ARTICLES

 

Johannine Women As Paradigms In The Indian Context

 

 

J. Thomaskutty

Dr. J. Thomaskutty, Department of New Testament Studies, Union Biblical Seminary, Pune, India. E-mail: thomaskutty@ubs.ac.in ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0502-8411

 

 

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ABSTRACT

John's portrayal of women is unique as they are viewed as paradigms over against the negative perceptions concerning women in the Mediterranean world. The Johannine women demonstrate their leadership qualities, brave movements, apostolic roles, and devotion to Jesus even in the challenging situations. Women's positive role and status in the Gospel of John enable us to understand them not merely as passive actors, but as active interlocutors and dialogue partners. Persons such as the mother of Jesus, the Samaritan woman, Mary and Martha of Bethany, and Mary Magdalene appear in the Gospel of John as representative figures and rhetorical characters. The Johannine narrator foregrounds the women characters as they use their freedom in both the Sitz-Im-Leben Jesu and the Sitz-Im-Leben Kirche. The Gospel of John is also interlocked with the Sitz-Im-Leben Indien to exemplify the evangelist's gnomic linguistic and literary artistry.

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ARTICLES

 

How Onesimus Was Heard - Eventually. Some Insights From The History Of Interpretation Of Paul's Letter To Philemon

 

 

D.F. Tolmie

Prof. D.F. Tolmie Department Old and New Testament Studies, University of the Free State, South Africa. E-mail: tolmief@ufs.ac.za. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4804-3523

 

 

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ABSTRACT

Although Onesimus is the reason for Paul's Letter to Philemon, he is only mentioned by name for the first time nearly halfway through the letter (v. 10). He also remains voiceless throughout the letter. This contribution focuses on the history of interpretation of the letter, and, in particular, the way in which the role of Onesimus has been interpreted through the centuries. Several examples of the way in which scholars interpreted the role of Onesimus are discussed, and it is argued that four broad trends may be discerned: Onesimus as a culprit who was saved by Paul; Onesimus as a pawn in the abolitionism debate; Onesimus' status disputed, and Onesimus as a victim, with the letter being read in a resistant way.

Keywords: Onesimus, Philemon, Interpretation

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Trefwoorde: Onesimus, Filemon, Interpretasie

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1. INTRODUCTION

Although Onesimus is the reason for Paul's Letter to Philemon, he is only mentioned by name for the first time nearly halfway through the letter (v. 10). He also remains voiceless throughout the letter. One reads a great deal about Paul's and Philemon's feelings, about what would be to their benefit, about the desired outcomes for them, but not once does one hear anything about Onesimus' feelings, what would be to his benefit and what the desired outcome would be from his perspective. In fact, one does not even hear whether Onesimus had any regrets over what happened in Philemon's house. No matter how good Paul's intentions in writing the letter might have been, Onesimus himself remains unheard - a situation that was typical for slaves in Paul's time.¹ For the greatest part of the history of interpretation, Onesimus remained unheard, primarily owing to the way in which interpreters filled in the many interpretative gaps in the letter. This has changed only fairly recently - as a matter of fact, only in the past decade or two. In this brief contribution, I wish to trace the way in which Onesimus, one of the many unheard people in the Bible, eventually got a voice, although it literally took centuries for this to happen. I will highlight some of the interesting - and sometimes even upsetting -ways in which scholars interpreted what is said about him in the letter. In order to map the broad movements in this regard, I will point out four trends in the history of research.

 

2. ONESIMUS AS A CULPRIT WHO WAS SAVED BY PAUL

Without any doubt, this is the dominant way in which Onesimus was perceived through the centuries. In fact, many interpreters still perceive him as a runaway slave who did something wrong, and who was ultimately "saved" by Paul in a twofold sense of the word: spiritually, in the sense that Paul converted him to Christianity, and physically, in the sense that Paul reconciled him to his master and thus saved him from a well-deserved punishment.² I have selected only a few of the numerous examples in this regard.

The oldest extant commentary on Philemon is the one by Ambrosiaster (composed between 366 and 384 CE³). The way in which Onesimus is depicted in this commentary most likely reflects the general view in Christianity at that stage. For Ambrosiaster, Philemon was a worthy layman (in Philm. arg., 337.3⁴), a good man (in Philm. 8, 339.2), who had good reason

to be angry with Onesimus (in Philm. 18, 340.24). Onesimus, on the other hand, was a useless runaway slave (in Philm. 10-14, 339.21-24) who had offended his master (in Philm. 15-16, 340.5-7). According to Ambrosiaster, Paul returned Onesimus to his master as somebody whose sins have been forgiven and who has become useful (in Philm. 15-16, 340.5-9), asking Philemon not only to accept him back, but also to thank God for him (in Philm. arg., 337.3-7). It is thus clear that the basic mould for the reception of Onesimus was already formed by the time of Ambrosiaster: Onesimus as a culprit - a runaway slave - who was saved by Paul in a twofold sense of the word. This notion would dominate the reception of Onesimus for approximately another one and a half millennia. Although many different nuances may be detected in the way in which individual scholars interpreted Onesimus in the centuries after Ambrosiaster, the basic pattern remained the same.

I offer two examples to illustrate some of the different nuances in the reception of Onesimus by the Church Fathers. First, John Chrysostom (the three homilies he preached on Philemon were composed between 386 and 404 CE⁵) placed more emphasis on Onesimus' wickedness than Ambrosiaster did. For Chrysostom, Onesimus was a thief, a robber and a runaway, characterised by extreme depravity and wickedness (hom. in Philm. arg., 327.13-18;⁶ Chrysostom uses the word κακία for depravity). Chrysostom also believes that Onesimus' flight was caused by his arrogance and a corrupt mind (hom. in Philm. 16, 340.3-4). Bear in mind that the congregation to whom Chrysostom preached these homilies included slaves brought to church by their masters!⁷

Secondly, Theodore of Mopsuestia composed his commentaries on Paul's letters late in the first or early in the second decade of the fifth century CE (Fitzgerald 2010:342-345). Like Chrysostom, he also emphasises Onesimus perversity: Onesimus' intentions were evil (in Philm. arg., 773.4-5⁸), but Paul persuaded him to abandon his evilness of mind and return to Philemon of his own choice (in Philm. arg., 773.5-9).

Furthermore, Theodore emphasises another aspect, namely that Onesimus would be willing to obey Philemon in future. In fact, Theodore claims that Onesimus would be fit to obey orders, due to his diligence for his new-found religion (in Philm. arg., 773.9-11). It thus comes as no surprise that one of the aspects that Theodore often emphasises in his commentary is that God wants people to stay in the "rank" (ordo) in which they were placed by him, since, according to Theodore, the diversity between people (for example, between slaves and their masters) was willed by God. Theodore even points out that, although it would have been easy for God to make everyone equal, he deliberately chose not to do so (in Philm. arg., 778.17-780.5).

Let us proceed six or seven centuries ahead, to the Glossa Ordinária -the "standard edition of the Bible"⁹ - that was used from the twelfth to the beginning of the sixteenth century. This edition contained the biblical text, with introductory notes at the beginning of each book, and glosses in the margins and notes in between the lines - a major progress at that time.¹⁰The Glossa Ordinaria became hugely influential - it may even be described as "the most important exegetical tool of the Middle Ages and beyond" (Salomon 2012:12). The Glossa Ordinaria not only reflected the leading scholarship of the time, but it also had an immense formative influence on the interpretation of the Bible in the ensuing centuries.¹¹

There are no surprises in the way in which Onesimus is depicted in the Glossa Ordinaria. In fact, it is similar to the depiction in commentaries six or seven centuries earlier. See, for example, the marginal note on Philemon:

A Colossian, who was not endowed with an ecclesiastical office of service, but a laudable man among the people; the apostle sends an intimate letter on behalf of Onesimus, his slave, who had fled to his detriment, but after having heard the gospel from the apostle, he was baptised; and with whom the apostle pleads for forgiveness, writing from Rome, from prison. It is the intention of the apostle to beg for pardon for Onesimus from Philemon (ad Philm. 1 marg. [Biblia Latina 4:421a]¹²).

In this instance, one finds exactly the same elements as pointed out earlier: Onesimus is depicted as the culprit who caused damage to his master, but who is ultimately saved by Paul in a twofold sense of the word - by baptism and by Paul begging on his behalf for pardon from Philemon. This picture is reinforced elsewhere in the Glossa Ordinária. For example, the comment added to "useless" (v. 11) explains that Onesimus stole from Philemon (ad Philm. 11 int. [Biblia Latina 4:421b]), and the comment added to "especially to me" (v. 16) indicates that, by fleeing, Onesimus offended Philemon. However, once his sins were obliterated, he could return to Philemon as a useful individual (ad Philm. 16 marg. [Biblia Latina 4:422a]).

I conclude this section with two final examples of the way in which Onesimus was interpreted later on. First, in his paraphrasis on the Letter to Philemon, composed towards the end of 1519 (Bateman [ed.] 1993:380), the great Humanist scholar Desiderius Erasmus furnishes his readers with more or less the same information on Onesimus: He stole from his master - Erasmus also deems it necessary to point out that this was a typical behaviour of slaves - and fled to Rome, where he heard Paul preaching, accepted the gospel and then served him in prison. Paul sent him back to Philemon, since he knew that Philemon would be upset because he had fled. Erasmus also points out that Paul reconciled the runaway and former thief with his master by means of this letter (LB VII 1075 arg.¹³).

Secondly, in his Gnomon Novi Testamenti (published in 1742 and republished several times; Thompson 2011:844-845; Fritsch 1951:208), Bengel offers a similar view: Onesimus was a runaway slave (ad Philm. 9, 888-889¹⁴) who fled to Paul after having committed the crime (ad Philm. 11, 889) that had caused Philemon injury (ad Philm. 11, 888); he confessed to Paul what he had done (ad Philm. 18, 890); Paul realised that mentioning his name to Philemon would be offensive. He, therefore, found it necessary to first introduce a positive description of Onesimus before asking Philemon to take him back (ad Philm. 10, 888).

 

3. ONESIMUS AS A PAWN IN THE ABOLITIONISM DEBATE

In 1807, the British Parliament abolished the slave trade in Britain, although slavery was still legal; in 1833, the Abolition Act was passed, but slaves in the British colonies had to wait until 1838 before they were set free (Avalos 2013:237). In the decades before these decisions were taken, the debates on this matter often centred on theological arguments, but, sadly, theology and the church did not act as agents of change,¹⁵ as they were mostly found on the side of people supporting slavery. In this debate, the Letter to Philemon was often used, and, in a theological world dominated by a literal approach to the Bible, "the pro-slavery arguments often had the better case" (Barclay 2007:13). In fact, the argument was deceptively simple: that Paul sent a runaway slave back to his master proves that slavery was an institution willed by God.¹⁶ This notion was usually presented as an either/or choice that turned it into a powerful argument: One could either take the Word of God seriously or opt for one's own notions of morality and thus choose against God's will. How difficult it was for God-fearing theologians not to be persuaded by such arguments is evident from the following quote from the writings of John Henry Hopkins:

If it were a matter to be determined by my personal sympathies, tastes, or feelings, I should be as ready as any man to condemn the institution of slavery; for all my prejudices of education, habit, and social position stand entirely opposed to it. But as a Christian ... I am compelled to submit my weak and erring intellect to the authority of the Almighty. For then only can I be safe in my conclusions, when I know that they are in accordance with the will of Him, before whose tribunal I must render a strict account in the last great day (Atkins 2010:216).¹⁷

Onesimus thus became a pawn in the heated debates between the pro-slavery and the abolitionist groups. On the abolitionist side, various arguments were developed in order to overturn the argument based on Onesimus' fate. I mention only a few of these.

One of the strategies used was to deny that Onesimus had been a slave. For example, Barnes (1846:318-331) argues as follows: There is no clear evidence in the letter that Onesimus was a slave; there is no indication in the letter that Paul forced Onesimus to go back to Philemon or even advised him to do so; there is no evidence in the letter that Paul wanted Onesimus to return as a slave or that Onesimus should be treated as a slave; there is clear evidence in the letter that Paul did not want Onesimus to be treated as a slave, and the principles found in the Letter to Philemon would ultimately lead to the abolition of slavery.

Another strategy was not only to concede that Onesimus was a runaway slave whom Paul returned to his master, but also to argue that Paul wanted Philemon to set Onesimus free on his return. The work of McKeen may be cited as an example in this regard. McKeen (1848:28-29) argues as follows: It is indeed the case that Onesimus, a slave or a servant of Philemon, had fled to Paul who was imprisoned in Rome. Paul converted him to Christianity, and, due to Onesimus' piety and the friendship that developed between him and Paul, Paul advised him to return to Philemon, which Onesimus willingly did. However, Paul did not want him to go back to a state of slavery, but he expected Philemon to set him free. McKeen then applies this perspective as follows to his own situation: "What good man, what good abolitionist, now, would not rejoice to effect similar reconciliations, as to witness again such manifestations of the power of true religion?" (McKeen 1848:28).

A third strategy was to claim that, although Paul did not actually ask Philemon to set Onesimus free, this was what he hoped for and what he was hinting at. For example, Parry (1834:28) argues as follows: Paul shows the greatest respect for Philemon's feelings, and thus undertakes to compensate him for any losses. At the same time, it is also clear that Paul desired Onesimus to be set free, and that he hinted as much. The same should be true of Christianity: The freedom of slaves should not be commanded, but rather be something that is desired. Thus, the true spirit of Christianity should be one of philanthropy.

The above clearly shows how a particular view about Onesimus was used as part of an argumentative strategy, depending on the particular objective ("proving" that the Bible supported or opposed slavery) that the proponent had in mind. With the benefit of hindsight approximately two centuries later, we can clearly discern what was going on. The abolitionist debate highlighted the problematic results that could emerge from a literal reading of the Bible. The (often not so successful) strategies developed to argue that Paul did, in fact, want Philemon to set Onesimus free were manifestations of an uneasiness with a literal reading of Scripture, and the first indications that scholars were trying to find a better way of reading the Bible. Barclay (2007:14) puts it so eloquently:

This is not quite a bypassing of explicit texts, in order to appeal to the more abstract "principles" of the Bible. This is rather a refusal to let slaves remain locked within the texts that speak about slaves, and to let them roam, as agents and as objects, across the whole biblical canon, under the labels "brother"/"sister" and "man"/"woman", not under the label "slave". It is this act of hermeneutical liberation (born of both religious and philosophical change) that turned out to be most significant for social reform - liberation from the very category "slave".

 

4. ONESIMUS' STATUS DISPUTED

For many centuries, there was, to some degree, consensus on Onesimus' status. According to this "traditional view",¹⁸ Onesimus was the slave of Philemon who had wronged him in some way or another and who then decided to flee. He met Paul in prison in Rome, where Paul converted him to Christianity and then sent him back to his owner. As noted in the previous section, some of the elements of this view were challenged during the abolitionist debate. During the twentieth century, several other possibilities were raised, not necessarily in order to advance a particular view on the ethical impact that the letter should have on Christianity, but rather to show that the tiny amount of information in the letter about Onesimus may very well fit other scenarios. I refer briefly to some of the views that have been proposed in this regard.

Knox (1935) rejects the view that Onesimus was Philemon's slave. According to Knox, Onesimus was the slave of Archippus, and Philemon was the overseer of churches in the Lycus Valley. On their way back to Colossae, Tychikus and Onesimus would stay over with Philemon, and the letter was meant to persuade Philemon to exert pressure on Archippus to send Onesimus back to Paul to support him in his missionary endeavours. According to Knox, the letter achieved its purpose and Onesimus later became the bishop of Ephesus.

Lampe (1985:135-137) challenges the reason normally provided for Onesimus' flight, namely that he simply wanted to get away from Philemon, as he was afraid of being punished. Lampe proposes that Onesimus deliberately fled to Paul because he did want to return to Philemon's household.¹⁹ Like other slaves of his time who had done something wrong, he thus went to a third party whom he thought would be able to intercede successfully on his behalf.

Winter (1987:1-15) challenges several elements of the traditional view. According to her, the letter was not directed to an individual, but was meant for the whole congregation. Furthermore, Onesimus did not run away, but was most likely sent to Paul by Archippus. The reason for Paul's letter was thus not to send Onesimus back home, but rather to request that he be released from his duties in Colossae so that he could assist Paul in his missionary work. Winter also believes that Paul wanted Onesimus to be manumitted.

Schenk (1987:3439-3495) also accepts that Onesimus did not flee from Philemon, but that he was sent to Paul by Philemon. Furthermore, he constructs a different view of the prehistory of the congregation to which Philemon belonged. At the time when Apphia, Archippus and others were converted to Christianity (according to Schenk, this probably happened in Pergamum), Philemon was still an enemy of the church and really made life difficult for them; this was true of Archippus. However, when Philemon was converted, his house came to be used as meeting place. At a later stage, Philemon sent Onesimus to Paul with news of a specific good deed.

Callahan (1993:357-376) challenges the notion that Philemon was a slave (like some of the abolitionists did). According to him, Onesimus was Philemon's physical brother, and verse 16a ("no longer as a slave, but more than a slave") does not refer to an actual, but to a virtual state of affairs, namely to Philemon's attitude towards his brother.

Like Lampe, Arzt-Grabner (2004:131-143) also challenges the notion that Onesimus was a fugitivus, but he does so in a different way. According to Arzt-Grabner, Onesimus did not flee on purpose, and it would be better to describe him as an erro (absconder), as somebody who liked leaving his master and wander about. This would imply that Onesimus had left his master's house at least once before.

Although not all of the suggestions are equally convincing, the net effect of such alternatives was that the scholarly community came to realise that there were many more uncertainties about these matters than had previously been realised. The gaps in the letter may indeed be filled in different ways! For the understanding of Onesimus, in particular, this meant that the totally negative picture that had, to some extent, attained canonical status in the history of interpretation had started to crumble. But had his voice been heard yet? Not really. It would take some time before this happened.

 

5. ONESIMUS AS A VICTIM: THE LETTER READ IN A RESISTANT WAY

In spite of the many differences that have been noted in the interpretations of the Letter to Philemon discussed above, they all share a similar attitude, namely their positive approach to the letter. One could say that the letter was read in a compliant way, in the sense that the interpretation of the letter develops, in a positive way, what was regarded as the core message of the letter. Occasionally some people reacted negatively to the letter. One such occasion is the response that Reverend Charles Colcock (a missionary) received in the 1840s from a group of slaves in Georgia when he preached to them on the letter:

I was preaching to a large congregation on the Epistle to Philemon; and when I insisted upon fidelity and obedience as Christian virtues in servants, and, upon the authority of Paul, condemned the practice of running away, one half of my audience deliberately rose up and walked off with themselves, and those that remained looked anything but satisfied, either with the preacher or his doctrine. After dismission, there was no small stir among them: some solemnly declared "that there was no such epistle in the Bible"; others, "that it was not the gospel"; others, "that I preached to please masters"; others, "that they did not care if they ever heard me preach again" (see Kreitzer 2008:81).

