Thesis (DTh (Old and New Testament))--University of Stellenbosch, 2006. / This dissertation addresses the topic, “Theological perspectives on Tithing in the Old Testament and their implications for believing communities in Africa.” At the height of “prosperity” and “word of faith” theologies, material resources became a central issue in the contemporary Church in Africa. Opponents query the biblical basis, point to abuses such as the lifestyles of pastors, and allege the commercialization of the gospel. Dispensationalists query the case for tithing in the New Testament, and the degree of reliance on the Old Testament where the situation might be different from ours. The impact has been to provide more resources for the Church and forestall the economic dependency on the West. So the research seeks to answer the questions about the theological basis for the adoption of the tithe system as a means of mobilizing local resources in support of the Church’s programmes, among others. And the thesis of the research is that a rigorous study and theological interpretation of the different examples of tithing in the Old Testament can motivate a more reflective theological-ethical understanding of the practice of tithing amongst believing communities in Africa. In order to achieve this, chapter two presented a survey of tithing in the Ancient Near East and Old Testament. It was shown that the concept of tithing was not peculiar to Ancient Israel; it was also found in other Ancient Eastern cultures like Ancient Egypt, Old and New Babylonia, Assyria, and Ugarit. Whereas the tithe system in the Old Testament was always theologically motivated, it was not always the case in other examples from the Ancient Near East. Chapters three and four studied the theological perspectives of tithing in Numbers and Deuteronomy. Numbers presented the tithe as the wages for the cult personnel, while Deuteronomy expanded the beneficiaries to include, the Levites, the foreigners, the orphans and the widows. The Israelites were to tithe as a means of expressing worship to the LORD and obedience to the laws. Both books presented the tithe as a theological obligation on the worshipper. Chapter five was an empirical survey of tithing in the Presbyterian Church of Nigeria. The study revealed an overwhelming support for the adoption and continuation of the tithe system in the Presbyterian Church of Nigeria. Furthermore, it showed that the PCN needed to do more in helping it’s members have a holistic understanding of the theological motivation for tithing. The “worship of God” was presented as the theological cornerstone of tithing, and the “blessings of God”, as the reward of obedience. Finally, the implications and relevance of tithing for the Church in Africa was evaluated in chapter six. It was shown that by tithing, the Church in Africa would be demonstrating its gratitude for God’s prized redemptive activity in the world, its joyful participation in God’s own undying concern for the poor and destitute; that while tithing should not be pursued as a mere institutionalized legalism, it remains a sound biblical benchmark for Christian stewardship.

Thesis (DTh)--Stellenbosch University, 2002 / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The aim of this thesis is to demonstrate by critical interaction with four key areas of Matthean research that 'restoration from exile' provides a valid and valuable hermeneutical prism for the interpretation of Matthew's gospel. The investigation is undertaken from a Reformed and Evangelical perspective and an inclusive approach is adopted with regard to hermeneutics, viz that interpretation should take note of the historical and literary and theological aspects of Matthew's gospel. The four key areas of investigation were chosen because they involve both particular texts and the gospel as a whole and are, respectively, Matthew's genealogy, Matthew's concept of Salvation History, the Plot of Matthew's gospel and Matthew's Use of the Old Testament. Each of these areas has already received extensive attention in Matthean scholarship, though in each case the question of'restoration from exile' has been almost entirely neglected. In each area, a brief critical