This thesis attempts to determine if the acquisition of rhetorical and grammatical skills such as a sense of audience and organization are best attained through an alternate pedagogy based on a methodology from Wendy Bishop or if they are better attained through a traditional approach.

A theoretical construct for examining the use of reading in composing, developed from the literature review and pilot study, was tested using audio-videotaped protocols of students composing two drafts of an essay, followed by retrospective interviews. Fifteen skilled and fifteen unskilled college writers, so designated by tests and a writing sample given by the English department, participated in the study at a rural, two-year technical college in a Sunbelt state during the 1984-85 school year. The construct for examining reading in composing included the focus of reading: word, multi-word, sentence, multi-sentence, paragraph, multi-paragraph, and draft levels; the purpose of reading: to verify, clarify, provide direction, edit, or refresh memory; the effect (or outcome) of reading: no/change or change, using Faigley and Witte's revision classification scheme to describe changes; and the amount of reading, which was a count of all occurrences of reading. The construct was useful in identifying the aspects of reading in composing. Thus, a major benefit of the study is empirical data on reading-in-composing for both skilled and unskilled writers. A profile of each group's use of reading was developed. Then a comparison of reading by the two groups was made using chi-square and percents. The findings revealed that (1) 29 of the 30 students were readers of their texts; (2) the skilled writers wrote and read twice as much as the unskilled writers did, but the proportion in both drafts was the same; (3) reading occurred within and between drafts for both groups; (4) both groups read most often at the multi-word level; (5) both groups read for all five purposes and when ranked by frequency, the order was the same for both groups; (6) the effect of reading differed significantly in the no-change/change categories with the skilled writers making more changes. Findings which were statistically significant included: the size of the corpus; the focus of reading; the difference in no-change/change decisions; and the categories of change at surface, meaning-preserving and meaning-changing levels. The study confirmed that writing is a recursive process with reading as a major component and that both skilled and unskilled writers are readers of their texts. The study revealed that protocol analysis and the Faigley and Witte classification scheme for revision can work well together. Second, the amount, focus, purpose, and effect of reading can be examined through thinking-aloud composing protocols. Third, reading is a more appropriate term than re-reading to describe the reading which occurs during the composing process. / Ed. D.

Starting point of the search for the purpose of 1 Timothy is the assumption of basic similarities between this letter and letter writing in Greco-Roman antiquity. This means that 1 Timothy is designed for an oral performance in front of an audience. The analysis concentrates on the so far neglected classical duties of the speaker: memoria and pronuntiatio. This means the memorized performance in front of an audience. 1 Timothy shows many mnemotechnical devices and puts certain terms in focus. This shows what expressions the audience has to memorize and what aspects show prominence. The result of this can be formulated as the purpose of 1 Timothy: Paul wants to confirm Timothy in his mandate to guard the gospel from being changed through a resolute dismissal of wrong teachings and an ethic that honours God and men. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / M. Th. (New Testament)

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2005. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Those who follow the research of the last century concerning verbal aspect, will realize the importance of this topic for the understanding of the input of the author / speaker in the written or spoken word, because verbal aspect gives the specific view of the author / speaker on an action. However, the input of the author is not unqualified, but takes place within certain grammatical and contextual parameters. Within these parameters the author has the freedom to give actions which occur within the written or spoken word, a specific colour. As a result of short definitions of the aspect of the different Greek tenses, I was able to identify six different aspectual uses for both the aorist and the imperfect which agreed with the chosen definitions. The Acts of the Apostles was used to test the tenability of the definitions and the aspectual uses. Only with extensive analysis can the theory be confirmed. Apart from the fact that Acts is an extensive book, it has the additional advantage that the writer regularly