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In this thesis, the concept of the character as reader is explored as a means of revealing the poetics of the text of 2 Samuel. A preliminary examination of David's interpretation of the story of the Amalekite messenger in 2 Sam 1 leads to the conclusion that the polysemy of the Amalekite's utterances is turned against him. David as reader re-writes the Amalekite's utterances. This leads to a theoretical investigation of what it might mean to refer to a character as reader. The concept of mise en abyme suggests that the character's reading may be both a model and an antimodel of the reading strategy revealed by the character. The concept of the 'character as reader' is then investigated using theories of the literary character from Aristotle to Greimas coupled with theories of reading as inference and the linguistic theories of Bakhtin and Austin. These all combine to reinforce the contention that meaning is a dialogic process, dependent on the response of the interlocutor, but in inviting response, provokes the hearer or reader to utter. The character as reader is defined as a signed site of translation, a particular interpretative transformation of perlocutionary force into illocution which is given coherence by a proper name. Character as reader is character as utterer. This definition is then used to look at two stories where David 'interprets' a text, 2 Samuel 12: 1-15 and 2 Sam 14. Here the parodic relationship between these two texts is explored, and the difference in reading stances which are labelled by the name David is pointed out. This parodic relationship foregrounds the fact that both stories share the device of provoking an oath.

This thesis attempts to contribute to the study of identity formation in early Christianity by exploring the part played in this by sexual ethics. To this end it focuses on 1Corinthians 5-7, as the longest discussion of sex in the New Testament. Unlike many previous studies, this study sets out to consider these chapters as a unified discourse, and to consider them in the wider context of the epistle as a whole. The study engages in a close reading of the discourse, paying attention to how Paul's ethical instructions themselves, and his rhetoric (used to describe and evaluate insiders and outsiders), contribute to establishing Christian identity. It examines how convictions about Christian ethics and identity govern relations with outsiders, internal regulation, and reactions to social institutions. Particular attention is paid to Paul's 'body language' and what it might reveal about the relations of individual, Christian group and wider society in Paul's thought. Chapter one explores the concept of identity. It argues that identity is largely dependent on the subjective perception and evaluation of difference. The work of anthropologist Frederik Barth and social psychologist Henri Tajfel are used to reflect upon how social identities interact, both at the psychological level of the individual and at the sociological level of the group, and to provide resources for the study of 1Cor. It is noted that social groups require to establish a positive social identity for their members, and that this is always comparative in nature. How such comparisons operate, how they generate group stereotypes, and how the language of ingroup/outgroup comparison can be used to control the activity of ingroup members, are also explored. Chapter two examines the lessons learned with a brief consideration of the discourses of some Roman writers. It investigates how they used sexual ethics and rhetoric in the maintenance of group identity and the process of group control. Chapter three then takes an overview of 1Cor, considering the context into which Paul writes and the objectives he has in writing. In particular it explores Paul's rhetoric in 1Cor 1-4, and how his description and evaluation of insider and outsider serves to construct identity and control behaviour. The remaining chapters scrutinise 1Cor 5-7 in depth.

Reading Daniel as a Theological Hermeneutics Textbook is a thesis that sets out to read the book of Daniel as a narrative textbook in the field of theological hermeneutics. Employing such disciplines as historical criticism, literary criticism, narrative theology and hermeneutics, this thesis seeks to maintain an interdisciplinary critical outlook on the book of Daniel. Two particular perspectives come to light in this reading of Daniel, both of which are inherently linked to one another. Firstly, is the perception that the character of Daniel is the paradigm of the good theological hermeneut; theology and hermeneutics are inseparable and converge in the character of Daniel. The reader must recognize in Daniel certain qualities, attitudes, abilities and convictions well worth emulating. Essentially, the reader must aspire to become a ‘Daniel’. Secondly, is the standpoint that the book of Daniel on the whole should be read as a hermeneutics textbook. The reader is led through a series of theories and exercises that are meant to be instilled into his/her theological, intellectual and practical life. Attention to the reader is a constant endeavor throughout this thesis. The concern is primarily with the contemporary reader and his/her community, yet with sensible consideration given to the historical readerly community with which the contemporary reader finds continuity. Greater attention on what the book of Daniel means for the contemporary reader is given than on what the book of Daniel meant in its historical setting. Yet, we must be sensitive to the ‘historical’ reasons (theirs and ours) that demand the acquisition of finely tuned hermeneutic skill. In the end the reader is left with difficult challenges, a sobering awareness of the volatility of the business of hermeneutics, and serious implications for the reader to implement both theologically and hermeneutically.

This thesis explores the phenomenon of shame in the context of the Hebrew Bible, focusing particularly on the three major Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel), because it is here that shame vocabulary is most prevalent. Shame is prominently discussed in the literature of psychology and anthropology. In the first chapter psychological explanations for the origins of the apparently universal human emotion of shame are described. In the course of this, phenomenological similarities between shame and guilt, grounded in the shared centrality of negative self-evaluation are outlined. The role of shame in social contexts is described with regard to stigma and, more fully, in the second chapter, in the light of socio-anthropological field studies conducted primarily in the Levant. In the Mediterranean studies shame is usually paired with its binary opposite honour. The honour/shame model is characterised especially by defined gender roles and challenge-ripostes. Shame is associated particularly with women's sexuality; honour with competition among men of relatively equal status. Although the model has been criticised from within the discipline of anthropology, it has generally-speaking been received with enthusiasm by biblical interpreters. In the third chapter shame studies, most of which apply the honour/shame model, are summarised and commented upon. In the fourth chapter, on the Book of Isaiah, the shortcomings of the model are illustrated and the context of shame discourses discussed. The following chapter, on Jeremiah, describes the implications of ideological influences and the role of shame language in the context of sexual metaphors and anti-foreign polemic. The final chapter, on Ezekiel, compares shame with impurity and focuses on the female imagery of chapters 16 and 23. The complications of imposing modern socio-critical methods upon ancient literature, the possible infiltration of ideological influences and the fact that biblical texts represent neither psychological case nor anthropological field studies are stressed repeatedly.

