Using the methodological approach of Socio-rhetorical Analysis, this study focuses on understanding the phrase in 1 John 3:8, “the works of the devil,” from the standpoint of the original audience. A comprehensive investigation of this phrase contributes toward theological discourse about the Johannine understanding of the devil/evil and cosmic conflict. By juxtaposing the results of a number of temporarily bounded studies, the meaning of the phrase, “the works of the devil,” is seen in its historical, cultural, and literary context. The literary context of the phrase under investigation involves two pericopes at the center of 1 John: 3:4-10, and 3:11-18, where the author’s cosmic eschatological theology is presented in a chiastic climax. Inner texture analysis of these pericopes reveals complex rhetorical transitions that focus attention on the destruction of the works of the devil. Repetitive-progressive texture charts and discourse analysis of these pericopes uncover the key terms and relationships of these terms, contributing toward an understanding of the meaning of the phrase, “the works of the devil.” Scribal inter-texture analysis compares the use of these terms in other biblical and extra-biblical literature, including an original analysis of 1QS 4:15-25. In short, the works of the devil, according to 1 John and the Gospel of John, supplemented by historical evidence of ancient culture and writings, would have been seen by early Johannine believers as equated with that which leads to death. Examples show that this could be physical death, as in the example of Cain, or of disease, or spiritual death, as in the example of idols which represent unbelief, evil work, false approaches to God, and disobedience to God’s commands. While the devil’s works can be summarized as bringing death—both physical (disease and deformity, social chaos, mental chaos) and spiritual (unbelief, hatred),the Son of God appeared to give life (1 John 4:9). The appearing of the Son of God is seen to result in works and characteristics that are the opposite of those associated with the sin of the devil, thus nullifying or destroying them. / Christian Spirituality Church History and Missiology / D. Litt et Phil. (Biblical Studies)

Using the methodological approach of Socio-rhetorical Analysis, this study focuses on understanding the phrase in 1 John 3:8, “the works of the devil,” from the standpoint of the original audience. A comprehensive investigation of this phrase contributes toward theological discourse about the Johannine understanding of the devil/evil and cosmic conflict. By juxtaposing the results of a number of temporarily bounded studies, the meaning of the phrase, “the works of the devil,” is seen in its historical, cultural, and literary context. The literary context of the phrase under investigation involves two pericopes at the center of 1 John: 3:4-10, and 3:11-18, where the author’s cosmic eschatological theology is presented in a chiastic climax. Inner texture analysis of these pericopes reveals complex rhetorical transitions that focus attention on the destruction of the works of the devil. Repetitive-progressive texture charts and discourse analysis of these pericopes uncover the key terms and relationships of these terms, contributing toward an understanding of the meaning of the phrase, “the works of the devil.” Scribal inter-texture analysis compares the use of these terms in other biblical and extra-biblical literature, including an original analysis of 1QS 4:15-25. In short, the works of the devil, according to 1 John and the Gospel of John, supplemented by historical evidence of ancient culture and writings, would have been seen by early Johannine believers as equated with that which leads to death. Examples show that this could be physical death, as in the example of Cain, or of disease, or spiritual death, as in the example of idols which represent unbelief, evil work, false approaches to God, and disobedience to God’s commands. While the devil’s works can be summarized as bringing death—both physical (disease and deformity, social chaos, mental chaos) and spiritual (unbelief, hatred),the Son of God appeared to give life (1 John 4:9). The appearing of the Son of God is seen to result in works and characteristics that are the opposite of those associated with the sin of the devil, thus nullifying or destroying them. / Christian Spirituality Church History and Missiology / D. Litt et Phil. (Biblical Studies)

This thesis is basically an exegetical work investigating the Abraham narrative (Gen 11:27-25:11) in Genesis in a sense of a text-centered approach, which aims to the Sitz im Text not to reconstruct the early Sitz im Leben of the narrative. In other words, this study seeks primarily to interpret the final form of the narrative as the locus of revelation. Taking the adages ‘no text is an island,’ ‘let the text speak for itself’ as its point of departure, this study focuses on the question how the individual episodes in the Abraham narrative are played by texts in Genesis and in the larger literary units in the Pentateuch. In this vein, the work examines the narrative through careful attention to literary and rhetorical features such as narrative structure, recurring themes and motifs, allusion (or foreshadowing), wordplays, points of view, plot, and characterization by attempting to analyze and describe its structure and the semantics of the arrangement of source material in the pericope of the narrative. For it is believed that the literary tools used by the author (or the final composer) to establish continuity and link various constituent parts together in a unified literary composition. Seen within such a context, two methodological approaches in this study will be offered promise for discovering possible the narrative function of the Abraham cycle: intertextuality and the composition criticism. The former provides the compositional tactics mapped out by the author (or the final composer) for the recognition of narrative literary context of the Abraham narrative within the macro-structure and the micro-structure of the Pentateuch. While, the latter asks the right questions to discover textual correlations between the narrative and the rest of texts in Genesis and in the Pentateuch. As a result, this approach to the narrative reveals a distinct compositional strategy, which is to convey the author’s (or the final composer’s) theological considerations clearly and persuasively. Methodological peculiarities for reading the Abraham narrative are considered in chapter 1. Chapter 2 is to examine in detail of the inner literary arrangement of the Abraham narrative in the narrative frame of Genesis and the Pentateuch. It is followed by a discussion of the inner textual integrity of logic, and syntax of the narrative in chapter 3. The intertextual relationships between the pericope and the remaining texts in the Pentateuch will be explored by syntactically examining of the texts at semantic and thematic level. The theological considerations of the narrative proceed by these scrutinized intra/inter-textual examination of the texts. The final chapter, chapter 5, summarizes some of the advantages of applying the method to the narrative and some exegetical suggestions in terms of pre-critical angle. Please cite as follows: Hong, KS 2007, An exegetical reading of the Abraham narrative in Genesis : semantic, textuality and theology, PhD thesis, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd < http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd- etd-05262008-155326> / Thesis (PHD)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Old Testament Studies / unrestricted