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Research Articles (Old Testament Studies): Recent submissions

  • 'I sought him, but found him not' (Song 5:6) - public space in the song of songs 
    Erzberger, J.F. (Johanna) (Old Testament Society of South Africa, 2011)
    As far as the relation of sexes is concerned the Song of Songs seems to create a counter world compared with the world described by other biblical books and compared with the Song’s assumed historical sociological ...
  • The pleasing and the awesome : on the beauty of humans in the Old Testament 
    Loader, J.A. (James Alfred), 1945- (Old Testament Society of South Africa, 2011)
    Profiting from the OT research programme held at the University of South Africa during August 2010, this paper further investigates different aspects of the concept of beauty in the Old Testament (OT). The use of the ...
  • King Saul's mustering of all Israel (1 Sm 11:6-7) : an idealised leadership 
    Kim, Jeong Bong (OpenJournals Publishing, 2011-12-06)
    1 Samuel 11:6–7 report the beginning of Saul’s public life and demonstrate his leadership over Israel. However, the verses do not clearly indicate his role in the specific events related in verses 1–11. This article ...
  • Theology amongst the sciences : a personal view from the University of Oxford 
    Gillingham, S.E. (Susan E.) (OpenJournals Publishing, 2011-12-07)
    The paper focuses on two individuals who have each made a seminal contribution to the debates between theology and the sciences in Oxford - Charles Darwin (in the mid–19th century), and Richard Dawkins (from the 1990s ...
  • The role of the Old Testament in a violent world 
    Meyer, Esias E. (OpenJournals Publishing, 2011-11-11)
    This article explores the responsibility of Bible critics with regard to the role that the Bible should play in our violent society. The crucial question that needs to be addressed is whether the Bible, and especially ...
  • Isaiah 1:4-9 as a post-exilic reflection 
    Groenewald, Alphonso, 1969- (Unisa Press, 2011)
    Israel of the exilic/post-exilic period did not run away from its catastrophic history, but instead seized the political catastrophe as an opportunity to examine its past theologically. No era in Israel’s history contributed ...
  • The function of the Ammonite Achior in the book of Judith 
    Venter, P.M. (Pieter Michiel), 1947- (OpenJournals Publishing, 2011-11-04)
    An intertextual analysis of the character of Achior in the book of Judith shows that the author of the book proposes a changed Judaean identity. The way in which he depicts the character of Judith and her alter ego, ...
  • What do the heavens declare? On the Old Testament motif of God's beauty in creation 
    Loader, J.A. (James Alfred), 1945- (OpenJournals Publishing, 2011-11-04)
    The paradox in the famous declaration of Psalm 19 that the heavens ‘narrate’ the glory of God and that this message of nature is ‘inaudible’ prompts the question as to the sense of speaking about a striking divine ...
  • ‘Praise beyond Words’ : Psalm 150 as grand finale of the crescendo in the Psalter 
    Human, Dirk J. (2011-06-07)
    Without doubt the final hymn of the Psalter can be described as the climax, or grand finale, of the Israelite faith’s most known hymnbook. In this psalm, sound and action are blended into a picture of ecstatic joy. The ...
  • The beautiful infant and Israel’s salvation 
    Loader, J.A. (James Alfred), 1945- (OpenJournals Publishing, 2011-06-07)
    The motif from the Exodus story of Moses as a beautiful infant is considered on several levels. Firstly, the immediate context of Exodus 2 in the Hebrew Bible and in the Septuagint is investigated. Exodus 2 is then related ...
  • Andries van Aarde as historical Jesus scholar 
    Le Roux, J.H. (Jurie Hendrik), 1944- (OpenJournals Publishing, 2011-07-07)
    This article focuses on Andries van Aarde’s work on the historical Jesus and especially his book, Fatherless in Galilee, which made an important contribution to historical Jesus study in South Africa. In the first part ...
  • Andries van Aarde’s Matthew interpretation 
    Le Roux, J.H. (Jurie Hendrik), 1944- (OpenJournals Publishing, 2011-06-07)
    This article focused on Andries van Aarde’s interpretation of the Gospel of Matthew. It argues that Van Aarde has changed his approach to Matthew in the course of time. At the beginning of his career he focused on ...
  • Congruent ethos in the Second Temple literature of the Old Testament 
    Venter, P.M. (Pieter Michiel), 1947- (OpenJournals Publishing, 2011-06)
    Proposing the term ‘congruent ethos’ for studying Old Testament ethics, this article indicates (in line with existing research) that opposing ethical viewpoints are found in the Old Testament. The modus operandi followed ...
  • Yahweh, the Israelite high God bends down to uplift the downrodden : perspectives on the incomparability of Yahweh in Psalm 113 
    Human, Dirk J. (Stellenbosch University: Department of Ancient Studies, 2004)
    The purpose of this article is to interpret the text of Psalm 113 theologically as a portrayal of the Israelite God, Yahweh. In order to do this the composition of the text, its genre and literary context, text analysis, ...
  • Isaiah 1:2−3, ethics and wisdom. Isaiah 1:2–3 and the Song of Moses (Dt 32) : Is Isaiah a prophet like Moses? 
    Groenewald, Alphonso, 1969- (OpenJournals Publishing, 2011-06)
    This article argued that society even today could benefit from the richness of the ethics of the Hebrew Bible. Isaiah 1:2–3 has been used as an example to illustrate the ethics of a biblical text. This text has wisdom ...
  • Andries van Aarde – a sideways glance : his theological and hermeneutical contribution to the South African scene 
    De Villiers, Gerda (OpenJournals Publishing, 2011-06)
    This article pays tribute to Andries van Aarde’s theological and hermeneutical contribution. His research unfolds in three phases: a narrative reading of the text, a social scientific investigation of the context and an ...
  • Respect for animal life in the book of Leviticus. How green were the priestly authors? 
    Meyer, Esias E. (Old Testament Society of South Africa, 2011-01)
    The article with Leviticus 11 and with some of the ways in which it has been used in the ecotheological . Leviticus 11 is part of the Priestly text and Priestly theology has mostly been criticised for its legalism and ...
  • Poetry and perlocution in Psalm 26 
    Botha, Philippus Jacobus (Old Testament Society of South Africa, 2011-01)
    Psalm 26 has been described as a late pre-exilic prayer of innocence. In it a speaker professes innocence, invites Yahweh to put him to the test, and expresses dissociation from certain groups of people who behave unethically. ...
  • Searching for a question and an answer 
    Le Roux, J.H. (Jurie Hendrik), 1944- (Teologiese Fakulteit, Universiteit van Stellenbosch, 2010-09)
    This article focusses on Eckart Otto’s theory of the Pentateuch, his contribution to Pro Pent (the “Project for the study of the Pentateuch”) and his influence on our understanding of the first five books of the Hebrew ...
  • The book of Isaiah as Isaiah's book : the latest development in the research of the prophets 
    Berges, Ulrich (Old Testament Society of South Africa, 2010)
    The aim of this article is to represent conclusions for scholarly exegesis from recent developments in the field of the prophets, especially those pertaining to the Book of Isaiah. In order to do this, the author will ...