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<p> The primary purpose of this study is to write a biblical theology in the form of commentary in an Islamic context. This study argues that since the Old Testament is Christian authoritative Scripture, its theological message must be a fundamental resource for writing a biblical theology in an Islamic context. This study uses the narrative of Exod 32-34 as an example of the rich contribution the theological message of narratives makes to biblical theology. The theological message of this narrative reveals powerfully the character of the biblical God in dealing with the crisis of worshiping the golden calf in an Islamic context. This study calls for a move from an apologetic defensive theology that merely requires answering explicit challenges that Islam has posed to Christianity through the centuries to a biblical theology that addresses the hermeneutical questions that arise from the rhetorical Islamic context.</p> / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

The relationship between Law and Gospel remains something of a conundrum for biblical scholarship. A significant factor contributing to this difficulty is the interpretation of Matthew 5:17, and in particular what is meant by Jesus’ having come “to fulfil” the Law and the Prophets. What precisely is meant by “to fulfil the Law and the Prophets” is an exegetical enigma. Utilizing an eclectic array of methods, including literary, historical, and theological approaches, this study attempts to articulate the nature of fulfilment in Matthew 5:17. We begin by surveying a selection of previous contributions, from which we deduce four possible interpretations. Next, we outline the historical, literary, and theological contexts, in order to provide the background for the exegetical and theological discussions that follow. This leads us into a thorough exegesis of Matthew 5:17-20, with special attention directed towards the key term ω. We argue that ω is best understood in light of its usage elsewhere in Matthew, highlighting its salvation-historical significance. In addition, we argue that the focus on the Law and the Prophets, Matthew’s understanding of the prophetic function of the Law (11:13), and the so-called antitheses of 5:21-48, lead us to understand “to fulfil” as the realization of what the Law and the Prophets – the Old Testament – pointed towards. When Jesus says that he has come to “fulfil” the Law and the Prophets he means that all that they anticipated has now come about in him. But it is important to move beyond regular historical-critical methods of exegesis and also to examine the passage in light of its biblical-theological significance: what did the Law and Prophets anticipate? Our study attempts to advance discussion of ω in this passage by considering how ‘biblical theology’ might aid us in understanding what precisely was pointed towards by the Old Testament. We therefore discuss the bearing of a theology of the kingdom of God on Matthew 5:17. The significance of the concept of the kingdom of God/heaven – mentioned three times in Matthew 5:17-20, central in both Matthew’s Gospel and the Sermon on the Mount, and descriptive of Jesus’ mission (4:17) – has often been overlooked in the interpretation of this passage. In addition to regular arguments made on the basis of historical-critical exegesis – including discussion of the nature of ω in Matthew’s Gospel, the sense in which the Law prophesies, and the contribution of the so-called antitheses of 5:21-48 – we argue that the biblical-theological theme of the kingdom of God clarifies a salvation-historical reading of these verses. The concept of the kingdom of God provides a helpful lens through which to understand the nature of the fulfilment brought about by Jesus. When the theme of the kingdom of God in the Old Testament is considered, it is seen that this concept summarizes the Jewish hope – it is what the Law and the Prophets pointed towards. Therefore, when it is said that Jesus has come “to fulfil” the Law and the Prophets, an eschatological or salvation-historical reading shows that what the Law pointed towards has arrived in the teaching and ministry of Jesus. But a biblical-theological reading of the kingdom of God helps us to add a measure of precision to this statement. Jesus “fulfils” the Law and the Prophets by bringing into being what they anticipated: the kingdom of God, to which the Old Testament looked forward, has come. What the Law and Prophets anticipated was the arrival of the kingdom of God. “Fulfilment”, then, should be construed in terms of this motif. Jesus fulfils the Law and the Prophets by inaugurating the kingdom of God, which they anticipated. This bypasses discussions over whether it is primarily Jesus’ teaching or Jesus’ life that is in view, since the kingdom of God is inaugurated through both. / MA (New Testament), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

