Thesis (Ph. D.)--Boston University / Statement of the Problem. The dissertation is an investigation of the mixture of legend and history in the Elisha cycle in II Kings, attempting to discover to what extent the interests and life of the historic Elisha can be authenticated. The Elisha cycle is used as the basis for exploring the functions of legend and history in Biblical traditions. A secondary problem is an evaluation of the relationship between Elijah and Elisha, especially at those points where it is frequently asserted that Elisha traditions are adaptations of Elijah traditions. Procedure. The materials of the Elisha cycle are examined with respect to their present nature and possible origins through the use of form- and literary-critical methods. These traditions are grouped according to the roles which the early preservers of the Elisha materials appear to have assigned to the prophet. Three such roles are considered: 1) wonder worker; 2) cultic prophet; 3) political prophet. Elijah and Elisha traditions are compared at those points at which the prophets are associated either historically or through doublets in the traditions. Talmudic and patristic writings are examined to compare the emphases of Elisha's ministry in Kings with the aspects of Elisha's ministry which appealed to later Jewish and Christian writers. Conclusions. 1. The three roles considered prove to be the most adequate bases for comprehending the varying traditions of the Elisha cycle. 2. The role of wonder worker is derived from Elisha's role as cultic prophet. The assumption that Elisha can work wonders is based on an acceptance of him as cultic prophet and as a leader of the "sons of the prophets." J. The roles of Elisha within the tradition are best explained if it is assumed that these materials were preserved by prophetic circles, especially the "sons of the prophets." 4. The preservation of the Elisha tradition by the "sons of the prophets" resulted in an emphasis upon prophetic roles for Elisha which would cease to be characteristic of classical prophecy after Amos. 5. Elisha's stature as a prophet was not enhanced by his historic and literary relationship to Elijah. The frequently asserted superiority of Elijah as a prophet is shown to result from judgments based both on the greater excellence of the literary traditions of Elijah and on his greater importance for Judaism. An examination of Elijah's importance in Judaism shows clearly that it rests on factors other than the quality of his historic ministry. 6. In four instances of parallelism between Elijah and Elisha traditions only one instance Kings 17:17-24 parallel to II Kings 4:8-37) demonstrates clearly a transfer from Elijah to Elisha traditions. 7• The legendary aspects of those traditions which picture Elisha as political prophet are not to be discounted since Elisha's participation in the political life of the nation is conceivable for the period in question. It is shown that the settings for the political traditions in the Elisha cycle are all authentic for the general period, even though specific dates cannot be attached to all such traditions. 8. The legendary aspects of the Elisha traditions are shown to serve an historical purpose in communicating the interests and needs of those among whom these traditions were preserved. The legends are important in expanding our understanding of group prophecy in Israel in the ninth century B.C. although they do not carry us to the historic Elisha.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston University / A study of the origins of any belief entails the investigation of prehistory. In the search for the earliest beginnings of the belief in life after death, it is further necessary to include a belief in God, and in man's awareness of spiritual things, since the belief in the future life is part of the whole religious consciousness of man. Man came into being so long ago that his first religious awakening is buried in the mists of earth's morning. Archaeological investigation has found the earliest knowledge of prehistoric man connected with his belief in life after death: his careful burial of the dead, with weapons, utensils and ornaments for use in the next world. Thus man's cultural development can be traced by his burial deposits. It seems proved beyond a doubt that belief in life after death was universal, and must have been part of man's consciousness, suggesting the Creation statement that he was "made in the image of God." While very little is known of any other actions or beliefs of man so long ago, it is recognized by the remains at the grave that burial entailed some kind of religious ceremony. This can be seen by the many cup-holes found at the grave sites, which suggest libation offerings, and by the easily-recognized remains of feasts held there, which may have been either funeral or memorial rites. By Chalcolithic times many tombs had vestibule entrances, often with an altar in central position. In Egypt people paid more attention to life after death and built more elaborate tombs than anywhere else in the world, and here was apparently the first distinction recognized between good and