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Research Articles (Old Testament Studies): Recent submissions

  • Perceived and narrated space in Psalm 48 
    Steiner, Till Magnus (Old Testament Society of South Africa, 2012)
    Psalm 48 consists of two layers, a basic pre-exilic layer (vv. 2-7, 9, 13-14a, 15) and a redactional exilic layer (vv. 8, 10-12, 14b). Analyzed with the heuristic categories of spatial theory by H. Lefebvre (perceived ...
  • The fourth servant song (Isaiah 52:13 – 53:12): reflections on the current debate on the symbolism of the cross from the perspective of the Old Testament 
    Berges, Ulrich (Old Testament Society of South Africa, 2012)
    In the current debates about the relationship of state and religion, the symbol of the cross has not been able to keep out of the headlines. On a political, legal as well as cultural level there continue to be disputes ...
  • Servant and suffering in Isaiah and Jeremiah: who borrowed from whom? 
    Berges, Ulrich (Old Testament Society of South Africa, 2012)
    In this paper I propose a reading of the fourth Servant Song that goes beyond the alternative of the “suffering servant” as either an individual or a collective body. The search for a combination of these two main ...
  • Pro pent: a project for the study of the Pentateuch in South Africa 
    Le Roux, J.H. (Jurie Hendrik), 1944- (AOSIS Open Journals, 2012-12-05)
    This article focused on Pro Pent (or the Project for the Study of the Pentateuch) which was established in August 2000 after professor Eckart Otto from the Ludwig Maximilian University (LMU) of Munich visited the University ...
  • Isaiah 1:2−3 and Isaiah 6: Isaiah ‘a prophet like Moses’ (Dt 18:18) 
    Groenewald, Alphonso, 1969- (AOSIS Open Journals, 2012-12-05)
    The book of Isaiah is complex when one considers the reconstruction of the processes of its formation and transmission. If these complexities are examined more closely, it is apparent that there is a multiplicity of ...
  • Thanksgiving songs in contemporary Pedi society 
    Lebaka, Edward (Faculty of Theology, Stellenbosch University, 2012-09)
    This article is the dissemination of an investigation of the Pedi tradition of Thanksgiving Songs that continued in spite of all cultural suppression. This article discusses the form, content and functions of Pedi ...
  • The problem of money in the hand of a fool 
    Loader, J.A. (James Alfred), 1945- (OpenJournals Publishing, 2012-10-15)
    This article focused on a single proverb, viz. Proverbs 17:16. The syntax and stylistic features were analysed to demonstrate the extreme polyvalence that can characterise terse aphorisms. Fifteen readings were examined ...
  • Rut 3:9 en 4:5: wat het die (leviraats) huwelik met lossing te doen? 
    De Villiers, Gerda (AOSIS Open Journals, 2012-10-11)
    This article examines two passages in the book of Ruth – 3:9 and 4:5. Both pertain to two practices in ancient Israel, namely the levirate marriage and the redemption of property – here in the case of the book of Ruth. ...
  • Leviticus 17 as a bridge between P and H, with a twist of D? 
    Meyer, Esias E. (Unisa Press, 2012)
    There seems to be an emerging consensus that the Holiness Code is later than Leviticus 1-16. The latter is usually regarded as a part of the Priestly text (P). In the European context Pentateuch scholars such as Otto, ...
  • Divide and be different : priestly identity in the Persian period 
    Meyer, Esias E. (OpenJournals Publishing, 2012-07-23)
    The article focused on the Hebrew root בדל [divide] [bdl] in Priestly and post-Priestly material of the Pentateuch. In Genesis 1 God is the subject of the verb and often enough in the Holiness Code, but in many instances ...
  • Filosofie kan die teologie help om weg te beweeg van ‘n onhistoriese, sinkroniese interpretasie van tekste na ‘n historiese, diakroniese interpretasie van tekste 
    Labuschagne, Pieter Hendrik Johannes; Le Roux, J.H. (Jurie Hendrik), 1944- (OpenJournals Publishing, 2012-07-05)
    In the last few decades in South Africa, much emphasis has been placed on unhistorical, synchronistic interpretations of the text of the Old Testament. Very little effort has been made to look into the long historical ...
  • Trito-Isaiah, penitential prayer and apocalypticism 
    Venter, P.M. (Pieter Michiel), 1947- (OpenJournals Publishing, 2012-08-02)
    An analysis of the research on the compositional development of Isaiah 56–66 indicates that the redefinition of Judean identity played a major role in the formation of these chapters. Scholars very often refer to the ...
  • Theodicy in Job : ancient word, modern reflections 
    Davis, R.E. (Ronnie); Harold, Godfrey (Baptist Union of Southern Africa, 2011)
    The Evangelical community of faith uses the Bible in order to understand events in people’s lives. The Bible helps people to make sense of existence and to orientate themselves in their lives. The Bible provides the community ...
  • Why does Job repent? 
    Davis, R.E. (Ronnie) (Baptist Union of Southern Africa, 2011)
    In the book of Job, the main character is declared a righteous man by both God and Job’s peers. Throughout the book, Job’s innocence is maintained and ultimately he is vindicated by God. It is a puzzle, then, to find an ...
  • The reading and meaning of Ecclesiastes 
    Begerau, Gunnar (Baptist Union of Southern Africa, 2011)
    This article tries to understand the message of Ecclesiastes as part of the poetic-wisdom group in the Hebrew Canon according to the BHS (Psalter, Job, Proverbs, Ruth, Songs of Solomon, and Ecclesiastes). Therefore, ...
  • Africa and Africans in the Old Testament scheme of salvation 
    Adamo, David Tuesday (Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies, University of LIMPOPO, 2011)
    This article entails a critical investigation of the role of Africa and Africans in the scheme of Salvation in the Old Testament. It identifies the terminology used to refer to Africa and Africans in the ancient period, ...
  • Is the expulsion of women as foreigners in Ezra 9-10 justifiably covenantal? 
    Usue, Emmanuel Ordue (2012)
    A surface reading of Ezra 9-10 gives the impression that the Abrahamic and Mosaic covenants’ codes concerning foreigners justify the expulsion of the so-called foreign women by Ezra and his associates. Consequently, the ...
  • A biblical perspective and critique of homosexuality by the Xhosa culture 
    Mtshiselwa, Ndikho (Vincent Ndikhokele Ndzondelelo) (Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies, University of LIMPOPO, 2011)
    The clergy and the laity of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa (MCSA) are of opposing views in their attempt to deal with the phenomenon of homosexuality in the church. Scripture says, “Do not practice homosexuality, ...
  • Julius Wellhausen – die denke van ’n Ou-Testamentikus 
    Serfontein, Gideon Johannes; Le Roux, J.H. (Jurie Hendrik), 1944- (OpenJournals Publishing, 2012-05-10)
    The purpose of this article is to examine the life, influence and greatest works of Old Testament scholar Julius Wellhausen. Wellhausen was influenced by the findings of other Old Testament critics that preceded him, ...
  • Christianity and the African traditional religion(s) : the postcolonial round of engagement 
    Adamo, David Tuesday (OpenJournals Publishing, 2011-10-31)
    This article concerned itself with the modern encounter between Christianity and African Indigenous Religion (AIR) in Africa. It is essentially a postcolonial approach to what AIR and its essential characteristics is: ...