The relationship between Law and Gospel remains something of a conundrum for biblical scholarship. A significant factor contributing to this difficulty is the interpretation of Matthew 5:17, and in particular what is meant by Jesus’ having come “to fulfil” the Law and the Prophets. What precisely is meant by “to fulfil the Law and the Prophets” is an exegetical enigma. Utilizing an eclectic array of methods, including literary, historical, and theological approaches, this study attempts to articulate the nature of fulfilment in Matthew 5:17. We begin by surveying a selection of previous contributions, from which we deduce four possible interpretations. Next, we outline the historical, literary, and theological contexts, in order to provide the background for the exegetical and theological discussions that follow. This leads us into a thorough exegesis of Matthew 5:17-20, with special attention directed towards the key term ω. We argue that ω is best understood in light of its usage elsewhere in Matthew, highlighting its salvation-historical significance. In addition, we argue that the focus on the Law and the Prophets, Matthew’s understanding of the prophetic function of the Law (11:13), and the so-called antitheses of 5:21-48, lead us to understand “to fulfil” as the realization of what the Law and the Prophets – the Old Testament – pointed towards. When Jesus says that he has come to “fulfil” the Law and the Prophets he means that all that they anticipated has now come about in him. But it is important to move beyond regular historical-critical methods of exegesis and also to examine the passage in light of its biblical-theological significance: what did the Law and Prophets anticipate? Our study attempts to advance discussion of ω in this passage by considering how ‘biblical theology’ might aid us in understanding what precisely was pointed towards by the Old Testament. We therefore discuss the bearing of a theology of the kingdom of God on Matthew 5:17. The significance of the concept of the kingdom of God/heaven – mentioned three times in Matthew 5:17-20, central in both Matthew’s Gospel and the Sermon on the Mount, and descriptive of Jesus’ mission (4:17) – has often been overlooked in the interpretation of this passage. In addition to regular arguments made on the basis of historical-critical exegesis – including discussion of the nature of ω in Matthew’s Gospel, the sense in which the Law prophesies, and the contribution of the so-called antitheses of 5:21-48 – we argue that the biblical-theological theme of the kingdom of God clarifies a salvation-historical reading of these verses. The concept of the kingdom of God provides a helpful lens through which to understand the nature of the fulfilment brought about by Jesus. When the theme of the kingdom of God in the Old Testament is considered, it is seen that this concept summarizes the Jewish hope – it is what the Law and the Prophets pointed towards. Therefore, when it is said that Jesus has come “to fulfil” the Law and the Prophets, an eschatological or salvation-historical reading shows that what the Law pointed towards has arrived in the teaching and ministry of Jesus. But a biblical-theological reading of the kingdom of God helps us to add a measure of precision to this statement. Jesus “fulfils” the Law and the Prophets by bringing into being what they anticipated: the kingdom of God, to which the Old Testament looked forward, has come. What the Law and Prophets anticipated was the arrival of the kingdom of God. “Fulfilment”, then, should be construed in terms of this motif. Jesus fulfils the Law and the Prophets by inaugurating the kingdom of God, which they anticipated. This bypasses discussions over whether it is primarily Jesus’ teaching or Jesus’ life that is in view, since the kingdom of God is inaugurated through both. / MA (New Testament), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

This dissertation defends the notion that Joseph, understood according to a literary-canonical analysis, functions as the resolution to the plot of Genesis and that this story typologically influences how later biblical authors narrate redemptive history culminating in the NT’s portrayal of Jesus as an antitypical Joseph. My research explores two questions: First, what is the literary and biblical-theological significance of the Joseph narrative as the conclusion to Genesis? Second, how do later biblical authors interpret and reuse the Joseph narrative? Chapter 1 explains the rationale for this project and introduces readers to the supposed “problem” of Joseph’s prominence in Genesis and relative absence in the rest of the canon. In this chapter, I survey the dominant approaches to the Joseph story with regard to his role in Genesis in particular and, more generally, in the canon. Most historical-critical scholars posit that Joseph’s story is largely disconnected from the rest of the Genesis narrative. This chapter also surveys the history of the interpretation of the Joseph narrative. I note that almost all pre-modern interpreters saw Joseph primarily as a typological character—a tradition which continues among many evangelical interpreters of Scripture. Chapter 2 explains the methodology of this dissertation. In this chapter, I defend my understanding of biblical-theology and my approach to typology as one