The story of the Tower of Babel (Gen 11: 1-9) has been interpreted in various ways down through the centuries. However, most commentators have ignored the genre of the text, and have not sought to interpret it within its mythological framework - therefore most interpretations are nothing short of babble. A working text is ascertained, and the complexity of the text investigated. The text is then identified as 'myth': within its mythological framework the tower is seen as a temple linking heaven and earth, ensuring the continuation of the royal dynasty (i e 'making a name'). When used by the Yahwist Levites during the Babylonian Exile, our story was inserted in the great Pre-History as polemic against the Babylonian concept of creation, temple, and dynasty; and served as both a warning and an encouragement to the Exiles. The post-exilic Priestly Writer re-interpreted our story as a warning to the returning exiles that their society, and their temple, should be reconstructed as YHWH determines. Interpreting the story as myth enables it, finally, to speak clearly into our context today, especially that of South Africa. / Biblical and Ancient Studies / D. Th. (Old Testament)

Text in Afrikaans / Die verhandeling behels 'n holistiese benadering tot die geskiedenis van die Israelitiese stamme/clans gedurende die 'tyd van die Rigters' (soos in die Ou Testament gereflekteer). Na my mening het 'n holistiese benadering die potensiaal om 'n meer komprehensiewe beeld van die 'Rigtertyd' te verkry. 'n Vierledige ondersoek na die situasie van die Israelitiese stamme/clans word daarom aan die hand van die politieke konteks, die sosio-kulturele en ekonomiese situasie, die godsdienstig-ideologiese aspek en die literere dimensie gedoen. In die laaste hoofstuk is daar gepoog om die verskillende dimensies op mekaar te betrek. Opsommend kan gese word dat byna alle aktiwiteite gedurende hierdie periode ongestruktureerd en sonder orde was, dit wil se daar was anargie in die Beloofde Land. · Elkeen het gedoen wat reg was in sy eie oe' (Rgt 21 :25). / This dissertation deals with a holistic approach towards the history of the Israelite tribes/clans throughout the 'period of the Judges' (as referred to in the Old Testament). In my opinion, a holistic approach has the potential to offer a more comprehensive analysis of the 'period of the Judges'. A fourfold investigation into the situation of the Israelite tribes/clans is carried out involving the political context, the socio-cultural and economic situation, the religious-ideological aspect and the literary dimension. In the last chapter an attempt is made to integrate the different dimensions. To conclude, it can be said that nearly all phenomena in the tribal period was characterized by a lack of structure or order, in other words, there was anarchy in the Promised Land. 'Everyone did what was right in his own eyes' (Jdg 21 :25). / Biblical and Ancient Studies / M.A. (Bybelkunde)

On title page: Master of Philosophy in Bible Skills / Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2001 / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Children in the Old Testament world, at first glance, seem to playa very minor role in the make-up of that society but was this really so? In researching the role and education there are many questions, which need answering. Questions that come to mind are: What role did children play in the tribe, clan and family? How did children relate to their fathers, mothers and siblings? What education and training did children receive? When did they receive it? Was it formal or informal? Did the status and education of children change from early Israel through to the beginning of New Testament times? How could children identify with their religion? What did children contribute to their religion? What legal rights did children have? How did their situation compare to the children in other countries in the . Ancient Near East? In investigating these questions in chapter one it was necessary to research the social system, which included the complex multigenerational family. It was also important to look at children in the Old Testament world from a sociological anthropological stance. As religion and religious concepts were embedded in the fabric of the Old Testament society it was important to see which ones influenced the status of children. There was also a need to investigate how children were protected by the law and how they were