. In the narrative God is described as one who cares for the marginalised, and one who changes the lives of his people, from curse to blessing. The method also helped to realise tbe culture and context of Hannah, and made it possible to relate this culture and context to other cultures that are similar. Secondly an empirical survey was conducted amongst one hundred Karanga women. The findings were that Karanga consider fertility as blessing and barrenness as curse. The curse is experienced in the suffering of the barren women. Barrenness is used to inflict pain, to marginalise women, and has become a major cause of divorce and death through the spread of HIV and Aids. A reading of the story of Hannah helped the Karanga women to identify their barren problems with Hannah, and to find a new way of understanding their own problem in terms of hope. This study was able to prove its hypothesis both through the exegesis and the discussions of the research findings. It was found that the narrative form of the text appealed effectively to the understanding of Karanga women. This was possible because narrative is one of the methods of communication that is used effectively by the Karanga in their language. Through using Hannah as a paradigm of curse and blessing in relation to barrenness and fertility, Karanga women were challenged to view their barren situations in a different way that is open to accept change from curse to blessing. The study has also contributed to see how an old text of the time of Hannah could in the present day contextually influence Karanga women's barren experiences through holding the same culture and also by having similar experiences barren of women.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie dissertasie poog om die teologiese interpretasie van die boeke van Samuel verder te ontwikkel by wyse van 'n ondersoek van I Samuel 1:1-2:10 in die konteks van vrugbaarheid en onvrugbaarheid as 'n seën en as 'n vervloeking. Hierdie ondersoek verwys na die Karangabevolking se begrip van vrugbaarheid en onvrugbaarheid. Die bydrae toon aan hoe die Bybelse verhaal 'n bron vir etiese nadenke onder Afrika-gemeenskappe, soos die Karangavroue, kan word. Die hipoteses wat hierdie studie gerig het, was dat: a-Vrugbaarheid en onvrugbaarheid in die Ou Testament behoort begryp te word in 'n noue verbintenis met seën en vervloeking as teologiese begrippe in antieke Israel. b-Vrugbaarheid en onvrugbaarheid kan ook ondersoek word in 'n relevante en kontekstuele wyse deur dit te verbind met die kultuur en begrip van die Karanga-mense. Om dit te vermag, is twee hooftake onderneem. Die eerste was 'n eksegese van I Samuel 1: 12: 10 waarin Vernon Robbins se metode van sosioretoriese kritiek aangewend is. Hierdie metode het gehelp om die teks as 'n narratief te identifiseer en dat die skrywer die Deuteronomiese historikus kon gewees het, wat in die periode van die monargie van Juda geskryf het en ook tydens die Jode se ballingskap. Die narratief word gebruik om aan te toon hoe wanhopig die Jode was en om hulle in te lig dat daar hoop op hul herstel was indien hulle God gehoorsaam. Hierdie ideologie is verweef in die verhaal van die onvrugbare vrou, Hanna, wat aan die wanhoop van onvrugbaarheid gely het en later met 'n kind geseën is op grond van haar gebede en gehoorsaamheid aan God. In die narratief word God as die een beskryf wat na die gemarginaliseerdes omsien en wat die lewens van sy mense vanaf vervloeking tot seën omvorm. Die metode het ook meegehelp om die kultuur en konteks van Hanna te begryp en dit moontlik gemaak om hierdie kultuur en konteks te verklaar ingevolge die van ander soortgelyke kulture. Tweedens is 'n empiriese studie onder 'n honderd Karanga-vroue onderneem. Die bevindinge was dat