regulated by the interpretive practices of the New Testament authors. I argue that types are historical, prospective, textual, covenantal, and that they exhibit escalation in moving from type to antitype Chapter 3 examines the story of Joseph within the context of Genesis. I explore Joseph’s place with the toledot structure of Genesis, his relationship to the Abrahamic covenant, and his role in the storyline of Genesis. By considering Joseph’s relationship to the land, seed, blessing, and kingship promises of the Abrahamic covenant, I conclude that Joseph is an anticipatory fulfilment of the covenant promises. Furthermore, I demonstrate how Joseph reverses fraternal conflict and famine—two major themes in Genesis. In light of these and other evidences, I argue that, even within the context of Genesis itself, Joseph is a typological figure. Chapter 4 investigates the explicit mentions of Joseph in the OT in order to discern how later biblical authors interpreted the Joseph story. I argue that Psalm 105 interprets Joseph within the framework of the Abrahamic promises. The psalmist sees Joseph as God’s instrument for fulfilling those promises in a provisional, anticipatory way. This chapter also explores allusions to the Joseph narrative in Daniel and considers Joseph’s contribution to the canonical motif of the exalted Jew in a foreign court. I conclude that the OT authors interpreted Joseph’s life as a harbinger of the exodus and as an archetypal figure whose life anticipated later events in Israel’s history. Finally, chapter 5 investigates two explicit references to Joseph in the NT: Acts 7 and Hebrews 11. In Hebrews 11, Joseph is presented as a moral exemplar on account of his faith in God’s promises. My analysis of Acts 7 shows that Stephen interpreted Joseph’s story as a microcosm of Israel’s history. Joseph and Moses exemplify Israel’s rejection of their deliverers, a pattern which culminates in their rejection of Jesus. Jesus makes the same point in the parable of the tenants. Israel’s constant rebellion against God’s messengers typifies their ultimate rejection of the “beloved son”—an event anticipated by the patriarchs’ rejection of Joseph. These passages, then, explicitly confirm what appears suggested throughout the OT—namely, Joseph is a type of the Messiah.

Oren Rhea Martin, Ph.D. The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2013 Chair: Dr. Bruce A. Ware Chapter 1 introduces the thesis, states the purpose, and defines the dissertation's specific goals. Attention is then given to a summary of research before a closing section presents the methodology that is used: a historical-exegetical, epochal, and canonical-eschatological approach to biblical interpretation and theological formulation. Chapter 2 provides the biblical-theological framework from which a theology of land can be canonically understood. More specifically, the framework for understanding the place, or land, of God's people is the kingdom. God's kingdom commences in Eden, and after the fall of mankind into sin God's kingdom will come through his divinely-initiated covenants with his people. In the end, God will once again create a place--a new heaven and a new earth--for his people through the fulfillment of his covenant promises in Christ, who wins the new creation and reigns in his kingdom forever. Working out of this framework, the next two chapters trace the theme of land as it progressively unfolds across the canon. To begin, Chapter 3 connects the promise of land to Abraham to the preceding events in Genesis 1-11. Then, the promise of land within the Abrahamic covenant is evaluated, which is followed by partial fulfillments through Israel's history under leaders such as Joshua, David, and Solomon. However, each stage of fulfillment is not final, for every fulfillment is followed by covenant failure. Instead, each fulfillment and failure anticipates something greater, which the canonical prophets proclaim. What begins in the Old Testament is fulfilled in the New. Chapter 4, then, demonstrates the inaugurated fulfillment of the kingdom with the coming of Christ and his work. That is, the blessings of the land come now to those who are united to Christ by faith and they await their future, final fulfillment in the new creation. Thus, the fulfillment of the land in the New Testament is inaugurated but not yet consummated. Finally, chapter 5 summarizes and concludes the overall argument of this dissertation. The argument is then evaluated in light of the two dominant theological systems today, namely, dispensationalism and covenant theology.