affected by the economy as Israelite society was largely an agrarian society. In chapter two when investigating the education of children in the Old Testament world it was necessary to look at parental responsibility as well as the role of priests, prophets, sages, scribes and teachers. Wisdom literature in the Old Testament played an important role in the education of every child, either formally or informally. Not all of the education was moral education; much of the instruction that children received was vocational. The challenge when looking at education is that the evidence is mostly inferred. In analysing the role of children in the Old Testament world it becomes apparent that children play a far greater role and are of higher social status than it appears at a cursory glance when looking at the patriarchal society in which they lived. The education of children took place mostly in the setting of the home on an informal basis. It was only much later that formal education was introduced and even then the exact beginning of schools is difficult to pinpoint. It would be incorrect to attempt to transplant the role of the child in the Old Testament world into contemporary culture without transplanting the whole society. It would however be correct to look at the Old Testament child within the context of the extended family as far as redemptive history and creation is concerned. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Kinders in die Ou Testamentwêreld blyk met die eerste oogopslag In geringe rol te speel in die samestelling van daardie gemeenskap, maar is dit werklik so? Met die navorsing van die rol en opvoeding was daar baie vrae wat beantwoord behoort te word. Vrae wat opduik is: Watter rol het die kinders gespeel in die stam, familiegroep en gesin? Wat was die verhouding tussen die kinders en hulle vaders, moeders, broers en susters? Watter opvoeding en onderrig het kinders ontvang? Wanneer het hulle dit ontvang? Was dit formeelof informeel? Het die status en opvoeding van kinders verander van vroeë Israel deur tot aan di~ begin van Nuwe Testamenttye? Hoe kon die kinders met hulle geloof identifiseer? Watter bydrae het kinders tot hulle geloof gelewer? Wat~er wetlike regte het kinders gehad? Hoe het hulle situasie vergelyk met die kinders in ander lande in die Antieke Nabye- Ooste? Deur hierdie vrae in hoofstuk een te ondersoek was dit nodig om die ,. maatskaplike stelsel te ondersoek, wat die komplekse veelvuldige geslagfamilie ingesluit het. Dit was ook belangrik om na kinders in die Ou Testamentwêreld vanuit In sosiologiese antropologiese oogpunt te kyk. Aangesien godsdiens en godsdienstige konsepte ingebed was in die wese van die Ou Testamentiese samelewing, was dit belangrik om te sien watter die status van kinders beïnvloed het. Dit was ook nodig om te ondersoek hoe kinders deur die wet beskerm is en hulle beïnvloed is deur die ekonomie aangesien die samelewing in Israel hoofsaaklik In landelike gemeenskap was. In hoofstuk twee met die ondersoek van die opvoeding van kinders in die wêreld van die Ou Testament was dit nodig om te kyk na ouerlike verantwoordelikheid sowel as die rol van priesters, profete, wysgere, skrifgeleerdes en leermeesters/onderwysers. Wysheidsliteratuur in die Ou Testament het In belangrike rol gespeel in die opvoeding van elke kind, hetsy formeelof informeel. Die opvoeding was nie alles morele opvoeding nie; 'n groot gedeelte van die onderrig wat kinders ontvang het was beroepsgerig. Die uitdaging wanneer na die opvoeding gekyk word, is dat die meeste bewyse hoofsaaklik afgeleide bewyse is. Wanneer die rol van kinders in die Ou Testamentwêreld geanaliseer word, word dit duidelik dat kinders 'n baie groter rol gespeel het, en 'n hoër maatskaplike aansien geniet het as wat 'n bloot tersaaklike blik op die patriargale samelewing waarin hulle gewoon het, aantoon. Die opvoeding wat kinders ontvang het, het hoofsaaklik in die konteks van die huis, en op fn informele basis plaasgevind. Dit was eers baie later dat formele opvoeding bekendgestel is en die presiese begin van skole is ook moeilik om vas te stel. Dit sou nie korrek wees om te probeer om die rol van die kind in die Ou Testament oor te plaas in die wêreld van die kontemporêre kultuur sonder om die hele samelewing ook oor te plaas nie. Die sou egter korrek wees om na die Ou Testament kind te kyk binne die konteks van die uitgebreide gesin wat verlossingsgeskiedenis en die skepping aan betref.

