High infant mortality and short female life span threatened Israelite women, who were respected as household administrators and educators. The concept of a personal god first observed in second millennium BCE Mesopotamian texts and house shrines involved apotropaic measures against a malevolent goddess who sickened and stole newborn children. Protective blessing inscriptions and deemphasis on the sexual aspect of Israelite figurines indicate that the personal goddess Asherah's function in Israelite religion was connected with protection more than with fertility. Offering benches and incense burners that define semi-public cult rooms in Syria-Palestine accompany female figurines in Israelite houses at Tell Masos, Tell el-Far'ah, Beer-sheba, and Tell Halif. Eye amulets such as those from the eighth century Lachish houses as well as the large-breasted pillar-figurines reflect a long-standing Near Eastern tradition of using eye and breast motifs to protect against the evil eye and child-stealing demons. The figurines' occurrence with women's textile and food preparation implements in female domains indicates that women set up a household shrine with an Asherah figurine near an entrance. The figurines interpreted as votives that mean "this is me" or "this is you" represent a covenant relationship between the breast-feeding mother of a newborn infant and a nurturing and protecting female deity. Israelite women dedicated votive gifts to Asherah and burned incense or oil with prayers and incantations on a regular basis during the vulnerable neonatal stage of a child's life, or at signs of illness. Ancient and modern Near Eastern parallels attest that women burn incense and oil to invoke the presence of a deity they contract with for protection. Pronouncing the deity's name is essential, and in iconic cultures, visual images empowered by prayers form important parts of these rituals.

Recent deconstructionist trends within Syro-Palestinian archaeology and biblical studies have now converged on the Israelite Monarchy causing two major ceramic reappraisals of the Iron Age I and II Periods. The result is a proposal for a new low chronology in Syro-Palestinian archaeology. These trends are creating more problems than they are solving by naively assuming ceramic change was consistent throughout Syro-Palestine and manipulating the archaeological data to fit the new models. The dissertation addresses the radical archaeological and historical reconstructions of the current trend by focusing on the Iron Age I-II transition in the northern parts of the Philistine coast and Shephelah (foothills)--Aijalon Valley Region. Excavations at Tel Miqne-Ekron provide new evidence for an evaluation of recent chronological proposals and aide in the development of a ceramic corpus of the Aijalon Valley Region. As a border site between the coastal region and the hills, Tel Miqne is an important site to isolate and compare regional variations and the complex socioeconomic variables that pattern the archaeological record. The dissertation is divided into three parts. Part I includes a review of current work in Syro-Palestinian Iron Age research and an overview of ceramic theory development. Part II contains the core database: (1) development of the Tel Miqne Stratum IV typology, and (2) a comparanda, with other sites in the region and attempt to isolate the chronological and spatial patterns of the Iron Age transition (11/10th century B.C.E.). Part III contains the results and interpretations. This study concludes that: (1) ceramic change is not chronologically homogeneous and therefore regional variation must be incorporated in all ceramic analyses; (2) the proposed new Low Chronology for the Iron Age in the southern Levant cannot be supported by the archaeological evidence; and (3) the Aijalon Valley Region reflects the complexity of the Iron Age transition as many ethnic elements and political groups vied for control of the important crossroads and access to coastal ports.

<p> This thesis examines the hypothesis that among other, possibly coincident, archetypal or developmental meanings, the traditional story of Adam and Eve strongly reflects multiple and conflicting major conceptions of infant psychological development, including prominent ones arising from depth psychological approaches that do not include a strong role for myth. A core element of this examination is a single in-depth illustration: The story of Adam and Eve closely tracks not only the central conceptions of Melanie Klein&rsquo;s narrative of infancy but also many of the details. Several examples in the literature are described in which other infancy narratives are linked to the story, some of which relate to the Klein parallel, and the concluding section lists and briefly discusses possible major examples not yet developed in the literature as avenues for future research. The last two chapters discuss some implications of the hypothesis, if true, for therapy, culture, and religion. </p>

