In this present segment of time and space in which one finds himself there is a great multiplicity of attitudes current that offer one interesting vantage points from which to view contemporary, modern denizens and their thoughts with regard to the study of the Bible. [...]

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<p>The first-person Hebrew narrative of the Persian courtier sent to be governor of Judah, the "Nehemiah Memorial" (or NM: Neh 1-2:20; 3:33-7:3; 13:4-31), is a crucial text for understanding how elements within ancient Judaism conceived of their relationship to the Persian Achaemenid Empire, which ruled over Judah from the 6th to the 4th centuries BCE. This dissertation investigates NM via the issue of genre. Scholarship on NM in recent years has reached an impasse on this topic, suggesting that NM resists identification with any one genre. Newer developments in genre theory, however, offer resources for understanding genre not simply as a classificatory matter but also as a malleable relationship between writers and readers that can be exploited for rhetorical effect. NM makes use of two main genres: a "foreign court narrative" (cf. Daniel, Esther, and the Joseph narrative) slowly transforms into a biographical inscription or "official memorial", a genre attested throughout the ancient Near East. The subtle combination of these different genres suggests that Nehemiah's pious advocacy for his people and his city carries over from his role as Judean courtier before the Persian king to his role as governor over the Persian province of Judah. It also, however, ultimately underscores the ideological incompatibility of these genres, just as the goals of the subversive courtier at the mercy of the Persian king are at odds with the goals of the governor representing that king. Early readers of NM responded to these contradictions. A literary investigation of Ezra-Nehemiah reveals that editors of that book incorporated Nehemiah's story, but subtly corrected it, whether by reframing his actions in terms of the work of community as a whole and the Torah (Neh 10, Neh 12:44-13:3) or by contrasting him to the superior reformer Ezra (Ezra 7-10). The book of Ezra-Nehemiah thus mutes the signals sent by NM's use of genre indicating that the authority for Nehemiah's reforms, which were essential to Jerusalem's restoration, derived not from Israelite tradition or from the will of the people, but from the power of Judah's imperial masters.</p> / Dissertation

Previous studies of the seven extant manuscripts of the seventeenth century Londoner, Nehemiah Wallington, have focused on the psychological effects of Puritan theology as the cause for his deep spiritual crisis and for his uncontrollable urge to document his inner mental and emotional experiences in a diary or journal. This thesis takes a somewhat different approach, starting from a prominent and recurrent theme in Wallington’s manuscripts: his thoughts of and experiences with death. From an early age, Wallington lost close family members to illness. Four of his five children died in early childhood. He lived through outbreaks of plague, and recorded into his manuscripts casualties wrought by civil war and inexplicable accidents that took place around him in the City of London. Evidence from what Wallington wrote about these events in his manuscripts indicates that he responded to his frequent encounters with human mortality through his understanding and practice of Puritan theology and piety. Responding to death through religious belief and observance was not an innovation: some have argued that the late medieval Catholic Church in England provided, through the Mass and the doctrine of purgatory, ways to respond to death that brought comfort and inspired fresh engagement with the world. Yet scholars have tended to see Wallington’s recourse to Puritan religion as something that made him want to throw his life away in suicidal despair, rather than as a means to ease his sorrows and encourage him to engage with society again (in other words, as a means to come to terms with death which in some ways paralleled the momentum of older Catholic devotion, but in a new and distinctively Reformed context). Studies of Wallington’s despair have focused only on a particular youthful episode. However, this thesis will look at the theme of death over Wallington’s lifelong pursuit of Puritan theology and piety. From an examination of his seven extant manuscripts, it will show not only how Wallington turned to Puritan theology and piety in the face of death, but also how his understanding and approach changed over time. His response developed from a compulsive emotional reaction to a clear strategy that involved reflecting on death in his own experiences of loss, as well as in the Bible and other printed materials, all of which he recorded in his manuscripts for others to read. Wallington’s decision to write down his reflections led him out of despair and the temptation to abandon his life, to express in his later manuscripts an active desire to engage with the world around him out of faith and trust in the vivifying power of Christ. The thesis starts with an introduction to Nehemiah Wallington and his context, and to the theme of death in his extant manuscripts (chapter one). Next, it explores how Wallington responded to his encounters with death by taking up writing, an activity that developed from an urgent need to keep a personal daybook of his sins to a more deliberate attempt to write for others (chapter two). After this, the thesis considers how Wallington’s early response to death inspired his attempt to construct a ‘self’ through his understanding of the Christian doctrine of mortification (chapter three). Then it provides a fresh account of Wallington’s suicide attempts: how his attempt to construct a ‘self’ through mortification initially led him to despair and to the temptation to negate his ‘self’ and his life in the world (chapter four). Following this, the thesis goes beyond the account of despair to argue that Wallington overcame his temptation to commit suicide and resolved to engage with the world around him, by meditating on and studying death (chapter five). Finally, the thesis shows how the evidence presented in earlier chapters gives a fresh perspective on Wallington, and suggests how this might contribute to a better understanding of continuity and change in the piety of seventeenth century Reformed Christianity (chapter six).

Thesis (D. Min.)--New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, 2004. / Includes abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 213-221).

Thesis (D. Min.)--New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, 2004. / Includes abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 213-221).

Thesis (D. Min.)--New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, 2004. / Includes abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 213-221).