Karanga-vroue vrugbaarheid as 'n seën en onvrugbaarheid as 'n vervloeking beskou. Die vervloeking word in die lyding van die onvrugbare vroue ervaar. Onvrugbaarheid word aangewend om pyn en lyding te veroorsaak, om vroue te marginaliseer en het 'n belangrike bron van egskeiding en dood deur die verspreiding van HIV en Vigs geword. Deur die verhaal van Hanna te lees, het die Karanga-vroue gehelp om hul eie onvrugbaarheidsprobleme met die van Hanna te identifiseer en om nuwe wyses te vind om hul eie probleme te verstaan in terme van hoop. Hierdie studie was in staat om sy hipoteses te bewys sowel by wyse van die eksegese en ook deur die bespreking van die navorsingsbevindings. Dit is bevind dat die narratiewe vorm van die teks duidelik tot die begrip van die Karanga-vroue gespreek het. Dit was moontlik aangesien 'n verhalende trant een van die kommunikasiewyses is wat doeltreffend deur Karanga-vroue aangewend word in hul taal. Deur Hanna as 'n paradigma van vervloeking en as seën te gebruik met verwysing tot onvrugbaarheid en vrugbaarheid, is Karanga-vroue uitgedaag om hul beskouing van hul onvrugbare toestand op verskillende wyses te betrag wat oop is om 'n verandering te aanvaar vanaf vervloeking tot seën. Die studie het ook daartoe bygedra om te sien hoe 'n ou teks uit die tyd van Hanna tans kontekstueel die Karanga-vroue se onvrugbaarheidservarings kan beinvloed waar hulle uit 'n soortgelyke kultuur kom en ook soortgelyke ervarings as Hanna het as onvrugbare vroue.

This paper investigates three questions; how an exegetically sound basis for a biblical ethics concerning same-sex sexual acts might be construed, what role the Bible, and other sources of ethical insight, should play in construing Christian ethics, and what a Christian ethic founded on the answers to those questions would say concerning same-sex sexual acts today. To perform these investigations, the hermeneutical issue regarding biblical texts, as well as the relation between revelatory and non-revelatory ethical sources within Christian ethics, is discussed, and the construed Christian ethics concerning same-sex sexual acts and sexuality of Lisa Sowle Cahill, Samuel W. Kunhiyop, Richard B. Hays, and Peter Coleman are evaluated before a suggestion is presented. That suggestion states that a sound exegetical basis demands a historical-critical reading that aims at understanding the language agreement between first recipients and author(s). It also claims that it is the perspective of the text that should be in focus in forming biblical ethics. Further, it is suggested that the Bible should be considered as having a unique role in Christian ethics by means of supplying a unique perspective on other sources for ethics, as well as on the insights of Scripture itself. This perspective is based on revelation, and should be formed from the central Scriptural notion of imitatio Dei/Christi. The Bible should also be recognized as a unique source of Christian ethical insight. However, an awareness of the impossibility of perfect understanding of Scripture opens the need for a dialog with other sources of ethical insight, such as experience, tradition, and secular reason, through which they are able to play a role in construing Christian ethics. Finally, the Christian ethics concerning same-sex sexual acts holds such acts to be in need of a discriminating division between good and bad; those that are performed within a loving and caring relationship and those that are not. The former are tentatively commended based on an understanding of the clearly encouraged homosocial love they might result of, as well as positive human experience, while the latter are vehemently condemned because of their damaging nature to one or both of the people involved.