alternates between different genres (narrative and speech). In this way the analysis of the theory can be concentrated further by investigating whether aspectual changes occur between the different genres. Analysis of the proposed theory demonstrated firstly that the author does not use the Greek tenses haphazardly, but that he consciously makes use of the aorist and imperfect indicative. The aorist is used especially to represent events or acts in totality and as completed; the imperfect is used to represent events or acts in progress and as processes. The analysis also confirmed that the author applies the aorist and the imperfect in different ways. The identified aspectual uses of both these tenses could be recognized throughout the whole book. Although the author probably did not work with definitions and aspectual uses, he was clearly aware of verbal aspect and the different ways in which an action can be portrayed. The analysis finally demonstrated that a change in genre (from narrative to speech or the other way round) often also effects a change in verbal aspect. In this way the author portrays his specific view on actions within their context. The most frequent aspectual use of the aorist, is the aorist used to portray acts as completed actions in their totality (in both narratives and speeches) and the aorist to portray the key moments of the story (largely in narratives). The most frequent aspectual use of the imperfect, is the imperfect to show actions in progress (often in narratives) and the imperfect to sketch the background (largely in narratives). From the above we can draw the conclusion that the author of Acts uses the aorist and imperfect aspectually, while also considering the alternation between genres. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Wie die navorsing van die laaste eeu oor verbale aspek in die Griekse werkwoord nagaan, kry 'n besef van die belang van hierdie onderwerp vir die verstaan van die skrywer / spreker se inset in die geskrewe of gesproke woord. Verbale aspek gee naamlik die spesifieke perspektief van die skrywer / spreker op die handeling weer. Die inset van die skrywer is egter nie ongekwalifiseerd nie, maar vind plaas binne bepaalde grammatikale en kontekstuele merkers. Binne hierdie merkers het die skrywer die vryheid om aan handelinge, wat binne die geskrewe of gesproke woord voorkom, 'n spesifieke kleur te gee. Na aanleiding van kort definisies van die aspek van die verskillende Griekse tydvorme, spesifiek die aoristos en die imperfektum, was ek in staat om ses aspektuele gebruike onder beide die aoristos en die imperfektum te identifiseer wat in ooreenstemming was met die gekose definisies. Handelinge van die Apostels moes dien as toetsingsmateriaal vir die houdbaarheid van die definisies en die aspektuele gebruike. Slegs deur omvangryke analise kan die teorie bevestig word. Behalwe dat Handelinge 'n omvangryke boek is, het dit verder die voordeel dat die skrywer op 'n gereelde basis tussen genres (narratief en redevoering) wissel. Op dié manier kan die analise van die teorie verder toegespits word om te ondersoek of daar aspektuele veranderinge optree tussen die verskillende genres. Die analise van die voorgestelde teorie het eerstens aangetoon dat die skrywer nie slegs lukraak van Griekse tydvorme gebruik maak nie, maar bewustelik met onderskeidelik die aoristos en die imperfektum indikatief omgaan. Die aoristos word veral gebruik om gebeure of handelinge in totaliteit weer te gee en as voltooid voor te stel; die imperfektum word gebruik om gebeure of handelinge in hul voortgang weer te gee en as proses voor te stel. Die analise het tweedens bevestig dat die skrywer beide die aoristos en die imperfektum aspektueel verskillend aanwend. Die geïdentifiseerde aspektuele gebruike van beide hierdie tydvorme kon deur die hele boek herken word. Alhoewel die skrywer waarskynlik nie met definisies en aspektuele gebruike gewerk het nie, was hy duidelik bewus van verbale aspek en die verskillende maniere waarop 'n handeling weergegee kan word. Die analise het derdens getoon dat 'n verandering van genre (van narratief na redevoering of andersom) meestalook 'n verandering van verbale aspek te weeg bring. Op hierdie manier gee die skrywer dus sy spesifieke perspektief op handelinge binne hul konteks weer. Die mees frekwente aspektuele gebruike vir die aoristos is die aoristos om handelinge as voltooide aksies in hulle totaliteit weer te gee (verdeel tussen narratiewe en redevoerings) en die aoristos om die hoofmomente van die verhaal weer te gee (grotendeels in narratiewe). Die mees frekwente aspektuele gebruike vir die imperfektum is die imperfektum om voortgaande aksies aan te toon (dikwels in narratiewe) en die imperfektum om agtergrond te skilder (grotendeels in narratiewe). Ons kan dus die gevolgtrekking maak dat die skrywer van Handelinge die aoristos en imperfektum aspektueel aanwend, en daarbyook afwisseling tussen verskillende genres in ag neem.

