Please read the abstract in the section 00front of this document / Thesis (PhD (Old Testament Studies))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Old Testament Studies / unrestricted

The book of Ecclesiastes is infamous as a piece of controversial literature. Commentators differ with regard to their views on matters such as the book’s historical context, translation, structure, Ancient Near Eastern background, message, etc. One of the many apparent oddities in the hook are the numerous references to the sun. There are approximately thirty-five of these references! Thirty of these can be found in the constantly recurring phrase “under the sun” – an expression which echoes mysteriously like a refrain through the book. Many questions, still unanswered, are prompted by the incessant repetition of this phrase. Contemporary popular interpretations of the function of the phrase “under the sun” can broadly be classified as belonging to one of two categories. Firstly, there is the conservative interpretation. According to this view, the function of the phrase is restrictive. It is indicative of a supposed cosmic dualism implying the presence of an alternative realm as opposed to the earthly domain and its secular atheism. The second view is that adopted by more critical scholars. In their view, the phrase functions simply an inclusive spatial designator. However, a closer look at the instances in which the phrase occurs in the intratextual context show that, while both of these interpretations have some merit, they are ultimately unsatisfactory. They fail to explain the need for the sun imagery’s constant recurrence throughout the book. What no one seems to have noticed is the possible significance of the repetition of the sun imagery in the book in the way in it was combined with certain themes, a peculiar theology and a strange self – presentation by the author. To be sure, when the sun imagery is assessed in the context of ANE solar discourse, its combination with certain themes in Qohelet becomes quite significant. Consider this data reformulated as four basic questions and answers: • Who is speaking? …. …. A king. • Where did he look? …. …. Under the sun. • What does he observe there… Injustice, ignorance, death, etc. • How is God depicted? …. …. Judge, Creator, etc. When these aspects of Qohelet’s message are viewed from the intertextual context of Ancient Near Eastern solar mythology – a legitimate hermeneutical experiment given the repeated references to the sun – the answers that can be given in response to the questions of “who?”, “where?, “what?” and “God?” appears to be very significant. In solar mythology, the sun gods were the deities particularly concerned with the issues of justice, divination, times, kings, life, royalty, the cosmic and social orders, etc. – the same issues that Qohelet is concerned with in relation to what happens “under the sun”. Moreover, according to the Old Testament witness, Israel was thoroughly familiar with these ideas. Qohelet’s sun imagery seems to be filled with allusions to the beliefs of solar theology in ways that are simultaneously ambiguous, ironical, polemical, deconstructive and syncretistic. This is a new perspective on the book and seems able to account for the author’s need to refer repeatedly to the domain “under the sun”. It also explains why Qohelet combined these references with a certain peculiar theology and why he was interested in specific issues such as justice, knowledge, life, time, death, the kind, etc. / Thesis (DLitt (Semitic Languages))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Ancient Languages / unrestricted

For more than two thousand years the question of tbe identity of the Servant of Yahweh in Is. 40 - 55, and especially in the so-called "Servant Songs", has exercised the minds of students of the Old Testament. The first answer which we may trace with any certainty is that of the translator of this particular section in the Septuagint, who adds the words "Jacob" and "Israel" to the text. This is closely followed in the New Testament by the answer which Philip gave to the Ethiopian eunuch's query, "Of whom speaketh the prophet this ? of himself, or of some other ?" ( Acts 8:34f,). These two answers are typical of the two possible extremes in solving the problem. The first sees the Servant as a collective entity, the people Israel, while the second sees him as an individual figure, namely, Jesus Christ. The second answer explains why the interpretation of the Servant figure has been such a live issue throughout the entire history of Christendom. In it Christians have seen a prophecy of Jesus Christ - and more particularly in the suffering of the Servant, a prophecy of the facts which form the basis of the Christian Salvation, the death and resurrection of Jesus. Until the close of the eighteenth century, the generally accepted interpretation of the figure of the Suffering Servant among Christians was to identify him completely with Christ. With the development of the scientific study of the Old Testament during the last two centuries, every generation has raised the question afresh and sought to answer it. There is hardly an Old Testament scholar who has not laboured over it, and many have published their attempts at a solution. Hence the literature on the subject is enormous. In the present study no attempt has been made to give an exhaustive survey of all the interpretations of the Servant figure, but the text of the Servant Songs has been examined before an interpretation of the Servant figure was attempted. It is to be hoped that the final interpretation here given will reflect the thought of the prophet rather than that of the interpreter.