Uppsatsen undersöker tre frågor; hur en god exegetisk grund för en biblisk etik angående samkönade sexuella handlingar kan utformas, vilken roll Bibeln och andra källor till etisk insikt ska ha i utformandet av kristen etik, och hur en kristen etik baserad på svaren på dessa två frågor skulle se på samkönade sexuella handlingar idag. För att undersöka dessa frågor kommer hermeneutiska frågor angående bibeltexter likväl som relationen mellan uppenbarelsebaserade och icke-uppenbarelsebaserade källor till etisk insikt inom kristen etik att diskuteras. De konstruktioner av kristen etik angående samkönad sexualitet som gjorts av Lisa Sowle Cahill, Samuel W. Kunhiyop, Richard B. Hays och Peter Coleman utvärderas också innan ett eget förslag presenteras. Det förslag som sedan presenteras menar att en god exegetisk grund kräver en historisk-kritisk läsning som söker förstå den språkliga överenskommelse som fanns mellan ursprunglig(a) mottagare och författare. Förslaget menat också att det är textens perspektiv som ska vara i fokus i utformandet av en biblisk etik. Vidare föreslås det att Bibeln ska anses ha en unik roll i utformandet av kristen etik genom att den erbjuder ett unikt perspektiv på andra etiska källor och på Skriten själv. Detta perspektiv är baserat på uppenbarelse, och bör utformas utifrån den i Skriften centrala idén om imitatio Dei/Christi. Bibeln bör också erkännas som en unik källa till kristen etisk insikt. En medvetenhet om det omöjliga i att nå perfekt förståelse av Skriften öppnar dock upp för behovet av en dialog med andra källor till etisk insikt, källor såsom erfarenhet, tradition, och sekulärt förnuft, genom vilken dessa källor kan spela en roll i konstruktionen av kristen etik.Den kristna etiken angående samkönade sexuella handlingar menar slutligen att det måste göras en skarp skillnad mellan bra och dåliga handlingar av det slaget; de som utförs inom en kärleksfull relation, och de som inte utförs inom en sådan. De förstnämnda är försiktigt lovordade i egenskap av att resultera från en klart uppmuntrad homosocial kärlek, liksom till följd av positiva mänskliga erfarenheter, medan de senare är kraftfullt fördömda på grund av deras skadliga natur i relation till en av de, eller båda, inblandade

Thesis (MTh)--Stellenbosch University, 2011.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study is to explore "who is saying what to whom for what purpose" in the text of 1 Samuel 8-12 through an analysis of the manifestations of ideology in this text. The emphasis of this thesis lies in the application of multiple methodologies in biblical interpretation with a view to (a) reconstructing the material and ideological conditions under which the biblical text was produced in order to determine which group produced the text and whose socioeconomic interests it served; and (b) investigating how these conditions are encoded in reproducing a particular ideology in order to determine how the texts incorporated the particular ideologies or interests of the time. The present research, for this reason, combines an extrinsic and an intrinsic analysis to read the world of 1 Samuel. The extrinsic analysis makes use of a social-historical and a social scientific approach to explore the particular circumstances. It indicates that the biblical writing should be regarded as conscious writing which aims to interpret historical incidents and construct specific ideologies. 1 Samuel 8-12 might therefore have been constructed by exilic groups to provide reasons for their difficult past. The intrinsic analysis makes use of narrative criticism, especially the theory of conflict plot, to do an in-depth investigation of the rhetoric of 1 Samuel 8-12. This analysis indicates that these chapters highlight the ambivalence of the monarchy, although the surface structure might tell a different story. The findings of the research have led to the conclusion that 1 Samuel 8-12 appears to present no clear position with regard to the future of the monarchy.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die doel van hierdie studie is om vas te stel "wie sê wat vir wie, en met watter doel" in die teks van 1 Samuel 8-12. Dit word gedoen deur 'n analise te maak van hoe ideologie in hierdie teks manifesteer. Die klem van hierdie studie lê in die toepassing van verskillende metodologieë van bybelinterpretasie ten einde (a) die materiaal en ideologiese omstandighede waarin die bybelteks geproduseer is, te rekonstrueer, met die oog daarop om vas te stel wie die teks geproduseer het, en wie se belange daardeur gedien word; en (b) te ondersoek hoe hierdie omstandighede enkodeer is in die formulering van a spesifieke ideologie, ten einde te bepaal hoe die teks die betrokke ideologieë of belange van die tyd geïnkorporeer het. Om hierdie rede kombineer die studie 'n ekstrensieke en 'n intrensieke analise om die wêreld van 1 Samuel te lees. Die ekstrensieke analise gebruik 'n sosio-historiese en sosiaal-wetenskaplike benadering om die betrokke omstandighede na te vors. Hierdie benadering dui aan dat die bybelteks beskou kan word as 'n bewuste geskrif wat ten doel het om sekere historiese gebeure te interpreteer en om spesifieke ideologieë te konstrueer. 1 Samuel 8-12 is daarom moontlik gekonstrueer deur eksiliese groepe om verklarings vir hul moeilike verlede te gee. Die intrinsieke analise maak gebruik van narratiewe kritiek, veral die teorie van konflikplot, om 'n in-diepte studie te maak van die retoriek van 1 Samuel 8-12. Hierdie analise toon dat die betrokke hoofstukke die ambivalensie van die koningskap beklemtoon, hoewel die oppervlaktestruktuur moontlik 'n ander verhaal vertel. Die bevindings van hierdie navorsing lei dan tot die konklusie dat 1 Samuel 8-12 skynbaar geen duidelike posisie met betrekking tot die toekoms van die koningskap aanbied nie.

