AbstractPassages that refer to women in general are not well dealt with in critical discussion. Passages that mention the presence and contribution of African women in the Bible are somehow more neglected; perhaps (1) there are few women African biblical scholars; (2) the deep prejudices against African women brought about the negligence or inadequate critical discussion on biblical passages with references to women generally. The passages on the African wife of Joseph, Asenath, are so scanty in the Bible (Gn 41:45, 50 and 46:20) that very few critical biblical scholars have noticed them. The main purpose of this article is to discuss the presence and the contribution of the African wife of Joseph mainly in the biblical tradition and the implication and challenges to Israel and to modern society. References will not only be to the Bible alone but also to the apocryphal literature, midrashic commentaries, Greek, and Islamic traditions.

AbstractThe wife of Potiphar is popularly believed to have come from Egypt on the African continent like her husband. She is referred to as the "African Wife of Potiphar" not only because Egypt is part of the African continent, but also because the ancient Egyptians referred to themselves as having ancestors in Punt along the coast of Somali Land. Despite the fact that the discussion centres on the woman's seduction or her misbehaviour, her action has a blessing on its own. The woman is pivotal to the survival of the Hebrews in Egypt. Her seduction initiated the event that brought the family of Jacob to Egypt, thus setting the stage for one of the major themes of the entire Bible, the Exodus or deliverance. This misbehaviour brings Joseph to the notice of Pharaoh and to a very high position of authority through which he organises the food supplies in Egypt. Joseph made Egypt to become the bread basket of the ancient Near East in that period (Gen 12:10). Despite the fact that so many readers condemn the behaviour of Potiphar's African wife, she behaves like any normal human being with great desire for children. An examination of her story in the Bible, Qur'an, Jewish Legends and ancient works of art reveals that she is not better or worse than any normal human being whose husband may be impotent or a eunuch.

AbstractAmos 9:7

AbstractThe purpose of this paper is to establish the Africanness of Hagar, the wife of Abraham. Hagar is a prominent figure in the Hebrew and Islamic traditions, so the paper analyses her place in God's salvific plan. It also places Hagar's marriage in the context of Urhobo customary marriage law. The essay also holds Hagar up as a model for contemporary African women.

AbstractIn spite of Christianity and western civilisation, polygamy remains a major issue in Christian marriage in Africa. In Nigeria, most of the mainline churches officially adopt monogamy, whilst many of the African Initiated Churches (AICs) practise polygamy. Because Africans consider procreation as the primary purpose of marriage, some childless Nigerian Christians engage in polygamy in order to have children. But apart from the factor of traditional passion for children, some engage in polygamy to have children because they take the phrase ‘Be fruitful and multiply’ in Genesis 1:28 as a divine command to everyone to produce children. Therefore, this article examines the text with a view to ascertain whether it is appropriate to exploit the passage as a basis for the adoption of polygamy as a solution to infertility. The target population is those Nigerian Christian men and women who engage in this practice. The article employs descriptive and exegetical methods. It found that, although couched as an imperative, the phrase ‘Be fruitful and multiply’, rather than being a command to procreate, should be simply understood as a saying that God blessed the humankind with offspring, just as he did the fish that are not expected to obey or disobey (Gn 1:22). It therefore does not provide a basis for adoption of polygamy as a solution to infertility. The article recommends that apart from assisting childless Nigerian Christians to realise their dream of childbearing, the church should make them understand the biblical position that every individual and couple need not have children.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: This research involves the disciplines of the Old Testament and Christian Ethics. It examines Genesis 1:28 with regard to the adoption of polygamy as a solution to infertility amongst Nigerian Christians. The article postulates that the passage is not a command for procreation but is simply a saying that God blessed the humankind with offspring; hence, it does not provide a basis for the adoption of polygamy to solve the problem of infertility.

AbstractMost Biblical scholars agree that there is much in common between the Old Testament and African culture. This research focuses on the similarities between the Patriarchal Narratives in Genesis 12-50 and African legends of ancestry with a view to assessing the possibility of exploiting such closeness for doing theology in Africa. A comparison of the narratives reveals that they both belong to the same genre, namely, folk literature. However, the Israelites recognised the theological significance of their own legends. Africans can do the same; they can learn to appreciate Divine Providence in their own oral narratives.

AbstractThe issue of monogamy versus polygamy has been a matter of constant debate within Christendom, particularly in Africa. There are several passages used to support monogamy as the biblical standard, but this article focuses on Genesis 2:24. Citing illustrations from Nigeria, the aim of this article is to examine the claim that Genesis 2:24 serves as a basis for monogamous Christian marriage. This article employs the descriptive and exegetical methods. It discovers that Genesis 2:24 is an aetiology, which means that it is descriptive rather than prescriptive. The essay concludes that the passage is silent on the form of marriage, whether monogamous or polygamous. The monogamy interpretation fails to take cognisance of the fact that the text is an aetiology, and therefore descriptive, having reference to marriage only as it was practised at the time of writing. The monogamy view also loses sight of the Mosaic laws that regulated the practice of polygamy. Finally, since the passage has no reference for monogamy or polygamy originally, it is incorrect to say that Jesus’ or Paul’s allusion to it supports monogamy.

AbstractBarren and advanced in age, Sarai proposed to Abram to take her maid, Hagar, as a wife so that they might have children through her. To some interpreters, this is sexual exploitation of Hagar. Using a reader-oriented approach, this article re-examines this mode of interpretation as well as assesses the perspectives in which the Hagar narrative appeals to the African reader. We found out that, when studied against its social background, the Abram–Hagar union is better understood as legitimate surrogacy. The research also found out that the text appeals to the African reader in the contexts of the problem of childlessness and modern surrogacy. The childless African reader thus finds solace in this narrative as it is suggestive of surrogacy as a pragmatic solution to his or her problem.

AbstractThe present state of research on the Jacob cycle demonstrates a clear lack of consensus on the exact borders of this block of material within the book of Genesis. While scholars are generally unanimous on the beginning of the cycle (Gen 25:19), they are less so when it comes to setting its upper limits, even where similar criteria are applied to the texts. The present article argues that using a set of combined criteria that do not only respect the final form of the book of Genesis but also take its specific narrative feature into consideration can bring some new insights into the current discussion.

AbstractReprisal attacks have become a global phenomenon. In Nigeria, the post-election crisis of 2011 and the increased suicide bombings in 2012, which have wasted hundreds of lives and property, are some examples. Nigeria's Muslims and Christians mostly co-exist peacefully but periodic flare-ups of sectarian violence and consequent outbursts of retaliation have killed hundreds since independence in 1960. This article presents the results of research on some of the reactions to evil and human wickedness in Nigeria's multi-cultural and multi-religious environment, with particular reference to reprisal attacks. Using the tool of biblical theology, the article aims to proffer possible remedies to reprisal attacks by examining their nature, sources, legitimacy, and effects in the face of political, religious and tribal crises in Nigeria - in the light of the theological ethical considerations of Genesis 34. The tribal hermeneutics of the patriarchal narratives of the Dinah episode, presented Shechem as a city inhabited by the tribe of Hamor. Seen as a weak tribe, Dinah was aggressively assaulted by the tribe of Hamor. Consequently the tribes of Simeon and Levi wreaked vengeance upon the Hamorites in Schechem, in solidarity with their sister tribe Dinah. Unfortunately this bravery of the tribes of Simeon and Levi could only earn them curses and more troubles as an allusion of a final retaliation was meted on them by the Canaanites in the final words of Jacob in Gen 49. The article argues that reprisal attacks cannot forestall or address the socio-ethical problems of evil and human wickedness. The collective roles of the media, religious and governmental bodies, through an objective dissemination of information, and mutual dialogues, including policies that would minimize or check arms proliferation can be possible remedies to evil and human wickedness in society.

AbstractProvides an presentation on the concept of marriage as it is reflected in the Christian Scriptures. Details the common points of resemblance between the Kusakorkor rite.

