Philippus Jacobus Botha

Bio: Philippus Jacobus Botha is an academic researcher from University of Pretoria. The author has contributed to research in topics: Hymn & Honour. The author has an hindex of 6, co-authored 64 publications receiving 172 citations. Previous affiliations of Philippus Jacobus Botha include Union Pacific Railroad.

Pride and the suffering of the poor in the Persian period: Psalm 12 in its post-exilic context

Abstract: This paper contends that Ps 12 should be read, as part of the composition Pss 9–14, as a response to and an explication of Prov 30:1–14 by exponents of Wisdom thinking in the Persian period. The suffering of the righteous people in Ps 12 is described as the result of arrogant Jewish and also non-Jewish rulers who use speech as an instrument of deception, fraud, flattery, boasting, and questioning Yahweh’s authority in order to oppress and intimidate believers. It is proposed that the historic context of the final form of the text was that of the “piety of the poor,” a theology which developed from the need to restore dignity and provide hope to victims of social and religious oppression in the post-exilic era. It would seem that these people sought comfort in the word of Yahweh and that they found vindication for themselves in those sections of the developing “canon” which promised that Yahweh would intervene on behalf of those people who represented true humility and piety.

Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Mary—The Bold Women in Ephrem the Syrian's Hymn De Nativitate 9

Abstract: Ephrem the Syrian's hymn De Nativitate 9 is translated and its structure and the presence and function of various literary tropes in it are discussed. It is concluded that the most important polarities in the hymn are those between Christ's divinity and his humanity, between fear and love, between impurity and holiness, and between symbol and truth. It is argued that the purpose of the hymn was to instil awe for the wonder of Christ's birth from a woman, but also to encourage Christians in fourth century Syria to emulate the bold dedication of women like Tamar, Rahab, and Ruth to Christ alone, and to provide answers to Jewish criticism and ridicule of the virgin birth of Christ.

Psalm 108 and the Quest for Closure to the Exile

Abstract: Ps 108 is studied as a composition sui generis in terms of its poetic features and ideological intent. It is subsequently also compared to its two donor texts (Ps 57 and Ps 60) to determine how the selection and editorial adaptation of those verses which were used to create the new composition reveal something about its textual strategy and purpose. The strategy of its authors seems to have been the transformation of the oracle found in Ps 60 from a context of lamentation to one of future hope. The authors emphasised YHWH’s universal majesty in contradistinction to the local insignificance of their enemies; and the global power of YHWH in contradistinction to the futility of human endeavours. A INTRODUCTION Ps 108 is a poetic composition constructed from sections of Ps 57 and Ps 60. Psalm 57:8-12 was used to create Ps 108:2-6; while Ps 60:7-14 was recontextualised as Ps 108:7-14. This means that the longish, davidizing headings and first parts of both donor psalms were removed and the two torsos united under a new, short Davidic heading. Certain small changes were also made to the borrowed verses in order to enhance the unity and/or purpose of the new composition (see the addendum for a comparison), creating a text which differs in genre and intent from the two donor texts and which is very different from the sum of its constituent parts. 1 It is the purpose of this paper to study the structure and argument of Ps 108 as a composition in its own right, but also to compare its strategy and ideology with those of the donor texts. It seems that the purpose of creating a new composition from two existing texts was to facilitate an “anthological” 2 re1 It would therefore be wrong, for instance, to analyse the structure of vv. 2-6 (which originated from Ps 57:8-12) in isolation from vv. 7-14 as Pierre Auffret, Voyez de vos Yeux. Etude structurelle de vingt Psaumes dont le Psaume 119 (Leiden: Brill, 1993), 80-84 does. Leslie C. Allen, Psalms 101-50 (revised ed.; Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2002), 94 criticizes his carrying over the structure of the constituent parts to the new composition. Verse 6 in the new composition initiates a new section and forms enjambment with v. 7, which becomes a final clause for the command at the beginning of v. 6. 2 The “anthological” style is a description of the type of psalm texts which the Levitical singers or authors created in post-exilic times in which they made extensive use of texts which had already assumed a kind of canonical status to create new ones. Psalm 119 is such an example, in which the author made use of the style of a lament

'I am like a green olive tree': The Wisdom context of Psalm 52

Abstract: The article revisits the thesis of Walter Beyerlin from 1980 that Psalm 52 is a paraenetic- didactic Wisdom poem from the late Persian period. Beyerlin reached his conclusion from a comparison of Psalm 52 with post-exilic Wisdom psalms such as Psalms 37, 49, and 73. The direct literary influence that Psalm 52 received from the book of Proverbs and the motifs it shares with Jeremiah 9 are investigated here, since the author contends that the Wisdom influence on the Psalm was even greater than Beyerlin had envisaged. The article comes to the conclusion that the author(s) of the Psalm attempted to compose a psalm by establishing a network of allusions to a corpus of authoritative texts, inter alia , the Wisdom psalms. The end product is a brilliant composition which interprets the teaching of Proverbs for the needs of a group of Jewish believers who probably lived at the end of the Persian period.

