Papers by Bernard Combrink
Scriptura : international journal of bible, religion and theology in southern Africa, 1996
The typical critical issues concerning the interpretation of Matthew do not occur that often in t... more The typical critical issues concerning the interpretation of Matthew do not occur that often in the reception of Matthew in Africa. The issues addressed are especially contextual matters such as liberation and the relevance of God's kingdom for society and politics. In the process attention is given to the relationship between Jesus and rural society, in inculturation in the context of Jesus and in Africa, poverty and oppression, martyrdom, dreams, the cosmic implications of the Gospel, marriage customs in Africa, the priestly commitment to the people of God in the local context, love and other values, the church and Christology.
Theological Studies/Teologiese Studies, Jan 11, 1997
This commentary, as well the one on the Gospel of John by MWG Stibbe in the same series, is reall... more This commentary, as well the one on the Gospel of John by MWG Stibbe in the same series, is really groundbreaking in its consistent implementation of reader responSe criticism in a commentary. In the introduction Davies gives a very clear exposition of what such an approach entails. She underlines the fact that every reader's unique background and reading experience plays a role in the reading of a text. As readers furthermore belong to interpretive communities, the author lays her own cards on the table as a British female academic, member of the Anglican church, member of the Labour Party, et cetera. Utilizing insights of WIser she draws attention to the fact that texts themselves are indeterminate although the text prestructures the response of the implied reader. She also discusses the rhetorical strategies used by Matthew to determine its readers' response. On page 29 the author gives an outline of the implied reader of the Gospel of Matthew as created in this manner. Through the selection and actualisation by real readers the text is then made determinate. Nevertheless, the commentator tries to
Scriptura : international journal of bible, religion and theology in southern Africa, 1996
The Bible has to be rewritten in order to remain relevant also in Africa. This has implications ... more The Bible has to be rewritten in order to remain relevant also in Africa. This has implications for the translation and the transformation of its message. Translations can be categorized form literal to unduly free. The cultural and sociological factors of the source and the receptor language play an important role in translation. In this respect reduction and distortion are real dangers. In dealing with isomorphic equivalence in translations, even section heading can pose problems. Examples of the problems involved in the translation of figurative and idiomatic language also receive attention. Another aspect dealt with is the formality or informality of language, as well as issues related to direct and indirect speech.
Scriptura : international journal of bible, religion and theology in southern Africa, Jun 12, 2013
Implementing a socio-rhetorical approach in the writing of a commentary can be a challenging ende... more Implementing a socio-rhetorical approach in the writing of a commentary can be a challenging endeavour. Such a multidimensional approach should take seriously some of the questions that are not always dealt with explicitly in the writing of commentaries. Interactionist hermeneutics should be acknowledged, as well as the ideology of the interpreter, together with taking into account the creativity and reception of the intended readers of the text and the commentary. The challenge for such an approach would be to identify the multiple modes of hermeneutical rhetoric that functioned in early Christian discourse and to elucidate the manner in which this played a role in the renewing of traditions.
Scriptura : international journal of bible, religion and theology in southern Africa, Mar 1, 2019
Dutch Reformed Theological Journal = Nederduitse Gereformeerde Teologiese Tydskrif, Sep 1, 2006
Die skrywer is emeritusprofessor van die Katolieke Universiteit te Leuven waar hy tot 1990 hoogle... more Die skrywer is emeritusprofessor van die Katolieke Universiteit te Leuven waar hy tot 1990 hoogleraar in Bybelse Grieks en Nuwe Testament was. Hy was ook vir 'n dekade lank lid van die Pouslike Bybelkommissie en van 1996 tot 2001 gasprofessor aan die Pouslike Bybelinstituut te Rome. Lambrecht het ook reeds verskeie kere Suid-Afrika en verskillende Universiteite hier besoek.
Scriptura, 2019
This article reacts to the view that whereas the Markan narrative functions predominantly on the ... more This article reacts to the view that whereas the Markan narrative functions predominantly on the rhetorical axis of communication, Matthew operates basically on the mimetic axis. Although there are obvious differences between the rhetoric of Matthew and Mark, it is not apt to characterize Matthew's rhetoric as more referential than in the case of Mark. Instead of discovering a moving away from rhetoric in Matthew, one can point to various rhetorical techniques utilized in the nallation of the story. A rhetorical reading of Matthew also has to take the power of the text into account.
Tyndale Bulletin, 1983
Concerning the structure-or composition-of the Gospel of Matthew, no qonsensus has thus far been ... more Concerning the structure-or composition-of the Gospel of Matthew, no qonsensus has thus far been reached among New Testament scholars. This is actually quite surprising in the light of the great number of redaction-critical studies devoted to the Gospel of Matthew in recent times. 1 But perhaps it is really not so surprising, since the tension between tradition and redaction, so important for redactioncritics, very often leads to an emphasizing of the additions and changes in the redactional sections of a gospel, without really coming to grips with the problem of the composition as a whole. 2 Research in recent years has also underlined that there are various structural features in Matthew which can be utilized in determining the composition of this gospel. Recently D. 0. Via again drew attention to two of the most obvious competing structures in Matthew, viz. the well-known five-fold formula (7
Scriptura : international journal of bible, religion and theology in southern Africa, 1996
The Bible has to be rewritten in order to remain relevant also in Africa. This has implications ... more The Bible has to be rewritten in order to remain relevant also in Africa. This has implications for the translation and the transformation of its message. Translations can be categorized form literal to unduly free. The cultural and sociological factors of the source and the receptor language play an important role in translation. In this respect reduction and distortion are real dangers. In dealing with isomorphic equivalence in translations, even section heading can pose problems. Examples of the problems involved in the translation of figurative and idiomatic language also receive attention. Another aspect dealt with is the formality or informality of language, as well as issues related to direct and indirect speech.
