D.Litt. et Phil. / In this study James 3:13:4:12 is examined by applying the basic premises presented by a semiotic as well as a hermeneutic inter textual theory in order to (a) understand the specific functioning of the text in its socio-historic context and (b) investigate the possibilities of reading this text from a post-modern perspective. The application of these basic aims delivers some surprising and exciting results: The basic argument presented in 3:13-4:12 is clarified, namely the writer's concern about the competing wisdom teachers in the Christian community. Criteria for identifying wise and unwise teachers are given. The investigation into the literal relationships reflected in James 3:13-4:12, contibutes to solve sintactical and semantical problems functioning on the structural surface of the text. Questions concerning the transactional aspects of the text, namely the pragmatic function of inter texts in this specific pericope is answered. The context implied by James 3:13-4:12 is clarified, namely the extra-textual situation (teachers competing since the positions of wisdom teacher in holds financial advantages and status in the community), the dating of James (written around the second quarter of the second century), the theme of wisdom in James, the mythological framework supposed, Hellenistic topics reflected in this writing, James' usage of the Old Testament and the eschatological theme. The text is reread in a post-modern context. The text reveals ideological interests and explains the author's views on the place of females in the church structure. It is argued that the social categories and the hierarchal system of leadership found in this writing are relative to its time and should be re-evaluated against the needs and circumstances of our own time. It is concluded that a intertextual approach to reading, interpreting and understanding New Testament texts may render a significant contribution to New Testament studies.

The purpose of this thesis is to study Matthew's messianic interpretation of Scripture as a contribution to narrative study of his Christo logy. While narrative approach to the Gospels has been appreciated in Gospel studies, it has often failed to take seriously into account the distinctive nature of the Gospel text, that is, its relation with the Old Testament. Thus, in order to remedy this deficiency of the narrative approach, this thesis attempts to study Matthew's messianic interpretation of the Old Testament and integrate the results of it into understanding of Matthew's narrative presentation of Jesus. The study of Matthew's messianic interpretation of the Old Testament, furthermore, helps us to understand Matthew's Christology in its historical context from which early narrative criticism has tended to distance itself. This thesis attempts to explore early Jewish messianic interpretation of the Scripture so as to understand the significance or effect of Matthew's messianic interpretation of the Old Testament upon the implied reader of Matthew.

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M.A. (Biblical Studies) / The aim of this study is idiom, personification, and book of Lamentations. to investigate the use thereof the metaphorical as found in the The method that has been justified combination of exegetic steps. Work has chapters, but the book as followed in this investigation is a both the synchronous and diachronic primarily been done on the first two a whole has also been implicated. Within the use of personification as poetic language functioning in the respective lamentations, the poet highlights the sorrow of Jerusalem to the reader. Jerusalem is 'presented to the reader by means of personification figures, e.g. widow, empress, conscript and daughter of Zion. Personification creates stress and expectations on the part of the reader. The personified Jerusalem enters into conversation with God as well as the passersby, and this prompts the forming of dialogue. The attention of the reader is drawn and kept by the use of the direct as well as the indirect speech of the poet. The reason for the fall of Jerusalem, viz. her sins, is discovered by means of dialogue which is formed with the help of personification. The destruction is God's way of punishing her for her sins. perand upon reader The characteristics of the different personalities of sonification, e.g. mourn, loneliness, conversation, eye mouth, allow the reader to experience the grief imposed Jerusalem. The grief of Jerusalem is described to the in terms of human characteristics (personification). By using personification, the poet highlights the relationships between the widow and, respectively, God, friends and enemies. It is mentioned how these relationships had been in the past, as well as the way they are now after the destruction of Jerusalem. The poet's use of personification as poetic idiom results in the reader becoming involved in the grief inflicted upon Jerusalem and in this way the grief is accentuated strongly.

M.A. (Greek) / The production of literature is a cultural process. A literary work is therefore used for affirming or transforming the relationship between man and his environment. The science of semiotics studies all cultural processes including literature as processes of communication (Eco 1976:8). The ultimate aim of a semiotic approach to a literary work is to establish the way in which the writer attempts to transform the world vision of the addressee (Eco 1976:290) ...

M.A. (Biblical Studies) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

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