Doctoral Degrees (Old and New Testament)

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Browsing Doctoral Degrees (Old and New Testament) by browse.metadata.advisor "Wendland, Ernest R."

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    חֶסֶד and Ikharari : the book of Ruth from a Lomwe perspective
    (Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2010-12) Alfredo, Justino Manuel; Jonker, Louis C.; Wendland, Ernest R.; University of Stellenbosch. Faculty of Theology. Dept. of Old and New Testament.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: It has been acknowledged in two recent studies that the translation of key biblical terms is an area that needs urgent attention. Many lexicons provide the meaning of a word by describing its etymology, hardly paying any attention to the socio-cultural contexts within which it is used. Thus, lexicons are often of limited value for Bible interpretation and translation. This dissertation argues that the meaning of a word can only be fully determined by taking into consideration the linguistic and socio-cultural contexts within which it functions. A basic assumption is that the biblical source text serves as a frame of reference for the semantic analysis of a particular word. The text provides an integrative semantic and pragmatic framework within which a biblical term must be investigated with reference to its wider socio-cultural setting. In the light of this framework, this study investigates the meaning of dsj in the book of Ruth from a Lomwe perspective. Although the word occurs only three times (Ruth 1:8, 2:20 and 3:10) with reference to Ruth, Boaz and Yahweh as subjects, respectively, the book is a “dsj story”, which represents the essence of the covenant between Yahweh and His people. The essence of this covenant is demonstrated by the main characters of the story, which unveil the theological depth that dsj brings to the understanding of this narrative. Since the aim of the study is to evaluate the suitability of the terms osivela, osivela combined with woororomeleya and ikharari in relation to others that are potentially available in Lomwe to convey the conceptual complexity denoted by dsj, a Cognitive Frames of Reference (CFR) approach was introduced for the translation. To bridge the cognitive gap between the socio-cultural worlds of the biblical audience and the target audience, the study used different dimensions of CFR namely the textual, socio-cultural, communicational and the organizational frames of reference. Using the book of Ruth as a starting point for the translation of the word dsj into Lomwe, it is argued that this approach offers a better understanding of the meaning of dsj in Ruth 1:8, 2:20 and 3:10. Since osivela waya woororomeleya does not do justice to the meaning of dsj in the three passages, the words ikharari (1:8 and 2:20) and oreera murima (3:10) have been proposed as exegetically and socio-culturally more appropriate alternatives.