The principal aim of this study is to discern what has shaped the author of 1 Peter to regard Christian suffering as a necessary (1.6) and to-be-expected (4.12) component of faithful allegiance to Jesus Christ. Most research regarding suffering in 1 Peter has limited the scope of inquiry to two particular aspects—its cause and nature, and the strategies that the author of 1 Peter employs in order to enable his addressees to respond in faithfulness. There remains, however, the need for a comprehensive explanation for the source that has generated 1 Peter’s theology of Christian suffering. If Jesus truly is the Christ, God’s chosen redemptive agent who has come to restore God’s people, then how can it be that Christian suffering is a necessary part of discipleship after his coming, death and resurrection? What led the author of 1 Peter to such a startling conclusion, which seems to runs against the grain of the eschatological hopes and expectations of Jewish restoration ideology? This thesis analyzes the appropriation of shepherd and fiery trials imagery, and argues that the author of 1 Peter is dependent upon Zechariah 9-14 for his theology of Christian suffering. Said in another way, the eschatological program of Zechariah 9-14, read through the lens of the Gospel, functions as the substructure for 1 Peter’s eschatology and thus its theology of Christian suffering. In support of this hypothesis, this study highlights the fact that Zechariah 9- 14 was available and appropriated in early Christianity, in particular in the Passion Narrative tradition; that the shepherd imagery of 1 Pet 2.25 is best understood within the milieu of the Passion Narrative tradition, and that it alludes to the eschatological program of Zechariah 9-14; that the fiery trials imagery found in 1 Peter 1.6-7 and 1 Pet 4.12 is distinct from that which we find in Greco-Roman and OT wisdom sources, and that it shares exclusive parallels with some unique features of the eschatological program of Zechariah 9-14; that Zechariah 9-14 offers a more satisfying explanation for the modification of Isa 11.2 in 1 Pet 4.14, the transition from 4.12-19 to 5.1-4, why Peter has oriented his letter with the term διασπορά, and why he has described his addresses as οἶκος τοῦ θεοῦ; and finally that 1 Peter contains an implicit foundational narrative that shares distinct parallels with the eschatological program of Zechariah 9-14. We can conclude that 1 Peter offers a unique vista into the way in which at least one early Christian witness came to understand and to communicate the fact that Christian suffering was a necessary feature of faithful allegiance to Jesus Christ.

This dissertation examines the Christological witness function of the Old Testament characters in the Gospel of John. Chapter 1 discusses the problem concomitant to the bi-partite nature of the Christian Bible and the scholarly solutions suggested to remedy this issue. The importance of Christology for John and the Gospel's indebtedness to the Jewish heritage is also noted. Combining these two aspects, some scholarly attempts to account for Johannine Christology in terms of Jewish hero redivivus theories are reviewed. An important consensus has emerged from German scholarship that sees the role of the Old Testament as Christological witness. This perspective gave impetus to the present research concerning the same witness function of the Old Testament characters. The rest of chapter 1 discusses the preliminary questions, such as, the justification, contributions, methodology, terms, and limits of the present study. Chapter 2 investigates the contribution of Jacob and Abraham to Johannine Christological understanding in view of relevant intertestamental Jewish literature. In contrast to some scholarly arguments, the main function of these patriarchs is to undergird the messianic identity of Jesus. Chapter 3 concerns Elijah in early Judaism and John. The eschatological expectation of Elijah in the former period is marked by his militant subjugation of the gentiles along with the reconciliation ministry. The contextual reading of the passages related to Elijah in John reveals that he is a type of John the Baptist rather than Jesus. Chapter 4 examines David, probably the most influential messianic prefiguration of the intertestamental period. He is characterized by his competence as a ruler, his loyalty to Judaism, and his status as an eschatological figure. While the first half of John's Gospel does not portray Jesus as a Davidic figure, the latter half is replete with the references to the Davidic trials. Although one can argue for a correspondence between David and Jesus in the Johannine passion accounts, the analogy is more evident between Yahweh and Jesus, let alone the suffering aspect of David, which did not constitute the messianic expectations of early Judaism. Chapter 5 engages in a study of Moses as depicted in early Judaism and John. In contrast to the perspectives of the Hebrew scriptural traditions, in which Moses is understood as the prophet par excellence, the fourth evangelist presents him merely as a Christological witness, not as a messianic prefiguration. Chapter 6 summarizes the foregoing observations and offers hermeneutical implications for the study of the Gospel of John, especially with reference to the redactional capability of the fourth evangelist and the value of the intertestamental Jewish literature. / This item is only available to students and faculty of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. If you are not associated with SBTS, this dissertation may be purchased from <a href="http://disexpress.umi.com/dxweb">http://disexpress.umi.com/dxweb</a> or downloaded through ProQuest's Dissertation and Theses database if your institution subscribes to that service.

