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The purpose of this study is to determine if research on the concept “the fear of the Lord” can lead to a better understanding of the message of the Pentateuch in different times and contexts. The study begins with a discussion regarding the shortcomings of studies done on “the fear of the Lord” in both Old Testament theology and the Pentateuch research. These studies are often dated or deal insufficiently with the problem. The place and function of the concept “the fear of the Lord” in the Pentateuch has not yet been determined. In chapter two a discussion follows on “the fear of the Lord” in relation to education and the retelling of “history”. The concept “the fear of the Lord” is compared with historical developments in biblical interpretation. This section of the study comes to the conclusion that “the fear of the Lord” emphasises the meaning the Scripture has for the reader and does not necessarily present an objective/rational reading thereof. Chapter three discusses the developments in semantics. The different words that can be translated with “fear” are discussed according to their semantic domains. This chapter also discusses the possible development of the concept “the fear of the Lord” within the Old Testament. The idea of the fear of the gods in Middle Eastern texts is also considered. Chapter four is a discussion of the composition of the Pentateuch. The history of its research is discussed and conclusions are drawn with regard to the different sources in the Pentateuch. This chapter comes to the conclusion that “ the fear of the Lord” is present in the Elohist, J material, Deuteronomist source as well as the Holiness code, but is absent from the Priestly material. Chapter five is an exegetical study of texts that contain references to fear directed towards God. Words translated with “fear” are discussed according to their semantic domains. The exegetical study also involves a study of other terms or subjects in the Pentateuch which are used in close relation to “the fear of the Lord”. The study concludes that research based on the concept “the fear of the Lord” and its function in the Pentateuch in its final form as well as its different sources, does indeed lead to a better understanding of the message of the Pentateuch in different times and contexts. / PhD (Biblical Studies/Theology), North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2014

A SURVEY AND ANALYSIS OF CONTEMPORARY EVANGELICAL HERMENEUTICAL APPROACHES TO UNDERSTANDING MESSIAH IN THE OLD TESTAMENT Jason Alan Motte, Ph.D. The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2015 Chair: Dr. T. J. Betts There is great diversity among evangelicals about how to understand messiah in the Old Testament. Many of the differences are largely related to hermeneutical choices. This study examines evangelical hermeneutical approaches to this issue from the time of Sigmund Mowinckel (1956) to the present. It identifies various positions represented by evangelicals, and lists major, relative works within each category. Then it analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of each approach. Based on such analysis, in the final chapter, a brief hermeneutical model for understanding messiah in the Old Testament is presented. This study concludes that the best hermeneutical model for understanding messiah in the Old Testament is one that is grounded in historical grammatical exegesis of Old Testament passages, and that allows for the inspired, progressive development of the concept of messiah from the Old Testament to its ultimate fulfillment in the New Testament.

Thesis advisor: David S. Vanderhooft / Conventional interpretations of Jonah hold that the book's purpose is to endorse the power of repentance in averting divine wrath, or to promote a greater appreciation among readers for divine mercy rather than justice, or to dispute "exclusivist" attitudes that would confine divine grace to the people of Israel/Judah. This dissertation argues, in contrast to these interpretations, that the book of Jonah should best be understood as an exploration of the problem of a perceived lack of divine justice. In light of the Jonah's composition well after the historical destruction of Nineveh, the use of Nineveh in Jonah as an object of divine mercy would have struck a discordant note among the book's earliest readers. Elsewhere in the prophetic corpus, Nineveh is known specifically and exclusively for its international crimes and its ultimate punishment at the hands of Yhwh, an historical event (612 B.C.E.) that prophets took as a sign of Yhwh's just administration of the cosmos. The use of Nineveh in Jonah, therefore, is not intended to serve as a hypothetical example of the extent of Yhwh's mercy to even the worst sinners. Rather, readers of Jonah would have known that the reprieve granted Nineveh in Jonah 3 did not constitute "the end of the story" for Nineveh. To the contrary, the extension of divine mercy to Nineveh in Jonah, which is set in the eighth century B.C.E., would have been seen as only the first of Yhwh's moves in regard to that "city of blood." The central conflict of the book resides in Jonah's doubt in the reliability of divine justice. In the aftermath of Nineveh's reprieve in Jonah 3, the prophet complains that the merciful outcome was inevitable, and had nothing to do with the Ninevites' penitence. The episode of the growth and death of the qiqayon plant in Jonah 4:6-8, and its explanation in 4:10-11 comprise Yhwh's response to Jonah's accusation. The images employed in the growth and death of the plant, and in the events that follow its demise, connote destruction in the prophetic corpus. When Yhwh explains the meaning of the qiqayon to Jonah in 4:10-11, the deity makes no mention of either penitence or mercy. Rather, having established that the qiqayon represents Nineveh, Yhwh asserts that, although he has spared Nineveh at present, he will not regret its eventual destruction in the future. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2009. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Theology.