Scriptura : international journal of bible, religion and theology in southern Africa, 2019
According to Bakhtin dialogue is the essential symbolic medium through which all social relations... more According to Bakhtin dialogue is the essential symbolic medium through which all social relations are necessarily constituted. This must be seen against the background of a literary approach which is not comprehensive enough. There are different forms of dialogue in and with the Bible. The dialogics of the New Testament is more complex than that of the poetics of the Hebrew Bible. The New Testament develops a new form of dialogue when compared with the poetics of the Hebrew Bible. The dialogue within the Bible should also be situated in the context of intertextuality. Interpretation is also a practical affair with a political element in it. Dialogue with the Bible is not only a one way movement to the Bible, but the Bible can also contradict and surprise the reader.
This volume contains the proceeding of a colloquium attended by eighty participants and held at t... more This volume contains the proceeding of a colloquium attended by eighty participants and held at the Lake Shore Campus of Loyola University on June 12-14, 1998 in memory of the late Bill Thompson. He died rather prematurely in September 2996. This important publication on Matthew is edited by David Aune of the University of Notre Dame, and contains contributions by ten well-known Matthean scholars.
Introduction Formulating a perspective on the work of Vernon Robbins (Robbins 1996a) and (Robbins... more Introduction Formulating a perspective on the work of Vernon Robbins (Robbins 1996a) and (Robbins 1996b), I would like to link to the metaphor of boundaries which is evidently of great importance to Robbins and which he prefers over against the well known metaphor of texts as mirrors and windows. In his preface to New Boundaries in old territory (Robbins 1994:xif), he remarks that the choice for new methods inevitably led him to the discovery of new boundaries, but even more to the recognition of the varying significance of boundaries for different people. This is taken up in (Robbins 1996a: 20) where the author reflects on the necessity of creating and dismantling boundaries in and around texts as a necessary step in the process of interpretation. It seems to me that this respect for the boundaries of others but at the same time an unwillingness to bow too deeply before any set of boundaries created by humans, is very characteristic of the socio-rhetorical approach of Robbins. In h...
Scriptura : international journal of bible, religion and theology in southern Africa, 1996
The typical critical issues concerning the interpretation of Matthew do not occur that often in t... more The typical critical issues concerning the interpretation of Matthew do not occur that often in the reception of Matthew in Africa. The issues addressed are especially contextual matters such as liberation and the relevance of God’s kingdom for society and politics. In the process attention is given to the relationship between Jesus and rural society, in inculturation in the context of Jesus and in Africa, poverty and oppression, martyrdom, dreams, the cosmic implications of the Gospel, marriage customs in Africa, the priestly commitment to the people of God in the local context, love and other values, the church and Christology.
Neotestamentica, 2016
This article reflects on the role that Neotestamentica and colleagues of the New Testament Societ... more This article reflects on the role that Neotestamentica and colleagues of the New Testament Society of South Africa (NTSSA) have played in the academic life of the author. It began with the "Club of Ten" established with the aim of enabling attendance of international conferences. His research and broadening of interests were stimulated, more especially, through the cooperation in subgroups of the Society, resulting in the hosting of conference themes. Different phases in the changing scene of biblical interpretation are linked to publications, very often in Neotestamentica. As international contacts were actively cultivated by NTSSA members, increasing especially after 1994, collaboration between local and international colleagues (some of whom were in fact South Africans and members of the NTSSA teaching abroad) resulted in special conferences and dedicated publications.
Die skrywer is emeritusprofessor van die Katolieke Universiteit te Leuven waar hy tot 1990 hoogle... more Die skrywer is emeritusprofessor van die Katolieke Universiteit te Leuven waar hy tot 1990 hoogleraar in Bybelse Grieks en Nuwe Testament was. Hy was ook vir 'n dekade lank lid van die Pouslike Bybelkommissie en van 1996 tot 2001 gasprofessor aan die Pouslike Bybelinstituut te Rome. Lambrecht het ook reeds verskeie kere Suid-Afrika en verskillende Universiteite hier besoek.
Identity, Ethics, and Ethos in the New Testament
Scriptura, 2013
Implementing a socio-rhetorical approach in the writing of a commentary can be a challenging ende... more Implementing a socio-rhetorical approach in the writing of a commentary can be a challenging endeavour. Such a multidimensional approach should take seriously some of the questions that are not always dealt with explicitly in the writing of commentaries. Interactionist hermeneutics should be acknowledged, as well as the ideology of the interpreter, together with taking into account the creativity and reception of the intended readers of the text and the commentary. The challenge for such an approach would be to identify the multiple modes of hermeneutical rhetoric that functioned in early Christian discourse and to elucidate the manner in which this played a role in the renewing of traditions.
Salvation in the New Testament, 2005
The absense of salvation language in Mark does not necessarily mean that the gospel has no concer... more The absense of salvation language in Mark does not necessarily mean that the gospel has no concern for Jesus as Savior. On the contrary, Mark's gospel from the beginning portrays Jesus in the narrative roles of wonder-worker, proclaimer, and savior, and the topic of salvation is present throughout. Jesus fulfills his narrative role in salvation as event when Mark portrays him as intervening in a distressful situation with the result that someone else is relieved from distress. Jesus' suffering and death, his encounter with Satan, his miracles of healing, his prophetic teaching, and his transcending of boundaries all point to his role as savior and the event of salvation being played out by Jesus and the others. In this narrative, Jesus protects and relieves the distress of others in various ways. Mark uses interwoven discourses to narrate this process of salvation, thus making the message of salvation unmistakable in his gospel.
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Papers by Bernard Combrink