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No abstract available.

Minerals play a vital role in societal and economic growth. As finite and non-renewable resources, minerals inevitably diminish upon extraction. Consequently, there is an expectation that the extraction process should involve and benefit the local communities hosting these resources. Despite expectations of benefitting local communities, mineral extraction often results in more economic, social, and environmental burdens than advantages for them. This contribution is centred on a theoretical inquiry, employing the concept of social justice to explore and mitigate the disparities in the distribution of costs and benefits experienced by mine-host communities. It aims to balance the inequities, emphasising the principles of distributive, procedural and remedial justice to reconcile the losses and gains in a fair and equitable manner

This article investigates the attribute of God’s wisdom in Matthew’s Gospel as personified in the ministry of his Son, Jesus. This Gospel identifies Jesus as ‘Immanuel’. He is ‘God with us’. The focus falls on several statements exhibiting wisdom motifs that are either uttered by or ascribed to Jesus. These statements are quite puzzling and continue to evoke scholarly discussion. The central theoretical argument of this article is that these statements cannot be fully understood without considering the echoes of the Jewish context exhibited in them. The objective of his investigation is to demonstrate how the recognition of similarities between the statements in Matthew and in Jewish literature contribute towards the understanding of wisdom statements in the Matthean Gospel. This article therefore begins by identifying key wisdom motifs within Jewish tradition, followed by an investigation of wisdom sayings in Matthew. Parallels in Luke are considered to sharpen peculiarities of Matthew’s narration. From this investigation it became clear that the ministry of Jesus in Matthew is met with similar reactions as that of Wisdom in Jewish literature. The article accentuates a significant dimension of Matthew’s Christology. Matthew vindicates Jesus against his opponents and justifies Jesus’ acceptance within the Matthean community. For this community, he is not only recognised as wise teacher, but even the one who reveals and personifies wisdom. As ‘Immanuel’, he presents the attribute of God’s wisdom. Contribution: This article contributes to the ongoing scholarly discussion of several puzzling and seemingly obscure statements echoing wisdom motifs, either attributed to or uttered by Jesus.

The South African government is navigating many basic municipal service delivery challenges, including a growing electricity supply deficit. Eskom Holdings SOC Limited, the state-owned power utility, is struggling to generate and supply a stable and uninterrupted flow of electricity through its grid system. The inadequate generation capacity results in rotating power outages, known as loadshedding, which occur when demand surpasses generating capability. This fundamental service delivery challenge, in conjunction with South Africa's climate change responses, including the decision to work towards energy efficiency, renewable energy and cleaner energy or a "just transition" from coal to clean energy, encourages many South Africans who have the necessary means to invest in off-grid energy solutions that operate alongside and at times independently of Eskom's grid. This paper considers from a legal perspective how and to what extent legislation on electricity supply and municipal by-laws empower household consumers to fulfil their right to electricity by going off-grid. The paper ultimately considers the import of this on South Africa's energy governance framework for electricity provision in the country.

Groundwater, which is water that is found underground, is less susceptible than surface water resources to evaporation, and thus offers resilience against the impacts of climate change. Many South African cities, communities and farmers depend on groundwater for domestic or other socio-economic purposes. This implies that groundwater resources which are currently or potentially utilisable should be identified, and suitable legal measures should be implemented to protect these resources from potential risks of harm or damage posed by anthropogenic activity. This article firstly evaluates the effectiveness of the country's existing regulatory framework to effectively protect South Africa's groundwater resources and finds that the framework can be improved upon significantly. Secondly, it explores regulatory opportunities within the existing legal framework to strengthen South Africa's groundwater governance regime, including making use of land-use planning instruments to facilitate the implementation of groundwater protection zones.

