In studying the background and origin of meaning for this word [ecclesia], this paper will seek to investigate the pagan, the Jewish, and the Christian literature in this order. Of couse, as the preliminary discussion has so far indicated, the primary weight and burden of study will be upond the Septugintal influence. The three stages to be developed are reminiscent of the comment of R.C. Trench in his opening comments concerning ecclesia. He named them as heathen, Jewish, and Christian. The development of these stages will be united and brought together to make some pertinent conclusions in the final chapter of this thesis. At all points, this study will seek to limit itself to this one Greek word, [ecclesia], and words which have a direct relationship with it, rather than dealing with the many images used by the New Testament and theology to understand and to explain the church.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of the teaching practice in grade 12 Biblical Studies in private Christian schools in the Limpopo Province in South Africa during 2003, with the specific objective to make recommendations towards possible improvements. Although but a few private Christian schools in the Limpopo Province participated in the study, while the title implies that all the South African schools were involved, the findings are assumed to be a cross section of the general situation of grade 12 Biblical Studies teaching in South Africa, as teaching is more or less subjected to similar conditions in all the Provinces. This study consists of a theoretical section wherein literature regarding the variables of the study are discussed, as well as an empirical section wherein the results of the research are reported and interpreted with the aim of reaching certain conclusions regarding the typical profile of Biblical Studies teaching practice in the Limpopo Province. The theoretical basis is grounded in the didactical foundations of teaching as discussed in Chapter 2. This is followed by the empirical study (described in Chapter 3) grounded in the results obtained from classroom observations, questionnaires, interviews and the November 1996-2002 Biblical Studies grade 12 final examination of the four participating schools. Chapters 4 and 5 respectively evaluate and consolidate the findings from the classroom observations, the responses from the interviews and questionnaires, and the November 1996-2002 grade 12 Biblical Studies examination results. The main thesis on which this study rests is that the teaching practice of grade 12 Biblical Studies in private Christian schools during 2003 was unsatisfactory because of, inter alia, lack of work ethics, negative attitudes of both teachers and learners, lack of or insufficient application of didactical principles, teaching methods and teaching aids, low morale and insufficient or improper training of Biblical Studies teachers. The study revealed that the teaching of grade 12 Biblical Studies in private Christian schools during 2003 was indeed unsatisfactory because of lack of work ethics, negative attitude of both teachers and learners, lack of and insufficient application of didactical principles and a variety of teaching methods, low morale and improper training of some Biblical Studies teachers. The most aggravating factor was that teachers often did not even show up for Biblical Studies classes. Conclusively, it is therefore recommended that heads of departments and principals regularly monitor and evaluate the quality and quantity of Biblical Studies teaching in schools. The inspectors of schools may also support these forms of control by more regular inspection of schools, and more specifically, of the Biblical Studies classroom. Incentives and recognition of performance by both teachers and learners in the Biblical Studies classroom may be incorporated into these recommendations. / Thesis (M.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2004.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of the teaching practice in grade 12 Biblical Studies in private Christian schools in the Limpopo Province in South Africa during 2003, with the specific objective to make recommendations towards possible improvements. Although but a few private Christian schools in the Limpopo Province participated in the study, while the title implies that all the South African schools were involved, the findings are assumed to be a cross section of the general situation of grade 12 Biblical Studies teaching in South Africa, as teaching is more or less subjected to similar conditions in all the Provinces. This study consists of a theoretical section wherein literature regarding the variables of the study are discussed, as well as an empirical section wherein the results of the research are reported and interpreted with the aim of reaching certain conclusions regarding the typical profile of Biblical Studies teaching practice in the Limpopo Province. The theoretical basis is grounded in the didactical foundations of teaching as discussed in Chapter 2. This is followed by the empirical study (described in Chapter 3) grounded in the results obtained from classroom observations, questionnaires, interviews and the November 1996-2002 Biblical Studies grade 12 final examination of the four participating schools. Chapters 4 and 5 respectively evaluate and consolidate the findings from the classroom observations, the responses from the interviews and questionnaires, and the November 1996-2002 grade 12 Biblical Studies examination results. The main thesis on which this study rests is that the teaching practice of grade 12 Biblical Studies in private Christian schools during 2003 was unsatisfactory because of, inter alia, lack of work ethics, negative attitudes of both teachers and learners, lack of or insufficient application of didactical principles, teaching methods and teaching aids, low morale and insufficient or improper training of Biblical Studies teachers. The study revealed that the teaching of grade 12 Biblical Studies in private Christian schools during 2003 was indeed unsatisfactory because of lack of work ethics, negative attitude of both teachers and learners, lack of and insufficient application of didactical principles and a variety of teaching methods, low morale and improper training of some Biblical Studies teachers. The most aggravating factor was that teachers often did not even show up for Biblical Studies classes. Conclusively, it is therefore recommended that heads of departments and principals regularly monitor and evaluate the quality and quantity of Biblical Studies teaching in schools. The inspectors of schools may also support these forms of control by more regular inspection of schools, and more specifically, of the Biblical Studies classroom. Incentives and recognition of performance by both teachers and learners in the Biblical Studies classroom may be incorporated into these recommendations. / Thesis (M.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2004.