Afrikaans: Daar is nou reeds vir so om en by drie dekades 'n groeiende belangstelling in die boek Jesaja, maar dan in besonder die eenheid van die boek. In die Verenigde State van Amerika het dit onder meer gelei het tot die organisering van The Formation of the Book of Isaiah Seminar of the Society of Biblical Literature onder voorsitterskap van Marvin Sweeney en Roy Melugin. Die huidige debat het gegroei uit die onvergenoegdheid van al hoe meer navorsers met die Histories-Kritiese metode en sy resultate. Die klassieke driedeling van Duhm, maar veral sy volgelinge se toepassing daarvan, word bevraagteken. As altematief word daar gewys op die eenheid van al 66 hoofstukke van Jesaja. Die eenheid, anders as die klassieke kerklike standpunt, lê egter nie opgesluit in die outeur nie, maar in die teks met sy verskeidenheid intratekstuele verbindings. In Suid-Afrika, soos ook maar die geval is met die res van die akademiese wereld, word die sinkroniese en diakroniese benaderings tot die teks dikwels teen mekaar afgespeel. Hier word gepoog om beide perspektiewe aan die orde te stel met die doel om aan te toon dat elke benadering sy tekortkominge het. Soos die Historiese Kritiek nie reg is met sy waterdigte skeiding tussen Proto-, Deutero- en Tritojesaja nie, is die sinkroniese benaderings ook nie reg in hul optimisme oor die duidelik gestruktureerde eenheid van die finale teks nie. Daar is beide 'n kontinuïteit en diskontinuïteit in Jesaja te bespeur. Deur egter vanuit sowel 'n diakroniese as 'n sinkroniese perspektief na die teks te kyk, word die ryke geskakeerdheid van die teks emstig opgeneem, komplimenteer genoemde twee perspektiewe mekaar se resultate, ondersteun mekaar self op bepaalde punte en kom die moontlike boodskap duideliker na die oppervlak. In hierdie studie dien Jesaja 36-39 as illustrasie, terwyl Jesaja 38-39 in detail geëksegetiseer word. Hierdie teks staan reeds vir dekades om verskeie redes in die brandpunt van die bespreking. Die rede vir die plasing daarvan in die spesifieke konteks van Jesaja, die parallelle teks in 2 Konings 18-20 en die annale van Sanherib van Assirie en hul weergawe van die beleg van Jerusalem, is van die belangrikste vrae in die verband. Die onderhawige studie bevestig die hipotese aan die begin van hierdie studie gestel, naamlik dat die pendulum terug geswaai het deurdat die klem verskuif het van 'n driedeling na die eenheid van die boek Jesaja. Die klassieke skeiding tussen Proto-, Deutero- en Tritojesaja is nie so waterdig as wat daar oor die algemeen onder histories-kritiese navorsers aanvaar word nie. Daar is wel 'n bepaalde relasie tussen die drie dele, maar die omvang en aard van die relasies is nie so duidelik is as wat voorstanders van die sinkroniese benaderings tot die teks dit wil hê nie. Daarom behoort 'n sinkroniese en 'n diakroniese benadering in die eksegetiese proses nie teenoor mekaar gestel te word nie, maar behoort dit eerder komplementerend aangewend te word. English: For three decades or so, there has been growing interest in the book of Isaiah, particularly with regard to the unity of the book. In the United States of America this has led to, among other things, an organisation called The Formation of the Book of Isaiah Seminar of the Society of Biblical Literature under the joint chairmanship of Marvin Sweeney and Roy Melugin. The current debate has grown out of the discontent of more and more researchers with the Historical-Critical methods and their results. The classical tripartition of Duhm, and especially his supporters' application of it, is being queried. The unity of all 66 chapters of Isaiah is indicated as an alternative. This unity, unlike the traditional standpoint of the church, is, however, not implied in the authorship, but rather in the text, with its variety of intertextual links. In South Africa, as is the case in the rest of the academic world, the synchronic and diachronic approaches to the text are often played off against each other. An attempt is made here to raise questions about both perspectives with the aim of showing that each approach has its shortcomings. Just as the Historical-Critical method is not correct in its rigid division between Proto-, Deutero- and Trito-Isaiah, neither are the synchronic approaches correct in their optimism over the clear, structured unity of the final text. Both continuity and discontinuity can be detected in Isaiah. However, by looking at the text from a diachronic as well as a synchronic perspective, an improved view of the rich variety of the text can be seen. The results of the aforementioned perspectives are complementary, even supporting each other on certain points, and the eventual message comes more clearly to the surface. In this thesis, Isaiah 36-39 serves as an illustration, while Isaiah 38-39 is analysed in detail. This text, for various reasons, has been the focal point of discussion for many years. The reason for its insertion in the specific context of Isaiah, the parallel text in 2 Kings 18-20 and the annals of Sennacherib of Assyria and their varying versions of the siege of Jerusalem, are some of the most important questions. This study confirms the hypothesis proposed at the beginning, namely that the pendulum has swung back, shifting the emphasis from tripartition to a unified book of Isaiah. The classical division between Proto-, Deutero- and Trito-Isaiah is not as rigid as generally accepted by the Historical-Critical researchers. There is a definite relationship between the three parts but the extent and nature of the relationship is not as clear as the advocates of the synchronic methods to the text would like it to be. Therefore, synchronic and diachronic methods in the exegesis should not be set against each other but should rather be applied in a complementary fashion. / Thesis (DD (Old Testament Studies))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Old Testament Studies / unrestricted