Thesis (MA (Biblical Languages))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This is an exploratory investigation into the discourse-pragmatic function(s) of the so-called Left-Dislocation construction in Biblical Hebrew. This inquiry is a part of a larger investigation into the nature and function of word order variation in Biblical Hebrew. In light of past research on Biblical Hebrew word-order variation, specifically concerning Left-Dislocation constructions, it is concluded that a re-analysis of Left-Dislocation constructions in Biblical Hebrew is called for. Advancements within the fields of cognitive-functional linguistics and discourse-pragmatics (information-structure) have afforded numerous avenues towards a more comprehensive cognitive-oriented frame of reference for ascertaining the functions of Biblical Hebrew word order variation. The discourse-pragmatic and cognitive-functional notion of information-structure serves as the basis for the theoretical framework employed in the present investigation. Information-structure is principally concerned with the question as to why grammars of natural language offer speakers a variety of morphosyntactic and prosodic options for expressing the same propositional content. Since the Left-Dislocation construction is a universal syntactic phenomenon, typological information regarding the form and function of Left-Dislocation constructions across languages served as a critical source of insight into the prototypical formal features and functional domains of the construction within Biblical Hebrew. The insights garnered from cross-linguistic data informed the parameters employed in the construction and construal of a random data-set of one hundred cases of Left-Dislocation drawn from the narrative portions of the Hebrew Bible stretching from Genesis to 2 Chronicles. The investigation of our data-set, within the confines of a discourse-pragmatic framework, reveals that Left-Dislocation constructions in Biblical Hebrew are principally employed to facilitate the topic-promotion of identifiable but inactive discourse-referents. These referents could be the primary or secondary topics of the sentences in which they are used. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie is 'n verkennende ondersoek na die diskoerspragmatiese funksie(s) van sogenaamde linksverskuiwing ('Left-Dislocation') konstruksies in Bybelse Hebreeus. Hierdie vraagstelling vorm deel van 'n meer omvattende ondersoek na die aard en funksie van woordorde-variasies in Bybelse Hebreeus. Na aanleiding van 'n uitvoerige literatuurstudie oor die funksie(s) van woordorde-variasies in Bybelse Hebreeus, veral met betrekking tot linksverskuiwingskonstruksies, is tot die gevolgtrekking gekom dat 'n heranalise van linksverskuiwingskonstruksies in Bybelse Hebreeus nodig is. Vooruitgang op die gebiede van kognitiewe-funksionele taalkunde, en tekspragmatiek (informasiestruktuur) het dit moontlik gemaak om 'n meer omvattende kognitief-georiënteerde verwysingsraamwerk vir die bepaling van die funksie(s) van Bybels-Hebreeuse woordorde-variasies te formuleer. Die diskoerspragmatiese en kognitiewe-funksionele opvatting van informasiestruktuur dien as die basis vir die teoretiese raamwerk wat in die huidige ondersoek gebruik is. Informasiestruktuur is hoofsaaklik gemoeid met die vraag waarom die grammatika van natuurlike taal aan sprekers 'n verskeidenheid van morfosintaktiese en prosodiese opsies bied vir die uitdrukking van dieselfde proposisionele inhoud. Aangesien die linksverskuiwingskonstruksie 'n universele sintaktiese verskynsel is, is taaltipologiese inligting oor die vorm en funksie van die linksverskuiwingskonstruksie gebruik om insig te kry in die prototipiese formele eienskappe en funksies van die konstruksie in Bybelse Hebreeus. Aan die hand van bg. taaltipologiese insigte is parameters geformuleer aan die hand waarvan 'n ewekansige monster voorbeelde van linksverskuiwing uit verhalende tekste uit Genesis tot 2 Kronieke ondersoek is. Daar is bevind dat linksverskuiwing in Bybelse Hebreeus hoofsaaklik aangewend word om identifiseerbare, maar onaktiewe diskoersreferente te promoveer as topieks. Hierdie referente mag primêre of sekondêre topieks wees.