This thesis aims to examine the portrayal of women in Mark's gospel in the context of his apocalyptic world-view. Each account that features women characters is interpreted in relation to Mark's definition of discipleship and his understanding of new creation. One of the key characteristics of Mark's portrayal of women is their association with the verb . Simon's mother-in-law serves Jesus at the beginning of the gospel (1:31), and the service of the women disciples is described for the first time at his crucifixion (15:41). In Mark's apocalyptic world-view the death of Jesus is a time of revelation. The service of the women disciples is mentioned at the crucifixion of Jesus because the true nature of discipleship can only be understood in the context of his service of giving his life to redeem humanity (10:45). Jesus initially calls twelve male disciples who represent the twelve tribes and foreshadow the restoration of Israel. At the crucifixion no member of the Twelve is present, whereas a Gentile centurion is the first human being to recognise Jesus as the Son of God (15:39), and the women are mentioned standing at a distance. Mark depicts the death of Jesus as the turning point between the old and the new age, and the religious and social barriers between men and women, and between Jews and Gentiles are broken. The male disciples, however, are not condemned, since the women are instructed to pass on the news of the resurrection to the disciples and Peter (16:7). Mark points forward to an inclusive community which consists of Jews and Gentiles, women and men. Mark associates women with service (1:29-31), anointing (14:3-9; 16:1-8) and the role of witnesses (15:40-41; 16:1-8). Women are thus aligned with Jesus' suffering and death. They are the last remaining disciples of Jesus, and the only witnesses to his death, burial and resurrection. At the end of the gospel, however, the women run away from the tomb, terrified to say anything to anyone (16:8). In Mark's apocalyptic world-view the fear of the women depicts the eschatological struggle between the old and the new age. Mark ends with the silence of the women, but also with the knowledge that the renewal of the discipleship group is dependent upon their witness and discipleship.

This thesis aims to open up a new perspective an the translation of the Bible into the vernacular. It offers the idea that the first complete translation of the Bible into English in the 1380's was not a sudden and short-lived political gesture, but the natural progression of a process which began in Anglo-Saxon times, continued through the Middle Ages and culminated in the definitive 1611 version of the English Bible. It hopes to set the Englishing of the Bible into a linguistic and literary context as well as a religious and political one. It takes into account the problems of retrospective assessment and the danger of attempting to impose modern values on pre-conquest and medieval prose. The early development of the vernacular from Bede to Aelfric begins the study of the process of Englishing; the wealth of medieval translations from the Conquest to Rolle continues it. The inheritance of translation theory, the mystical tradition and the theories of authority and authorship are discussed as a background to the Wycliffite translation of the Bible. The study of the progress of the vernacular at this point becomes a study of the development of English prose and includes an account of Pecock's works and the contemporary perspective of Thomas More. The Humanist element comes into sharper focus with a discussion of the rise of Greek studies and of the effect of the redefinition of the source text in the form of Erasmus's Greek New Testament. William Tyndale's position as reformer and translator of the scriptures is contrasted with that of the Wycliffites in respect of available source texts, distribution in the form of relatively inexpensive printed books and a literate potential readership. The Englishing of the Bible after Tyndale is traced through a process of editing, defining, layering and expanding previous texts which culminated in the production of the King James Bible of 1611.

I argue that 1 Corinthians is a unified composition that exhibits kerygmatic rhetoric. That is, Jewish and Greco-Roman resources are brought into the service of an overall arrangement that is creatively suggested by Paul's kerygma of the Messiah who died, rose, and awaits cosmic manifestation. In particular, I demonstrate that the Jewish motif of dual reversal, whereby boastful rulers are destined for destruction while righteous sufferers are destined for vindication, serves as an influential conceptual motif in the formulation of Christian kerygma, and as such may be seen as an interpretative framework and rhetorical resource available to Paul. In 1 Corinthians 1–4 Paul evaluates struggles over leadership in the Corinthian congregation as an implicit expression of human autonomy, and responds by summoning the Corinthians to identify with Christ, by forgoing the role of the boastful ruler and adopting the role of the cruciform sufferer. This identification with the cruciform Christ consequently gives shape to Paul’s ethical instruction in 1 Corinthians 5–14, a section that draws on Jewish and Greco-Roman resources, while exhibiting a pattern of Pauline ethical argumentation expressive of Paul's kerygma of identification with the embodied Christ. In the final chapter of the main body of the letter (1 Corinthians 15), Paul utilises the Corinthian denial of "the resurrection of the dead" as the ultimate paradigm of their refusal to adopt a cruciform orientation, and urges that the dead in Christ will be raised to immortal glory, while present powers will be brought to nothing. I suggest that this attention to the creative influence of Paul’s kerygma on the form of his argumentation represents an important addition to the tools of the Pauline rhetorical analyst. Such an approach results in an historically attentive and exegetically persuasive account of the letter's arrangement that also finds great harmony with the perspective of the fourth century preacher John Chrysostom.