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German text / Die Frage nach der Bedeutung Elias hat schon viele Ausleger beschäftigt. Von ihm wird zwar nur innerhalb des Königebuches berichtet, aber Wundertaten und Himmelfahrt machen sein Wirken außergewöhnlich. Außerdem sind seine Nachwirkungen im Alten und Neuen Testament, sowie in Judentum und Christentum bemerkenswert. Der Großteil der Elia-Forschung liegt im Bereich der historisch-kritischen Methodik. Die Ergebnisse sind dabei nicht einheitlich. Größere Abschnitte als Gesamtheit wurden bisher nur selten untersucht. In dieser Arbeit wird der Frage durch eine literarisch-exegetische Analyse des Textabschnitts 1. Könige 16,29 – 2. Könige 2,25 nachgegangen. Dabei wird deutlich, dass auf Grundlage des vorliegenden Endtextes die Bedeutung Elias in seiner Funktion als Vertreter JHWHs liegt, der für die Rückkehr Israels zum Bund mit JHWH eintritt. Es zeigt sich eine theologische Linie von Mose über Elia hin zu Jesus. Die Nachwirkungen Elias sind aber nicht allein darauf zurückzuführen. Sie hängen auch mit dem Bericht über Wundertaten und Himmelfahrt zusammen. / The question of Elijah’s significance has piqued the interest of many scholars. Although his story is reported only in Kings, the miracles he performed and his ascension to heaven make his ministry extraordinary, and the effects of his ministry in the OT, the NT, Judaism and Christianity are noteworthy. Most research of Elijah is carried out with a historical-critical methodology. The results of this research are not consistent. This work approaches the topic through a literary-exegetical analysis of 1 Kings 16,29 – 2 Kings 2,25. On the basis of this text it becomes apparent that Elijah’s significance lies in his function as YHWH’s representative who attempts to bring Israel back to her covenant with YHWH. A theological continuum from Moses through Elijah to Jesus reveals itself. The repercussions of Elijah’s ministry are traced back not only to this, but also to the report of his miracles and ascension to heaven. / Old Testament & Ancient Near Eastern Studies / M. Th. (Old Testament)

The thesis deals teologic comparison of two patristic commentaries of the Sermon on the Plain from Gospel of Luke - by saint Ambrose and by saint Cyril of Alexandria. Both autors are excerpts from their commentaries of Gospel of Luke. At first are outlined life and literary work of both authors and later an analysis of both texts from the point of view of selected principal theological topics is made. After that the two theological views are compared to the Sermon on the Plain, outlining the initial idea of both autors.

German text / Die Frage nach der Bedeutung Elias hat schon viele Ausleger beschäftigt. Von ihm wird zwar nur innerhalb des Königebuches berichtet, aber Wundertaten und Himmelfahrt machen sein Wirken außergewöhnlich. Außerdem sind seine Nachwirkungen im Alten und Neuen Testament, sowie in Judentum und Christentum bemerkenswert. Der Großteil der Elia-Forschung liegt im Bereich der historisch-kritischen Methodik. Die Ergebnisse sind dabei nicht einheitlich. Größere Abschnitte als Gesamtheit wurden bisher nur selten untersucht. In dieser Arbeit wird der Frage durch eine literarisch-exegetische Analyse des Textabschnitts 1. Könige 16,29 – 2. Könige 2,25 nachgegangen. Dabei wird deutlich, dass auf Grundlage des vorliegenden Endtextes die Bedeutung Elias in seiner Funktion als Vertreter JHWHs liegt, der für die Rückkehr Israels zum Bund mit JHWH eintritt. Es zeigt sich eine theologische Linie von Mose über Elia hin zu Jesus. Die Nachwirkungen Elias sind aber nicht allein darauf zurückzuführen. Sie hängen auch mit dem Bericht über Wundertaten und Himmelfahrt zusammen. / The question of Elijah’s significance has piqued the interest of many scholars. Although his story is reported only in Kings, the miracles he performed and his ascension to heaven make his ministry extraordinary, and the effects of his ministry in the OT, the NT, Judaism and Christianity are noteworthy. Most research of Elijah is carried out with a historical-critical methodology. The results of this research are not consistent. This work approaches the topic through a literary-exegetical analysis of 1 Kings 16,29 – 2 Kings 2,25. On the basis of this text it becomes apparent that Elijah’s significance lies in his function as YHWH’s representative who attempts to bring Israel back to her covenant with YHWH. A theological continuum from Moses through Elijah to Jesus reveals itself. The repercussions of Elijah’s ministry are traced back not only to this, but also to the report of his miracles and ascension to heaven. / Biblical and Ancient Studies / M. Th. (Old Testament)

