Gitai, Y.Nel, P. J.Kohn, Eli2015-10-292015-10-292006-05http://hdl.handle.net/11660/1480English: A number of narratives in the Hebrew Bible deal with seemingly inappropriate behaviors such as drunkenness and prostitution. These stories include, Noah's drunkenness after the flood in Genesis 9:18-29, Lot's drinking of wine with his two daughters in Genesis 19:31- 38 and the narrative of Judah and Tamar in Genesis 38:1-30. The unseemly aspects of these stories are the more puzzling because the major protagonists are often characters who are portrayed as models of righteous behavior. Noah, for example, is the only character in the Bible who is referred to as a righteous ( צדיק ) man (Genesis 6:9 and Genesis 7:1). Yet, after he leaves the ark after the flood, his first action is to plant a vineyard and to get drunk. The biblical narrative does not dwell on Noah's inappropriate behavior. Similarly, in Genesis 19:31-38, the Bible describes the actions of Lot and his two daughters after the destruction of Sodom. The two daughters make their father drunk and commit incest with him so that they can conceive children. In this narrative, the act of drunkenness is compounded by the sin of incest. Yet this provocative biblical narrative is elliptical in style giving no judgment of their behavior. The story of Judah and Tamar in Genesis 38:1-30 is also a puzzling moral narrative. Tamar intentionally deceives her father-in law by impersonating a prostitute and Judah engages a woman who he considers to be a prostitute. Moreover, he and his daughter-in-law commit what appears to be incest. This seemingly inappropriate behavior on the part of royal ancestors creates an intolerable tension within the narrative that calls upon the reader for meaningful resolution. These provocative and perplexing biblical narratives invite and even demand interpretation. This study explores how ancient interpreters provided new meanings to these ancient texts. Despite their varied cultural and historical backgrounds, this study details how these interpreters shared common perceptions about the underlying hermeneutic principles of biblical interpretation. These include the ideas that the Bible is a cryptic document, that scripture is fundamentally a relevant text and that the Bible is harmonious and divinely inspired. While the narrative features, themes and canonical contexts of these three biblical stories guided early Jewish interpreters to some natural conclusions, this study shows how these interpreters also made hermeneutic decisions at critical junctures in the biblical narrative and sometimes reconfigured the story's plot and characters to correspond with their understanding of its central message. Their elaborations and clarifications therefore restricted and channeled the meaning of the biblical narrative in distinctive directions. The study focuses on the literary and rhetorical strategies and received exegetical traditions that influenced the interpreters' understandings of the narrative. The striking differences between the treatments also stem from the very active nature of the interpreters' engagement with the biblical narrative, which included reshaping the narrative into forms capable of expressing the values and ideals of different types of ancient Judaism. The study also explores how ancient interpreters and particularly the authors of early midrashic literature, established standards of rabbinic morality by reshaping and developing the early biblical narrative. Their interpretations of the biblical narrative may in fact offer an assessment of what the early Rabbis considered moral behavior. While drunkenness is clearly denounced by the Rabbis, we find much more nuanced postures about the evils of prostitution. The introduction of exegetical motifs such as the Messiah and Godly intervention in their interpretations ensured that these somewhat puzzling narratives were interjected with values and religious ideals with which their readers could identify, thereby enabling scripture to retain its normative and vital function within these living religious communities.Afrikaans: ‘n Aantal verhale in die Hebreeuse Bybel handel oor oëskynlik onfatsoenlike gedrag soos dronkenskap en prostitusie. Hierdie verhale sluit in Noag se