The thesis investigates the interpretation of some of the most problematic passages of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, i.e. passages involving the concept or practice of herem. The texts under consideration contain prima facie divine commands to commit genocide as well as descriptions of genocidal military campaigns commended by God. The thesis presents and analyses the solutions that Christian interpreters through the ages have proposed to the concomitant moral and hermeneutical challenges. A number of ways in which they have been used to justify violence and war are also addressed. For the patristic and early medieval eras the thesis aims to be as comprehensive as possible in identifying and analysing the various interpretative options, while for later periods the focus lies on new developments. In addition to offering the most comprehensive presentation of the Wirkungsgeschichte of herem texts to date, the thesis offers an analysis and critical evaluation of the theologico-hermeneutical assumptions underlying each of the several approaches, and their exegetical and practical consequences. The resulting analytical taxonomy and hermeneutical map is an original contribution to the history of exegesis and the study of the interplay between religion and violence. The cognitive dissonance herem texts cause for pious readers is introduced as an inconsistent set of five propositions: (1) God is good; (2) the bible is true; (3) genocide is atrocious; (4) according to the bible, God commanded and commended genocide; (5) a good being, let alone the supremely good Being, would never command or commend an atrocity. If proposition (4) is assumed, at least one of the deeply-held beliefs expressed in the other four must be modified or given up. The introduction is followed by four diachronic chapters in which the various exegetical approaches are set out: pre-critical (from the OT to the Apostolic Fathers), dissenting (Marcion and other ancient critics), figurative (from Origen to high medieval times), divine-command-ethics,(from Augustine to Calvin) and violent (from Ambrose to Puritan North America). A concluding chapter presents near contemporary re-iterations and variations of the historic approaches.

2009 marque le cent cinquantième anniversaire de la mort de Thomas De Quincey. L'auteur romantique resté célèbre pour ses Confessions of an English Opium-Eater se surnomme volontiers lui-même comme le « mangeur d’opium », ce qui oriente la critique vers une attention quasi-exclusive à sa pratique opiomane, les visions l'accompagnant et les conséquences créatrices et médicales. Ainsi que Frederick Burwick le déplore, il serait réducteur d'y voir l'essence de son œuvre, alors que sa contribution aux idées religieuses, pourtant importante, n'a jamais été étudiée dans sa globalité. La présente thèse se propose de combler cette lacune et ouvrir une perspective critique nouvelle en se penchant sur les rapports entre De Quincey, la Bible et ses réécritures protestantes et romantiques; c'est aussi le premier travail de ce genre à porter sur les 21 volumes de l'œuvre complète publiée par Grevel Lindop entre 2000 et 2004. Il montre que par son rapport aux Ecritures et leurs réécritures, Thomas De Quincey « paulinise » le romantisme en même temps qu'il romantise le protestantisme, offre une nouvelle interprétation de l'homme, construit une théodicée originale et propose une nouvelle définition de la littérature
2009 marks the sesquicentennial of the death of Thomas De Quincey. The romantic writer’s enduring association with his Confessions of an English Opium Eater—fuelled by his own habit of referring to himself as such—has steered scholarly attention into the exclusive direction of his opium-eating practice, ensuing dreams and their creative and medical consequences. As Frederick Burwick deplores, it would be restrictive to see in this the quintessence of his work while his yet important contribution to religious ideas has never been studied overall. The present Doctoral dissertation proposes to remedy this lack and to open a new critical perspective by looking at the relationship between De Quincey, the Bible and its rewritings. It is also the first piece of work of this kind to draw on the 21 volumes of the complete works as published by Grevel Lindop between 2000 and 2004. It shows that through his relationship to the Bible and its rewritings, Thomas De Quincey “paulinises” romanticism while he romanticises Protestantism, offers a new interpretation of man, builds an original theodicy and renews the definition of literature

