https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/2787 Wed, 06 May 2026 20:44:22 GMT 2026-05-06T20:44:22Z https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/31463 Göbekli Tepe – Neolithic Temple or Monolithic slaughterhouse? Boshoff, Carel Willem Hendrik Göbekli Tepe is an ancient site in upper Mesopotamia recognised as an artificial mound by K Schmidt in 1994. Circles comprising large monolithic stones, described as T-pillars, were interpreted by Schmidt as ‘monumental’ and he identified the site as a sanctuary. This theory was expanded upon by numerous academics and others and soon Göbekli Tepe became known as a ritualistic centre or even a religious site or temple. The prevailing interpretation may be challenged on the premise that the construction of Göbekli Tepe had a different purpose altogether, a premise supported by environmental, geographical, archaeological and anthropological evidence, hence the topic of this proposal: was Göbekli Tepe indeed a Neolithic temple or simply a utilitarian construction used for something as mundane as a monolithic slaughterhouse, a circular building constructed of large pillars and used for the slaughter of animals and concomitant activities? Fri, 01 Dec 2023 00:00:00 GMT https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/31463 2023-12-01T00:00:00Z https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/30831 Hope in the midst of crisis : reading Daniel 9 in the 21st century Zimbabwean context Musendekwa, Menard Zimbabwe has witnessed a socio-economic and political crisis since the dawn of the 21st century. The Zimbabwean nation that was for several decades under British colonial subordination is once again subjected to a native aristocracy. During the first decade of the 21st century, Zimbabwe was classified as a failed state. Western nations criticized the fast-tracked land reform initiative that evicted white commercial farmers. Additionally, they penalised political leaders, sending the nation into a deeper economic crisis that severely hurt the agricultural sector. Over three million people left the country to seek refuge and employment abroad. Citizens from mainstream opposition parties additionally experienced the crises of suffering, poverty, unemployment, victimisation, kidnapping, corruption and poor governance, among others. This study argues that apocalyptic literature, including the book of Daniel in the Old Testament, has the potential to inspire hope in the hearts of its readers and/or listeners to its interpretations. Hence the critical question asked in this thesis is, “Why would the findings of a historical critical reading of Daniel 9 be considered appropriate in bringing hope to a hopeless Zimbabwean 21st century context if read through a contextual lens?” Amidst the current Zimbabwean crisis, the researcher is of the view that a historical critical reading of Daniel 9 reveals that the text was written to people who were experiencing hopelessness. Therefore, the appropriation of the findings of a historical critical reading of Daniel 9 to the hopeless members of the opposition parties of the 21st century Zimbabwean context of crisis may be ideal for generating hope. Despite their differences on history, geography and background among others, this research was able to identify apparent common traits between the context of the production of the book of Daniel, that is, the Second Temple period and the 21st century Zimbabwean context. Thu, 01 Jun 2023 00:00:00 GMT https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/30831 2023-06-01T00:00:00Z https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/29742 Funktionen familiarer Strukturen in der Jakobserzahlung : eine literaturwissenschaftliche Analyse Dorpinghaus, Barbara Die vorliegende Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit der Funktion der Familie Jakobs im Buch Genesis, konkret in der Jakobserzählung. Dazu wird narratologisch untersucht, welche Bedeutung den familiären Strukturen in der Erzählung gegeben wird und insbesondere welche Funktion sie für den Fortgang der Ereignisse im vorliegenden Text und in dem im Erzähltext beschriebenen Handeln Gottes einnehmen. Um den Befund der Arbeit angemessen zu kommunizieren, wird eine Annäherung sowohl an den Begriff der Familie im deutschsprachigen Raum als auch an das Buch Genesis mit umfangreichen Wortstudien gewagt. Dabei zeigt sich, dass die Verwendung von „Familie“ nicht ohne Probleme ist, aber als sprachlich-kommunikatives Hilfskonstrukt für diese Arbeit verwendet wird. Die Auswahl der Texte in der Jakobserzählung folgt dem narratologischen Spannungsbogen, dessen Aspekte für die Forschungsfrage erarbeitet wurden. Als Ergänzung verwendet diese Arbeit die Soziale Netzwerkanalyse, um sich den Konflikten und Veränderungen im Zusammenleben zu nähern. Zusätzlich wird die Veränderung der Protagonisten und ihrer Motive analysiert sowie ein Vergleich von Esaus und Jakobs Familie diskutiert. Es fallen dabei eine ganze Reihe von Spannungsfeldern auf, etwa in familiären Strukturen wie Erstgeburtsrecht, Eheschließung und Kinder, aber auch die Thematik der Verheißung im Kontext von Land, Nachkommen und Segen. Weiterhin sind Gegensätze wie materieller Reichtum und Flucht, sowie Frieden und Versöhnung in ihrer literarischen Darstellung im Familienkontext zu beleuchten. Da in der gegenwärtigen wissenschaftlichen Diskussion vor allem die Brüche in familiären Strukturen betrachtet werden, ergibt die vorliegende Arbeit einen neuen Horizont. Bei vielen Aspekten lassen sich keine explizite narratologische Beschreibung von Funktionen von Familie in der Jakobserzählung finden. Die Jakobserzählung beschreibt primär die Familie Jakobs, weswegen eine mögliche literarische Perspektive auf Familien im Allgemeinen in einem weiteren Schritt untersucht werden muss. Als Hauptthema und damit Funktion der Jakobsfamilie konnte der Segen und die Verheißungen herausgearbeitet werden, die mit allen anderen Aspekten literarisch eng verwoben sind. Sie ergeben