Phil J Botha
Biographic Data
| ID | 6011749 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Phil J Botha |
| GIVEN NAMES | Phil J |
| FAMILY NAME | Botha |
| SIGNATURE | BOTHA P J |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Pretoria |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-1910-8372 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 12 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 0 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 12 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1989 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2024 |
| H-INDEX | 0 |
Here I Am, I Have Come; In the Scroll of the Book, it is Written of Me” (Ps 40: (8). The Private and Public Piety Advocated by Psalm 40 and the Challenges Faced by the Editors of the Psalter
This article argues that Ps 40 should not be interpreted within a cultic milieu but as part of the literary context of the Psalter. As part of the conclusion of the final cluster in Book I, and thus as part of the conclusion of the first book of Davidic psalms, it is closely related to (especially) Pss 1–2 and Ps 35. When read as part of this context, it becomes clear that the psalmist, as the “servant” of YHWH, represents the in-group of faithfu…
May God Bless Us, So That All the Ends of the Earth Will Fear Him!” (Ps 67: (8): The Spatial Perspective in the Eschatological Vision of God’s Universal Rule in the Cluster of Psalms 65–68
Psalms 65–68 form a tight collection or “cluster” of psalms close to the conclusion of Book II of the Psalter. The implied redactors’ purpose with this cluster was to offer thanksgiving and praise to God for manifesting his eschatological rule over the entire world. This article investigates the function of spatial descriptions in defining God’s rule over the cosmos in these four psalms. After establishing harmony in the world, God is present as …
Psalm 27: 4 – To reflect in his temple: Communion with YHWH as the culmination of the journey of life
Since the time of Mowinckel, the verb בקר (pi) in Psalm 27:4 was often interpreted as referring to a priest’s function of examining an offering. The parallel part of the verse and other intratextual and intertextual considerations render this interpretation of the verb improbable. The context of the psalm and the cluster of Psalms 25–34, as well as parallels Psalm 27 has with Psalm 23, suggest that the verb בקר refers to reflection on the privile…
Better is the Little That the Righteous Has than the Abundance of Many Wicked” (Ps 37: (16): Social and Moral Stratification in Late Persian-Period Judah as Reflected by Psalm 37
This paper offers a social-scientific analysis of Psalm 37, aiming to define its ideological purpose and textual strategy. The psalm is also read as part of the sequence of Pss 35–37 as it was arranged by the editors of Book I of the Psalms. Financial deprivation and public humiliation of a moral upright minority by an immoral upper class seem to have caused growing discontent and feelings of aggression among the psalmist’s in-group. The author o…
The significance of the second cave episode in Jerome’s Vita Malchi
The authors argue that the second cave episode in Jerome’s Vita Malchi Monachi Captivi should, in view of the similarities with the first cave episode and the high incidence of literary devices employed in it, be recognised for its value in the interpretation of this vita. The book was intended as a defence of, and an exhortation to a life of celibacy and this dual purpose is clearly demonstrated in both episodes in which a cave is used as the se…
The Word of Yahweh is right: Psalm 33 as a Torah-psalm
This article investigates some of the similarities between the Torah-psalms and Psalm 33. It is suggested that the Torah-psalms should be re-contextualised and understood as part of a post-exilic endeavour to provide an interpretation of the emerging canon of Hebrew scripture for the faithful of the late Persian period. Psalm 33 can also be counted amongst the literary products of this endeavour. The service it rendered to its audience was to est…
The poetic structure and strategy of Psalm 79
This paper endeavours to analyse Psalm 79 as a poetic composition and an ideological document. From the analysis, it seems that the psalm primarily served a Judaean community of believers as a means of coping with their feelings of indignation, shame, and frustration some time after the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem. The argument used is that Yahweh’s efforts to exact punishment from his people for their contravening stipulations of the …
Psalm 54: The power of positive patterning
Psalm 54: The power of positive patterning Psalm 54 is analysed in 'n literary, rhetorical and socio-critical way in order to determine the dominant textual strategy and the way in which it was supposed to function. It is established that the basic concern of the psalm is with the honour of the individuals for whom the psalm was intended as a cultic prayer. The way in which words with a positive and those with a negative connotative meaning are a…
To honour Yahweh in the face of adversity: A socio-critical analysis of Psalm 131
Psalm 131 is analysed in respect of its poetic features and a probable social background. The social model which regards honour and shame as pivotal values in Mediterranean societies is used to try to determine what impact it was most probably supposed to have on the community of believers which included it into the Psalter and, consequently, its meaning for us today
Die konsep van eer as sleutel tot die interpretasie van Psalm 133
The concept of honour as a key to the interpretation of Psalm 133 Despite the fact that its text is quite straightforward, the imagery of Psalm 133, combined with its brevity, poses some interpretational problems. In this paper it is proposed that consideration of the role played by the societal core value of honour in Israel can throw some light on the questions about the relationship between and the combined meaning of images such as that of br…
Ironie as sleutel tot die verstaan van Psalm 14
Irony as key to the interpretation of Psalm 14. The Gattung of a psalm is generally still regarded as the key to its interpretation. Since Psalm 14 shows relatedness to a number of different genres, inter alia to wisdom literature and prophecy, there is little or no consensus on how it should be interpreted. It is argued in this paper that the textual strategy of a poem such as Psalm 14 should be regarded as the key to its interpretation rather t…
Resepsieteorie: Konkurrent of Komplement van die Teksimmanemte Eksegese
Reception theory: competitor or complement of text-immanent exegetical methodology? Due to the underlying principles on which it was based and which suggest a critical view of positivism and its idea of applying an exegetical “method” to a text, it seems as if the reception theory could only be regarded as an alternative to text-immanent exegesis. This paper reflects on the possibility of incorporating the insights of the reception theory into a …
