The dilemma in Nigeria's socio-political development over the decades has been widespread religious affinities and spirituality. In the multi-cultural, multi-ethnic and multi-religious environment, her predominantly Christian adherence finds itself encountering more of this dilemma. This article uses Hegelian dialectics and socio-rhetorical lenses to assess Nigeria's socio-political dilemma based on Jer. 30:7. Its findings include a dissonance between religious piety and theo-praxis which crystallises into a complacency evoking an apocalypticism devoid of utopia, and which is unable to provoke a thesis or anti-thesis that could give birth to a new synthesis. It recommends a pendulum shift from mere Christian religious pietism to a religious involvement of the churches in socio-political action that could provide the needed thesis and anti-thesis for a renewed socio-political synthesis. To do so, however, it must retain the apocalyptic component of the Christian faith while actively engaged in religious cum socio-political action.

Leviticus 25:2-7 has its closest parallel in the Pentateuchal and other post-exilic texts, namely Exod 23:10-11; Deut 11:8-17; 15:7-18 and Neh 5; 9:32-37 and 13. The texts are about the Sabbath year, YHWH, the land and socio-economic issues. A convincing consensus on the directionality of influence and dependence between Lev 25:2-7 and these texts is hardly reached. In addition, there is room for further research on the function and significance of Lev 25:2-7. The article argues that inner-biblical exegesis shows that Lev 25:2-7 depended on some Pentateuchal texts and served to legitimise the Sabbath tradition and to address socio-economic issues in the Persian period. In addition, the text influenced the production of some texts in the book of Nehemiah. First, the essay considers the grammatical features, style and content of Lev 25:2-7. Second, the article discusses the dating of the Pentateuchal scribal activity with specific focus on the Covenant Code (CC), versions of Deuteronomy and the Holiness Code (H). Third, the reception of Exod 23:10-11 and Deut 11:8-17; 15:7-18 in Lev 25:2-7 is examined. Lastly, the study probes the reception of Lev 25:2-7 in Neh 5; 9:32-37; and 13 and submits that Lev 25:2-7 depended on earlier Pentateuchal texts and subsequently influenced post-exilic texts on the subject of the Sabbath year in order to address the socio-economic issues of the time.

The past two decades have experienced a growing female labour participation in the Democratic Republic of Congo due in part to the weakening of men's absolute earning power and the increased rates of unemployment and underemployment. Women's growing earning power and commitment to the paid workforce together with the stagnation of men's social mobility make some families more financially dependent on women. As such, women are engaging in any kind of business or activity, which sometimes put their lives at risks. Due to gender inequities, women seek favour from men in order to succeed, making them vulnerable to HIV and AIDS. The story of Ruth in Ruth 2-3, in which she is forced to go out to find food for herself and Naomi is similar to that of many Congolese women who are forced by poverty to go out and offer their bodies to men at the risk of being infected by HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. Therefore, a gender-sensitive reading of the Bible of women's experiences can lead to the emancipation of women, especially Mongo women in their struggle for survival.

Social relations and social networks are at the core of society. Social Network Analysis (SNA) is an emerging field that examines these networks and their structures. In this article, we will apply methods from SNA to a narrative text in the book of Genesis and analyse the social structure in the story of Jacob. In particular, we will discuss how closely connected narrative exegesis and SNA are and how this helps to understand the social dynamics described in the text. We will also discuss the limitations of this method within Old Testament studies. Soziale Beziehungen und soziale Netzwerke sind das Herzstück der Gesellschaft. Die soziale Netzwerkanalyse (SNA) ist ein neuer Ansatz zur Untersuchung gesellschaftlicher Netzwerke und ihrer Strukturen. In diesem Artikel, werden wir Methoden der SNA auf einen Erzähltext aus dem Buch Genesis anwenden und die soziale Struktur in der Geschichte Jakobs analysieren. Insbesondere werden wir erörtern, wie eng die narratologische Exege und SNA miteinander verbunden sind und wie dies zum Verstandnis der im Text beschriebenen sozialen Dynamik beitragt. Wir werden auch die Grenzen dieser Methode innerhalb der alttestamentlichen Exegese diskutieren.