survey of current scholarship is provided, both in terms of content and methodology. This survey is then followed by a discussion ofthe relevant texts and topics, demonstrating both the presence and the hermeneutical importance of the 'restoration from exile' theme. In this way, the thesis thus shows that 'restoration from exile' does indeed provide a valid though not exclusive, hermeneutical prism for the interpretation of Matthew's gospel and that such an interpretation casts fresh light on both familiar and more troublesome texts and topics of investigation. The final section of the thesis comprises a brief survey of the theme of 'restoration from exile' within the Hebrew Scriptures and a representative selection of early Jewish texts. On the basis of this survey, the conclusion is reached that despite the very real diversity within early Judaism, it is possible to conclude that perhaps the majority of Jews of the Second Temple Period saw themselves as still 'in exile', at least in theological and spiritual terms. This in turn suggests that Matthew's presentation of Jesus as the one, who by his death and resurrection brings the exile to an end, both for Israel and for the human race at large, is designed to meet a very real spiritual and theological need. Furthermore, the pervasive interest in 'restoration from exile' within representative texts from Second Temple Judaism, and Matthew's clear interest in this same theme, further support claims for the Jewish-Christian setting of Matthew 's gospel and its dual function of legitimization for the Matthean communities and evangelistic appeal to outsiders. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die proefskrif beoog om deur middel van kritiese wisselwerking met vier sleutelgebiede van navorsing met betrekking tot die Matteusevangelie aan te toon dat 'terugkeer uit ballingskap' 'n geldige en waardevolle hermeneutiese prisma bied vir die verklaring van die Matteusevangelie. Die ondersoek word vanuit 'n Gereformeerde en Evangeliese standpunt onderneem. Daar word 'n inklusiewe hermeneutiese benadering gevolg, d. w.s. die historiese, literere en teologiese aspekte van die Matteusevangelie word in ag geneem. Die vier sleutelgebiede van ondersoek is gekies vanwee hulle verb and met spesifieke teksverse en die Matteusevangelie as geheel. Die sleutelgebiede is, onderskeidelik, die geslagsregister in Matteus I: 1-17, Matteus se konsep van heilsgeskiedenis, die plot van die Matteusevangelie en Matteus se gebruik van die Ou Testament. Elkeen van hierdie gebiede is in die verlede al breedvoerig deur geleerdes ondersoek, maar die tema van 'terugkeer uit ballingskap' is in elkeen van hierdie areas feitlik totaal verontagsaam. 'n Verkorte opsomming en bespreking van die hooftrekke van die bydraes van geleerdes word vir elk van die vier gebiede gegee, beide met betrekking tot inhoud en metodiek. Dit word gevolg deur 'n uitleg van sleutelverse en relevante temas om beide die teenwoordigheid en die belang van die 'terugkeer uit ballingskap' tema aan te toon. Op die wyse word daar in die proefskrifbewys dat 'terugkeer uit ballingskap' wei 'n geldige en waardevolle, dog nie die enigste nie, hermeneutiese prisma vir die uitleg van die Matteusevangelie verskaf. Dit is ook duidelik dat so 'n uitleg van Matteus wei nuwe lig op sowel bekende as minder bekende en moeiliker teksverse en temas gooi. Laastens word daar ondersoek gedoen na die belangstelling al dan nie in die tema 'terugkeer uit ballingskap' in die Ou Testament en 'n verteenwoordigende seleksie vroee Joodse geskrifte. Daar word aangetoon dat ondanks die verskeidenheid van wereldsienings onder die verskillende Joodse groepe, daar tog 'n algemene beskouing onder die meeste Jode van daardie periode was dat hulle steeds, ten minste in 'n geestelike en teologiese sin, 'in ballingskap' verkeer. Teen hierdie agtergrond is Matteus se voorstelling van Jesus as die Een wat die ballingskap vir Israel en die mensdom tot 'n einde bring van uiterste belang. So 'n belangstelling in 'terugkeer uit ballingskap' versterk ook verder die siening dat Matteus sy evangelie vir Joodse Christene geskryf het en dat Matteus se geskrif beide 'n legitimerings- en evangeliseringsfunksie vervul.