The text of the book of Revelation preserves examples of scriptural reuse that cohere with similar patterns of borrowing in other ancient Jewish works. This thesis describes the processes of reuse employed by Revelation's notional author (John), and places them into conversation with modes of reuse employed in other ancient Jewish texts, using Zechariah 1-8 as a test case. The design of the study has been crafted to explore these examples in a manner consistent with ancient textual composition. In the first chapter, I examine a dominant aspect of Jewish and early Christian textual culture: pluriformity. I argue that a pluriform scriptural tradition (in both Hebrew and Greek) was a controlling force that shaped the processes of scriptural reuse and, in turn, composition in this period. This analysis also delimits the possible forms of Zechariah available to ancient readers. With textual pluriformity in mind, the next chapter examines the text of Zech 1-8 preserved in John's scriptural references (Rev 5.6; 6.1-8, 9-11; 7.1; 11.4; 19.11-16). While this analysis is complicated by the author's presentation of reused material in Revelation, the evidence strongly suggests that John was familiar with a Hebrew form of Zechariah. Once John's preferred form of Zechariah is identified, the third chapter describes his techniques of reuse. This portion of the thesis consists of a catalogue and discussion of the differences in graphic representation between segments of Zech 1-8 and their instantiation in Revelation. This examination builds a set of textual data that accesses John's processes and strategies of reading. The fourth section of the thesis explores John's habits of reading as witnessed in his techniques of reuse. This section identifies features of Zech 1-8 that motivated John to engage with and alter the wording of antecedent material. Not every textual difference can be accounted for in this way, but it is evident that John is cognisant of the features of a particular form of Zech 1-8. Many of the differences between source and reuse can be explained as John's attempt to comprehend ambiguities in Zechariah. The final section of the thesis is a comparative analysis. The results of the preceding examinations of Revelation are compared to instances of the reuse of Zechariah in early Jewish literature, including works in the Hebrew Bible, the ancient versions of Zechariah, Dead Sea Scrolls, and works commonly classified as “deutero-canonical.” This analysis grounds previous observations about John's reuse in their native textual culture and acts as an historical control. The evidence suggests that John's modes of reading, reformulation, and reuse are similar to those found in other early Jewish works. The thesis concludes that scriptural reuse in the book of Revelation cannot be understood apart from the realities of textual pluriformity and the practices of scriptural reuse in Jewish antiquity. This approach suggests that John is a “scribal” expert—a careful reader of his scriptural tradition—and that his modes of reuse are conditioned by the textual culture of this period.