AbstractThe popular reading of the story of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19 credits the destruction of the cities to rampant homosexuality. The basis of this reading is found in the ambiguous statement of the deity in Genesis 18:20 as to their "grave sin" and Lot's statement in 19:8 that the men of Sodom should sexually assault his daughters instead of the men. These two statements, grounded in patriarchy, heterosexism, ethnocentrism and theocentrism underpin the sanction to oppress same gender loving people with the "authority of holy hatred". This article will give an alternative reading to the narrative by concentrating on literary cues, often masked by translation choices, by characterizations of Lot and the deity, and by comparisons with other similar plot details. My contention is that the narrative can be read as a spy tale on the order of Joshua 2 and 2 Samuel 10. I also contend that the proposed use of the bodies of Lot's daughters follows other biblical narratives of men feeling threatened and who use women's bodies to protect themselves. Finally I argue that the translation choices of the commentators in presenting the narrative and discussing the passage ignore other options of translation and interpretation, thus, readers are kept bound to see this story as one about homosexuality instead of daughters being sexually abused. The latter possibility is so horrific that the anti-homosexual reading has been sustained by readers in order to not only exonerate the deity but also to support patriarchal, ethnocentric, theocentric and heterosexist privileges.

AbstractGenesis 20 : 'n literêre sjabloon vir die profetiese tradisie 'n Noukeurige ontleding van Genesis 20 toon dat die konsep van profeet, wat vir die eerste keer in hierdie hoofstuk genoem word, op drie maniere benadruk word. Eerstens: God skep op 'n aktiewe wyse 'n nuwe amp - dié van profeet. Tweedens: God gee op 'n duidelike wyse 'n taakomskrywing - dié van voorbidder. Derders: Hy stel onmiskenbaar 'n model beskikbaar - een wat alle volgende profete, profetesse en profesieë in een of ander vorm navolg of daarop voortbou. Dit is belangrik om daarop te let dat Genesis 20 geen aanduiding gee dat Abraham die aanwysing as profeet nagestreef het of by voorbaat geweet het dat dit in die vooruitsig was nie. Abraham se nuwe amp benadruk God se soewereiniteit. Met Genesis 20 as beginpunt vestig God 'n patroon om vir Homself die reg voorbehou om Israel se profete te kies en later om die rigters en konings aan te wys. In hierdie artikel word betoog dat Hoofstuk 20 'n tienpuntgrondslag voorsien vir die taak van 'n profeet. Hierdie grondslag word in latere boeke van die Hebreeuse Bybel breër uitgewerk. A close examination of Genesis 20 shows that the concept of prophet, which is mentioned for the first time in this chapter, is emphasised in three ways. First, God actively creates a new office - that of prophet. Second, he specifically gives a job description - that of intercessor. Third, he squarely sets in place a model - one that all subsequent prophets, prophetesses, and prophesies in some way follow and build upon. Significantly, Genesis 20 gives no indication that Abraham sought the designation of prophet or knew in advance it was coming. Abraham's new office emphasises God's sovereignty. Starting with Genesis 20, God establishes a pattern of maintaining for Himself the right first to choose Israel's prophets and later to choose its judges and kings. This article argues that Chapter 20 provides a ten-point foundation for the work of the prophet that the Hebrew Bible enlarges on in later books.

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to present an analysis of the belief systems of the worldviews behind the religions of Christianity and African Traditional Religion with a view toward aiding the Christian church in African help its converts from African Traditional Religion to hold a biblical worldview in the areas where the biblical and traditional African worldviews conflict. The two worldviews were analyzed, and compared using the philosophical elements of a worldview and the religious dimensions of how a worldview is lived out in culture. Genesis 1-11 of the Christian Bible was used as the basis for the biblical or Christian worldview. The Christian believes that the Bible is God's inspired word to mankind and that what is recorded in Genesis 1-11 gives God's answers to the basic philosophical questions that make up a worldview. Therefore, Christian philosophy and the Christian worldview are postulated on God's special revelation as recorded in the Bible. The African worldview is based upon the sayings and traditions of the elders as received from the ancestors. The traditional African believes in the trustworthiness of the ancestors as strongly as the Christian believes in the trustworthiness of the Bible. When an African converts from African Traditional Religion to Christianity he encounters a conflict of beliefs in certain philosophical elements of his worldview. Upon the conviction that beliefs determine practice, unless the African convert to Christianity changes his beliefs he will not change his practice, and syncretism will be the result. After analyzing the two worldviews, the areas of conflict in beliefs were presented with recommendations for bringing the African Christian's worldview beliefs into conformity with the Christian worldview.

AbstractThis article seeked to read the interconnected narratives of Sarah and Hagar (Genesis 16, 21) in terms of the hermeneutical lens of human dignity. For the purpose of this article, recent studies on the performative nature of emotions, which considered the central role of emotions such as pain, disgust and hatred in shaping the lives of individuals as well as the ways in which people relate to one another, were helpful in contemplating the situations of dehumanisation faced by both Sarah and Hagar as well as the broader question regarding upholding human worth in a context of indignity. This article furthermore considered the role of emotions in a conversation on ethics and particularly the way in which the narrative offered a fruitful avenue for considering Israel’s relationship to their neighbours – a line of interpretation that holds potential for reflecting on complex interracial and interethnic relationships in today’s global context.

AbstractFocusses on the responsibility of the church in society.

AbstractSeveral common motives and linguistic features in the works of Euripides and in the Hebrew and Greek Old Testament are an indication that an intellectual and linguistic exchange took place between the Greek and Hebrew people during the Classical and the Hellenistic period. This paper focuses on those methodological issues that entail an examination of the relationship between Greek and Hebrew literature and thought. Both traditional and current research trends are taken into consideration. As a starting point I use the theme of monogamy vs. polygamy in the Andromache of Euripides and the Genesis narratives.

AbstractWhile the theme of the exodus from oppression provided the basic theological paradigm for early liberation theology, the emphasis more recently has been on biblical anthropology as a framework within which the exodus theme can be understood. This shift allows for seeing liberation as more than liberation from direct political and economic oppression. This article attempts to construct the broad outlines for a biblical anthropology that can serve as a theologico-hermeneutic framework for thinking about liberation. It is argued that in Genesis 1-11 life is defined in ethical, not biological terms and that life is only possible where respect for life is upheld. Where conduct is at variance with this principle there can only be death. Hence, oppression is any human act that endangers the possibility of life in its fullest sense and liberation has to be understood as the restoration of life through the acceptance of one's powerlessness and by living according to the divine rules for the care and sustenance of life.

AbstractThe first twelve verses of this episode describe an event which was representative of the relationship of the Assyrian Empire with vassal states. Four kings invade a rebel state, subdue it, and take hostages. These events reflect what the writer regards as the typical behaviour of kings both invaders and defenders, who reject the role of the priesthood and hence their subordination to God. These kings are opposed to, and compared to an alliance comprising the king of Sodom, Melchizedek who is both priest and king, and Abram who is not a king. The final member of this opposing foursome is God. This episode takes place within the ongoing debate both within the Bible and in the ANE on the relationship between palace and temple. This text itself becomes evidence for a reconfigured “four corners of the world” presided over by the God of Abram.

AbstractPast suggestions for the locality of the biblical Eden mostly fell into the trap of either assuming a real historical setting, or supposing that the garden in Eden had a fictional or fantastical setting. Even in those cases where scholars did assume a mythical setting for the garden, they were more interested in locating the possible historical garden on which this mythical garden may have been modelled than trying to identify the exact imagined position for the garden within the mythical cosmography of the ANE. It is concluded that it is futile to assume a locality for Eden within the boundaries of our natural human world, because it was perceived as being located outside our known world in the mythical in-between space of the eastern horizon. The Garden in Eden retained most features of the ANE mythical garden of the gods. These include: its sense of abundance, water-richness, the eastern horizon as the source of cosmic rivers like the Euphrates and Tigris, its association with mythical monsters, guards and spells (cherubs and a flaming sword), wondrous (magical) trees, the allusion to a garden of gems and its association with life and immortality.

AbstractGenesis 30:37-39 may be interpreted in various ways by modern readers, depending on the assumed underlying cosmology (worldview) of the text and how the scientific cosmology of the modern reader interacts with the ancient cosmology. In this process of interpretation the main sources of errors are either that the cosmology of the text is constructed incorrectly (e.g. in the case of Tylor and Frazer's idealistic scheme of religion), or because modern readers may mistakenly assume that the biblical cosmology is identical to their current scientific one. Five different cosmologies (i.e. magical, magico-mythical, monotheistic, deistic and atheistic) are discussed and their assumptions (regarding the mechanisms of the cosmos) applied to elucidate the Genesis 30 text. Finally, it is concluded that the most appropriate cosmology against which Genesis 30:37-39 should be interpreted, is the monotheistic cosmology, while recognising that the magical layer is especially prominent in the immediate context of Genesis 30.

