This dissertation deals with two exegetical traditions, that of the early Jewish and the patristic schools. The research work for this project urges the need to analyze both Jewish and Patristic literature in which specific types of hermeneutics are found. The title of the thesis (“compared study of patristic and Jewish exegesis”) indicates the goal and the scope of this study. These two different hermeneutical approaches from a specific period of time will be compared with each other illustrated by their interpretation of the book of Ruth. The thesis discusses how the process of interpretation was affected by the interpreters’ society in which they lived. This work in turn shows the relationship between the cultural variants of the exegetes and the biblical interpretation. Both methodologies represented by Jewish and patristic exegesis were applicable and social relevant. They maintained the interest of community and fulfilled the need of their generation. Referring to early Jewish exegesis, the interpretations upheld the position of Ruth as a heir of the Davidic dynasty. They advocated the importance of Boaz’s and Ruth’s virtue as a good illustration of morality in Judaism. Early Christian exegetes were also interested in the basic values of the social community. They maintained the important social value of marriage as an example of the emphasis on virtue. They also paid much emphasis on teaching morality. Concerning the doctrine and value of Judaism, the sage upheld the principle of monotheism and the legitimacy of Davidic dynasty. In turn, patristic fathers urged for the introduction of the gospel through the salvation of Jesus Christ in the process of interpretation. From our investigation, we can formulate the thesis that both early Jewish and Christian exegetes did not explain the text for its inherent meaning, but rather used the text for their own purposes. Normally, the main task and mission of an exegete should be to find the meaning inherent in the text. We clearly indicated that both exegetical schools of interpreters did not find meaning in the text of the book of Ruth, but rather read in some agendas and issues into the text from outside, from the exegetes themselves and their surrounding backgrounds. They tend to meet the requirement of the social and political expectations of their reader community. Interpretation was used as a tool for this purpose. They conducted an application rather than explanation. This thesis can be explained by the fact that the meaning of a text depends on the value and pre-set agenda of the exegete who interprets it. Both the text and its interpreters are part of a specific historical, political, social and cultural environment, which imposed influence on them. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Old Testament Studies / unrestricted

The main research focus of this study was to determine more clearly to what extent Atticism influenced textual variants that are considered to belong to the Alexandrian text type. Since the time of Westcott and Hort, the Alexandrian text type has been regarded as a manuscript tradition which is representative of relatively high stylistic Greek. This assumption seems likely, especially given the fact that Alexandria and the areas which gave rise to the manuscripts comprising the Alexandrian text type were cultural centres of learning as well as of a newlyfound Hellenistic awareness within the Roman Empire. One of the movements stemming from this newfound awareness was Atticism, which was, amongst other things, an artificial literary movement which strove towards emulating the classical Attic literary dialect. However, in the last few decades the question of the alleged presence of Atticist influence in the manuscripts of the Greek New Testament has received its share of conflicting scholarly treatment among textual critics, especially since the 1963 publication of G.D. Kilpatrick s influential article, Atticism and the text of the Greek New Testament . On the one hand, there is common assent that Atticism exerted a profound influence on all Greek prose of the first century. On the other hand, some difference of opinion exists as to whether Atticism actually influenced the composition of the New Testament text in any significant way. The influence on the transmission of the New Testament texts is another question that still needs a fuller treatment in order to proceed from mere scholarly opinion to a more established empirical degree of certainty. The current study is an investigation into the nature of Atticism and its relationship with the classical Attic dialect. The results of this investigation were then used as basis for an evaluation of the alleged Atticisms in the Alexandrian witnesses, taking the witnesses to the text of I John as sample. In the process, thoroughgoing eclecticism as text-critical method is evaluated, and an adapted reasoned eclectic method proposed with which to conduct the investigation of the variants in I John. The results have shown that in the textual tradition of I John, inconsistencies of correction and scribal usage occur frequently within the Alexandrian text type and that the correction was predominantly not towards Attic, but rather displayed a tendency towards Hellenistic-Koine usage. In summary, the investigation demonstrates that the uniformity of the Alexandrian text type as a whole, if not completely suspect, should at least be judged very critically when it comes to matters of characteristic features which have for decades been accepted as true, such as the Alexandrian text type s reputation as one displaying stylistically polished Greek. The investigation of I John has shed valuable light on the methodological presupposition that categories of text types are fixed above all doubt, and that they display general typical characteristics. This presupposition has been exposed as false and indicates that one follows it at one s methodological peril. / MA (Greek), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