It is June 2001, in a small church in deepest Arkansas. ‘Brother John’ is speaking at a youth service. The text he has chosen: Judges 19. ‘This is the story of a woman who left her husband. She disrespected authority and leaders. She got what she deserved. This is what will happen to you if you disobey your leaders.’ This is by far the worst sermon I have ever heard, and it started my journey with Judges 19-21. It is the only time I have ever heard this text referred to in public worship. There was nothing in my Christian journey until then that could have given me the skills to deal with that text, or that sermon. At the same time, it is a text that burrowed its way into my consciousness, because I have consistently worked with women (and men) who have experienced sexual abuse over the years. How can they read this text? Why is it there? In what sense can it be Scripture? While the text has been used oppressively, can it be read differently, and redeemed from oppressive interpretations? Has it got anything to offer, beyond a reading in memoriam?

The purpose of this study is to determine if research on the concept “the fear of the Lord” can lead to a better understanding of the message of the Pentateuch in different times and contexts. The study begins with a discussion regarding the shortcomings of studies done on “the fear of the Lord” in both Old Testament theology and the Pentateuch research. These studies are often dated or deal insufficiently with the problem. The place and function of the concept “the fear of the Lord” in the Pentateuch has not yet been determined. In chapter two a discussion follows on “the fear of the Lord” in relation to education and the retelling of “history”. The concept “the fear of the Lord” is compared with historical developments in biblical interpretation. This section of the study comes to the conclusion that “the fear of the Lord” emphasises the meaning the Scripture has for the reader and does not necessarily present an objective/rational reading thereof. Chapter three discusses the developments in semantics. The different words that can be translated with “fear” are discussed according to their semantic domains. This chapter also discusses the possible development of the concept “the fear of the Lord” within the Old Testament. The idea of the fear of the gods in Middle Eastern texts is also considered. Chapter four is a discussion of the composition of the Pentateuch. The history of its research is discussed and conclusions are drawn with regard to the different sources in the Pentateuch. This chapter comes to the conclusion that “ the fear of the Lord” is present in the Elohist, J material, Deuteronomist source as well as the Holiness code, but is absent from the Priestly material. Chapter five is an exegetical study of texts that contain references to fear directed towards God. Words translated with “fear” are discussed according to their semantic domains. The exegetical study also involves a study of other terms or subjects in the Pentateuch which are used in close relation to “the fear of the Lord”. The study concludes that research based on the concept “the fear of the Lord” and its function in the Pentateuch in its final form as well as its different sources, does indeed lead to a better understanding of the message of the Pentateuch in different times and contexts. / PhD (Biblical Studies/Theology), North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2014

It has long been noted that the book of Lamentations shares, at least in part, a theological outlook with the prophetic literature that the destruction of Jerusalem was the result of Yahweh’s decisive action against the sins of the nation. Too often, however, this relationship has simply been presupposed, or assumed to be a relationship of shared perspective. To date there has been no systematic exploration of how it is that Lamentations accepts and/or modifies the theological outlook of the prophetic literature. In addition, when the theology of the prophets has been discussed in relation to Lamentations, there has been a tendency to group all the prophetic books together as if they existed as a homogeneous whole, and shared amongst themselves a singular outlook. This tendency to simplify the theological complexity of the prophetic literature coincides with a similar tendency to reduce the theology of Lamentations to simple, monolithic assertions. Drawing on the literary insights of Mikhail Bakhtin, this study aims to explore in detail the nature of the relationship between Lamentations and the pre-exilic/exilic prophetic literature. Drawing on notions of dialogism, Polyphony and double voicing, the study argues that Lamentations enters i8nto a dialogic relationship with the prophetic literature, a relationship that both affirms and subverts that literature. Central to the acknowledgement of the dialogic interaction between Lamentations and the prophetic literature is the recognition of Lamentations as a multivalent, polyphonic text in which unmerged viewpoints exist in a tension filled relationship.

Thesis (M.A.)--Lancaster Bible College, 2004. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 118-130) and index.

Thesis (M.A.)--Lancaster Bible College, 2004. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 118-130) and index.

Thesis (M.A.)--Lancaster Bible College, 2004. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 118-130) and index.