AbstractSakkie Spangenberg has written a number of articles dealing with Gen 1-3 in terms of its place in traditional Christian dogma and the paradigm shifts he has experienced in his understanding of this text. In this article, I would like to honour Sakkie by providing a Jungian psychoanalytic interpretation of Gen 1:1-2:4a, focusing primarily on the memory of original wholeness and the conscious differentiation that are reflected in this text. I conclude that the psyche that produced this creation story had stalled at the third stage of individuation as a result of a traumatic experience which caused it to long for its erstwhile memory of original wholeness.

AbstractThis work employs a comparative study of the theologies of Genesis 3:14-20 and Romans 8:18-25 as it relates to the problem of ecological imbalance. It attempts to re-interpret from a Christian theological point of view the primary and the secondary causes of decay from Genesis and the implications of those for the ecosystem, identifies Paul's eschatological theology of restoration, and then re-reads the import of his eschatological hope in Romans for the restoration of the creation. By inter-acting the curse theology of Genesis 3 with the restorative theology of Romans 8, the work shows the drift of the 'very good' world from its initial, harmonious state to its present state of chaos and the challenge to redress the contemporary ecological imbalance.

AbstractUnpublished paper for the University of Erlangen, Nurnberg, Germany; on file at the Lutheran Theological College, Makumira, Tanzania.

AbstractScope of the study African concepts of God, humanity and nature The Bible and environment conservation Christian attitudes toward environment conservation Kikuyu and Maasai conceptions compared with biblical teaching An African Christian theological basis for environment conservation

AbstractBiblical scholars often live in a kind of in-between world, where they are seen as either too scientific for the faith community, or not scientific enough for the world of science. They gain wonderful insights, but have no-one to share them with. Genesis 2-3 is a point in case. Church doctrine expects this text to be historically true, while modern minds see it as a pre-scientific, historically impossible story. The interpretations by biblical scholars help understand the flow of thought and the use of motifs which are not necessarily understood by current readers of the text. However, questions regarding the truth and meaning of the passage still remain. In an attempt to escape from the impasse, insights on the architecture of belief by a clinical psychologist, Jordan Peterson, are used to demarcate domains of understanding in the world. The world as a place of things is explored by using the formal methods of natural science, while the world of action is the world of value, and is explored by using techniques of narrative. Seen in this manner, ancient myths, such as those found in Genesis 2-3, need not be taken as outdated portrayals of ideas which can be discarded, but as dated yet still valid, even universal truths, to be found in human minds then and now, and still enabling us to cope with real life issues.

AbstractThe translation of the Hebrew phrase צוֺד הַיּוֹם נָּדֺוֺל (literally "the day is still big") in Genesis 29:7 in the Hebrew Bible is shown to be problematic in the large variety of translations that exist for this phrase. In Biblical Hebrew words and phrases have traditionally been translated literally, based on dictionaries which were written according to certain linguistic methodologies. The comparative philological and structuralist approaches failed to provide a solution to this problem, as can clearly be seen in the differing translations. This paper suggests that there is conceptual metaphor underlying this phrase which should be identified. The phrase in Genesis 29:7 is analysed according to the cognitive metaphor theory. The cultural and social background of this phrase is also discussed. Based and the analysis conceptual metaphor is suggested, namely A DAY IS A CONTAINER WITH ROOM FOR ACTIVITIES. A new translation for this verse is also suggested.

AbstractThe literature on Genesis 4:1−16 advances several reasons why Cain murdered Abel. The majority of commentators believe that Cain killed him because of anger, jealousy or envy. Some suggest that the murder is to be explained by Cain’s depression. Those who believe that Cain was jealous of Abel often confuse jealousy with envy. Then there are those who oppose the idea that Cain killed Abel out of envy, and suggest that God was capricious to reject Cain’s offering. The aim of this paper is to make sense of these divergent views. First, it establishes with whom Cain was angry and why he got depressed. The thesis is that Cain got angry at God and not Abel, and became depressed because he realised that he could not obtain what he desired (God’s favour) on his own terms. It then clarifies the conceptual connection between envy, covetousness and jealousy, and argues that Cain murdered Abel because he envied, resented and hated him for his character and spiritual qualities, and because he lost honour and esteem. It concludes, in contrast to critics, that God was not capricious when he rejected Cain and his offering.

AbstractThis article analyses the Tangale presupposition relating to the concept of brotherhood. It argues that the concept underscores the significance of the virtue of solidarity and togetherness within the Tangale traditional kinship setting. The Tangale background develops a new appreciation for the interaction between brotherhood and kinship and opens up a new perspective of exegesis of Genesis 19:1-11—using irony as the hermeneutical lens. This assessment of biblical passage, hospitality as the interpretive context of the passage, provides a theological and ethical understanding of the concept of brotherhood that transcends ethnic boundaries. Such understanding, it is argued, has significant implications on the theological-ethical reflections that might help the Tangale and Kaltungo/Shongom ethnic nationalities to have a rethink and resist the negative persuasions that had resulted in the ongoing inter-tribal armed rivalry.

AbstractThe rape of Dinah in Genesis 34 is an unsettling story that creates discomfort for interpreters, evident in the variety and uncertainty displayed in their interpretations of the rape incident. Dinah's rape is either minimised, denied or the victim is blamed for what happened to her. Interpretations derive from the cultural assumptions of their time and interpretations of this text reflect a culture that encourages rape and sympathises with the rapist. These interpretations have ethical consequences, for by silencing the victim and not taking a stance against the rapist, the rampant rape epidemic of our time is perpetuated. To substantiate this observation, interpretations of Genesis 34 will be explored, tracing the way interpreters read their cultural assumptions about sexual violence into the text. An ethics of Bible reading is proposed that accepts responsibility for the integrity of Dinah, the victim character in the text, as well as for those on the reception side of the interpretation.

AbstractThe purpose of this paper is to explore how ancient interpreters, and particularly the Amoraim in Genesis Rabbah, provided new meanings to the Noah drunkenness biblical text (Gen 9: 18-29). These Jewish interpreters in the third and fourth centuries C.E. made hermeneutic decisions at critical junctures in this biblical narrative and sometimes reconfigured the story's plot and characters to correspond to their understanding of its central message. Their elaborations and clarifications therefore restricted and channeled the meaning of the biblical narrative in distinctive directions. Their reconstructed narrative indeed offers a rich vista into the thematic and literary formulation of early rabbinic interpretation. In addition, it explores how the authors of early rabbinic literature established standards of rabbinic morality by reshaping and developing the biblical narrative. While the Bible does not explicitly condemn Noah for his act of drunkenness, the Amoraim in Genesis Rabbah go to great lengths to demonstrate that not only was Noah guilty of a grave sin of inebriation, but that his actions were the cause of Israel's future exiles and troubles. Their interpretations may in fact offer an assessment of what the early Rabbis considered moral behaviour.

AbstractNear the end of the story of Sarah's adventure in the house of Abimelech in Genesis 20, Abimelech is said to give Abraham a thousand pieces of silver. Addressing Sarah, Abimelech claims that the silver will be a "covering of eyes" (כםות צינים) for her and all that is with her. The majority of interpreters have chosen a theological paradigm for the interpretation of Abimelech's actions and words. The gift is seen as an expiatory offering, absolving Sarah from the guilt of having been taken in as a concubine while she was in fact married to Abraham. This article attempts an alternative interpretation of the metaphor against the background of the ancient Near Eastern belief in the evil eye and the prophylactic qualities of silver. It is suggested that Abimelech may have believed the silver to have protective value against the baleful look of others.

AbstractCNWS = Centrum voor niet-Westerse studies. - Contient des textes de contes centrafricains (récits de Tere) en langue Sango avec trad. française en regard. - Résumé et curriculum vitae de l'auteur en néerlandais. - Bibliogr. p. 225-236 Proefschrift : Leiden, Universiteit : 2000

AbstractThis article focuses on the extraction and exploration of semantic role frameworks via a Visual Basic 6 program from an XML data cube containing linguistic data of the Hebrew text of Genesis 1:1-2:3. The semantic roles in the clauses were analysed and marked up according to S.C. Dik's Theory of Functional Grammar (Dik 1997α, 1997b; Kroeze 1996, 2003). The program extracts the semantic role frameworks by slicing the relevant information from a three-dimensional data cube. Unique semantic role frameworks are then identified and their frequencies calculated. The various patterns are shown and discussed. Some interesting combinations are highlighted and suggestions are made for the revision of the definitions of some of the semantic functions. The results of the study indicate the value of computer-assisted exploration for Hebrew studies and other linguistic research.

