Department of Old and New Testament

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Browsing Department of Old and New Testament by browse.metadata.advisor "Cook, Johann"

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    The scope of the Old Testament and the nature of its theology : determining the object and subject of Old Testament theology by means of the Septuagint
    (Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2006-12) Kotze, Gideon Rudolph; Jonker, Louis C.; Cook, Johann; University of Stellenbosch. Faculty of Theology. Dept. of Old and New Testament.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The present study focuses on the difficulties surrounding the identification of an object and subject for the discipline of Old Testament theology. The goal thereof is to address these difficulties by establishing the legitimacy of an interdisciplinary engagement therewith. In order to achieve this goal the significance of the Greek translations of the Jewish scriptures, the Septuagint, for determining the object and subject of Old Testament theology is pursued. The problems surrounding the object of study in Old Testament theology are identified and discussed in terms of both canon and text. The advent of Canon criticism, with its focus on the nature, function and history of the biblical canon, as well as the study of the recent textual discoveries in the area surrounding the Dead Sea, have rendered previous consensus regarding the formation of the biblical canon(s) and the history of the biblical texts problematic. This necessitates a thorough reconsidering of the scope of the term “Old Testament”, and consequently, the basis on which the discipline of Old Testament theology is practiced. The rise to prominence of a so-called new or postmodern epistemological situation and the resulting influence of developments and shifts in literary studies on Biblical criticism, coupled with new challenges within the historical study of the biblical texts and a rediscovery of the importance of Wisdom literature forces upon the Old Testament theologian the responsibility to indicate and clarify the relationship between the Old Testament and divine revelation. Consequently, the nature of the Old Testament’s theology, and therefore, the subject of study in the discipline of Old Testament theology come under scrutiny. The focus of the study subsequently shifts to topics treated in the study of the Septuagint in order to indicate how these relate to the problems plaguing the discipline of Old Testament theology. Issues relating to the proper use of terminology in Septuagint-studies, theories of the origin of the Septuagint, and the techniques that were employed in translating the Semitic source texts of the Jewish scriptures into Greek, occupy the student in this regard. As a result, the legitimacy of employing insights from Septuagint-studies in delineating the object and subject of study in Old Testament theology is demonstrated. The final chapter identifies several overtures for furthering the study of the significance of the Septuagint for Old Testament theology in general. A number of methodological problems in the latter can be subsumed under the twin heading of the scope of the “Old Testament” and the nature of its theology. Chapter 36 of the Greek translation of the book of Job acts as a brief case study in order to demonstrate the suggestions that are made in this concluding chapter of the study.
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    A text-critical analysis of the Lamentations manuscripts from Qumran (3QLam, 4QLam, 5QLama and 5QLamb): establishing the content of an Old Testament book according to its textual witnesses among the Dead Sea scrolls
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2011-03) Kotzé, Gideon; Jonker, Louis C.; Cook, Johann; University of Stellenbosch. Faculty of Theology. Dept. of Old and New Testament.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study takes as its point of departure the contributions of the Dead Sea scrolls to the discipline of Old Testament textual criticism. It deals with a particular approach to this discipline and its application to the four Lamentations manuscripts from Qumran (3QLam, 4QLam, 5QLam a and 5QLam b ). The approach to Old Testament textual criticism followed in the study treats the Qumran manuscripts of Lamentations, the Masoretic text and the ancient translations as witnesses to the content of the book and not merely as witnesses to earlier forms of its Hebrew wording. The unique readings in 3QLam, 4QLam, 5QLam a and 5QLam b and their difficult or ambiguous readings are subjected to a comparative text-critical analysis. This analysis focuses on how the variant readings in the Qumran manuscripts were created by scribes during the process of copying. It therefore examines the influence that the scribal transmission exercised on the wordings of the passages from Lamentations that are preserved in 3QLam, 4QLam, 5QLam a and 5QLam b The analysis also considers whether comparative philology and/or the ancient . Greek, Syriac, Latin and Aramaic translations can shed light on the textual problems which the Hebrew wordings of the Lamentations manuscripts from Qumran share with the Masoretic text. The aims of this study are to establish, by means of this text-critical analysis, how the Lamentations manuscripts from Qumran present the content of the book and thereby gain a better understanding of these manuscripts as textual witnesses.