Department of Old and New Testament

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Browsing Department of Old and New Testament by Subject "Aphraates, the Persian sage, fl. 337-345"

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    References to women of the Old Testament in the demonstrations of Aphrahat the Persian sage
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 1999-03) Kruger, Lisel Heleen; Bosman, Hendrik; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Theology. Department of Old and New Testament.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Aphrahat, the Persian sage, is a fourth century exponent of the theological reflections and teachings that originated in the Persian Church under Sassanian rule. His writings give witness to early eastern Syriac Christian traditions, that have been neglected by theologians through the years in their focus on the Greek and Latin exegetical traditions. Aphrahat' s use and understanding of the Old Testament in his theological reflection forms the focuspoint of this study. The problem addressed is an explanation of Aphrahat' s interpretation of women of the Old Testament as it is found in the references to them in his theological argumentation. The methodological approach utilised in this study is that of socio-rhetorical criticism. This method presupposes that a text can be compared to a tapestry consisting of a thick texture of complex patterns and images. When a text is studied from different angles, a multiplicity of textures can be identified, which enables the reader to develop a greater understanding and perception of the whole. The Demonstrations of Aphrahat are viewed as examples of such multi-textured texts, consisting of an innertexture, intertexture, social and cultural texture, ideological texture and sacred texture. This study analyses four of Aphrahat' s twenty three Demonstrations. In Demonstration III, regarding fasting, the rhetorical unit does not shed much light on Aphrahat' s ideas about women in general. The women characters were not evaluated on ground of their gender, but rather on grounds of certain acts attributed to them in the Biblical narratives - narratives that were interpreted in a midrashic manner within the presuppositions of Aphrahat' s ascetic theology. In Demonstration VI Aphrahat holds singleness above marriage, with the ideal for persons to be so consecrated to Christ. Women stand in the way of this ideal being fully realised in the community of believers. Biblical women are inseparably bound with Eve - the archetype of women. Demonstration VI illustrates that Old Testament history played a big role in the formation of an image of women and their place in this ascetic religious community. In Demonstration XIV emphasis is placed on the prophetic and reconcilitiary positions of certain Old Testament women. They are positive examples that fit the rhetoric of the time, as in Demonstration XXI Aphrahat addresses his audience in the midst of persecutions. Some Old Testament righteous male figures serve as types of Christ, but women feature only implicitly in such a role in Aphrahat' s argumentation. In a community where both sexes suffered are persecuted women do not fulfill the same rhetorical function as men. An ambivalence is recognisable with regard to Aphrahat' s reference to women of the Old Testament, this is to be understood from a presupposition that each rhetorical situation invites its own response - a response further coloured by Aphrahat' s theological agenda and own uncertainty regarding the role of women within a strong ascetic community. A midrash style of argumentation is prevalent which is used to engender attitudes of relevance and relatedness to the world of Scripture. This study concludes that Aphrahat' s theological agenda reflected in a midrashic style of argumentation within the traditions of Syriac Church literature, led to an ambivalence in his reference to women of the Old Testament in his Demonstrations, from which a certain image of women can be deduced.