sich aus der Verheißung Gottes, die bereits Abraham gegeben wurde, dann an Isaak und hier auch mehrmals an Jakob ergangen ist. Thematisch geht es um die Verheißung von Land, einer Vielzahl von Nachkommen und dass diese große Familie zum Segen für andere Völker wird. Daraus ergibt sich der Segen bzw. das Segenstragen als Funktion von Familie.; In this thesis, we propose a novel narrative approach to examine the function of family in the Old Testament in particular in the story of Jacob. To adequately communicate the findings of the work, both the concept of family in the German-speaking world and the Book of Genesis are approached using extensive word studies. In doing so, it becomes apparent that the use the term “family” is not without problems, but is used as an auxiliary linguistic-communicative construct for this work. The selection of texts in the Jacob narrative highlights the narratological tensions, for example within family and relations, God’s actions and the blessing of Abraham. In addition, this thesis uses social network analysis to approach the conflicts and changes of familial coexistence. Also, their motives are analyzed and a comparison of Esau’s and Jacob’s family is discussed. Several areas of tension become apparent, for example in family structures such as birthright, marriage, and children, but also the theme of promise in the context of land, descendants, and blessing. Furthermore, contrasts such as material wealth and flight, as well as peace and reconciliation are examined in their literary representation in the family context. Since the current theological discourse focuses above all on the rifts in family structures, the present work offers new perspectives on the matter. In many aspects, no explicit narratological description of functions of family in the Jacob narrative can be found. The Jacob narrative primarily describes Jacob’s family. Consequently, a possible literary perspective on families in general is examined in a further step. The examination shows that the main theme, and thus the function of Jacob’s family, is the blessing which is literarely interwoven with all other aspects. which was already given to Abraham, then to Isaac and here also several times to Jacob. Thematically, concerns about the promise of land, a multitude of descendants and that this great family will become a blessing for other peoples. This results in the blessing or the bearing of the blessing as a function of family. Tue, 01 Feb 2022 00:00:00 GMT https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/29742 2022-02-01T00:00:00Z https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/29741 Historical groupings in second temple Judaism : a comparative analysis on religious, social and political impact of Sadducees, Pharisees, and Essenes Bvumbi, Azwihangwisi Elgin The Pharisees, Sadducees and Essenes are three groups within the history of Second Temple Judaism that carry importance which cannot be ignored. They carry religious, social and political characteristics that are intertwined with the life of the intertestamental times as powerful determinators even prior to the emergence of Christianity. It is within this important context that the three groups are comparatively assessed, analysed and evaluated from religious, social and political perspectives. In the same vein, the comparative analysis will form a firm foundation for the three religious, social and political groups It is the comparative dimensions and their impact, wherein the causes of success or failure, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of the three groups, will emerge. This emergence will reveal the fundamental reasons for the survival or death of the groups during the changing times. The traditional perspective is that the Sadducees and Essenes and all other groups/sects disappeared after 70 CE, leaving the Pharisees as the only surviving group. Scholars such as Shaye J.D. Cohen, Mathew J. Grey and Pieter J.J. Botha differ from that perspective. This thesis aims to navigate a narrow space which shows the strength of the Pharisees compared to that of the Sadducees and Essenes but does not necessarily agree that the Pharisees are the only ones in any form who survived the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE. It shows the comparative dynamics before 70 CE which through religious, social and political strategies and tactics laid a solid foundation that gave the Pharisees an ideological advantage with the masses of the people, but it does not make the blanket statement that other groups automatically died due to the Temple destruction; rather, it simply shows that the Pharisees strategies and tactics gave them advantages over their contenders such as the Sadducees and Essenes. This thesis differs from the traditional view that only the Pharisees survived the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE, and it differs from Shaye J.D. Cohen’s assertion that the Pharisees’ characteristics cannot be identified post 70 CE. However, that the difference between the Pharisees, Sadducees and Essenes was downplayed with the post–70 CE demise of Jewish sectarianism and variant views within the body of a larger rabbinic group were acknowledged and respected. Moreover, the thesis is also on the cutting edging edge, beyond the vigorous debate as to whether the Essenes and Sadducees (and all other groups or sects) perished around 70 CE or the Pharisees survived the destruction of the Second Temple intact. It is navigating within Second Temple Judaism, bringing to the surface the strengths that advantaged the Pharisees— whatever form Pharisaism may have taken—after 70 CE. It is a comparison which is advancing the importance of aligning with the ordinary masses of the people through the doctrine of oral and written law within the religious, social and political discourse of Second Temple Judaism and not beyond. Fri, 01 Jan 2021 00:00:00 GMT https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/29741 2021-01-01T00:00:00Z