In 1518, Martin Luther is reputed to have nailed his 95 theses to the door of the Castle Church at Wittenberg, an act that sparked the Protestant Reformation. Luther sought change in the Catholic Church: a return to an unmediated relationship with God based on a closer understanding of the Word. Since then, Protestant evangelism has been a force for social change: and this is particularly true in New Zealand, where evangelism has gone hand in hand with the colonisation of the country. This thesis proposes that it is not, in fact, the literal understanding of the Word that gives these services meaning, and that such an understanding is problematic and perhaps even impossible: the Word is always a translation. Instead, it is through what is not said - the performative aspects of evangelistic services, including the use of space, the actions of the evangelist, and pre-existing cultural “horizons of expectation” - that meanings are produced. Taking as material Samuel Marsden’s first service in New Zealand in 1814, in which the Word was preached in English to a congregation who primarily spoke only Maori, the more contemporary example of televangelist Benny Hinn, who performs miracles to television cameras, and the religious and political performances of Destiny Church’s Brian Tamaki, this thesis uses the tools of performance studies to undertake an ethnographic study of evangelistic services. This brings into focus the ways in which evangelists may create congregations and produce meanings in their services through different modes of performance and the ways in which these ulterior meanings impact, and have impacted, on New Zealand society.

Archbishop KG Hammar has attracted attention for his liberal position in theology. His view on the role of language and communication is central in several books and articles he has published as leader of the Church of Sweden. One of his main theses is the fact that meaning is created in the encounter between text and reader. He often reiterates: God is relation. This non-traditional dynamic stance has a broad impact not only on theology. It also affects the view of church formation and leadership as well as bible interpretation and the concept of sacramentality. The paper traces the pervasive consequence in this thinking.

This paper investigates Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13 from the perspective of the hermeneutical implications of their historical context appropriated into a modern contextual understanding and possible application. To do this, four prominent historical theories (relating the ban to procreation, idolatry, against nature/the order of creation, and Canaanite practices) of the origin of the verses, and the ban therein, are chosen to be analysed. The analysis will be based on a theoretical framework which is modelled to present a theory of how historical knowledge and its derived hermeneutical implications enables a dynamically equivalent cultural appropriation. The investigation poses two questions – (1) what are the hermeneutical implications, and (2) what might a dynamically equivalent cultural appropriation into a modern context look like? In answering these question, it is found that when understanding the historical context as giving clues to the cultural world of the author and first reader(s), the four theories produce different results, but in none of them is it said to be either impossible or always possible to apply the ban. Further, even the group of people that are concerned by the ban differs. There is also a note of warning given, as these theories and others on the matter are very hard, if not impossible, to choose between, and therefore one has to motivate quite well why one selects one over the other in creating an interpretation and appropriation, since such a choice might, but should not, be more based on preference than on facts. Questions are in this paper sometimes posed but not answered, which runs in line with the overarching goal to rather draw some lines of interpretation than to hold an interpretation to be certain, while still exemplifying a transparent and theoretically well founded way to appropriate these verses.