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2000. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Final sentences are a neglected area of research in Biblical Hebrew. Apart from an investigation by Mitchell (1879) in the previous century, and a more recent article by Muraoka (1997), this is certainly an area of Biblical Hebrew grammar in need of research. Biblical Hebrew grammars propound a variety of ways final constructions can supposedly be expressed. The main thesis of this study is that the diversity of final constructions in Biblical Hebrew is not merely different syntactic realizations of the same semantic meaning, but that each syntactic construction carries definite semantic nuances. Traditional grammars, because they are sentence-based, present some shortcomings in the description of final sentences. I will briefly expose some of the linguistic presuppositions of traditional grammars, and their inherent limitations with respect to the study of final constructions. Recent developments in general linguistics, especially the variety of approaches subsumed under the broad classification textlinguistics, create new opportunities to address Biblical Hebrew grammar. I will explore this relatively recent developments to the study of language, in order to determine whether insights from studies conducted in terms of this paradigm can be used to describe final constructions more adequately. A number of theses are presented in Chapters 2 and 3, which are evaluated in Chapters 4 to 6. The findings are presented in a summary of at the end of each chapter. The final results of this investigation are summarized in Chapter 7. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Finaalsinne het tot dusver min aandag geniet in Bybelse Hebreeuse navorsing. Afgesien van 'n ondersoek deur Mitchell (1879) in die vorige eeu, en 'n onlangse artikel deur Muraoka (1997), is hierdie 'n navorsingsgebied wat vra om nadere ondersoek. Volgens Bybelse Hebreeuse grammatikas kan finaalsinne op verskeie wyses uitgedruk word. Die hooftese van hierdie studie is dat die verskeidenheid van finaalkonstruksies in Bybelse Hebreeus nie bloot verskillende sintaktiese opsies is om dieselfde semantiese betekenis te realiseer nie, maar dat elke onderskeie sintaktiese konstruksie 'n besondere semantiese nuanse weergee. Omdat hulle eng op die beskrywing van die sin gebaseer is, hou traditionele grammatikas tekortkominge in vir die beskrywing van finaalsinne. In hierdie studie wys ek kortliks op die linguistiese voorveronderstellings van die tradisionele benadering, en op die inherente tekortkominge van so 'n benadering ten opsigte van die ondersoek van finaalsinne. Onlangse ontwikkelinge in die algemene linguistiek, veral die verskeidenheid benaderings saamgevat onder die begrip tekslinguistiek, bied nuwe moontlikhede vir die beskrywing van Bybelse Hebreeus. Ek sal hierdie nuwe benadering tot taalstudie ondersoek om vas te stel of dit aangewend kan word om finaalsinne beter te beskryf. Verskeie tesisse word in Hoofstukke 2 en 3 geformuleer en dan in Hoofstukke 4 tot 6 geëvalueer. Die resultate word aan die einde van elke hoofstuk saamgevat. Die uiteindelike konklusies van hierdie studie word in Hoofstuk 7 saamgevat.

Thesis (DLitt)--Stellenbosch University, 2004. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: One of the questions that have challenged scholars of BH for many years is whether the language should be regarded as a tense, aspectual or modal language. In this thesis, I argue that the lack and application of a metacategory for describing any language in general, and BH in particular, has been the main problem of the debate. A sound methodology is needed in order to be able to make an argument that can be tested empirically. The present study presents such a viable methodological approach. Using Bhatian parameters for tense, aspect and modal prominent languages, crosslinguistic metacategories of tense, aspect and mood were developed. These were applied to BH and the outcome was the hypothesis that BH is an aspect-prominent language. After formulating the above-mentioned hypothesis for BH, a corpus had been selected in the light of which the hypothesis was tested. The result demonstrates