Although the Bible retained substantial cultural currency throughout the Victorian period (1837–1901), new approaches in biblical criticism challenged accepted ideas about its divine inspiration and theological unity. This dissertation shows that the pressures exerted by this biblical criticism prompted Victorian writers to undertake an imaginative recovery of wisdom literature. Adapting wisdom literature’s characteristic forms in their own works of poetry, fiction and non-fiction prose, these writers constructed dynamic frameworks of revelation and authority. My study analyzes a series of strategically chosen case studies from the 1840s to the 1880s: Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s A Drama of Exile (1844), George MacDonald’s Phantastes (1858), George Eliot’s Romola (1862–63), John Ruskin’s The Queen of the Air (1869), and Olive Schreiner’s The Story of an African Farm (1883). This selection brings together writers who self-identified as Christian but whose eclectic ideas set them apart from their contemporaries, as well as those who rejected Christianity but nonetheless engaged thoughtfully with biblical texts in their own writing. By demonstrating that these writers used wisdom literature to productively re-imagine the experiences of questioning and doubt, this dissertation contributes to the interdisciplinary project of reassessing religion and secularization in the nineteenth century. More specifically, my focus on biblical wisdom literature aims to revise and supplement the critical paradigm of the Victorian sage, which has come to define scholarly understanding of biblical allusion and literary authority in this period. Where previous studies have focused on the sage’s prophetic rhetoric, this dissertation argues that adaptations of wisdom literature generated an alternative mode of writing, one characterized by an artistic and heuristic poetics. / Graduate / 2021-08-11

No description available.

This thesis studies, for the first time, Bede’s use of the image of the Jewish temple across all his writings. Not only analysing how Bede developed earlier Christian interpretations of the temple, it also uses the temple-image to shine light on under-explored aspects of his theological thought. Throughout, I argue that the communal understanding of the temple-image in Bede’s monastery helped shape his exegesis; we should think of Bede, not as an individual scholar, but as a monk engaged in an active discourse concerning the Bible. <strong>Chapter 1</strong> introduces the thesis, providing the historiographical and historical context. Bede’s exegesis existed within a long tradition of Christian interpretation of the temple, as <strong>Chapter 2</strong> shows; one image could be interpreted in diverse ways by Bede and therefore this thesis follows a thematic approach. <strong>Chapter 3</strong> studies Bede’s engagement with the cosmic interpretation of the temple, in particular his use of the image to emphasise the Anglo-Saxons’ participation in the universal Church. Analysing Bede’s interpretation of the Jewish priesthood, <strong>Chapter 4</strong> argues that he championed an élite of ordained clerics in the role of reforming the temple-Church. This Church clashed with the Body of Satan, symbolised by the Tower of Babel, concerning which the contemporary Northumbrian situation shaped Bede’s understanding. For Bede, the temple-image stressed Christ’s humanity and his sacrificial priesthood, as <strong>Chapter 5</strong> shows. Bede urged the faithful to shape themselves as pure temples in imitation of Christ, directing them towards union with God. A diachronic overview of Bede’s writings on the temple in <strong>Chapter 6</strong> highlights the importance of the years immediately prior to 716, the period in which the Codex Amiatinus was created at his monastery of Wearmouth-Jarrow, in the development of Bede’s interpretation of the temple. We should consider the possibility that Bede’s temple-commentaries drew upon interpretations formed in this communal, monastic, context.

This thesis explores the intertextual nature of Irenaeus' reading of Genesis 1-3. In this study, we assume a different mode of investigation than previous works on Irenaeus' use of scripture. Drawing from contemporary discussions on intertextuality in Fishbane, Boyrin, Hays, and Young, we challenge a tradition of investigation into Irenaeus' exegesis that has marginalized the significance of scriptural networking inherent to his hermeneutic. This perspective is evident in the previous works on Irenaeus' reading of Genesis in Orbe, Jacobsen, Kannengiesser, Steenberg, and Holsinger-Friesen. This thesis, on the other hand, brings together an appreciation for Irenaeus' hermeneutic with respect to his exegesis of Gen 1-3. We show that in every instance Irenaeus interprets Gen 1-3, not in isolation, but in correlation with other texts by means of a variety of intertextual reading strategies that shape his theological polemic. In chapter one we investigate the nature of Irenaeus' hermeneutical orientation based upon studies of patristic exegesis and his own descriptions of the exegetical task. We show that Irenaeus purposes to interconnect texts in his refutation and exegesis and we formulate a methodology that appreciates his reading of Gen 1-3 within this theological networking of texts. In chapters 2-6, we provide a literary analysis of the echoes, allusions, and citations of Gen 1-3 in each book of Adversus Haereses. In each case we isolate the allusions to Gen 1-3 and the corresponding interrelated texts that form a hermeneutically symbiotic relationship with Gen 1-3. We show how these textual relationships yield a more comprehensive appreciation for the meaning and function of Gen 1-3 in Irenaeus. In chapter 7 we conclude with a summary and cumulative evaluation of the intertextual relationships fashioned with Gen 1-3 and the reading strategies that guide his intertextual use of Gen 1-3. In doing so, this thesis exposes the intricacies of Irenaeus' theological and intertextual reading of Gen 1-3 and the various ways that Irenaeus harmonizes scripture.