This dissertation argues that Psalm 108 introduces the eschatological notions of the king and of the kingdom into its canonical group (Pss 108–110) through its inclusion of a non-historically specific superscription, its quotation and paraphrase of earlier psalmic material (Pss 57 and 60), and its canonical placement in Book V of the Psalter. Chapter 1 presents this study’s thesis along with three undergirding assumptions: (1) the Psalter is a book; (2) individual psalms should be read in sequence; and (3) the Psalter progressively tells a story along redemptive-historical lines. Chapter 2 provides histories of interpretation of Psalm 108 and of research into inner-biblical exegesis and canonical approaches to the Psalter. This chapter shows differences among interpreters’ views of Psalm 108. It also shows how this work’s approach engages inner-biblical exegesis and Psalter exegesis (a canonical approach) to clarify the meaning of Psalm 108. Chapter 3 interprets Psalm 108 in its canonical context. It reveals how Psalm 108 participates in the narrative flow of the Psalter. The chapter concludes that Psalm 108 continues the story of eschatological redemption that began in Psalm 107, which records the eschatological return of Israel to the land. In continuation of this story, Psalm 108 bespeaks the eschatological conquest of the land. In response to the king’s prayer, God will go out with Israel’s armies and conquer the land, and through the king’s prayer, the kingdom comes. Chapter 4 compares Psalm 108 with Psalms 57 and 60 to clarify the message that Psalm 108 conveys by its quotation and paraphrase of these two earlier psalms. Chapter 5 highlights certain themes that Psalm 108 shares with Psalms 109 and 110, noting the development of these themes across the three psalms. Psalm 108 introduces the eschatological notions of the king and the kingdom to this Davidic triptych (Pss 108–110). Before discussing these psalms, this chapter also explores the theoretical tools of willed types and pregnant meaning to explain how the Psalter’s editor(s) could have organized Davidic psalms into a sequence while honoring David’s authorial intent. Finally, Chapter 6 concludes the dissertation.

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Religious Studies & Arabic / D. Litt. et Phil. (Religious Studies)

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The epistle of James has been neglected in NT studies, caught between its relationship with Paul and the claim that it has no theology. Even as it experiences a resurgence of study, surprisingly no full-length survey exists on James as the epistle of “faith and works.” Approaches to James have neglected its soteriology and, in consequence, its theological themes have been separated or studied only in connection with Paul. As “moral character,” however, “faith” and “works” fit within a coherent theology of God’s mercy and judgment. This study provides a sustained reading of James as a Jewish-Christian document. Because James presents the “faith” and “works” discussion in context of “can such faith save?” (2:14), the issue becomes one of soteriology and final judgment. Both the “law of freedom” and the “word of truth” demand faithful obedience—the “works.” Moreover, God’s character and deeds in election form the basis for human “works” of mercy and humble obedience, while future judgment is in accordance with virtuous character. It has been established that James shares methodology and concerns with prior wisdom literature. This thesis therefore examines key ideas developing across the Jewish literature and Jesus’ teaching as presented by Matthew, and highlights developing views of God saving and judging his people. Within the first two chapters, James gives a high view of God’s work in calling and redeeming, providing wisdom to his people, and instilling the long-anticipated new covenant that they might live in obedience, humility and purity in accordance with his character and will. Because of God’s saving work, he justly judges those who fail to live mercifully, while his mercy triumphs for those who obey. God begins the work and sustains those who ask; but only those who submit to the “perfect law of freedom,” whose faith works, receive mercy when God enacts his final justice.

In Luke-Acts, Luke intentionally describes the early Jewish-Christian community in accordance with Isaiah’s prophecy for an ethical restoration of social justice in Israel. This thesis accomplishes this argument in three chapters. First, it explores Isaiah’s program of restoration and argues that it includes social justice through the Davidic Messiah and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. Secondly, an argument is made that Luke’s presentation of Jesus accords with the Isaianic picture of a socially just Davidic king empowered by the Spirit, who works to bring social justice through his reign. Lastly, the events of Pentecost and Acts 2:42–47 with insight gathered from Acts 4:32–37, are considered. Here the argument is presented that Luke draws Isaianic themes together from his gospel to demonstrate that, in Acts, Jesus’ exaltation and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit result in Isaiah’s vision of a Jewish community restored to fruitfulness as a socially just society.