that BH consistently maintains perfective and imperfective aspectual distinctions. It was found that even where aspectual distinctions are extended to modal categories, the distinction in meanings between the perfective and the imperfective forms of the BH verb are not neutralised. From these observations, it has been concluded that there is the need to revisit the semantics of Proto Semitic. A model like the one used in this study could be replicated in the study of Proto Semitic. Such a revisit, it is hypothesised, may give fresh insights into the verbal system of Proto Semitic in general and BH in particular / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Een van die vrae wat reeds vir baie jare vir kenners van Byblese Hebreeus (=BH) In uitdaging is, is of die taal 'n tempustaal, 'n aspektuele taal of 'n modale taal is. In hierdie tesis voer ek aan dat die gebrek aan die toepassing van 'n metakategorie vir die beskrywing van tale in die algemeen, en BH in die besonder, die hoof probleem in die debat is. 'n Deeglike begronde metodologie is nodig om 'n hipotese daar te stel wat empiries getoets kan word. Hierdie studie wil so 'n metodologie formuleer. Deur gebruik te maak van Bhat se parameters vir tale waarvan die tempus, aspek en modaliteit prominent is, is kruislinguistiese metakategorieë vir tempus, aspek en modaliteit ontwikkel. Hierdie metakategorieë is op BH toegepas en die resultaat daarvan was die hipotese dat BH 'n aspek-prominente taal is. Nadat die bogenoemde hipotese vir BH geformuleer is, is 'n korpus geselekteer in die lig waarvan hierdie hipotese getoets kon word. Die resultaat demonstreer dat BH konsekwent die perfektiewe en imperfektiewe aspektuele onderskeid handhaaf. Daar is gevind dat selfs wanneer aspektuele onderskeidings uitgebrei is na modale kategorieë, die onderskeid tussen die perfektiewe en die imperfektiewe vorme van die BH werkwoord nie geneutraliseer word me. Vanuit hierdie waarnemings is tot die gevolgtrekking gekom dat dit nodig is om weer te gaan kyk na die semantiek van Proto-Semities. 'n Model soos die een wat in hierdie studie gebruik is, kan ook in die studie van Proto-Semities bebruik word. Die hipotese is dat so 'n hernude ondersoek nuwe insigte kan gee in die werkwoordsisteem van Proto-Semities in die algemeen en BH in die besonder.

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study seeks to identify and classify idioms in the Hebrew Bible. Based on a survey of literature on idioms in general, and in Biblical Hebrew in particular, the necessary conditions for idiomaticity are identified as (1) multi-word character, (2) semantic noncompositionality, (3) unit status, (4) conventionalisation, (5) a verbal nucleus, and (6) a content message. Restricted variability and uniqueness may also be indicative of idiomaticity, although these are not regarded as necessary conditions. Accordingly, idiom is defined as a conventionalised multi-word symbolic unit with a verbal nucleus and a content message, whose global meaning is a semantic extension of the combined meanings of its constituent elements. These criteria were applied to 1 and 2 Samuel, and 104 idioms were identified. The results suggest that the proposed definition is an effective aid to identifying idioms, with certain caveats. In line with Granger and Paquot’s phraseological classification, the multi-word character of idioms is interpreted to imply a verb plus at least one more semantic (as opposed to grammatical) element. Semantic compositionality is shown to be a complex concept that should be understood as the overall meaning of an expression being an extension of the combined meanings of its individual lexical constituents. Conventionalisation and unit status prove to be virtually impossible to determine with certainty for expressions in the Hebrew Bible. Researchers should also be aware that there is an inevitable degree of subjectivity involved in the application and interpretation of the idiom characteristics proposed in this study. A preliminary semantic classification of the idioms found in 1 and 2 Samuel is proposed, based on the lexicographical system developed by De Blois (2000) for the Semantic Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew. The results