evil in the world beyond. The pictures on the walls of the early tomb-temples portray souls being weighed, and show the happy life awaiting the successful, and the dangers in store for those who fail to make the grade. After the invention of writing, development can be followed more clearly. Egyptian documents are many, dealing with life in the future world, and the incantations to insure a happy state there. Mesopotamian epics recount prolonged attempts to attain immortality, and belief in the power of gods over men. Burial rites can be read from Hittite documents. The Homeric epics incantations to insure a happy state there. Mesopotamian epics recount prolonged attempts to attain immortality, and' belief in the power of gods over men. Burial rites can be read from Hittite documents. Homeric epics tell a like tale. In far-off America such belief is found and similar rites practiced. This seems to have been a normal development, but it was not all an upward trail. In many parts of the world magic rites developed, often accompanied by human sacrifices to insure favor of gods who were placated rather than worshiped. In the midst of these people, Israel seems to have maintained a healthy interest in life on earth, with death only casually mentioned. These people were aware of the interest of the Lord, their one God, in the affairs of everyday life; the dead were "gathered to their fathers." They were often tempted into the ways of their pagan neighbors, but the prophets gave protest continually, upholding high ideals. Life after death is mentioned incidentally, which may indicate that it was a basic belief which they did not need to emphasize. Until the later writings, which may have been influenced by Persian concepts, this spirit life was but a shadowy existence. Even in the Psalms, where one would expeet a soaring of the spirit, the outlook is dismal. Sheol is a land of darkness and forgetfulness; the shades "cannot praise the Lord." In the later writings there are a few references to a happy state in the next world, but Daniel is the only prophet who speaks of a resurrection of both good and evil for judgment. The victories of the Maccabaean revolt, and the establishment of Jewish independent national life finally under the leadership of John Hyrcanus, led to a return of high hopes that the golden age prophesied for them was at hand. When the failure of the new regime frustrated their expectations, they did not lose faith in God or in their prophetic future. They lifted their expectations to a new plane. Many apocryphal references to the future of Jerusalem look to an eternal glory that is more than earthly, and an anointed leader or Messiah of superhuman qualities. The newly-discovered Dead Sea Scrolls give emphasis to the Messianic expectations. Meanwhile, in lands all over the earth men were seeking light on the next world, and some way of being assured of a good place there. Many mystery religions had developed, similar in belief: spirits both good and bad, active in both worlds; a resurrection of the god, developed from the old nature cults where winter's sleep and spring's awakening suggested a resurrection symbolism; and ceremonies to induce that god to grant a good life in the spirit world. Philosophers and astrologers also were teaching tyPes of eternal life. Such developments are evidence of the universal longing of the human heart to find some way to overcome the tragedy of death. The conquest of Alexander the Great opened the roads of the world, and brought to Palestine as well as to other nations, the contact with the Greek culture. While Greek influences were moving eastward, Oriental culture was moving toward the West. The Jewish Dispersion placed the Jews in the very center of this movement, for all varieties of thought and worship were found in Egypt where most of them were finally settled. The Pseudepigraphical writings reflect this influence, both in the Palestinian and the Egyptian books. The foreign influence is most noticeable in the conception of life after death: vivid descriptions of the horrors of hell and the glories of heaven. There is a suggestion also that a few people would find the punishment of the lower world remedial, and would later be admitted to Paradise. The Jews were discriminating in their acceptance of pagan ideas. They rejected anything that would lower their conception of the great God of both heaven and earth. He was the one and only God, over all, majestic and of great glory, but even so, never removed far from earth. He was their "Guide even unto death," and their Father who showed steadfast love to his children of earth. They looked forward to an immediate entrance at death into places prepared for them "from the foundation of the world": for the wicked, places of torment; for the righteous, heavenly glories. And they expected a Leader, God-anointed, a Messiah, who would come to earth and restore the Paradise of Eden. A final Day of Judgment would mean destruction for all that was evil, and rewards for the faithful, after which there would come from God a "new heaven and a new earth" where righteousness would prevail, and all would be joy. [TRUNCATED]

