School of Graduate Research Student Theses

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A Theological Ritual Analysis of the Practical Order, Ritual Function, and Theological Purpose of the Daily Divine Service according to the Priestly Tradition in the Pentateuch
(2014-01-06) Macina, Robert
This study investigates the priestly tradition in the Pentateuch to determine the sequence in which the rites of the daily service were performed, how they functioned in relation to each other, and what God intended to accomplish through each rite as well as the whole service. The first chapter, which spells out the scope of the thesis, is followed by a reconstruction of the order of the service in chapter two. The third chapter examines the institution, agents, acts, materials, times, locations, and the theological purpose of each part of the service. The final chapter draws conclusions about the purpose of the entire service, through which the LORD purifies, sanctifies, accepts, and blesses his people as he dwells in their midst. The thesis concludes that the priestly tradition in the Pentateuch presupposes an order in which each ritual act contributes to the purpose of the whole daily divine service.
Abraham, Israel and the Nations: The Implications of Abraham’s Blessing for the Nations
(2016) Suokhrie, Kesolenuo
The Biblical idea of election presents moral and theological difficulties that have resonated through history, particularly in the relationship between Judaism and Christianity. Out of such theology rises the question of how a fair God can “elect” one group of people to the exclusion of the rest. This research seeks to deal with this question of election focusing on the story of Abraham in Genesis. Adopting a canonical approach that interprets the Abraham story as a whole, rather than as a collection of separate theological perspectives, this thesis argues that the election of Abraham and later Israel is not so much about God favoring one group of people over others, but rather, that there is a universal dimension to this story even if there is room to debate the implications of this universalism. Gen 12: 1-3 in particular addresses this issue in asserting that Abraham’s blessing has significance that extends beyond the chosen people to “all the families of the earth.” This idea is later alluded to in Genesis 17 where the Abrahamic covenant is described to have a wider scope that encompasses others than the covenant community. Even Genesis 15, which describes the fate of the Canaanites does not contradict the universal implication of Abraham’s blessing as it directly deals with the issue of justice for the Canaanites. Hence, the Abrahamic tradition does not endorse any election idea that serves the benefit of some people on the exclusion of the rest. Rather, behind the story of the divine choosing of a particular group of people lies a greater divine purpose that seeks to bless “all the families of the earth.”
"And I Will Remember My Covenant With Abraham": The Holiness School in Genesis
(2012-05-03) Warner, Megan
Israel Knohl’s proposal of a Holiness School working later than the author of the Priestly material has opened up new horizons for understanding the redaction history of the Pentateuch. The implications of Knohl’s proposal have been explored in relation to some Pentateuchal books, but in the case of Genesis there has been a reticence to recognise HS editing. The thesis explores the interpretational possibilities raised by Knohl’s proposal, especially as developed in the work of Christophe Nihan and Jeffrey Stackert, by means of a case study of three interpolative texts in non-P narrative in Genesis. The three texts, Gen 18:17-19, 22:15-18 and 26:3b-5, have been identified by David M Carr as additional, late, related and “semi-Deuteronomistic.” The case study tests the hypothesis that the three texts were composed and placed in their current contexts by a member or members of the HS, or by a later redactor working within the tradition of the HS.
Commandment and Law: The Adamic Analogy in Romans 7:7-25
(2010) Wright, Martin
This dissertation attempts a reading of Romans 7:7-25 with reference to its intertextual echoes of Genesis 2-3. The exegesis is undertaken in the context of a reflection on Romans’ pragmatic purpose, in the hope that the function of this passage (both literary and historical) might be illuminated by attention to Paul’s interpretation of Genesis. It is argued that the echoes of Eden in ch. 7 complement those of Sinai, are consistent with the Adamic typology of Romans 5 and the role of “the law” throughout the letter, and contribute to Paul’s redemptive reading of scripture in which Christ as the new Adam regains what has been lost.
Disarming the Bible-Bashers: Claiming the Bible for Australian Abuse Survivors.
(2009-05-08) Hill, Fiona D.
Drawing on South African Contextual Bible Study and narrative therapy praxis, this thesis develops a biblical hermeneutic of abuse, applied to four Hebrew Bible texts in which abuse occurs. The methodological objective is to liberate, transform and re-empower those who have been abused within and by Australian religious institutions.
Divine Anger and Walter Brueggemann's Biblical Theology
(2013-05-02) Peck, Albert
This study is an attempt to understand the biblical theology of divine anger via an engagement with the writings of Walter Brueggemann. Brueggemann’s approach to divine anger is studied and tested through exegetical explorations of selected passages in the Old Testament, weighing Brueggemann’s comments in light of other contributions in the field. The implications of Brueggemann’s theology of divine anger are significant, it is argued, in that students of biblical theology (whether inside or outside the church) are challenged not to present a reductionist view of the anger of God. While the biblical ideas of divine anger are confronting, they also propel us beyond merely contractual and punitive ideas of God’s journey with Israel.