While James is a Christian document, it is also undeniably Jewish. This article investigated the degree to which James is rooted in the Hebrew Scriptures (i.e. Old Testament [OT]), especially the Torah, and how that gives meaning to what he says and teaches. The study was undertaken by establishing the likely relevance and role of the Hebrew Scriptures and particularly the Torah for James’s first readers, and the manner and extent of James’s use of these Scriptures in his Letter. The study was concluded by outlining the findings of the impact of these Scriptures on the Letter. The Greek translation of the Hebrews Scriptures was most likely the Bible of James’s original recipients. As with the rest of the New Testament (NT), James shows remarkable dependence upon and ascribes unqualified authority to the Hebrew Scriptures. James draws substance from, applies, and never nullifies anything from the OT. Referring to an OT Scripture, on average, every 1.86 verses, James’s thought is clearly shaped by the OT. He grounds his fundamental teachings in the Torah – notably in the Shema, Decalogue, and ‘Holiness Code’. While James is silent on the ritual commandments, he focusses on the moral commandments and ‘weightier matters’ of the Torah, so much so that his entire contents may fall under ‘faith/faithfulness’ (or loving God, 1st Table of the Decalogue) or ‘justice’/’mercy’ (or loving neighbour, 2nd Table of the Decalogue). With the core of the Torah evidently being foundational in James, it seems appropriate to interpret James’s terms and teaching in the light of and in line with the Torah, and especially the Torah’s weightier matters and moral instructions. Contribution: This key finding may contribute to the debate about what James’s means and teaches concerning ‘law’ (νόμος) his Letter.

‘I shout my name’ – two war stories compared: Etienne van Heerden’s Om te awol (To AWOL) and W.F. Hermans’ Het behouden huis (The house of refuge). The authors compare Om te Awol (1984) by the South-African author Etienne van Heerden, and Het behouden huis (1952) by the Dutch writer W.F. Hermans, to show how both writers process the experience of war. These novels, similar in their style, subject and plot, deal with identity in times of war (respectively the Border War and the Second World War) as well as the main character having to face its ensuing severe mental, cultural, and ideological effects. In this article, the authors argue that Van Heerden and Hermans both write about the problem of identity and the effects war has on culture and language. However, there is a key difference, mainly in Van Heerdens ideology critique and the possibility of healing, a possibility Hermans denies.

Towns in the Karoo region currently offer few income‑generating opportunities, resulting in people seeking informal waste‑picking opportunities on the streets and landfills. This article aims to investigate the level of precariousness of waste pickers in the context of the Karoo towns in comparison with the rest of South Africa using Sen’s capability approach. A cross‑sectional research design was used, interviewing 75 informal landfill waste pickers and 23 street waste pickers in nine Karoo towns. The results indicated that, in some respects, the situation of the Karoo waste pickers is more precarious than those in other areas of South Africa

In this article, I read the Dutch poet Alfred Schaffer’s volume of poetry Mens dier ding (Man animal thing) against the background of transnationalism. I employ transnationalism as critical or hermeneutic perspective and focus on the identity of the author, the themes worked out in the volume and the use of anachronism and metapoetical references as literary strategies in support of the transnational nature of the text. Reference is made to the way in which Schaffer’s biography (his Dutch-Aruban descent, his movement between the Netherlands and South Africa, his views on poetry) facilitates a transnational reading of his volume Mens dier ding based on the history of the Zulu king Shaka as depicted in Thomas Mofolo’s novel Chaka (published in 1925). The article also reads Mens dier ding against the background of the idea that transnational literature is a particular kind of literature that emerges at a specific point in history and deals with issues and themes associated with imperialism, colonisation, decolonisation and globalisation such as migration, displacement, cultural hybridity, identity, citizenship and the status of refugees. This reading is prompted by the fact that Schaffer displaces the historical Shaka to the present and eventually also represent him as an asylum seeker in an unnamed country. I discuss the volume’s formal features, the transnational conversation with Mofolo’s novel, the use of anachronism and the insertion of metapoetical elements in the text as literary strategies to deal with transnational issues such as migration, displacement, racial hierarchies, inequality and refugee experience.

No abstract available.

No abstract available.

