Chapter Four. Key Concepts In The Dialogue Between African And European Biblical Scholars

Abstract

One of the specific objectives of the Stellenbosch conference was to discuss the relation between exegesis and actualisation. This chapter presents main outlines of those discussions. Four key concepts are described in the chapter: context, exegetical methods, actualisation and the reader(s). In the process, the author does not limit himself strictly to a summary of the dialogue, but also outlines the broad framework within which the Stellenbosch conference took place. By doing so, he provides an insight into the global developments in the discussion on exegesis and actualisation. In spite of the considerable differences in context between African and European biblical scholars, the Stellenbosch conference yielded a great deal. Perhaps it can even be argued that the discussion was so meaningful precisely because of those large differences.Keywords: actualisation; African biblical scholars; European biblical scholars; exegetical methods; ordinary readers; scholarly context; Stellenbosch conference