AbstractMyth can function as an infrastructure of religious beliefs and cultural systems. However, in contrast certain types or modes of mythological literature may function as polemical attacks on controversial claims or views/beliefs held by individuals or groups of ancient times or any time. In this respect the mode of expression may be understood as task myth, sometimes with a satirical focus. The outcome of myths entertaining these ideas may have a sobering effect on their hearers/readers, especially on those who make excessive claims, abuse political power, or those who purport to possess a monopoly on wisdom. In this sense, myths may serve as vital allies of religion and help to break down social ills and restore certain values in society. The essay hopes to illustrate that Genesis 3 can be approached along these lines.

AbstractGenesis 3 probably reflects humans' striving to overcome their limitations and to control their destiny. In ancient religious terms this means humankind's striving after divinity. The mental capability, which epitomises the attempt to control everything, seems to be wisdom. The physical side seams to be politically related motifs. The present essay looks at Genesis 3 from a particular view based on a certain relationship between religion and myth with special reference to socio- political and moral issues.

AbstractThis essay examines Genesis’ depiction of the contrast between patriarchal altar-building (בנה , Gen 12:7, 8; 13:18; 22:9; 26:25; 35:7; cf. 8:20) and pre-patriarchal city-building (בנה , Gen 4:17; 10:11; 11:4). The patriarchal building is qualitatively different because the altars are built in the place where, and after, YHWH appears to the patriarch, in the context of a word of blessing evocative of Genesis 12:1-3.It is suggested that the patriarchal altars of Genesis anticipated the place YHWH would choose for his name to dwell.

AbstractHeineman (1971) connected the early proem or sermon with the customary Torah reading in the ancient synagogue service during the age of formative Judaism. This paper follows Heinemann's approach in the correlated reading of petichah א from Genesis Rabbah and Targum Neofiti's rendering of Genesis 1 on the argument that Genesis Rabbah and Neofiti 1 are contemporary documents. The correlated reading demonstrates how an early sermon uses the techniques of rhetoric and midrash exegesis to link to Targum with the use of repetitive, fixed interpolations or rabbinic stock phrases. Furthermore, a note from the Masorah parva reveals how sages retained religious Hebrew idioms in Targum to transmit principles of rabbinic theology to their audience in the ancient synagogue service.

AbstractThe major premise of this essay is that since the dawn of time, the human drive for life has been checkmated by death. A Biblical-theological examination of Genesis 5 and Ecclesiastes 1 indicates that despite the efforts of people both individually and collectively to extend the realms of human existence, their efforts are ultimately ambushed (in a manner of speaking) by the end of life. Moreover, while each generation appears to be making incremental strides - sometimes even laudable gains - the reality of death neutralizes these advances and in some cases entirely wipes them out. An examination of 1 Corinthians 15 : 50-58 informs people of faith that only in Christ can work and leisure be enjoyable, beneficial, and fulfilling.

AbstractCollins CJ 2011. Did Adam and Eve really exist? Who they were and why you should care. Wheaton: Crossway. Enns P 2012. The evolution of Adam: what the Bible does and doesn't say about human origins. Grand Rapids: Brazos Press. In this review article, a comparison is made between the recent publications authored by C. J. Collins and P. Enns concerning the historical authenticity of the Adam character (and to a lesser extent Eve) in the Genesis creation narratives. The first section introduces and provides the rationale for the essay. Next, in the second and third sections, an overview of each author's respective books is undertaken. Then, the final section concludes by comparing the presuppositions made and deductions put forward by each author. The intent is not to adjudicate whether the exegetical choices and theological positions advocated by either writer have greater or lesser value. Instead, it is to provide concerned readers with a fresh perspective of how two representative biblical scholars address a topic that is pertinent to the wider discussion on science and religion.

AbstractTaking its cue from different exegetical views about the endings of the Primeval Narrative and the Book of Genesis as a whole, this paper argues that the use of ebb and flow plays a meaningful role in the story line of the narrative itself and therefore also as a building block in the narrative sequence of the Book of Genesis and the Pentateuch. The argument focuses on the integrating function of genealogies and particularly the simplicity of rhythm in creating both cohesion of genealogies and particularly the simplicity of rhythm in creating both cohesion and meaning in the Book of Genesis as well as in/for the rest of the Pentateuchal Narrative.

AbstractThe three genealogies in Genesis 4:17-22, 4:25-26 en 5:1-32 show different intentions: the first wants (amongst other purposes) to give an aetiology of the trades; the second wants to stress the importance of a new beginning; the third wants to relate Adam to Noah. Each of these approaches to genealogy has a different intent; each wants to indicate a different aspect of God's care. Each thus evidences an own (though not unrelated) configuration of faith experienced, that is, a different spirituality.

AbstractGenesis 22:1-19 has through its narrative content and the history of its exegesis proven to be a contentious text. Most satisfactory have been interpretations of this text in historical mode. These kinds of interpretations however do best at probing "what the text meant", and are generally less forthcoming on "what the text means". Balancing these concerns is brought into focus again in the new discipline of Biblical Spirituality: the meaning(s) that underlie a text and what latter-day interpretations (are to) make of that text are important in recently proposed models of Biblical Spirituality. Precisely how robust these models are at attaining such balance has however not been tested in exegetical-hermeneutical mode. This contribution seeks to move in this direction, as a first exploratory step, by summarising the historical interpretations of Genesis 22 and placing them in dialogue with proposed models of Biblical Spirituality. Available on request from https://www.pharosjot.com.

AbstractIn this paper, a new interpretation of the Genesis 22 : 1-19 account is offered. Based on the new view of biblical historiography as anecdotal (Frykenberg), and drawing on the author's own recent studies on the historical problems related to, and historically sensitive narratological interpretative possibilities of, this Genesis text, a new meaning and a new dating for Genesis 22 : 1-19 are concluded to. This text, namely, reflects the end of a struggle for dominance between the different tradents of the patriarchal traditions, in which the Abraham tradents finally subjugate, with this Genesis 22-text, the Isaac tradents. This occurs late in the compositional history of the Pentateuch, namely between 400 and 250 BCE.

AbstractThe understanding of the Akedah (Genesis 22) has since its very inception been contentious. The psychologically disturbing and theologically challenging account renders a series of exegetical and interpretative problems. Often methodology serves to hinder a fuller perception of the elements and aspects of the text, examples of which are given here relating to the opening phrase to the chapter, the choice of literary or historical placement implied by the exegete's choices on the opening phrase, the treatment of verses 15 to 18 (and, hence, verse 1) and the treatment of the morality (ethics and philosophy) involved with this text.

AbstractIn this paper the problems of narratological analysis of texts are indicated, using the Akedah-narrative in Genesis as an illustration. The main problem identified with narrative exegesis is that it does not deliver on its promise of solving exegetical problems; it simply circumnavigates the problems by retelling the story in other words. This is shown concretely by offering a brief narrative analysis of Genesis 22. However, if narratological analyses were conducted historically, as is the case in broader literary analyses, it could provide the scholarly community with very valuable insights.

AbstractThe article focuses on the text of Genesis 1:27-28 within its broader context where the author, the Jahwist, describes humankind as charged with the responsibility to fill and to subdue the earth, which has generally been misunderstood by wealth prospectors. Our methodology is a simplified historical and exegetical study of the two verses of the creation narrative in order to join other contemporary theologians to argue the right of humans to treat the nonhuman as private property as source of material wealth is immoral. As we re-read the text, our findings resonate with the contemporary clarion call for respect and protection of the environment such as COP 2015 in Paris. This provides the justification of our title 'Preaching the green gospel', especially in the Nigerian oil-rich states and in Africa in general. Whilst the paper presents a disquisition of the global efforts of the church through sensitisation of their members to appreciate the magnitude of the environmental pollution and the apocalypse it holds for the world, it draws attention to the possibility of the envisaged doomsday that may descend on Nigeria and other parts of Africa if the crass environmental degradation and the rate of pollution of flora and fauna are not checked. The paper takes cognisance of the positive views expressed by the evangelists of the 'New Theology' in Africa. Whilst the paper raises Biblically friendly ecological awareness in modern Africa, using Nigeria as a contact point, it concludes, inter alia, that the text demands humankind to partake in God's will for order and peace in the universe as it struggles to maintain the ecological sustainability of mother earth.