Thesis (PhD) Stellenbosch University, 2014 / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study investigates how the contextual frames of reference (CFRs) of the three extant Setswana Bibles – Moffat, Wookey and BSSA (Bible Society of South Africa) – could have impacted on their renderings of the book of Ruth. The fact that the Bibles were translated within contexts that differed from those of the Hebrew text of Ruth gives rise to the assumption that some of such contexts or frames could have had problematic influences on decision making during translation. Differing frames were assumed to have led to differences (i.e., translation shifts) between the translations and the Hebrew text. Such frames were hypothesised to have emanated from socio-cultural, textual, communication-situational and organisational circumstances pertaining to the making of the Hebrew text and the translations. Since contextual frames of various kinds presumably converged on the Setswana target texts (TTs), this study proposes an integrated multidisciplinary approach to frame analysis, namely, the cognitive CFR model. The framework, which is embedded in biblical interpretation, merges insights from other disciplines including translation studies, cognitive semantics and cultural studies. The translators‟ decisions are evaluated using the heuristic perspective of “an exegetically justifiable rendering.” The study identified indeed countless shifts in the three Setswana translations which resulted from hypothetical socio-cultural, organisational, communicational and textual factors. Moffat‟s shifts revealed a predomination of organisational CFRs throughout the book of Ruth. The organisational CFR also stood out occasionally for Wookey as well. BSSA did not show a predomination of any class of CFRs but manifested the least problematic CFRs. As far as the negative influences of CFRs were concerned, BSSA was the least affected, followed by Wookey and lastly Moffat. The study reveals that it could sometimes be simple, but other times also be difficult or impossible, depending on the pertinent CFR, to provide an exegetically justifiable rendering of an ST unit. Yet, it can be concluded from this study that an awareness of CFRs during translation or analysis of translations can contribute towards the improvement of existing translations or the reduction of problematic shifts in new Bible translation projects. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie ondersoek hoe die kontekstuele verwysingsraamwerke (KVRs) van die drie bestaande Setswana Bybels - Moffat, Wookey en BSA ( Bybelgenootskap van Suid-Afrika) – hulle weergawes van die boek Rut kon beïnvloed het. Die feit dat die Bybels vertaal is binne kontekste wat verskil van dié van die Hebreeuse teks van Rut, dra by tot die aanname dat van die kontekste of raamwerke moontlik ‟n problematiserende invloed op besluitneming tydens die vertalingsprosesse kon hê. Daar is aangeneem dat verskillende raamwerke lei tot verskille (byvoorbeeld: vertaalskuiwe) tussen die vertalings en die Hebreeuse teks. Daar is veronderstel dat sulke raamwerke spruit uit sosio-kulturele, tekstueel-kommunikatiewe en organisatoriese omstandighede van die vertaalproses asook die van die Hebreeuse teks. Aangesien verskillende soorte kontekstuele raamwerke vermoedelik ingespeel het op die Setswana teikentekste (TTs), fokus hierdie studie op 'n geïntegreerde multi-dissiplinêre benadering tot die raamwerk-analise, naamlik die kognitiewe KVR model. Die raamwerk, wat ingebed is in die veld van Bybelse interpretasie, kombineer insigte uit ander dissiplines, insluitend: vertaalkunde, kognitiewe semantiek en kulturele studies. Die vertaler se besluite word geëvalueer met behulp van die heuristiese perspektief van "'n eksegeties begrondbare vertaling." Die studie het inderdaad talle vertaalskuiwe in die drie Setswana vertalings geïdentifiseer wat teruggevoer kon word na hipotetiese sosio-kulturele, organisatoriese-, kommunikatiewe- en tekstuele faktore. Moffat se vertaalskuiwe vertoon ‟n dominansie van organisatoriese KVRs regdeur die boek Rut. Die invloed van organisatoriese KVR‟s is dikwels ook in Wookey geïdentifiseer. BSA vertoon egter nie „n oorheersing van enige klas van KVRs nie. Tewens, dit vertoon die minste problematiese KVRs. Sover die negatiewe invloede van KVRs betref, is BSA die minste geraak, gevolg deur Wookey en laastens Moffat. Die studie toon dat dit soms eenvoudig, maar ander kere ook moeilik of onmoontlik is, afhangend van die pertinente KVR, om 'n eksegeties-regverdigbare vertaling van 'n GT eenheid te bied. Tog, kan dit afgelei word uit hierdie studie dat 'n bewustheid van KVRs tydens vertaling of ontleding van vertalings kan bydra tot die verbetering van reeds bestaande vertalings of die vermindering van problematiese vertaalskuiwe in nuwe Bybelvertalingsprojekte.