However, resistant reading of the text in the real sense of the word and supported by a sound theoretical basis only became possible much later, when postmodern approaches challenged the traditional modernist approach to the Bible that characterised biblical scholarship.²⁰ The newer approaches challenged the notion of objectivity that played a major role in biblical criticism, and emphasised new "lenses" whereby to view texts, for example by taking seriously the experience of people or groups that have traditionally been excluded from the academic interpretation of texts (Johnson et al. 2012:5). It was only because of this switch in perspective that Onesimus was really taken seriously for the first time, or - as it were - that his voice was truly heard for the first time. I illustrate this by briefly referring to four studies.

Bieberstein (2000:105) interprets the letter from a feminist perspective. As she points out, this implies that one should deliberately abandon interpreting the letter from the perspective of the victors and instead read it from the perspective of the victim, in this case, Onesimus. Among other things, Bieberstein (2000:115) argues that Paul never abandons the "logic of slavery" in the letter, but that a feminist reading of the letter can break open the notion of social normality created by the letter. One can thus creatively reconstruct the situation presupposed in it by reading the letter through the critical eyes of Apphia and deliberately seek "liberating alternatives" (Bieberstein 2000:116).

Botha (2010:252-272) reads the letter from the perspective of bodiless-ness, by exploring the "materiality of respect, love, care, responsibility, freedom" (Botha 2010:251; Botha's emphasis). What Botha highlights in the case of the Letter to Philemon is the absence of such respect, although words used in the letter seem to indicate the contrary. This only becomes clear if one critically probes the principles and power relations underlying the letter. The basic problem that Botha identifies in the letter is the way in which the principles of hierarchy and obedience function:

Paul and Philemon belonged to a higher class than Onesimus; they belonged to a class "located above that of slaves and freedmen". It was this principle of hierarchy which made possible the givenness of the language used in Phlm. To heed the message, to be persuaded by its language, would imply the affirmation of hierarchy, as well as acknowledgement of the practice of ownership and the principle of usefulness (Botha 2010:259; Botha's emphasis) ... Underlying all of this is the hierarchical value system with a discourse of "more valuable" and "less valuable" bodies (Botha 2010:266).

Punt (2010:223-250) opts for a postcolonial reading strategy. Such an approach begins by acknowledging that the letter was written from the perspective of slaveholders; it concerns Onesimus, but his perspective is nowhere to be found in the letter (Punt 2010:225). Punt also draws attention to the way in which power functions in the letter in that Paul establishes himself as the "ultimate patron" of both Philemon and Onesimus (Punt 2010:237). Although Paul becomes Onesimus' voice in the letter, this is not solely for Onesimus' benefit as Paul also has his own interests in mind (Punt 2010:242); the letter increased his own patronage (Punt 2010:246):

While Paul's challenge was aimed at Philemon's authority and his position as the owner of Onesimus, Onesimus' voice remains silent throughout Phlm, although he took the initiative that led to the writing of the letter. Notwithstanding his physical location, and in addressing his own non-elite, freeborn "status anxiety", the only person who really emerged in a stronger social position than before was Paul! (Punt 2010:246).

The final example to which I wish to draw attention comes from a collection of essays significantly titled Onesimus our brother. Reading religion, race and culture in Philemon. The title of Matthew V. Johnson's essay (Johnson 2012:91-100) aptly summarises what he has in mind: "Onesimus speaks. Diagnosing the hys/terror of the text". He begins by noting that Christianity often has noble ideas, but that these should be tested by what happens in practice. For example, in the American context, the European Christians' sense of superiority was merely fostered and reinforced. Something similar happened in the interpretation of the Letter to Philemon. Onesimus was never taken as the starting point for interpreting the letter; only Paul's voice was heard. If one takes Onesimus' silence as point of departure, the letter is understood in a totally different way. For example, Onesimus' reason for leaving Philemon's house is then viewed as justified, as nobody has the right to enslave another human being. Even Paul's seemingly kind gestures in the letter are unmasked by the distinction he makes between spiritual slavery and physical slavery; his plea to Philemon to accept Onesimus as a brother is nullified by the mere fact that he sends him back to his boss (Johnson 2012:91-96). As Johnson (2012:96, 97) puts it:

Unless and until Onesimus has an equal voice in the conversation, so to speak, he will not have even potential to be a brother ... Onesimus's voice must be silenced because of the nature of the threat it poses. The slave can be seen, used, discussed, tolerated but never heard.

 

6. CONCLUSION

We have now come to the end of our journey of almost two millennia. We have noted how, for the greatest part of this era, Onesimus was perceived as a culprit and that it was only very recently that this perception has been challenged. In the academia, Onesimus' voice only started being heard approximately twenty or thirty years ago. The reason why this took so long has also become clear: For too long interpreters of the Bible have been unaware of the extent to which their own social location has influenced their reading of texts and often made it impossible for them to listen to the unheard voices in the Bible. What would Onesimus' message be nowadays if he could speak to us? Perhaps "Christianity saved my soul, but it could not liberate my body"? If so, the question that should torment us is: "How many other unheard voices in the church and society are still being silenced by and in Christianity today?"

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Arzt-Grabner, P. 2004. Onesimus erro: Zur Vorgeschichte des Philemonbriefes. Zeitschrift für die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft 95(1-2):131-143. https://doi.org/10.1515/zntw.2004.003        [ Links ]

Atkins, R. 2010. Contextual interpretation of the Letter to Philemon in the United States. In: D.F. Tolmie & A. Friedl (eds.), Philemon in perspective. Interpreting a Pauline letter (Berlin: De Gruyter, BZNW 169), pp. 205-222.         [ Links ]

Avalos, H. 2013. Slavery, abolitionism, biblical scholarship. Sheffield: Sheffield Phoenix Press. The Bible in the Modern World 38.         [ Links ]

Barclay, J.M.G. 2007. "Am I not a man and a brother?" The Bible and the British anti-slavery campaign. Expository Times 199(1):3-14. https://doi.org/10.1177/0014524607082907        [ Links ]

Barnes, A. 1846. An inquiry into the scriptural views of slavery. Philadelphia, PA: Perkins & Purves.         [ Links ]

Bateman, J.J. (Tr.) 1993. Paraphrases on the Epistles to Timothy, Titus, and Philemon, the Epistles of Peter and Jude, the Epistle of James, the Epistle of John, the Epistle to the Hebrews. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. Collected Works of Erasmus 44.         [ Links ]

Bengel, J.A. 1742. Gnomon Novi Testamenti in quo ex nativa verborum vi simplicitas, profunditas, concinnitas, salubritas sensuum coelestium indicatur opera Io. Alberti Bengelii. Tübingen: Schramm.         [ Links ]

Bieberstein, S. 2000. Disrupting the normal reality of slavery: A feminist reading of the Letter to Philemon. Journal for the Study of the New Testament 79:105-116. https://doi.org/10.1177/0142064X0102307909        [ Links ]

Botha, P.J.J. 2010. Hierarchy and obedience: The legacy of the Letter to Philemon. In: D.F. Tolmie & A. Friedl (eds.), Philemon in perspective. Interpreting a Pauline letter (Berlin: De Gruyter, BZNW 169), pp. 251-272.         [ Links ]

Bray, G.L (Ed. & Tr.) 2009. Commentaries on Galatians - Philemon: Ambrosiaster. Downers Grove, ILL: IVP Academic. Ancient Christian Texts.         [ Links ]

Callahan, A.D. 1993. Paul's Epistle to Philemon: Toward an alternative argumentum. Harvard Theological Review 86(4):357-376. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0017816000030625Chapman, M.D.         [ Links ]

Callahan, A.D. 2007. The shortest book in the Bible. Expository Times 118(1):546-548. https://doi.org/10.1177/0014524607081078        [ Links ]

De Hamel, C. 1987. Glossed books of the Bible and the origins of the Paris booktrade. Woodbridge/Wolfeboro, NH: D.S. Brewer.         [ Links ]

De Wet, CL. 2015. Preaching bondage: John Chrysostom and the discourse of slavery in Early Christianity. Oakland, CA: University of California Press. https://doi.org/10.1525/california/9780520286214.001.0001        [ Links ]

Erasmus, D. 1961-1962. Desiderii Erasmi Roterodami opera omnia emendatiora et auctiora, ad optimas editiones praecipue quas ipse Erasmus postremo curauit summa fide exacta, doctorumque uirorum notis illustrata: in decem tomos distincta, quorum primo, in hac editione, praefixa sunt elogia & epitaphia Erasmi, a uiris doctis conscripta, nec coniunctim unquam antea sic edita: cum indicibus totius operis copiosissimis. Hildesheim: Olms.         [ Links ]

Field, F. (Ed.) 1849-1862. Sancti patris nostri Joannis Chrysostomi archiepiscopo Constantino-politani interpretatio omnium epistularum Paulinarum homilias facta (7 vols). Oxford: J.H. Parker.         [ Links ]

Fitzgerald, J.T. 2010. Theodore of Mopsuestia on Paul's Letter to Philemon. In: D.F. Tolmie & A. Friedl (eds.), Philemon in perspective. Interpreting a Pauline letter (Berlin: De Gruyter, BZNW 169), pp. 332-363.         [ Links ]

Fritsch, CT. 1951. The interpreter at work. V. Bengel, the student of Scriptures. Interpretation 5(2):203-215. https://doi.org/10.1177/002096435100500206        [ Links ]

Froehlich, Κ. 2010a. The Glossa Ordinaria and medieval preaching. In: K. Froehlich (ed.), Biblical interpretation from the Church Fathers to the Reformation (Burlington, VT: Ashgate, VCS), pp. 1-21.         [ Links ]

Froehlich, Κ. 2010b. Makers and takers: The shaping of the Biblical Glossa Ordinaria. In: K. Froehlich (ed.), Biblical interpretation from the Church Fathers to the Reformation (Burlington, VT: Ashgate, VCS), pp. III, 1-19.         [ Links ]

Froehlich, Κ. & Gibson, M.T. (eds.) 1992. Biblia Latina cum glossa ordinaria: Facs. reprint of the ed. princeps Adolph Rusch of Strassburg 1480/81. 4. Evangelia, Epistulae Pauli, Ad Hebraeos, Acta Apostolorum, Epistulae Catholicae, Apocalypsis Johannis. Turnhout: Brepols.         [ Links ]

Gerber, C. 2016. Onesimus, der Nützliche. Sklaverei in der Welt des Paulus. In: D. Marguerat (ed.), La lettre à Philemon et l'ecclésiologie paulinienne/Philemon and Pauline ecclesiology (Leuven: Peeters, Colloquium Oecumenicum Paulinum 22.), pp. 75-106.         [ Links ]

Greer, R.A. (Tr.) 2011. Theodore of Mopsuestia: The commentaries on the Minor Epistles of Paul. Translated with an introduction. Leiden: Brill. SBL Writings from the Greco-Roman World 26.         [ Links ]

Harrill, J.A. 2000. The use of the New Testament in the American slave controversy: A case history in the hermeneutical tension between Biblical criticism and Christian moral debate. Religion and American Culture: A Journal of Interpretation 10(2):149-186. https://doi.org/10.1525/rac.2000.10.2.03a00020        [ Links ]

Hunter, D.G. 2009. 2008 NAPS presidential address: The significance of Ambrosiaster. Journal of Early Christian Studies 17(1):1-26. https://doi.org/10.1353/earL0.0244        [ Links ]

Johnson, M.v. 2012. Onesimus speaks. Diagnosing the hys/terror of the text. In: M.V. Johnson, J.A. Noel & D.K. Williams (eds.), Onesimus our brother. Reading religion, race, and culture in Philemon (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press), pp. 91-100. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt22nm7fd.8        [ Links ]

Johnson, M.v., Noel, J.A. & Williams, D.K. 2012. Introduction. In: M.V. Johnson, J.A. Noel & D.K. Williams (eds.), Onesimus our brother. Reading religion, race, and culture in Philemon (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press), pp. 1-9. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt22nm7fd        [ Links ]

Kannengiesser, C. 2006. Handbook of Patristic exegesis: The Bible in ancient Christianity. With special contributions by various scholars. Leiden/: Brill.         [ Links ]

Kelly, J.N.D. 1995. Golden mouth: The story of John Chrysostom - ascetic, preacher, bishop. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.         [ Links ]

Knox, J. 1935. Philemon among the letters of Paul: A new view of its place and importance. Chicago, ILL: University of Chicago Press.         [ Links ]

Kreitzer, L.J. 2008. Philemon. Sheffield: Phoenix Press. Readings: A New Biblical Commentary.         [ Links ]

Lampe, P. 1985. Keine "Sklavenflucht" des Onesimus. Zeitschrift für die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft 76(1-2):135-137.         [ Links ]

Lokkesmoe, R. 2015. Finding Onesimus. Recovering the story of a first-century fugitive slave. Faculty of the University of Denver and the Iliff School of Theology, University of Denver.         [ Links ]

McKeen, S. 1848. A scriptural argument in favor of withdrawing fellowship from churches and ecclesiastical bodies tolerating slaveholding among them. New York: William Harned.         [ Links ]

Parry, Τ. 1834. Paul, Philemon, and Onesimus, or, Christian brotherhood; being a practical exposition of St. Paul's Epistle to Philemon, applicable to the present crisis of West Indian affairs: In a discourse preached in St. John's Church, Antigua, on Sunday, December 29, 1833. With an appendix containing remarks on I. Education of the poor. II. Relief of the destitute. London: J.G. & F. Rivington.         [ Links ]

Punt, J. 2010. Paul, power and Philemon. "Knowing your place": A postcolonial reading. In: D.F. Tolmie & A. Friedl (eds.), Philemon in perspective. Interpreting a Pauline letter (Berlin: De Gruyter, BZNW 169), pp. 223-250.         [ Links ]

Quasten, J. 1960. Patrology. Vol. III. Utrecht/Westminster, MD: Spectrum/Newman.         [ Links ]

Salomon, D.A. 2012. An introduction to the Glossa Ordinaria as medieval hypertext. Cardiff: University of Wales Press.         [ Links ]

Schenk, W. 1987. Der Brief des Paulus an Philemon in der neueren Forschung (1945-1987). ANRW II.25.4:3439-3495. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110851373-016        [ Links ]

Smalley, B. 1984. The study of the Bible in the Middle Ages. Oxford: Blackwell.         [ Links ]

Smith, L. 2009. The Glossa Ordinaria: The making of a Medieval Bible commentary. Brill Academic Publishers. Commentaria 3. https://doi.org/10.1163/ej.9789004177857.i-270        [ Links ]

Thompson, A.J. 2011. Bengel, Johann Albrecht. EBR 3:844-845.         [ Links ]

Tolmie, D.F. 2010. Tendencies in the research on the Letter to Philemon since 1980. In: D.F. Tolmie & A. Friedl (eds.), Philemon in perspective. Interpreting a Pauline letter (Berlin: De Gruyter, BZNW 169), pp. 1-27. BZNW 169. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110221749.1        [ Links ]

Vogels, H.J. (Ed.) 1968. Ambrosiastri qvi dicitvr commentarivs in epistvlas Pavlinas III: In epistvlas ad Galatas, ad Efesios, ad Filippenses, ad Colosenses, ad Thesalonicenses, ad Timothevm, ad Titvm, ad Filemonem. Wien: Hölder-Pichler-Tempsky. CSEL 81/3.         [ Links ]

Williams, D.K. 2012. "No longer a slave": Reading the interpretation history of Paul's Epistle to Philemon. In: J.A. Noel & M.V. Johnson (eds.), Onesimus our brother. Reading religion, race, and culture in Philemon (Minneapolis. MN: Fortress Press), pp. 11-46. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt22nm7fd.5        [ Links ]

Winter, S.C. 1987. Paul's Letter to Philemon. New Testament Studies 33:1-15. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0028688500016027        [ Links ]

 

 

1 For an excellent discussion of the world in which Onesimus lived and the implications this has for understanding the Letter to Philemon, see Gerber (2016:75-106).
2 In this regard, see the discussion by Williams (2012:42-44).
3 For excellent discussions of Ambrosiaster, see Kannengiesser (2006:1081-1087) and Hunter (2009:1-26).
4 I have used the text in Vogels (1968), citing the verse number in the Letter to Philemon, followed by the page and line numbers according to Vogel's text. For an English translation of Ambrosiaster's commentary on the Letter to Philemon, see Bray (2009).
5 See, for example, the discussions by Quasten (1960:448-449) and Kelly (1995:132-133).
6 I have used the Greek text in Field (1849-1862), citing page and line numbers according to Field's text in brackets.
7 See De Wet (2015:9, especially note 21). De Wet also brought to my attention that Christians liked bringing their slaves to church, as this was a way of displaying their wealth.
8 I have used the text of Greer (2011), citing the verse number, followed by the page and line numbers according to Greer's text. Greer also provides an English translation.
9 Froehlich (2010b:III, 1).
10 See, among others, Smalley (1984:55-57). The gloss on the entire Bible was completed c. 1130 (De Hamel 1987:4). Thereafter, it went through several stages until the first printed edition, produced by Adolph Rusch of Strasbourg in 1480/1481 (Smith 2009:141-186).
11 For example, for an excellent discussion of the important role that the Glossa Ordinaria played in medieval preaching, see Froehlich (2010a:1-21).
12 The above translation is based on the facsimile edition of the 1480 edition, published by Brepols in 1992: Biblia Latina cum glossa ordinaria: Facs. Reprint of the ed. princeps Adolph Rusch of Strassburg 1480/1481. 4. Evangelia, Epistulae Pauli, Ad Hebraeos, Acta Apostolorum, Epistulae Catholicae, Apocalypsis Johannis (Froehlich & Gibson 1992). I refer to the page number and the line number(s). I wish to express my gratitude to Dr Alfred Friedl of the University of Vienna who helped me with the translation of the Latin text.
13 References are to the Editio Lugdunensis (1703-1706), facsimile edition (Erasmus 1961-1962). For an English translation, see Bateman (1993:70-74).
14 I have used the first edition (Bengel 1742). References are to verse number, followed by page number in this edition.
15 For a thorough discussion of this matter, see Avalos (2013) and, in particular, pages 269-284, where he identifies the primary reasons why the arguments of the abolitionists ultimately carried the day. As he explains, biblical ethics did not play a major role in this regard.
16 This argument, used by Harris (see Chapman 2007:546) in 1788, is found in various forms in the arguments used by the pro-slavery side. For other examples in this regard, see Harrill (2000:149-186), Barclay (2007:3-14) and Kreitzer (2008:77-106).
17 Atkins also provides more detail and the broader context.
19 This is called the amicus domini hypothesis. For a slightly different view, see the work of Lokkesmoe (2015) who proposes the amicus domini ex post facto theory: Onesimus originally ran away from his master, and only at a much later stage decided to seek out Paul to intervene on his behalf.
20 For an excellent overview of what all of this entailed, see Johnson et al. (2012:1-5).

