EDITORIAL

Editorial

Hulisani Ramantswana

Unisa

Old Testament Essays (OTE) is an open-access journal accessible on various platforms online via OTE Journal Site, SciELOSA and Cabinet. It is also exploring other online platforms where the journal can feature. With the availability of OTE online, we have seen a decline in the demand for the print version over the years. Therefore, we intend to discontinue the print version of the journal, and in 2023, we will only print on demand as we move towards phasing out the print version altogether.

The current issue offers interesting articles. The first three articles engage with the Genesis text from various perspectives. The article by Kavusa examines the Hebrew concept of נְעָרִי ם in Gen 2:7, 19 from an ecological perspective enthused with African-Bantu indigenous cosmology. For Kavusa, ntu beings in African cosmology encompass humans and non-humans, similar to what we find in the Gen 2 text. Kavusa's view requires the re-orientation of the mind in terms of how humans relate to non-human beings to overcome ecological damage to creation. Dickie's article employs psychological hermeneutics to probe Jacob's life, tapping into his life experiences as a youth and his encounter with an angelic being at Peniel. Putrawana et al. read the Babel narrative (Gen 11:1-19) using Bakthinian's concept of centripetal and centrifugal forces to highlight the ideological clashes in identity politics during the post-exilic period. In their view, the Babel narrative functions as a counter-narrative to the pan-identity that the empire was imposing upon different nations. Israel interpreted her identity in terms of language, territory, and divine election.

Coetsee's article attends to the structural issues pertaining to the book of Deuteronomy with a special focus on Deut 4:32-40. Coetsee's analysis, however, is centred on thematic analysis and therefore proceeds to highlight how the themes identified are integral in the development of the structure of Deut 4:32-40.

Three articles focus on the book of Job. Böckle's article interrogates the occurrence of the hapax legomenon מִשְׁטָר in Job 38:33b. Böckle's analysis suggests that the hapax legomenon is to be understood as "scripture of heaven," the details of which encompass the entire cosmic order. In his article, Van der Zwan applies transactional analysis to the character of Job and therefore argues that there is a psychic transformation which takes place in the Job character as this character develops into a mature state and, in the process, able to identify with the threatened bodies of others. Jeong's article suggests that the term נְעָרִי ם in Job 1:19 should be rendered as "servants" and not "children." Jeong argues that the concern of Job's story is not so much that Job's children are replaced like the material things in the book's epilogue; rather, the story transforms Job's family into an ideal family.

In his article, Wabyanga reads Proverbs 13:13 in light of poverty in the African context. Wabyanga suggests that the concept of mishpat in the text should be conceived more in terms of justice in action through the application of various strategies to alleviate poverty in the context of Africa, which include, among others, the elimination of disruptive forces intended to exploit the call to work, servant leadership to be exercised, unbiased judicial systems and so forth.

Pakpahan and Pantan's article engages in an exegetical study of Hosea 7:1-16, interrogating the issue of leadership in the state and religion. They argue that the leadership displayed during Hosea's time was destructive leadership in that it was not integrity-oriented, power-oriented or person-oriented. Furthermore, the community at the time also tolerated such destructive leadership.

Finally, Makutoane's article is focused on performance translation into the Sesotho language. In applying performance translation, Makutoane deals with a broad range of texts which are focused on the issue of forgiveness. As Makutoane highlights, performance translation places orality at the centre of translation, as texts are not merely read but performed in a liturgical setting to overcome the exclusion and dehumanisation of the illiterate in the community.

Enjoy reading this issue!

General Editor: Prof Hulisani Ramantswana, Department of Biblical and Ancient Studies, University of South Africa, P.O. Box 392, UNISA, 0003; Email: ramanh@unisa.ac.za; ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6629-9194.