In the history of exegesis 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 and 1 Timothy 2:11-15 have functioned as the heavy artillery against women in the ministries. From the 4th century BC, when the Church really started to develop from a dynamic underground movement of believers to a state Church organised in the image of the Roman Empire and so became the Catholic Church, women were more and more suppressed under the influence of deeply rooted Hellenistic anthropological ideas that were read into these passages. Only in the second half of the Twentieth Century, under the influence of changes in society after the sexual and feminist revolutions, changes set in that sparked the discussion about the role of women in the Church. This discussion is still continuing – in the Reformed tradition at least. These two passages, however, seem to oppose an overwhelming number of biblical themes and data that at least bring a strong nuance to the picture the two passages seem to portray. The creation of man and woman in the image of God and the protection for women against the arbitrariness of men clearly picture an original and principal equality of men and women. In the circle of disciples around Jesus Christ this becomes even more manifest. This attitude is also visible in the earliest churches. Paul expresses this in Galatians 3:28: In Christ there is no … male nor female. The passages that seem to limit the rights of women in the Church do not actually oppose this picture, but show that for the sake of the proclamation of the gospel not everything is (immediately) allowed. This dissertation attempted to interpret these two passages with the help of the grammatical-historic method. In 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 Paul personally intervenes in the apparent chaotic meetings of the cosmopolitan and charismatic congregation. He requires from different categories of participants – among them the married women that have a Christian husband – to not burden the fellowship with – in the case of the aforementioned women – their (otherwise rightful) participation in the discussion of the prophetic message during the worship service. In 1 Timothy 2:11-15 he gives his friend and student Timothy, the young pastor and teacher of the congregation in Ephesus, tools to call upon the members of the congregation not to start a revolution but to conquer the world for Christ by living an exemplary life. The context of this directive is a heresy that was particularly influencing some women that developed a prominent and domineering attitude in the Church. None of these directives or instructions of Paul talk about special ministries in the Church. It is all about attitude. For the sake of the steady progress of the gospel this attitude is to be determined by discipline and humbleness. However, the form this discipline and humbleness have largely depends on the context of the believers. / MTh (New Testament), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

In the history of exegesis 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 and 1 Timothy 2:11-15 have functioned as the heavy artillery against women in the ministries. From the 4th century BC, when the Church really started to develop from a dynamic underground movement of believers to a state Church organised in the image of the Roman Empire and so became the Catholic Church, women were more and more suppressed under the influence of deeply rooted Hellenistic anthropological ideas that were read into these passages. Only in the second half of the Twentieth Century, under the influence of changes in society after the sexual and feminist revolutions, changes set in that sparked the discussion about the role of women in the Church. This discussion is still continuing – in the Reformed tradition at least. These two passages, however, seem to oppose an overwhelming number of biblical themes and data that at least bring a strong nuance to the picture the two passages seem to portray. The creation of man and woman in the image of God and the protection for women against the arbitrariness of men clearly picture an original and principal equality of men and women. In the circle of disciples around Jesus Christ this becomes even more manifest. This attitude is also visible in the earliest churches. Paul expresses this in Galatians 3:28: In Christ there is no … male nor female. The passages that seem to limit the rights of women in the Church do not actually oppose this picture, but show that for the sake of the proclamation of the gospel not everything is (immediately) allowed. This dissertation attempted to interpret these two passages with the help of the grammatical-historic method. In 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 Paul personally intervenes in the apparent chaotic meetings of the cosmopolitan and charismatic congregation. He requires from different categories of participants – among them the married women that have a Christian husband – to not burden the fellowship with – in the case of the aforementioned women – their (otherwise rightful) participation in the discussion of the prophetic message during the worship service. In 1 Timothy 2:11-15 he gives his friend and student Timothy, the young pastor and teacher of the congregation in Ephesus, tools to call upon the members of the congregation not to start a revolution but to conquer the world for Christ by living an exemplary life. The context of this directive is a heresy that was particularly influencing some women that developed a prominent and domineering attitude in the Church. None of these directives or instructions of Paul talk about special ministries in the Church. It is all about attitude. For the sake of the steady progress of the gospel this attitude is to be determined by discipline and humbleness. However, the form this discipline and humbleness have largely depends on the context of the believers. / MTh (New Testament), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

The concept of love abounds in the Bible but it is questionable whether the same un-derstanding that the antique audiences of the biblical documents could have had of this concept is prevalent in our time. The reason for such doubt lies, simply, in the noticeable absence of regard for each other among (even devout) people. The study was directed towards an investigation of theological and popular views on biblical love as well as a brief overview of lexicographical works by known scholars as regards the noun  and the verb . It was found that, despite the vol-ume of entries, not much in the way of clarification of the meaning of  and re-lated words is available. There is, indeed, a dire lack of contemporary social-scien-tific related data as regards this important concept and related matters. The world of the New Testament differs widely from the one we live in and a brief overview was given from social-scientific sources on the historical-cultural aspects of the first century Mediterranean world. This was done from the perspective of making use of such data in the exegesis of three shorts text-segments selected from the Gospel of John. The text-segments John 3: 16; 13: 34-45 and 21: 15-17 are well-known for the bear-ing they have on the noun  and the verb  in the Fourth Gospel as well as the popular meaning/s that is quite commonly ascribed to the texts. Exegesis was done from a grammatical-historical paradigm with joint usage of applicable historical-cultural data. / Biblical and Ancient studies / D. Th. (New Testament)

