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[pt] A pergunta sobre o sentido da vida sempre foi objeto de pesquisa de muitas ciências, dentre elas a teologia e a filosofia. As religiões sempre apresentaram e apresentam um sentido para a vida humana. Algo semelhante acontece com a Bíblia. A literatura sapiencial bíblica, que queremos analisar de forma mais específica, nasce do desejo do povo israelita de compreender as leis que YHWH colocou no mundo para serem seguidas; ou seja, nasce da procura de resposta para a pergunta sobre o sentido da vida. A presente dissertação quer abordar o livro de Qohélet verificando qual é o sentido que este apresenta para a vida humana. A escolha desse livro se deve à sua localização no contexto da crise da sabedoria em Israel - falamos aqui de crise da sabedoria bíblica que vai do séc. IV ao séc. II aproximadamente, onde está situado também o livro de Jó. O fundamento da sabedoria tradicional israelita era o princípio de causa e efeito que garantia a felicidade dos justos e a infelicidade dos ímpios. A crise da sabedoria acontece justamente pela verificação de falhas nesse princípio. Por outro lado, ainda não existe na tradição de Israel nenhuma perspectiva de recompensa após a morte. Nossa pesquisa terá como ponto de partida o texto de Qoh 9,7-10 que será analisado seguindo os passos do método histórico-crítico. Num primeiro momento procuraremos refletir a respeito do contexto histórico do livro de Qohélet, de como foi abordado em todo esse tempo e de algumas hipóteses a respeito do seu processo de composição. Assim, nossa pesquisa buscará relacionar o texto em questão com o conjunto do livro de Qohélet e responder à seguinte pergunta: qual o sentido da vida para Qohélet? Em seguida procuraremos comparar essa resposta com a resposta dada pela Epopéia de Gilgames e pela filosofia epicurista. / [en] The question on the meaning of life was always object of research of a lot of sciences, among them Theological and Philosophical sciences. The religions have always presented and still present a meaning for the human life. Something alike happens with the Bible. The wise biblical literature, that we want to analyze in a more specific way is born of the desire of the Israeli people of understanding the laws that YHWH placed in the world for us to be followed; in other words, it is derived of the answer search for the question on the meaning of the life. The present dissertation wants to approach the book of Qohélet verifying which it is the meaning of life presented by the book. The choice of this book is due to its location in the context of the wisdom crisis in Israel; we refer to the crisis of the Biblical Wisdom that starts in the IV Century and ends in the II Century aproximately, where it is also placed the book of Jó. The foundation of the Israeli traditional wisdom was the cause and effect principle wich assured the happiness of the fairs and the heretics unhappiness. The crisis of the wisdom occurs exactly due the existence of faults in the cause and effect principle itself. On the other hand, it doesn t still exist in the Israeli tradition any reward perspective after death. Our research will have as starting point the text of Qoh 9,7-10 that will be analyzed following the steps of the historical- critical method. In a first moment we will try to reflect on the historical context of the book of Qohélet, on how it was regarded throughout the times and on some hypotheses regarding its composition process. Therefore, our research will seek to relate the afore mentioned text to the Qohélet book as a hole while trying to provide an answer to the following question: which is the meaning of the life for Qohélet? Subsequently we will try to compare that answer with the answer given by the Epic poem of Gilgames and by the materialistic philosophy.

Cambridge, Corpus Christi College MS. 278 is an early-fourteenth-century trilingual manuscript of the Psalms from Norwich Cathedral Priory, an urban cathedral church staffed by Benedictine monks. This manuscript is notable because it contains one of six Middle English Metrical Psalters, the earliest Middle English translation of the Psalms, as well as a full Anglo-Norman Oxford Psalter, the most popular French translation of the Psalms in late medieval England. While the Middle English Metrical Psalter is a remarkable and understudied text in and of itself, the Metrical Psalter of CCC 278 is even more interesting because of its monastic provenance and innovative layout. This thesis explores the questions of why a monastic institution would produce a manuscript of two complete, prominently displayed, vernacular Psalters with only highly abbreviated Latin textual references; what sociolinguistic and political forces drove the production of this innovative manuscript; and how the Middle English Metrical Psalter in particular was read, and by whom. Because there are no annotations, colophon, prologue or external documentation to provide clues to either the intended or actual use of the manuscript by the Priory monks, this thesis undertakes a detailed historicization and contextualization of the book in its urban, religious, linguistic and social settings. In addition, the lenses of community, mediation, and authority are applied, leading to the conclusion that CCC 278 and its Middle English Metrical Psalter were likely used by the monks to reach out to Norwich’s élite laity in order to form a mixed reading community around the book—a reading community controlled by the Priory.