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ARTICLES

 

Unheard Voices Of Women In The Bible, With Implications Of Empowerment In The Context Of Today's Church

 

 

L.M. Mudimeli^I; J. van der Westhuizen^II

^IDr. L.M. Mudimeli, Department of Development Studies, University of Venda, South Africa. E-mail: Lufuluvhi. mudimeli@univen.ac.za ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9242-2918
^IIRev. J.D.N. van der Westhuizen, Department of development Studies, University of Venda, South Africa. E-mail: janvdwes11@gmail.com ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7194-8507

 

 

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ABSTRACT

This article analyses the current status of women in the church and compares this with the status of women in the Bible. The unheard voices of women in the Bible have a corrective impact on the way in which women currently deal with their social ills. This article journeys with a narrative from the New Testament that encourages deconstruction of discourses that are harmful to women and reconstruction of healthy discourses that are inclusive and do not discriminate against women on the basis of gender. As the empowerment of women is located within the discourses of gender equality, a gender lens, which is a biblical liberation hermeneutic of vhusadzi theology, is employed to reconstruct positive discourses regarding people's perceptions about women in societies. The researchers argue that the unheard voices of women are still an issue and that the empowerment of women still needs to be prioritised. The church can play a significant role in contributing towards the empowerment of women.

Keywords: John 7:53-8:11, Vhusadzi (womanhood) theology, Women empowerment, Gender equality in the church

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Trefwoorde: Johannes 7:53-8:11, Vhusadzi (vrouwees)-benadering, Bemagtiging van vroue, Geslagsgelykheid in die kerk

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1. INTRODUCTION

Although they are a majority of the South African population, African women in South Africa remain on the periphery of the margins of our communities (Masenya 2012).

In South Africa, women are in the majority in both the country and the church, but they have no voice. Few women occupy leadership positions in the church, and the status quo of a boys' choir or boys' club is still intact. The researchers make use of the vhusadzi theology to answer the following questions: What are the unheard voices of women in the Bible? What was done to empower them? What are the challenges of today's women? In what way can the church contribute to the empowerment of women?

This article briefly explains what the vhusadzi theology entails. This will be followed by an outline of a narrative from the New Testament, namely John 7:53-8:11. In conversation with this narrative, observations and empowerment discourses will emerge and be commented on. Empowerment as a multidimensional concept will be examined from the perspective of the church. The role of the church can contribute significantly to the empowerment of women.

 

2. THE VHUSADZI THEOLOGY¹

Vhusadzi is a Venda word which literally means "womanhood". As a Muvenda woman who is in the leadership of one of the Pentecostal churches in Venda, Limpopo province, the commitment to the vhusadzi theology was a result of seeking to expose the dilemma and reality of women's experiences pertaining to leadership in the church. While studying the role of women in the ministry in Pentecostal churches in Venda, a vhusadzi theology was formulated to engage critically with the role of religion, in particular the Christian religion, its sacred texts and African culture on women in ministry. African women and their community are not allowed to conduct meaningful lives, and they have no access to resources and services (LenkaBula 2006:93). Vhusadzi theology is an endeavour to find an African-South African voice challenging people's perceptions that are harmful to women. This theology encompasses the experiences and expectations of Vhavenda women living in the Limpopo province, in South Africa, and globally. It resuscitates and captures the reality of a Black African-South African Muvenda woman to find ways to speak about God and to describe her struggles in the church that deny her full equal human status.

The vhusadzi theology challenges the negative impact of religious and cultural discourses that influence the role women play in the church or ministry. The vhusadzi theology encourages women to read the passages that are used to deny them their full status as human beings. This is done by rereading texts in the Bible from a musadzi (woman)'s perspective and in taking cognisance of the attitudes and perceptions that work against her. African women struggle with serious issues of injustice pertaining to institutionalised sexism, patriarchy, racism and other biases that impede their access not only to land and resources that can lead to a better livelihood, but also to leadership roles.

On the other hand, the vhusadzi theology upholds and promotes the religious and cultural practices that bestow value and dignity on women's lives. However, it also calls into account those who have the potential to create cultural norms that dehumanise women and label them as second-class church members and citizens. Significantly, by questioning the unquestionable and suggesting the alternatives, the vhusadzi theology has the potential to create a conducive environment for women to address issues that make them vulnerable to both religious and cultural dehumanising discourses, thereby finding alternatives to the treatment of women. It focuses on the following: leadership of women in the church; developing this theology in its relation to God (or teachings about God); its relation to the person of Christ (Christology); its relation to the Holy Spirit, and the church and its practices (ecclesiology).

Although the vhusadzi theology cannot claim total liberation of these women, it does contribute to the proper treatment of women by giving them a voice that challenges the perceptions and powerful negative discourses that are harmful to women's lives. It is, therefore, proper to mention that the vhusadzi theology is an African and South African voice that challenges the perceptions that have long been held by both men and women and that deny women leadership development in the ministry. It proves itself to be a life-affirming theology critically engaging the role of religion and, in particular, the Christian religion and its sacred texts, on the one hand, and culture, in particular the Vhavenda culture, on the other, in both the marginalisation and affirmation of women in the leadership of the church.

 

3. THE OUTLINE OF JOHN 7:53-8:11

This text is about an adulterous woman who has no voice. The narrative begins when Jesus is at the temple. A woman caught in the act of adultery was brought to him by the teachers of the law and the Pharisees, asking Jesus' opinion on the case (John 8:3-6). The woman was made to stand before the group and addressed as "this woman". The teachers of the law and the Pharisees were trying to trap Jesus when they said that "in the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?" (John 8:5). Jesus bent down and wrote something on the ground for the first time, and when they continued questioning him, he straightened up and answered them: "Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone on her" (John 8:7). He stooped down again and wrote on the ground. When Jesus straightened up this time he addressed the woman about those who were accusing her: "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" (John 8:10). The narrative ends with the woman's response that no one has condemned her. Jesus responded: "Neither do I condemn you, go now and leave your life of sin" (John 8:11).

This text would be re-read and interpreted through a vhusadzi theology which critically analyses biblical texts, deconstructing the negative elements of Christian religion, patriarchal discourses and cultural discourses, thereby reconstructing the alternative discourses that give a voice to women who read the Bible and adhere to many churches (Mudimeli 2011:44). The text is read as a narrative of how Jesus, as a man in his position as a saviour, responds to the state of affairs where other men are threatening to exercise the death penalty by stoning a woman and the stoning is motivated on religious grounds (O'Sullivan 2015:2).

3.1 The voiceless and nameless woman

It is not uncommon in the Scriptures to have women without a name and without a voice. In most of the narratives in the sacred texts of Christians, women are seen and not heard. As is the case in a patriarchal world, women are not named by their personal names, but in terms of their relationship to their male patrons, thus victimising them even more (Masenya 2012:212). This woman was caught in the very act; that means she was seen, but never heard. She awaited her sentence amidst men, without being given a fair trial, because she was a woman. To a vhusadzi reader, this kind of attitude toward women is problematic, because no one can assume to know how a woman thinks and feels in any given situation, except the woman herself. Who was going to engage her in public? According to the Jews, men were not allowed to speak to women in public, because women could seduce the men and lead them into sin (Baloyi 2010:3). It is evident that the Pharisees and the teachers of the law did not engage this woman after they caught her in the act. If this incident took place among the Vhavenda people, they would have handled this differently. It is not in the culture of the Vhavenda to place a woman in this state among men. They could have gathered the elderly women, who were trusted by the community, to handle matters of this kind. On the other hand, the men who were there were not expecting Jesus to engage her in public, or else he would have been violating the Jewish law.

When the scribes and Pharisees brought the woman who had been caught in adultery to Jesus, they dehumanized her, turning her into an object for debate and discussion (Newson & Ringe 1998:385).

The researchers opine that the silence and voicelessness of women were not by choice, but were relegated to it. This consignment where men silenced women was part of the patriarchal nature of the Jewish culture (Lungu 2016:34-37; Manus & Ukaga 2017:69).

The accused is a woman and the other characters, namely Jesus and the woman's prosecutors are all men. There is a connection in the story of this woman and the general prejudices against women in the community. As a musadzi (woman) reader of the Bible, in contexts where African women face issues of injustice pertaining not only to gender discrimination, but also to racism, limited land access and resources, should a woman nowadays still be quiet in the name of preserving religion or culture? Should women continue to be taught that they should be quiet and the Lord will fight for them? Or should women raise their voices and speak against the injustices, as empowered to do so by Jesus? This accused is, in fact, a "non-person" (Toensing 2003:159, 162) without a name and she is only recognised and labelled by the complaint against her. She is reduced to an offensive sexual object and treated as an inactive and submissive entity for deliberation, a public exhibition and used as an enticement to catch Jesus in a snare (Manus & Ukaga 2017:67). Indeed, when a woman is a non-person, she should die quietly for fear of defying the perceptions held against her.

In the text of John, symbolic characters are often used deliberately to increase their impact to represent collectives without losing their own particular characteristics (Schneiders 1999:189). The woman has to fend for herself, without a lawyer, amongst men with power and influence, a power that can pronounce the death penalty on women (O'Sullivan 2015:2; Manus & Ukaga 2017:66). She is part of an andro-centric and kyriarchal (where men rule as lord, owner and master [kyrios) over women) society (Lev. 12:1-8; Wordelman 1998:390, 396). She touches some raw nerves in this society (Lee 1996:3).

3.2 The accusers of the woman

The woman's accusers, namely the scribes and the Pharisees, belong to secular and sacred groups that practised the exclusion of women (Lungu 2016:36; Manus & Ukaga 2017:66). The temple area is probably the court that women could visit. The inferior position of women in religion was expressed and confirmed outside the temple building (Witherington 1990:8). The section of the temple from which women were excluded during their menstruation period and after they gave birth could also be the scene. This dominant patriarchal scenario had to contribute to the panic, shame and humiliation that this woman had to experience (Lungu 2016:37; Manus & Ukaga 2017:66). When the woman was caught on the spot committing adultery, she was possibly naked and appeared naked in public for all to see. This would have further humiliated her.

The scribes and Pharisees probably interrupted Jesus' teaching by both making a loud noise and acting with authority. The accusation against the woman, according to them, was very grave and severe. They showed the sense of their inherited religious justice. According to Baker (2002:322-326), they probably knew the theme that is founded in prophets such as Hosea, Jeremiah and Ezekiel, where the symbol of adultery is used to describe the relationship between Yahweh and Israel as a relationship between faithful spouse and an adulterous wife. God commanded that Israel should be killed because of her unfaithfulness and as a warning to all women (Ezek. 23:46-49). Adultery was a very strong metaphor for apostasy and idolatry. This woman was a real or potential image of Israel's unfaithfulness to God who had to be punished for her adultery. The cultural understanding of male honour and the view that women are the possessions of men might also play a role in this instance (Kiambi 2012:7-10).

There is no mention in the text of the man caught in adultery (Kinukawa 1995:90), despite Deuteronomy prescribing that the man caught in adultery must also be killed (Lev. 20:10; Deut. 22:22-29; Reinhartz 2000:455). In patriarchal societies, this kind of prejudice is maintained in public structures that only serve men, namely the church, communities and the home. The conventional death penalty was, as a rule, stoning for all forms of adultery (Ezek. 16:38-40) and was still practised in Jesus' time (Brown 1966:333). In this story, double standards are applied where only the woman is accused and not the man (Creegan 2002:41-42). The church should discourage the use of double standards when it comes to the treatment of women and men.

It is likely that the Pharisees and scholars perceived themselves as righteous and devoted men who lived out their sacred obligation given by God to kill this woman, but their most important goal was to ensnare Jesus (Manus & Ukaga 2017:67). They did so within the context and vicinity of the temple, in order to enhance the religious character of their attack on Jesus (Schussler Fiorenza 1983:140-143).

3.3 The role of Jesus in the story

Society viewed Jesus as a teacher with authority who could express a valid opinion on religious matters. The scribes and the Pharisees were conscious of Jesus' open-minded opinion and way of thinking about women (Saunders 1996:83). They wanted to test Jesus to see if he would contravene the Law of Moses, in this instance, which prescribed that a woman caught in adultery should receive the death penalty. Jesus reinterprets this in the story (O'Sullivan 2015:3; Manus & Ukaga 2017:66, 70).

The author of the story gives Jesus' reaction insightfully. Jesus is tasked with meeting the responsibilities of God, Scripture and the people around him in this context where the woman faces the death penalty (Schottroff 1995:184).

Jesus reverses the situation that illustrates the value of his salvation from God who sent him to save those in need and in sin. Jesus shifts from the worldview of and identification with the righteous male authority to a worldview of salvation towards a woman offender (Lee 1996:12). He confronts the male accusers (scribes and Pharisees) with his redeeming worldview. The men face their own sinfulness and leave the scene without saying a word (Manus & Ukaga 2017:67). Jesus does not condemn the woman; he sends her away with salvation and empowerment from her death-threatening situation (Manus & Ukaga 2017:73-74).

Jesus is the revelation of God's salvation and saves the woman from a violent death. Jesus moved away from the religious community where women experienced violence, sanctified by religion and which was part of Jesus' own sacred customs (Schneiders 2000:101). Jesus' religious viewpoint means that he also rejected other elements where death is part of the culture and history of society (O'Sullivan 2015:4; Manus & Ukaga 2017:70). God's righteousness reconciles the relationship between women and men. There is a new order of salvation that has implications for the relationship between women and men, for religious cultural values and norms, and for social and church structures and institutions of all ages (Lungu 2016:38).

Jesus looks towards, and not down on the woman (Malone 1985:34). For her sake, Jesus re-interpreted the Law of Moses (Thistlewaite 1989:307). The way in which Jesus talks to the woman as a person reflects his humanity and spirituality. Jesus empowers the woman and her unheard voice so that she can be heard in the story. Jesus talks and listens to her. He treats her with empowerment, care and dignity, as befits a human being. The treatment contradicts the actions of the scribes and the Pharisees who demonstrate their dominance. Jesus responds to her traumatic experience of shock, trembling, feelings, and speech loss (O'Sullivan 2015:4). This action confirms that Jesus is truly the Saviour (Manus & Ukaga 2017).

3.4 The implications of Jesus' actions

Not only is the shocking violence against women addressed, but the other dimensions of female suppression and oppression in society are also rejected. The new era of salvation and deliverance by Jesus is confirmed and women are treated with respect, because Jesus also communicates with the woman. This brings to an end the viewpoint that women should regard suffering as an ordeal, a tribulation or a chastisement by God to make them commendable for deliverance and eternal life after death (O'Sullivan 2010:139-154).

This narrative creates a scriptural foundation for, and comprehension of the link between deliverance and the context of patriarchal aggression against women during the time of Jesus. This story disapproves of some biblical texts that often fail to assist women to be free. The Vhusadzi theology encourages women to study the Bible and deliberately use texts that empower them. Often, Biblical texts demonise women, humiliate their sexuality, and remove them from the history of salvation (Schneiders 1999:182). If the Bible can be used as a weapon to disempower women, it can also be used to empower them. This only depends on in whose hands it is.

3.5 The current relevance of the story

According to Schneiders (1999:147, 173), the passage is not only a narrative about ancient times; it is also relevant to the contemporary reader. Schneider describes her context as confronted and changed by the principles of God's salvation. The text paves the way for interpreters towards beauty, comprehension, honesty, kindness and affection regarding the Saviour and the scenario of patriarchic aggression against women (O'Sullivan 2015:5; Lungu 2016:40; Manus & Ukaga 2017:75).

This text and other contemporary emerging feminist perspectives and the empowerment of the Bible in Christianity influences today's women who read this text with, for example, cracked bones, a black eye and a bloody nose, due to aggression by men, in contrast with their perception of their circumstances. By observing the vhusadzi theology, women are encouraged to speak and to voice the discriminations and exploitations against them, causing the walls of patriarchy in our societies to crumble down. Even if we cannot fight patriarchy in one day, women can still raise their voices higher and fight it:

Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst (John 8:9).

In this story Jesus intervened against men with power and prevented the woman from being executed. She recovered from her shock and ordeal. This story can speak to women: instead of believing that God somehow brings violence against them, they can believe that Jesus also wants to empower them. Jesus emphasised that God's order of salvation also puts an end to current aggression towards women and to powers in public and sacred spheres that cause violence. Jesus wants to promote kind, considerate and thoughtful relationships of equality between men and women in church and society (O'Sullivan 2015:6).

Jesus is not only a character in the text and story, but he is also the Risen Christ who has a continuing concern to end violence against women in the world and bring about transformation in society (Schneiders 1999:106). Jesus acts with confidence in his own religious experience and interpretation of the religious tradition of his people to function with authority in relation to the religious and cultural significance of the situation with which he was confronted in this story. Jesus empowers the woman to be empowered (O'Sullivan 2015:6). This text empowers Jesus' followers to address male violence against women in contemporary contexts. The unheard voice of a woman has been heard. In Jesus' time, women in Jewish culture were not educated; their husbands were responsible for their salvation (Gennrich 2008:42). Jesus publicly spoke to a woman and waited for her response. Jesus' response empowers the woman. He told a great deal about the status and circumstances of women in his days.

On the basis of the above text and rereading it through a vhusadzi theology, the following facts emerge: Women had no names and no voice; their status was within the periphery of their communities; they were vulnerable to social ills; their lives were characterised by discrimination and exploitation; their societies were patriarchal and double standards were mostly preferred; there was an interplay between negative religious and cultural discourses, and women were victims of violence.

On reading these narratives, the question arises as to what the church is doing to prioritise the protection of women against all contemporary social ills. Is the church pursuing patriarchal attitudes towards women or is the church, as the church of Jesus Christ, responding positively to women?

 

4. THE ROLE OF THE CHURCH IN WOMEN EMPOWERMENT

The head of the church is Christ:

And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy (Col. 1:18).

Everything that is done in the church should resemble both the mind and the purpose of Jesus Christ. Anything in the church that does not contribute to the understanding that Jesus has and wants us to have about the church is not from him. Jesus' view of women is evident throughout the Gospels. In defying the patriarchal view of the world Jesus in the Gospels spoke to women in public and risked public disgrace; had women as close friends, discussed theology with them, and even trusted women with the news of his resurrection. He also affirmed the courage of a woman with a menstrual disorder for breaking a taboo and coming out in public in the hope of being healed, and he challenged women's traditional service role when he told Martha that Mary had the right idea when she preferred to sit and talk with him and learn from him rather than doing housework (Gennrich 2008:30).

The church should first and foremost - and by all means - make it a priority to regain the lost dignity of women (Baloyi 2010:6).

If one could ask today's church how many voices in the church are still silenced, the response would indicate that there are still many voices that are silenced within the church, not counting voices outside it. Most of these silenced voices are those of women. Women's voices are silenced in the leadership positions of the church:

Even though women were very active in the early missionary activity of the church, they were gradually excluded from leadership positions ... Reasons given were that women were sexually impure, intellectually limited and passive. Even today, some churches say that women are psychologically unsuited to be ordained. The church has also insisted that women should focus on the home because of their natural roles as caregivers, since they give birth (Gennrich 2008:31).

