Browsing by Author "O'Kennedy, Daniel"
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- ItemDie gebed om vergifnis in die Ou Testament(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 1994-12) O'Kennedy, Daniel; Olivier, J. P. J.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Theology. Dept. of Old and New Testament.ENGLISH ABSTRACT:
- ItemDie gebed van Salomo, I Kon. 8:22-53 : riglyne vir die verstaan van gebed in die Ou Testament(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 1989-12) O'Kennedy, Daniel; Olivier, J. P. J.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Theology. Dept. of Old and New Testament.ENGLISH ABSTRACT:
- ItemKlaagliedere 3:42 : vergifnis of nie-vergifnis(University of the Free State, 2014) O'Kennedy, DanielThis article investigates the short prayer of Lamentations 3:42, the only text in the prayer literature that uses the particle לא (no) together with the term סלח (forgive). The exegetical study focuses on the literal, historical and theological dimensions of the short prayer. The questions posed by this article is: Does this text portray God's unwillingness to forgive? Does Lamentations 3 only speak about punishment and judgement or do we find references to divine forgiveness? Lamentations 3 speaks about punishment, but not rejection or unwillingness to forgive. The worshipper in verse 42 confronts God with his real self: He is supposed to forgive. In the rest of chapter 3 we find reminders of God's forgiving heart: mercy and compassion (vv. 22, 32); faithfulness (v. 23); kindness (vv. 25, 26, 27); salvation (v. 26); and steadfast love (v. 32).
- ItemLeadership in a time of transition : an analogy between post-exilic Judah/Yehud and post-apartheid South Africa(Old Testament Society of South Africa, 2017) O'Kennedy, DanielThere are certain analogies between the post-exilic community in Judah (or Persian Yehud and post-apartheid South Africa. According to the OT two prominent leaders took responsibility for the rebuilding of post-exilic Judah/Yehud: the governor Zerubbabel and the high priest Joshua (cf. Ezra, Nehemiah, Haggai and Zechariah). Two prominent leaders made a major contribution in post-apartheid South Africa: president Nelson Mandela as political leader and archbishop Desmond Tutu as religious leader. This article will make a comparison between these two different communities and their leaders. The article will briefly discuss the respective leaders and will focus on the following analogies: both communities had an influential political leader and a religious leader; the diarchic model of leadership lasted only a few years in Judah/Yehud and in South Africa; the concept of forgiveness played a significant role in both communities (cf. Zech 3 and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission); there was a temple building process in Judah/Yehud and a process of nation building in South Africa.
- ItemPerspectives on mission in the book of Zechariah(University of South Africa, 2013-11) O'Kennedy, DanielThe prophetic book of Zechariah is often neglected when studying the mission of God and his church. Zechariah originated during the post-exilic era in Jerusalem and there are many similarities between this community and the post-apartheid community in South Africa. There are several references to “nations” and “peoples” in Zechariah, but most of them refer to God’s judgment against the nations. This article focuses on three key missionary passages namely Zechariah 2:11 (15), 8:20-23 and 14:16. The prophet visualises a faith community where the other nations will come and join them to experience the presence of God. Zechariah 2:11 uses covenantal language and emphasises that many nations “shall be my people.” Churches struggle to attract non-believers in our time. The study of Zechariah can help the church to be more missional so that non-believers will utter the words of Zechariah 8:23: “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”
- ItemPrayer : an integral part of the Old Testament(Stellenbosch University, Faculty of Theology, 1996) O'Kennedy, DanielThere are a few misconceptions concerning the understanding of prayer in the Old Testament, namely 1) prayer literature does not form an integral part of the Old Testament; 2) Old Testament prayer is confined to Psalmic prayers; 3) every single prayer must be treated as an isolated entity; 4) there is a dichotomy between ‘cultic prayers’ and ‘private prayers’ in the Old Testament; 5) Old Testament prayer has no literary and theological function. This article illustrates that these misconceptions are not a true portrayal of the prayer literature in the Old Testament.
- ItemPrayer in the post-exilic prophetic books of Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi(Stellenbosch University, 2014) O'Kennedy, DanielCertain scholars (Johnson, Miller, Reventlow, Scharbert, Rhodes, et al) declare that prayer, especially intercession, was an integral part of the prophets’ ministry. It is also significant that prayer was not neglected in the post-exilic literature of the Old Testament. Many of the longer prayers originated in the post-exilic period (Ezra 9; Neh 1; Neh 9; Dan 9; 1 Chr 29:10-19; etc.). The question posed by this article is: Does prayer play a prominent role in the ministries of the post-exilic prophets Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi? One would expect a positive answer to this question. This article illustrates that there is no recorded prayer in these prophetic books and only a few indirect references to prayer (cf. Zech 7:2, 13; 8:20-23; 10:1, 6; 12:10; 13:9; 14:16-17; Mal 1:9). These passages do not refer to the prophet as petitioner, but to the interaction between YHWH and his people. Zechariah 7:13 even states that YHWH will not answer the prayers of his people. There may be different reasons for this scarcity of prayer references and the other post-exilic prophetic literature provides more questions than answers. We can probably say that prayer was not an integral part of the post-exilic prophets Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi’s ministries. Prayer was overshadowed by their proclamation of the word of God and their focus on the rebuilding of the temple and post-exilic community.
- ItemVergifnis in die gebed van Daniel (Dan 9:4-19)(Faculty of Theology, University of the Free State, 2003) O'Kennedy, DanielDaniel 9:4-19 is one of the important penitential prayers in the Old Testament. This prayer has been investigated from different perspectives, but the theological dimension of forgiveness is often neglected. In this article the understanding of divine forgiveness is studied and the following important elements are emphasised: (1) Forgiveness cannot be limited to one specific historical context; (2) The motivation for forgiveness does not lie in the people’s obedience, but in God’s grace and mercy; (3) The structure and content of the prayer implies that confession of guilt is an important element in the process of forgiveness. Everyone is guilty — the guilt is not placed on a certain person or king (cf. v. 7); (4) Forgiveness is meant for the “international” Israel and not limited to a specific geographical area.