In a country burdened by violence and intolerance where many citizens claim to be Christians, a call to respond to a Christian ethics of peacemaking is appropriate. This article explores the instruction of the Matthean Jesus that his followers should be peacemakers amidst their exposure to violence. The point of departure is taken from the seventh beatitude ‘blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God’ (Mt 5:9). The motif of peacemaking is followed through in the rest of the Sermon on the Mount and then contextualised within the broader Matthean narrative. In the article the strenuous environment is considered in which the Gospel was written and the frequent occurrence of resistance, antagonism, violence and strife in the narrative. Instead of the endless and escalating chain of violence spawning yet more violence, Jesus breaks this chain. He instructs his disciples to be peacemakers. Peace starts with peace with God but ripples out to peace in families and among neighbours, until it comes to the most difficult part, peace with enemies. Contribution: Based on this investigation, the article offers pastoral guidelines for Christians on how they ought to deal with a violent and intolerant environment.

This study is undertaken against the backdrop of the polyvalence of parables and the resultant arbitrary conclusions reached by many interpreters of gospel parables. It is aimed to set guidelines towards plausible interpretations of these parables. It identified some factors that influence the understanding of the parables and thereby formulated principles for guiding the exegete to plausible conclusions. The genre parable was defined and understood to function metaphorically, implying that the true meaning of parables lies outside of their narrated domain (i.e. in a second, distinct domain). Eight principles were formulated to enhance credible parable exegesis and were explained with illustrations from New Testament parables. They included the need to acknowledge the openness of parables, as well as the need to interpret parables within specific gospel contexts. The attention of interpreters was also drawn to five pitfalls when seeking a plausible interpretation of gospel parables. It became clear that only in a holistic combination could these principles enhance the plausible interpretation of the gospel parables, while isolative considerations would most likely mislead the interpreter. In this article it is concluded that, although parables are polyvalent, this does not justify arbitrary interpretations; hence the need for gospel parable interpreters to take seriously the methods and principles that limit multiplicity and enhance plausibility of the parables’ meanings. Contribution: The contribution of this investigation lies in a canonical approach to gospel parables, and to set guidelines for plausible interpretation from such a stance. While it is recognised that earlier forms of parables, albeit in oral or written form, are of interest in historical critical investigations, the current study works with the forms of parables as embedded in specific gospel narratives.

No abstract available.

It goes without saying that Jesus is the protagonist, the main character, in the Gospel narratives. Much of this characterisation is achieved by presenting his speech and actions. As his speech and actions occur in relation to other major and minor characters in the narrative, much of the characterisation is achieved by presenting the interaction between Jesus and these other characters. Among humans, John the Baptist acts as Jesus’ main supporting character. He is portrayed as a reliable witness to Jesus’ life, of the one to come. This article focusses on the characterisation of Jesus in the First Gospel, based on examining his relation to and interaction with John. Passages in this Gospel narrating the relation and interaction between John and Jesus are explored to identify Jesus’ character traits. These are multi-faceted and relates to Messianic expectations described in Jewish writings. Yet, the Matthean narrator argues that Jesus surpasses these expectations – even those of John the Baptist himself.

Angels play a significant role in the characterisation of the Matthean Jesus. The Gospel of Matthew displays particular interest in angels. This article focuses on passages in Matthew that relate the role of angels directly to Jesus. Matthew distinguishes between the angel of the Lord and angels in general. This article examines the latter group keeping in view their support of Jesus. It shows that Matthew assumes knowledge of Jewish angelic traditions among his readers. He adds new perspectives to their knowledge about the relation of angels with Jesus. He is depicted as meek and humble, refraining from using his authority to call on the assistance of angels for his own benefit. Yet angels come with reverence to serve him. In humility, he fully submits to the will of the Father by entering his passion. On the other hand, he is also depicted with eschatological glory as being accompanied by all the angels. Heavens are emptied to attend to the Son of Man on his glorious throne. With an entourage of all heavenly angels he will return as the eschatological judge not only to judge all the nations, but also the devil and his angels.

This article uses a narrative analysis to contribute to the discourse on the characterisation of Jesus in the Matthean Gospel. Much is revealed about characters through their actions and words and how other role players in the text respond to them. Sometimes, the narrator directly tells the reader about a character. The kind of character depends on the traits or personal qualities of that character and how that character behaves during specific incidents. Along with God himself, Jesus forms the principal character in the First Gospel. His teachings and actions are central to the text and the actions of other characters are directed towards him. This article focusses on what the angel of the Lord says in support of Jesus. The presence of the angel of the Lord represents the presence of God, and his message is received as coming from the mouth of God himself. The evangelist utilises the speaking of the angel of the Lord as a narrative strategy to assure Jesus’ prominence and authority. This angel shows Jesus to be the main character. Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: This article uses a narrative analysis to contribute to the discourse on the characterisation of Jesus in the Matthean Gospel. It engages with the field of narrative criticism focussing on characterisation in biblical texts. This has implications for Hermeneutics. It can also be useful for dogmatic research in Angelology and Christology.