It would be different if the church, as the body of Christ, could be obedient and learn from his example. If today's church could learn from Jesus, it would not use the Bible as an enemy against women.

It is a travesty of women's rights that the Bible has been misinterpreted and abused to embellish, formalise and legalise societal values and norms which subject women to abuse by men (Baloyi 2010:6).

Rather, if the church learns from Jesus, it could understand that

there are substantial portions of the Bible which describe a world where the oppressed are liberated; the last becomes first; the humbled are uplifted; the despised are preferred; those who have been rejected are welcome; the long-suffering are rewarded; the dispossessed are repossessed; and the arrogant are prostrated (Masenya 1999:232).

The church has a vital function to fulfil in the empowerment of women. The Vhusadzi theology raises its voice, this time not to stand against, but to applaud all the churches (in some where women are pastors) that encourage women to study theology and allow them to serve in leadership positions, not only as leaders of other women or as pastors to the children, but also as pastors to the church. As a pastor, I have taken it upon myself to raise my voice along with many other voices in the churches that are united and encourage the churches' decision to empower women. The church could also sponsor women's economic projects so that women can be economically viable. Many churches have preaching themes for a whole quarter or for a year; the church could deliberately choose a theme on women empowerment in order to address women's issues in the church. For example:

the God proclaimed in the Bible identifies with those humanity despises - women, the physically challenged, Blacks and the poor (to name but a few categories of disenfranchised peoples) (Masenya 1999:236).

It would be remarkable if the church could challenge its own

language in the church liturgy and official pronouncements that refers to God's people as male ("sons of God", "all men"), and when women are no longer sexually violated or abused by the priests or ministers, or when the church challenge sexual abuse of women by their members and in society (Gennrich 2008:32).

With respect to the current treatment of women and on the basis of the above text, including many other texts that are read only with the intention to strengthen women's inferior position, not only in society but also in the church, the vhusadzi theology suggests the following to the church and its leadership (see also Mudimeli 2011:183): Courses should be designed with women leadership in mind; intentional pastoral and leadership trainings should be geared for women; as Scriptures are used to strengthen women's inferior position, they should also be used to strengthen women's leadership roles in the church; the church should encourage more women to study, teach and do research in theology, and women should be exposed to different fields such as gender studies, human behavioural sciences, and ethical leadership that add value to their work in the church.

 

5. CONCLUSION

The researchers have re-read the narrative from John 7:53-8:11 from the perspective of a vhusadzi theology. Throughout this article, this theology has attempted to give a voice to voiceless women by encouraging them to use the Bible in order to question the injustices against them. The unheard voices of women in the Bible somehow have a corrective impact on the way in which the church should treat women nowadays. The article also made suggestions as to how best the church can contribute to women empowerment, as one of the issues that need to be prioritised in the church.

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Baker, M. 2002. The Bible Jesus knew. Priests and People 16:322-326.         [ Links ]

Baloyi, E.M. 2010. A re-reading of John 8:1-11 from a pastoral liberative perspective on South African women: Original research. HTS Theological Studies 66:1-7. https://doi.org/10.4102/hts.v66i2.838        [ Links ]

Brown, R.E. 1966. The Gospel according to John I-XII. Garden City, NY: Doubleday. Anchor Bible.         [ Links ]

Creegan, N.M. 2002. Adultery. In: C. Clark Kroeger & M.J. Evans (eds). The IVP women's Bible commentary (Downers Grover, ILL: Intervarsity Press), pp. 41-42.         [ Links ]

Gennricm, D. 2008. Created in God's image: A gender transformation toolkit for women and men in churches. Norwegian Church Aid (NCA).         [ Links ]

Kiambi, J.K. 2012. Divining John 7:53-8:11 for textual gender-motivated violence: A post-colonial approach. Biblical hermeneutics: Women and gender. University of KwaZulu-Natal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2017643        [ Links ]

KlNUKAWA, H. 1995. On John 7:53-8:11: A well-cherished but much-clouded story. In: F.F. Segovia & M.A. Tolbert (eds). Reading from this place: Social location and Biblical Interpretation in global perspective. Volume 2 (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press), pp. 82-96.         [ Links ]

Lee, D.A. 1996. Women as "sinners": Three narratives of salvation in Luke and John. Australian Biblical Review 44:1-15.         [ Links ]

Lenkabula, P. 2006. An African feminist theological dialogue with the Accra confession. Reformed World 56(1):89-103.         [ Links ]

Lungu, J. 2016. Sociocultural and gender perspectives in John 7:53-8:11: Exegetical reflections in the context of violence against women in Zambia. Unpublished Master of Theology thesis. Stellenbosch: Stellenbosch University.         [ Links ]

Malone, M.T. 1985. Women Christian: New vision. Dubuque, IA: Wm.C. Brown, Religious Education Division.         [ Links ]

Manus, U.U. & Ukaga, J.C. 2017. The narrative of the woman caught in adultery (Jn 7:53-8:1-11) reread in the Nigerian context. Acta Theologica 37(1):56-85. https://doi.org/10.18820/23099089/actat.v37i1.5        [ Links ]

Masenya, M. 1999. Biblical authority and the authority of women's experiences: Whither way? Scriptura 70:229-240. https://doi.org/10.7833/70-0-1229        [ Links ]

Masenya, M. 2012. Without a voice, with a violated body: Re-reading Judges 19 to challenge gender violence in sacred texts. Missionalia: Southern African Journal of Mission Studies 40:205-216.         [ Links ]

Mudimeli, L.M. 2011. The impact of religious and cultural discourses on the leadership development of women in the ministry: A vhusadzi (womanhood) perspective. Unpublished doctoral thesis. Pretoria: UNISA.         [ Links ]

Mudimeli, L.M. & Landman, C. 2014. The vhusadzi theology of ministry. Studia Historiae Eccesiasticae 40:269-283.         [ Links ]

Newsom, C.A. & Ringe, S.H. 1998. Women's Bible commentary. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.         [ Links ]

O'Sullivan, M. 2010. How Roman theology can transform male violence against women: Explaining the role of religion in shaping cultural assumptions about gender. Lewiston, ID: Edwin Mellen.         [ Links ]

O'Sullivan, M. 2015. Reading John 7:53-8:11 as a narrative against male violence against women. HTS / Theological Studies 71(1):1-8.         [ Links ]

Reinhartz, A. 2000. John 8:3-11: Adulterous woman. In: C. Meyers (ed.), Women in Scripture (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm B. Eerdmans), pp. 454-455.         [ Links ]

Saunders, R. 1995. Outrageous women, outrageous God: Women in the first two generations of Christianity. Alexandria, New South Wales: E.J. Dwyer.         [ Links ]

Schneiders, S.M. 1999. The revelatory text: Interpreting the New Testament as Sacred Scripture. 2^nd edition. Collegeville, PA: The Liturgical Press.         [ Links ]

Schneiders, S.M. 2000. With oil in their lamps: Faith, feminism, and the future. Madeleva Lecture in Spirituality. Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press.         [ Links ]

Schottroff, L. 1995. Lydia's impatient sisters: A feminist sacral history of Early Christianity. Translated by B. Rumscheidt. London: SCM Press.         [ Links ]

Schussler Fiorenza, E.S. 1983. In memory of her: Feminist theological reconstruction of Christian origins. London: SCM Press.         [ Links ]

Thistlewaite, S.B. 1989. Every two minutes. In: J. Plaskow & C.P. Christ (eds). Weaving the visions: New patterns in feminist spirituality (San Francisco, CA: Harper and Row), pp. 302-313.         [ Links ]

Toensing, H.J. 2003. Divine intervention or divine intrusion? Jesus and the adulterer in John's Gospel. In: A.-J. Levine & M. Blickenstaff (eds). A feminist companion to John (London: Sheffield Academic), pp. 159-172.         [ Links ]

Wordelman, A.L. 1998. Everyday life: Women in the period of the New Testament. In: C.A. Newsom & S.H. Ringe (eds). The women's Bible commentary (London: SPCK), pp. 390-396.         [ Links ]

 

 

1 This theology is based on a research thesis entitled "The impact of religious and cultural discourses on the leadership development of women in the ministry: A vhusadzi (womanhood) perspective", submitted at the University of South Africa in 2011 under the supervision of Prof. C. Landman. It is also based on an article by Mudimeli & Landman (2014).

^rND^sBaker^nM.^rND^sBaloyi^nE.M.^rND^sCreegan^nN.M.^rND^sKlNUKAWA^nH.^rND^sLee^nD.A.^rND^sLenkabula^nP.^rND^sManus^nU.U.^rND^sUkaga^nJ.C.^rND^sMasenya^nM.^rND^sMasenya^nM.^rND^sMudimeli^nL.M.^rND^sLandman^nC.^rND^sO'Sullivan^nM.^rND^sReinhartz^nA.^rND^sThistlewaite^nS.B.^rND^sToensing^nH.J.^rND^sWordelman^nA.L.^rND^1A01^nK.T.^sResane^rND^1A01^nK.T.^sResane^rND^1A01^nK. T^sResane

ARTICLES

 

Beneath The Church¹ Epitaph "to The Glory Of God" Scream The Voices Of The Unemployed

 

 

K.T. Resane

Dr. K.T. Resane, Research fellow, Department of Historical and Constructive Theology, University of the Free State, South Africa. E-mail: resanekt@ufs.ac.za. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4502-4933

 

 

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ABSTRACT

The unemployment crisis is a growing threat in the socio-economic fabric of South African society. Close to fifteen million people live on social grants, while seven million are registered as unemployed. The number is growing exponentially. High-school leavers and university graduates have no assurance of employment at the end of their academic careers. The church, in general, is bombarded by demands of these masses for survival. The number of beggars at the urban church doors increases daily. In the meantime, the church is, in a broader context, silent or passive towards the voices of the unemployed. There is not only deafening silence, but also no plans, strategies, or initiatives to launch projects that can assist in minimising unemployment in society. However, acknowledgement is attested to many churches undertaking some programmes to address this threat. The unemployed feel marginalised. They are robbed of their dignity through short-term interventions instead of proactive initiatives that can make them employable and streamline them into job accessibility. Handouts and charitable activities that offer no long-term solutions enhance the dependency syndrome. This article promotes a proactive approach to the threat of the unemployed as a way of hearing their voices in the midst of poverty. Unemployment affects the economy of the church in a more tangible manner, and should thus be addressed.

Keywords: Unemployment, Employment, Poor, Dignity

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Trefwoorde: Werkloosheid, Werk, Arm, Waardigheid

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1. INTRODUCTION

It is a fact that the latest South African job statistics continue to reflect a shockingly high unemployment rate that will take some efforts to reverse. The results of the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) for the fourth quarter of 2018, released by Statistics South Africa (2019), reveal that the unemployment rate decreased by 0,4% to 27,1%. The South African working-age population increased by 149 000 or 0,4% in the fourth quarter of 2018 compared to the third quarter of 2018. The number of employed persons increased by 149 000 to 16.5 million and the number of unemployed persons decreased by 70 000 to 6.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2018. The absorption rate increased to 43.3% in the same period. Many political, business, and religious platforms regularly express concerns about the high levels of unemployment and the resultant social upheavals accompanying this. A large section of the population suffers from chronic joblessness and the escalating figures of youth unemployment. The latest Trading Economics Portal alludes to the fact that the youth unemployment rate in South Africa increased to 54.70% in the fourth quarter of 2018 from 52.80% in the third quarter of 2018. The youth unemployment rate in South Africa averaged 52.15% from 2013 to 2018, reaching an all-time high of 55.90% in the second quarter of 2017 and a record low of 48.80% in the fourth quarter of 2014. Many young people struggle to find their first job, while the middle-aged face the problem of long-term unemployment after forfeiting their jobs. They lose their jobs at a prime age through retrenchment, business and/or industrial redundancy, or firing for various reasons such as transgressing moral codes, inefficiency, ethical misconduct, and so on.

There are obstacles to job creation in South Africa. Work or employment ethics form the bulwark of the unemployment threat. The country's labour market is hobbled by inefficient hiring and firing practices, the wide gap of cooperation between employees and employers, including a poor relationship between living wage and productivity. These practices contravene the current labour laws of the country. Employers and potential employers are inevitably left with no option but replacement of labour with capital that discourages them from hiring new workers. In a sense, unemployment is almost exclusively the result of economic victimisation. Manyaka-Boshielo (2017:1) is prophetically correct in stating that

[i]f this phenomenon continues, there will be no future for our communities and the country at large. So something has to be done quickly and wisely. The people will continue relying on grants from the government.

 

2. DEFINITION AND CONSEQUENCES OF UNEMPLOYMENT

There is no universally accepted definition of unemployment (Green 1985:8). Unemployment in South Africa should be considered along with factors such as mobility barriers, marginalisation, and the characteristics of labour market facets. The unemployed person's experience may be affected by social and interpersonal contextual factors such as stigmatisation, ignorance of authorities, and society's unwillingness to understand unemployment and its effects (Du Toit et al. 2018:1). Since South Africa is a wage-economy country, an unemployed person is a person without a wage-job, and is looking for one, therefore currently available for employment (Bromberger 1992:2). Statistics South Africa defines unemployment as

when someone aged between 15 and 64 is without work in the week preceding the interview, but who looks for work and is available to take up employment or open a business (Statistics South Africa 2013:n.p.).

Persons are unemployed when they want employment, but cannot find jobs:

Globally, a country's unemployment is defined as a number of jobless people as a percentage of the total labour force (economically active people). Persons are unemployed if they are in an economically active group, would like to be working but are unable to find work (Mtembu & Govender 2015:2).

To be unemployed is to be in a state of worklessness, exclusion and non-involvement, and defined as a non-member of the working society or class. There is a stigma attached to the unemployed. Bergh (1992:62) correctly highlights that unemployment breeds the feeling or the sense of bereavement

in which the individuals and their families experience certain feelings and certain accompanying behaviour that may manifest in order to adjust to the non-work situation.

It can be correctly pointed out that unemployment means absolute poverty, hunger, illiteracy, poor health and a short life expectancy (Kopiec 2019:4). Generally speaking, in agreement with Bergh (1992:62),

[u]nemployed people are those who want to work in an employer-employee relationship for financial reward, but who are denied jobs or are unable to secure work.

To summarise Bergh (1992:64-67), employment gives all persons a meaning of life. Employment as a religious, moral, and ethical obligation gives an employee a sense of eschatological meaning of vocation. Vellem (2014:2) alludes to the fact that

work in African ethics should be understood as part of the sacramental whole of life, inseparable from all spheres of life and inseparable from God and ancestors too.

It is not merely a source or activity of and for income; it contributes towards a social exchange. It is an expression of self-identity or self-esteem. It assists an employee in structuring time and provides a sense of creativity and mastery. Employment gives a sense of purpose and provides an adequate space for learning life skills such as relationships, problemsolving, decision-making, discipline, and leadership. Nkasa-Obrempong (2013:198) rightly points out that

[w]ork includes jobs or labor for which we are paid. It also involves all we do to meet our physical and social needs. Work serves our basic self-interests and interests of others as well as society. We work in order that we can provide for our personal needs, ... we are able to help make life better for others and ourselves.

Indeed, as Bergh (1992:61) deliberates:

Work is a fundamental ingredient of the individual's identity, self-esteem and general wellbeing; work is central to family development and it determines the order and quality of life in societies at large.

Unemployment causes some serious socio-economic disruptions and societal instabilities. It is

one of the major socio-economic problems in South Africa, unemployment implies hunger, misery and loss of self-esteem for those who are jobless (Roux 2008:51).

Roux continues to point out that unemployment leads to anger and resentment towards legal policies that lead to people's inability to find a meaningful job. Service delivery strikes, civil uprisings, industrial actions, community unrest and public violence are clear manifestations of the frustration of a jobless South African society living in poverty with no sense of hope. It is an uncontested fact highlighted by Perkins (1993:96-97):

It comes with no surprise that the nation's poorest are also the nation's unemployed. Someone who is poor for the first time probably arrived at that status through unemployment.

This then gives a strong message to ecclesial communities, government and other socio-economic partners to give this issue a priority attention. Barker (2007:172-173) describes unemployment as

probably the most severe problem in South Africa and is conceivably the root cause of many other problems such as crime and violence.

The church, politics, and business are vocally in unison that South Africa has a profound culture of violence, and they agree with Kgatla (2016:59) that

[e]nabling factors of the violent culture are poverty, unemployment, and acute socio-economic inequalities that have a high propensity of exclusion and marginalisation.

Physically, unemployment contributes extensively to poor health and immunity. Sobrino (1984:243-244) is correct in stating that unemployment causes slow deaths, complete inequality of opportunity and oppression with physical ill-health. This sentiment is also highlighted by De Vries (1998:29):

Unemployment [d]emoralizes and marginalizes the afflicted, and it may severely impair their health, their life expectancy, and even the health of their families; their poor health weakens their chances of finding new employment.

This may lead to hopelessness and a poor quality of life. Unemployment has a higher potential of destroying the basic structure of society, namely the family. In South Africa, families are disrupted due to lack of employment especially for the breadwinner. In this patriarchal society, the jobless husband or the father will always feel emasculated, and his male ego seared, due to his inability to provide for the family. For our society, employment leads to the ability to provide for one's own and/or one's family's basic needs (Van der Westhuizen & Swart 2015:736).

 

3. THE VOICES OF THE UNEMPLOYED

The unheard voices of the unemployed are on the doorsteps of the church, beneath the epitaph engraved at the church entrance. This epitaph reads: TO THE GLORY OF GOD. It speaks loud and clear as a memorial symbol that the church building or facility is built to the glory of God. Currently, the unemployed are inside and on the steps of the same facility, begging for the return of their dignity: pleading for employment. They are part of Psalm 29:9b: In his temple everyone shouts, "Glory!" Their voices are loud and clear, but who is listening? Their purpose of life has been stolen by economic injustice that cannot offer them a job. "Humanity has the right to work because their creator created them for that purpose" (Nkasah-Obrempong 2013:198). They are creaturely not satisfied. Volf (1989:447) points out that work "is an instrumental activity serving the satisfaction of creaturely needs". Work is divinely given for the fulfillment of human beings. "People thrive on purposeful activity, and work is a constitutive part of human life in the world" (Wells et al. 2017:284).

Globalisation is a reality to be reckoned with, as it brings along numerous population hybridity such as immigrants, refugees, asylum seekers, capital migration, urban centers decays, cultural contours, and so on. Irvin (2009:181) of the New York Theological Seminary warns that

[t]he actual world that we are living in, however, is one of transnational migrations, hyphenated and hybrid identities, cultural conjunctions and disjunctions, and global theological networks or flows.

These population movements end up on the doorsteps of the church. They are the unemployed voices that scream daily for the church to pay attention. Human beings perceive the church environment as sufficiently passionate to attune and respond to their cries.

There is no population settlement pattern with no echoes of the unemployed voices. Their voices echo from the balconies of our city centers' skyscrapers, suburban areas, townships, villages and informal settlements. They are the vox populi of the citizens by birth or naturalisation, immigrants and asylum seekers, economic and political refugees, university graduates and matriculants, professionals and nonprofessionals, all races, and all genders, ages, and generations. They are all seeking to regain or restore their dignity. They knock at the door of the church, and find it ill-equipped to hear their cries.