AbstractThe received interpretations of the Bible in African contexts in South Africa have always been foreign. The colonisers not only colonised the land, even the interpretation of the Bible was colonised. As a point of departure, the colonial/missionary reading of Genesis 16 is given. This is followed by a counter- reading. A 'Bosadi' (Womanhood) reading of the same text with a view to making it accessible to its African-South African female readers in a more relevant way.

AbstractThis exciting first edition of Global Perspectives on the Bible, edited by Mark Roncace and Joseph Weaver, collects writings from a variety of geographic, social, cultural, political, economic, and religious settings. The book features forty chapters, each comprised of four short, accessible essays on a specific biblical text. This design creates a focused, dynamic conversation of perspectives, which will in turn prompt engaging conversations in the classroom. Students will learn about themselves and their own particular context as they explore the ideas and contexts of other biblical interpreters from around the globe. In addition to presenting truly fresh interpretations of the Bible—this is no predictable compendium of scholarly essays—the book features discussion questions at the end of each chapter, as well as many additional questions in the Instructor’s Resource Manual.

AbstractThe present research is a rereading of the Hagar narrative in view of prejudice in South Africa. Some previous contributions on the Hagar narrative have tended to pursue either exegetical or hermeneutic route. The present research comprises an eight-tier structure. However, the Hagar narrative is explored in lieu of the following two foci. First, a critical exegesis of the Hagar narrative (Genesis 16:1-16) is given. The critical exegesis is a verse-by-verse analysis of the narrative. The analysis seeks to present clarity for the readership where some ambiguity and inconsistency occur in the narrative. For example, the study interrogates the flight of a pregnant Hagar from Sarah in Mamre and travels a journey of approximately 340km to Shur at the border with Egypt. Other misunderstood parts of the text include the enslavement, marriage and mistreatment of Hagar by Abraham and Sarah. Second, a rereading of the Hagar story as a narrative of prejudice in South Africa is explored. It is argued that the attempt is not to regard the narrative as a historical reality and that Hagar will not be discussed as a historical figure. On the contrary, the present study examines the concepts and themes in the Hagar narrative considering the perceived oppression and prejudice devastating post-apartheid South Africa today. The study argues that South Africa has not successfully dismantled apartheid policies by the dawning of majority rule; unemployment, poverty and abortion continue to depict the ‘rainbow nation’ in a bad light. For example, legalization of abortion contradicts the African Ubuntu philosophy. Hence, “…Return to thy mistress and submit thyself under her hands” (Genesis 16:9) suggests a perpetuity of apartheid policies. However, a rereading of the Hebrew phrase translated as “The well of him that lives and sees” (see Genesis 16:14), portrays Hagar envisioning triumph and a dispensation of euphoria beyond her situation of deprivation and prejudice. The study is, therefore, poised towards a feminist discussion of Hagar as an African mother (wife) who was jettisoned to take care of the young children solely and single-handedly. The study utilizes a contextual content analysis as an approach in which secondary data analysis on the Hagar narrative will be explored in light of the biblical text as the primary source. The study revolves around a symbolic interactionism theory.

AbstractGenesis calls its readers into a vision of human community unconstrained by the categories that dominate modern thinking about identity. Genesis situates humanity within a network of nurture that encompasses the entire cosmos—only then introducing Israel not as a people, but as a promise. Genesis prioritizes a human identity that originates in the divine word and depends on ongoing relationship with God. Those called into this new mode of belonging must forsake the social definition that had structured their former life, trading it for an alternative that will only gradually take shape. In contrast to the rigidity that typifies modern notions, Genesis depicts identity as fundamentally fluid. Encounter with God leads to a new social self, not a "spiritual" self that operates only within parameters established in the body at birth. In Belonging in Genesis, Amanda Mbuvi highlights the ways narrative and the act of storytelling function to define and create a community. Building on the emphasis on family in Genesis, she focuses on the way family storytelling is a means of holding together the interpretation of the text and the constitution of the reading community. Explicitly engaging the way in which readers regard the biblical text as a point of reference for their own (collective) identities leads to an understanding of Genesis as inviting its readers into a radically transformative vision of their place in the world.

AbstractExplores how the biblical narrative is used to promote the tradition le levirate marriage in Zimbabwe.

AbstractExplores how the biblical narrative is used to promote the tradition le levirate marriage in Zimbabwe.

AbstractThe article explores the interpretation and reception of Genesis 9:25-27 and how the so-called 'curse of Ham' contributed to the construction of masculinities in South Africa. The impact of the Ham ideology on black people and on the construction of masculinities is explored from the perspective of a contemporary theological anthropology as embodied sensing'. The Ham ideology also has a remarkable longevity, especially in South Africa with remnants of the curse still visible and alive in the minds (and bodies) of people. Because of the unique way in which this ideology was employed in South Africa from the time of slavery and during apartheid, it is reasonable to conceive that it also played a vital role in the construction of the masculinities of males in South Africa.

AbstractCet article réagit aux travaux de spécialistes tels Christophe Nihan et Ehud Ben Zvi au sujet de la possession de la terre promise par les patriaches. Nihan estime que l’accomplissement de la promesse faite à Abraham d’une terre «a déjà pris place à l’époque des patriaches, ainsi que l’affirment explicitement Gn 28,4 et 35,12». Ben Zvi estime au contraire qu’aucun patriarche n’a possédé la terre promise mentionnée en Gn 17,8. Le présent article adopte cette dernière position et accepte l’argument selon lequel le concept deutéronomiste (D) de terre en tant que נחלה «possession personnelle» a probablement été reconceptualisé par les auteurs sacerdotaux (P) et présenté comme אחזה «possession exclusive de Yahwé». Étant donné le souci du Code de Sainteté pour la justice sociale, H présente lui aussi la terre comme appartenant à Yahwé seul (cf. Lv 25,23), réfuter ainsi le point de vue des élites à l’époque de l’exil et après selon lequel la terre serait un bien personnel. Ainsi le concept de terre promise de D et P a-t-il été développé par H afin d’imaginer le partage de la terre.

Abstract"This is an important book that tackles the multifaceted moral, political, spiritual, religious, and psychosocial realities of girls and young women associated with fighting forces in Sub-Saharan Africa. The book's most significant contributions take the contexts of culture, family, and community seriously as the authors delve into the violence and transformation in wars and the resulting implications for healing for females and their communities. For most of these females there was no return to normalcy following war. The contributors reveal the complexity of females' attempts to make meaning of their experiences, rebuild a sense of respect and dignity, and how all of this has to be understood within processes of renegotiating and rebuilding relationships within their communities."-Dyan Mazurana, Associate Research Professor, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, and Research Director, Feinstein International Center, Tufts University --

AbstractMan, since living in communities, has sought ways and means of production and infrastructural development for himself. However, these developments and means of production have not always been done in such a way that the ecology is sustained. There have been so many interventions that have sought to address this issue. Many of these interventions have come from the scientific and social scientific disciplines. Very little has been done and even sought to address this issue of sustainable development from the arts. This paper is restricted to the worldviews of African Christians who have accepted certain erroneous readings of the Bible that have tooted humanity as the centre of creation and have therefore espoused values that deplete the resources that have been made available to humanity in creation. It seeks to pursue a reader centred reader-response reading of Genesis 6:5-8:22. This reading will take seriously our African setting and worldview. It is hoped that this sort of reading will demonstrate that a careful reading of the Bible by African Christians who take seriously African religious and cultural worldviews and values will enable us to be more responsible in the way we live. It has been found that Africans and other critical readings of the Bible share the same religious and cultural values of treating the earth with respect. This paper shows that the “flood” is caused by human actions and floods that do occur today should remind us that we are to change the way we treat the earth and its resources that are available to us.