The resumptive repetition (Wiederaufnahme) is one of the literary devices used to shape the transmitted text in MT + Sam. To a certain degree, the first chapters of Genesis seem to be outlined by the relative particle הב ת ("which") and the noun הב ת ("heaven"). Part of the Abraham story is highlighted by the word הב ת ("to swear"), הב ת ("camel"), שלוםםלו ("Machpelah"), שלוםםלו("cave"), מערהרעה מ רץא ה ת א("to give the land") and the noun הב ת ("seed, offspring"). Lastly, the Joseph story accentuates the terms שלוםםלו ש ("the land of Canaan"), מערהרעה מ רץא ה ת א ("neck"), שלוםםלו ש ("to sprout"), שללו ש ("peace, well-being") and שלוםםלו ש ("to recognise"). The second part of this study will throw light on terminological patterns which underline different thematic and theological aspects in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.

Much debate surrounds the alleged presence of wisdom in the Psalter. Many studies focus on the identity and nature of wisdom psalms. This approach remains controversial in that few interpreters agree on which psalms constitute wisdom psalms. This article argues that a preferable approach concentrates on the function of wisdom persons, terms and themes in shaping the Psalter. Key markers suggest that the final editors of the Psalter intended the book to be read and mastered as a wisdom writing by their placement of wisdom vocabulary, paragons and motifs as mnemonic benchmarks. These features include the governing position of Pss 1-2 as the twin introduction to the Psalter, the distribution of the 'ashre' formula, lexical and thematic ties to Proverbs, the use of the term 'maskil ' in connection to David's wisdom, the recurring presence of sages and the wisdom framing of Book V. These factors hint that wisdom carried a decisive, functional influence in shaping the Psalter.

This study proposes a new structure for Isa 1-39 in its received form that brings together the observations of numerous studies concerning individual units and themes within this larger section of the book. Whereas parallels have been discerned between Isa 1-12 and Isa 13-27, here it is argued that those parallels can be found in Isa 28-39 as well. Particular attention will be paid to how the pieces of the book contribute to the reader's evolving perception of the figure of Hezekiah. The person or school who crafted the book called Isaiah initially exalts the figure of Hezekiah such that the naïve reader might be led to hope that Hezekiah was the idealised Davidic ruler of Isa 1-12. Therefore, Hezekiah's failure in Isa 39 that leads to the exile is all the more disappointing. The presentation of Hezekiah in the book called Isaiah comes into starker relief when compared to the presentations in the books of Kings and Chronicles. The Chronicler's re-telling of the Hezekiah stories points backwards to the Isaiah editors' priorities in adopting material from Kings.

This article examines the various biblical terms for epidemics and their etymologies in order to define their meanings in their literary and theological contexts. It considers the possible divine or demonic background of the lexemes for epidemics, from the triad of Hebrew terms deber, qeteb and resep, which are used in some of the mythological passages of Bible. Major works on the subject proceed from the assumption that these terms were demons in the ancient Near East or that they were deities who became demonised by the authors of the Hebrew Bible. Close attention is paid to the linguistic and semantic aspects of the texts in their immediate contexts in order to determine the function of each term. The study shows a clear difference in meaning between the terms, although in some cases their semantic contents overlap. However, their function as God's negative agents prevail regardless of their original meaning and this is a consistent phenomenon with other Hebrew concepts of mythological origins in the Bible.

A social scientific approach to the Hebrew Bible allows us to ask questions that were not central to writers of the biblical narrative. Thus, the article uses concepts from group processes in social psychology to analyse the group identity of Moses'father-in-law as he is portrayed in the Bible and early Jewish and Christian interpretations. Jethro is a particularly interesting figure as he displays characteristics of both an ingroup and an outgroup member. This analysis illustrates how tools from social sciences can contribute not only to a better understanding of group relations in the narrative of the Hebrew Bible but also in the communities of early Jewish and Christian interpreters of these texts.

The purpose of this article is to analyse the descriptions of the locust (Joel 1) and the approaching army (Joel 2) in an attempt to reconstruct the scenario of events that could explain the maximum details of the text. Usually, scholars identify the locust and the army based on an assumed date of the book's composition. This article suggests a different approach: first to identify the characters of Joel 1 and 2 based on the thorough analysis of the text and reconstruct the possible scenario of the events, before trying to define with which time frame this scenario better fits. The analysis arrived at the following conclusions: the author deliberately portrays the invasion of the locust (Joel 1) and the approaching army (Joel 2) as two events of a similar significance, scope and consequences. Both, the locust attack and the approaching army should be interpreted as pointing to the military vents. The description of the locust invasion is used as a metaphor for the destruction of the Northern Kingdom by Assyria. The prophet invites the population of Judah to wail over the destruction of the sister-state but no one heeded the prophet's invitation. Then Joel announces another calamity (Joel 2) that will hit Judah if the people do not repent.