South Africa is faced with the problem of refugees and immigrants who rummage for survival by all possible means. As in Europe or elsewhere, these unemployed people are at the receiving end of socio-economic justice. Adogame (2013:53) enlightens us that

[t]he persistent high rate of unemployment has the implications for immigrants and foreigners, particularly the undocumented, ghost migrant population. Where job vacancies are available, discretionary tactics and preferences are employed in their allocation, to the detriment of even legal migrants.

The national laws on employment (such as Black Empowerment, Affirmative Action, and so on), racism, xenophobia, and homophobia, all contribute towards the employment marginalisation of immigrants and foreign nationals. This is exacerbated by employment equity that is muddled with convergence of legal terminology, and divergence of cultural understanding (Alidadi et al. 2012:256). The church community is bound and restricted by these laws, as far as providing employment, especially for foreign nationals (refugees, asylum seekers, immigrants, and so on). They can exercise their freedom to provide basic services and skills to the unemployed, but in the vast majority of cases, they cannot employ or refer them to potential employers, due to these phenomena in the societal landscape. It is true that

[t]he vulnerability of African immigrants therefore becomes more complex as they are on the receiving end of two enigmas ... they are most vulnerable to unemployment while at the same time the locus of public vendetta and animosity. In a sense, it could be argued that immigrants are usually the hardest hit of unemployment (Adogame 2013:55).

The unheard voices of the unemployed are not only hitting foreign nationals. The pressure is also felt by the nationals. The majority of the unemployed are South Africans, of whom the majority are young adults who are also part of the church or have some form of religious affiliation. Ismail (2017:2) points out the rationale for this:

South African young adults in search of employment face challenges such as an economic downturn, poverty, a lack of experience and a skills profile that tends to be widely divergent from what is required by employers.

These voices come from all racial groups and generations. The South African youth, who obtained their basic and higher education qualifications, are the hardest hit.

South Africa has been described as having a high level of poverty and this is unacceptable; youth unemployment in particular is excessive (Manyaka-Bosielo 2017:1).

For the past ten years or so, some protests have continued unabated in South Africa. There has been an escalation in industrial protests where angry residents have taken to the streets over a range of issues, including wage discrepancies, appalling working conditions, labour brokers, retrenchments and some industrial redundancies. Thousands went into the streets, trying to voice their opinions regarding joblessness, nepotism, and unfair dismissals. For many, their voices were and still are not heard. Nkasah-Obrempong (2013:197) highlights the reason for these uprisings in a workplace: When people find employment, they often work in such deplorable conditions that rob them of their human dignity.

 

4. THE CHURCH'S MISSIONAL TASK TO THE UNEMPLOYED

The church is, in a broader context, silent or passive towards the voices of the unemployed. There is not only deafening silence, but also no plans, strategies, or initiatives to launch projects that can help minimise unemployment in society. The unemployed are marginalised. They are robbed of their dignity through short-term interventions instead of proactive initiatives that can make them employable and streamlined into job accessibility. Handouts and charitable activities that offer no long-term solutions enhance the dependency syndrome.

Religious people tend to seek the same confessional communities in order to gain support - either spiritual, emotional, or even economical. A foreigner who happens to be a Presbyterian will always seek association with other Presbyterians in the host or foreign country. In many instances, the endeavours go beyond denominational affiliation, but confessional premise that one is a Christian regardless of being Catholic or Protestant. Encountering the established Christian community gives hope to meet one at his/her point of need, especially shelter, food or employment. The fundamental fact remains:

The role and place of the African-led churches as spiritual vacuum fillers, as spaces for socialization, and as engines for social, religious (spiritual) and capital formation deserves special treatment ... these churches help to cushion pains and strains of unemployment by serving both as employers and as channels of information to job opportunities at both formal and informal economic sub-sectors of the society (Adogame 2013:57).

In reflecting and appropriating the epitaph at the entrance of church facilities, the church is called upon to listen to the voices of the unemployed sitting at their entrances pleading for a morsel of bread. Gone are the days of some twentieth-century theologians and philosophers who took comfort in the fallacy of saying: "There's nothing to worry about" (Henry 1986:41). The Somali proverb helps us understand: "You will not believe until you see. You must bring your eyes and look on the problem and then you will go away and believe." The marginalised voices of the unemployed are not heard. Like the poor, the unemployed are bewildered men and women.

Very real, very intimidated, frightened and, in many instances, very hungry. They line up our streets and city centers. Multitudes. Masses. Endless lines of what appears to be carelessly clothed skeletons (Beals 1985:21), queuing to get a cup of soup and a slice of bread - often metres if not kilometres from the church facilities dedicated TO THE GLORY OF GOD. These voices are loud enough and change even the economic stability of the very church that is silent or unresponsive to them. It should become the goal of the church to promote poverty alleviation by

seeking to restore poor people to what God created them to be. One result is that people will be able to glorify God through work and to support their families through that work (Fikkert & Mask 2015:39).

The following three proposals are some of the numerous ways in which the church can become missionally involved in hearing the voices of the unemployed.

4.1 The church as social, cultural and spiritual capital

Since Africans are gregarious by nature (Kato 1975:15), it is imperative to understand the church, or religion for that matter, as an important source of social, cultural, and spiritual capital among the economically marginalised and the unemployed. This necessitates some open discourse on this social, cultural, and spiritual capital. The goal is to establish and strengthen relationships, norms and values as a way of learning a new state of social inclusion. This realisation initiates networks that mediate access to the host cultural context, opportunities, resources and information. The church should become accessible and offer itself as a platform for conducive and transparent discourse for norming and forming where trust can be cushioned. The days of silence in the face of injustice are over. Stearns (2010:193) echoes Martin Luther King Jnr's words of the church that is silent behind the anesthetising security of stained-glass windows: "A Church that has lost its voice for justice is a Church that has lost its relevance in the world." The church as a public arena should promote and embrace an interactive, constructive mode of theological discourse regarding unemployment and the unemployed. This discourse must be inclusive, interactive, participatory, and hermeneutically competent (Lategan 2015:156-157). This contributes immensely to a healthy self-esteem, which enhances people's social adaptation in the midst of socioeconomic anomalies. Ismail (2017:3) rightly states:

Positive self-esteem indicates that a person fits in well with the social world, is competent and able to meet the challenges of the world, is ready to participate in life within this social context and is able to balance social demands and personal desires.

Once the unemployed feel socially, culturally and religiously accepted, openness to empowerment for employment possibility becomes possible. When this is properly undertaken, volunteerism will follow. The employment seekers start to appreciate the value of volunteerism, which contributes towards high possibility of employability. Active people were always found active. From the church platform, beliefs, values, and norms are modelled, and these motivate the unemployed to volunteer in community affairs to provide social services such as health care, soup kitchens, education and helping the poor. By their voluntary works necessitated or offered by the church, they make their unheard voices heard.

4.2 Initiating entrepreneurship

Amid the diverse definitions of entrepreneurship, I associate myself with Barc and Jansen's (2011:388) definition of entrepreneurship as the process of identifying, evaluating and exploiting opportunities aiming at social value creation by means of commercial, market-based activities and of the use of a wide range of resources. It is a process of transforming both the economic environment and the transformation of social conditions. It is giving people an opportunity and the freedom to release their potential and creativity with the aim of changing their social regime.

It is a process of identifying a stable inherently unjust equilibrium that causes exclusion and marginalisation. This marginalisation is disempowering for the people who live in this kind of context. A social entrepreneurship process is a way of identifying opportunity in an unjust equilibrium and manages to come up with social value creation strategies that can help people to be aware of their autonomy and freedom to make change (Manyaka-Boshielo 2017:2).

Entrepreneurship for and from the church is another way of alleviating poverty caused by unemployment, without hurting the victims. The entrepreneurial goal is to restore the dignity and integrity of the unemployed. The unemployed are made to understand that they carry the imago Dei; and as a result, are endowed "with the gifts, abilities, and capacity to make decisions and to effect change in the world around them" (Corbett & Fikkert 2009:77). Through the church's entrepreneurial endeavours, the unemployed people are empowered to steward their lives, communities, resources, and relationships in order to regain the meaning and the calling of their lives. Of course, there has been some evolutionary processes of the manner whereby the church has been entrepreneurially involved. Perkins (1993:119) explains that, in the 1960s, the community motto for development was: "Give people a fish, and they'll eat for a day." In the 1970s, it was "Teach people to fish, and they'll eat for the lifetime." In the 1990s, the focus is on: "Who owns the pond?".

As stipulated by Perkins (1995:140), it is not a secret that the challenge for Christian community-based economic development is to enable to start local enterprises that meet local needs and employ indigenous and foreign nationals. Entrepreneurship is empowering people within their context - the integral mission principle whereby the local church is to engage

[i]n proclaiming and demonstrating among people who are poor the good news of the kingdom of God in a contextually appropriate way (Fikkert & Mask 2015:33).

4.3 Education on theology of development

The church is invited to partner with institutions of learning to guide in the content of theological education that will assist in reducing unemployment. There is no doubt that "lack of education, skill development, and opportunity are all qualities of poverty and are direct factors leading to unemployment" (Perkins 1993:97).

No educational programme can succeed to address the poor unemployed people when consideration is not given to the context of that community. Speckman (2007:53) rightly states that "what is not relevant to the community cannot be relevant to the academia either." Education becomes dubious when it is not applicable to real-life situations (Bruwer 1994:27). Without the collective and organising power of churches, the ability of Christians to listen and respond to the unheard voices of the unemployed is greatly compromised. Stearns (2010:179) alludes to this cooperation when he said: "God established the institution of the Church as a key strategy for building His kingdom and for leading the social revolution required by the gospel."

Many institutions had embraced theology of development, which cannot be accelerated without what Speckman (2007:53-55) calls the pro bono pro publica. This entails the possibility of interface of the academia and the community without compromising academic sharpness. Speckman (2007:53-54) continues to elaborate:

The pro bono pro publica principle means that the work must be of value to the public while at the same time, its academic bona fides are not to be doubted.

Theology of development is an engaged theology. It is a sound theology that constructively engages with real-life challenges (Magezi & Magezi 2018:2). Beukes and Plaatjies van Huffel (2016:226) expound on the impressive definition instigated by the Belhar Confession:

A theology of development focuses on holistic people-centred development from a practical theological perspective. Any involvement of churches and Christians in development in this regard can be considered as an approach which is theologically motivated and therefore implies a theology of development

Listening and responding to the voices of the unemployed is faith in action. De Gruchy (2003:21) is correct that "It would seem that faith, without the works of development, is not only dead, but it deserves to die." Theology of development is not only a theology of involvement, but a theology of relationality. It is a theology that initiates the process by which people are able to realise right relationships with God, one another and the earth constituting towards life in all its fullness. The church gets involved by relating to itself, the Trinitarian God, and the people to be served. Klaasen's (2013) online version reflects this fact:

The church becomes an important community for the development of persons. Through its mission, the sacraments, ecclesiastical ministries, organisations, worship, social responsibilities and teachings, the church is an agent of development. The church is actively involved in the holistic development of its worshipping community.

 

5. CONCLUSION

The country is experiencing an influx of foreigners for different socioeconomic or sociopolitical reasons, resulting in unemployment for its citizens and increasing the number of unemployed people in the country. These unemployed masses, nationals or foreigners, are attracted to the church epitaph that screams silently: TO THE GLORY OF GOD. But the church turns a deaf ear to their voices. It is asked to be proactive in alleviating the poverty caused by unemployment. The church must unreservedly believe that "all people have the right to be treated with utmost dignity and given equal opportunities in life" (Tofa 2015:181). It must play a major role in championing the rights and equal treatment of the marginalised masses such as the unemployed. The holistic witness of incarnational living shows that the church's mission to the whole person has proved to be attractive and compelling. Many will respond when they see it lived out in their midst (Delgado 1997:76):

In his temple everyone shouts, "Glory!".

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Bromberger, N. 1992. Unemployment and categories of unemployment. In: W.S. Vorster (ed.), On being unemployed and religious (Pretoria: University of South Africa), pp. 1-26.         [ Links ]

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De Vries, B.A. 1998. Champions of the poor: Economic consequences of Judeo-Christian values. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press.         [ Links ]

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Fikkert, B. & Mask, R. 2015. From dependence to dignity: How to alleviate poverty through church-centred microfinance. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishers.         [ Links ]

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Kgatla, S.T. 2016. Church and South African realities today: Towards a relevant missiology of radical discipleship. Stellenbosch Theological Journal 2(2):57-75. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17570/stj.2016.v2n2.a03.         [ Links ]

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Tofa, E. 2015. Christianity and social justice in Swaziland: A contextual investigation. In: H. Kroesbergen (ed.), Christian identity and justice in a globalized world from a Southern African perspective (Wellington: Christian Literature Fund), pp. 173-181.         [ Links ]

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Van der Westhuizen, M. & Swart, I. 2015. The struggle against poverty, unemployment and social injustice in present-day South Africa: Exploring the involvement of the Dutch Reformed Church at congregational level. Stellenbosch Theological Journal 1(2):731-759. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17570/stj.2015.v1n2.a35        [ Links ]

Vellem, V.S. 2014. Modern slavery in the post-1994 South Africa? A critical ethical analysis of the NDP promises for unemployment in South Africa. Koers - Bulletin for Christian Scholarship 79(2), Art. #2163, 8 pages. http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/koers.v79i2.2163        [ Links ]

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1 In this instance, the word "church" is used in two senses. First, in a general sense, to refer to a particular body of faithful people, and the whole body of the faithful. Secondly, as a reference to "assembly, congregation, council", or "convocation" in a specific geographical setting. The epitaph is always visible at the entrance to the building where the second sense of the word applies.

^rND^sBarc^nS.^rND^sJansen^nF.^rND^sBergh^nZ.C.^rND^sBeukes^nJ.^rND^sPlaatjies van Huffel^nM.^rND^sBromberger^nN.^rND^sDe Gruohy^nS.^rND^sDelgado^nI.^rND^sDu Toit^nΜ.^rND^sDe Witte^nΗ.^rND^sRothmann^nS.^rND^sVan den Broeok^nA.^rND^sIrvin^nD.T.^rND^sIsmail^nS.^rND^sKgatla^nS.T.^rND^sKLAASEN^nJ.^rND^sKOPIEC^nP.^rND^sLategan^nB.^rND^sMagezi^nV.^rND^sMagezi^nC.^rND^sManyaka-Bosielo^nS.J.^rND^sMtembu^nV.N.^rND^sGovender^nL.N.^rND^sTofa^nE.^rND^sVan der Westhuizen^nM.^rND^sSwart^nI.^rND^sVellem^nV.S.^rND^sVolf^nM.^rND^1A01^nS.G.^sdeClaissé-Walford^rND^1A01^nS.G.^sdeClaissé-Walford^rND^1A01^nS. G^sdeClaissé-Walford

ARTICLES

 

Ishmael, The Qur'ān, And The Bible

 

 

S.G. deClaissé-Walford

Adjunct Professor, Department of Religion & Philosophy, Penfield College of Mercer University, Macon, Georgia, USA. email: walford_sg@mercer.edu. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3590-8866

 

 

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ABSTRACT

As opposed to his younger brother Isaac, Ishmael is a relatively minor character in the patriarchal narratives of the Old Testament. Islam, however, which largely adopts the biblical Pentateuch as a holy book of Islam given by God to Musa (Moses), re-interprets Ishmael's role in one significant event: the offering demanded by God as demonstration of Abraham's faith. In Islam, Ishmael supplants Isaac as the intended sacrificial lamb. This article examines both the biblical and the Qur'änic Isaac and Ishmael narratives from the perspective of academic curiosity to determine the grounds for, and the validity of the Islamic claim.

Keywords: Qur'än, Ishmael, Isaac, Documentary Hypothesis

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Trefwoorde: Koran, Ismael, Isak, Dokumentäre hipotese

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1. INTRODUCTION

An occasional instructor in the topic of world religions, I have long been intrigued by the fact that Islam has a perspective on the role of Abraham's son Ishmael diametrically opposed to that elaborated in Genesis. Until recently, I have been unable to respond in any depth to students who questioned the validity of the Islamic claim. An invitation to present a paper on the topic "Hidden voices in the Bible" at the University of the Free State in March 2018 provided the impetus to further explore the issue, and I have subsequently further refined my research and offer it in this article - a very preliminary investigation of the role of Ishmael in Islam versus his role in the Bible - as my response to my students and made available to others who may have the same validity question.

 

2. ISHMAEL IN THE BIBLE

The Ishmael narratives seem to be important in the Bible - else why are they even there in the patriarchal narratives? But Ishmael never speaks. His presence does not prima facie seem to contribute materially to the patriarchal story. He is not held up as an example either to be followed or to be avoided. Take every reference to him out of the biblical narrative, and he will not be missed. Among students of the Old Testament and no doubt among many Jews and Christians, while his name and story are well known, his role in Judaism and Christianity is not considered particularly significant. He is, rather, a side character playing a small part in a tale of -what, exactly? He emerges quietly onto the historical stage, plays his role for a scene or two and, having acted as it were a foil to his much younger brother Isaac, departs as quietly as he arrived, taken out like a chess piece, en passant. The later canonisation of the Old Testament cemented his brother Isaac's pre-eminence, and leaves Ishmael in the dust of history; uninteresting, unimportant, and, perhaps, unappreciated. And thus, he might have remained; a minor, silent Old Testament character, had it not been for one thing: The later religion of Islam claims that, rather than Isaac being the individual God commands Abraham to sacrifice in Genesis 22, it is Ishmael.

The following issue is at hand: Does Islam have reasonable grounds for its assertion?

 

3. EVALUATING THE CLAIM

Long aware perhaps of the potential problems associated with Isaac being elevated over the first-born son Ishmael, casting the latter into the void of insignificance, the Judeo-Christian response, articulated in Galatians 4:21-23, long before Islam's birth, is terse - Ishmael is born of a slave, whereas Isaac is born due to divine promise. The fact, however, is that this assertion is an interpretive explanation of a rather more complex issue, as will become evident. In fact, a close study of the Old Testament narratives shows that the story of Ishmael is, as Churchill (1939) once remarked about Russia, something of a riddle, inside a mystery, wrapped in an enigma.

 

4. UNWRAPPING THE ENIGMA

4.1 Islam and the Qur'än

Space does not permit too much of an exploration into the birth of Islam. In brief, in the 6^th century CE, north of the Arabian Peninsula, two great powers were locked in a seesaw power struggle. The Christian Byzantine Empire was to the northwest, and controlled the Mediterranean Sea, North Africa, and the lands of Palestine. In the north-east lay the Zoroastrian Persian kingdom. As is the case from that day to this, such conflicts create migrants seeking relief from the strife, and many such refugees sought sanctuary in Arabia - particularly in Mecca, which already had a reputation as a place of sanctuary from conflict, and also in Yathrib (later Medina). These migrants brought with them their religious traditions - significant among these being Judaism, Christianity, and Zoroastrianism. The Arabs of the day were primarily polytheists who worshipped idols. Among them were small groups of individuals who were neither Jews nor Christians, but also professed the monotheism of the Abrahamic tradition and rejected idol worship (Ramadan 2017:1).