Faithful Exiles: Reading the Exilic Theology of Isaiah 40-55 in the context of Post-church Australia
(2017-06) Sawyer, Angela
Deutero-Isaiah’s theology of exile is contextualised in this thesis in the light of post-Christendom Australia, with a focus on evangelical Christians who are leaving the church, but generally retaining faith. The methodological approaches to Deutero-Isaiah utilised include: historical-criticism, rhetorical criticism, and sociological insights, particularly trauma studies. Feminist and postcolonial studies provide useful conversation partners to the topic. After establishing the literary and social context of Deutero-Isaiah in general, the key chapter for the thesis is Isaiah 49:14-26, focussing on personified Zion’s accusations to YHWH regarding her abandonment (forsaken/ forgotten terminology). This chapter is followed by shorter comparative chapters looking at Isaiah 50:1-3 (imagery of divorce, reconciliation and forgiveness); 51:17-52:6 (a polyphonic text imaging Zion’s rape, comfort and consolation); and, 54:1-17 (barren woman imagery, confession of abandonment by YHWH). Finally, hopeful possibilities for new communities of post-church people informed by ancient texts are explored.
From Creation to Canaan: Biblical Hermeneutics for the Anthropocene
(2021) Pope, Michael
The Anthropocene presents humanity with unprecedented change. This thesis seeks to develop ethical principles from Gen 1–11 and Lev 17–26 by asking what was Israel’s responsibility for the land, and how was this shaped by their understanding of divine sovereignty, and the land itself?
From Temple to Tent: The Cultic World of Diaspora Israelites (Exodus 24:15—Numbers 10:28)
(2012-05-03) Hart, Sarah
The complex of tabernacle tent and courtyard is an imaginary Israelite cultic world, not something that actually existed. Repetition and detail allow receivers of the text to intimately know the geography of the cultic complex. Readers are invited to journey through the entrance gate of the court precincts, past the altar, into the sacred space of the tent. All the senses are engaged on the journey to the interior of the tent where an atmosphere of holiness pervades. The thesis argues that the text was written by an Israelite writing circle in Babylonia far away from Jerusalem to take the place of an actual temple. The tabernacle tent of words takes the place of the Jerusalem temple of stone. The portable tent of meeting is indestructible, can be carried anywhere in the world and lives on into the future for as long as the text is embodied in people.
Jabez in Context: A Multidimensional Approach to Identity and Landholdings in Chronicles
(2018) Moleli, Samasoni
This thesis is a rereading of the story of Jabez in 1 Chron 4:9-10 from the perspective of Chronicles as a whole, in relation to the issues of identity and landholdings in the postexilic period. This holistic approach requires an investigation of major themes throughout Chronicles. One exegetical thesis to be tested is that Deuteronomistic themes are reinterpreted in light of Genesis, while the hermeneutical suggestion is that the Samoan notion of tautua can illuminate the new concept of service in postexilic times, which as famously indicated in Isaiah 56:6, might even include foreigners.
Knowledge, Wisdom, and Nebuchadnezzar through Narrated Time (Dan 1:1–4:34)
(2017-09) Tucker, Steven
The development of knowledge and wisdom is traced in Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 1-4, using narrative criticism influenced mainly by Ricoeur. Nebuchadnezzar, limited by past and future narrated time, displays tensions between the wisdoms of skillful artisanship, judging justly, and interpreting dreams. Nebuchadnezzar's attainment of wisdom is possible but uncertain, leaving the reader to extract wisdom from his story.
Lexical Variation in the Latin text of the Jewish Greek Bible
(2015-03-13) Rickerby, Simone
This dissertation explores the relationship between the Greek and Latin versions of the Jewish Bible. A detailed examination of specially chosen Latin vocabulary demonstrates the intricate relationship between the Latin and Greek versions, and also discloses traces of what may be a Jewish origin for the Latin of some books.
Maota Tau Ave: Towards an Australian-Samoan Diasporic Understanding of Wisdom in Ecclesiastes
(2021) Kolia, Brian
This thesis seeks to (re)read scepticism in Ecclesiastes from a diasporic Australian-Samoan perspective. How could such a pessimistic voice exist among the priestly elite? Could it be the voice of someone living in the Jewish diaspora? These questions will be investigated intertextually, in conversation with other parts of the Hebrew Bible.
On 'Bringing Many Sons to Glory' (Heb 2: 10)
(2010) Hutchinson, Virginia I.