This thesis explores affinities between the thinking of Søren Kierkegaard and the writers of five of the individual lament psalms. Those affinities between Kierkegaard and the writers of the psalms have two aspects: the subject and the approach to that subject. The main subject that both Kierkegaard and the writer of these psalms deal with is the issue of existential anxiety. This is angst which is rooted not in our upbringing but in our existence. Then there is an affinity between the approach of Kierkegaard and that of the writers of these psalms to the afore-mentioned anxiety. This thesis first clarifies the approach of Kierkegaard. It argues that the concepts of finitude and time encapsulate his approach to the issue of existential anxiety. Then, when these concepts are applied to the psalms, the present thesis shows how the texts come into focus in a way that has not been seen previously. In the final part of the thesis it is argued that at the centre of those affinities between Kierkegaard and the psalmists there is the concept of embodiment. The basis of this argument is that, for both the psalmists and Kierkegaard, a body-less personhood is meaningless. The essence of being human is not mental or even spiritual – it is physical.

周柬妮. / "2010年5月". / "2010 nian 5 yue". / Thesis (M.Div.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2010. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 52-56). / Abstract in Chinese and English. / Zhou Jianni. / 致謝 --- p.ii / 簡介 --- p.iii / Abstract --- p.iv / Chapter 1 --- 導論 --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1 --- 本文論題一異象乃心靈成長催化劑 --- p.4 / Chapter 1.2 --- 方法論 --- p.5 / Chapter 2 --- 保、羅 --- p.8 / Chapter 2.1 --- 大馬士革路上的異象 --- p.10 / Chapter 2.1.1 --- 使徒行傳 --- p.11 / Chapter 2.1.2 --- 保羅書信 --- p.12 / Chapter 2.1.3 --- 學者對兩者差異的評論 --- p.14 / Chapter 2.2 --- 近代研究保羅的取向 --- p.15 / Chapter 3 --- 保羅異象的分析 --- p.16 / Chapter 3.1 --- 異象 --- p.16 / Chapter 3.1.1 --- 基督宗教的觀點 --- p.17 / Chapter 3.1.2 --- 心理學方面的觀點 --- p.21 / Chapter 3.1.2.1 --- 否定的觀點 --- p.22 / Chapter 3.1.2.2 --- 肯定的觀點 --- p.24 / Chapter 3.2 --- 心理學否定異象的兩個歸因 --- p.25 / Chapter 3.2.1 --- 「虛假記憶」-也能建構自我身份 --- p.26 / Chapter 3.2.2 --- 「幻聽幻象」一也會改變歷史進程 --- p.28 / Chapter 3.2.3 --- 結論一保羅因異象而改變其人生 --- p.32 / Chapter 3.3 --- 心理學肯定異象的兩個學說 --- p.33 / Chapter 3.3.1 --- 異象在皈依過程中的角式 --- p.33 / Chapter 3.3.1.1 --- 皈依的心路歷程研究 --- p.34 / Chapter 3.3.1.2 --- 保羅皈依前期的宗教尋索´ؤ出現異象 --- p.36 / Chapter 3.3.1.3 --- 保羅皈依中期的身份重塑一思考異象 --- p.37 / Chapter 3.3.1.4 --- 保羅皈依後期的信仰反省´ؤ沈澱異象 --- p.39 / Chapter 3.3.2 --- 異象在保羅個體化之路的角式 --- p.40 / Chapter 3.3.2.1 --- 異象乃敲響心靈改變的「被動幻想」 --- p.41 / Chapter 3.3.2.2 --- 異象中的基督顯現乃協助保羅的「自我原形」 --- p.42 / Chapter 3.3.2.3 --- 異象出現的共時性乃巧妙銜接保羅個體化進程 --- p.45 / Chapter 4 --- 結語 --- p.47 / Chapter 4.1 --- 保羅未皈依時期的信仰歷程 --- p.47 / Chapter 4.2 --- 異象乃心靈成長的催化劑 --- p.48 / Chapter 5 --- 參考書目 --- p.52

Typescript. Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston University, Graduate School, 1928. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 253-258). Vita.

The wilderness is an unlikely place for Yahweh to appear; yet some of the most profound encounters between Yahweh and ancient Israel occur in this isolated, barren, arid and marginal landscape. Thus, via John A. Beck's narrative-geography method, which prioritises the role of the geographical setting of the biblical narrative, the question of 'why does Yahweh choose to appear in the wilderness?' is examined in reference to four Exodus theophanic passages (Exodus 3:1-4:17, 19:1-20:21, 24:9-18 and 33: 18-34). First, a biblical working definition of the wilderness is developed, and the specific geographic elements in each passage discussed. Subsequently, the characterisation of Yahweh's appearances is investigated, via the signs Yahweh used to appear, the words Yahweh speaks and the human experience of Yahweh in the wilderness space. In sum, five reasons for why Yahweh appears in the wilderness were considered significant. The wilderness setting allows Yahweh to be (I) actively present and intimately engaged, (2) separate and holy, (3) paradoxically creative, (4) speak transfomative and visionary words and (5) free, risky, and provoking. Finally, the implications of these findings provide new insights to theological considerations of Yahweh. Overall, Yahweh is portrayed as a wild God in the wilderness.

