This study was motivated by the desire to make a difference in the world. A better understanding of how ancient peoples perceived the phenomenon of war, and how these perceptions were shaped by social values, can hold great value for contemporary peace processes. A large number of Old Testament passages can further be illuminated through a study of this nature. The problem can be summarised by the following question: ● Why did the ancient person positively regard war as an inevitable cultural phenomenon, while the contemporary Western person negatively regards war as an anomaly? The hypotheses are as follows: ● the social values of respectively the Western and the ancient world can explain why there is a discrepancy between their respective perceptions about war; ● a study of Joshua 23 can verify the results attained above. The purpose of this essay is: ● to determine whether the social values of respectively the Western and the ancient world can explain why there is a discrepancy between their respective perceptions about war; ● to determine whether a study of Joshua 23 can verify the results attained above. Chapter 1 introduces the study. Chapter 2 examines the difference between Western and ancient perceptions of war regarding the following social values: honour and shame, group-orientation, limited goods, purity. A synchronic exegesis of Joshua 23 follows in Chapter 3. During the course of this exegesis, the results of Chapter 2 will both illuminate and be verified by Joshua 23. Chapter 4 presents the interested student with guidelines for further study on this subject. The aim of this study is to promote peace in 2004 by illuminating Joshua 23. / Dissertation (MA (Ancient Languages and Culture Studies))--University of Pretoria, 2004. / Ancient Languages / unrestricted
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:up/oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/27406 |
| Date | 09 February 2005 |
| Creators | Howes, Llewellyn |
| Contributors | Botha, Philippus Jacobus, upetd@ais.up.ac.za |
| Publisher | University of Pretoria |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Dissertation |
| Rights | © 2004, University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. |
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