This thesis analyzes the Apostle Paul’s approach to his own death. The term “approach” is deliberately vague and is intended to encompass a number of questions: What was Paul’s attitude toward his death? How did he act and what did he say and write in view of it? What hopes did he hold for himself beyond death? These questions are explored through a close reading of three Pauline letters that look forward to Paul’s death and other relevant texts in the first two generations after Paul’s death (A.D. 70–160). Thus, this thesis is a study of Paul’s death in prospect and retrospect. Starting with the latter, the first half of the thesis examines portraits of the departed Paul in Acts 20:17–38; 1 Clem. 5.1–6.1; Ign. Eph. 12.2; Rom. 4.3; Pol. Phil. 9.1–2; and the Martyrdom of Paul. It is argued that these portraits exhibit a complicated network of similarities that may be described using Wittgenstein’s concept of “family resemblances.” Viewed as a part of Paul’s early effective history, these early portraits of Paul offer substantial resources for the interpretation of his letters. The second half of the thesis examines portraits of the departing Paul in 2 Cor 1:8–14; 4:16–5:10; Phil 1:18d–26; 2:16b–18; 3:7–14; and 2 Tim 1:12; 4:6–8, 17–18. The “decision of death” referred to in 2 Cor 1:9 is highlighted as a religious experience and one which goaded Paul to formulate his approach to death. It is argued that his death did not primarily present an existential challenge, but a pastoral one. Although touching upon three areas of recent scholarly interest (Paul’s theology of death and beyond; Paul’s religious experience; and Pauline reception), this thesis sets forth a new research question and fresh interpretations of early Christian and Pauline texts.

This study addresses the question of formative early Christian preaching and teaching. Unlike previous approaches, I eschew synthesis across a broad range and focus instead on the earliest extant Christian source: the letters of Paul. My method draws on ancient communication practices, primarily represented in ancient rhetoric, wherein communicators rely on knowledge they presume their interlocutors to possess. Passages are analyzed according to the type of appeal to Paul's initial teaching: (1) explicit reminders of previous teaching, (2) direct appeals to knowledge not explicitly linked to previous teaching, and (3) indirect appeals to knowledge about practices, beliefs, conventions, etc. The reconstruction focuses on 1 Thessalonians, 1 Corinthians and Romans. 1 Thessalonians and 1 Corinthians represent neophyte and well-established Pauline communities, respectively, while Romans is of interest because it represents non-Pauline believers. I proceed with a comparative analysis of 1 Thessalonians and 1 Corinthians. Chapter 4 lays out the rhetorical situation for these letters while chapters 5-7 investigate the three types of appeal respectively, each closing with a comparison of similar material in each letter. Chapter 8 summarizes and concludes this discussion, providing the basis for my subsequent analysis of Romans. Finally, I compare the picture from the Thessalonian and Corinthian communities with Paul's letter to the Romans (chapter 9). Topics he expects his Roman audience to know indicate points of expected congruence between Paul's own teaching and that of others. By contrast, topics that receive significant expansion in Romans suggest perceived potential for conflict. In this dissertation I identify consistent elements of early Christian instruction, ranging from Christology to apocalyptic cosmology, while also noting possible conflict. My approach places the reconstruction of early Christian teaching on firmer methodological footing than previous attempts have done and offers a rhetorically sensitive account of the teaching and how it was used.