In 1972, with the publication of Violence and the Sacred, René Girard makes the stunning assertion that violence is the foundation of culture. Humanity’s innate urges for competition and rivalry entrap us in cycles of violence, which left alone would find no resolution. Girard calls the cause of this rivalry “mimetic desire”, and the only way out of this deeply embedded vengeance is to create a scapegoat to take the blame, reconciling the conflicting parties. Girard asserts that the biblical texts uniquely reveal the mechanisms of mimetic rivalry and scapegoating, and even demystify sacrificial rituals as nothing more than sacrilized “good” violence to keep a fragile peace. This revelation, according to Girard, can finally allow us to remove violence from the sacred. Much scholarship has been devoted to Girard’s theory, in particular how it offers a viable alternative to the still-dominant sacrificial theology of the cross. But there is little scholarship on the connection between Girard and Judaism; and Girard’s own work leaves us with a picture of Judaism that is at best incomplete, and at worst unable to find an answer to disturbing violence permeating the scriptures. This dissertation brings the Hebrew Bible into dialogue with Girard’s ideas in a systematic fashion to assert, contra Girard, that the Jewish revelation is a full, effective and even practical expression of his theory. After an overview of Girard’s work in the first chapter, the dissertation examines three Jewish “vaccines” to the mimetic disease as follows: the Birkhat ha-Banim (“The Blessing of the Children”); the reading of the Book of Esther on Purim; and the reading of Jonah on Yom Kippur. The conclusion to the dissertation asserts, drawing on these three demonstrations, the following points: 1) Rene Girard gives an important and clarifying lens to aid us in finding a new way to talk about, understand, and unify Jewish scripture and ritual; 2) a Jewish perspective can help flesh out what a different “revelation” of Girard’s mimetic desire looks like—even providing prescriptions to curtail this desire; and 3) positive mimesis is possible, and there are Hebrew examples of it free of originary violence. The final chapter addresses certain challenges in reconciling Girard with Judaism, moving toward a sincere Jewish Girardianism that will harmonize with the central views of the tradition.

The exodus tradition was passed on for posterity among the Jewish descendants about God who delivered their ancestors from bondage in Egypt, who divided the Red Sea waters and provided them with manna in the desert. The exodus tradition motivated them in many problematic situations about "God of their fathers" who delivered them. The modern post-biblical world has drawn some motivation from the exodus liberation motif, namely: Latin America, USA, South Africa, Rhodesia and Zimbabwe, amongst others. The topic: Reading the Exodus Tradition from a Zimbabwean Perspective is necessitated by the Zimbabwean experience of oppression. The function of the exodus tradition during colonialism in Rhodesia is discussed because it forms the nucleus from which Zimbabwe was born. Recently, the Zimbabwean people have been subjected to unjust treatments by the Zimbabwean regime. The function of the exodus tradition in the Zimbabwean situation is explored in chapters five and six, respectively. / Biblical and Ancient studies / M.A. (Biblical Studies)

The exodus tradition was passed on for posterity among the Jewish descendants about God who delivered their ancestors from bondage in Egypt, who divided the Red Sea waters and provided them with manna in the desert. The exodus tradition motivated them in many problematic situations about "God of their fathers" who delivered them. The modern post-biblical world has drawn some motivation from the exodus liberation motif, namely: Latin America, USA, South Africa, Rhodesia and Zimbabwe, amongst others. The topic: Reading the Exodus Tradition from a Zimbabwean Perspective is necessitated by the Zimbabwean experience of oppression. The function of the exodus tradition during colonialism in Rhodesia is discussed because it forms the nucleus from which Zimbabwe was born. Recently, the Zimbabwean people have been subjected to unjust treatments by the Zimbabwean regime. The function of the exodus tradition in the Zimbabwean situation is explored in chapters five and six, respectively. / Biblical and Ancient studies / M.A. (Biblical Studies)