Thesis (DPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2011. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Though Biblical Hebrew (=BH) is no longer a spoken language, students continue to learn it for the purpose of reading, or at least interacting at a deeper level, with the text of the Hebrew Bible. This suggests that BH shares with any modern language learning course the goal of learning to read. One important part of learning to read is the acquisition of an adequate number of vocabulary items. The purpose of this study is to determine which insights from Second Language Vocabulary Acquisition (=SLVA) research and related fields hold the most promise for a new — and possibly more effective — approach to learning BH vocabulary, to evaluate currently existing BH instructional materials in light of these insights, to develop a new approach based on these insights, and to test aspects of the new approach empirically. Researchers in SLVA have uncovered a number of helpful insights concerning how vocabulary and vocabulary learning should be defined as well as concerning how vocabulary is best learned. On the other hand, BH instructional materials reflect little to no influence from these insights. These materials have continued to define vocabulary narrowly as individual words and continued to conceive of vocabulary learning primarily as pairing form and meaning in contrast to the much more sophisticated definitions found in the SLVA literature. For example, SLVA researchers consider items beyond the word level, such as idioms, to be vocabulary (Moon 1997; Lewis 1993, 1997). BH instructional materials have also failed to include a significant number of beneficial Vocabulary Learning Strategies (=VLSs), while including some VLSs that are either intrinsically problematic or problematic in the ways they are employed. For example, the strategy of learning semantically related items together is common in BH instructional materials, though it has been shown to be problematic in a considerable number of experimental studies (e.g. Nation 2000; Finkbeiner & Nicol 2003; Papathanasiou 2009). Since SLVA research has yet to influence BH instructional materials, a new approach to BH vocabulary learning is warranted. This new approach is based on sound theory concerning what vocabulary is and what it means to learn it, while offering learners as many helpful strategies for learning lexical items as possible. To justify this new approach, a set of experimental studies was run including one longitudinal case study and three larger-scale experiments. This testing was partial in nature since it was only possible to test one variable at a time. The testing revealed a number of important areas for future research into BH vocabulary learning. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Alhoewel Bybelse Hebreeus (=BH) nie meer gepraat word nie, hou studente aan om dit aan te leer vir die doel om te lees, of ten minste om op ‘n dieper vlak met die oorspronklike teks van die Hebreeuse Bybel om te gaan. Dit impliseer dat die aanleer van BH net soos met die aanleer van moderne tale, ten doel het om die taal te kan lees. Een belangrike aspek van om te leer lees, is om die woordeskat aan te leer wat vir hierdie doel nodig is. Die doel van hierdie studie is om vas te stel watter insigte, verkry uit Tweede Taal Woordeskat-Aanleer (=TTWA) navorsing en ander verwante studievelde, die meeste belofte inhou vir ‘n nuwe – en moontlik meer effektiewe – benadering tot die leer van BH woordeskat; om huidige BH leermateriaal te evalueer, in lig van hierdie insigte; om ‘n nuwe benadering te ontwikkel gebaseer op hierdie insigte; en om aspekte van die nuwe benadering empiries toets. Navorsers in TTWA het al heelwat insig verkry in hoe woordeskat en die aanleer van woordeskat gedefineer behoort te word, sowel as aangaande die mees effektiewe maniere waarop woordeskat aangeleer kan word. Dit lyk egter of beskikbare BH leermanier niks of baie min by hierdie insigte baatgevind het. Hierdie materiaal handhaaf tipies ‘n baie nou definisie van wat woordeskat is, te wete, individuele woorde. Dit beskou dus die aanleer van woordeskat as die aanleer van hoofsaaklik woordpare met verskillende vorme en betekenisse, in plaas daarvan om die meer gesofistikeerde definisies te gebruik wat in TTWA literatuur gevind word. TTWA navorsers beskou, byvoorbeelde idiome, wat uit meer as een woord kan bestaan, ook as woordskat-eenhede (Moon 1997; Lewis 1993, 1997). BH leermateriaal gebruik selde van die groot getal beskikbare nuttige Woordeskat Leer- Strategieë (=WLS). Daar word eerder dikwels strategieë gebruik wat volgens TTWA navorsing nie baie effektief is nie.’n Goeie voorbeeld in hierdie verband is die strategie om semanties-verwante items saam te leer. Empiriese navorsing het aangetoon dat hierdie strategie sonder twyfel problematies kan wees (bv. Nation 2000; Finkbeiner & Nicol 2003; Papathanasiou 2009). Aangesien TTWA feitelik nog geen beduidende invloed op BH leermateriaal gehad het, is ‘n nuwe benadering tot die aanleer van BH woordeskat waarin TTWA insigte verreken word, geregverdig. Hierdie nuwe benadering is gebaseer op ‘n deeglik begrondige teoriese model aangaande wat woordeskat is, en wat dit beteken om dit te leer. Verder kan geput word uit die skat van nuttige strategieë wat al in TTWS geïdentifiseer is om sodoende aan BH leerder strategieë te bied wat hulleself al bewys het. Om die nuwe benadering empiries te begrond, is ‘n reeks eksperimentele studies geloods. Nie alle aspekte van die nuwe model kon sistematies getoets word nie. Die grondslag vir verdere navorsing is egter gelê.