of this study suggest that, with some improvements and adjustments, De Blois’s framework is suitable for classifying and representing Biblical Hebrew idioms. The greatest obstacle in using this system is shown to be the counterintuitive names of a number of categories. A complete alphabetical list of idioms from 1 and 2 Samuel is provided in Appendix A, together with the relevant semantic information for each. A classification of these idioms according to lexical semantic domains is presented and discussed in Chapter 5, while alternative ways of arranging them (viz. by contextual semantic domains, underlying conceptual metaphors, and terms for body parts) are provided in Appendices B to D. This study demonstrates that idioms are semantically motivated (by conceptual metaphor, metonymy, symbolic acts, etc.) although their meaning is semantically noncompositional. It also indicates the need for a more systematic treatment of idioms in Biblical Hebrew lexicons. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie poog om idiome in die Hebreeuse Bybel te identifiseer en te klassifiseer. Die volgende noodsaaklike voorwaardes vir idiomatisiteit is geïdentifiseer op grond van ’n oorsig van die literatuur oor idiome in die algemeen en in Bybelse Hebreeus in die besonder: (1) meerwoordigheid, (2) semantiese nie-komposisionaliteit, (3) eenheidstatus, (4) konvensionalisering, (5) ’n werkwoordelike kern en (6) ’n inhoudelike boodskap. Beperkte veranderbaarheid en uniekheid kan ook dui op idiomatisiteit, maar dit word nie as noodsaaklike voorwaardes beskou nie. Gevolglik word idioom gedefinieer as ’n gekonvensionaliseerde, meerwoordige simboliese eenheid met ’n werkwoordelike kern, waarvan die geheelbetekenis ’n semantiese uitbreiding is van die gekombineerde betekenisse van die elemente waaruit dit saamgestel is. Die bogenoemde kriteria is in 1 en 2 Samuel toegepas, en daar is 104 idiome geïdentifiseer. Die resultate dui daarop dat die voorgestelde definisie van idiomatisiteit, met inagneming van sekere voorbehoude, ’n effektiewe hulpmiddel vir die indentifisering van idiome is. In lyn met Granger en Paquot se fraseologiese klassifikasie word daar van die veronderstelling uitgegaan dat die meerwoordigheid van idiome ’n werkwoord plus minstens een ander semantiese (teenoor grammatikale) komponent behels. Daar word aangetoon dat semantiese komposisionaliteit ’n komplekse begrip is en dat dit verstaan moet word as ’n uitbreiding van die kombinasie van die betekenisse van die afsonderlike leksikale elemente waaruit ’n uitdrukking saamgestel is, om ’n geheelbetekenis te vorm. Om die konvensionalisering en eenheidstatus van uitdrukkings in die Hebreeuse Bybel met sekerheid vas te stel, blyk feitlik onmoontlik te wees. Navorsers moet ook daarvan bewus wees dat daar ’n onvermydelike mate van subjektiwiteit betrokke is by die toepassing en verstaan van die idioomkenmerke wat in die huidige studie voorgestel word. ’n Voorlopige semantiese klassifikasie van die idiome wat in 1 en 2 Samuel geïdentifiseer is, word voorgestel, gebaseer op die leksikografiese sisteem wat deur De Blois (2000) vir die Semantic Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew ontwikkel is. Die resultate van hierdie studie doen aan die hand dat De Blois se raamwerk, met ’n paar veranderinge en verbeteringe, geskik is vir die klassifisering en uiteensetting van idiome in Bybelse Hebreeus. Daar word aangetoon dat die grootste hindernis om die genoemde sisteem te gebruik, die teen-intuïtiewe benaminge van ’n aantal kategorieë is. ’n Volledige alfabetiese lys van die idiome uit 1 en 2 Samuel, met toepaslike semantiese inligting by elk, word in Bylae A aangebied. ’n Klassifikasie van hierdie idiome volgens leksikale semantiese domeine word in Hoofstuk 5 voorgehou en bespreek, terwyl alternatiewe indelings (nl. volgens kontekstuele semantiese domeine, onderliggende konsepsuele metafore en terme vir liggaamsdele) in Bylaes B tot D aangebied word. Hierdie studie toon aan dat idiome semanties gemotiveer word (deur konsepsuele metafore, metonimie, simboliese handelinge ens.), alhoewel hulle betekenis niekomposisioneel is. Die behoefte aan ’n meer sistematiese bewerking van idiome in Bybelse Hebreeuse leksikons word ook uitgewys.

