African biblical hermeneutics and the Book of Ruth: Some observations

Gezina G De Villiers

doi:10.4102/ve.v42i1.2371

Abstract

This article investigates interpretations of the Book of Ruth from the point of view of some African scholars. Firstly, an attempt is made to understand what is meant by African biblical hermeneutics (ABH). An overview of the emergence of ABH is given, and the question why reading the Bible from an African perspective was necessary, is addressed. It appears that African biblical scholars and an African Christian community could not relate to Western European interpretations of the Bible that reflect western experiences and concerns that were vastly different from their own postcolonial experiences and concerns since the latter part of the 20th century.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: The engagement between Western and ABH is discussed, and ABH as a necessary and viable means of biblical interpretation is recognised, but a point of critique is also raised at the end of this section. Thereafter an overview of ABH as appropriated to the Book of Ruth is given, and finally, some evaluative conclusions are drawn.

Highlights

The topic of this article is ‘African biblical hermeneutics and the Book of Ruth’
An overview of the emergence of African biblical hermeneutics’ (ABH) is given, and the question, why reading the Bible from an African perspective was necessary, is addressed. It appears that African biblical scholars and an African Christian community could not relate to Western European interpretations of the Bible that reflect western experiences and concerns that were vastly different from their own postcolonial experiences and concerns since the latter part of the 20th century
The engagement between Western and ABH is discussed, and ABH as a necessary and viable means of biblical interpretation is recognised, but a point of critique is raised at the end of this section

Summary

Introduction

The topic of this article is ‘African biblical hermeneutics and the Book of Ruth’. As a point of orientation, the first part of the article will attempt to understand what is meant by ‘African biblical hermeneutics’ (ABH). An overview of the emergence of ABH is given, and the question, why reading the Bible from an African perspective was necessary, is addressed. It appears that African biblical scholars and an African Christian community could not relate to Western European interpretations of the Bible that reflect western experiences and concerns that were vastly different from their own postcolonial experiences and concerns since the latter part of the 20th century. The focus is rather on contextual and existential issues in a contemporary situation These interpretations may serve as an ‘eye-opener’ to many Western scholars who do not always realise the issues with which African communities are grappling

Objectives

Conclusion