AbstractIn the face of seemingly irreconcilable conflicts the world over, especially in some African countries, this article sets out to establish through a close reading of Gen 50:15-21 that permanent reconciliation between conflicting parties is achievable, as it was between Joseph and his brothers. It delineates from context a wide range of processes and effective strategies that lead to reconciliation, namely inspirational mediation, good timing for open and face-to-face dialogue, capacity to address contentious issues properly and conclusively, without mitigating the gravity of crime and its natural consequences, the magnanimity of the victim to let go, the courage of the offender to accept guilt, and a good theological motif. On the contrary, it discovers that lack of concrete and visible windfall of reconciliation can hinder achieving full settlement.

AbstractPublisher: Theological Research Exchange Network

AbstractConspicuous in the Old Testament (OT) is the literary genre of blessing that is often construed in poetic forms. They are of various types and were significant to their initial audience. A careful analysis of their texts and contexts is indispensable for a correct understanding of their message. Conversely, in our times, these texts and their contents are misinterpreted for some subjective goals, which deviate greatly from what one can perceive as their original meaning and intention. Misinterpretation and incorrect application of Biblical texts of blessings thrive in a society like ours where ills are perpetrated under the guise of religion. The text of Genesis 27:27–29, carefully inserted in the patriarchal narratives, contains a type of OT blessings portraying parents’ wishful desires for their offspring; this is common to all human cultures. It is chosen as a springboard for the study of other parental blessings in the OT. Employing a literary analysis with particular attention to the functions of poetic devices in the text, the study aimed at understanding the message contained therein and its relevance to our contemporary society.

AbstractGenesis 1-11: A Narrative Theological Commentary combines critical acumen with concern for the theological message of Scripture. It is a commentary in two stages. First, the text is allowed to speak for itself, using a narrative approach. Then, specific Jewish and Christian traditions flowing from the text are identified, and the underlying hermeneutical moves analyzed.

Abstract"Genesis 12-50: A Narrative-Theological Commentary uses narrative criticism to bring out the theological aspects of the biblical story. While basing itself on the Christian belief that Christ is the goal of all Scripture, it nevertheless allows the Hebrew Bible to speak for itself and to show how its inner message may receive completion in Christ. Hence, it adopts what the author calls a "two-stage" hermeneutics. A particular contribution of this commentary is the comparison and confrontation of patristic and early rabbinic exegesis as Christians and Jews struggled over the same texts, using them to support their diverse beliefs. The discussion is geared towards the average educated reader." --publisher.

AbstractExegetes consider Genesis 35:8 an intrusive verse in the narrative of Genesis 35:1-15 because of its isolated mention of the death and burial of Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse. However, the analysis of the verse in its literary and theological context in this article shows that it has been strategically placed in the narrative to underscore, among other things, the important role of Deborah in the Bethel tradition and the Jacob Cycle, as well as the subtle pointer to the fact that little people also have a place in the overall narrative of God’s people.

AbstractThe story of the Tower of Babel (Gen 11: 1-9) has been interpreted in various ways down through the centuries. However, most commentators have ignored the genre of the text, and have not sought to interpret it within its mythological framework - therefore most interpretations are nothing short of babble. A working text is ascertained, and the complexity of the text investigated. The text is then identified as 'myth': within its mythological framework the tower is seen as a temple linking heaven and earth, ensuring the continuation of the royal dynasty (i e 'making a name'). When used by the Yahwist Levites during the Babylonian Exile, our story was inserted in the great Pre-History as polemic against the Babylonian concept of creation, temple, and dynasty; and served as both a warning and an encouragement to the Exiles. The post-exilic Priestly Writer re-interpreted our story as a warning to the returning exiles that their society, and their temple, should be reconstructed as YHWH determines. Interpreting the story as myth enables it, finally, to speak clearly into our context today, especially that of South Africa.

AbstractTraditionally, interpretations of Genesis 5 have focused on questions asked of the text as determined by a Western worldview - for example, the approaches of historical criticism and science of literature, to mention two main perspectives. A reading of the text from a perspective informed by our own context, Africa, sheds some new light on the theological understanding of the genealogy in Genesis 5 in that it allows the biblical and African views of reality to interact in the process of interpretation towards a more inteffal and wholesome understanding of the human situation.

AbstractRecognizing that scholarship has long struggled with the so-called "freeness" of Hebrew word order in direct speech, this study seeks to demonstrate that the primary pragmatic functions of the wex-qatal form within direct speech in classical biblical Hebrew are justification and anteriority. Examining the issues of word order and the syntactical opposition between the wayyiqtol and wex-qatal, the work concludes by presenting numerous examples of both functions in Genesis texts. The implications of the study are an improved understanding of clausal relationships within direct speech and improved translations and interpretations of these passages.

AbstractGenesis 12 is a crucial chapter in biblical theology, with most scholarly attention being given to the promises given at the start. Structurally, however, the chapter should be viewed as a unit, and its emphasis falls on v.10. This article aims to demonstrate that the text is best viewed as a series of five speech-response pairs, with the central 'pair' emphatically omitting any speech. The absence of speech in v.10 is an interpretive key, identifying the theme of testing as central to this episode, and placing the promises made to Abram in their proper context: the gifts and blessings of God are ultimately less important than being in properly ordered relationship with the Giver.

AbstractAvailable explanations of the causes for Egyptian sense of abomination in Genesis 43:32, 46:34, and Exodus 8:22 are either too general or incorrect. It is suggested that in Genesis 43:32 the sense of abomination possibly stems from the malodorous woolen garments worn by the Hebrews; in Genesis 46:34 it is perhaps a combination of basic farmer / shepherd distaste and hatred stemming from an association of shepherds with the barbaric nomadic chieftains on Egypt's north-eastern border ; and in Exodus 8:22 it might be driven by the Hebrews' custom of burning portions of animals sacrificed to a deity. These suggestions, while speculative, have a Sitz im Leben context.

AbstractGunkel in his "Creation and Chaos in the Primeval Era and the Eschaton" argued that the Chaoskampf motif which had its origin in the Babylonian account of creation Enuma Elish is found in two groups of texts: those dealing with the dragon and those dealing with the primal sea. Scholars have since tended to regard the OT as portraying the creation of the universe as the result of a cosmic conflict between God and Chaos. The aim in this paper is not so much to challenge Gunkel's thesis, which others have already done, but to analyse the OT's multiple and diverse voices regarding the protological events. This paper suggests that the relationship between creation and conflict is not that creation occurs through conflict; rather, conflict comes through the process of creation. That is, the fundamental conflict between God and his creatures is evidenced by two conflicts: conflict at sea with Leviathan/Rahab (Pss 74:12-17; 89:9-14), and conflict on land with the serpent and humankind (Gen 2:4b-3:24).

AbstractThe absence of the evaluative formula on the second day of creation in the Genesis 1:1-2:4a creation narrative necessitates the question: Why is the raqîa' not pronounced "good"? In this paper, it is argued that the raqîa' is not pronounced "good" due to its function as a separator between heaven and earth - God's dwelling being heaven, and humanity's dwelling being earth. This is particularly so taking into consideration that the Genesis 1:1-2:4a creation narrative depicts creation as a temple. From this perspective, the temple is a microcosm of creation and therefore the parallelism between temple and creation is the key to understanding why the raqîa' is not pronounced "good". The raqîa' correlates with the parōket, the inner veil of the temple, which functioned as the barrier of the Most Holy Place, Yahweh's dwelling. Thus, the establishment of the raqîa' anticipated a dualism of creation, which, from a canonical perspective, has to be overcome.

AbstractThe underlying argument in this paper is that the "goodness" of creation has to do with the functionality of the cosmos and not the idealization of creation in its original state. The thrust of the argument in this paper is that we can project a binary opposition of terms in Genesis 1 through which the creation process can be viewed as progressing from "bad" to "good," that is, from a non-functional state to a functional state. In reading this text, I adopt a Bakhtinian dialogic approach through which this text will be read, meaning that I approach Gen 1-3 as a polyphonic text. The focus of this paper is on the internal dialogue in Gen 1:1-2:4a.

