scholarly journals Reading Psalm 23 In African Context

2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
David T. Adamo
Keyword(s):  
Old Testament ◽  
Biblical Studies ◽  
Traditional Religion ◽  
Biblical Hermeneutics ◽  
African Christianity ◽  
African People ◽  
The Bible ◽  
African Context ◽  
Methodological Approaches ◽  
Psalm 23

The book of Psalms is the best known, most discussed and most cited book of the Old Testament. Psalm 23 especially is the most loved book of the Psalms. That must have been the reason why it was named ‘an American icon’ and the ‘nightingale of the Psalms’. Two major ways of reading this Psalm are: as a shepherd to a sheep and as God to a human. The author of this article reads Psalms 23 Africentrically, that is, as God to a human. This means that Psalms 23 is read for the purpose of protection, provision, healing and success in all aspects of life, which are the main concerns of African people. It means reading Psalm 23 existentially with African life interest.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: This article is concerned with biblical studies, African Traditional Religion and culture and African Biblical Hermeneutics. It seeks to challenge the traditional Eurocentric approaches for its methodological approaches that do not make biblical studies adequately relevant to African Christianity. The book of Psalms is used as a perfect example of how it can be interpreted relevantly in Africa. Further implication is that there will be reduction of the Bible and Christianity looking like a foreign book and religion.

scholarly journals Reading Psalm 90 in the African (Yoruba) perspective

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
David T. Adamo
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Practices ◽  
Biblical Studies ◽  
Traditional Religion ◽  
African Culture ◽  
Biblical Hermeneutics ◽  
New Words ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Critical Methodology ◽  
Small Collection ◽  
African Context

Psalm 90 stands at a critical juncture in the overall scheme of the Psalter. It is also the first Psalm of the small collection which constitutes Book IV of the Psalter. Psalm 90 can be regarded as one of the magisterial Psalms. Psalm 90 is unique in four ways: (1) Psalm 90 is the first Psalm of Book IV with new words after the unresolved ending of Book III; (2) it is the only Psalm with a superscription dedicated to Moses; (3) Psalm 90 is the most popular and attested text of the Bible according to archaeological facts; (4) the chapter is the theological heart of the Psalter with its emphasis on God’s time and his reign. Unfortunately, however, many scholars have not paid much attention to how these Psalms are used as amulets, talismans, and medicine as attested by archaeological documents uncovered. The purpose of this article is to examine Psalm 90 in the African (Yoruba) context which has been supported by archaeological documents of Psalm 90 uncovered. Psalm 90 has been considered as a Psalm of protection, healing and success.Intradisciplinary and interdisciplinary implications: ‘Reading Psalm 90 in the African context’ interprets Psalm 90 in the light of African culture. It deals with biblical studies, exegesis, African traditional religion, and African cultural practices using historical-critical and African biblical hermeneutical methodologies. The Euro-American way is challenged, and African biblical hermeneutics methodology presents a legitimate historical-critical methodology.

scholarly journals The Burning Bush (Ex 3:1–6): A study of natural phenomena as manifestation of divine presence in the Old Testament and in African context

2017 ◽  
Vol 73 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
David T. Adamo
Keyword(s):  
Old Testament ◽  
Religious Tradition ◽  
Traditional Religion ◽  
Natural Phenomena ◽  
Divine Presence ◽  
African Christianity ◽  
African Context ◽  
African Traditional Religion

The purpose of this article is to attempt to sketch a new reading of Exodus 3:1–6 in African context. After the analysis of the text and various interpretations of the burning bush, this article attempts to survey the various uses of the word fire/lightning/thunder in the Old Testament and in African indigenous religious tradition (Yoruba tradition). In this case, the legends of Sango, the Yoruba Divinity, are important examples of interpreting the existence of fire/lightning/thunder as a sign of God’s presence. Although the meaning of fire/lightning/thunder in the Old Testament and African traditions is very similar, the author does not subscribe to the notion that African Christianity and African traditional religion are the same. However, the similarity has some important implications for African Christianity despite the differences.

scholarly journals Anything new under the sun of African Biblical Hermeneutics in South African Old Testament Scholarship?: Incarnation, death and resurrection of the Word in Africa

2015 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Madipoane Masenya ◽  
Hulisani Ramantswana
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
The Other ◽  
Multiple Perspectives ◽  
Biblical Hermeneutics ◽  
African People ◽  
The Bible ◽  
African Heritage ◽  
The Face ◽  
The One

In this article, two lenses are used to engage the task of African Biblical Hermeneutics. The one lens is derived from African wisdom, i shavha i sia muinga i ya fhi?, in which there is a need for people to affirm their own roots. Drawing from the wisdom of the preceding proverb, we argue that, in their scholarship, African biblical scholars have to take seriously their own African heritage and thus do justice to their contexts rather than rely heavily on Western paradigms if their scholarship is to impact communities and also contribute towards shaping the face of biblical hermeneutics as a whole. The other lens is an analogy derived from the following events in Jesus� life: incarnation, death and resurrection. The task of African Biblical Hermeneutics has to be a three-fold process for the Bible to be �gospel� in Africa: Firstly, the incarnation of the Word � the Bible as the Other has to incarnate into African contexts for it to become an African Word. Secondly, the death of the Word � this entails a critical engagement with the Word from multiple perspectives for it to be relevant to the struggles of African people. Thirdly, the resurrection of the Word � the biblical text has to be allowed to address and transform an African person in new creative ways.