The Hebrew language of remembering is complex and theologically interesting. The effective, relational, actualising aspects of zkr are particularly evident in language of prayer, especially in Psalm texts. Prayer is a remembering of God, a reminding of God, and a call to remember the pray-er herself, and such performative illocutions are addressed to both human and divine audience alike. The texts become not only present acts of remembering, but also means by which future acts of remembering are to be performed. Questions in Psalms criticism, of public or private Sitz-im-Leben, of form classification, and the ongoing debate about which critical methods to bring to Psalms scholarship, are brought together in an attempt to answer how remembering in prayer works in the Psalms. By employing hermeneutics informed by linguistics, not only the semantic field of zkr may be studied, but also pragmatic questions appropriately tackled. Thus the potential contributions of speech-act theory and discourse analysis when applied to the Psalms are indicated, alongside what comparable work has already been done by others in Psalms scholarship in these areas. Further linguistic insights which have not previously been applied to Psalms study, such as Audience Design, are then also brought to bear. Broader areas such as the theological nexus of memory, prayer, place and time, are then explored. Memory is thus seen to be an important constituent of Psalmic prayer at all levels of analysis, as a tool by which prayers are passed down and God and his people remain in relationship. Connections between remembering, didactic, and Wisdom are noted. The centrality of memory in the performance of prayer is viewed as a prototype for New Testament prayers, culminating in the Eucharist and evident for instance also in the Lord’s Prayer. Memory, in prayer texts and in their hermeneutics, both enshrines the past, and makes an ever-relevant present anticipate the future.

This thesis is the first modern joint study of biblical Cherubim and Seraphim. I begin by setting out the recent history of their interpretation, before taking each of the biblical texts in turn. Chapter 1 looks at the references to Cherubim in Ezekiel. I argue that the Cherubim in Ezek. 1-11 are based upon the two large Cherubim in the sanctuary in Jerusalem. I investigate the different traditions represented by LXX and MT versions of Ezek. 28 and identify a tradition which may account for the MT of this chapter. Chapter 2 covers the other descriptions of living Cherubim in the biblical texts in Gen. 3 and Ps. 18. I argue for a conscious link with the Jerusalem Temple in both texts but for their independence from each other. All the references to Cherubim in the Temple and the Tabernacle are looked at in Chapter 3, and I offer a radical re-imagining of the two large Cherubim in the Solomonic Temple and on the Kapporeth in the Mosaic Tabernacle. In Chapter 4 I question the validity of translating the Cherubim Formula as “enthroned upon the Cherubim”, and offer an alternative translation which makes reference to all the Cherubim mentioned in the text. In Chapter 5, looking at the references to saraph, I follow Joines and others in arguing for a serpentine form for the Seraphim, but argue that this identity was forgotten at an early stage of the textual transmission, and that they were then seen as part of Yhwh’s heavenly host. Finally, I argue that the role of Cherubim and Seraphim is similar, being primarily apotropaic, but that both are associated with theophany and, less frequently, with heavenly worship.