This project explores John’s portrait of Jesus in the Gospel of John and argues that John presents Jesus as the Servant of the Lord from Isaiah primarily through his allusions to the Servant passages. The Servant is not the predominant Christological title in John, but it is an important aspect of Johannine Christology. Chapter 1 surveys various works on John’s use of the Old Testament in general, and John’s use of Isaiah specifically. While Isaiah is a major emphasis in John, there have only been two other monographs on John’s use of Isaiah. Furthermore, other works have noted a few allusions to the Isaianic Servant, but no other works have systematically studied the Isaianic Servant in the Gospel of John. Chapter 2 proposes several criteria necessary to identitying allusions to the Isaianic Servant, with allusions classified as clear, probable, and possible. Chapter 3 contains an exegetical discussion of the relevant Servant passages in Isaiah, along with a discussion of the literary context of each Servant song. There is an excursus on the Second Temple Literature, which indicates there is no evidence of a Suffering Messiah in that period. Chapter 4 analyzes two quotations to Isaiah and other clear allusions to the Servant songs in Isaiah. This chapter, along with subsequent chapters, explores the meaning and significance of each allusion for the literary context of John. Chapter 5 identifies probable allusions to the Servant, including the Greeks coming to see Jesus, light and darkness, and Jesus obeying the will of God. Chapter 6 analyzes possible allusions, which have some overlap with the Servant songs, but lack the criterion of uniqueness that would assist an interpreter in connecting John to Isaiah. Chapter 7 discusses the theme of the Isaianic New Exodus and the Servant’s role in initiating this new exodus. John’s description of Jesus utilizes the same characteristics of the Servant to portray Jesus as the Servant in Isaiah. Chapter 8 summarizes the previous chapters and analyzes the implications of the study along with areas for further research.

This thesis focuses on exegesis and interpretation of Judges 11, 29-40. Main method used in this thesis is narrative analysis, via which I investigate and interpret the chosen text as one story unit in its contemporal form. I focus on the course of action, how and with whom the characters act and what is the meaning of these in the whole narrative. I examine the structure of the text, because it's essential for the story told. I examine the context of the chosen text as well, because it's in the middle of broader narrative about Jephthah, of the book of Judges and of the Old Testament. Behavior and actions of characters, as well as facts used in the story, may have different meanings, which may not be apparent from the text itself. The aim of this thesis is to find one or several interpratiations, which will be based in the text itself and its context as much as possible. That will aslo enable me to deal with other intepratations. In the conclusion, I will shortly speak about text's influence on arts and present several themes for homiletic or pastoral use, which the story presents and contents.

SVOBODA, Boris: The Priestly Blessing. [Master thesis] / Boris Svoboda. - Charles University in Prague. Hussite Theological Faculty; - Supervisor: Doc. Mgr. Jiří Beneš, Th.D. - Degree: Master. - Prague: HTF UK, 2014. 65 p. This thesis deals with the exposition of the textual unit of The Aaronic Blessing from The Book of Numbers, chapter 6, verses 22-27. Its aim is to characterize theological meaning of the textual unit and also to provide insight into the meaning of the phenomenon of blessing in The Old Testament. Reach of this theological reflexion surpasses the scope of Old Testament judaism and provides an impulses also for the christian theology, for usage and developing of blessing in its context. Results of the exegesis can present knowledge about understanding of blessing not only in its original context, but also in the understanding of contemporary society. Blessing gives strong impulses for personal lives, but it is also connected with the issues of whole society and with approaching the goal of peace and the status of world, in which will of God is implemented. KEYWORDS: priest, priestly, blessing, benediction, Aaron, Aaronic, Israel, Old Testament, Numbers, peace, grace Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)