For many pre-modern and modern critics, the emergence of Ezra among the post-exilic Jerusalem community marks a significant event in the beginning stages of Judaism. Ezra’s promulgation of a “law of Moses,” bolstered by the theory of Persian imperial authorization, is often viewed as the moment at which the final form of the Pentateuch is published. The accounts contained in Ezra 7-10 and Nehemiah 8-10, however, continue to present historical and literary problems for the exegete. Compounding the difficulties for a reconstruction of Ezra’s activities, recent scholarship has raised questions concerning the viability of state-sanctioned support for the Pentateuch and revived skepticism on the historicity of Ezra and the reliability of the biblical witness. Still, the Ezra Memoir (EM) remains an important source that is shaped by the political, religious, and social worldview of post-exilic Yehud. This study incorporates two scholarly debates: on the one hand, the identification of EM and its supplemental layers; and on the other hand, the development of the Pentateuch up to this period. After the parameters of EM are identified in Ezra 7-10 and Nehemiah 8-10, this study supports EM’s use of Deuteronomic and Priestly literature but adds that EM also demonstrates significant literary connections to pentateuchal strands that are neither Deuteronomic nor Priestly. These strands are distinguished by the narrative and historical claims that are preserved in the classical pentateuchal documents. This study concludes that EM is a product of the Second Temple that anticipates the final form of the Pentateuch by collecting and integrating multiple presentations of the wilderness generation into a super-narrative that projects Ezra and the returnees as a second exodus and Sinai generation that supersedes their predecessors.

Texte remanié d'une partie de: MA Diss.--Hebrew literature--Jerusalem--Hebrew university, 1998. / Introd. en anglais ; textes et commentaires en hébreu. Index.

Afrikaans: In teenstelling tot al die aandag wat in die navorsing op Esra-Nehemia aan historiese en literêre vraagstukke gewy is, het die teologiese inhoud van die boek weinig aandag gekry. Dieselfde geld vir die ideologiese inhoud van die boek - ten spyte daarvan dat die term toenemend in die Bybelwetenskappe gebruik word. Teen die agtergrond ondemeem hierdie proefskrif (a) om die begrippe teologie en ideologie op so 'n wyse te omskryf dat die verband en verskille tussen hierdie twee begrippe duidelik blyk (b) om die teologiese en ideologiese inhoud van Esra-Nehemia aan die hand van 'n literêre analise te beskryf (c) om die bruikbaarheid van Esra-Nehemia vir die Christelike kerk te beoordeel. Teologie kan kortliks omskryf word as 'n stel samehangende idees oor die persoon en werk van God in relasie tot mense. Ideologie, daarteenoor, verteenwoordig 'n stel samehangende idees oor die samelewing. Hoewel daar beslis 'n verband tussen hierdie twee begrippe bestaan, is daar ook wesenlike verskille. Dit gaan in die onderskeie gedagtekomplekse nie om dieselfde saak nie, en die bedoelings van teologie en ideologie verskil ook. Dit is die bedoeling van elke ideologie om die magsbelange van 'n bepaalde groep in die samelewing te bevorder. Teologie, daarteenoor, is eerder daarop afgestem om 'n verklaring te bied vir die wyse waarop God in die wêreld werksaam is en om die grondslag te Iê vir 'n wyse van godsdiensbeoefening wat in ooreenstemming is met die wil van God. Die beskrywings van Esra-Nehemia se teologie en ideologie wys nogtans uit dat daar in die boek 'n verweefdheid tussen godsdiens en politiek, tussen teologie en ideologie, bestaan. Dit is egter van kardinale belang om die prinsipieIe onderskeid tussen teologie en ideologie te handhaaf, aangesien dit verreikende gevolge vir die interpretasie en waardering van Bybelse tekste het. Trouens, slegs wanneer daar tussen teologie en ideologie onderskei word, kan Esra-Nehemia steeds vir die Christelike kerk bruikbaar wees. English: In contrast to all the attention devoted to historical and literary problems in the research on Ezra-Nehemiah, the theological contents of the book received scant attention. The same applies to the ideological contents of the book - in spite of the fact that the term is increasingly used in the Biblical sciences. Against this background this thesis sets out (a) to describe the concepts theology and ideology in such a way that the relation and differences between these two concepts become clear (b) to describe the theological and ideological contents of Ezra-Nehemiah by means of a literary analysis (c) to consider the continued value of Ezra-Nehemiah for the Christian church. Theology can be briefly described as a set of interconnected ideas about the person and work of God in relation to people. Ideology, on the other hand, represents a set of interconnected ideas about society. Although connections between these two concepts certainly exist, there are also substantial differences. These two distinct thought complexes do not share the same subject matter, and their intentions also differ. Every ideology aims to further the interests of a specific group of people within society. Theology, on the other hand, rather strives to provide an explanation for the way in which God acts in the world, and it aims to serve as a basis for a way of worshipping God in accordance with his will. Still, the descriptions of Ezra-Nehemiah's theology and ideology show that in this book religion and politics, or theology and ideology, are intertwined. It is, however, of the utmost importance to maintain the fundamental difference between theology and ideology, since it has far-reaching implications for the interpretation and evaluation of Biblical texts. In fact, only when the difference between theology and ideology is maintained, can Ezra-Nehemiah still be of value for the Christian church. / Thesis (DD (Old Testament ))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Old Testament Studies / unrestricted