Von Haus aus sind Sibyllinische Orakel eine griechisch-römische Literaturgattung, eine Sammlung von Orakelsprüchen in griechischen Hexametern, die nicht erhalten ist. Die uns überlieferten Sibyllinischen Orakel sind jüdischen, christlichen und teilweise paganen Ursprungs. Die insgesamt 14 Bücher sind in den Jahren 150 vor bis 300 nach Christus entstanden. Bis zu ihrer Wiederentdeckung im Vatikan waren die Sibyllinischen Orakel nur durch Zitate der Kirchenväter bekannt. Buch 3 ist laut Mehrheit der Forscher das älteste der Sammlung und entstand im zweiten vorchristlichen Jahrhundert in Ägypten. Die Arbeit stellt diesen Konsens in Frage. Sie konzentriert sich dabei auf die Vorstellung der Beherrschung des Raumes im dritten Sibyllinischen Orakel. Dabei geht es einerseits um die rein geographische Vorstellung der Welt, die der Sibylle zugrunde liegt und andererseits um die politisch-theologische Vorstellung der Abfolge von Weltreichen, die diese Welt nacheinander beherrschen und schlussendlich von der Herrschaft Gottes abgelöst werden. Das Thema Gottesherrschaft nimmt in den jüdischen Pseudepigraphen eine relativ marginale Rolle ein. Dies könnte sicherlich damit zusammenhängen, dass die Diasporaschriften nicht unmittelbar unter dem Einfluss der sogenannten Antiochenischen Verfolgung und den Makkabäeraufständen standen, anders als z.B. das Danielbuch. In den Texten aus der Diaspora findet sich das Thema Gottesherrschaft sogar nur im dritten Sibyllinischen Orakel und in der Weisheit Salomos. Besonderes Gewicht hat die Gottesherrschaft schließlich in den Schriften des Neuen Testament. Ich hoffe mit meiner Arbeit einen wichtigen Beitrag zur Genese der Vorstellung der Gottesherrschaft im Neuen Testament zu leisten. Der endzeitliche Zustand, den die Sibylle für die Umsetzung der göttlichen Herrschaft auf Erden prophezeit, kann mit dem Begriff Utopie beschrieben werden. / Originally, the Sibylline Oracles were a Graeco-Roman literary genre, namely a collection of oracles composed in Greek hexamters which have not come down to us. The Sibylline Books that we have today are of Jewish and Christian origin and stem from a time when the genre was adapted first by Jews and then Christians. The altogether 14 books have developed between 150 BCE and 300 CE and for the longest time were only known through quotations in the church fathers such as Eusebius and Lactantius. According to the majority of scholars, Book III is the oldest of the Sibylline corpus and developed in the 2nd century BCE in Egypt. This thesis reconsiders the established consensus using old and new evidence alike. It focuses on the image of dominion of space in the Third Sibyl. On the one hand, space is looked at as the geographical image of the world as the Sibyl has access to, on the other, space is looked at as the political-theological image of succession of empires that rule the world consecutively until eventually they are superseded by the dominion of God. The dominion of God only play a minor role in Jewish pseudepigraphy. This could be related to the fact that the writings of the Diaspora were not immediately affected by the so-called Antiochene persecution and the Maccabean revolt unlike, for instance, the Book of Daniel. In the writings of the Diaspora the topic only occurs in the Third Sibyl and in the Wisdom of Solomon. It becomes particularly important in the New Testament. With this thesis I hope to provide an important contribution to the genesis of the image of the dominion of God in the New Testament. The eschatological age that the Sibyl prophecies for the establishment of the divine dominion on earth can be described using the term utopia.

