Old Testament exegesis: Reflections on methodology

Currents in Biblical Research, 2013

This English translation of a lecture delivered in November 2011 on the occasion of the author's installation as Professor of New Testament at Uppsala University (Kelhoffer 2012) addresses several conceptual and methodological questions about New Testament Exegesis, including: 'What is New Testament Exegesis?', 'What does it mean to call New Testament Exegesis an academic discipline?' and 'How can this discipline be relevant for other disciplines?' A central argument is that the current balkanization of biblical studies is undesirable and that scholars who use more traditional or newer methods should engage, rather than talk past, each other. It could help to foster that process if we attend to a misconception of the 'historical-critical method' as a single method. Additionally, 'the linguistic turn' holds promise for future discussions.

2008

After a brief survey of methods of using the OT in general in the NT, the focus of this study moves particularly to methods that were applied in using Scripture by the Auctor ad Hebraeos. The unknown author made use of a diverse range of techniques when interacting with and presenting his OT material. This includes a catena of explicit quotations, expansions on existing quotations from the tradition, a hymnic reworking of quotations, his own added commentary (midrash) on quotations, paraphrases, references and allusions.

Revue biblique 118.1 , 2011

1999

Scriptura, 2013

The appearance of this book has been made possible by the input of a number of dear people who believed in the project and thus contributed to its accomplishment. I would like to thank Professor Hendrik Bosman, the Chairperson of the Department of Old and New Testament of the Faculty of Theology, Stellenbosch University, for his kindness and hospitality, and for being so trustworthy. Our numerous meetings and conversations have enriched my wife, Tzfira, and me. Spending time with his wife, Daléne, has shown us what a woman who is not only a teacher, but also a wife and mother, can achieve. The graduate Old Testament seminars, those Wednesday afternoon meetings, have been a source of inspiration to both Tzfira and me. In the course of the seminars, we have dealt with significant issues that gave birth to a number of the essays that are presented in this volume. Words of thanks to Liezel Meintjes, the chief editor at SUN MeDIA Stellenbosch, and her staff for their warmth and friendliness. Funlola Olojede took it upon herself to prepare the index, check the coherency of the manuscript, and edit skilfully some of the additions.

Verbum et Ecclesia, 1991

The wealth of publications on matters relating to Old Testament poetry is witness to the fact that this subject has become a focal point in Old Testament studies. In this paper, an overview of contemporary publications is given. The basic issues, both on the level of poetic theory and practical application, are pointed out. A tendency towards a comprehensive literary approach is definitely present and should be encouraged. Only when a poem is analysed on all levels and by all means, will the richness of its meaning be appreciated.

2 files: cover + back cover, and excerpt

The present volume, which is the result of a panel at the 2019 SBL International Meeting in Rome, maps current discourses in Psalms research. The past decades have been marked by the paradigm shift from form and genre criticism to different designs of an exegesis that incorporates the environment of the individual psalms. More recently, it has been pointed out that the complex findings of the manuscripts from antiquity to the Middle Ages do not fit the notion of a fixed canonical text that some designs presuppose. The contributions in the present volume combine such basic considerations with individual investigations of groups of psalms. With different methodological and hermeneutical approaches, they open up perspectives on the connections between the origin, composition and reception of the Psalms.

2015

Originating in a symposium organized by the Institut Dominique Barthelemy and held on 4-5 November 2011 at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland, this book presents eight essays on the textual and literary history of the Hebrew Bible and the Greek Bible. It is commonplace today to speak of multiple text types in the earliest text history of the Hebrew Bible. But how can this multiplicity be most adequately explained? Does it result from different places, or from different Jewish communities reading texts in parallel text forms (Jews in Jerusalem, Samaritans, Alexandrian Jews, etc.)? Does one have to reckon with different qualities and/or evaluations of certain text forms? In other words, among the different text types known to us, were there some which enjoyed special esteem and recognition in antiquity – and if yes, by whom?