Text in Afrikaans / Summaries in Afrikaans and English / Die inhoud en vorm van 'n preek is 'n eenheid. Beide aspekte vorm deel van die teologiese teorie van die prediking. In hierdie studie word daar teoreties besin oor 'n bepaalde vorm van prediking. Dit behels 'n ondersoek na die literere vorm waarin die boodskap gestruktureer en verwoord word. Die Skrif bevat 'n verskeidenheid literere vorme wat deur Bybelskrywers aangewend is om die intensie van die teks effektief te kommunikeer. Elk van hierdie vorme besit 'n eiendomlike kommunikatiewe aard. Die ontwikkeling van die moderne literatuurwetenskap sedert die tagtigerjare van die twintigste eeu het stukrag verleen aan die insig dat die Bybel ook as 'n versameling godsdienstige literatuur bestudeer kan word. Dit het meegebring dat die intensie van die teks van die Bybel op 'n teologies verantwoordbare wyse, met inagneming van die historiese verbande, beter begryp kan word deur die gebruikmaking van insigte uit ander literatuur. As sodanig word erkende literere kunsvorme wat naas die logies-analitiese ook die emotiewe betrek, aanvaar. Die resultaat van hierdie ondersoek dui aan dat die preek as kunsvorm geevalueer en in die moderne preekteorie geregverdig kan word. Die proses van transformasie wat die moderne hermeneutiese benadering kenmerk; die veranderde beleweniswereld en verstaanshorison van die huidige hoorders asook die eiesoortige aard van Bybelse literatuur is vanuit 'n kommunikatiewe aanname in 'n kunsvorm binne die moderne homiletiese teorie haalbaar. Die teorie orienteer binne die kommunikatiewe handelingsteorie as meta-teorie wat ingestel is op dialogiese kommunikasie wat betekenisgewing deur waarnemerbetrokkenheid bevorder en 'n bepaalde denkwyse by die hoorders tot gevolg het. Die tradisionele vorm van prediking, gekenmerk deur absolute dominasie van die rede en intellektualisme uit die modernistiese tydvak, het teen die einde van die tweede millennium in ernstige diskrediet gekom. Die radikale verandering in die samelewing deur die moderniseringsproses met gepaardgaande paradigma verskuiwinge dwing die homiletiek om teoreties te herbesin. In hierdie studie word die preek as kunsvorm afgebaken tot die verhalende preekvorm, konseptueel ontwikkel en teoreties omskryf asook geplaas binne die moderne homiletiese teorie as komponent wat daarby pas. Die resultaat is verkry deur 'n vergelykende studie van gemeenskaplike wesenstrekke wat voorkom by erkende kunsvorme in die moderne kunsteorie; die verhalende kunsvorm in die moderne literere teorie met spesifieke verwysing na die Afrikaanse roman asook die verhalende preekvorm in die moderne homiletiese teorie. Deur hierdie vorm van prediking in die moderne preekteorie op te neem, kan 'n sinvolle bydrae gemaak word om die Christelike boodskap deur oortuiging sander enige vorm van dwang te kommunikeer. / In a sermon form and content are one. Both aspects form part of the theological theory of preaching. This theoretical survey investigates one of the various literary forms through which the biblical writers attempted to communicate the intention of the biblical text in the most effective way. Each of these forms possesses a distinctive communicative character. The development of modern literary theory since the eighties of the twentieth century was a propulsive force leading to the conviction that the Bible was also a collection of religious literature. This conviction implied that the intention of the biblical text could be more clearly understood in a theological justified manner within the historical context by using insights gained from other literature. Acknowledged literary art forms adhering to the emotive as well as the logic-analytical are embraced as such. In this study the sermon as an art form is limited to narrative preaching, developed as a concept; theoretically described and placed within the modern homiletical theory as a suitable component. Results are obtained by means of a comparative study of mutual features that are distinctive to acknowledged art forms in the modern theory of art; narrative art forms in modern literature theory specifically in the modern Afrikaans novel, as well as the narrative form of preaching in the modern homiletical theory. The modern homiletical theory is orientated within the communicative acts theory as meta-theory focusing on dialogical communication which promotes meaning through the involvement of the observer. The conclusions reached indicate that the sermon as an art form can be evaluated and justified within the modem homiletical theory. Taken up in this theory, it can prove significant in communicating the Christian message to the listeners in a convincing rather than compulsive manner. / Practical Theology / D.Th. (Practical theology)

Black Theology uses the Exodus episode as its locus classicus for its view of God' s preferential option for the poor and the oppressed. The purpose of the dissertation is to determine to what extent Black Theology is scripturally justified in doing so. The investigation concludes that - i) the use of a praxis 'claimed to be Christian' in the hermeneutic of Black Theology, becomes questionable and unconvincing in that there is an illogical vacillation between a self-determined praxis-horizon and a text-horizon and that, ii ) when some aspects of Black Theology are measured using constraint criteria suggested by Kelsey, Black Theology exceeds the limits of acceptability by taking the exodus event as the locus classicus for the slogan that God is always on the side of the poor and the oppressed. While for some Black theology is indeed an important new stage in theologizing it must however be remembered that liberation theology, in Africa at least, is still in its infancy. / Biblical and Ancient Studies / Th.M. (Old Testament)