This article contributes to the discourse on the characterisation of Jesus in the Matthean Gospel. Characterisation can happen in several ways, for example by letting the characters themselves act and speak, or by letting other characters talk about them or react towards them. It can also be done by a narrator who tells the reader about a character. The kind of character depends on the traits or personal qualities of that character and how that character performs in specific circumstances. Along with God himself, Jesus forms the principal character in the first gospel. His teachings and actions form the focus of attention, and the actions of other characters are directed at him. This article focusses on one aspect of characterisation, namely on how the Holy Spirit acts in support of Jesus. The evangelist utilises the actions of the Holy Spirit as a narrative strategy to gradually express the significant status of Jesus as main character.

n the Synoptic Gospels, listeners ask Jesus about the purpose of his parables. These Gospels provide two parallel accounts of this discussion (Mt 13:10–17 // Mk 4:10–12 // Lk 8:9–10 and Mt 13:34–35 // Mk 4:33). The version in Mark 4:10–12 particularly raises problems related to a sharp distinction between the ‘mystery’ that the ‘insiders’ understand, and ‘parables’, which are intended ‘so that’ the ‘outsiders’ would not understand, repent and be forgiven. Mark’s reference to Isaiah 6:9–10 differs from the Masoretic Text (MT) and Septuagint (LXX) versions, but corresponds with the Aramaic Targum, which reads ‘they may be forgiven’ instead of ‘and I would heal them’. It seems that the Markan Jesus deliberately uses parables to prevent ‘those on the outside’ from understanding, repentance and forgiveness. Luke retains the ‘so that’, but does not distinguish between the two groups that sharply, as he refers to ‘others’ and not ‘those on the outside’. He omits Mark’s apparent offensive phrase about the prevention of repentance and forgiveness. Matthew smooths out some of these difficulties by changing the ‘so that’ to ‘because’. According to Matthew, Jesus speaks in parables because the people do not see, hear and understand. The reason for their inability to comprehend, is their rejection of Jesus. This article investigates these parallel passages to decipher the meaning within their textual context. The argument of this article is that these parallel statements should be read within the context of the parable of the sower to grasp their meaning.

This article uses a narrative analysis to contribute to the discourse on the characterisation of Jesus in the Matthean Gospel. Characterisation can be achieved in various ways. Much is revealed about characters through their actions and words, and how other role-players in the text respond to them. Sometimes there is a narrator who tells the reader about a character. The kind of character depends on the traits or personal qualities of that character and how that character performs during specific incidents. Along with God himself, Jesus forms the principal character in the First Gospel. His teachings and actions are central to the text and the actions of other characters are directed towards him. The article focuses on one aspect of characterisation, namely, on what characters say about Jesus. Such words can come from supporters or antagonists. The article concentrates on what God the Father says in support of Jesus. The Father’s point of view is normative in this narrative. The evangelist utilises the utterances of God the Father as a narrative strategy to gradually assure the prominence and authority of the character of Jesus. Matthew’s narrative clearly recounts Jesus’ authority – an authority that comes from God and not only points towards him but also finally becomes his own. The Father attests that Jesus is greater and more authoritative than any previous messenger of God. It is Jesus who ultimately states that all authority has been bestowed upon him and therefore he can send out the disciples with his Great Commission. God’s heavenly voice expresses the significant status of Jesus as the main character and exposes the malignity of his antagonists.

