This project involved a close literary analysis of the three texts of Esther. The results of the literary analysis indicated that the texts displayed different textual tendencies and also represented God, the four main characters, and some minor characters, differently. The texts were then presented to real readers for an empirical study of their perceptions of the characters. The empirical data indicate some support for the difference in perception expected from the literary analysis. Readers of the AT considered the king to be more just, Mordecai to be more just and moral, and less dominant, and Esther to be more moral, than in the other two texts. Readers of the BT considered Mordecai more dominant than in the other two texts. For the justice of the king and the justice and morality of Mordecai they rated the BT between the AT and the MT. Readers of the MT considered the king to be less just and Mordecai to be less just and moral than in the other texts. However, for the dominance trait they rated Mordecai between the AT and BT. They also rated Esther between the AT and BT on the morality trait. Some of these effects, however, were modified by the factors of gender and religious affiliation. The literary analysis also suggested that there is a difference in the moral reasoning level between the three texts. This was indirectly supported by the empirical study. The fact that all except one of the differences in perception were related to the character traits of justice and morality indicates that the character traits which are most obviously related to the ethics involved in the text were the ones for which real readers perceived differences. / Subscription resource available via Digital Dissertations only.

This project involved a close literary analysis of the three texts of Esther. The results of the literary analysis indicated that the texts displayed different textual tendencies and also represented God, the four main characters, and some minor characters, differently. The texts were then presented to real readers for an empirical study of their perceptions of the characters. The empirical data indicate some support for the difference in perception expected from the literary analysis. Readers of the AT considered the king to be more just, Mordecai to be more just and moral, and less dominant, and Esther to be more moral, than in the other two texts. Readers of the BT considered Mordecai more dominant than in the other two texts. For the justice of the king and the justice and morality of Mordecai they rated the BT between the AT and the MT. Readers of the MT considered the king to be less just and Mordecai to be less just and moral than in the other texts. However, for the dominance trait they rated Mordecai between the AT and BT. They also rated Esther between the AT and BT on the morality trait. Some of these effects, however, were modified by the factors of gender and religious affiliation. The literary analysis also suggested that there is a difference in the moral reasoning level between the three texts. This was indirectly supported by the empirical study. The fact that all except one of the differences in perception were related to the character traits of justice and morality indicates that the character traits which are most obviously related to the ethics involved in the text were the ones for which real readers perceived differences. / Subscription resource available via Digital Dissertations only.

This dissertation investigates ways in which early Jewish communities conceptualized the production and collection of writing. Through a study of 11QPsalms-a, the Qumran Psalms Scroll, it shows how modern book culture (shaped by the canon, codex, print, authorial copyright, and scholarly editing) has distorted our understanding of ancient texts and fostered anachronistic questions about their creation and reception. Taking seriously what early Jewish texts have to say about their own writtenness and building upon earlier scholarship on scriptural multiformity, the dissertation also uses theoretical insights from the field of Book History to study the identity, assembly, and literary context of the Psalms Scroll as an example of the ancient textual imagination. Physical and discursive evidence suggest that no concept of a “Book of Psalms” existed as a coherent entity in the ancient Jewish imagination, but that psalms collections were conceptualized and created in looser, unbounded ways. New metaphors made possible by electronic text, which likewise cannot be constrained into the categories of print book culture, can encourage new ways of imagining ancient concepts of fluid textuality as well. After a study of the status and compilation of the Psalms Scroll (Ch. 1-2), the dissertation engages the question of Davidic authorship (Ch. 3). David was not imagined as the author of a particular psalms collection, but as the inaugurator of a variety of liturgical traditions. The identity between an individual figure and a specific text should be unbound in favour of a looser relationship, allowing for the continuing growth of traditions inspired by the figure. Chapters 4 and 5 present a reading of the Psalms Scroll and Davidic lore alongside two other traditions: Ben Sira and angelic ascent literature. Both possess literary links with the Psalms Scroll, but also shed light on the ways in which ancient communities imagined writing and understood their own relationship to their texts. Thus, reading across canonical and generic boundaries embeds psalms traditions in a richer context of reception and provides a fuller picture of the ancient textual imagination. The conclusion makes a comparative gesture toward the Nachleben of psalms collecting in Syriac Christianity.