<p>Christians engaged in mission and worship have been dealing with the issues of culture and contextualization since long before the word 'culture' was even used to describe what it does today in the the social sciences. Christian discussions about the importance of context for mission and worship employ the term 'culture,' 'cultures,' and their corresponding concepts in nearly identical ways to how the social sciences use them. Mission and worship proceed from Christian understandings of salvation history, the mission of God, and the role of the church which derive from theology rooted in Scripture. The terms 'culture' and 'cultures,' are usually defined, however, in ways that exclude any specific reference to Yhwh's involvement in them, from their origins to their destiny. This fundamental dissonance between common assumptions about culture and the biblical record may obscure important aspects of the uniqueness of human societies pertaining to mission and worship from our discussion. </p><p> This study raises the question of whether Christians are adequately served in these discussions by the meaning invoked with the words 'culture' and 'people group.' If the concepts of mission and worship themselves proceed from Christian understandings of Scripture, then Scripture is a natural place to look for guidance about how mission and worship have taken place and are to take place in the present day. Here I emphasize certain categories that emerge by hermeneutical tracing of biblical themes related to the topic of ethnic cultures. </p><p> I present the study in three parts. First Part I addresses questions about biblical theological views of ethnicity and ethnic cultures in Christian identity and worship. The studies center around the biblical theme of the glory of the nations with the research questions 1) What are the specific meanings of glory ([special characters omitted]) and nations ([special characters omitted]) as they appear in Revelation 21:24, 26 in canonical perspective? 2) What are the origin and destiny of the nations ([special characters omitted]) in Scripture? And 3) How does the narrative of Salvation History clarify the development of the glory of the nations? </p><p> In Part II an ethnographic case study of Sundanese Christian churches presents ethnographic data gathered with the following two questions in mind: 4) How have elements of traditional ethnic culture shaped the distinctively Sundanese Christian church movement? And 5) How do distinctive aspects of Sunda Christian identity and worship affect the appeal of the movement? </p><p> Finally in Part III I seek to integrate the thematic biblical and ethnographic streams to expose the missiological significance of the <i>glory of the nations</i> as a distinctively Christian concept and category for understanding ethnic cultures. The study culminates with practical recommendations for the re-examination and incorporation of the biblical concepts of [special characters omitted] and [special characters omitted] and a focus on the Hebrew identity within Scripture into mission practice and application to worship and church formation in multicultural congregations. </p>

<p> A Shepherd&rsquo;s responsibility is to care for and guide sheep in such a way that they (sheep) can effectively and proficiently perform the duties that are natural and necessary to sheep. The same is true with leaders and managers as it relates to their followers. This quantitative correlational research study was conducted to discover whether the biblical shepherd leadership model, particularly its characteristics, practices, and responsibilities (CPR), were related to successful church growth. A 45-item Likert type survey was used to ascertain the level of shepherd leadership of 106 pastors in the Church of God in Michigan. This score was then compared with statistical information found in the treasurers and ministry reports namely, attendance, tithe, and conversions that took place at these pastors&rsquo; local churches within a five year period. The results of the study showed a statistical positive association between shepherd leadership and the attendance and financial data. The data also showed a negative association between shepherd leadership and conversions. These findings will be helpful to pastors, educators, and church leaders to be more effective in ministry.</p>