In South Africa, land/housing is a finite non-shareable type of property that must yield to stringent constitutional control to meet land reform and housing objectives, which is high on our constitutional agenda to redress injustices of the past and allow the previously dispossessed to take their rightful place in society. This article considers the normative framework that underlies the types of property that must be regulated for the purposes of section 25 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, since very few cases have been decided in such a way as to consider, from a normative perspective when land/housing should be subject to greater governmental control and when not. Even in the context of expropriation without compensation, certain types of land/buildings are being flagged for this purpose, but the normative reasons for such propositions remain unclear. The purpose of this article is to offer a theoretical perspective, based on work done by progressive-property scholars, on the normative foundation of some property rights, with the object of initiating a dialogue concerning whether or not such rights should be regulated. The notion of human flourishing, as developed by Alexander, should arguably be essential in determining whether land/housing rights should be subject to greater constitutional scrutiny; the more property contributes to the individual's autonomy and ability to partake in social relations, the more sceptical we should be of severe governmental interference; whereas the lesser the notion of human flourishing appears, the greater governmental interference should be. An approach of this kind adheres to the systemic purpose of section 25 of the Constitution, because the property clause is intended to regulate established rights just as much as it is intended to meet certain societal needs

The central argument of this article is that the way in which the author of Colossians makes use of this Christ hymn can provide useful perspectives within the African context where people often struggle with assumed threats of cosmic powers and spiritual forces. The author of the letter positions and utilises a Christ hymn in a strategic and functional way. This hymn forms a pivotal point in his letter and mentions the crucial theological issues that are at stake. The Colossians were threatened by false teachings according to which they were subjected to different forces and powers. Christ is, however, exalted and praised as superior to all these powers. As such, the hymn lays the basis for the refutation of all the deceiving arguments. The hymn describes the significance of Christ. He is the mediator of creation, the reconciler of the world, and the head of the church. Dependence on Christ sets one free from ties to all the proposed powers. The author assumes that his readers would also associate with the contents of the hymn regarding the supremacy of Christ. If so, the author in effect wins his argument. He, therefore, does not need to convince them of his theological viewpoint anew, but can immediately continue warning them about the dangers of false teachings threatening their community.

No abstract available.

This article is the product of a qualitative, trans-disciplinary study that aimed to explore the use of life-coaching principles within the context of pastoral care. The research relied on the theoretical underpinnings of pastoral theology and life coaching. The problem that the article considers is that, while pastors are equipped with counselling skills, most of them are not equipped with the life-coaching skills necessary to assist people with personal and spiritual growth. We argue that pastors can enhance the pastoral care process by using of basic life-coaching principles. Furthermore, we propose a pastoral care process that, on the one hand, focuses on counselling that addresses the coachee’s past as part of a healing process and, on the other hand, on life-coaching principles that look to the future while encouraging growth, as well as personal and spiritual development. https://doi.org/10.19108/KOERS.83.1.2313

Scholars have described Matthew 23 as the ‘unloveliest’ chapter and ‘bleakest spot’ in the Gospel. It might seem that this chapter does not fit into the overall structure and plot of the Gospel, and that it is a clumsy redactional addition being untypical of the Matthean Jesus. This article recognises the severe nature of this chapter but argues that it does fit into the developing tension between the Jewish leaders and Jesus within the Gospel. It is demonstrated how it forms part of a narrative where Jesus is involved in constant and intensifying controversy dialogue with these leaders. The leaders constantly challenge Jesus with increasing intensity which eventually led towards Jesus’s climactic response in this chapter.

The grammatico-historical method of Bible interpretation is often used in traditional reformed hermeneutics and is usually defined as distinctive from historical and reader-response criticism. However, some aspects of grammatico-historical hermeneutics overlap with the latter two approaches. The argument in this article is that exegesis is a multi-faceted process which requires that various methods can be used to meet the requirements of the texts and the questions to be answered. As the Gospels are historical narratives, narrative criticism can provide a useful tool in interpreting these texts. This should not imply that the historical and theological character of these texts has to be invalidated, but rather that the integrity of these texts is appreciated and that they are read as authoritative for religious communities. The arguments in the article are illustrated with reference to the Matthean Gospel.