This dissertation investigates ways in which early Jewish communities conceptualized the production and collection of writing. Through a study of 11QPsalms-a, the Qumran Psalms Scroll, it shows how modern book culture (shaped by the canon, codex, print, authorial copyright, and scholarly editing) has distorted our understanding of ancient texts and fostered anachronistic questions about their creation and reception. Taking seriously what early Jewish texts have to say about their own writtenness and building upon earlier scholarship on scriptural multiformity, the dissertation also uses theoretical insights from the field of Book History to study the identity, assembly, and literary context of the Psalms Scroll as an example of the ancient textual imagination. Physical and discursive evidence suggest that no concept of a “Book of Psalms” existed as a coherent entity in the ancient Jewish imagination, but that psalms collections were conceptualized and created in looser, unbounded ways. New metaphors made possible by electronic text, which likewise cannot be constrained into the categories of print book culture, can encourage new ways of imagining ancient concepts of fluid textuality as well. After a study of the status and compilation of the Psalms Scroll (Ch. 1-2), the dissertation engages the question of Davidic authorship (Ch. 3). David was not imagined as the author of a particular psalms collection, but as the inaugurator of a variety of liturgical traditions. The identity between an individual figure and a specific text should be unbound in favour of a looser relationship, allowing for the continuing growth of traditions inspired by the figure. Chapters 4 and 5 present a reading of the Psalms Scroll and Davidic lore alongside two other traditions: Ben Sira and angelic ascent literature. Both possess literary links with the Psalms Scroll, but also shed light on the ways in which ancient communities imagined writing and understood their own relationship to their texts. Thus, reading across canonical and generic boundaries embeds psalms traditions in a richer context of reception and provides a fuller picture of the ancient textual imagination. The conclusion makes a comparative gesture toward the Nachleben of psalms collecting in Syriac Christianity.

Exploring age structure in Mediterranean cultures illuminates the social dynamics of intergenerational relationships that became more visible in late first and early second century early Christian texts, and especially in 1 Timothy 5. This was a time of crisis when those with a living memory of the foundations of the movement were almost gone, and the community was scrutinized by outsiders. Since we have relatively few clues related to aging and age structure in the extant texts, a model of generational stability and social change based on ethnographic data helps us to imagine culturally sensitive possibilities that we can then test out as we reread the texts in their Roman cultural context. In his fictive story of Paul and Timothy, the author of the heterographical (pseudepigraphical) letter of 1 Timothy establishes an ideal intergenerational relationship between “Paul” as an older man and “Timothy” as his adult “child.” When the fictive Paul directs Timothy to speak kindly to older people (5:1-2), he introduces a section on age-related issues. Behaviour that was causing concern for public reputation included adult children shirking filial duty (5:4, 8), young widows gadding about in public (5:11-15), and younger men accusing their elders (5:19). These behaviours threatened the reputation and honour of the community and may have been encouraged by the opposing faction. The author’s solution was to reject the opposing teachings and enforce behaviour that reflected proper age structure: adult children should fulfill their filial responsibilities and care for widowed mothers and grandmothers (5:4); young widows should be guided and supported by middle-aged women who were responsible for them in the age hierarchy among women (5:16); middle-aged women should imitate the exemplary behaviour of the enlisted widows who were over 60 years old; and young men were to be rebuked in front of everyone for their disrespect toward elders (5:20). In the face of social change, the author advocates for behaviour reflective of the traditional age structure of Roman society.