AbstractThe creation of humanity on day six of creation is the climax of creation (Gen 1:26-30); however, there is an anomaly at this climactic moment of creation, which interpreters tend to overlook: humanity is not singled out as "good." The anomaly is accentuated by the fact that the final evaluative formula, "and God saw everything that he made, and behold, it was very good" (Gen 1:31), which is generally regarded as encompassing creation activities from the first day to the sixth day. This necessitates the question: why is humanity not singled out as "good," as with most of the creation activities? This article suggests that the answer to this question rests in the dialogic relationship between the two creation narratives, Gen 1:1-2:4a and Gen 2:4b-3:24. The second creation narrative, Gen 2:4b-3:24, is for the most part a resumption of day six of creation. Contrary to the commonly held view that Gen 3 describes events subsequent to the creation process, or that it is thematically and materially different, this essay suggests that Gen 3 be viewed as thematically and materially related to Gen 1:26-31, and thereby provides a key as to why humanity is not singled out as "good."

AbstractGenesis 3 is commonly regarded as narrating events subsequent to the "very good" creation. In contrast to the commonly held view, this article suggest that Gen 3 forms part and parcel of the creation process and thereby, the second creation narrative as a whole (Gen 2:4b-3:24) taps into the absence of the evaluative formula with regard to the human creation cycle in Gen 1:26-30. The creation process in Gen 2:4b-3:24 is presented as an "undoing" of the negatives in the initiating verse, Gen 2:5, and all the negatives introduced within the creation process with the exception of the negative in Gen 3:22 Thus humanity is not singled out as good in Gen 1:26-30 because humanity at the end of the creation process dies.

AbstractThis article reflects on two rape stories, namely, the rape of Dinah and the rape of Tamar. In the two rape stories, the male figures are portrayed as heroes – the defenders of the rape victims. However, this article uses the isiZulu saying ‘ Wathint’umfazi, wathint’ imbokodo, uzakufa ’ to foreground the role of the rape victims as the unsung heroines in the stories. Thus, the paper presents Dinah and Tamar as heroines, who represent the demand for justice in the face of the violation of female bodies in society. It is the woman’s voice of protest that should be heard in each of the rape story crying out, ‘My life matters!’

AbstractBiblical scholarship from the African context provides possible new and creative perspectives for the interpretation of the Tower of Babel narrative because of uniquely African questions that structure the interpretative process. These unique questions relate to the cultures of African people, the injustice of colonialism, apartheid and so forth. The problem is that some of these new perspectives are influenced by rationalism that may result in reductionist interpretations of the Tower of Babel narrative. This is clear in the African cultural hermeneutics of Solomon Avotri and Black African hermeneutics of emeritus arch-bishop Desmond Tutu. The contemporary move among some biblical scholars from the African context that focus on the interaction between scholarly and non-scholarly interpreters of the Bible is an attempt to address the problems associated with rationalism. The art of Azaria Mbatha will be used to illustrate the potential of this contemporary move.

AbstractThe African continent in general, and Zimbabwe in particular, continue to endure the acrimony of “natural resource curse” in spite of an abundance of natural resources. Africa consumes what it does not produce, and produces what it does not consume. The following three contestations constitute the milieu underpinning the present study: (1) the biblical text presents the entire human race as cursed through Adam (Gen. 3:17), (2) that Africans are cursed because they are portrayed as the descendants of Ham’s son, Canaan, who was cursed by his grandparent, Noah (Gen. 9:25-27), and (3) biblical commentators continue to argue for the presence of an African in the biblical context; and Cush, Ham’s eldest son, is perceived as “dark-skinned”. In view of the above views, this study argues that a literal reading and interpretation of the Bible presents humans (especially Africans) as cursed. This discourse, therefore, interrogates the biblical concept of curse as a metaphor for curse in Zimbabwe. This argument is raised at the backdrop of Zimbabwe’s wealth in natural resources such as land, gold, copper, platinum, nickel, iron, emeralds, and diamonds, among others. In addition, “chituko”/“ngozi” (avenging spirit) among the Shona people of Zimbabwe is also considered as a curse for uncompensated offences.

AbstractAlternate translations of a given text can influence different structural analyses. This is shown by using the alternate translation of Meyers (1988) of Genesis 3:16 and examining the results when it is combined with two diverging analyses of Genesis 2-3 by Walsh (1977) and Van Wolde (1994). The translation of Meyers can also be examined in combination with other analyses by other scholars. This way of dealing with a text can have an enriching effect on Biblical exegesis and have as its aim the furtherance of a multi-dimensional approach to Scripture reading.

AbstractOne usually expects ethical themes in the Pentateuch's legal sections, for example in the Book of Covenant, the Holiness Code, Deuteronomy, and the Decalogue. However, one also encounters material for ethics in some narrative parts of the Pentateuch, first of all in the Patriarchal Traditions of Genesis. With this article, I would like to demonstrate the ethical value of the Patriarchal narratives by explaining three stories of conflict between the patriarchs and their brothers or relatives. Israel finds its identity and vocation very often in the Hebrew Bible when overcoming conflicts with inner or foreign rivals. Thus in three stories of conflict told in the Book of Genesis, I have tried to find how the narrators established moral standards for Israel and how they helped the people of Israel to find the right way of living together and the ideal way to resolve inner conflicts. In that respect Israel could find its position among the nations and its own identity.

AbstractThe purpose of this article is to define the image of God in Gen 1 : 26-27 in light of Gen 1-11. Does Gen 1-11 define or imply a definition of the image and likeness of God? The biblical-theological (or canonical-chronological) approach will be used which looks at how the idea of God-likeness (Gen 1 : 26-27) is seen in Gen 2-11. The article argues that the image of God is both moral and relational in perspective : it involves a moral likeness to God and a relationship between God and humans like that between parent and child. This is such an important topic because South Africa is experiencing a state of moral decay. The statement of human kind's creation in the "image of God" clearly constitutes an important and positive affirmation about human's original place in the created order. Various NT passages such as Col 3 : 10 and Eph 4 : 24 also emphasise this theme as the goal of the Gospel.

AbstractMany theologians, including those concerned with theology of mission, frame the dramaof God’s story and mission (missio Dei) through the three major acts of creation, fall andredemption. Others add that the new creation ought to be regarded as a fourth act. Althoughthis framework describes the entire biblical narrative, creation, fall and the hope of redemptionare, of course, quite present in the first three chapters of Genesis. In this article, I endeavouredto engage with the commentaries of the African church father Augustine of Hippo (354–430 CE) to grasp his thoughts on redemption in Genesis 1–3. In his Genesis works, Augustinewas primarily concerned with clarifying the doctrine of creation and, relatively speaking, hadfar less to say about redemption. That said, Augustine was, quite interested with Scripture’sstory of redemption in his magnum opus De Civitate Dei [City of God]. Thus, in this article, Iexplored two major questions: firstly, why did Augustine pay so little attention to redemptionin Genesis 1–3? Secondly, how did he articulate and relate redemption in these chapters? Itwas shown that whilst his primary focus was to articulate creation, his thoughts on redemptionwere probably limited some because of the insufficiency of his Old Latin Bible translation andperhaps because of other distractions in ministry. Furthermore, it was argued that Augustine’sdoctrine of redemption was a subset of his discussion on creation – specifically, that the secondAdam (Christ) brought new life to God’s image bearers affected by the fall of the first Adam. Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: My aim was to establish Augustine’sthoughts on redemption as a point of dialogue for theologians of mission endeavouring toclarify a theology of mission. As most mission theologians do not consult Augustine in theirwork and as most early Christian scholars do not read Augustine missionally, this studyoffered fresh insights for both groups of scholars.

AbstractThe aim of this paper is to focus on the portrayal of Abraham in the letter to the Galatians and the book of Genesis respectively and to put it in perspective. What are the similarities and differences in the portrayal of Abraham in the Biblical books of Galatians and Genesis respectively? Three promises are made to Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3: land, progeny and blessing. It is interesting that, in each one of the passages investigated, emphasis is laid mainly (but not exclusively) on one of the promises. In Genesis 12-25, attention is paid to the promise of land and on Abraham as a blessing to the nations, but the emphasis is mainly on the problem of progeny. When Abraham resurfaces in the exilic time, the promise of the land seems to be the primary focus. In Galatians 3, the main emphasis is on blessing as the third part of the promises made to Abraham.

