Browsing by Author "O'Kennedy, D. F."

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    Gebed en Ou-Testamentiese teologie
    (Faculty of Theology and Religion, University of the Free State, 2001) O'Kennedy, D. F.
    Prayer should be an intrinsic part of theology because the way in which people understand the nature of God determines the nature and content of their prayers. This article poses the following question: In which way is prayer discussed in Old Testament theologies? This question is discussed by an investigation into ten prominent Old Testament theologies: Eichrodt; Vriezen; Von Rad; Zimmerli; McKenzie; Westermann; Clements; Childs; Preuss; en Brueggemann. It is significant that the systematic discussion of prayer is ignored or neglected in many theologies, especially theologies of English scholars. There are a few deficiencies in theologies discussing prayer, inter alia the negligence of non-Psalmic prayers and intercessory prayers.
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    Gebed in die Ou en Nuwe Testament : 'n vergelykende studie
    (AOSIS, 2000) O'Kennedy, D. F.
    There are many publications on prayer; though the Biblical basis of prayer is often neglected. This article presents a general overview of the similarities and unique features of prayer in the Old and New Testament. Some of the unique features of New Testament prayer are the Trinitarian character; the prayer of the exalted Jesus; the emphasis on prayer teaching and the attitude of the supplicant. The unique features of Old Testament prayer are inter alia the Psalms as “prayer book” and the greater emphasis on prayer and cult/public worship. One can conclude that there is no significant gap or contradiction in the prayer content of the Old and New Testament. Several similarities between the Old and New Testament’s views on prayer confirm this opinion. In many ways the forms and traditions of Israelite prayer that preceded the career of Jesus and the first Christian community were continued in the New Testament.
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    Die gebed om vergifnis in die Ou Testament
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 1994-12) O'Kennedy, D. F.; Olivier, J. P. J.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Theology. Dept. of Old and New Testament.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT:
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    Die 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, D. F.; Olivier, J. P. J.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Theology. Dept. of Old and New Testament.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT:
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    Klaagliedere 3:42 : vergifnis of nie-vergifnis
    (Faculty of Theology and Religion, University of the Free State, 2014) O'Kennedy, D. F.
    This 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).
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    Leadership 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, D. F.
    There 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.
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    Perspectives on mission in the book of Zechariah
    (University of South Africa, 2013-11) O'Kennedy, D. F.
    The 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.”
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    Prayer : an integral part of the Old Testament
    (Stellenbosch University, Faculty of Theology, 1996) O'Kennedy, D. F.
    There 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.
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    Prayer in the post-exilic prophetic books of Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi
    (Department of Old and New Testament, Stellenbosch University, 2014) O'Kennedy, D. F.
    Certain 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.
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    The theological portrayal of forgiveneses in Zechariah 1-8
    (Department of Old and New Testament, Stellenbosch University, 2003) O'Kennedy, D. F.
    Zechariah 1-8 has an optimistic undertone and describes Yahweh’s love for the post-exilic community in Jerusalem. At least three passages refer directly to forgiveness: Zech 1:16 – “Therefore, thus says the Lord, I have returned to Jerusalem with compassion”; 3:4 – “See I have taken your guilt/sin away from you, and there will be festal clothing for you”; and 3:9 – “… and I will remove the guilt of this land in a single day”. All these references belong to the second section of Proto-Zechariah (1:7-6:15) that contains seven (or eight) visions interspersed with oracles. Two of the prominent forgiveness references are found in the vision of the high priest Joshua (3:1-10). This vision is different from the others and some scholars believe that 3:1-7 (8-10) may be part of a later addition or exclude it from the sequel numbering of the visions (Jeremias, Meyers & Meyers, Petersen, Reventlow, Willi-Plein, et al). This article discusses the portrayal of forgiveness in Zechariah 1-8 offering a few possible answers to the following questions: (1) What is the content of forgiveness in Zechariah 1-8? (2) Were the forgiveness references later additions? (3) Does 3:1-10 describe a ritual of forgiveness? (4) Was the rebuilding of the temple a sign or symbol of forgiveness? (5) Was forgiveness a central theme for the post-exilic community in Jerusalem?
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    Vergifnis in die gebed van Daniel (Dan 9:4-19)
    (Faculty of Theology, University of the Free State, 2003) O'Kennedy, D. F.
    Daniel 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.
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    Zechariah 3-4 : core of Proto-Zechariah
    (Old Testament Society of South Africa, 2003) O'Kennedy, D. F.
    Proto-Zechariah (Zch 1-8) is a blend of visionary and oracular material. Both types of material are set in prose. These chapters have an optimistic undertone and describes Yahweh's love for the post-exilic community in Jerusalem. This article will offer a possible answer to the following question: Which chapter/s can be described as the central part or core of Proto-Zechariah? Zechariah 3 and 4 may be seen as the literary and theological core on account of the following: (1) Structurally the night visions (1:7-6:15) form a central part of Proto-Zechariah with chapters 3 and 4 as the centre of these visions; (2) Most of the core theological concepts are discussed in these chapters, for example God's grace and forgiveness; God's presence through his temple; realised eschatology; diarchic model of leadership; etc; (3) One finds a concentration of all the important characters portrayed in these chapters, for example Yahweh, Zerubbabel, Joshua and the angel or messenger as interpreter of God's message.