Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: See full text for the abstract / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Sien volteks vir die opsomming

Thesis (MTh)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This research is a synchronic reading of Exodus that investigates the “traces of Joseph’s bones” in the Exodus narratives. The Exodus is depicted in this narrative as Joseph’s funeral procession. Moses carries Joseph’s bones up from the land of Egypt when the Exodus begins (Exod. 13:19) and the sons of Israel bury the bones in the land of Canaan at the end of Exodus (Jos. 24:32). That is, the texts portray the Exodus as the journey of Joseph’s bones from Egypt to the Promised Land. However, the texts offer only a trace of the bones at the beginning and at the end of the narrative. In this study an inter-textual approach to the biblical texts is used to interpret the Ark of the Covenant as the coffin containing Joseph’s bones in the desert. A faithful testator who strongly believed God’s promise intended the narrative of the solemn journey as a way of handing over his faith to his audience as a form of testament. The audience keeps and performs the testament as testamentary executors. Joseph’s funeral narrative is interpreted in this study by focusing on the text itself. The end of the narrative is reached with the burial of the bones as recorded in the book of Joshua. This construction suggests that the burial is a fulfillment of Joseph’s testament, but not the ultimate fulfillment thereof. The testament also has a bearing on further texts beyond the sixth book of Hebrew Bible. This narrative construction also has potential for interpretation in contemporary Christianity. The construction of the narrative reveals to the reader that God was the real executor behind the testamentary executors. The study therefore suggests that the church is a community which stands in continuation with the testamentary executors of the Old Testament. Joseph’s funeral narrative finds renewed fulfillment in the Christian church when expecting the real Executor again. This study concludes with some suggestions for the Church of how the fulfillment of Joseph's testament can be facilitated in contemporary contexts. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie navorsing verteenwoordig ‘n sinkrone lees van die Eksodusverhaal waarin die “aanduidings van Josef se beendere” bestudeer word. Die Eksodus word in hierdie verhaal uitgebeeld as Josef se begrafnisprosessie. Moses dra Josef se beendere op vanuit Egipte waar die Eksodus begin (Eks. 13:19) en die seuns van Israel begrawe die beendere in die land van Kanaän aan die einde van die Eksodusverhaal (Jos. 24:32). Dit wil sê, die tekste beeld die Eksodus uit as die reis van Josef se beendere van Egipte na die Beloofde Land. Die tekste bied egter slegs ‘n spoor van die beendere aan die begin en aan die einde van die verhaal. ’n Inter-tekstuele benadering tot die Bybeltekste word in hierdie studie gebruik om die Verbondsark te interpreteer as die kis met Josef se beendere in die woestyn. ‘n Getroue erflater wat ten sterkste in God se belofte glo het die verhaal van die plegtige reis bedoel as 'n manier waardeur die erflater sy geloof aan sy gehoor in die vorm van 'n testament oorlewer. Die gehoor bewaar en voer die testament uit as testamenêre eksekuteurs. Josef se begrafnis narratief word in hierdie studie geïnterpreteer deur op die teks self te fokus. Die einde van die narratief word bereik met die begrafnis van die beendere waarvan in die boek Josua vertel word. Hierdie konstruksie suggereer dat die begrafnis die vervulling van Josef se testament is, maar dat dit nog nie die finale vervulling daarvan is nie. Die verhaal oor die erflating beïnvloed ook die verdere tekste na die sesde boek van die Hebreeuse Bybel. Hierdie narratiewe konstruksie toon ook potensiaal vir interpretasie in die hedendaagse Christendom. Die opbou van die narratief onthul aan die leser dat God die eintlike uitvoerder agter die testamentêre uitvoerders was.Die studie suggereer dus dat die Kerk ’n gemeenskap is wat in kontinuïteit staan met die testamentêre uitvoerders van die Ou Testament. Josef se begrafnis narratief vind hernude vervulling wanneer die Christelike kerk opnuut die Uitvoerder van die testament verwag. Die werk sluit af met enkele voorstelle oor hoe die uitvoering van hierdie testament in kontemporêre kontekste gefasiliteer kan word.

This thesis is a study of the theological relationship between divine mercy and judgment in the attribute formula of Exodus 34:6-7 and in three of its "echoes" (Numbers 14:18, Isaiah 53:4-12 with 54:7-10, and Nahum 1:3). The primary scholarly interlocutor for this study is Walter Brueggemann. In his Theology of the Old Testament, Brueggemann offers an alternative interpretation of how mercy and judgment are related in these texts. Against Brueggemann, this study defends the view that in Ex 34:6-7 and these three echoes, divine mercy and judgment are not only mutually compatible but also are integrated with one another. I reach this conclusion by means of an exegesis of the above four texts that is canonical, theological, and contextual. The introduction Chapter 1 includes a survey of relevant scholarly literature, an analysis of relevant aspects of Brueggemann's work, and a statement of the canonical method employed in the thesis. Chapter 2 provides a theological exegesis of Exodus 34:6- 7 in the context of Exodus 32-34. Chapters 3-5 offer theological exegesis of the three echo-texts noted above. Chapter 6 offers a conclusion, summarising the argument and making some final observations.