Jesus’ instruction to the crowds in Matthew 23:3 to obey and do everything the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees tell them comes as a surprise. It is the only case in Matthew where the words of the Jewish leaders are seemingly portrayed in a positive light. If this portrayal indeed is positive, it seems to stand in tension with how Matthew construes these leaders and their teachings in the rest of the gospel (e.g. Mt 5:20; 15:3–6, 15:14; 16:11–12). Jesus’ positive remark furthermore seemingly stands in contrast with Matthew 28:20, where Jesus claims all authority to himself and instructs his disciples to teach all the nations to obey everything he has commanded them. The question therefore arises as to how this seemingly positive reference of Jesus, which apparently stands in contrast with Jesus’ criticism in the rest of the gospel, should be interpreted. In answering this question, an intra-textual approach is followed.

No abstract avilable.

In 1873 Benjamin Disraeli could bemoan, "[a]n author who speaks about his own books is almost as bad as a mother who talks about her own children." Today, however, authorship is a consumable that demands endless promoting in order to be profitable. The ironic predicament of the author within contemporary (technocratic) culture is his frequent invisibility. Another Country is an apposite vehicle for raising the quandary of contemporary authorship since it is first, a music video and thus a promotional tool itself and second, an authorial collaboration between musical artists Mango Groove and "fine artist" William Kentridge.

Our purpose in this article is to argue that, as far as the constitutional promotion and protection of social welfare is concerned, there are significant theoretical and systemic differences between property, land rights and housing rights. Our argument is shaped by the fact that these three sets of rights are recognised and protected separately in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, but we argue that the theoretical differences go beyond variations between constitutions and bills of rights from different traditions and time periods. In our view, there are sound theoretical, and therefore also systemic, reasons why it is necessary to at least keep the differences between property, land rights and housing rights in mind when analysing, interpreting and applying any of these rights in a specific constitutional text. Above all, we argue that the reduction of housing rights to just another category of property rights might well reduce or even erode the special social, historical and constitutional value and meaning of housing rights. We first consider theoretical arguments concerning the relationship between property, land rights and social welfare. In view of the theoretical analysis we proceed to consider the constitutional nature and status of property, land rights and housing rights in the South African context. We argue that both land rights (in the form of land redistribution and improved tenure security) and housing rights (in the form of the right of access to adequate housing) should be seen as discrete constitutional rights that stand on their own constitutional foundations and that they do not need to be protected as property rights. On the other hand, they are not fundamentally circumscribed or opposed by property rights either. Instead, the Constitution requires a new, typically constitutional methodology that gives full recognition and effect to all three sets of rights, each in its proper place. Seen in this perspective, property is neither the guardian nor the enemy of social welfare. Nevertheless, the purpose of the property clause in general cannot be isolated from social welfare concerns that relate to improved access to land and housing rights, nor from the constitutional imperative to provide stronger land and housing rights. Important connections exist between these divergent constitutional imperatives that should be acknowledged to ensure the efficient realisation of social welfare concerns.

This article looks at the way in which the Afrikaans poet Antjie Krog positions herself with regard to her female precursors or literary mothers in Afrikaans literature. A short survey is done of the different descriptions of the way in which literary tradition functions: the male-centred descriptions of T. S. Eliot and Harold Bloom are mentioned as well as descriptions of the way in which a female literary tradition functions in the work of Virginia Woolf, Elaine Showalter, Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar, Margaret Homans, Diane Sadoff and Naomi Hirsch. This is followed by an investigation into Antjie Krog’s relationship with the work of her biological mother Dot Serfontein who is also a writer, into the way in which she signals a break with the male literary tradition in Afrikaans, into her relationship with other female poets like Elisabeth Eybers and Ingrid Jonker in Afrikaans as well as with historical figures who also wrote texts (even though these texts were diaries, journals and letters rather than literary texts). The conclusion is that the existing descriptions are not able to encompass Krog’s complex relationship with her literary mothers: in her case the relationship with the female literary tradition includes connection as well as conflict and rejection.