O sistema verbal do hebraico bíblico tem sido objeto de debate desde o início dos estudos gramaticais até os dias atuais. As conjugações de sufixo e prefixo, com ou sem a presença do waw prefixado (respectivamente, as formas verbais: qatal, yiqtol, weqatal e wayyiqtol) tomam uma parte central nesse debate devido à grande amplitude de significados que possuem na Bíblia Hebraica. A presente pesquisa propõe-se a apresentar as várias correntes teóricas acerca da interpretação do significado e relação dessas quatro formas verbais e também o uso das mesmas nos textos narrativos e poéticos da Bíblia Hebraica. / The verbal system of Biblical Hebrew has been the subject of debate since the beginning of grammatical studies until today. The suffix and prefix conjugations, with or without the presence of prefixed waw (respectively, the verbal forms: qatal, yiqtol, weqatal e wayyiqtol) take a central part in this debate because of the wide range of meaning that they have in the Hebrew Bible. This research aims to present the various theoretical perspectives about the interpretation of the meaning and relationship of these four verbal forms and also the use of each of them in narrative and poetic texts of the Hebrew Bible.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-07-27T13:49:34Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 EVELINE RACHEL MOREIRA DE MORAIS.pdf: 446386 bytes, checksum: fe19cc2259c9bb2717a0ec4f46179740 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-03-31 / The anthropocentric proposal about the planet in the modern society is the reason of an environmental crisis without proceeding in history. The environmental model illustrated by the ecocentric texts from the Old Testament has presented diverse values from those proposed by current society. The main goal of this work was to distinguish the ecocentric values in the following texts of the Holy Scriptures: Genesis 1: 1-2, 4a and 6-9, Exodus 23: 10-11, Deuteronomy 22: 6-7; 20, 19-20 and 23: 13-15, Psalms 8 and 104 and the entire Book of Job through a wide-ranging literature using exegete s thematic approaches. Moreover, no exegesis of those texts was employed in this research. It was possible to notice that the values demonstrated in these Jewish-Christian texts may be employed by the environmental education in order to contribute to the current process formation of the new environmental paradigm. / Vivemos uma crise ambiental sem precedentes na história mundial, causada pela idéia antropocêntrica de mundo da sociedade Moderna. Textos ecocêntricos do Antigo Testamento da Bíblia possuem valores distintos dos ideais sobre a natureza propostos pela Modernidade. O presente trabalho destaca, a partir de uma pesquisa bibliográfica e através de uma abordagem temática que não faz a exegese dos textos e sim apresenta os estudos feitos pelos exegetas, os valores ecocêntricos contidos nos textos de Gênesis 1,1-2,4a; 6-9, Êxodo 23,10-11, Deuteronômio 22,6-7; 20,19-20 e 23,13-15, Salmos 8 e 104 e o livro de Jó. Percebe-se que os valores contidos nestes textos da tradição judaico-cristã podem ser utilizados pela educação ambiental de forma interdisciplinar, contribuindo para o atual processo de construção do novo paradigma ecológico.

O trabalho analisa, na obra Grande Sertão: Veredas de João Guimarães Rosa (1956), elementos discursivos indicadores de um modo de narrar que ficcionaliza, tanto na forma quanto no teor de sua mensagem, manifestações do sagrado originárias da Antiguidade grega e da tradição judaico-cristã. A partir da analogia entre a obra de Guimarães Rosa e a Odisseia de Homero, tornam-se evidentes vestígios do épico e de modelos clássicos de narrativa que, revestidos do peculiar trabalho da linguagem rosiana, adensam a complexidade do romance. O paralelismo com as Sagradas Escrituras, mais difuso, projeta as ações num patamar dramático, em que se decidem o destino das personagens e a solenidade do discurso memorável. A fundamentação teórica articula o pensamento de Erich Auerbach, André Jolles, Rudolf Otto e também de estudiosos que se dedicaram à obra do autor mineiro, como Kathrin Rosenfield. Esse recorte mostrou a presença do sagrado em microcélulas entretecidas ao emaranhado de histórias e causos que costuram a obra prima de Rosa. A cicatriz da Tatarana alude à cicatriz de Ulisses, sinal revelador da identidade do herói grego e que, no caso do jagunço Riobaldo, desoculta um amor negado por meio da purgação do passado, elaborada numa conversa "unilateral com um suposto interlocutor. Em linguagem mítica e mágica, a figura nebulosa de Diadorim funciona como índice de ambiguidade e, ao mesmo tempo, da revelação alcançada através da morte. A pesquisa, por seu turno, segue as veredas abertas pelo estudo de Tereza Virgínia Ribeiro Barbosa a respeito das mulheres