Denna uppsats undersöker Leviticus 18:22 och 20:13 med fokus på den historiska kontextens hermeneutiska implikationer approprierade till en modern förståelse och eventuell applikation av verserna. För att göra detta kommer fyra vanligt förekommande historiska teorier till varför verserna med deras förbud finns (teorier som relaterar förbudet till fortplantning, avgudadyrkan, en handling mot naturen/skapelsens ordning, och kananeiska sedvänjor) analyseras. Analysen tar sin grund i ett teoretiskt ramverk som utformas för att visa hur en historisk kontext och dess hermeneutiska implikationer möjliggör en dynamiskt ekvivalent kulturell appropriering. Uppsatsen ställer två frågor: (1) Vilka är de hermeneutiska implikationerna, och (2) hur skulle en dynamiskt ekvivalent kulturell appropriering till en modern kontext kunna se ut? Dessa frågor besvaras utifrån ett perspektiv på den historiska kontexten som bidragande till att förstå författarens (eller författarnas) och de första läsarnas kulturella värld, och de fyra teorierna producerar ganska olika resultat. Det kan dock sägas att i inget av fallen blir slutsatsen att förbudet inte går att använda, eller att det alltid kan användas. Vidare framgår det att till och med vilka som berörs av förbudet skiftar beroende på anledningen till att förbudet finns. Ett varningens finger lyfts också för att påpeka att det är svårt, om inte omöjligt, att välja en av dessa teorier (eller de många andra som finns) som bättre. Därför måste sådana val, vilka sedan ligger till grund för tolkningar och tillämpningar, vara väl motiverade. Det finns annars en risk att sådana val kan ske mer baserat på preferens än fakta. Vidare ställs det frågor som inte alltid besvaras, vilket ligger i linje med viljan att snarare påvisa några tolkningsramar än att se en tolkning som korrekt, samtidigt som ett teoretiskt välgrundat och genomskinligt sätt att appropriera dessa verser exemplifieras.

Text in Afrikaans
In hierdie studie word veral gewerk met twee begrippe naamlik Teologie en Ideologie. Ideologie word gedefinieer as ’n potensieel gevaarlike stel samehangende idees van hoe ’n bepaalde samelewing onder alle omstandighede en tye gestruktureer behoort te word en wat nie teenstand duld nie. Teologie word gedefinieer as nadenke oor God, sy persoon, verhouding en optrede teenoor mense. Teologie is egter nie immuun teen ideologiese invloede nie. Hierdie punt word geïllustreer uit die geskiedenis van die Judeërs aan die einde van die monargale tydperk aan die hand van twee teksgedeeltes naamlik 2 Samuel 7:1-16 en Jeremia 7:1-15. Teenoor die vaste geloof in die Dawids- en Sionstradisies, wat in besonder verwoord word in 2 Samuel 7:1-16, wat die volk onder alle omstandighede en te alle tye teen vyande sal beskerm, word die stem van die Jeremia gehoor. Jeremia pleit vir ’n terugkeer na die basiese waarhede van die Jahwistiese geloof naamlik omgee, liefde en regverdigheid en geregtigheid teenoor alle mense. Die verwerping van Jeremia se boodskap en die vasklou aan die twee ideologies gekleurde tradisies, lei direk tot die Babiloniese ballingskap wat byna die einde van die Judeërs beteken het. Ook vir die Christelike kerk is die versmelting van ideologie en teologie altyd ’n wesentlike gevaar. This study focused on two important concepts namely Theology and Ideology. Ideology is defined as a potentially dangerous set of integrated ideas according to which a certain society is supposed to be structured at all times and situations and no opposition is tolerated. Theology is defined as thoughts about God, his person, relations and acts towards people. Theology can very easily and unknowingly display certain aspects of Ideology. This point is illustrated from the history of the Judean people at the end of the Monarchical period from two texts namely 2 Samuel 7:1-16 and Jeremiah 7:1-15. Against the firm belief in the David- and Ziontraditions, which is expressed in 2 Samuel 7:1-16, which protected the Judeans against any threat and any enemy, we hear the voice of the prophet Jeremiah. Particularly in Jeremiah 7:1-15 the prophet Jeremiah is pleading for a return to the basic principals of the Yahwistic religion namely, care, love and justice to all people. The rejection of the message of Jeremiah and the choice for the two ideologically coloured traditions has led to the Babylonian exile that almost caused the end of the Judeans. This blending of ideology and theology is also potentially a big threat to the Christian church.