Breyten Breytenbach is the most important prison writer in the Afrikaans literary tradition. This article briefly places his prison writing against the background of national and international prison writing before going on to investigate the way in which the reader is represented in his Afrikaans prison poetry. Research about prison writing points out the importance of communication with the outside world for the prisoner. To the prisoner who is also a creative writer, writing is one of the most important means of establishing contact with the outside world. Amongst the large number of poems in Breytenbach’s body of prison poetry which depict an attempt to communicate with the outside world, there are several in which the addressee is explicitly referred to as the reader. The focus of this investigation thus falls on that which reception aesthetics refer to as a”text-internal reader” or “explicit reader”, directly or indirectly addressed in the text. The investigation shows that the poet-narrator in Breytenbach’s prison poems is very conscious of the reader’s role in the concretization of the poem. Several poems from Breytenbach’s body of prison poetry, collected in the anthology Die ongedanste dans (“The undanced dance”, 2005), are analysed to show different facets of the poetnarrator’s relationship with the reader. Some of these analyses describe the poet-narrator’s circumspect approach to the reader and the explanations and instructions given to the reader. Other analyses focus on the poet-narrator’s attempts to manipulate references to time in order to create the illusion of simultaneity with the reader. Further analyses show that the prison writer’s emphasis on the anonymity and absence of the reader can be related to philosophical representations of signification while at the same time being grounded in the material circumstances of Breytenbach’s imprisonment. It is also shown that some of the poems depict the reader as being complicit in creating the circumstances in which the prison poet finds himself.

No abstract available.

No abstract available.

Luke in the preface of his Gospel says that he is going to write ‘in an orderly account’ (Lk 1:3). However, scholars have no consensus about the kind of order Luke is seeking. Many believe that Luke writes as a historian. Because Greco-Roman historians seem to have a practice to indicate in their prefaces the writing methodologies of their writings, this article aims to ascertain Luke’s writing order through a comparison of Luke’s two prefaces with those in the writings of the Greco-Roman historians. This article proposes that Luke most likely adopts the common writing methodologies of the Greco-Roman historians and writes in chronological order.

No abstract available.

Theological interpretation of the Bible represents a broadening of the hermeneutical approaches available to an interpreter of Bible texts. As such, Theological interpretation of the Bible opens up the possibility to investigate and explore more aspects of the Bible text. Especially aspects that are in line with the nature of the Bible text such as Scriptures of the church as well as the illocutionary force of these texts. After a few introductory remarks concerning Theological interpretation of the Bible, three questions guided reflection on defining theological interpretation: first, Why Theological interpretation of the Bible?; second, What is Theological interpretation of the Bible not?; and third, What is Theological interpretation of the Bible? Last mentioned was explored on the basis of a focus text, namely Acts 8:26–40 that served as a case study.

The publication of several series of theological commentaries since the year 2000 marked theentrance of the discipline Theological interpretation of the Bible on the hermeneutical front. Alack of well-developed methodological considerations, underlying the practice of Theologicalinterpretation of the Bible has, however, handicapped the theological interpretation of Bibletexts. It is the aim of this article to contribute to the development thereof. Three meta-hermeneutical aspects that make up the broad methodological foundation of Theologicalinterpretation of the Bible, namely metaphysics, epistemology and ethics are explored.

In the preface of his Gospel Luke says that he is going to write ‘in an orderly account’ (καθεξῆς). However, scholars have no consensus about the kind of order Luke is seeking. This article aims to ascertain the meaning of καθεξῆς through a detailed study of this word, which includes a study of its usages in the Bible, its etymology, related words, and its meaning in contemporary Greek usages. This article proposes that καθεξῆς most likely refers to chronological order.

Jesus’ teaching in Mark’s Gospel accentuates that his disciples must follow him in the way of selflessness and cross-bearing servility (Mk 10:45; 8:34) to benefit many others. Contrarily, the religious phenomenon, known as Prosperity Gospel, promotes the teaching that God wills unlimited financial and physical blessing for all believers. In this article a relevant question, namely if Jesus did promise temporal prosperity and physical wellness for all disciples, is approached exegetically from a core text on discipleship (Mk 8:31-38). This article questions the Prosperity Gospel’s teaching that God always wills temporal prosperity for all believers. Contrarily, it teaches that disciples, like Jesus, must humbly serve in God’s will, irrespective of suffering that may be part of service. Based on these findings, a critical question would be whether the Prosperity Gospel may be regarded as real ‘gospel’.