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-29T14:27:22Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Gbedey Mebounou Nyekplola.pdf: 1404323 bytes, checksum: 375fb3d8e2a3eb56289c72e8baf3e196 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-04-02 / This thesis is a study on Psalm 139. The principal aim of the research is to present the image of God transmitted by this poem and investigate how mankind, created and known by God can relate to his experience of faith with the struggle for survival in this world, marked by people who insist on injustice and violence due to their wickedness. In order to justify the research on psalm 139, the Hebrew text was chosen, since it is the language in which the text was originally composed. By so doing the guarantee of being close to the first meaning of the text is more assured. Particularly being a language that lays emphasis, on knowledge of other important parallels in the whole canon of the Scriptures, especially other writings (books) that form the Hebrew Bible. In the light of what has been stated above, the Hebrew Concordance of Old Testament has become the most important research tool. Always attentive to the literary-stylistic dimensions of Psalm 139, the study aims to describe the theological dimensions of this biblical prayer. The research progresses along the verses and stanzas that compose the poem, commenting word by word, sentence by sentence and stanza by stanza. Psalm 139 meditates on human existence as determined by God. For someone who feels unjustly treated and threatened in his life. It is interesting to see from this biblical poem, the divine omniscience, omnipresence, divine omnipotence and God's creative act; God, the good shepherd and liberator. This religious perspective offers hope because at the long run GOD is aware of all life experience: being omniscient, powerful and the one who liberates mankind from all sort of danger and slavery / A presente dissertação apresenta um estudo sobre o Salmo 139. O objetivo é, sobretudo, apresentar a imagem de Deus transmitida por este poema e investigar como o ser humano, conhecido por este Deus, pode conciliar sua experiência de fé com sua luta pela sobrevivência neste mundo, marcada pela injustiça e pela violência instauradas por quem insiste na impiedade e até nos crimes de sangue. A pesquisa justifica-se na medida em que é promovida uma leitura do texto hebraico do Salmo 139, língua em que o texto originalmente foi composto. Assim, a aproximação ao sentido primeiro do texto é mais garantida, em especial, por ocorrer uma leitura que insiste no conhecimento dos importantes paralelismos em todo o cânon das Sagradas Escrituras, em especial, nos escritos que formam a Bíblia Hebraica. Desta forma, a Concordância tornou-se o instrumento de pesquisa mais importante. Sempre atento às dimensões literário-estilísticas do Salmo 139, o estudo se propõe a descrever as dimensões teológicas desta oração bíblica. A pesquisa avança junto aos versículos e às estrofes que compõem o poema, comentando palavra por palavra, frase por frase e estrofe por estrofe. O Salmo 139 medita sobre a existência humana enquanto determinada por Deus. Impressiona imaginar, junto ao poema bíblico, a onisciência divina, a onipresença divina, a onipotência criadora de Deus e o agir do Deus libertador e pastor. Para quem se sente injustiçado e ameaçado em sua sobrevivência, esta perspectiva religiosa oferece esperança, pois, finalmente, toda a realidade é ligada a um Deus conhecedor, potente e libertador

<p><p>In the first book of the Bible, every patriarch and many of the matriarchs have significant encounters with anger. However, scholarship has largely ignored how Genesis treats this emotion, particularly how Genesis functions as Torah by providing ethical instruction about handling this emotion's perplexities. This dissertation aims to fill this gap in scholarship, showing both how anger functions as a literary motif in Genesis and how this book offers moral guidance for engaging this emotion.</p></p><p><p>After an introductory chapter outlining the goals, methods, and limitations of this study (ch. 1), this dissertation draws on works in translation theory, anthropology, and cross-cultural psychology to lay a theoretical framework for analyzing emotion described in another language by another culture (ch. 2). Next, it appropriates the findings of cognitive linguistics to analyze the terminology, conception, and associations of anger in the Hebrew Bible (ch. 3). The following chapter evaluates the advances that have taken place in the field of Old Testament ethics in recent decades, supplementing them with insights from philosophical, literary, and critical theorists to formulate an understanding of ethics and narrative that aligns with the contours of Genesis (ch. 4). The next chapter employs a rhetorical-literary approach to examine how texts in Genesis provide a conversation with one another about anger and its moral perplexities (ch. 5). Various themes from this study are then collected and summarized in the concluding chapter (ch. 6).</p></p><p><p>This dissertation concludes that understanding Genesis' message about anger requires laying aside traditional Western assumptions about both emotion and ethics. Genesis does not, for example, provide a set of ideal principles for engaging anger. Rather, readers who experience Genesis' narratives view anger from a variety of perspectives and in different lights, gaining wisdom for diverse encounters with anger they may face. They acquire a deep sensitivity to human frailty, an acute awareness of anger's power, and a realistic range of possibilities for engaging this emotion.</p></p> / Dissertation