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Resepsieteorie: Konkurrent of Komplement van die Teksimmanemte Eksegese
Reception theory: competitor or complement of text-immanent exegetical methodology? Due to the underlying principles on which it was based and which suggest a critical view of positivism and its idea of applying an exegetical “method” to a text, it seems as if the reception theory could only be regarded as an alternative to text-immanent exegesis. This paper reflects on the possibility of incorporating the insights of the reception theory into a …
Ironie as sleutel tot die verstaan van Psalm 14
Irony as key to the interpretation of Psalm 14. The Gattung of a psalm is generally still regarded as the key to its interpretation. Since Psalm 14 shows relatedness to a number of different genres, inter alia to wisdom literature and prophecy, there is little or no consensus on how it should be interpreted. It is argued in this paper that the textual strategy of a poem such as Psalm 14 should be regarded as the key to its interpretation rather t…
To honour Yahweh in the face of adversity: A socio-critical analysis of Psalm 131
Psalm 131 is analysed in respect of its poetic features and a probable social background. The social model which regards honour and shame as pivotal values in Mediterranean societies is used to try to determine what impact it was most probably supposed to have on the community of believers which included it into the Psalter and, consequently, its meaning for us today
Die konsep van eer as sleutel tot die interpretasie van Psalm 133
The concept of honour as a key to the interpretation of Psalm 133 Despite the fact that its text is quite straightforward, the imagery of Psalm 133, combined with its brevity, poses some interpretational problems. In this paper it is proposed that consideration of the role played by the societal core value of honour in Israel can throw some light on the questions about the relationship between and the combined meaning of images such as that of br…
Psalm 54: The power of positive patterning
Psalm 54: The power of positive patterning Psalm 54 is analysed in 'n literary, rhetorical and socio-critical way in order to determine the dominant textual strategy and the way in which it was supposed to function. It is established that the basic concern of the psalm is with the honour of the individuals for whom the psalm was intended as a cultic prayer. The way in which words with a positive and those with a negative connotative meaning are a…
The poetic structure and strategy of Psalm 79
This paper endeavours to analyse Psalm 79 as a poetic composition and an ideological document. From the analysis, it seems that the psalm primarily served a Judaean community of believers as a means of coping with their feelings of indignation, shame, and frustration some time after the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem. The argument used is that Yahweh’s efforts to exact punishment from his people for their contravening stipulations of the …
The Word of Yahweh is right: Psalm 33 as a Torah-psalm
This article investigates some of the similarities between the Torah-psalms and Psalm 33. It is suggested that the Torah-psalms should be re-contextualised and understood as part of a post-exilic endeavour to provide an interpretation of the emerging canon of Hebrew scripture for the faithful of the late Persian period. Psalm 33 can also be counted amongst the literary products of this endeavour. The service it rendered to its audience was to est…
The significance of the second cave episode in Jerome’s Vita Malchi
The authors argue that the second cave episode in Jerome’s Vita Malchi Monachi Captivi should, in view of the similarities with the first cave episode and the high incidence of literary devices employed in it, be recognised for its value in the interpretation of this vita. The book was intended as a defence of, and an exhortation to a life of celibacy and this dual purpose is clearly demonstrated in both episodes in which a cave is used as the se…
Better is the Little That the Righteous Has than the Abundance of Many Wicked” (Ps 37: (16): Social and Moral Stratification in Late Persian-Period Judah as Reflected by Psalm 37
This paper offers a social-scientific analysis of Psalm 37, aiming to define its ideological purpose and textual strategy. The psalm is also read as part of the sequence of Pss 35–37 as it was arranged by the editors of Book I of the Psalms. Financial deprivation and public humiliation of a moral upright minority by an immoral upper class seem to have caused growing discontent and feelings of aggression among the psalmist’s in-group. The author o…
Psalm 27: 4 – To reflect in his temple: Communion with YHWH as the culmination of the journey of life
Since the time of Mowinckel, the verb בקר (pi) in Psalm 27:4 was often interpreted as referring to a priest’s function of examining an offering. The parallel part of the verse and other intratextual and intertextual considerations render this interpretation of the verb improbable. The context of the psalm and the cluster of Psalms 25–34, as well as parallels Psalm 27 has with Psalm 23, suggest that the verb בקר refers to reflection on the privile…
May God Bless Us, So That All the Ends of the Earth Will Fear Him!” (Ps 67: (8): The Spatial Perspective in the Eschatological Vision of God’s Universal Rule in the Cluster of Psalms 65–68
Psalms 65–68 form a tight collection or “cluster” of psalms close to the conclusion of Book II of the Psalter. The implied redactors’ purpose with this cluster was to offer thanksgiving and praise to God for manifesting his eschatological rule over the entire world. This article investigates the function of spatial descriptions in defining God’s rule over the cosmos in these four psalms. After establishing harmony in the world, God is present as …
Here I Am, I Have Come; In the Scroll of the Book, it is Written of Me” (Ps 40: (8). The Private and Public Piety Advocated by Psalm 40 and the Challenges Faced by the Editors of the Psalter
This article argues that Ps 40 should not be interpreted within a cultic milieu but as part of the literary context of the Psalter. As part of the conclusion of the final cluster in Book I, and thus as part of the conclusion of the first book of Davidic psalms, it is closely related to (especially) Pss 1–2 and Ps 35. When read as part of this context, it becomes clear that the psalmist, as the “servant” of YHWH, represents the in-group of faithfu…
Philosophy (12 works) · Biblical Studies and Interpretation (11 works) · Art (10 works) · Literature (10 works) · Theology (10 works) · Philosophy (8 works) · Development, Ethics, and Society (7 works) · Linguistics (6 works) · Epistemology (5 works) · History (5 works)