scholarly journals Rereading Psalm 121 in an African (Yoruba) context

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 8-15
Author(s):  
Peter Olanrewaju Awojobi ◽  
Keyword(s):  
World View ◽  
Fourth Century ◽  
Spiritual Warfare ◽  
Third Century ◽  
Biblical Hermeneutics ◽  
African People ◽  
The Bible ◽  
African Context ◽  
Daily Prayer ◽  
The Temple

This article is an attempt to reread Psalm 121 in an African context with reference to the culture of the Yoruba people of Nigeria. The study considers certain Eurocentric interpretation of the Book of Psalms which Africans maintained do not meet their social, physical and spiritual aspirations. An African interpretation of the Bible is an interpretation which adopts the African world view. In this study, Psalm 121 is interpreted in the light of help and protection which are the greatest needs of the African people. The study adopts the African Biblical Hermeneutics. The central focus of this approach is to provide a useful lens to reread biblical text in African context. It was discovered that as early as the third century Christian era, worshippers in the temple chanted, and sung on a regular basis from Psalms. The Psalms were popular in the fourth century with the rise of monasticism as monks chanted the psalms as daily prayer not only for personal guidance but also for spiritual warfare against demons. The ancient Israelites who were the original authors of the Psalter wrote from their experiences. Many biblical scholars and members of African indigenous churches in Nigeria, see the Psalter as divine and potent words. Psalm 121 can be used to invoke help and protection on those who desire them in the same way as words of incantation (ogede) are used among the Yoruba ethnic group of Nigeria. It is hoped that the Psalms and the entire Bible will be properly contextualized to address the challenges that Africans are currently facing.

scholarly journals Bybelkunde as eiesoortige teologiese dissipline binne 'n veranderende Suid-Afrikaanse konteks

1995 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-81
Author(s):  
S.J. Joubert
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
Biblical Studies ◽  
Religious Communities ◽  
South African Context ◽  
Religious Experiences ◽  
The Bible ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
African Context ◽  
The Impact

Biblical Studies as a distinctive theological discipline within a changing South-African context. Biblical Studies balances on the dividing line between different realities: between the religious experiences expressed in the Bible and contemporary theological interpretations thereof, and between the scientific activities of modem universities and reflections on God's saving acts in history in different religious communities. Within these spheres Biblical Studies must carve out its own niche as a functionally independent theological discipline, by making its own theoretical reflections on the Bible relevant within the changing South-African context. This can be achieved through, amongst others, the study of the history and theology of the Old Testament and the New Testament, the intercultural communication of Biblical values, the exposure of students to different religions on phenomenological level, and the activation of students' creative abilities through a study of the impact of the Bible on various art forms.

Postcolonial Liberation: Decolonizing Biblical Studies in the South African Postcolony

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerald O. West
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Biblical Interpretation ◽  
Biblical Studies ◽  
The South ◽  
Biblical Hermeneutics ◽  
The Bible ◽  
African Black ◽  
History Of ◽  
Land Economics ◽  
The 1960S

Liberation biblical interpretation and postcolonial biblical interpretation have a long history of mutual constitution. This essay analyzes a particular context in which these discourses and their praxis have forged a third conversation partner: decolonial biblical interpretation. African and specifically South African biblical hermeneutics are the focus of reflections in this essay. The South African postcolony is a “special type” of postcolony, as the South African Communist Party argued in the 1960s. The essay charts the characteristics of the South African postcolony and locates decolonial biblical interpretation within the intersections of these features. Race, culture, land, economics, and the Bible are forged in new ways by contemporary social movements, such as #FeesMustFall. South African biblical studies continues to draw deeply on the legacy of South African black theology, thus reimagining African biblical studies as decolonial African biblical studies—a hybrid of African liberation and African postcolonial biblical interpretation.

scholarly journals Reading the Bible in the African context: Assessing Africa’s love affair with prosperity Gospel

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ntozakhe Cezula
Keyword(s):  
Biblical Interpretation ◽  
Prosperity Gospel ◽  
Bible Translation ◽  
African People ◽  
Traditional Religions ◽  
The Bible ◽  
African Context ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Bible Reading ◽  
Socio Economic Factors

The aim of this article is to examine Bible reading in the African context and the willingness and enthusiasm to embrace prosperity gospel in Africa. To achieve this objective, a discussion on the developments in biblical interpretation in Africa will first be presented. This will be done by examining three historical periods: colonial, independence and democratisation periods. This will be followed by an outline of migrations that have taken place from traditional religions to different versions of Christianity in different times in Africa. These migrations will be examined in connection with Bible translation. The relationship between prosperity gospel and African people in Africa will be discussed by considering the tools prosperity gospel uses to appeal to African people, namely the religio-cultural and socio-economic factors. The article will then provide its assessment of contextual reading in the prosperity gospel and a conclusion will follow.

