http://hdl.handle.net/10500/2787 Thu, 23 May 2013 19:01:02 GMT 2013-05-23T19:01:02Z http://hdl.handle.net/10500/8856 A historical, geographical and archaeological survey of the Jordan Valley in the Late Bronze Age Schaaf, James Mark This thesis is a multi-disciplinary survey of the Central Jordan Valley during the Late Bronze Age (1500-1200 BC) illustrated with an abundant use of maps and tables. The purpose is to determine how the Jordan Valley functioned as an economic unit during the Late Bronze Age. This thesis surveys the geographical, historical and archaeological records related to the Jordan Valley during the Late Bronze Age. A chapter is devoted to each field, geography (physical and human), history (Egyptian and Hebrew Bible) and archaeology. The data from each discipline is used to individually answer two questions: 1) was the Jordan Valley a single geographic/economic unit in the Late Bronze Age? 2) to what extent was the Jordan Valley integrated/interacting with the east-west highlands and the larger region in the Late Bronze Age? The primary objectives are to 1) explore and model a historical geographic hermeneutic for understanding the human experience of the Ancient Near East; and 2) lay a foundation for understanding the role of the Jordan Valley in affecting the Biblical periods of the Israelite monarchy to the Roman period.The answers from each chapter are then synthesized into a single geographic historical archaeological picture of the Central Jordan Valley during the Late Bronze Age. The Central Jordan Valley was divided into two sections: a fertile, populated, well connected north-central section and an isolated, sparsely populated southern section with limited agricultural zones. Trade with and between the eastern and western highlands is well represented by artifactual parallels in and through the Jordan Valley, the north-central section on a regional and international scale and the southern section on a more local scale. The thesis concludes that there are more artifactual points of connection between the Jordan Valley and the eastern highlands than with the western highlands. An ‘early conquest’ model of the Hebrew Bible is plausible within the historical records of the Egyptian 18th and 19th Dynasties and the geographical and archaeological records of the Jordan Valley during the Late Bronze Age. Wed, 01 Aug 2012 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/10500/8856 2012-08-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10500/8786 Ancient Egyptian health related to women: obstetrics and gynaecology Bouwer, Debra Susan The success of any civilisation rests on a number of factors, to include their ability to procreate and produce heirs. This given, the health of women in any society is of most importance given their primary role in both birth and raising children. The study of medicine dedicated to the care of women in ancient Egypt is of vital importance and to this end, various archaeological finds have been consulted and analysed. Information in the field gynaecology shows a relatively advanced discipline with many overlaps with modern medicine and modern pharmacopoeia. Information on obstetrics is more limited with reliance on mythological texts, inscriptions, artifacts, conjecture and deductive reasoning required. A lot of areas still require exploration in the field and the study raises issues for future research Thu, 14 Mar 2013 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/10500/8786 2013-03-14T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10500/8675 Weg zum vollkommenen Glauben nach dem Jakobusbrief Böllert, Michael In dieser Studie wird der Frage nachgegangen, ob der Jakobusbrief den Weg zum vollkommenen Glauben zeigt. Dazu wird zunächst die Berechtigung einer solchen Fragestellung anhand der neueren Forschung aufgezeigt. Dann werden in knapper Form allgemeine Fragen zum Jakobusbrief behandelt, bevor die beiden Zentralbegriffe dieser Studie untersucht werden: Glaube und vollkommen. Um eine inhaltliche Definition dieser Begriffe im Jakobusbrief geben zu können, wird zunächst dargelegt, welche sprachlichen bzw. inhaltlichen Kontexte in der damaligen Zeit gegeben waren und den Schreiber des Jakobusbriefes beeinflusst haben könnten. Die so gewonnenen Ergebnisse fließen sodann in die Untersuchung von Jakobus 2 ein. Dabei werden unter Berücksichtigung des rhetorischen Aufbaus, der sprachlichen Besonderheiten und der kulturellen Gegebenheiten die Verse Jakobus 2:1-13 und 2:14-26 untersucht. Hierbei ist das Beispiel von Abrahams Glauben in Jakobus 2:22 von besonderer Bedeutung. Abschließend wird eine Antwort auf die eingangs aufgeworfene Frage gegeben.; This thesis examines whether and in what way the Epistle of James shows the way to perfect faith. A detailed survey of research indicates that this is an important and relevant question that has, as yet, not been adequately examined. General questions about the Epistle of James are addressed before a detailed analysis of the central terminology of this study, the language of faith and of perfection. Assessment of this terminology requires an understanding of which linguistic and other contexts were prevalent at the time of writing and how these may have influenced the author. The results of these analyses are included in a detailed exegesis of James 2:1-26 (which constitutes the main part of the thesis). Close attention is paid to the rhetorical structure, the linguistic features and the cultural background of the passage. This thesis argues that the example of Abraham’s faith in James 2:22 is of special significance in the argumentation of the letter and in the quest for perfect faith. The conclusion confirms the notion that the Letter of James makes a crucial contribution to our understanding of faith and its perfection. This thesis also draws out certain implications for New Testament theology, the contemporary church and society at large. German text Thu, 01 Sep 2011 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/10500/8675 2011-09-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10500/8637 The religiosity of the book of Song of Songs in context Van der Zwan, Pieter Despite its chequered interpretational history, the book of Shîr ha-Shîrîm (Song of Songs) in the Hebrew Bible and Christian Old Testament has still not come to its fullest religious potential. The reason is that it has mainly served relatively closed religious traditions defined by the exclusion of those that have reacted against it. As the text of Song of Songs itself does not explicitly testify to any religiosity, these communities have understood it religiously by projecting their own predetermined needs and beliefs onto it. The text does, however, suggest several layers in the history of its formation, representing different levels of consciousness and stages of religiosity. In the postmodern globalising context where the importance of interfaith understanding is increasingly realised and the nature of human religiosity is constantly redefined in terms of ever-broadening horizons, the religiosity of the book has been stretched as wide as possible by also taking into consideration the ancient contextual influences which could have left their traces on the unconscious mind of its author(s) and redactor(s). To this end, the transpersonal psychological theory of Kenneth Wilber as interpreted by Michael Washburn has been used. Wilber’s inclusive view of religiosity respects all its forms as developmentally appropriate expressions of experiences of the divine which should all be taken seriously. The explicit “absence” of the divine in Song of Songs has been so conspicuous that it has ironically made it more present and led to a greater search for the Ineffable whose whispering and footprints are discernible in relation to the level of consciousness. Exploring the religiosity of Song of Songs in this way then becomes an exercise in being more sensitive to the presence of the divine in all other areas of life as well. Traditional polarities such as sexuality and religiosity are dissolved at the same time and proven to coincide as two aspects of the same experience. Not only does erotic love open one’s eyes to the divine in nature as the body of God, but one also encounters the divine in the body. Thu, 01 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/10500/8637 2012-03-01T00:00:00Z