4.2 Muhammad and the Hanefites

The earliest history of Islam is shrouded in the mists of time. Much of what is believed of Mohammad's early life is based on tradition, as recorded in the Hadiths.¹ When Hadiths began as oral tradition is unknown;² what is known is that approximately 200 years after Mohammad's death, "six authoritative volumes of traditions, each containing thousands of Hadiths, were produced" (Turner 2006:8).

Later Islamic historians, for example, Ibn Ishaq³ (whose work survives only in edited copies or recensions [Donner 1998:32]) and Tabari,⁴ "drew on these three resources and occasionally upon the accounts of Jewish or Christian scholars" (Ramadan 2017:1-22). These sources suggest that the Hanefites, an eclectic mix of Arab people with a large population in Mecca who had abandoned idol worship and were seeking the one true faith, carefully studied what they knew of the traditions of these imported religions against their cultural background of pluralist paganism. From time to time, they would withdraw to caves in the mountains surrounding Mecca to meditate, pray, study and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of these various faiths as they quested for clarity, direction, and perhaps even revelation. Mohammed would sometimes join the Hanefites in these exercises, but more often would meditate alone (Turner 2006:16; Ramadan 2017:4). Islamic tradition has it that, while on one of these retreats, Mohammed began a series of trances that eventually led to the "utterances" that became the Qur'än, Islam's Holy Book.

While the veracity of Ibn Ishaq's Life, Tabir's History and the Hadith cannot be established, Islamic tradition clearly maintains that Mohammad and early Islam had contact with both Jews and Christians, some form of knowledge of the traditions of both, and possibly access to some form of the Old and New Testaments of the Bible; both are referenced in the Qur'än; Islam - with some exceptions - adopts the patriarchal narratives of Israel as the ancestral narratives of Islam. In terms of this article, the exception of course concerns Ishmael.

4.3 Ishmael in the Qur'än

Ishmael has a more prominent role within Islam and the Qur'än than he does in the Bible, and there is quite a difference between his characterisation in Islam as opposed to the Judeo-Christian tradition. Within the Qur'än, two surahs, or chapters, illuminate the role of Ishmael in Islam. Surah 37 details the birth and near sacrifice of Ishmael by Abraham, while surah 2⁵ speaks to the building of the Kaaba - the edifice located in Mecca (Makka) that represents the absolute centre of the Islamic faith.

Ishmael's birth is narrated in verse 101 of surah 37. Prior to this, in verses 83-97, Abraham is depicted as "contending" with pagans who worshipped idols and the stars. Abraham destroyed their pagan idols, for which the pagans rose up against him, but God "brought them (that is, the pagans) low" (Surah 37:98) and Abraham then sought refuge in God. Abraham prays: "My Lord grant me a doer of good deeds" (Surah 37:100) and his faith in the one God is rewarded, for God speaks, saying: "So We gave him the good news of a forbearing son" (Surah 37:101). The forbearing son is Ishmael (by implication - he is not named in the text). Verses 102-103 then put us on what appears to be familiar ground: God reveals to Abraham in a dream that he, Abraham, must offer his son - his only son - in sacrifice - except, of course, the son referred to is Ishmael -because, as will be noted later, in Islamic tradition, Isaac is not yet born.

In verse 103, Abraham tells Ishmael his dream, and Ishmael offers his peaceful acquiescence in verse 104, saying: "O my father, do as thou art commanded; if Allah please, thou wilt find me patient." This is the only record of him speaking in either of the relevant religious texts.

Paralleling the biblical account, Abraham and Ishmael are both prepared for the ultimate moment when, dramatically, God intervenes, and a surrogate, a ram caught in a thicket, becomes the sacrifice. As reward for his obedience, it is revealed to Abraham in verse 112 that he will have another son, Isaac. It is clear from this surah that Ishmael had to be the son to be sacrificed, as Isaac's birth was only promised following this test of Abraham's faith.

The Qur'än includes twelve references to Ishmael in the various lists of prophets (Iqra Islamic Publications [n.d.]). The excerpt just elaborated, along with verses 125 to 127 of Surah 2, are the substance of references to Ishmael and are clearly a good deal less in number than the biblical Ishmael narratives have to offer (8 verses in the Qur'än versus approximately 37 in the Bible) - and yet Ishmael enjoys considerably more worth to Islam as a revered prophet and patriarch than he does in the Bible, with the Bible offering a more subdued profile for Abraham's first-born son. Instead of presenting him as a significant figure, the Genesis view of the man, while still respecting him as a son of Abraham, places him on a far lower plane than his younger brother Isaac. While there is a possibility of course that this marginalising of Ishmael in favour of Isaac has to do with Hagar's social position - servant (and as noted earlier, this is the Jewish and Christian view) - there are grounds for disputing this assertion, as will be shown.

4.4 Ishmael and Isaac in the Bible

Genesis 12:4 tells us that, when Abram was seventy years old, God instructed him to leave Haran, located in the foothills of the Anatolian plateau of modern Turkey, to go to "the land I will show you ... and I will make of you a great nation" (Gen. 12:1-2).⁶ Once arrived in Canaan, God tells Abram (Gen. 12:7): "To your offspring I will give this land."

Some eleven years pass, and Abram cries out to the Lord that, far from making him a great nation, he remains childless and not only that, in a culture where, it seems, women could not inherit (meaning Sarai could not come into Abram's estate), then Abram's servant, Eliezer of Damascus - if we read Genesis 15:2, 3 correctly (the phrase is enigmatic; Wenham 1987:378) - will be his heir.

Sarai, seeing the distress that her barrenness has created for her husband, has an idea. She will give her maidservant Hagar the Egyptian to him. It is important to note, in this instance, that she says as "wife" (Heb. 'ishah, Gen. 16:3), in hopes, as the text says, that she, Sarai, can "obtain children by her" (Gen. 16:2b).

These words are significant. The implication is that Sarai will consider a child born to a surrogate - in this instance, Hagar - and sired by Abram, as her own child. Such a solution appears to have been a typical social custom of the time. Brenneman (2000:653) writes: "Hagar was a surrogate mother whom Sarah was obliged by law to give to Abraham to provide an heir". It has to be said that Sarah waited a very long time (she was 76 years old) before acquiescing to what was either law or, more likely, established tradition.⁷Hagar, seeing that she is pregnant, becomes haughty ("she looked with contempt on"; Gen. 16:4) Sarai.⁸ Sarai complains to Abram, who says that she should "do to her as you please" (Gen. 16:6). On reflection, this is a little strange, for who is to say at this juncture that this child, a son, from Hagar is not God's way of fulfilling His promise to Abram?

Regardless, Sarai sends Hagar away into the wilderness. There Hagar encounters an angel of the Lord who encourages her to return to Sarai and submit to her. The angel further says that Hagar's offspring will be multiplied "that they cannot be counted for multitude" (Gen. 16:10), and that Ishmael shall be "a wild ass of a man, with his hand against everyone, and everyone's hand against him" (Gen. 16:12).⁹ Hagar praises God as the one who has seen and who cares for her, and the place becomes known as Beer-lahai-roi, "the well of the living one who sees me" (Gen. 16:13).¹⁰

Hagar returns to Sarai and submits to her. The child is born. He is called Ishmael, "the Lord has listened". The Bible tells us that he is so named because the Lord has listened to Hagar's complaint - "for the Lord has given ear to your affliction" (Gen. 16:11). But Abram names the child (Gen. 16:15). In doing so, is he not acknowledging perhaps that God has listened to his earlier plea for a child in Genesis 15:2, and God's response in Genesis 15:4b-6? He asked God for a son, and now he has one.

4.4.1 Ishmael's legitimacy

The Bible is silent on Ishmael's legitimacy; that is to say, his legitimacy is not questioned, which may be because Ishmael's position as son and heir is a given fact arising out of accepted local custom (see note 7 above). This idea is reinforced by the later narratives regarding surrogate motherhood that began with Sarai. Rachel, Jacob's barren wife, invited her husband to "go into" her servant Bilhah, so that she, Bilhah, as Rachel says, "can bear upon my knees and that I too may have children through her", Gen. 30:3). Jacob complies and ends up with two sons by Bilhah - Dan and Naphtali (Gen. 30:7, 8) - before God "remembered" Rachel, opened her womb, and she gave birth to Joseph (Gen. 30:22, 23). We might even consider mothers who have become barren in the natural course of things: Jacob's other wife, Leah, having ceased childbearing, celebrates the birth of children (Gad and Asher) by Jacob to her servant Zilpah (Gen. 30:9-13).

Note that, inclusive of Ishmael, no issues of adoption or legitimacy are mentioned in any of the narratives just cited; indeed, absent any commentary to the contrary, the many children born to handmaids and servants appear to be happily absorbed into the various family circles. While some jealousy is evident, especially on the part of Rachel (Gen. 30:1), and a little anger on Joseph's part (Gen. 30:2), other than Ishmael, no child is sent away, nor even sidelined, because of their birth mothers. In fact, it is whom the father is that determines legitimacy and birth rights: Deuteronomy 21:15-17 explicitly prohibits the disenfranchising of the first-born son - regardless of the mother's status - and further provides that he shall receive a double portion of his father's inheritance. While Deuteronomy is generally considered a later contribution to the Pentateuch (see 5.1, below), Boadt et al. (2012:109) state that "the protected status of a slave woman who bears her master a son in place of his barren wife is known both at Nuzi and in the famous law code of Hammurabi (1700 BCE)".¹¹

 

5. UNPACKING THE MYSTERY

5.1 Isaac supplants Ishmael

In Genesis 17, God again appears to Abram, changes his name to Abraham, and Sarai's to Sarah, tells Abraham to introduce circumcision as a mark of the covenant God is making with Abraham and his descendants, and tells Abraham that Sarah will produce nations and that "kings of people" (malkê 'ammim) shall come from her through the son he may now anticipate - Isaac. Abraham then asks if Ishmael might also be blessed: "O that Ishmael might live in your sight!" (Gen. 17:18). God replies: "As for Ishmael, I have heard you", and goes on to say that Ishmael shall father twelve nesi'im (the word means "elevated ones", or important persons; most translations read "princes") and become a great nation (Gen. 17:20), but Isaac is the one with whom God will establish his covenant (Gen. 17:21, including, presumably, the covenant promise of "land" in Gen. 12:6; Ishmael is pointedly excluded). No reason for Ishmael, as first-born son, being sidelined or usurped is provided at this point. If he has sinned against God or Abram and is thus worthy of demotion, we are not told. Notice again that God's promise is that Isaac will father kings, and Ishmael, princes, a clear statement of the intended future superiority of Isaac over his brother.

Nevertheless, it is fourteen years before God's promise to Abraham is fulfilled. Fourteen years during which it seemed entirely reasonable that Ishmael, as first-born, would be the heir of Abraham. One can only imagine the bond that would have developed between them. According to Wenham (2000:83), Abraham had a "strong paternal affection and particularly [a] deep love for Ishmael". But then, as promised, came Isaac.

The day Isaac was weaned, Abraham made a great feast, during the course of which Sarah sees Ishmael "laughing" (Gen. 21:9),¹² and determines that both Ishmael and Hagar must go. She entreats Abraham to "drive them off",¹³ something he is not willing to do: "The matter was very distressing to Abraham on account of his son" (Gen. 21:11), but God tells Abraham: "Whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you." It is no longer Sarah's demand, but God's. God adds that, although Abraham's inheritance will be through Isaac, Ishmael too will become a great nation (Gen. 21:13). It is evident that, while Ishmael is to be eclipsed by Isaac, he will not be entirely forgotten, becoming as it were the moon to Isaac's sun. But, no reason for demoting Ishmael is provided. Against the desires of his heart, but in light of God's assurances regarding Ishmael, Abraham reluctantly complies.

5.2 Ishmael and Hagar banished

The banishment narrative begins with Abraham preparing the woman and her child for their departure. He fills a skin with water, provides a package of food, and sends mother and son on their way - a tragic moment for Hagar and Ishmael and, regardless of God's promises, an event that must have been heartbreaking to Abraham (Gen. 21:14).

In Genesis 21:14-19, Hebrew uses the words yeled (vv. 14-16) and na'ar (vv. 12-20) interchangeably to refer to the putative Ishmael. According to Schreiner (1990:76-78), yeled usually means young child, or baby. For an adolescent, the Hebrew is typically na'ar (Fuhs 1998:474-485). According to Fuhs, na'ar is rather fluid in its meaning. He writes: "the ne'arim Ephraim and Manasseh whom Joseph blesses are also small children" (Gen. 48:12-16); "[T]he na'ar Isaac is somewhat older, he walks next to his father and carries the wood of the burnt offering" (Gen. 22:5, 12). To illustrate these occurrences, verse 14 reads: "He (Abraham) filled a skin of water and put it on Hagar's shoulder, along with the yeled - baby." Verse 15, "she put the baby under one of the bushes"; verse 16, "Do not let me look on the death of the baby". Verse 17 changes the noun: "and God heard the voice of the na'ar - lad"; verse 18, "lift up the lad and hold him fast with your hand"; verse 19, "gave the lad a drink", and verse 20, "God was with the lad." In general, the narrative reinforces the notion that the child is young - curiously, about the age of Isaac, in fact!¹⁴ Compounding the problematic nature of the passage is the fact that the yeled/na'ar is not named. It is assumed to be Ishmael. But remembering that fourteen years elapsed between the birth of Ishmael and the birth of Isaac, and that a further two or more years have passed before Isaac was weaned, Ishmael would now be sixteen or seventeen years old - a man, not a baby.¹⁵Among several interesting options she proposes relating to the difficulty of Ishmael's age in the passage, Pigott (2018) suggests that

[T]his narrative portrays Ishmael as a young boy in order to more closely parallel his near demise while in the care of his mother with Isaac's near death at the hands of his father in Genesis 22. In other words, the narrator wants us to see the two stories mirroring one another (with important differences).

The last words about Ishmael occur in Genesis 25. In verse 9, he shows up, with Isaac, and at the exclusion of their half-brothers, to bury their father in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron, the son of Zohar the Hittite. Verses 12 through 18 list Ishmael's twelve sons, "twelve princes according to their tribes", their settlement locations, "from Havilah to Shur, opposite Egypt in the direction of Assyria" (Gen. 25:18), and his age at death, 137 years. The traditional link between Ishmaelites and the Bedouin Arabs is based on this tribal list (Brenneman 2000:653).

5.3 Isaac as sacrificial offering

We turn now to the issue central to this article - the story of the proposed sacrifice of Isaac in Genesis 22. God speaks to Abraham and tells him to take his son, his only son, Isaac, and offer him to God as a burnt offering. We already know that Isaac is not Abraham's "only" son. Thus, the words further marginalise Ishmael, almost as if he never existed. Yet, according to the biblical text, he did indeed exist, and it was he who for fourteen years was Abraham's only son. How are these facts to be reconciled? A clue, perhaps, is in the way the command is given: "Take your son, your only son, whom you love" (Gen. 22:2a). The command is deliberate and explicit. "Your son, your only son" reminds Abraham that, as far as Abraham should be concerned, the banished Ishmael no longer exists;¹⁶ "whom you love" certainly implies that, while Abraham had expressed concern regarding Ishmael's future (Gen. 17:18), his deep and abiding love was for Isaac.

5.4 Summary of inconsistencies

In the Bible, Isaac appears to be the patriarch of Israel. But, as noted earlier, there are clearly some issues or inconsistencies throughout the Isaac/ Ishmael narratives as well as the apparent abandonment of the traditional status in the Ancient Near East of the first-born son. Islam highlights these inconsistencies in the biblical narratives: Ishmael being disenfranchised from his rightful place in opposition to the cultural norms of the time; Ishmael as opposed to Isaac as heir; the identity of the unnamed child cast out with Hagar into the wilderness, and the identity of the son to be sacrificed to God ("your son, your only son").

In Islamic thought and tradition, these inconsistencies collectively suggest that the sacrificial offering in Genesis 22 is more likely to be Ishmael than Isaac. For additional support, Islam calls on its fundamental premise that, while God has revealed God's self on many occasions in the past, the recording of God's revelations became distorted or misrepresented. Such distortions are traditionally believed in Islam to be corrected by revelations to Mohammed as written in the Qur'än, which is, according to Islam, God's last and most accurate - indeed perfect - revelation.

Against these inconsistencies is, first, that the structure of the biblical narratives, while never stating the fact explicitly, certainly implies through subsequent events that Abram and Sarai "jumped the gun" of God's promise by having Ishmael, meaning that Isaac was indeed the promised son of the covenant. Secondly, that Islam has long accepted that the covenant made with Abram was indeed conveyed to Isaac and his descendants. Thirdly, Islam has also long accepted the later Israelites to be, legitimately, People of the Book.

 

6. ADDITIONAL ISSUES TO BE CONSIDERED

Three other issues must be addressed: the evolution of the biblical narratives under discussion; in light of that discussion, God's covenant with Abraham in Genesis 17, and the nature of the exposure of early Islam to the Hebrew Old Testament.

6.1 Excursus: The Books of Moses¹⁷

That the "Books of Moses" (Genesis through Deuteronomy) essentially achieved their final form (canon) at an early date is well known. It was not, however, until the mid-19^th century that scholarship made concerted efforts to establish their age with any degree of certainty, and indeed, to a certain extent, the jury is still out in terms of universal agreement in this regard. While the broad consensus of agreement with Julius Wellhausen's 1878 documentary hypothesis throughout the 20^th century has largely collapsed in recent years (Viviano 2007:154-155; Blenkinsopp 1994:312-313), enough established data remains to support some of Wellhausen's assertions. These include evidence that, while many "hands" were involved, certain writing characteristics are evident that allow the identification of particular writers being responsible for certain blocks of content. Wellhausen labelled these writers J, E, D, and P, and the order of these letter identifications is generally agreed to represent the order of their appearance in history -J first, followed almost contemporaneously by E, later by D, and finally by P. Friedman (2003) also identified two other writers, RJE and R. RJE is a writer who edited J and E together, and R is a writer who later edited all of the Pentateuch into a whole. While the major contentions against the documentary hypothesis generally coalesce around the approximate ages of the various narratives and the number of editors (redactors) involved, the sequence of the material (JIE/RJE/D/P/R), though not as firmly established as heretofore, remains a convenient reference tool. In terms of age, the original hypothesis was that J appeared in the early 9^th century BCE, and E in the late 9^th century BCE, the earliest D material and the P material in the mid-6^th century BCE, with some material possibly being fairly ancient (Viviano 2007:154-155). We must remember, in this instance, that we are largely dealing with the Textus Receptus - the Hebrew Bible in the form that we have it today. We must not overlook the fact that, before the material became canon (an event that itself was staggered over several centuries), it existed in many forms. Before the more recent discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls and other material, the oldest Old Testament in Hebrew was Leningradensis, dated to 1008 CE. Regardless of recent discoveries (Aleppo Codex, Cairo Geniza), for much of its history, the exact nature and content of the Hebrew Bible remained fluid.