Thesis (D. Th.)--University of Stellenbosch, 2004. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The Jubilee year in Leviticus 25 has received a fair amount of attention towards the end of the previous millennium with the movements such as the Jubilee 2000, which campaigned for the remissions of debt in the so-called Third World. The text thus has a very liberating image and this is where the problem lies, because a critical reading of the text creates a far more oppressive picture. The question then becomes how the biblical critic is to respond, especially when she/he is sympathetic towards the objectives of the Jubilee 2000 movement. In this study it is argued that there is only one way to respond and that is to play the critical role that biblical scholars have always attempted to play. This means that it would be ethically irresponsible for biblical critics to shy away from exposing the oppressive sides of a biblical text. An ideological-critical approach is then proposed which attempts to construct the world-view or ideology that could be glimpsed from the text. This kind of reading is suspicious of what the biblical text claims and it further attempts to identify political and other interests in the text. An ideological critical reading also takes stock of the “ideological holdings” of the interpreter. In this regard the author argues that the history of Apartheid and specifically the way in which the Bible was used to legitimate Apartheid is one of his main ideological holdings that predisposes him to read in a certain manner. Leviticus 25 is then subjected to very close synchronic scrutiny. Firstly the most salient grammatical features of the text are identified and secondly it is asked how these features were used in order to persuade. This second reading is thus a kind of rhetorical reading that specifically focuses on ways in which the relationship between the addressees, the land, YHWH and other groups in the text is portrayed. This enables the author to describe the world-view or ideology of the authors and addressees of Leviticus 25. These same interests are also identified in some of the chapters surrounding chapter 25. Eventually this leads to dating the composition of this text in the Second Temple Period and it specifically identifies the interests of this text with those of the returning Elite. This interpretation presents the text as rather oppressive and instead of preventing poverty it actually reinstated poverty, which means that some dark sides of the text are exposed. The study is then concluded with some theological-ethical observations where it is reiterated that one of the tasks of the biblical critic is to give some voice to people that were voiceless in the biblical text. The study also shows that despite these dark sides to the text, there still is liberating potential in the Jubilee. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die Jubeljaar in Levitikus 25 het veral aandag getrek aan die einde van die vorige millennium toe bewegings soos die “Jubilee 2000” beweging hulle beywer het vir die afskrywe van skuld in die sogenaamde Derde Wêreld. Die teks het dus ‘n “bevrydende beeld” en dit is juis waar die probleem lê, want ‘n kritiese lees van die teks skep ‘n baie meer verdrukkende prentjie. Die vraag is nou hoe die bybelwetenskaplike moet reageer, veral indien sy/hy die doelwitte van die Jubilee 2000 beweging ondersteun. Daar word dan in hierdie studie geargumenteer dat daar eintlik maar net een manier is waarop ‘n mens sou kon reageer en dit is deur die kritiese rol te speel wat bybelwetenskaplikes nog altyd nagestreef het. Dit beteken dat dit eties onverantwoordelik sou wees om weg te skram van die verdrukkende kante van ‘n bybelse teks. ‘n Ideologiekritiese benadering word dan voorgestel wat poog om die wêreldbeeld of ideologie te konstrueer wat ‘n mens in die teks sou kon bespeur. Hierdie soort lesing staan redelik agterdogtig teenoor wat die teks beweer en poog dan om politieke en ander belange in die teks te identifiseer. So ‘n ideologie-kritiese lees poog ook om die “ideologiese erfenis” van die interpreteerder te verwoord. In hierdie opsig argumenteer die outeur dat die geskiedenis van Apartheid en veral die manier waarop die Bybel gebruik is om dit te legitimeer een van sy ideologiese erfenisse is wat aanleiding daartoe gee dat hy op ‘n bepaalde manier lees. Levitikus 25 word dan onder ‘n deeglike sinkroniese loep geneem. Eerstens word die mees uitstaande grammatikale kenmerke van die teks geïdentifiseer en tweedens word gevra hoe hierdie kenmerke gebruik sou kon word om te oortuig. Hierdie tweede lesing is ‘n soort retoriese lesing wat spesifiek fokus op hoe die verhouding tussen die aangespreektes, die land, YHWH en ander groepe in die teks uitgebeeld word. Dit stel die outeur in staat om die wêreldbeeld of ideologie van die skrywers en aangespreektes te omskryf. Hierdie selfde belange word dan ook in die omringende teks van hoofstuk 25 geïdentifiseer. Uiteindelik word die komposisie van hierdie teks in die Tweede Tempeltydperk gedateer en word die belange in die teks verbind met die belange van die terugkerende hoërklas. Hierdie interpretasie stel dan die teks as redelik verdrukkend voor en in plaas daarvan dat dit armoed teengewerk het, het dit armoede teweeggebring wat natuurlik beteken dat donker kante van die teks blootgelê word. Die studie sluit dan af met ‘n paar teologieseetiese waarnemings waar dit weereens beklemtoon word dat een van die take van die bybelwetenskaplike juis is om ‘n stem te gee aan die mense wat in die antieke teks stemloos was. Die studie wys ook uit dat daar ten spyte van hierdie moontlike donker kante van die teks daar tog nog bevrydende potensiaal in die Jubeljaar is.