The Apostolos is a corpus of manuscripts containing New Testament and liturgical material. For Byzantines it was the primary form in which the Acts and Epistles were received as Scripture. Lectionary studies were almost abandoned after the mid-twentieth century, and the recent revival of interest in the Greek Lectionary has concentrated exclusively on the Gospel Lectionary. The last study of the Apostolos is five decades old and reflects the methodologies of another era. Building upon the work of recent Lectionary scholarship this thesis takes a new approach to the Apostolos, analysing New Testament and liturgical textual traditions together. The text of Acts and the Pauline corpus as transmitted in the Lectionary is compared with the continuous text. It is shown that one Apostolos witness is not usually copied to another and that consequently there is no ‘Lectionary text’ of Acts and Paul. Instead, Apostolos copies reflect textual variation in the evolving Byzantine tradition. Digital methods allow the present thesis to explore groupings among Apostolos manuscripts combined with detailed attention to the contents of each codex. This study concentrates on the Apostolos in its scribal, monastic, liturgical, and theological context as well as in light of other manuscript traditions.

At the heart of this study is my interest in the way in which a religious community establishes its sense of identity and its boundaries in relation to other groups. I explore the case of Israel's attitude towards her eastern neighbours, the Moabites and Ammonites, as portrayed in Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible. Most commentary from the last one hundred years privileges one particular view of Moab and Ammon as traditional enemies of Israel. I aim to show the validity of readings of the biblical accounts that reveal a more complex relationship between Israel and her neighbours. Tanakh exhibits a dialectic between eirenic and hostile viewpoints. The stories of Abraham and Lot, who are presented as ancestors of Israel and of Moab and Ammon, to some degree represent Israel’s understanding of her neighbours. Conventional commentaries take for granted the accepted orthodoxy of Judaism, Christianity and Islam concerning Abraham and his significance in terms of faith and righteousness and blessing and covenant. As none of these notions is specifically linked to Lot at any point, he is treated as a pathetic figure and remains secondary in conventional commentary. Many commentaries denigrate the character of Lot, often in direct comparisons with Abraham. My reading of the texts of Genesis attempts to free the story of Lot from the constraints imposed by the way the story of Abraham functions. A careful reading of the Genesis account shows that Lot and Abraham exhibit similar elements of moral ambiguity, and Genesis contains no statement that condemns Lot on moral or religious grounds. Genesis 19, the single narrative in which Lot appears independently of Abraham, participates in the dialectic elsewhere in Tanakh. On the basis of a consistent pattern of action and speech throughout the first portion of Genesis 19, I advance my own original conception of the eirenic viewpoint of the narrator concerning Lot and his relationship to the divine. I attempt to demonstrate ways in which the story of Lot critiques or deconstructs the dominant ideology centred upon Abraham. My conception of the particular interests of the compiler of Genesis 19 is supported by several intertextual studies. These include the traditions of Sodom and of Zoar, the story of hospitality in Judges 19, the story of the deluge (Genesis 6-9) and stories of women who, like Lot’s daughters, act to continue the family line. In a treatment of the history of Lot traditions, I find evidence to separate the story of Lot from the work of the Yahwist. I consider whether the stories of Lot have a derivation east of the Jordan and whether the stories were of particular interest to the Deuteronomists. In the final chapter of this study, I focus on the main themes of the narratives concerning Lot and Abraham, and Moab and Ammon and Israel. The question of social boundaries arises in regard to many of these themes, such as the interaction of female and male, the role of wealth, the relation of city and country, kinship, and rights to land settlement. In this way, the treatment of Lot and Abraham in Tanakh and in subsequent traditions offers a perspective upon the formation of identity in the contemporary world of religious plurality.

Thesis (M.Th.(N.T.))-University of Pretoria, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 81-86)

Thesis (Th. M.)--Grace Theological Seminary, 1986. / Abstract. Includes indexes. Bibliography: leaves 65-68.