6.2 The insertion of "P"

The excursus above is relevant to our discussion, because the covenant made by God with Abraham (Gen. 17), a pivotal event vis-à-vis Ishmael/ Isaac, is, according to at least one scholar, an insertion of later P material (Friedman 2003). In other words, for a period of perhaps 300 years (from early 900 BCE to approximately 550 BCE), the Ishmael/Isaac narrative did not include the covenant narrative that establishes Isaac as the preferred patriarch of Israel.

6.3 Islam's exposure to the Books of Moses

The last consideration of this inquiry is the issue of the nature and extent of early Islam's exposure to Jewish Scripture traditions - specifically the Pentateuch - and here we are very much in the realm of terra incognita. Was it largely a transfer of oral material obtained by Mohammad from Jewish residents in Mecca or elsewhere during his time as a caravan master? Was it part of the knowledge base of his Hanefite companions as they pondered the nature of the "true" religion in the caves above Mecca? Or did Mohammed and/or his early followers have, or have access to, a written version of at least the Pentateuch? And if they did - and bearing in mind that there were then, as there are now, versions of the Pentateuch (for example, Masoretic, Samaritan, Septuagint, Vulgate) - which version or versions did they have? The paucity of biblical material in the Qur'än does not help in establishing the source or sources of such material, which may even have been a variety of written Hebrew Scripture or oral material that has not survived the vagaries of history.

 

7. APPEALS TO TRADITION

Judeo-Christianity, the older religion, traditionally believes that Isaac was the sacrificial offering, and has textual support in the Bible. Islam, the younger religion, advances certain inconsistencies in the biblical narratives to assert its tradition that the offering was Ishmael, and supports this with an appeal to the Qur'änic text. The undeniable truth is that both religions are based on what is and has been traditionally believed. But tradition is not truth, and absent any verifiable historical facts, both religions rely on what they believe to be true. In this regard, Judaism, with the longer history, has the upper hand. Even if, as some believe, the Pentateuchal traditions were more a product of the Jews in exile in Babylon, based on redacted, embellished oral traditions with much new material added (Moberly 2009:438), those traditions pre-date the founding of Islam by 1,000 years.

 

8. ANALYSIS

The question posed at the beginning of this study was: "Does Islam have a reasonable claim in asserting that Ishmael, not Isaac, was the intended sacrifice demanded of Abraham in Genesis 22?"

It is evident that the inconsistencies identified above, notwithstanding the underlying theme of the biblical texts surrounding Isaac, from the time of the promise to Abraham of his coming to his final days, overwhelmingly indicate that, regardless of Ishmael's first-born status, the author(s)/editor(s) of the biblical texts intended to show that Isaac was indeed the envisioned son of God's covenant promise to Abram, and was indeed the son God called Abraham to sacrifice before being redeemed at the last possible moment as a sign and foretaste of the future of Israel, a nation condemned to sacrificial obscurity in Babylonia, but ultimately redeemed by faith. It is similarly evident that Islam early on recognised the identified inconsistencies and has thus long maintained that Ishmael was the sacrificial offering. But, while it is evident that in the Bible Ishmael is a key part of a narrative that has Isaac as its centrepiece and the ongoing God-driven history of Israel as its vehicle, Islam appropriates Ishmael but briefly, using his and his father's act of submission as cause for the announcement of the impending birth of Isaac before consigning Ishmael to relative obscurity.

 

9. SOLVING THE RIDDLE

As with any jury, much as it wants to be impartial, unless the evidence is overwhelming, people are generally swayed by their personal biases. An Islamist will no doubt conclude that the evidence, along with the assertion that the revelations to Mohammad "correct" the biblical narrative, is sufficient to support the Muslim position. A Judeo-Christian, on the other hand, will point both to the larger body of texts that, regardless of the inconsistencies, chiefly support Isaac as a great patriarch of Israel, and also to the fact that, with the exception of its position regarding Ishmael elaborated above, Islam broadly accepts this proposition. For both religions, tradition is the pillar of their claims. In view of the grip that tradition - especially religious tradition - holds on its believers, the conflict between Islam and Judeo-Christianity regarding the identity of the sacrificial son in Genesis 22 is a debate unlikely ever to be resolved to the satisfaction of all parties.

There is, however, one possible middle ground. Returning to the narrative of the "driving out" of Hagar and Ishmael, we must consider the sense of finality of the event. Abraham certainly had a right to believe that Ishmael was God's heir to him as a result of his request in Genesis 15:3, and the fourteen years between the birth of Ishmael and the birth of Isaac had unquestionably cemented Abraham's deep affection for him, not least because he was truly his first born. Because of his deep love for the boy, driving him away must surely be considered a form of sacrifice of his first-born son, especially since there is no record of him ever seeing Ishmael again. In this perspective, Isaac does not supplant Ishmael as "first-born son" but rather in the permanent absence (= "death") of Ishmael, Isaac does become Abraham's "only" son, thereby conforming to God's assertion in Genesis 22:2.

The nature of the proposed sacrifice of Ishmael is not clear in the Qur'än. Previously, the Qur'änic text simply mentioned that Abraham asked God for a "doer of good deeds (Surah 37:100). When the son is grown, God asks Abraham to offer him in sacrifice. In precisely what way is not clear, and neither is what exactly happens. Surah 37:105 reads: "Thou hast indeed fulfilled the vision", suggesting that the sacrifice has occurred. Verse 107 reads: "And we ransomed him with a great sacrifice." The implied "him" is Ishmael. Thus, like Isaac in the biblical account, Ishmael was sacrificed, yet lives. In this view, Islam does then appear to have a sustainable claim in terms of Ishmael being a sacrificial offering, but in addition to, rather than in place of Isaac.

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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West, S.A. 1979. The Nuzi Tablets. In: L. Katz (ed.), Dor le dor. Publication of the Jewish Bible Society 8(1):2-20. [Online.] Retrieved from http://jbqnew.jewishbible.org [7 April 2018].         [ Links ]

 

 

1 Collectively Hadith, usually translated "prophetic tradition" (Turner 2006:8).
2 "A written record of their existence did not emerge until 200 years after the Prophet's death" (Turner 2006:8).
3 Muhammad ibn Ishäq ibn Yasär ibn Khiyär, (d. 767 or 761), Life of the Messenger of God (Slratu Rasüli l-Lõh, ca. 710 CE; Robinson 2003:XV).
4 Abü Jafar Muhammad ibn Jarlr al-Tabarl, (839-923 CE), History of the Prophets and Kings (Tarikh al-Rusul wa al-Muluk) (Turner 2006:8).
5 The Qur'än presents Mohammad's "utterances" (the Surahs), from longest to shortest rather than chronologically.
6 New Revised Standard Bible version (NRSV) throughout, unless otherwise noted.
7 Since barrenness was considered failure in a wife, it may be argued, in this instance, that Sarai's actions were intended more as a fulfilment of her desires rather than Abram's. For a discussion of servant/wife roles vis-à-vis barren wives, see Fretheim (1994:452).
8 The Hebrew is qõlal - "light, make light of, insignificant" (Scharbert 2004:37-44). There are multiple nuanced translations: "she slighted" [ESV], or "despised" [NASV]; "her mistress was despised in her eye" [ASV & KJV]; "she no longer respected her mistress" [CEB]; "she looked down on her mistress" [HCSB]; "she began to despise her mistress" [NIV].
9 While a contemporary understanding of the phrase "wild ass of a man" may be considered derogatory, in the context of survival skills for the period in which Ishmael lived, it was a high compliment (Brenneman 2000:653).
10 Islam maintains that Beer-lahai-roi is the Zam-Zam well in Mecca, a location important in Hajj (pilgrimage).
11 See West (1979:112-120).
12 "Sarah saw Hagar's son laughing, the one Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham." [CEB]; "But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, laughing." [ESV]; "Now Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, mocking." [NASV]; "But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, playing with her son Isaac." [NRSV]. When God tells Abraham that he would have a son by Sarah, he laughs (Gen. 17:17). In Genesis 18:18, when God again tells Abraham that Sarah will have a child, she overhears the conversation and also laughs. When Isaac is born, Sarah celebrates with laughter (Gen. 21:6). Isaac's name means "he laughs". Clearly, the use of the verb in its various forms is significantly linked to Isaac's role as heir of God's covenant with Abraham. While Isaac is presented as the object of Ishmael's laughter in the Septuagint (which is perhaps trying to make sense of the use of the verb in this particular context), the Hebrew text regarding Ishmael's laughter omits any reference to Isaac. Connecting Isaac as recipient of the covenant with the verb "to laugh" could perhaps be interpreted that Ishmael, on this occasion, is "playing the Isaac", in other words, acting as if he were the fulfilment of the covenant (N. deClaissé-Walford, personal communication).
13 Hebrew garösh: "To chase away/drive out, away" as Adam and Eve from Eden (Gen. 3:24); Cain from the cultivated land (Gen. 4:14) (Ringgren1988:68-69).
14 NIV, ASV, and CEB use "boy" throughout; ESV and JSB use "boy" and "child" interchangeably, as does NRSV. NASV uses "lad" and "boy"; JSB uses "child" and "boy".
15 In Genesis 22:3, 5, 19, Abraham's servants are called na'arim, "lads".
16 Islam, on the other hand, takes the view that, regardless of the banishment of Ishmael, he is still Abraham's "only son" (Ali 1991:860, footnote 2116).
17 The "Books of Moses" is both the Islamic and the Judaic reference to the Pentateuch.

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ARTICLES

 

Hear The Unheard Voices Of Visual Art: What Is The Story?

 

 

S.E. Dry

Department of Fine and Applied Arts, Tshwane University of Technology, South Africa. E-mail: susandry@gmail.com. ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4609-3049

 

 

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ABSTRACT

The debate in contemporary visual art exhibitions focuses on the art-making process. This article aims to compare the current art-making process regarding concept development in fine arts to the concept of storytelling, as applied in narrative therapy. Several case studies done over the past three years at Tshwane University of Technology motivated the researcher to investigate this process that brought healing to many, whilst contextualising an art concept. This narrative approach in concept development is subject to the student's ability to understand and manipulate content, together with the facilitators' approach to the reality. The researcher proposes the use of the narrative as a starting point to identify and develop a personal theme/concept in "tracing an untold history" of "unheard voices", not only to add content to art-making, but also to guide art students to trace their "history and meaning of a unique outcome" and rewrite their own alternative stories.

Keywords: Narrative therapy, Personal story telling, Art concept development

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Trefwoorde: Narratiewe terapie, Persoonlike storie vertel, Kunskonsepontwikkeling

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1. BACKGROUND

The debate¹ in contemporary visual art exhibitions focuses on the art-making process.

The art-making process of contemporary visual art is mostly determined by a theme and concept. The artwork is either a poor representation/ illustration of the concept and theme, or the art-making process is debatable. A narrative² perception/approach singles out specific themes to apply to an art-making process and to the underlying content of an artwork which are worth researching. This article aims to compare the current art-making process regarding concept development in fine arts to the concept of storytelling, as applied in narrative therapy, as a contribution to existing and future knowledge on the effects of the art-making process on the person, in an experimental work space under art-making facilitation.³Several case studies done over the past three years at Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) motivated the researcher to investigate this process that brought healing to many, whilst contextualising an art concept. Different discourses had different outcomes, which pursued a discussion of "tracing an untold history" and "unheard voices". The use of the narrative approach subject to the facilitators' approach to the reality/moment is evident. This article can potentially impact on the way in which art facilitators guide art students to develop alternative and positive concepts as part of the art-making process. The narrative understanding and concept development are the student's ability to understand and manipulate content, which is facilitated by a lecturer, supervisor or tutor. The researcher proposes the use of the narrative as a starting point to identify and develop a personal theme/concept in "tracing an untold history" of "unheard voices", not only to add content to art-making, but also to guide art students to trace their "history and meaning of a unique outcome" and rewrite their own alternative stories.

 

2. INTRODUCTION

A narrative perception, as presented in narrative therapy, postmodernism and social construct, provides the theoretical framework for this article.The theoretical framework of the narrative prompted the narrative metaphor and discourses developed, as proposed by Coram Deo's pastoral narrative therapy course.⁴

Michael White (1948-2008), family therapist and psychotherapist, is known as the founder of narrative therapy, cultural anthropology and non-structuralist psychology (White 2007). White's numerous studies and publications have been sources of techniques adopted by therapists and even scholars from other discourses and disciplines. White's work with children and Aboriginal communities includes, among others, numerous case studies and stories of trauma, domestic violence, schizophrenia, and eating disorders. Du Preez and Eskell-Blokland (2012:51), among others, have documented White's (1995; 1998) narrative approach and fieldwork in local South African case studies.

Although the narrative metaphor is not unique to a traditional therapeutic setting, narrative therapy is not simply another therapeutic practice of "techniques" and normative practices. According to White (2011:3), narrative therapy is a subversive operation of modern power discourses.

The two therapeutic practices that are particularly relevant to the narrative metaphor are, according to White, the imperative decentring of the therapist's⁵ voice and a commitment to deriving practices that are nonnormative, and paradigms that shift from social construction to stories instead (Freedman & Combs 1996:1-18). Numerous scholars and authors reference and contextualise their narrative theories on the writings and publications of White from 1986 to 1995 and collaborated publications (White & Epston 1990). One particular introduction to narrative therapy is the book by Morgan (2000).

In her book, Morgan (2000) covers a broad spectrum of narrative practices, including, among others, externalisation, re-membering [sic], therapeutic letter-writing, the use of formal procedure, groups, reflecting teams. Morgan (2000:2, 4) opines that the two most significant principles in the commitments, ideas and beliefs of narrative therapy are the facilitator's ability to maintain curiosity and get a deeper understanding by asking questions to which the facilitator really does not know the answers.

 

3. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

Morgan (2000:5) explains how people live their lives in stories, based on Denborough's (2014:3) statement: "Who we are and what we do are influenced by the stories we tell about ourselves." Morgan (2000:5) describes how the storyteller should accept authorship and ownership, since the storyteller/narrator is the expert of his/her own story. Although the narrator cannot change the stories told by others, s/he can choose either to believe these stories and behave accordingly or take ownership of his/her own story and live according to his/her own authentic version. The therapist/facilitator has an opportunity to interview the narrator's life story while metaphorically "unpacking their suitcase", as referred to by Dr Louw (2018) during the pastoral narrative therapy course. The facilitator needs to be equipped in order to co-create hope and facilitate healing in a wide variety of situations.

Cottor et al. (2004:5) contextualise the construct of a story - with regard to the ability to develop language and to use it effectively - due to being "biologically equipped as human beings to act linguistically with each other", which is "only [possible] through ... relational actions with one another".

According to Morgan (2000:5), all human beings are constantly interpreting experiences, events and circumstances in their pursuit of potential meaning or understanding. In a constant effort to make sense and find explanations, people tell their stories. The stories consist of daily experiences which happen in a series of events that occur in a particular sequence, over a period of time in a certain context (plot). Both Morgan (2000) and Cottor et al. (2004:5) agree that meaning-making is an essential human quality, which cannot happen in solitude or isolation. To live in relationships from an early age creates collaborative meaning-making between people within communities and cultures, in which individuals can participate through language that triggers a response. These relationships between people within communities and cultures are an important aspect that is similar to the conversations and stories told in the classroom.

Multiple events occur simultaneously and affect the story in more than one way. Morgan (2000:8) notes that many different stories happen at the same time and many "different stories can be told about the same event". The more frequently told stories are often referred to as the dominant story. According to Morgan (2000:11-12), these stories are problem-filled stories that contain many flaws, since they are based on selected plots only. The dominant story often expresses a false "truth" about someone. Morgan (2000:12) refers to this as a thin description as opposed to a rich description or anti-problem story, which is referred to as the alternative story. The basic idea behind narrative therapy is to allow the person to tell his/her preferred dominant story (thin description or problem-filled story) and to find an alternative story (rich description or anti-problem story).

Louw (2018:1) suggests that alternative stories are "usually hidden, often unheard and untold by the people themselves", and yet such stories affirm people's competencies, hopes and skills.

The act of living requires that we are engaged in the mediation between the dominant stories and the alternative stories of our lives. We are always negotiating and interpreting our experiences (Morgan 2000:9).

Morgan (2000:57) refers to identifying and authoring the alternative story and giving it a rich description as a unique outcome, which contradicts or stands apart from the dominant story. Once the relational content is authored, the problem can be identified. Louw (2018) highlights the need to separate the problem from the person, so that "the person is not the problem, but the problem is the problem" (Morgan 2000:29). Louw (2018:2) also directs attention to the use and purpose of asking questions:

Questions act to open space for new descriptions and meaning previously restrained by the problem. Questions are designed to unpack the politics and strategies of the problem and to discover unique outcomes and explore events (past - present - future).

 

4. METHOD AND CASE STUDY

The motivation for this article is based on observations in the classroom and students' artworks, where the "unheard voices" spoke of an "untold history" that left the researcher speechless and in a state of shock, indifference, uncertainty and a feeling of incompetence. Although the study guide demarcates precise methods and outcomes, the researcher had to use alternative facilitation techniques and strategies to assist the students in their efforts.⁶ It is only after three years' part-time teaching that the researcher questioned the process of art-making in relation to the facilitation strategies that were followed. Every six months, the students evaluated their lecturers' teaching strategies and many other aspects of interaction that are kept on record. Since the results of the (anonymous) student assessments of the researcher as lecturer proved to be exceptional, the matter was worth researching. Unfortunately, a list of common factors and extreme opposites between student attendees did not provide the reason for the exceptional results. The researcher first eliminated factors that proved to be irrelevant to the cathartic experience of the majority of the classmates: language barriers, bad class attendance, lack of compliance and student ethnicities, namely Xhosa, Zulu, Basotho, Bapedi, Venda, Tswana, Tsonga, Swazi, Ndebele, European, Nigerian, German, Afrikaans, Dutch, Korean, Tsai, among others. Once the qualitative research on narrative art therapy was conducted, the researcher's attention was drawn to the teaching methods that might explain the cathartic outcome of this particular group of students.

The study course offers the students a wide variety of stimuli and encourages experimentation, alternative approaches and spontaneous ways of art-making.

The aim of the National Diploma (Fine Arts) course at TUT is to train artists (Van der Merwe 2015:5):

Artists need to develop certain skills and abilities: visual and manual skills, creativity, and conceptual and critical thinking. All of these contribute to a career as an artist, as well as to culture and society. Painting is a means to develop these skills. It has practical, intellectual, communal and entrepreneurial applications, and the course aims to allow the student to develop his/her potential as a painter or in related artistic fields (Van der Merwe 2015:5, 10).