The main research focus of this study was to determine more clearly to what extent Atticism influenced textual variants that are considered to belong to the Alexandrian text type. Since the time of Westcott and Hort, the Alexandrian text type has been regarded as a manuscript tradition which is representative of relatively high stylistic Greek. This assumption seems likely, especially given the fact that Alexandria and the areas which gave rise to the manuscripts comprising the Alexandrian text type were cultural centres of learning as well as of a newlyfound Hellenistic awareness within the Roman Empire. One of the movements stemming from this newfound awareness was Atticism, which was, amongst other things, an artificial literary movement which strove towards emulating the classical Attic literary dialect. However, in the last few decades the question of the alleged presence of Atticist influence in the manuscripts of the Greek New Testament has received its share of conflicting scholarly treatment among textual critics, especially since the 1963 publication of G.D. Kilpatrick s influential article, Atticism and the text of the Greek New Testament . On the one hand, there is common assent that Atticism exerted a profound influence on all Greek prose of the first century. On the other hand, some difference of opinion exists as to whether Atticism actually influenced the composition of the New Testament text in any significant way. The influence on the transmission of the New Testament texts is another question that still needs a fuller treatment in order to proceed from mere scholarly opinion to a more established empirical degree of certainty. The current study is an investigation into the nature of Atticism and its relationship with the classical Attic dialect. The results of this investigation were then used as basis for an evaluation of the alleged Atticisms in the Alexandrian witnesses, taking the witnesses to the text of I John as sample. In the process, thoroughgoing eclecticism as text-critical method is evaluated, and an adapted reasoned eclectic method proposed with which to conduct the investigation of the variants in I John. The results have shown that in the textual tradition of I John, inconsistencies of correction and scribal usage occur frequently within the Alexandrian text type and that the correction was predominantly not towards Attic, but rather displayed a tendency towards Hellenistic-Koine usage. In summary, the investigation demonstrates that the uniformity of the Alexandrian text type as a whole, if not completely suspect, should at least be judged very critically when it comes to matters of characteristic features which have for decades been accepted as true, such as the Alexandrian text type s reputation as one displaying stylistically polished Greek. The investigation of I John has shed valuable light on the methodological presupposition that categories of text types are fixed above all doubt, and that they display general typical characteristics. This presupposition has been exposed as false and indicates that one follows it at one s methodological peril. / MA (Greek), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Clement of Alexandria, active in the second half of the second century AD, is one of the first Christian authors to explain and defend the nascent religion in the terms of Greek philosophy and in relation to Greek paideia. His major work, the Stromateis, is a lengthy commentary on the true gnosis of the Christian faith, with no apparent overarching structure or organisational principle, replete with quotations from biblical, Jewish, Greek 'gnostic' and Christian works of all genres. This thesis seeks to read this complex and erudite text in conversation with what has been termed the ‘Second Sophistic’, the efflorescence of elite Greek literature under the Roman empire. We will examine the the text as a performance of authorial persona, competing in the agonistic marketplace of Greek paideia. Clement presents himself as a philosophical teacher in a diadoche from the apostles, arrogating to himself a kind of apostolic authority which appeals to both philosophical notions of intellectual credibility and Christian notions of the authentic handing down of tradition. We will also examine how the work engages key thematic concerns of the period, particularly discourses of intellectual eclecticism and ethnicity, challenging both Greek and Roman forms of hegemony to create a space for Christian identity. Lastly, this thesis will critically examine the Stromateis' intertextual relationship with the Homeric epics; the Iliad and the Odyssey are used as a testing ground for Christian self-positioning in relation to Greek culture as a whole. As we trace this variable relationship, we will also see the cross-fertilisation of reading strategies between Homer and the bible; these developing complex allegorical methods not only presage the rise of Neoplatonism, but also lay the foundations for changes in cultural authority which accompany the Christianisaton of the Roman empire in the centuries after Clement.

The aim of this thesis is to examine changes in the status of traditional Egyptian religious culture during the Ptolemaic and Roman periods, from 331 BCE to 313 CE. Four distinct categories of material culture are examined: monumental construction of temples and civic buildings, traditional hard-stone sculpture, Alexandrian tombs, and Roman coins. These bodies of evidence were chosen because each offers a unique perspective, reflecting respectively the personal inclinations and official attitudes of both the culturally Hellenic and indigenous elites, which have not previously been studied in this context. Examined together for the first time, these categories reveal commonalities that show clearly the progression of the status of indigenous religious culture. From this, it is argued that, despite being economically disadvantaged by the Roman administration, the high status of this culture persisted in Egyptian society under both the Ptolemies and the Romans. Patterns of Egyptian temple and classical civic building show that Egypt's indigenous elite controlled the resources allocated for temple construction under the Ptolemies, but that the Romans gradually transferred this land into the management of the culturally Hellenic elite. This resulted in a decrease in Egyptian temple building after the first century CE and a corresponding increase in classical construction from then on. The production of hard-stone statues is shown for the first time to reveal that the indigenous elite had the resources and cultural confidence to continue and develop their traditions under the Ptolemies, while the sharp decrease at the start of the Roman period reflects their diminution in autonomy and prosperity under Roman rule. New analysis of traditional elements and motifs in the tombs of Alexandrian elites shows that this group respected and adopted indigenous religious customs and beliefs, with a higher incidence of indigenous imagery in the Roman period compared with the Ptolemaic period. In a similar way, well-informed Egyptian religious iconography rendered in a classical style on Alexandrian coins demonstrates the respect of the Roman authorities for Egyptian religious cults and institutions at an official level. In sum, it is argued that indigenous religious culture largely maintained its privileged economic and social status throughout the Ptolemaic period, despite political upheavals. Under Roman rule, the individuals and institutions representing Egyptian religious culture were disadvantaged economically; however, its social importance and standing were preserved and it continued to enjoy respect.