Amid the recent turn to Paul’s reading of Scripture, the role Deuteronomy plays in his letters has generally been examined in individual citations without regard to the larger role Deuteronomy plays in Paul’s letters, or with an exclusive focus on either the theological or the ethical importance of Deuteronomy for Paul. In contrast, this study argues that Paul read Deuteronomy with three interlocking construals (as ethical authority, as theological authority, as an interpretation of Israel’s history), each equally basic. These construals can be combined to achieve a sense of the shape of Paul’s Deuteronomy as a whole. In order to ascertain and specify these construals, Paul’s engagement with Deuteronomy is examined as an instance of Jewish engagement with the book. Part I, therefore, supplies the historical conditions of Paul’s and other Jewish authors’ encounter with the scroll of Deuteronomy (Chap 2). On this basis, Part II proceeds to survey the major Jewish interpreters of Deuteronomy from the 3rd c. BCE to the 3rd c. CE (Chaps. 3-8). Because Paul is himself a Jewish author, this study foregoes the traditional bi-partite thesis division into “background” and Paul, opting instead to see Paul as one in a chain of Jews who turned to Deuteronomy to make sense of the present. These chapters thus also provide a sustained analysis of Deuteronomy’s broader effective history in Second Temple Jewish writings – and, in a few cases, beyond. In light of the range of interpretations to which Deuteronomy was susceptible, the concluding chapter examines what is distinctive about the shape of Paul’s Deuteronomy and what contribution this may make to debates on Pauline theology and to the study of Second Temple Jewish biblical interpretation.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-07-27T13:46:35Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Carla Naoum Coelho.pdf: 1787402 bytes, checksum: 5a248cba5f7b8b867614f7ae9a14cd8b (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-10-06 / Interpretation is not a neutral art: it can oppress or it can set free. As women and religion intertwine, Amplifying horizons deals with interpretations taken from the Bible text about women. The question which permeates this study is if and how the Bible text is used to naturalize the subjugation of the female by the male. This is a conceptual and bibliographical work bringing approaches based upon analysis of Bible texts and in speeches extracted from Bible interpretations. In a wide sense, Christianity anchors itself in an anthropological view that acts in a way to establish the place or, function of men and women, in churches as much as in society. Our argumentation is that many Bible interpretations bring in itself universalist and abstract declarations regarding the self, such interpretations stand in patriarchal cultural systems. In our analysis we work with the perspective of gender and with the feminist hermeneutics of liberation, as they are tools of analysis that help us to deconstruct speeches, imaginaries and representations of the female, which were historically constructed and, yet today, corroborate to the perpetuation and legitimization of the female subordination. We start with the presupposition the Christianity was and still is an important influence in the social system and in the cultural world vision of the west. Regarding the contemporaneous use of the Bible text we conclude that the affirmations, declarations and discourses that naturalize the subjugation of the female, support themselves in interpretations that have its fundaments in patriarchal and androcentric concepts. The analysis was made on assertions of the Igreja Presbiteriana do Brasil (IPB), a protestant denomination that pledges to guide itself exclusively on the Sola Scriptura principle for biblical interpretations. Our conclusion is that the IPBs theological instructions on the place-function of women, contradict the Sola Scriptura principle, as they are supported by stand alone verses and-or texts which are withdrawn amongst many, not considering a basic rule of this same principle the Holy Scripture is its own interpreter, that is, the Bible explains the Bible itself. The existing polemic among authors and the appropriation of concepts herein presented may characterize a synthesis open to other interpretations, which will only have achieved its goals as other researchers accept the invitation to engage in dialogue. / A interpretação não é uma arte neutra: pode oprimir ou libertar. No entrecruzamento entre mulheres e religião, Ampliando horizontes... lida com interpretações que são feitas das mulheres a partir do texto bíblico. A indagação que permeia a pesquisa é se e como o texto bíblico é utilizado para naturalizar a subjugação do feminino pelo masculino. Trata-se de um trabalho conceitual e bibliográfico que traz abordagens baseadas em