Summaries in German and English / Ziel der Forschungsarbeitet ist es, zu zeigen, dass die johanneische Weinstockrede das alttestamentlich und frühjüdisch geprägte Weinstockmotiv aufgreift und weiter entfaltet. So finden sich in Joh 15:1-8 die Beziehungsebene zwischen Gott und seinen Nachfolgern, die ethische Konnotation, der Gerichtsgedanke, der messianisch-eschatologische Aspekt und der Gedanke von Fruchtbarkeit und Fülle wieder. Es wird deutlich, dass sich in Jesus erfüllt hat, worauf die alttestamentlichen und frühjüdischen Schriften durch die Verwendung des Weinstockmotivs abgezielt haben: Er ist der angekündigte Messias, dessen Kommen Fülle mit sich bringt. Dies hat sich bereits durch Jesu erstes Zeichen, die Verwandlung von Wasser zu Wein (Joh 2:1-11), angedeutet. Neu ist der Gedanke, dass Jesus seine Nachfolger in sein Wirken mit einbezieht. Sie partizipieren an seiner messianischen Fülle und produzieren den Überfluss in Abhängigkeit von Jesus auch selbst mit. Voraussetzung dafür ist, dass die Jünger ihre enge Beziehung zu Jesus durch Gebet und das Einhalten seines Wortes aufrechterhalten und sich an seinem Vorbild orientieren. / The purpose of this thesis is to show that the Johannine vine speech takes up and further develops the vine motif of the Old Testament and early Jewish history. In John 15:1-8 we find emphasis on the relationship between God and his disciples, the ethical connotation, the warning of judgement, the messianic-eschatological aspect and the concepts of fruitfulness and fullness. I will show in this thesis, that the the Old Testament and early Jewish writings that use the vine motif are fulfilled in Jesus Christ: He is the announced Messiah, whose coming will bring fullness. This is already implied in Jesus’s first miracle, turning water into wine (John 2:1-11). What is new is that Jesus includes his disciples in his ministry. They participate in his messianic abundance and in dependence on Jesus they themselves produce abundance. The prerequisite for this abundant fruitfulness is a close relationship with Jesus through prayer, abiding in his word, and following his example. / New Testament / M. Th.(New Testament)

The story of the Tower of Babel (Gen 11: 1-9) has been interpreted in various ways down through the centuries. However, most commentators have ignored the genre of the text, and have not sought to interpret it within its mythological framework - therefore most interpretations are nothing short of babble. A working text is ascertained, and the complexity of the text investigated. The text is then identified as 'myth': within its mythological framework the tower is seen as a temple linking heaven and earth, ensuring the continuation of the royal dynasty (i e 'making a name'). When used by the Yahwist Levites during the Babylonian Exile, our story was inserted in the great Pre-History as polemic against the Babylonian concept of creation, temple, and dynasty; and served as both a warning and an encouragement to the Exiles. The post-exilic Priestly Writer re-interpreted our story as a warning to the returning exiles that their society, and their temple, should be reconstructed as YHWH determines. Interpreting the story as myth enables it, finally, to speak clearly into our context today, especially that of South Africa. / Biblical and Ancient Studies / D. Th. (Old Testament)

Text in Afrikaans / Die verhandeling behels 'n holistiese benadering tot die geskiedenis van die Israelitiese stamme/clans gedurende die 'tyd van die Rigters' (soos in die Ou Testament gereflekteer). Na my mening het 'n holistiese benadering die potensiaal om 'n meer komprehensiewe beeld van die 'Rigtertyd' te verkry. 'n Vierledige ondersoek na die situasie van die Israelitiese stamme/clans word daarom aan die hand van die politieke konteks, die sosio-kulturele en ekonomiese situasie, die godsdienstig-ideologiese aspek en die literere dimensie gedoen. In die laaste hoofstuk is daar gepoog om die verskillende dimensies op mekaar te betrek. Opsommend kan gese word dat byna alle aktiwiteite gedurende hierdie periode ongestruktureerd en sonder orde was, dit wil se daar was anargie in die Beloofde Land. · Elkeen het gedoen wat reg was in sy eie oe' (Rgt 21 :25). / This dissertation deals with a holistic approach towards the history of the Israelite tribes/clans throughout the 'period of the Judges' (as referred to in the Old Testament). In my opinion, a holistic approach has the potential to offer a more comprehensive analysis of the 'period of the Judges'. A fourfold investigation into the situation of the Israelite tribes/clans is carried out involving the political context, the socio-cultural and economic situation, the religious-ideological aspect and the literary dimension. In the last chapter an attempt is made to integrate the different dimensions. To conclude, it can be said that nearly all phenomena in the tribal period was characterized by a lack of structure or order, in other words, there was anarchy in the Promised Land. 'Everyone did what was right in his own eyes' (Jdg 21 :25). / Biblical and Ancient Studies / M.A. (Bybelkunde)