Cette présente recherche vise à défendre le point de vue selon lequel le don de l’Esprit dans le récit de la Pentecôte (Ac 2, 1-13) s’interprète principalement comme l’investissement d’une puissance habilitant au témoignage. À cette fin, nous posons l’hypothèse que le contenu d’Ac 2, 17-21 est un axe fondamental de la théologie pneumatique de l’œuvre lucanienne, lequel interprète la manifestation pentecostale dans une perspective prophétique. La démonstration se fait par le biais d’une analyse rédactionnelle d’Ac 2, 17-21, une citation de Jl 3,1-5 insérée dans un discours explicatif de Pierre du phénomène pentecostal. Nous examinons d’abord le lieu d’inscription de ce passage dans l’œuvre lucanienne afin d’évaluer la valeur stratégique de son emplacement (chapitre 1). Nous étudions ensuite l’interprétation que fait Luc de cette prophétie pour en venir à la conclusion qu’il envisage l’intervention de l’Esprit essentiellement dans une perspective d’habilitation à la prophétie (chapitre 2). Nous vérifions cette première conclusion dans l’Évangile de Luc (chapitre 3); puis ensuite dans les Actes des Apôtres (chapitre 4). Nous en arrivons ainsi à établir un parallélisme entre les étapes initiatiques du ministère de Jésus dans le troisième évangile et celui des disciples dans les Actes, pour y découvrir que, dans les deux cas, l’effusion de l’Esprit habilite à l’activité prophétique. Le ministère des disciples s’inscrit de la sorte dans le prolongement de celui du Maître. Nous soutenons, en fait, que tout le discours pneumatique de l’Évangile de Luc converge vers l’effusion initiale de l’Esprit sur les disciples dans le récit pentecostal, d’une part, et que cette effusion jette un éclairage sur l’ensemble de l’œuvre missionnaire des Actes, d’autre part. Bref, le passage explicatif du phénomène pentecostal, en l’occurrence Ac 2, 17-21, met en lumière un axe central des perspectives de Luc sur l’Esprit : Il s’agit de l’Esprit de prophétie. Dans cette optique, l’effusion de l’Esprit à la Pentecôte s’interpréterait essentiellement comme l’investissement du croyant d’une puissance en vue du témoignage. / This present research argues that the gift of the Spirit in the Pentecost account (Ac 2.1-13) is to be understood as a source of empowerment for the task of witnessing. The thesis that I defend is that the passage of Ac 2.17-21 is in fact a fundamental axis of the pneumatic theology of Luke’s work, which in turn interprets the pentecostal gift as a prophetic endowment. I will demonstrate this affirmation by performing a redactional analysis of Ac 2.17-21, which is, in fact, a citation from Jl 3.1-5 quoted in Peter’s pentecostal speech whose purpose is to interpret the pneumatic phenomenon of Ac 2.1-13. I start by examining the specific position of Ac 2.17-21 in order to assess the strategic value of its location (chapter 1). I will then carefully look at how Luke interprets this prophecy, only to conclude that he understands the work of the Spirit mainly as a source of empowerment for a prophetic task (chapter 2). I will verify this conclusion throughout the Gospel of Luke (chapter 3), and then in the Acts of the Apostles (chapter 4). This exercise will bring to light an important parallel between the circumstances surrounding the inauguration of Jesus’ ministry in the Gospel of Luke and that of the disciples in Acts, which shows that, in both cases, the Spirit is given as a source of power for a prophetic ministry. The disciples’ ministry is therefore to be understood to lie in the continuity of the one of the Master. Consequently, we will see that all of the pneumatic discourse of Luke’s Gospel converges towards the initial outpouring of the Spirit on the disciples in the Pentecost account, and that this same passage subsequently sheds light on the missionary work in Acts. In short, the interpretative passage of the pentecostal phenomenon, Ac 2.17-21, brings to light a fundamental axis of Luke’s perspectives on the Sprit; It is the prophetic Spirit. The gift of Spirit at Pentecost is then in turn to be understood primarily as a prophetic endowment enabling the disciples to witness.

