Abstract:
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 of Pretoria (UP). Pro Pent is a joint project of UP
and the LMU and since 2001 annual seminars drive the initiative. These seminars are held in
Pretoria and sometimes in Munich. Pro Pent is now an established international study group
on the Pentateuch. In order to understand Pro Pent in the South African context, the article
briefly discussed the work of previous South African Pentateuch scholars like John William
Colenso, Johannes du Plessis and Ferdinand Deist. Their contributions were firstly assessed
before Pro Pent’s contribution to the study of the Pentateuch was discussed and its relevancy
for the South African context assessed, and highlight Pro Pent’s intention to be relevant.