vestidas de sol, metáfora relacionada a Medeia, mas que se projeta na Virgem Maria e numa linhagem de figuras femininas da América Latina ligadas ao sagrado. Verificamos, na perspectiva das transferências culturais do tipo passado místico-mistérico/posteridade fabular, que o discurso de Riobaldo é atravessado por micronarrativas de longa tradição que sincretizam diferentes símbolos exotéricos. O trabalho encerra sua investigação desvendando a dualidade do sertão rosiano, onde impera o embate entre fé e ceticismo, a dúvida e a razão, o amor e o ódio, o masculino e o feminino, que resulta no inacabado, na travessia, a vida como metáfora, no campo das infinitas possibilidades do homem humano / The Dissertation analyzes, in the work Grande Sertão: Veredas by João Guimarães Rosa (1956), speech elements appointing to a narrative format which fictionalizes, both in the form and in the content of its message, expressions of the sacred dated as of the Ancient Greek and the Judeo-Christian tradition. From the analogy between Guimarães Rosas work and Homers Odyssey, it is clear the traces of the epic and of narrative classic models which, vested by Rosas particular language work, thicken the complexity of the novel. The parallelism with the Holy Scriptures, which is more diffuse, casts the actions to a dramatic ground, in which it is decided the fate of the characters and the solemnity of the memorable speech. The theoretical grounding articulates the thoughts of Erich Auerbach, André Jolles, Rudolf Otto and also of great academics who devoted their efforts to study the work of the author from Minas Gerais state, such as Kathrin Rosenfield. This excerpt showed the presence of the sacred in microcells interwoven to the entanglement of stories and tales which joins Rosas masterpiece together. Tataranas scar is a reference to Ulysses scar, a revealing mark of the Greek heros identity and which, in the case of the gunman Riobaldo, exposes a denied love by means of purging of the past, constructed in a "one-sided conversation with a supposed interlocutor. In a mythical and magic language, Diadorims misty figure functions as an indication of ambiguity and, at the same time, the disclosure reached through death. The research, in turn, follows the paths opened by Professor Ribeiro Barbosas studies regarding the women clothed with the sun, a metaphor related to Medea, but which is projected in the Virgin Mary and in a lineage of Latin Americas female figures who are related to the sacred. It can be observed, under the perspective of cultural transfers of the fable mystical-mysterious/posterity past type, that Riobaldos speech is crossed with micro-narratives having a long tradition which combine different exoteric symbols. The Dissertation ends its investigation by disclosing the duality of Rosas backlands, where the fight between faith and skepticism, doubt and reason, love and hate, male and female prevails, resulting in the unfinished, in the crossing, life as a metaphor, of the field with countless possibilities for the human man

<p>Det har alltid funnits olika tolkningar och syn på olika bibliska texter. En av dessa texter som har varit grund till många olika teorier är Daniels bok. Diskussionerna kring denna bok har i huvudsak handlat om när och av vem boken är skriven och med det huruvida den är en profetisk eller en apokalyptisk text.</p><p>Syftet med arbetet är att undersöka hur en text tagen ur bibeln kan komma att tolkas på så olika sätt av olika religiösa samfund. Studien behandlar Daniels bok och huruvida denna text från gamla testamentet är en profetisk eller en apokalyptisk text. Arbetet behandlar också hur texten tolkas ur ett religionsvetenskapligt perspektiv. De samfund som studerats i arbetet är Jehovas vittnen och Sjundedagsadventisterna. Jehovas vittnen representerar ett samfund med stark tro till att Daniel själv skrev boken under sin livstid och att boken är en profetisk text. Sjundedagsadventisterna representerar i sin tur ett samfund där de ser på Daniels bok som en apokalyptisk text som berättar om den sista tiden. De är i huvudsak intresserad av det textstycke där Jesus återkomst avslöjas.</p><p>Resultatet av undersökningen visar att det ur ett religionsvetenskapligt perspektiv ter sig klart att Daniels bok inte skrevs av honom själv utan av flera olika författare. Detta skulle betyda att boken är en apokalyptisk text. Jehovas vittnen har många egna teorier där de anser sig bevisa motsatsen men av de teorier som redovisas i studien finns ingen som håller när de skärskådas mot bibeln.</p> / Uppsatsförfattaren har tidigare burit efternamnet "Nilsson".