God made human beings in His Image and Likeness, sharers of His life of glory. He set limits for His creatures, these they overstepped and fell from grace. Restoration becomes possible through the salvific work of the Incarnate Son, Jesus Christ. A synergy of Divine Grace and human ascetic effort enables growth through purification, to illumination and deification. This thesis sets out to explore the New Testament roots for this transformation. It investigates both the process of growth in glory and the prize of receiving the robe of glory. It falls into four main sections: (1) Glory lost and glory found presents the vision and NT evidence of this. (2) Knowledge of God: demonstrates growth from natural through spiritual to supranatural knowledge of God with participation in the Uncreated Energies of His Glory. (3) Indicates our common failure to Appreciate the Gift of Life, Incorruption and Glory. (4) Focuses on Appropriating the Gift of Grace through the Sacrifice of Praise. The author concludes that the NT is replete with evidence of the experience of deification in Christ, while formal uniformity of expression and doctrinal definition came later.
One Becomes Two: The Gender Anthropology of the Eden Narrative and Its Reception Journey
(2019-02) Deutschmann, Barbara
This thesis is a literary study of the female-male pair in the non-P creation narrative (Gen 2:4a–3:24). It develops the notion that the human partnership of the Eden narrative foreshadows the cooperative work of diverse humanity in the task of serving and keeping the earth.
Paul and Timothy: Developing a Leader
(2010) Roberts, Graham
The story of the church reveals that the apostles and Paul provided the first generation of leadership. Where did the second generation come from? The relationship between Paul and Timothy exemplifies the passing on of the baton to the second generation. Selected by Paul, Timothy shared in ministry over many years, and had the opportunity to learn the teachings of the faith and share in the responsibilities of ministry and leadership. Their relationship offers an example of the development of a leader in the early church as seen from the differing perspectives of Paul, Acts and the Pastoral letters. By exploring these perspectives on their shared ministry: the way the relationship was expressed by Paul, the activities that Timothy engaged in, and how the early church understood the relationship; the nature and growth of Timothy’s leadership is evaluated and described in terms of some current models of leadership.
Polyvisual Narratology: A Postcolonial Feminist Reading of the Ancestral Narratives in Genesis
(2017-07) Alsen, Carolyn
Polyvisuality is a mode of reading biblical narrative that can develop previous ways of reading the text as polyphonic. In this thesis, narrative polyvisuality produces a postcolonial feminist reading of selected Genesis narratives. The politics of Israelite identity is discussed in terms of seeing and being seen by multiple gazes.
The Scandal of the Scandal of Particularity: An Exploration of Early Church Understandings of Jesus as the Female Divine
(2015-02) Douglas, Sally
Jesus’ status inflames debate. Central to debate is whether Jesus uniquely embodies the divine: thus “scandal of particularity”. Both those who affirm and those who reject this “scandal” regularly eclipse a central proclamation of who Jesus is in many earliest christologies. The scandal of the scandal of particularity is that in various Second Testament and early church texts Jesus is understood as the female divine. Insufficient attention has been devoted to why this is so. Through interdisciplinary research across biblical studies and systematic theology this thesis demonstrates that in the early Jesus movement Wisdom christology and Wisdom soteriology were ignited by collective experiences of “kinesthetic transformation”. The multivalent motivations for the eclipsing of Jesus-Woman Wisdom in the second and third centuries are excavated. The potential implications of this ancient understanding in contemporary context are assessed and it is demonstrated that this scandalous particularity continues to shimmer with vitality and provocation.
The Earth Mourns/Dries Up in Jeremiah 4:23-28
(2010) Billingham, Val
In this thesis a detailed literary analysis of Jeremiah 4:23-28 is undertaken in order to highlight the force of the text, especially in relation to the metaphors of the reversal of creation and the mourning/drying up of the earth. This study also develops a combined heuristic lens which incorporates the perspectives of several ecologists, including specific indigenous people, along with Norman Habel’s notion of a land-people-YHWH symbiotic relationship. This lens is employed through which to view Jeremiah 4:23-28 and several biblical and non-biblical Ancient Near Eastern texts which utilize similar words, phrases and images. It is argued that Jeremiah is attentive to the character of the earth and sensitive to its voice as it communicates through its unique language of movement and fertility. With the breakdown of the symbiotic relationship, the earth expresses its distress at the absence of its exiled people through its lack of productivity and the violent movement of its land forms. In a final gasp the earth raises its voice in mourning/drying up.
The חסד of God: A Study of the Word חסד in Books III and IV of the Hebrew Psalter
(2014-06) Nguyen, Minh Tien
This thesis investigates the theological understanding of the word חסד in psalms of Books III and IV of the Hebrew Psalter. It attempts to answer the question of God’s חסד, first, within the context of the covenant that God initiates with David and his dynasty in Psalm 89, the landmark between Book III and Book IV, then in other psalms of the two Books. The research concludes that review and analysis of the expression of חסד in Psalms of Books III and IV provides a multi-dimensional understanding of the confidence of the Israelites in God and God’s חסד. The study also shows the dynamic character of the meaning of חסד, and the different shades of meaning the word has, according to its context within the Psalter.

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Browsing School of Graduate Research Student Theses by Subject "B - Old Testament"

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