análises de textos bíblicos e em discursos retirados de interpretações da Bíblia. De modo geral, o cristianismo se ancora em uma visão antropológica que atua de maneira a estabelecer o lugar ou, a função de homens e mulheres tanto nas igrejas quanto na sociedade. A nossa argumentação é que muitas das interpretações bíblicas trazem em seu bojo declarações universalistas e abstratas em relação ao ser, interpretações estas que se firmam em sistemas culturais de cunho patriarcal. Em nossa análise, trabalhamos com a perspectiva de gênero e com a hermenêutica feminista de libertação pois são ferramentas de análise que nos ajudam no intuito de desconstruir discursos, imaginários e representações do feminino que foram construídos historicamente e que, ainda hoje, corroboram para a perpetuação e legitimação da subordinação feminina. Partimos do pressuposto que o cristianismo foi e ainda é uma importante influência no sistema social e na cosmovisão cultural do ocidente. No que tange ao uso contemporâneo do texto bíblico concluímos que as afirmações, declarações e discursos que naturalizam a subjugação feminina, ancoram-se em interpretações fundamentadas em concepções androcêntricas e patriarcais. A análise foi feita a partir de postulações da Igreja Presbiteriana do Brasil (IPB), uma denominação protestante que alega pautar-se exclusivamente no princípio do Sola Scriptura para as interpretações bíblicas. A nossa conclusão é que as instruções teológicas da IPB quanto ao lugar-função das mulheres, contradizem o princípio do Sola Scriptura pois pautam-se em versos isolados e-ou textos que são pinçados dentre tantos outros, desconsiderando a norma básica deste princípio de que a Sagrada Escritura é seu próprio intérprete, ou seja, que a Bíblia explica a própria Bíblia. As polêmicas existentes entre os autores e a apropriação dos conceitos aqui apresentados caracterizam-se como uma síntese aberta a outras interpretações, a qual somente terá alcançado seus objetivos na medida em que outros pesquisadores aceitem o convite ao diálogo.

Submitted by admin tede (tede@pucgoias.edu.br) on 2018-06-20T17:42:09Z No. of bitstreams: 1 UELINTON JORGE DIAS DA LUZ.pdf: 1058570 bytes, checksum: 7d997b4fc8808a0035a5c1b9fd40283e (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-06-20T17:42:09Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 UELINTON JORGE DIAS DA LUZ.pdf: 1058570 bytes, checksum: 7d997b4fc8808a0035a5c1b9fd40283e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-02-06 / The present dissertation highlights a subject of extreme importance for our contemporary society: libertarian movements for the emancipation of women. The terms "submission" and "freedom" are the starting point for a rereading of Romans 16: 1-16, in which we will seek the contributions of this text to these movements, through their feminist reading and the new understanding that arises from of this rereading. Through this process, we intend to touch on a crucial point for the discussion presented here: the visibility of women, their importance and equality in all levels of society, making a socio-historical rescue, especially of women in the context in which letter was written and its possible applications to our current context. In introductory tones, we briefly expose some elements of the Bible's story of interpretation. In the first chapter, we describe a general outline of the letter to the Christian community in Rome, which integrates the structure of it, the social stratum of the Christian community in Rome, how this community formed, and the description of the role of women in Roman society. Then we will present three translations of the text in question, making a conservative interpretation, followed by a new proposal for analysis. We will conclude the chapter on Pauline ecclesiology. In the second chapter, we will indicate important concepts to understand Pauline thought in Romans 16: 1-16 and its application to the present context, dealing with the following themes: patriarchalism, androcentrism, gender and feminist reading of the Bible. We will also outline a scenario of women's reality in Brazilian politics and religion. We will conclude this chapter with Paul's proposals from Romans 16: 1-16 for the libertarian movements of women's emancipation and the challenges for the ecclesiastical and even political context. / A presente dissertação evidencia um assunto de extrema importância para nossa sociedade contemporânea: movimentos libertários de emancipação de mulheres. Os termos “submissão” e “liberdade” são o ponto de partida para uma releitura de Romanos 16,1-16, na qual buscaremos as contribuições desse texto para esses movimentos, por meio de sua leitura feminista e da nova compreensão que surge a partir dessa releitura. Objetivamos, por meio do processo referido, tocar um ponto crucial para a discussão aqui apresentada: a visibilidade