Thesis (MTh(N.T.)--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references. Available on the Internet via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (M.A. in Theological Studies)--Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary, 2004. / Thesis supervisor: Loren L. Johns. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 109-118).

No description available.

The aim of this thesis is to demonstrate the value of proper attention to ‘story structure’ in the study of Acts. The thesis works towards this aim in three stages. First, in chapters 1 and 2, the thesis develops the methodological framework of story structure which is proposed to consist of two interacting components: (top down) macro-structure which places an individual episode within the governing context of the story layers to which it contributes, and (bottom up) the way the meaning of an individual episode is shaped from and by its narrative clauses. Second, chapters 3-5 use the methodology of chapters 1-2 to support and guide a close reading of the narrative arc of the twelve apostles as Luke narrates their evolving story in Acts 1–12. This reading is focused by a question, appropriate to the narrative properties of Luke-Acts, about the goals of the Twelve (disclosed primarily in Luke 22:14-30 and Acts 1:1-12) and the steps taken by the Twelve to actualise those goals. Attention to the story structure of Acts 1–12 reveals that the narrative arc of the Twelve complies with Aristotle’s preferred ‘tragic’ shape, pivoting from initial rising success to ultimate failure around the turning point of 6:1-7, which discloses that the downfall of the Twelve is caused by their over-emphasis of the mission to Jerusalem and their ‘tragic flaw’ of hubris. Third, chapter 6 considers the implications of the methodology and application stages of chapters 1-5 for the contested debate over the restoration of the kingdom to Israel (Acts 1:6) and concludes against those like Jervell who see a completed restoration of Israel in Acts. The thesis then ends by considering implications of the research for wider exegetical issues such as the genre, plot and purpose of Acts.

No description available.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston University / The problem of the dissertation is to describe, analyze, and evaluate the biblical hermeneutics of the Marburg New Testament scholar Ernst Fuchs, in the light of his own general hermeneutics and with particular reference to parable interpretation. The primary concern of the dissertation is to elucidate and to evaluate the movement in Fuchs' thought from the presuppositions of interpretation to interpretation itself. The nature of the presuppositions, their effect on the object of interpretation, viz., the parables and the historical Jesus, and the implications of these presuppositions for biblical hermeneutics constitute the subject of inquiry. [TRUNCATED]

No description available.

The thesis by William H. Jones examines the dual rituals of tevilah (Jewish ritual washing) and Christian baptism, especially in relation to the New Testament and Second Temple periods. The extent of Jewish ritual washing is apparent in the excavations at the Ophel since 1967 with the unearthing of numerous cisterns and mikve 'ot, the immersion vats used in traditional Judaism at that time as a preparation for entrance to the Temple. It also notes variances in the use of mikve'ot at Qumran among the sect living there and at Masada, the final retreat for some of the sect members. Many observant Jews continue to use mikve 'ot today as a purification ritual. Christian baptism developed in this same time period, introduced by John the Baptist as a proclamation of the arrival of the kingdom of God and as a means of introducing the atoning and eschatological work of Jesus. Jewish ritual washing provides both a backdrop and an analogy for Christian baptism, since it uses the same immersion procedure and some of the same language, i.e., "born anew," and "change of status." The differences, however, such as no "agent" in tevilah but clearly an "agent" in Christian baptism suggest that baptism is not an evolution from tevilah but a revolution. Tevilah is self-immersion; baptism requires a baptizer, a clear understanding that the one being baptized cannot cleanse him/herself but relies on the mediator Jesus Christ. Christian baptism implies a believer's identification in the Holy Spirit with the death and resurrection of Jesus. Moreover, it points to the eschatological hope of the completion of the kingdom of God which has come and is coming. / Thesis / Master of Theology (Th.M)

Re-evaluations of the category of deponency in recent years have been the leading cause of a paradigm shift taking place in studies on the ancient Greek voice system, opening up new avenues for further remodelling. The present study contends that verbal voice operates according to an ergative two-voice system, active and middle-passive, producing two contrastive roles the subject plays in a clause. Within a nominativeaccusative alignment patterning, which marks out transitive operations of a clause, ergative functions centered on verbal voice are present in the language’s verbal morphology and syntax. An ergative view of voice specifies different transitive participant roles and focuses on the affected element of the clause that realizes or actualizes the verbal process. Clearer expression of the subject’s function in the clause occurs by distinguishing between two opposing roles: the subject functioning either as realization of the process or as cause of the process. Two basic and contrastive roles of the subject, therefore, mean that two semantic domains for voice are operational in the language system network despite the occurrence of three morphological forms in the aorist and future tense-forms. The middle and passive uses, together comprise the middlepassive voice, and the active voice comprises the other voice domain. Middle and passive functions share the common feature of subject-affectedness, but middle uses occur when there is a feature of internal agency in addition to the subject actualizing the verbal process. Passivity occurs when the subject actualizes the verbal process with an added feature of external agency to the clause. Moreover, passivity takes place through specific grammatical constructions within the middle-passive voice that operate as agentive augmentations (specified or not) of a middle-passive clause type. This is frequently expressed using the so-called, ‘passive marker,’ -(θ)η, that was encroaching upon middle forms during this stage of the language and gradually expanding its range of function in the New Testament writings. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

This is a work that explores linguistic style within the Greek New Testament and the extent to which its presumed causes (e.g. differences in authorship, genre, topic, subject matter, and the like) can be “disentangled.” Scarcely anyone who has perused the long history of authorship debates in the New Testament can mistake the profound implications such a “disentangling” would bring. Two motivations exist to revisit this issue: compelling recent findings in computational stylistics, and the sheer theological implications such a study may bring. Concerning the former motivation, earlier generations of scholars assigned, de facto, virtually any significant stylistic variation to authorship alone. The last thirty years of research outside NT studies, however, has demonstrated that more frequently than not, more of the total summed stylistic variation in mixed genre corpora is due to genre rather than authorship. What, indeed, would be the implications if those findings proved true of the GNT as well? First, and somewhat deconstructively, if the major proportion of stylistic variation in the GNT were found to be due to genre rather than authorship—or even close to it—any prior studies that had (1) failed to test for genre as a competing theory or (2) failed to remove genre as a covariate have almost certainly confounded genre with authorship. Second, and more constructively, if a convincing separation between what is commonly termed authorial variation and the various sources of sociolectic variation (which include component as genre/register, subject matter, audience, and the like) can be achieved, such a thing would have broad and sweeping impact upon many topoi within New Testament scholarship. Not only would it influence the obvious suspects (i.e. the authorship of the Pastoral Epistles, the extent of the Pauline Canon, pseudepigraphy, the Synoptic Problem, and the like) it would also necessarily influence the current vigorous discourse in New Testament hermeneutics itself. My approach is threefold. First, the history of computational stylistics both within and outside NT studies will be reviewed. Second, as to method, an abductive approach, one that harnesses both Systemic Functional Linguistics and a variety of univariate and multivariate methods will be adopted. Third, that method will be exercised on the text of the Greek New Testament itself. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)