The search for a ‘historical Moses’ is one which has been debated for several centuries. In spite of copious archaeological finds in Egypt and other parts of the ancient Near East, no material remains have been found to substantiate the Exodus story. Mythological stories from the ancient Near East bear striking similarities to the Moses narrative found in the Hebrew Bible. The inconsistencies found in the Hebrew Bible further hamper the attempt to find a historical Moses, instead Moses is found only in tradition. Taking these issues into consideration, other possibilities need to be investigated. This dissertation places Moses growing up in the court of Akhenaten an 18th Dynasty Egyptian Pharaoh in the middle of the 14th century BCE. The study investigates the possibility of Moses as a son of Akhenaten with Nefertiti as a stepmother, his own biological mother, a Mitannian princess, having died giving birth to Moses. Several similarities between Akhenaten and Moses are discussed throughout the study. The study moves into the 21st century with the groundbreaking discovery of DNA, which provides new conclusions which before were only debated. / Biblical & Ancient Studies / M.A. (Biblical Archaeology)

The search for a ‘historical Moses’ is one which has been debated for several centuries. In spite of copious archaeological finds in Egypt and other parts of the ancient Near East, no material remains have been found to substantiate the Exodus story. Mythological stories from the ancient Near East bear striking similarities to the Moses narrative found in the Hebrew Bible. The inconsistencies found in the Hebrew Bible further hamper the attempt to find a historical Moses, instead Moses is found only in tradition. Taking these issues into consideration, other possibilities need to be investigated. This dissertation places Moses growing up in the court of Akhenaten an 18th Dynasty Egyptian Pharaoh in the middle of the 14th century BCE. The study investigates the possibility of Moses as a son of Akhenaten with Nefertiti as a stepmother, his own biological mother, a Mitannian princess, having died giving birth to Moses. Several similarities between Akhenaten and Moses are discussed throughout the study. The study moves into the 21st century with the groundbreaking discovery of DNA, which provides new conclusions which before were only debated. / Biblical and Ancient Studies / M.A. (Biblical Archaeology)

This dissertation establishes a category of early Soviet “exodic” literature, which consists of works published in Yiddish or Russian between 1917 and 1935. Reading together texts by Peretz Markish, Andrei Platonov, Moyshe Kulbak, Ilya Ilf and Evgeny Petrov, Yiddish texts are placed on equal footing with Russian texts to underscore the singular role of Jews in the early Soviet period and demonstrate shared anxieties and practices of resistance to hegemony among groups seemingly separated by language and culture. These anxieties and modes of resistance are what make the Soviet exodic a literature of revolution as it grapples with the complexity of the Soviet period and Soviet identity formation. Drawing upon political theorist Michael Walzer and his text Exodus and Revolution as well as the critical response from Edward Said, this dissertation uses the biblical book of Exodus as a theoretical matrix for the identification and elaboration of narrative sequences and thematic material that constitute a revolutionary genre and applies it to the study of early Soviet literature. Because they are written and published between 1917 and 1935, exodic texts are positioned between the Bolshevik Revolution and the crystallization of high Stalinism. Therefore, they are situated within what is commonly known as the “interwar period.” Such a definition relies upon absence (the absence of war). The Soviet exodic provides this historical moment and its attending texts a positive definition in deference to the revolutionary framework that guides it. This dissertation also considers how the texts enact revolution with the help of critical and queer theory, most notably Sara Ahmed’s Queer Phenomenology and Mary Rubenstein’s Pantheologies. These theoretical supports serve to articulate the various queer—that is, non-normative—ways that the selected texts engage pluralism to resist ideological regimes and forces of control as they re-evaluate social and political categories and norms. Queer theory also serves to express the entanglement of self, other, and place, and in so doing, brings ecological anxieties to the fore. Resistance in the Soviet exodic thus takes shape through the queering or misalignment of categories like space, language, or gender performance, and culminates in the figure of the Soviet trickster, who, by means of their unfinalizability, is the embodiment of revolution.

Text in German, summaries in German and English / Das Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit ist, einen Beitrag aus der alttestamentlichen Wissenschaft zur gegenwärtigen Situation der westlichen Kirche zu leisten. Dabei soll der Text von Exodus 1-15 als Grundlage dienen, um das alternatives Bewusstsein herauszustellen, das dem Volk Gottes zu allen Zeiten helfen kann, sich in herrschenden Machtstrukturen zu verstehen und sich seiner Identität und Aufgabe bewusst zu bleiben. Die Untersuchung folgt einem literaturwissenschaftlichen Interesse, das die „Endgestalt“ zum Ausgangspunkt hat. Die Erzählung weist bewusst verwendete Strukturen und Stilmittel auf, die für die Interpretation von Bedeutung sind. Die Untersuchung soll jene Stilmittel herausstellen, welche für das Thema der Arbeit signifikant sind. Die Arbeit zeigt, dass die Exoduserzählung zum Aufbau eines alternativen Bewusstseins dient, auf dessen Basis Lebenspraxis und Zukunft von Gottes Volk geformt wird. So verstanden helfen die Texte auch der westlichen Kirche, sich in unterschiedlichen dominanten Kontexten als »Kontrastgesellschaft« zu verstehen. / The goal of this dissertation is to make a particular contribution from Old Testament research to the present situation of the Church in the Western world. Exodus 1-15 serves as a foundational text for establishing an alternative consciousness which helps the People of God, throughout all times, to maintain an understanding of themselves in the midst of other prevailing power structures and to remain aware of their identity and mission. The research uses the methodology of literary criticism, where the “final stage” of the text serves as the starting point. The exodus narrative reveals intentional structuring and stylistic devices which are important for interpretation. Each of the literary devices significant to this dissertation topic will be identified. The dissertation shows that the exodus narrative creates an alternative consciousness which in turn influences the life praxis and future of the People of God. Likewise these texts can also help the Church in the Western world to understand itself as a “counterculture” amongst its own dominant environments. / Old Testament and Ancient Near Eastern Studies / M. Th. (Old Testament)