AbstractEver since the fourth century Christian theologians read Genesis 1-3 as a historical account about creation and fall. Augustine (354-430), one of the Latin fathers of the Church, introduced the idea of "original sin" on account of his reading of these chapters. According to him God created a perfect world which collapsed because of the sin of Adam and Eve. This idea became a fixed doctrine in the Roman Catholic and Protestant Churches. The doctrine holds that every human being, by the very fact of birth, inherits a "tainted" nature in need of regeneration. Since the paradigm shift in Biblical Studies which occurred towards the end of the nineteenth century, the doctrine has come under severe criticism by Old Testament scholars. In recent years even systematic theologians are questioning the interpretation of Augustine and proclaim: "There is no fall in Scripture." This issue is discussed in detail and an answer is given to the question whether Christians can accept other readings and whether Christianity can change.

AbstractMost studies on the explicit quotations in the New Testament in the past mainly occupied themselves with their application and reinterpretation within their new contexts. Recent research on the Antiochene text (formerly Proto-Theodotion), combined with an upsurge in text critical investigations – with the aim to establish the similarities and differences amongst existing LXX witnesses in the quest for the LXX text form at the author’s time of writing – begs for new investigations into the Vorlage and nature of the quotations in Philo of Alexandria and the New Testament. Being part of a broader project, and given the scope of this investigation, this article intends to investigate the only case in John’s Gospel where the same Torah quotation also occur in Philo, namely that of Genesis 28:12 in John 1:51. This case is well attested in the Corpus Philonicum, where it is quoted three times – the first time as a long and extensive quotation (Somn. 1.3), and thereafter in two shorter quotations (Somn. 1.133; 2.19). The article attempts to investigate the text forms of Genesis 28:12, in comparison to those of Philo and John, in order to determine whether there are traces of a possible common Vorlage of the Old Greek Version (OGV) between these two authors. Die teksvorm van LXX Genesis 28:12 deur Filo van Aleksandrië en die Jesus-Logion vanJohannes 1:51. Die meeste studies wat oor die eksplisiete sitate in die Nuwe Testament handel, het in die verlede veral op die toepassing en die herinterpretasie van hierdie sitate binne hulle nuwe kontekste gefokus. Die primêre fokus het egter intussen verskuif, sodat die huidige navorsing eerder poog om die ooreenkomste en verskille tussen bestaande Septuagint (LXX-) teksgetuies vas te stel in ’n soeke na die onderliggende LXX-teksvorm (Vorlage) waarop ’n bepaalde Nuwe-Testamentiese skrywer sy aanhaling sou baseer het. Dit is veral waarneembaar in studies aangaande die Antiogeense teks (vroeër bekend as Proto-Theodotion), asook in die oplewing van tekskritiese studies. Hierdie ontwikkelings vereis nuwe ondersoeke na die Vorlage en die aard van die aanhalings wat in sowel Filo as in die Nuwe Testament voorkom. Die ondersoek wat hier aangebied word, vorm deel van ’n groter projek en analiseer dieenigste geval in die Evangelie volgens Johannes waar dieselfde Tora-aanhaling ook by Filo te vind is, naamlik Genesis 28:12 in Johannes 1:51. Die aanhaling kom driekeer by Filo voor – in Somn. 1.3 as ’n lang en uitgebreide sitaat en daarna in twee verkorte vorms in Somn. 1.133 en 2.19. Hierdie artikel poog om die teksvorms van Genesis 28:12 te ondersoek – in vergelyking met sowel Filo en Johannes – ten einde vas te stel of daar enige moontlike aanduidings van ’n gemeenskaplike LXX-Vorlage van die Ou Griekse Vertaling (OGV) tussen albei outeurs is.

AbstractBlack scholars have been underrepresented in Old Testament scholarship, particularly in North America. This bibliography seeks to address this problem by highlighting the work of Black Old Testament scholars to encourage others to use these publications in research and teaching. The bibliography is not designed to be comprehensive, but merely to illustrate the range of scholarship available from these Black scholars.

AbstractThis essay studies Genesis 12:10–13:2 with a literary close reading approach that takes seriously the text’s literary, historical and theological constituent elements. After a brief history of interpretation, it situates the narrative in its historical context, which is followed with a narrative critical reading of the text. The analysis of the text unveils the dissimulations of Abram, who manipulated his wife, Sarai, into thinking her beauty posed a threat to him, while his primary motive rested with the pursuit of economic gain in the face of the severe famine that had impoverished him in Canaan. Abram also succeeded in making Pharaoh believe that Sarai was his sister, on which account he exchanged her for material again. This analysis affords insight into the insecurity, anxiety, feelings of alterity of immigrant populations in their liminal conditions, the mistrust of immigrants by the state and host communities, and the ensuing power play (including sexual politics and/or commerce) with its concomitant perils. Through these, the passage speaks anew to contemporary communities of faith in view of the prevalent and ever-increasing migratory trends of the 21st century.

AbstractThe biblical Hebrew texts of sexual politics (often involving sordid sexual violence, especially against women) have been studied in the last forty years with an ideological bent that employs contemporary literary analysis. This essay is an attempt to allow the biblical text to furnish strategies for reading its troubling narratives rather than imposing external ideologies over it. An ethical narrative close reading of the text of primeval desire (Gen 3) led me to the discovery of four themes—desire, particularly its derivative, sexual passion; power-play; alterity; and peril— and to the biblical authors’ characterization of God in divine response to human deviant behavior as heuristic tools for reading these texts of desire

AbstractGenesis 2-3 narrates the creation and fall of humankind. This narrative is generally acknowledged as myth, while earlier Ancient Near-Eastern traditions embedded in the story are often overlooked. This article focuses especially on the role of the trees and the snake in the garden. It will be demonstrated that the garden narrative is connected to the Sinai Covenant and the Mosaic Laws, as well as to the wisdom traditions in Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. Eventually conclusions are drawn about 'living in exile', wherever, whenever.

AbstractThat Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis have been a subject of constant cognitive itch is a truism rather than fiction. Aware that the HB is an ideological text, the story of Jordan states notably Sodom and Gomorrah may need further reflections outside sexual frontlines but from the perspectives of political dynamics of the ANE. This paper explores Sodom and Gomorrah as a political and military story that turned theological and ideological. I opine that the fire that razed Sodom and Gomorrah could have been the result of military invasion(s). What is however intriguing is the interest of the biblical writer: at what points would the military or political afterlife of Sodom and Gomorrah meet with the ideological interests of the Bible writer? What interests does the writer have in Sodom and Gomorrah that he finds it necessary not only to conceal the historical reality but also invent ideas and imageries of Sodom and Gomorrah as condemned cities? The paper employs Clines' and Exum's strategies of reading against the grain and defragmenting the stories. In this case, the different stories of Sodom and Gomorrah in chs. 10, 13, 14, 18 and 19 are read critically and in conversation with each other.

AbstractIn the extant text of the Pentateuch - both in the Hebrew original and the Septuagint - the words 'Hebron, in the land of Canaan' have been utilised in three terminological patterns: First, the verbatim repeated phrase forms an envelope structure encompassing Genesis 23; second, in Genesis 23:2, reading, 'she died at Kiriath Arba that is, Hebron in the land of Canaan', the phrase 'land of Canaan' occurs the 'seventh' time in the Bible; and third, the name 'Hebron' is the basis for a seven-part linguistic linkage that climaxes, as it were, in Numbers 13:22b, reading: 'Hebron was built 'seven' years before Zoan inEgypt'.

AbstractThis chapter describes one particular Contextual Bible Study project that began, while waited for an invitation, in the 1990s and has extended to the present period of steady community-based invitations. There are various ways of describing the Contextual Bible Study praxis, the chapter focus on a series of interconnected movements that shape the collaborative reading process. Contextual Bible Study begins and ends under the control of a particular local community, who use the resources of the Contextual Bible Study, along with a range of other resources, to plan for and implement community-based action. The engagement with the Bible begins with a community's thematic appropriation of the biblical text being used, allowing every participant to share their particular understanding of the text. The context in South Africa had shifted and there was considerable space to construct a Contextual Bible Study that was about homosexuality. The chapter focuses on the hermeneutical dimensions of Contextual Bible Study's formation and its general effect.

AbstractSabinet African Journals - reliable research that offers more than 500 African journals, including the African Journal Archive. It is the most comprehensive, searchable collection of full-text African electronic journals available on one platform.

AbstractSabinet African Journals - reliable research that offers more than 500 African journals, including the African Journal Archive. It is the most comprehensive, searchable collection of full-text African electronic journals available on one platform.