This study focused on two important concepts namely Theology and Ideology. Ideology is defined as a potentially dangerous set of integrated ideas according to which a certain society is supposed to be structured at all times and situations and no opposition is tolerated. Theology is defined as thoughts about God, his person, relations and acts towards people. Theology can very easily and unknowingly display certain aspects of Ideology. This point is illustrated from the history of the Judean people at the end of the Monarchical period from two texts namely 2 Samuel 7:1-16 and Jeremiah 7:1-15. Against the firm belief in the David- and Ziontraditions, which is expressed in 2 Samuel 7:1-16, which protected the Judeans against any threat and any enemy, we hear the voice of the prophet Jeremiah. Particularly in Jeremiah 7:1-15 the prophet Jeremiah is pleading for a return to the basic principals of the Yahwistic religion namely, care, love and justice to all people. The rejection of the message of Jeremiah and the choice for the two ideologically coloured traditions has led to the Babylonian exile that almost caused the end of the Judeans. This blending of ideology and theology is also potentially a big threat to the Christian church.
Old Testament and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
D.Th. (Old Testament)

It is arguably clear that the AIDS epidemic has infected and affected our world in radical ways. Although every sector, including Biblical Studies, has come to its ‘senses’, by realising the urgency to respond; there still appears to be inadequate contextual engagement with the biblical text to stimulate empowering and transformative readings of the Bible. This case study is aimed at contributing to scholarship by determining the extent to which the church, the academy and Persons with HIV have adhered to stigmatising interpretations. The theoretical framework used, was the reader response method as applied within the context of African theology because it is socially located. The data was collected through focus groups and personal interviews. The purposive sampling included 70 participants, who were divided into three key categories: academic theologians, university students and persons with HIV. All participants in the study re-read 2 Samuel 13:1-14:33 in order to ascertain if the characters therein could be relevant to the context of AIDS. The overall findings showed that characters from 2 Samuel 13:1-14:33 can provide an empowering message in the context of AIDS. Although this biblical text has often been misused to promote stigma, this study confirmed that it was nonetheless possible to use the same text to unearth redemptive and empowering interpretations. Therefore the study recommends that the move towards an HIV/AIDS Biblical Hermeneutics invites socially engaged scholars along with ordinary readers to read the text together for transformative purposes.
Old Testament and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
D. Div. (Old Testament)

This dissertation is a contextual reading of 1 Samuel 25:14-35 that highlights the Abigail approach to peacemaking. The synchronic analysis of this text done in the light of the context of North Kivu conflict resolution focuses on the literary analysis of the text. The interaction between the two contexts of peacemaking, in the Abigail narrative and the North Kivu context, allows me to recommend "participative negotiations" as a suitable diplomatic means to solve North Kivu conflicts for a lasting peace. In fact, participative negotiations inspired by the Abigail strategy contrast with the diplomacy of avoidance and competitive negotiations, by which North Kivu cannot reach lasting peace. However, the strategists of peacemaking, involving North Kivu rank-and-file in the peacemaking process, must first build mutual confidence between the parties in conflict during discussions, then analyse their respective interests, and bring them to suggest suitable strategies using objective criteria which can lead the parties to true consensus.
Old Testament & Ancient Near Eastern Studies
M. Th. (Old Testament)

In my thesis I deal with a biblical "myth" of the original sin and with a question how this topic can demonstrate the genesis of gender duality in a sense of superiority and inferiority using the authors catholic and feminist theology and subsequent data collection. The topic of the original sin is being analysed from a gender view -first in the theoretical part of the thesis that has helped me to continue to the following part of a research. The research consists of semi-structured interviews with a group of people belonging to a specific community. These people were born in the Czech villages in Romania and live nowadays in the Czech Republic. The original sin and its "myth" are still being presented at the level of a myth. His consequences remain in the background of the society and public attention. That is why I decided to deal with this topic. In this way I connect my own interest with this group, which includes a minority of a society with special characteristics. The aim of this thesis is to present the consequences of the original sin on a theoretical level and in terms of research, which I also contribute to with my interviews. And so to answer the research question regarding the influence of minority companies mostly from the standpoint of faith.