<p> Four oracles appear in Jeremiah 21:11-23:8 detailing the failure and future of the final kings in Judah, also known as the King Collection. The final oracle against Jehoiachin (he also appears with the names Coniah / Jeconiah) precedes the announcement of the unnamed new Davidide, the Branch. </p><p> The oracle against Jehoiachin appears to be unique, involving no stipulations of covenant wrongdoing, a feature of Deuteronomistic criticism of the kingship since Solomon. He is one of the most unremarkable kings in Israelite history. Yet, he is the concluding figure in both the Greek (Septuagint or LXX) and Hebrew (Masoretic Text or MT) versions of Jeremiah's King Collection, a significant change from the accounts in Kings and Chronicles. He occupies an important place in Josephus's attempts to sketch the ideal Israelite king, respectful of Roman rule. He is important to the rabbis in developing an atonement theory of the exile. In the New Testament, he appears in Matthew's genealogy of Jesus, while the other kings from the King Collection disappear. The Epistle to the Hebrews may adopt similar ideas in developing the analogy of Melchizedek, another insignificant king in Israel's history, as a precursor to Jesus. Ideas developed from the flow of the oracle in the text of Jeremiah, shaped by the polemics of exile, appear in the Acts of the Apostles' casting of Jesus' spiritual kingship on the world's stage. </p><p> Precritical Jewish and Christian exegesis adopted a harmonizing approach to the oracle, importing reasons from the Deuteronomistic History and the Chronicler for its harsh judgment. Yet discussion of the oracle and its significance in the construction of the figure of Jehoiachin in Jeremiah has all but disappeared from critical scholarship following the groundbreaking work of Bernhard Duhm. Early critical scholarship, while correcting many of the mistakes of precritical exegetes, followed the new Protestant confessionalism of the 19^th century. Michel Foucault locates the loss of the theology of the cross as this decisive turn in interpretive methodology. This turn caused modern Protestant interpreters, who are mainly responsible for the foundations of modern critical studies in Jeremiah, to devalue disempowered kings in Israel's history, one of the most important hermeneutical categories in classical Jewish literature, according to Yair Lorberbaum. Thus, Bernhard Duhm, and later scholarship that builds on his work, missed the significance of this oracle in the textual function of the book of Jeremiah and its polemical significance in the debates between post-exile groups of Judeans. Gerhard von Rad, in his revision of Martin Noth's theory of the Deuteronomistic History, saw the importance of Jehoiachin as a source of hope for a renewed Israel. Jack Lundbom most recently observed the development of an oracular frame moving from the center outward in which the oracle against Jehoiachin appears. Yet, to date, little work has appeared on the way the canonical form of Jeremiah frames Jehoiachin and its effect on Jeremiah's end to the DtrH. </p><p> To make sense of it, we must account for what appears to be an unfulfilled prophecy in Jeremiah 22, as recorded by Jehoiachin's treatment in Jeremiah 52 where, against the expectation of the oracle, the Jewish king again appears on the world stage. Mark Roncace has written extensively on how this type of prophecy functions in the book of Jeremiah. Speech-act theory, as proposed originally by J. L. Austin, and refined by his prot&eacute;ge, John Searle, provides further insight into this issue. Building on the scholarship of von Rad, Lundbom, Mark Leuchter and several other scholars of the sociopolitical forces in the production of biblical texts in exile, we will reconstruct the remarkably adaptable prophetic frame developed in exile around Jehoiachin and his oracle, which set the stage for a return of a Jewish king to the world stage.</p>

The post-modern predicament can be seen in the conflict between general hermeneutics and deconstruction. General hermeneutics seeks to develop the "modern" project of understanding understanding. It is concerned with universality and meaning, sublimating otherness and difference in the "merging of horizons". Deconstruction subverts such a drive to universality, seeking to open up differences where there is a presumed unity. It tears horizons apart. Protestant interpretation of Scripture has been closely associated with general hermeneutics. However, an evaluation of Rudolf Bultmann's thought shows how any so-called general hermeneutic involves implicit commitments to natural theology which conflict with doctrines of special revelation that are implied by the principles of sola fide and sola gratia. In this way the generality of general hermeneutics is deconstructed. Instead of beginning with an independently derived hermeneutic, which directs the interpretation of Biblical texts, one should begin with the kerygmatic content, and develop its hermeneutical implications. Through a careful examination of the implications of Luther's account of justification, it can be seen that the point of departure for interpretation is not a generally determinable "plain sense" of the text, but rather a particularly determined ambiguity, opacity and polyvalence. Through the text's content, which is the Word of God, there is a metaphorical transfer from a grammatical metaphoricity to a divine metaphoricity, in which an initial linguistic displacement in the text is reduplicated existentially as a shift from the indeterminate absence to the hidden presence of God. This metaphorical metaphoricity provides an alternative to Babel, which is the Derridian "metaphor of metaphors". The metaphorical metaphoricity that grounds justification can be seen in the incarnation, which is thematized by John's Gospel. Through an account of the logic and rhetoric of revelation in John's text, a hermeneutic of revelation can be derived, which does justice to the unique dynamics of Scripture and its function in the Christian community. The singular juxtaposition of universality and particularity that takes place in the incarnation provides a third alternative to the competing movements that constitute the post-modern predicament.