This study investigates how Yoruba migrants make meaning of Yoruba Indigenous knowledges in the African Diaspora, specifically within the geopolitical space of dominant Canadian culture. This research is informed by the lived experiences of 16 Africans of Yoruba descent now living in Toronto, Canada, and explores how these first and second generation migrants construct the spiritual and linguistic dimensions of Yoruba Indigenous identities in their everyday lives. While Canada is often imagined as a sanctuary for progressive politics, it nonetheless is also a hegemonic space where inequities continue to shape the social engagements of everyday life. Hence, this dissertation situates the historical and contemporary realities of colonialism and imperialism, by beginning with the premise that people in diasporic Yoruba communities are continuously affected by the complicated interplay of various forms of oppression such as racism, and inequities based on language, gender and religion. This study is situated within a socio–historical and cosmological context to effectively examine colonialism’s impact on Yoruba Indigenous knowledges. Yet, inversely, this study also involves discussion of how these knowledges are utilized as decolonizing tools of navigation, subversion and resistance. The central focus of this research is the articulation of colonial oppression and how it has reconfigured Yoruba Indigenous identities even within a purportedly ‘multicultural’ space. First, the historical dis/continuities of the Yoruba language in Yorubaland are investigated. This strand of the research considers British colonization, and more specifically, the Church Missionary Society’s (CMS) efforts at translating the Bible into Yoruba as pivotal in the colonial project. What kinds of categories does missionary education create that differ from pre-colonial categories of Yoruba Indigenous identity? How are these new identities shaped along lines of race and gender? In other words, what happens when Yoruba cosmology encounters colonialism? The second strand of this research investigates how these historical colonialisms have set the framework for enduring contemporary colonialisms that continue to fracture Yoruba Indigenous knowledges. This dissertation offers insights relevant to diversity and equitable pedagogy through careful consideration of the complicated strategies used by participants in their negotiations of Yoruba identities within a context of social inequity and colonialism.

This study investigates how Yoruba migrants make meaning of Yoruba Indigenous knowledges in the African Diaspora, specifically within the geopolitical space of dominant Canadian culture. This research is informed by the lived experiences of 16 Africans of Yoruba descent now living in Toronto, Canada, and explores how these first and second generation migrants construct the spiritual and linguistic dimensions of Yoruba Indigenous identities in their everyday lives. While Canada is often imagined as a sanctuary for progressive politics, it nonetheless is also a hegemonic space where inequities continue to shape the social engagements of everyday life. Hence, this dissertation situates the historical and contemporary realities of colonialism and imperialism, by beginning with the premise that people in diasporic Yoruba communities are continuously affected by the complicated interplay of various forms of oppression such as racism, and inequities based on language, gender and religion. This study is situated within a socio–historical and cosmological context to effectively examine colonialism’s impact on Yoruba Indigenous knowledges. Yet, inversely, this study also involves discussion of how these knowledges are utilized as decolonizing tools of navigation, subversion and resistance. The central focus of this research is the articulation of colonial oppression and how it has reconfigured Yoruba Indigenous identities even within a purportedly ‘multicultural’ space. First, the historical dis/continuities of the Yoruba language in Yorubaland are investigated. This strand of the research considers British colonization, and more specifically, the Church Missionary Society’s (CMS) efforts at translating the Bible into Yoruba as pivotal in the colonial project. What kinds of categories does missionary education create that differ from pre-colonial categories of Yoruba Indigenous identity? How are these new identities shaped along lines of race and gender? In other words, what happens when Yoruba cosmology encounters colonialism? The second strand of this research investigates how these historical colonialisms have set the framework for enduring contemporary colonialisms that continue to fracture Yoruba Indigenous knowledges. This dissertation offers insights relevant to diversity and equitable pedagogy through careful consideration of the complicated strategies used by participants in their negotiations of Yoruba identities within a context of social inequity and colonialism.