This thesis explores the theme of time in the book of Qohelet. Throughout his work Qohelet depicts the temporal reality as intensely problematic for human attempts to fashion a meaningful existence, even in the present. A tension is established in the book between the temporal realities of the world and human time-experience. This tension becomes especially apparent in relation to the field of human cognition: our ability to understand and respond properly to our temporal conditions is drawn fundamentally into doubt by Qohelet. The lacking correspondence between temporal reality and human experience of time affects every temporal area in our existence. Qohelet does not allow the human being any meaningful access to either past or future because of the reality of oblivion. Unable to appeal to a meaningful human continuity, individual human beings are unable to make sense of their present existence too. In addition to analysing Qohelet’s conception of time, the thesis investigates the consequences which this time-conception has for the author’s own philosophical endeavour. Significantly, Qohelet aims to describe an area of reality which he considers fundamentally inaccessible to the human mind. This results in an ongoing tension between statements of knowledge and statements of ignorance; between wanting to investigate human life in time and being unable to do so. This dichotomy is especially apparent in Qohelet’s discussion of the lost temporal horizons of past and future. Past and future cannot be approached directly, but must either be discussed through an examination of their influence on the present or established negatively, simply by stating their inaccessibility. Qohelet’s three main narrative texts demonstrate this particularly clearly. A final chapter uses the analysis of Qohelet’s time conception to undertake a comparative analysis of Qohelet and early layers of 1 Enoch.

The thesis begins with an overview of views concerning the dating of Isa 24–27 and its place within the genres of apocalyptic and eschatology, before stating its aim as showing how Canaanite myths were used by the author to give future hope rooted in cultic ideals. The second chapter looks at the image of the divine warrior, with particular emphasis on the chaos enemy as the dragon/serpent/sea, and the remarkable similarities between Isa 27:1 and the Ugaritic KTU 1.5.i.1–5. A possible cultic setting of the combat myth is examined, together with the question of why the myth appears here in an eschatological manner. The following chapter discusses the Israelite and Canaanite traditions concerning the holy mountain and divine banquet. Zion motifs are compared with those of Mt. Zaphon, and the nature of cultic feasts considered in Israelite and Canaanite literature, as well as later traditions. Chapter Four argues that the verses concerning death and resurrection represented exile/oppression and restoration, at a time when ideas of resurrection and judgment after death were emerging. The Israelite imagery of Mot/Death and Sheol are examined in relation to the nature of Ugaritic Mot, showing how Canaanite traditions were used to demonstrate Yahweh’s might and the possibility of individual and universal restoration. The following chapter places Israelite religion within the context of Canaanite fertility cults and popular practices. That myth and cult are connected is the basis for the view that the themes in Isa 24–27 were passed down to the post-exilic era via cultic activities and the reuse of myths to promote Yahweh, whether the author was aware that he was using ancient, mythological ideas or not. The sixth chapter gives a short overview of hope in the Hebrew Bible, before demonstrating how the universalism of Isa 24–27 combines with the ancient mythic themes to provide an eschatological hope in an all-encompassing deity. The paper concludes that the author of these chapters deliberately used Canaanite mythology to show how the final victory, rule, and celebration of Yahweh would bring about a personal and moral victory for all nations.

Maria McCann paints a dark picture of masculinity and its effects in her novel As Meat Loves Salt (2001). The violent Jacob Cullen struggles with his masculinity as he faces the intricacies of religion, sexuality and politics in the midst of the English Civil War where he falls in love with fellow soldier Christopher Ferris. By using R.W. Connell and James Messerschmidt’s framework for the hierarchy of masculinities, I explore masculinities on local, regional and global levels and emphasized femininity in a close reading of McCann’s novel. My aim is not only to analyse the masculinities of the novel but also to use the framework to redefine toxic masculinity in order to make it a useable concept when analysing masculinities in literature. I redefine toxic masculinity because it lacks a clear definition anchored in an established framework used to study masculinity that does not see masculinity as inherently toxic. I believe that anchoring it to Connell and Messerschmidt’s framework will make it a useable concept. Due to the novel’s relationship to the Bible, I will use masculinity studies done on David and Jesus from the Bible to compare and reveal similarities with the masculinities in the novel, how they appear on the local, regional and global levels in the novel and its effects. I draw parallels between the love story in As Meat Loves Salt to the love story of David and Jonathan in the Bible by using queer readings of David and Jonathan in order to explore how masculinity affects the relationships and how the novel uses these two love stories as a study of toxic masculinity and how it relates it to hegemonic masculinity.