Martin Buber was one of the most influential Jewish thinkers of the twentieth century. His works on philosophy and theology have had a profound influence on both Jewish and Christian religious thought. The purpose of this thesis is to examine Buber's biblical scholarship in the context of his philosophical and theological writings in order to assess how his approach to biblical hermeneutics is connected to the rest of his thinking. It is demonstrated that Buber's philosophy of I and Thou has a profound role in his understanding of the Bible and the nature of interpretation itself as a dialogue between reader and text in a way that anticipates certain post-modern notions of literary theory. In particular, Buber's dramatic work, Elijah, a Mystery Play is examined in order to evaluate Buber's hermeneutical method as it is displayed in a specific example of artistic exegesis.

<p>The context is The Greater Harvest Church, of Long Beach. California, which was traumatized because of misconduct. misappropriation. and power struggles between former pastors and lay-leaders. This study examined a system for resuscitating and healing churches that have suffered trauma. The hypothesis is that empathy, justice-mindedness, and humility, partnership with the Godhead, and koinonia, are the prescription for resuscitating and healing a church that has been traumatized. A qualitative methodology was employed utilizing surveys, interviews, and observations. Study data supports the conclusion that a demonstration of empathy, justice-mindedness, and humility is essential to healing a wounded congregation. </p>

<p> Recognizing the lack of consensus among studies of the letter of James concerning its original situation, this thesis is a study in the circumstances that precipitated the letter of James; it argues that the letter responds in significant measure to the inclination of some pre 70 Diaspora Jews to rebel violently against the Roman Empire. In so doing, it is suggested that the paralleled passages of Jas 1:2-20 and 5:7-11/12 might covertly critique a set of convictions and behaviors of the letter&rsquo;s audience that configures a &ldquo;war agenda.&rdquo; This thesis finds sufficient reasons to read the letter of James as a paralleled literary structure rather than as a linear progression of thought. Reading it thus provides a better control on the exploration of the plausibility of a &ldquo;war agenda&rdquo; as the original situation of the letter of James, inasmuch as such exploration can be speculative. Some corroborating evidence for the plausibility of the &ldquo;war agenda&rdquo; is provided in the form of identifying a highly volatile political environment in mid-first-century Palestine with important implications and reverberations in the Jewish Diaspora. Such evidence is correlated with the letter of James. </p><p> The letter of James can be seen thus as an authoritative exhortation embedded in the thought-world of the Old Testament as interpreted according to the teachings of Jesus. It is argued that such exhortation was addressed to the Jews in the Diaspora, irrespective of whether they were Christians, and that its author was James, the brother of Jesus and a Christian Jew. This James emerges then as a recognized leader in the nascent Christian movement, with influence among his Jewish brethren in Palestine and in the Diaspora, at a time when there was no clear discontinuity between Christianity and Judaism. Such reading seems to account for some of the clear, and at times problematic, traits identified by other studies in the letter of James, including the seemingly meager Christology, a strong Jewish ideological background, a reflection of the thought-world of Jesus, and the social concern for the marginalized.</p>