Le théâtre dans la Grèce Antique a développé quatre genres dramatiques : la tragédie, la comédie, le drame satyrique et le mime. Le Mime est le genre comique qui naît en Grèce dorienne, se développe en Sicile et dont l’évolution se poursuit jusqu’à l’époque hellénistique. Bien qu’il constitue une part importante de l’art dramatique grec antique, il n’y a pas eu jusqu’à nos jours de recherche systématique sur ce type de théâtre. Cette étude a pour but d’explorer ce genre dramatique inconnu. Rechercher son origine, son évolution historique et ses rapports (similitudes et différences) avec les autres genres d’art dramatique, ainsi que ses principaux créateurs constituent les principaux objectifs de cette recherche / Theatre in Ancient Greece developed into four dramatic genres: tragedy, comedy, satyrical drama and mime. Mime is the comic genre which was born in Dorian Greece, developed in Sicily and which development continues until the Hellenistic period. Although it is an important part of the ancient Greece dramatic art, up to now there was no systematic research on this type of theatre. This study aims at exploring that unknown dramatic genre. Its main objectives is the search for its origins, historical evolution and relationship (similarities and differences) with the other genres of dramatic art, as well as for its major creators

The thesis has been written as part of the AHRC collaborative research project Greek Epic of the Roman Empire: A Cultural History. This project seeks to give the first cultural-historical analysis of the large, underexploited corpus of Greek epic poetry composed in the transformative period between the 1st and the 6th centuries C.E. The thesis focuses on questions of literary identity in one of the most challenging texts from this corpus, the Posthomerica by Quintus of Smyrna (c. 3rd century C.E.). My central contention is that Quintus’ mimicry of Homer represents a radically new formative poetics, suggesting a cultural movement towards mimesis, necromancy and close encounters with the past. After a detailed study of what I term the reanimating culture of imperial Greece (chapter 1), and a comprehensive reanalysis of the compositional techniques of the text (chapter 2), I identify a number of tropes of poetic identity from different ancient literary modes: programmatic proems (chapter 3), memory (4), filiation (5) and temporality (6). I show how Quintus co-opts these themes for his new poetics, to turn the symbolic toolkit of contrast imitation into a defence of writing inter-Homeric epic. This analysis insists on rethinking the nature of the relationship between the poetry of this era and that of previous aesthetic traditions: particularly, I argue against a view of the Posthomerica as Alexandrian, and see it instead pushing back against the Callimachus school of small, new poetry. Ultimately, the thesis aims to show how the Posthomerica could be pivotal for unpinning current critical assumptions about imperial Greek poetry; revealing a palpable shift in tone in the construct of the literary self.

The aim of the thesis is to determine the influence exerted by the heads of the Catechetical School (Didaskaleion) in Alexandria on the growth and development of Christianity in Africa prior to the Arab invasion in 642 CE in Egypt. The methodological tool used is the Historical Method. Chapter 1 contains a discussion of the founding and development of the city of Alexandria through its Golden Era and until the Arab invasion in 642 CE. This city played an important role in the development of Christianity as it is there that the early Christians (the "followers of Christ's teachings") settled and established their faith. Chapter 2 deals with the founding of the Didaskaleion as an addition to the other big schools/"universities" in the city, for example the Musaion (also called the Museion), the Serapium (also called the Serapeum) and the Sebastion. All the possible heads of the School are discussed in order to get a full picture of the School and her activities during the time. In Chapter 3 all the extant and lost documents written by the heads of the School are discussed to provide insight into the formation of the Theology of the School and the contributions of her various heads. Chapter 4 constitutes the pinnacle of the thesis and depicts the influence of the School on the known parts of Africa – to the west and the south of Alexandria – during the first seven centuries CE (until the Arab invasion in 642). The influence is described at two levels: Influence, where mentioned by a specific writer, is called factual influence and includes personal influence. • Influence that is not mentioned but observed, is called derived influence. As there is ample evidence that the (heads of the) School exerted both factual and derived influence on the people in Africa, the conclusion can be drawn that the School and her heads played a significant role in the growth and development of Christianity in Africa. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / D.Th. (Church history)