Intertextuality and the interpretation of Psalm 1

Abstract: The meaning of the word ‘Torah’ in Psalm 1:2 is investigated in the light of the intratextual context of Psalm 1 itself and in the light of intertextual connections of this psalm with Joshua 1, Jeremiah 17, Psalms 52 and 92, Job 8, Ezekiel 47, and 1 Chronicles 22. It is contended that ‘Torah’ in Psalm 1:2 refers to the Mosaic Torah rather than to the Psalter itself. The Torah of Moses is depicted in Psalm 1 as a guide on the road of life to the presence of Yahweh, symbolised by a paradise-like temple garden. The mutual connections of Psalm 1 and 1 Chronicles 22 with Joshua 1 might suggest that Psalm 1 was intended as an introduction to the first three books of the Psalter in the first place.

The Book of Daniel

Abstract: Click to follow Links. (Introversion) 1: 1—21. THE CAPTIVITY OF JUDAH. Historical Events Connected with its Beginning. *(Historic) 2: 1—49. THE DREAM OF NEBUCHADNEZZAR. The Beginning and Duration of Gentile Dominion. 3: 1—30. DANIEL’S COMPANIONS. The “fiery Furnace”. Angelic Deliverance. 4: 1—37. THE FIRST KING OF BABYLON. Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream of The “Great Tree”, Revealing his Temporary Deposition. 5: 1—31. THE LAST KING OF BABYLON. Belshazzar’s Vision of The “Hand”, Revealing his Final Doom. 6: 1—28. DANIEL HIMSELF. The “Den Of Loins”. Angelic Deliverance. 7: 1—8: 27. THE DREAM AND VISION OF DANIEL. The End of Gentile Dominion. *(Prophetic) 9: 1—12: 13. THE DESOLATIONS OF JERUSALEM. Prophetic Announcements Connected with Their End.

The debilitating duo : shame and guilt in Psalm 32

Abstract: it defines and limits the meaning of selem. Second, the two words are interchangeable; no distinction is discoverable between them. Third, both words are included in Genesis 1:26. However, only selem is used in Genesis 1:27, but the omission of d§mu®t does not diminish the meaning. Preuss, noting the occurrence and semantic field of the verb and noun forms for t...wm√;d defines it as a “copy,” “reproduction” or “image” (Preuss 1997:3.259). The eighth century prophet Isaiah warns the nation of Israel not to pursue lRs‹RÚpAh “the idol” (Is 40:19), since wáøl ...wk√rAo¶A;tt...wäm√;d_hAm...w l¡Ea N...wâyV;mådV;t yTMIm_lRa◊w “to whom will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare with Him?” (Is 40:18). Idols, which are creations of human hands, lack the “likeness” of the divine creator. Isaiah’s comparison is not applicable to the human, who is created in the “image...likeness” of God. The context of Isaiah 40 expresses comfort for God’s people (40:1), whose Lord has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand (40:12), sits enthroned above the circle of the earth (Is 40:22), and is the Everlasting God, Creator of the ends of the earth who does not grow weary or tired (40:28b). Idols do not compare. Feinberg (1972:236) notes the difference between sΩelem, which refers to human essence, and d§mu®t as the aspect of the person that changes. Both concepts evolve from the Greek and Latin father’s distinction between sΩelem, as the physical condition of the human, and d§mu®t which refers to the ethical expression of the divine image emanating from God. Although distinctions between image and likeness are noted, Kidner (2008:55) deduces that the words reinforce one another in Genesis 1:26, since the conjunction is absent

Jewish Law and Early Christian Identity: Betrothal, Marriage, and Infidelity in the Writings of Ephrem the Syrian

Abstract: Ephrem, one of the earliest Syriac Christian writers, lived on the eastern outskirts of the Roman Empire during the fourth century. Although he wrote polemical works against Jews and pagans, and identified with post-Nicene Christianity, his writings are also replete with parallels with Jewish traditions and he is the leading figure in an ongoing debate about the Jewish character of Syriac Christianity. This book focuses on early ideas about betrothal, marriage, and sexual relations, including their theological and legal implications, and positions Ephrem at a precise intersection between his Semitic origin and his Christian commitment. Alongside his adoption of customs and legal stances drawn from his Greco-Roman and Christian surroundings, Ephrem sometimes reveals unique legal concepts which are closer to early Palestinian, sectarian positions than to the Roman or Jewish worlds. The book therefore explains naturalistic legal thought in Christian literature and sheds light on the rise of Syriac Christianity.

The Editing of the Hebrew Psalter

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