De quelle mise en discours procède l’ensemble des récits pluriels qui narrent les « origines » dans le livre de la Genèse de la littérature biblique pour composer ce qui est présenté comme un « cycle » ordonné ? Cette question conduit à formuler l’hypothèse selon laquelle le premier récit de création ou « septénaire des jours » constitue, tel un paradigme, un système apte à ordonner le déploiement des récits suivants (Gn 2 à 11). Surtout, l’originalité de ce système est de mettre en place des mécanismes d’orientation vers une instance d’énonciation, constituant ainsi une « empreinte ». Et la mise en discours des textes qui suivent dispose, par les parcours discursifs, des « formants-signifiants » d’ordre « figural » propres à rappeler cette empreinte et à fonctionner comme autant d’indicateurs de l’instance d’énonciation. Enfin, au terme du livre biblique, le septénaire des « sceaux » (Apocalypse 5-8) vient réexposer le paradigme, récapituler le « figural », renouveler l’indication de l’instance d’énonciation et redéfinir l’orientation vers cette instance. La mise en discours opère ainsi, par le figural, un véritable « nouage » entre les grandeurs figuratives et l’instance d’énonciation. En son figural, la figure devient achoppement balisant la lecture, orientant le lecteur pour le conduire au plus près des postures des sujets de l’instance d’énonciation. / What procedure of discursivization makes it possible to present the ensemble of varied narratives recounting “origins,” in the book of Genesis of the biblical literature, as an orderly “cycle”? This question leads to the formulation of the hypothesis that the first story of creation, the “septenary of days,” constitutes, as a paradigm, a system capable of structuring the deployment of the following narratives (Gn 2 – 11). The originality of this system consists, above all, in putting in place mechanisms of orientation toward an instance of enunciation which constitutes a “footprint.” Then, the discursivization of the subsequent texts, by means of the discursive path, employs “formant-signifiers” of the “figural” order, likely to recall this footprint and to function as so many indicators of the instance of enunciation. Finally, at the end of the biblical literature, the “septenary of seals” in the book of Revelation (Apocalypse 5-8) reexposes the paradigm, recapitulates the figural, renews the indication of the instance of enunciation, and redefines the orientation toward this instance. Thus, by means of the figural, discursivization ties a veritable “knot” between figurative values and instance of enunciation. In its figural, the figure becomes a stumbling stone along the path of the reading which orients the reader, leading him as close as possible to the positions of the subjects of the instance of enunciation.

[pt] Este trabalho estuda o texto de Jó 14,13 17, considerando sua data de redação, de forma a permitir a compreensão do contexto e consequente significado teológico. Com a datação do texto, as fontes históricas, bíblicas e não bíblicas permitem concluir o contexto histórico, econômico, social e religioso da época, e suas implicações na vida do povo de Israel. Comenta-se o significado dos termos e expressões usados no texto poético. Estabelece-se, então, o que motivou o autor a desejar ser escondido no sheol, por tempo determinado, até YHWH desistir de sua ira e voltar a se recordar dele. Analisa-se, também, como a doutrina da retribuição influenciou o conflito que surgiu no meio da comunidade e como ele foi enfrentado. A poesia de Jó 14,13 17 é parte do esforço desenvolvido para solução dos conflitos sociais causados pela miséria e sofrimento do povo. Enquadra-se no contexto do trabalho pastoral que conclamou a classe social alta a uma atitude de solidariedade, como resposta à convocação de YHWH ao homem. / [en] The present paper studies the text of Job 14 two point 13 17, taking into account the time and the context in which it was written in order to allow the understanding of its theological significance. Given the information on the text dating, historical, biblical and non-biblical sources establish the historical, economic, social and religious context of that time, and its implication on the lives of the People of Israel. The meaning of terms and expressions are analyzed in the poetic text. This study establishes what prompted the author’s wish to be hidden in Sheol for a given time, awaiting for the divine wrath to end, of provided that YHWH could still remember him. This paper also analyses how the doctrine of retribution influenced the conflict that arose in middle of the community and how it was faced. The poetry of Job 14 two point 13 17 is part of the effort to solve social conflicts caused by the misery and suffering of the people. This text falls within the context of the pastoral work developed, which urged the upper class to show an attitude of solidarity as a response to the summons of YHWH to man.