dronkenskap na die vloed in Genesis 9: 18-29, Lot wat wyn drink saam met sy dogters in Genesis 19:31-38 en die verhaal van Juda en Tamar in Genesis 38: 1-30. Die onbetaamlike elemente in hierdie verhale is juis verbysterend, omdat die hooffigure gewoonlik karakters is wat uitgebeeld word as toonbeelde van regverdigheid. Noag, byvoorbeeld, is die enkele karakter wat deur die Bybel beskryf word as ‘n regverdige (qydc) man (Genesis 6:9 en Genesis 7:1). Nogtans, sy eerste handeling nadat hy die ark verlaat na afloop van die vloed is om ‘n wingerd aan te lê en dronk te word. Die Bybelse verhaal wei egter nie uit oor Noag se onvanpaste gedrag nie. In Genesis 19: 31-38 beskryf die Bybel soortgelyke dade van Lot en sy twee dogters na die vernietiging van Sodom. Die twee dogters maak hulle vader dronk en pleeg daarna bloeskande met hom sodat hulle sy kinders kan baar. In hierdie verhaal word die daad van dronkenskap vererger deur die sonde van bloedskande. Tog is hierdie aanstootlike Bybelverhaal nietemin in ‘n elliptiese styl aangebied wat geen oordeel oor die dade uitspreek nie. Die verhaal van Juda en Tamar in Genesis 38: 1-30 is ook ‘n verbasende morele relaas. Tamar mislei haar skoonvader opsetlik deur haar as ‘n prostituut voor te doen en Juda maak ‘n afspraak met ‘n vrou wat hy as bloot ‘n prostituut beskou. Hy en sy skoondogter pleeg oënskynlik boonop bloedskande. Hierdie skynbare onvanpaste gedrag van vorstelike voorvaders skep ondraaglike spanning binne die verhaal wat die leser dwing tot betekenisvolle gevolgtrtekkings. Hierdie tergende en verwarrende Bybelse verhale vereis interpretasie. Die studie ondersoek hoe antieke interpreteerders (vertolkers) nuwe betekenisse aan hierdie verhale toegedig het. Daar word in besonder gekyk na die wyse waarop interpreteerders, ten spyte van verskillende kulturele en historiese agtergronde, algemene insigte gedeel het aangaande onderliggende hermeneutiese beginsels van Bybelse interpretasie. Dit sluit onder andere die gedagte in dat die Bybel ‘n kriptiese dokument is, dat die Skrif in beginsel ‘n relevante teks is en dat die Bybel ooreenstemmend en godgegewe is. Terwyl die narratiewe kenmerke, temas en kanonieke kontekste van hierdie drie bybelse verhale vroeë Joodse interpreteerders tot natuurlike gevolgtrekkings gelei het, toon hierdie studie hoe die interpreteerders ook hermeneutiese besluite geneem het betreffende kritieke momente in die bybelse verhaal en soms die verhaal se verloop en karakters gewysig het om ooreen te stem met hulle begrip van die kernboodskap. Hulle verwerkings en verduidelikings het dus die betekenis van die bybelse verhaal beperk tot en gekanaliseer in ‘n bepaalde rigting. Die studie fokus op die literêre en retoriese strategieë en eksegetiese tradisies wat die Rabbynse interpreteerders se begrip van die verhaal beïnvloed het. Die kenmerkende verskille tussen die verskeie verwerkings spruit vanuit die aktiewe aard van die interpreteerders se betrokkenheid by die bybelse verhaal en het meegebring dat die verhaal geherformuleer is om gestalte te gee aan die waardes en ideale van verskillende vorme van antieke Judaïsme. Die studie ondersoek verder die wyse waarop antieke interpreteerders en in besonder die outeurs van vroeë (Midrash) literatuur die standaarde vir Rabbynse moraliteit daargestel het deur die vroeë bybelse verhaal te herformuleer en te ontwikkel. Hulle interpretasies van die bybelse verhaal kan selfs aandui wat die vroeë Rabbi’s as morele gedrag beskou het. Terwyl dronkenskap streng deur die Rabbi’s afgekeur is, vind ons meer genuanseerde houdings teenoor die euwel van prostitusie. Deur eksegetiese motiewe soos die tussenkoms van die Messias en God in hulle interpretasies in te sluit, is verseker dat die verwarrende verhale deurspek is met waardes en religieuse ideale waarmee die lesers kon identifiseer, sodat die Skrif se normatiewe en lewenskragtige rol in die bestaande geloofsgemeenskappe behoue kon bly.enThesis (Ph.D. (Afroasiatic Studies, Sign Language and Language Practice))--University of the Free State, 2006Bible. O.T. Genesis -- Criticism interpretation, etcNarration in the BibleProstitutionHebrew BiblePost-Biblical LiteratureMidrashExegesisJewish HermeneuticsRhetoricNakednessDrunkennessThesisUniversity of the Free State