scholarly journals Interpreting the Bible in the 'new' South Africa: Remarks on some problems and challenges

1997 ◽  
Vol 53 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
D. J. Human
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
New South ◽  
Biblical Studies ◽  
Biblical Hermeneutics ◽  
Christian Community ◽  
South African Society ◽  
The Bible ◽  
University Of Pretoria ◽  
Interpretation Process

Interpreting the Bible in the 'new' South Africa DJ Human Department of Biblical Studies (Sec B) University of Pretoria The Bible plays an important role in South African society. The interpretation of this book within or outside the Christian community has become an increaslingly major source of debate. It has been used and misused in several spheres of society. This article does not intend providing an extensive and composite picture of the problems and character of biblical hermeneutics. Nor will it attempt to elaborate on or explain the origins, development and influences of all the different her-meneutical approaches. Rather, it poses to be an introduction to a few of the problem(s) encountered in the attempt to understand the Bible, especially in terms of the 'new' South Africa. Within the framework of this scope, remarks will be made regarding the challenges involved in interpreting the Bible, the role of the interpreter in the interpretation process, the varied forms of literature to be found in Scripture, and in the last instance, to take cognisance of a few methodological approaches to the text analysis of the Bible.

scholarly journals Biblical hermeneutics as the structuralist of the poetics of "The Word of Law and Grace" of Ilarion

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Eternal Life ◽  
Biblical Hermeneutics ◽  
The Bible ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
The Law ◽  
Allegorical Interpretation

The article states that, for the purpose of interpreting the Biblical topos of the Law and Grace, Hilarion refers to the genre of the word. Hilarion takes first place in the title, and then in the text of the work God brings out wisdom. By law, he believes the Old Testament, which has already fulfilled its task, and Grace - the New Testament, which outlines the existence of man, his relationship with God, gives hope for eternal life. The subject of the "Word" breaks the sermon into four fragments. In the first of them, we notice the allegorical meaning of reading the Scriptures in relation to the history of mankind. The second part is devoted to the interpretation of the image of Jesus Christ, which appears as a synthesis of God and human nature. The third fragment depicts events beyond the boundary of the Bible. It is devoted to the baptism of Rus. In the fourth fragment Prince Volodymyr is glorified. Following the best traditions of Byzantine oratory prose, the author of the Word simply pours his text into quotations from the Bible and adds to them a predominantly allegorical interpretation, emphasizing that the work is not intended for proclamation, but for reading, which enabled the author to interpret the Scriptures and in the literal, and in allegorical sense. The advantage of the New Testament over the Old Testament is embodied by the author in the images of the free wife of Abraham Sarah - Grace and his servant Hagar - Law. Laconic retelling of God-inspired text, Hilarion interprets the old-czarist images, as those that represent the new covenants at the level of allusions, presented them in the form of additional parallel antithesis. The same anti-colored color is also depicted by the images of their children. Isaac was born from a free woman, which means that he represents freedom, Ishmael is from a slave, hence his image symbolizes slavery. He who receives Grace receives goodness, love, becomes the son of God, and begins to live a new life in the Holy Spirit through which the believer is through. The overcoming of the Law and the perception of Grace means, according to Hilarion, the acquisition of spiritual freedom.

Martin Luther's Practice of Old Testament Commentary

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
John A. Maxfield
Keyword(s):  
Old Testament ◽  
Biblical Studies ◽  
History Of Christianity ◽  
The Bible ◽  
The Reformation ◽  
Justification By Faith ◽  
University Professor ◽  
History Of ◽  
Biblical Commentaries ◽  
The Many

Scholarly analysis of biblical interpretation and commentary in the history of Christianity has become an important subfield in history as well as biblical studies and theology. From the Reformation and into the modern era, Martin Luther has been appreciated first of all as an expositor of the Bible and a confessor of its teachings. His vocation as a theologian called to teach in the University of Wittenberg was especially focused on the exposition of scripture, and his development as a theologian and eventually as an evangelical reformer was deeply tied to his experience in interpreting the Bible in his university classroom, in the Augustinian cloister, and in his household. His interpretation of scripture was the basis of his “Reformation discovery” of justification by faith, and his conflict with the papal church was largely the result of Luther’s conviction that the message of scripture, in particular “the gospel,” was being overwhelmed in the theology and churchly practice of his time by “human teachings” not supported by and contradicting scripture. As a result, Luther and other evangelical reformers of the 16th century appealed to scripture alone (sola scriptura) as the highest authority in shaping their theology and proposals for reform. Luther’s teachings and leadership in the Reformation were shared and celebrated not only through his doctrinal and polemical treatises and catechetical writings, but also through the many sermons, biblical commentaries on both Old and New Testament books, and prefaces on the books of the Bible that were published in his lifetime and thereafter. Old Testament commentary was an especially important genre of Luther’s published works, as it encapsulated much of his work as a university professor of theology and evangelical reformer.

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