da mulher, sua importância e igualdade em todas as instâncias da sociedade, fazendo um resgate sociohistórico, especialmente, das mulheres no contexto em que a carta foi escrita e suas possíveis aplicações para nosso contexto atual. Em tons introdutórios, exporemos brevemente alguns elementos da história de interpretação da Bíblia. No primeiro capítulo, descrevemos um panorama geral da carta à comunidade cristã em Roma, o que integra a estrutura da mesma, o estrato socialda comunidade cristã em Roma, como essa comunidade se formou, além da descrição da construção do papel das mulheres na sociedade romana. Em seguida, apresentaremos três traduções do texto em questão, fazendo uma interpretação nos moldes conservadores, seguida de uma nova proposta de análise. Finalizaremos o capítulo discorrendo sobre a eclesiologia paulina. No segundo capítulo, indicaremos conceitos importantes para entender o pensamento paulino em Romanos 16,1-16 e sua aplicação para a o contexto atual, tratando os seguintes temas: patriarcalismo, androcentrismo, gênero e leitura feminista da Bíblia. Esboçaremos ainda um cenário da realidade da mulher na política e na religião brasileira. Encerraremos este capítulo com as propostas de Paulo a partir de Romanos 16,1-16 para os movimentos libertários de emancipação de mulheres e os desafios para o contexto eclesiástico e até mesmo político.

This dissertation examines the various ways Anglo-Saxon authors interpreted and adapted Genesis 10–11: the Table of Nations and the Tower of Babel narrative. Although Genesis 10–11 offered Christians of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages a scripturally authorized understanding of the origins of ethnic and linguistic diversity of the world, its nature as an ancient Jewish text that deals with matters more suitable to its original audience than to its late antique and medieval readers allowed these later readers to transform the meaning of the text in order to give it a significance more fitting to their own times. In the first section of my dissertation, I treat the topos of the number 72, which becomes prominent when authors of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages read it into the Table of Nations as the number of descendants of Noah’s three sons. My first chapter deals with the initial development of this topos in Christian and Jewish writings of Late Antiquity; my second chapter with the topos in the Latin writings of early Anglo-Saxons, from the biblical commentaries from the School of Canterbury to Alcuin; and my third chapter with the topos in the writings of later Anglo-Saxons, from King Alfred to the Old English texts of the eleventh century. In the second section of my dissertation, I treat the interpretations of the Tower of Babel as they form and are informed in Late Antiquity and Anglo-Saxon England. As in the first section, three chapters are presented: the first on the initial developments in Late Antiquity; the second on the continual development into the Latin authors of early Anglo-Saxon England; and the third on the mainly Old English authors of the later Anglo-Saxon period.

This dissertation examines the various ways Anglo-Saxon authors interpreted and adapted Genesis 10–11: the Table of Nations and the Tower of Babel narrative. Although Genesis 10–11 offered Christians of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages a scripturally authorized understanding of the origins of ethnic and linguistic diversity of the world, its nature as an ancient Jewish text that deals with matters more suitable to its original audience than to its late antique and medieval readers allowed these later readers to transform the meaning of the text in order to give it a significance more fitting to their own times. In the first section of my dissertation, I treat the topos of the number 72, which becomes prominent when authors of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages read it into the Table of Nations as the number of descendants of Noah’s three sons. My first chapter deals with the initial development of this topos in Christian and Jewish writings of Late Antiquity; my second chapter with the topos in the Latin writings of early Anglo-Saxons, from the biblical commentaries from the School of Canterbury to Alcuin; and my third chapter with the topos in the writings of later Anglo-Saxons, from King Alfred to the Old English texts of the eleventh century. In the second section of my dissertation, I treat the interpretations of the Tower of Babel as they form and are informed in Late Antiquity and Anglo-Saxon England. As in the first section, three chapters are presented: the first on the initial developments in Late Antiquity; the second on the continual development into the Latin authors of early Anglo-Saxon England; and the third on the mainly Old English authors of the later Anglo-Saxon period.