John’s healing narratives are all presented as semeia or spiritual signs in the Gospel. It therefore always has two levels of meaning: the one level narrates a biological and socio-cultural healing act, and at the same time the narrative functions as a vehicle to illustrate ‘divine’ truths in John’s Gospel – revealing the true identity of Jesus, with the purpose that those who read these signs, will eventually believe that Jesus is the son of God and thereby receive eternal life (John 20:30–31). In this article we will discuss the healing narrative in John 9 where Jesus heals not only the physical blindness of the blind man, but also his spiritual blindness. It will also be illustrated how this narrative functions as a semeion or Johannine sign, designed to lead readers to spiritual healing in John’s narrative world. Finally the implications of Jesus’ engagement with those on the fringes of society will be discussed against the background of the rise of Christianity in Africa. 1

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The healing of the blind man in john

This article will be concerned with the question whether the books of Job and Ecclesiastes can be viewed as (postmodern) wisdom in revolt or not. Three questions underlie this title: firstly, are the books of Job and Ecclesiastes wisdom books? Secondly, if so, is their wisdom revolutionary in nature? And thirdly, are there any similarities between the thoughts of Job and Ecclesiastes on the one hand and that of postmodern thinkers on the other hand? It will be argued that there are various similarities to be cited between the ideas of the ancient wisdom writers of Job and Ecclesiastes and more recent postmodern thinkers. This does not, however, necessarily justify a postmodern tag for the books of Job and Ecclesiastes, but points to a similarity in thought development between the ancient societies of Job and Ecclesiastes and the present-day societies. Such similarities are viewed as a clear indication of the meaningful role which Old Testament wisdom, or wisdom in revolt for that matter, can play in current intellectual and theological debates.

/pdf/job-and-ecclesiastes-as-postmodern-wisdom-in-revolt-54a56uljtr.pdf

Job and Ecclesiastes as (postmodern?) wisdom in revolt

In the late layers of the book of Jeremiah and the Pentateuch, covenant was under discussion. Jeremiah 31:31-34 reacted directlyto the post-exilic Pentateuch and its theory of covenant andrevelation. For the authors of the Pentateuch God's revelation hadcome to an end with Moses' death. Entirely different was the theoryof revelation in the post-exilic circles of the prophetic literature.They were of the opinion that God's revelation went on until theirdays (continued into their times). This hermeneutical difference hada deep impact on their understanding of covenant. This paperreconstructs the complex discussions between the authors of thePentateuch and the book of Jeremiah about the essence of covenant.

Old and new covenant. A post-exilic discourse between the Pentateuch and the book of Jeremiah. Also a study of quotations and allusions in the Hebrew Bible

One usually expects ethical themes in the Pentateuch’s legal sections, for example in the Book of Covenant, the Holiness Code, Deuteronomy, and the Decalogue. However, one also encounters material for ethics in some narrative parts of the Pentateuch, first of all in the Patriarchal Traditions of Genesis. With this article, I would like to demonstrate the ethical value of the Patriarchal narratives by explaining three stories of conflict between the patriarchs and their brothers or relatives. Israel finds its identity and vocation very often in the Hebrew Bible when overcoming conflicts with inner or foreign rivals. Thus in three stories of conflict told in the Book of Genesis, I have tried to find how the narrators established moral standards for Israel and how they helped the people of Israel to find the right way of living together and the ideal way to resolve inner conflicts. In that respect Israel could find its position among the nations and its own identity. A INTRODUCTION

/pdf/conflict-and-conflict-resolution-inner-controversies-and-1jr7qr3ad6.pdf

Conflict and conflict resolution: inner controversies and tensions as places of Israel's self-conception in the patriarchal traditions of Genesis

This paper focuses on the meaning of shahar ( ) in Psalm 139:7-12. A comparison will be made between Psalm 139:7-12 in the Old Testament and mythological imagery in the ancient Near East to get a better understanding of the religious background of shahar in this text. The investigation of the religious background of "dawn" helps to understand how the negative feeling of the one praying in Psalm 139 is transformed into positive imagery. Like the flying deity Shahar, YHWH is not bound to one realm, emphasizing that one cannot hide from YHWH. The same image can be used for the one praying in Psalm 139. Using spatial orientation in Psalm 139:7-12, the idea is further illustrated by concluding that God is present in all the realms. Ancient Near Eastern vertical and horizontal orientation will be utilised to illustrate how the focus in the psalm falls upon YHWH's omnipresence.

/pdf/the-rising-of-dawn-an-investigation-of-the-spatial-and-8dfcq5fr9q.pdf

Christoph Dohmen

Papers

Herders Theologischer Kommentar zum Alten Testament

Überlegungen zur Bundestheologie in Jes 40-66