Thesis (DLitt (Ancient Studies)) -- University of Stellenbosch, 2004. / The purpose of this study is to investigate the information structure of Biblical Hebrew narrative, and develop accounts of topic and focus in Biblical Hebrew, respectively. Both topic and focus categories have been determined for Biblical Hebrew (cf. chapters 3 and 5), as well as the information structure strategies that these categories can fulfill in discourse. For topic categories, four different categories of information structure topics in Biblical Hebrew have been distinguished. These are 1. Primary topics 2. Secondary topics 3. Tail topics 4. Topic frames In addition, associated with topics are topic contrastiveness as well as deictic orientations or text-world frames. All these categories, when present, are part of the topical framework of a discourse. For focus structure categories, three different types of focus structure in Biblical Hebrew have been distinguished. These are: 1. Predicate focus 2. Sentence focus 3. Argument focus Again, like in the case of topics, contrastiveness is associated with focus structures. The strategies of information structure topics and focus structures in theme developments were distinguished. For topics, the following information structure strategies or functions stand out: 1. Topic continuity 2. Topic promotion 3. Topic shift 4. Topic deictic text-world framing 5. Topic contrasting For focus structures, the following information structure strategies or functions stand out: 1. Commenting on topics 2. Presenting unidentifiable or inactive participants 3. Reporting, that is, event-reporting and state-reporting of out-of-the-blue, unexpected, discourse new events or states. Some reporting re-directs the theme, other reporting, especially that of states, supports the theme. 4. Identifying referents, either as identifying contrastive, unexpected referents or deictic text-world frames, or by announcing theme macrowords. Contrastiveness is a pragmatic overlay in the case of many focus constituents, especially presupposed information that is focused on. In other words, the three focus structures are used in certain strategies: 1. Predicate focus structures are used for commenting in topic-comment articulations. 2. Sentence focus structures are used for presentational sentences, and for themeredirecting and theme-supporting, event-reporting and state-reporting sentences. The word-order is generally marked. 3. Argument focus is used for unexpected, contrastive identification, and for the announcement of theme macrowords. The word-order is marked, similar to sentence focus structures. All the topic and focus categories and their respective information structure strategies have a link with the theme of a discourse. Theme has been defined in this study as the developing and coherent core or thread of a discourse in the mind of the speaker-author and hearerreader, functioning as the prominent macrostructure of the discourse (chapter 7 (7.4.4)). The information structure with its topics and focus structures and its strategies, can be used as a tool to identify and analyse themes. These categories and strategies together are called theme traces when they occur in marked syntactic constructions or in other prominence configurations like relexicalisation, end-weight, and repetition of macrowords. Theme traces are defined with the following wording: A theme trace is a clue in the surface form of a discourse, viewed from the perspective of information structure, that points to the cognitive macrostructure or theme of a text. This clue is in the form of (1) a marked syntactical configuration, be it marked word-order or marked in the sense of explicit and seemingly “redundant”, all signaling some thematic sequencing strategy, or (2) some recurring concept(s) signaling some prominence and coherence (chapter 7 (7.5.4)). By investigating these theme traces, the analyst will have a tool to study themes in discourse. This theme traces tool will assist in the demarcation of the sections in the developing theme of a text by means of a variety of boundary features, and once these thematic units have been established, the study of the topic framework together with the focus content will yield a verifiable understanding of the macrostructure of a text in Biblical Hebrew. Global themes are contrasted with local themes. Global themes occur in the higher-level thematic groupings, like whole narratives and smaller episodes within the narratives. Within the episodes are sub-units like scenes and thematic paragraphs, the smallest thematic unit. In scenes and thematic paragraphs, local themes occur. Between the different thematic units, a variety of theme sequential strategies occur. Theme shifting is a wider information structure strategy that is in operation in discourse. For instance, topic promotion, topic shift, and topic text-world framing are all cases of theme shifting. To study the theme of a narrative discourse from the perspective of the information structure, four steps of a theme-tracing model have been suggested, and applied to Genesis 17.