Cette présente recherche vise à défendre le point de vue selon lequel le don de l’Esprit dans le récit de la Pentecôte (Ac 2, 1-13) s’interprète principalement comme l’investissement d’une puissance habilitant au témoignage. À cette fin, nous posons l’hypothèse que le contenu d’Ac 2, 17-21 est un axe fondamental de la théologie pneumatique de l’œuvre lucanienne, lequel interprète la manifestation pentecostale dans une perspective prophétique. La démonstration se fait par le biais d’une analyse rédactionnelle d’Ac 2, 17-21, une citation de Jl 3,1-5 insérée dans un discours explicatif de Pierre du phénomène pentecostal. Nous examinons d’abord le lieu d’inscription de ce passage dans l’œuvre lucanienne afin d’évaluer la valeur stratégique de son emplacement (chapitre 1). Nous étudions ensuite l’interprétation que fait Luc de cette prophétie pour en venir à la conclusion qu’il envisage l’intervention de l’Esprit essentiellement dans une perspective d’habilitation à la prophétie (chapitre 2). Nous vérifions cette première conclusion dans l’Évangile de Luc (chapitre 3); puis ensuite dans les Actes des Apôtres (chapitre 4). Nous en arrivons ainsi à établir un parallélisme entre les étapes initiatiques du ministère de Jésus dans le troisième évangile et celui des disciples dans les Actes, pour y découvrir que, dans les deux cas, l’effusion de l’Esprit habilite à l’activité prophétique. Le ministère des disciples s’inscrit de la sorte dans le prolongement de celui du Maître. Nous soutenons, en fait, que tout le discours pneumatique de l’Évangile de Luc converge vers l’effusion initiale de l’Esprit sur les disciples dans le récit pentecostal, d’une part, et que cette effusion jette un éclairage sur l’ensemble de l’œuvre missionnaire des Actes, d’autre part. Bref, le passage explicatif du phénomène pentecostal, en l’occurrence Ac 2, 17-21, met en lumière un axe central des perspectives de Luc sur l’Esprit : Il s’agit de l’Esprit de prophétie. Dans cette optique, l’effusion de l’Esprit à la Pentecôte s’interpréterait essentiellement comme l’investissement du croyant d’une puissance en vue du témoignage. / This present research argues that the gift of the Spirit in the Pentecost account (Ac 2.1-13) is to be understood as a source of empowerment for the task of witnessing. The thesis that I defend is that the passage of Ac 2.17-21 is in fact a fundamental axis of the pneumatic theology of Luke’s work, which in turn interprets the pentecostal gift as a prophetic endowment. I will demonstrate this affirmation by performing a redactional analysis of Ac 2.17-21, which is, in fact, a citation from Jl 3.1-5 quoted in Peter’s pentecostal speech whose purpose is to interpret the pneumatic phenomenon of Ac 2.1-13. I start by examining the specific position of Ac 2.17-21 in order to assess the strategic value of its location (chapter 1). I will then carefully look at how Luke interprets this prophecy, only to conclude that he understands the work of the Spirit mainly as a source of empowerment for a prophetic task (chapter 2). I will verify this conclusion throughout the Gospel of Luke (chapter 3), and then in the Acts of the Apostles (chapter 4). This exercise will bring to light an important parallel between the circumstances surrounding the inauguration of Jesus’ ministry in the Gospel of Luke and that of the disciples in Acts, which shows that, in both cases, the Spirit is given as a source of power for a prophetic ministry. The disciples’ ministry is therefore to be understood to lie in the continuity of the one of the Master. Consequently, we will see that all of the pneumatic discourse of Luke’s Gospel converges towards the initial outpouring of the Spirit on the disciples in the Pentecost account, and that this same passage subsequently sheds light on the missionary work in Acts. In short, the interpretative passage of the pentecostal phenomenon, Ac 2.17-21, brings to light a fundamental axis of Luke’s perspectives on the Sprit; It is the prophetic Spirit. The gift of Spirit at Pentecost is then in turn to be understood primarily as a prophetic endowment enabling the disciples to witness.

This thesis challenges the position that the serek texts are primarily prescriptive and legal, as they have been customarily defined. It argues that the term serek should be reconceptualized according to descriptive analysis, with the purpose of creating what C. Newsom terms a ‘Gestalt structure.’ In order to achieve this, four serek texts (M, S, Sa, and D) will be analyzed at three literary levels—semantic, textual and hypertextual—explaining how the elements at these levels interact as cohesive wholes, thus serving to create a more complete picture of this group of texts as a literary unity. Thus, while the separate, constituent semantic, textual and hypertextual parts must be analysed as separate elements, the fundamental questions posed regarding these elements will be different in a Gestalt paradigm as compared to a traditional, definitional analysis. Going from the micro to the macro, the first chapter will look at the serek texts through the ‘microscope’ of close philological analysis, examining how the term serek functions atomistically within the Dead Sea Scrolls. Building upon these results, the second chapter will more broadly analyse the structure, themes and narrative apparent in the serek texts, thus creating a fuller understanding of how the serek texts relate to one another and respond to circumstances in community life. Finally, the last chapter seeks yet more broadly to understand the serek texts in the wider literary milieu of the Second Temple Period. Here, a scribal technique present in the serek texts will be compared to a similar technique used in the Book of Isaiah—arguably the most important prophetic work for the Qumran sectarians.