The purpose of this thesis is to examine the way in which Job 38-42 develops and defends a new theodicy through language of creation and of the created order. This thesis will posit that through the course of the divine speeches, divine justice is shown to be an element of divine rule where chaos is limited and confined to specific boundaries, but not entirely eliminated or defeated. Inherent in this justice is compassionate divine care for all parts of creation, including the farthest reaches of the cosmos and uninhabited lands of exile. The social, political and economic conditions of the fifth century B.C.E. are examined as the context for this critique of retributive justice and the singularly juridical understanding of justice that is represented by Job and his friends. The theodicy presented in Job 38-42 defines for Israel a divine justice, which is boundless, and provides a model for human action that upholds empathy and compassion for the outcasts of society.

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The majority of commentators have taken Luke 12:5 as a reference to God, while a few well-known New Testament scholars have taken it to be a reference to Satan. Yet neither position has adequately substantiated its interpretation with reference to the setting in Luke's gospel. We argue that taking it as a reference to Satan makes better sense of the passage within its context. The literature is reviewed to show which commentators, namely Conzelmann, Wink and Lampe, have understood this verse as a reference to Satan. A comparison with the parallel text in Matthew reveals the differences in text and context between Matthew and Luke. These are significant enough to allow for different interpretations of the reference in Matthew and Luke. Focussing on $ varepsilon chi o upsilon sigma grave iota alpha$ and Satan shows that Luke uses these concepts in a more developed way, and ascribes authority to Satan in his writings. This interpretation of Luke 12:5 fits in well with the theme of conflict developed in Luke's gospel. The cumulative weight of these arguments points in the direction of Luke 12:5 being a reference to Satan.

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the descriptions of Yahweh's creative activity in Deutero-Isaiah (Isaiah 40-55). In the last century, biblical scholarship on creation has been concerned primarily with its relationship to redemption. This thesis will study the descriptions independently of redemption. / The references to creation incorporate a broad spectrum of material which is presented randomly throughout Deutero-Isaiah. Because of their diversity, the references will be organized into three groups: Yahweh's initial creation (cosmogony), his creation of the people, and his new creation (his present or upcoming creative activity). Discussion will begin with the cosmogonic material, since it is the most obvious of the groups in terms of its language and similarities to other biblical material. The other aspects of Yahweh's creative activity will then be studied in accordance with their lexical relationship to the cosmogonic texts. / This thesis will investigate what is said specifically about creation, how the creation language functions (i.e., how the message/meaning is effected), and what purpose it serves (i.e., why creation is mentioned). Special attention will be paid to the lexical material in the descriptions, notably the verbs. References will be examined in their immediate context (poem, etc.) and in their Deutero-Isaian context. Where relevant, other texts in Isaiah (Isa 1-66) or the rest of the Hebrew Bible will be used in the expectation that they will provide added insight into the meaning of the references.

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Three concepts of the revelation of God as Jesus- (1:14-18) are unfolded throughout the Gospel in terms ratification of the covenant of the presence (zapic) of God (Exodus 33:12-34:10 LXX). First, (1:14, 17; no hendiadys) alludes to (Exodus 34:6), both depicting the graciousness and consistency of God's character (, 1:14b; 17:22). Jesus possesses (1:14b) and bestows God's character onto believers (1:17; 17:6, 22, 26) by the means of the Holy Spirit (1:32-33; 7:39; 20:22) as the Holy Spirit is full of (3:34; 14:17; 15:26; 16:13; 19:37 + Zechariah 12:10 LXX). The divine character and legal corpus complement each other in believers (14:22; 15:4-5; 17:11, 21-23; 20:23) thus fulfilling the Scripture (10:35; Jeremiah 31:31-33; Ezekiel 36:26-28f.). Second, (1:16) alludes to the six (Exodus 33:12; 33:13, 13, 16, 17; 34:9-10 LXX) requests to confirm the presence of God. Each occurrence of (1:16) denotes the presence of God: it was regained at Sinai, reinforced in Jesus, and retained through the Spirit. The Gospel depicts ratification of the covenant of the presence of God as Jesus in accord with its articles. Third, all four covenantal aspects of confirming the presence of God are evident in Jesus: 1) the visible appearance of God (1:14a, 14:9), 2) the intrinsic character of God (1:14b, 17; 17:22), 3) the miraculous splendour of God (in Jesus' incomparable signs, deeds, wonders, and marvellous acts), and 4) the divine honour of God (in the Son glorified by the Father). In essence-the presence of God-the revelations of God at Sinai and as Jesus are the same. In quality, the latter surpasses the former in all three-aspects.

A much overlooked aspect of Matthew's Gospel is the theme of heaven and earth. A close examination of Matthew reveals that this theme is woven regularly and skilfully throughout the First Gospel and interacts with several other theological emphases there. Rather than being a reverential circumlocution for God, "heaven" in Matthew is part of a highly-developed discourse of heaven language. Matthew has developed an idiolectic way of using heaven language that consists of four aspects: 1) an intentional distinction in meaning between the singular and plural forms of oupsilonrhoalphavoc; 2) the frequent use of the heaven and earth word pair as a theme; 3) regular reference to the Father in heaven/heavenly Father; and 4) the recurrent use of the uniquely Matthean expression, betaalphaolambdaalphatau, "kingdom of heaven." After providing a detailed examination of the historical precedents for each of these elements, this thesis argues that this four-fold idiolect serves one overriding theological purpose: to highlight the tension that currently exists between heaven and earth or God and humanity, while looking forward to its eschatological resolution. This emphasis on the current tension between heaven and earth functions for Matthew in a number of important theological, pastoral and polemical ways in his first-century context.

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