The purpose of the second-year painting course is described in the students' study guide with the focus on the technical aspects of the particular subject, in terms of what is expected of the student and what skills the student needs to acquire:

After the foundation year, the student is expected to be able to manage the basic technical aspects of painting (i.e. colour contrasts, colour mixing, paint application, layering and underpainting) and the formal aspects (i.e. composition, visual awareness). The second year is focused on the development of advanced painting techniques, development of advanced formal abilities, exploration of different of the life history of this person who can then proceed with life in a normal way" (Retief 2016). approaches to painting and the beginning of the exploration of personal themes and ideas (Van der Merwe 2015:10, 12-13).

First, the student needs to explore a South African theme in a relevant and sophisticated manner. Secondly, the student needs to present the research and planning in a workbook, together with a personalised concept development with innovative sketches and presentational drawings for this postmodern artwork. The facilitator's observation, attention and guidance are crucial at this stage. The third step is to adjust and conclude the proposed artwork's planning, in order to start with the art-making process. The preparation and skill level of the student are not the only challenges/ obstacles in the making of a large, multifaceted, postmodern artwork or painting, but rather the day-to-day challenges and struggles to survive. Circumstantial events and complicated relationships in their immediate communities and the after-effects of cultural beliefs prevent numerous students from thriving. Since the completion of the actual artwork is not the final stage of the process of art-making, the student should at least keep up with the time schedule, in which the process can be monitored and facilitated. This means that the student should attend classes, regardless of the challenges s/he faces. The final stage of the art-making process is the assessment of the student's efforts; this is where the failure of compliance alternates. Although Van der Merwe's (2015:23-24) outline for assessment validates the student's ability to present a (supposedly) completed work of "original and professional quality", the student should also demonstrate the ability to "produce a complex, contemporary, personal, expressive work, that shows the development of [the student's] own ideas and approach to art-making" (Van der Merwe 2015:24).

The launching of a new project is considered an important aspect of art-making. The facilitator has the opportunity to present the students with the relevant background, visual examples and possible outcomes of this new project (Van der Merwe 2015:2). At second-year level, students can use their own stories as a starting point, when considering a theme. They are given the option of researching the following:

Postmodernism and a theme that relates to their own history, e.g., South African wars, British colonialism, Afrikaner Nationalism, Black Consciousness, African mythology, own family background and memories (e.g. Greek, Tswana, Zulu, British) or an aspect of South African politics (Van der Merwe 2015:21).

Van der Merwe (2015:21) urges the students to do research in a practical way by making sketches or gathering tactile material such as "written information, old photographs, old magazines and newspapers, objects, memorabilia and posters". They may also choose to "visit a national history museum, an archive, a shop with South African antiques" or any other related source of information on their own theme. Van der Merwe suggests that the students "are given a choice between using personal/ family history as a starting point, or opting for any topic that is of particular personal interest to the student". Such a theme or concept evolves over time from a series of processes. The facilitator has to allow ample time for the students to add content to the formulation and development of a personal theme. Time for mindful contemplation is an essential part of concept development, if one is familiar with the process, but this project is the first of its kind for second-year students. The challenge to gather the necessary requirements is greater than expected, since the majority of the students' families and relatives do not live in or around Pretoria.

For this particular case study, the facilitator sent the students home with some questions and tasks, which they could address over the June/ July school holidays:

• Why are you here? Today, in Pretoria, studying art, in this specific period of time, at TUT, and not elsewhere or at another time?

• Who made those choices and what circumstances led to those choices?

• Where are your parents from originally, and what contribution did they make for you to be here, today?

• Stop and stand still, turn around and look back at your life's journey. What culture and heritage do you call your own?

• Do you have a say? Do you have a voice?

• Decide your own position with regard to your choice of material for your art project and how you would transform it in a postmodern way.

• Go home and gather proof of your family's cultural heritage, if you have access to any.

The expectations and reality of the project's outcome were two different stories. At this stage of the art-making process, the students brought their research to class to discuss the objects they gathered. The facilitator jumped at the opportunity to interview the students, while they tell their stories or unpack their suitcase (Louw 2018). Instead of the expected well-formulated, personal themes or the expectation that the students will demonstrate a clear understanding of contemporary concept development, the facilitator viewed the aftershock of the toxic elements of Western culture, which only recently raised a red flag through the perspective of narrative therapy. This was no interview. Instead, it was a personal conversation between the student and the facilitator, which resulted from the visual research presented by the student. Although the study guide gives clear instructions as to the process to be followed, the process was not complete without the facilitator's guidance.⁷

 

5. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The processes and discourses in the case studies presented different outcomes, which the art facilitator could easily misinterpret for a number of reasons such as, among others, language barriers, the difference in cultural discourses, and the artist's inability to articulate the content. The concept development of the artist's understanding and manipulation of the gathered data and content to make art, which were retrieved from their explicit involvement and selective collaboration with family members or companions, pursued an "untold history" of their own "unheard voices". Stories of physical abuse, substance addiction and abuse, trauma, depression and many other, gave way to hurtful contemplations. The art facilitator, who was not a therapist, still needed to partake in this conversation. The researcher did not know how to assist the students from here on, and made the conscious choice not to get involved in the stories, by only asking more questions to get more information that could, it was hoped, lead to workable visual ideas.⁸

Students, whose art facilitators dug deeper into those wounds, exploited the "cry for help", instead. Negative and harsh comments of bystanders urged the researcher to analyse the differences between the art-making processes across the different art disciplines, in order to understand how the processes diverge from, and conform to a set method. From a narrative therapy stance, one can argue that the outcome of the art-making process is subject to the facilitator's contribution, since the latter's "values [will] shape the questions that she[/he] asks" (Freedman & Combs 1996:117). Unfortunately, at this stage, the findings are merely speculative and cannot be supported by solid proof or adequate evidence. The researcher can thus only report on the primary case studies, without any comparison of questionable scenarios across disciplines. This matter will be considered for future research.

Individuals from each second-year painting group were very eager to share their experiences after only a number of consultations and feedback sessions. Each student narrated his/her own story, without knowing what benefits would come from the strategy. As an inexperienced part-time lecturer, the researcher preferred not to make any suggestion or statement regarding the dominant stories, but rather asked more questions to obtain as much information from the students as possible, before even trying to "sound clever". What seemed to be astounding and unexplainable was the stage where the student would come to an alternative story without the researcher's purposeful facilitation, thus proving that one of Morgan's (2000:4) narrative therapy principles was definitely the willingness to ask questions, out of curiosity, about matters to which "you really don't know the answers".

The following summaries of three of the 54 stories were shared in 2017 alone. Unaware of a possible opportunity to connect the narrative and its stimulus with the development of a theme or concept in visual arts, the researcher missed the opportunity to capture a total of 169 stories over the three-year period of facilitating the second- and third-year painting students.

Student 1 reported that she was curious yet reluctant to confront her mother with the suggested questions, but eventually decided to argue her case "in the name of a school project". She did not know how to formulate the suggested questions and had to get her mother's attention first. She decided to start off with a casual chat (something they have not done in five or six years), before she could barge in with those questions. Her relationship with her mother changed drastically after she gathered all the information she needed for her postmodern project. Her mother had the opportunity to share her story and untold history of oppression and hardship, for the first time. In her own words: "My mom and I want to thank you for the opportunity you created to talk about something that matters. Never before did my mom have the guts to share her story with anyone. This brought so much healing to our family, because once it was said out loud, she could make peace with it and she wants me to thank you for the opportunity".

Student 2's story was not one of joy and laughter, but it came as a surprise to both her and the panel of fine arts lecturers. Her parents were members of a secret government conspiracy during the apartheid era in South Africa.

They lived their lives in fear of their own people, since they worked in secret, alongside the "White" government. She presented evidence and archival news reports from that time when and where her parents were inconspicuously mentioned in the media, without revealing their true identities. Her untold history will eventually be told in her own voice.

Student 3 told his story with great embarrassment and sadness, unaware of the trauma and cultural curse that rests on his family's bloodline, because his parents made the choice to keep and raise their albino baby, instead of accepting payment from the Sangoma (traditional healer) to sacrifice their baby's life so his body parts could be harvested for traditional medicine. He cannot ignore this traumatic discovery, because he loves his brother so much. He was angered by the whole ordeal and that energy and rage had to be channelled somewhere. His artworks were undeniably packed with meaning, personal and cultural symbols and metaphors, which not only contributed to his personal theme, but also started a discussion of similar stories of other people who yearned for an opportunity to talk about their experiences.

In the process of art-making, one cannot overlook the technical skills, planning and research that go into the actual artworks. Van der Merwe (2015:23-24) expects the students to produce and present complex, personal, contemporary and expressive work that not only shows "the development of [their] own ideas and approach to art-making", but also "the original and professional quality of the work" (Van der Merwe 2015:25). The students face assessments based on:

Research: The relevance and quality of information gathered and planning done.

Problem analysis: What are the requirements of the project and how can you meet them (planning)?

Work methods: How did you go about answering the problem in a practical work?

Application of skills: Do you demonstrate the required technical, formal and conceptual skills?

Conceptual development: Are your ideas personal and innovative?

Quality of the end product: Professionalism, appropriate presentation and visual challenges that follow consideration of ethical principles in visual arts... (Van der Merwe 2015:13).

Students face personal limitations such as poor time management, public harassments and political strikes, as well as insufficient financial aid and lack of proper public transport, among others. The student will, therefore, get merits for his/her effort in the process as well as the outcome of the completed project, since the artworks are hardly ever completed on time. The two main concerns over the past three years (2015-2017) were the lack of proper workspace off campus and the fact that artworks were damaged or stolen in overcrowded public transport (trains and taxis). Students were told to leave their artworks in the painting studio or somewhere on campus. Opportunely, this resulted in creative ways of working, rethinking the strategies and work ethics so that all students had a fair opportunity to earn merits, regardless of how much or how little they managed to complete. One of the benefits of sharing each other's stories is the understanding of one another's circumstances, which allows one to ask for help, assistance and support without making excuses all the time, or explaining a situation with half truths, for fear of what the whole truth will reveal.

 

6. CONCLUSION

The researcher concludes that the narrative and the proposed art-making process has similar approaches in terms of the telling of stories and the benefits of an alternative story, which gives hope and relief to the narrator. Whether the narrator tells an "ordinary" story, or a story of substance abuse, trauma, depression or perhaps physical abuse, should not change the outcome of the narrative approach to set the problem aside from the person, and accepting the story for what it is. The painting studio is a neutral space where the students can experiment, make mistakes, and learn. They have the opportunity to share their stories without being judged. The classroom allows the space to make mistakes and to find alternative ways of being creative without being judged, since there is no right or wrong way of doing art. When the visual artist works in a studio space where there is no judgement and where the artist can open up to tell his/her story, one should add the strategy in Freedman & Combs (1996:112, 144), in such a way as to support each other's story-telling. Freedman & Combs (1996:121-124) suggest that the person should stand separate from the feeling, attitude, belief or practice in order to externalise the problem. Once the person is separate from the problem, s/he can objectively deconstruct the story in an attempt to make meaning of the story. Suggested questions, which are grouped into five categories, namely history of relationship, contextual influences, effects or results, interrelationships, and tactics or strategies, can assist the facilitator to stay with the preferred story (Freedman & Combs 1996:121-124).

 

7. RECOMMENDATIONS

The story in art therapy (Hill 1945) is nothing new, although the researcher proposes the use of the narrative as a way of finding the alternative story, to enable the artist to have a cathartic experience while telling the story/reason for making art in this proposed manner, without being diagnosed with the art therapy perspective of Art versus illness (Hill 1945). The narrative's therapeutic effect on students worked, even before the connection between the narrative and the conceptual development process in art-making was known to the researcher. In an informal forum of art classes, where the students do not need to construct a concept in art-making, the same evidence should be observed and recognised. The researcher has already archived the artworks of 21 students over the past eight years. The students gave their consent to the researcher to use the workbooks in future research. The researcher is determined to study the effects of art-making on the person, as well as the effect on the audience or art viewer, as this study can contribute to future research.

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Carroll, N. 1999. Philosophy of art: A contemporary introduction. London: Routledge.         [ Links ]

Cottor, R., Asher, Α., Levin, J. & Weiser, Ce. 2004. Experiential learning exercises in social construction. Chagrin Falls, OH: The Taos Institute Publications.         [ Links ]

Denborough, D. 2014. Retelling the stories of our lives: Everyday narrative therapy to draw inspiration and transform experience. New York: Norton.         [ Links ]

Dry, S.E. 2017. The sublime in selected examples of the installation art of Jan van der Merwe. Unpublished M.Tech FA. dissertation. Pretoria: Tshwane University of Technology.         [ Links ]

Freedman, J. & Combs, G. 1996. Narrative therapy: The social construction of preferred realities. New York: Norton.         [ Links ]

Hill, A.K.G. 1945. Art versus illness: The story of art therapy. London: Allen & Unwin.         [ Links ]

Louw, F. 2018. Class notes: Pastoral narrative therapy. Unpublished.         [ Links ]

Morgan, Α. 2000. What is narrative therapy? An easy-to-read introduction. Adelaide: Dulwich Centre Publications.         [ Links ]

Du Preez, Ε. & Eskell-Blokland, L. 2012. Social constructionism. In: M. Visser & A. Moleko (eds.). Community psychology in South Africa. Second edition (Pretoria: Van Schaik Publishers), pp. 41-54.         [ Links ]

Retief, Y. 2016. Traumatic incident reduction TIR. [Online]. Retrieved from: https://yvonneretief.weebly.com/ [2 January 2016].         [ Links ]

van der Merwe, J.L. 2015. Student course guide Painting 2: National diploma in Fine Art. Pretoria: Tshwane University of Technology.         [ Links ]

White, M. 1995. Re-authoring lives: Interviews and essays. Adelaide: Dulwich Centre Publications.         [ Links ]

White, M. 1998. Selected papers. Adelaide: Duwich Centre Publications.         [ Links ]

White, M. 2007. Maps of narrative practice. New York: Norton.         [ Links ]

White, M. 2011. Narrative practice: Continuing the conversations. D. Denborough (ed.). New York: Norton.         [ Links ]

White, M. & Epston, D. 1990. Narrative means to therapeutic ends. London: Norton.         [ Links ]

 

 

1 The aesthetics and purpose of an exhibited artwork may be debatable, but neither is it the main focus of this article, nor the artworks displayed in contemporary visual art exhibitions. Although the artwork is exhibited, the process or catalyst for making art is usually not. The author supports Carroll's (1999:242) statement that the artwork in itself does not only function to provide aesthetic experiences (form of contemplation) and visual pleasure, but that the artist's intention should still count. The researcher does not wish to elaborate in this article on research done on Carroll's (1999:167) model on how "the artwork provides an experience to the audience, since an artwork has the potential to carry a metaphorical meaning, which leads to philosophical and critical thinking" (Dry 2018:11).
2 The theory on the narrative is not commonly referred to in visual arts. It can be referred to as the personal story of the one telling it.
3 The researcher refers to the art-making process of art students and the process that affords them the opportunity to tell their personal/sociocultural history. At the time of the observations, the researcher was not familiar with the practice of narrative therapy. The art teacher, tutor or lecturer is not allowed or qualified to counsel students, and the researcher does not suggest that any art facilitator acts as a therapist.
4 This course is accredited by the University of Pretoria's Centre for Contextual Ministry in conjunction with the division for Continued Education, CE@UP, referred to as UP Enterprises.
5 By decentring the therapist's voice or the facilitator's agenda, the narrative therapy "centres people as the experts in their own lives" (Morgan 2000:2).
6 The researcher applied the highly directive technique of Trauma Incident Reduction (TIR), which is entirely person-centred, in order to facilitate the students to "view" the situations objectively, until "the incident becomes part
7 Before the development of a personal visual language and an understanding of strategies in contemporary art (that is developed up to master's degree level), the researcher chose to stop at the telling of the stories and the effects. The process is not even close to the actual making of art, yet. This information is for contextualising the case studies for the purpose of this research article and not to address the complete process of art-making, the actual development of a theme or concept where the facilitator guides the students through the process and affords the student the opportunity to develop a more personal and sophisticated approach to art-making.
8 This is one of the first similarities with narrative therapy practice referred to in Section 1.5 paragraphs 4 and 5: Decentring of the therapist, and the shift from discourses of social construct into the personal story.

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ARTICLES

 

Johannine Women As Paradigms In The Indian Context

 

 

J. Thomaskutty

Dr. J. Thomaskutty, Department of New Testament Studies, Union Biblical Seminary, Pune, India. E-mail: thomaskutty@ubs.ac.in ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0502-8411

 

 

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ABSTRACT

John's portrayal of women is unique as they are viewed as paradigms over against the negative perceptions concerning women in the Mediterranean world. The Johannine women demonstrate their leadership qualities, brave movements, apostolic roles, and devotion to Jesus even in the challenging situations. Women's positive role and status in the Gospel of John enable us to understand them not merely as passive actors, but as active interlocutors and dialogue partners. Persons such as the mother of Jesus, the Samaritan woman, Mary and Martha of Bethany, and Mary Magdalene appear in the Gospel of John as representative figures and rhetorical characters. The Johannine narrator foregrounds the women characters as they use their freedom in both the Sitz-Im-Leben Jesu and the Sitz-Im-Leben Kirche. The Gospel of John is also interlocked with the Sitz-Im-Leben Indien to exemplify the evangelist's gnomic linguistic and literary artistry.

Keywords: Gospel of John, Women, Characterisation

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Trefwoorde: Evangelie van Johannes, Vroue, Karakterisering

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1. INTRODUCTION

This article attempts to examine the female characters within the narrative framework of the Gospel of John and intends to foreground their role and status in relation to Jesus and other characters of the Gospel, by employing principles of characterisation and narrative analysis. The final section of the article scrutinises the relevance of the study in the contemporary Indian context. In the process of finding the implications in the Indian context, the author deems it necessary to develop an Indian Christian feminist methodology and demonstrate the aspect of "woman power" as a hermenêutica! key to exploring the text. The following questions will play a significant role in the process of interpretation. How do the women play their role and status within the narrative framework of the Gospel of John? What are the ways and means whereby one can demonstrate "women power" in the Gospel of John? How can John be presented as a paradigm in the contemporary Indian context? What message can the Indian women derive from the characterisation of women in the Gospel of John? The author analyses the following texts and characters in that process: the mother of Jesus (vv. 2:1-5; 19:25-27); the Samaritan woman (vv. 4:1-26, 39-42); Martha and Mary of Bethany (vv. 11:1-45; 12:1-8), and Mary Magdalene (vv. 19:25; 20:1-2, 11-18). As a Johannine researcher, the author develops a Johannine paradigm of women characters. As an interpreter with a gnomic intent, the author attempts to bridge the gap between the 1^st- and the 21^st-century CE contexts. As an Indian, the author researches the impact on, and influence of the Johannine text in the contemporary Indian scenario.

 

2. RE-READING THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

The Gospel of John develops its feminist concerns over against the Graeco-Roman and Jewish contexts where women were not permitted to share the privileges and opportunities alongside their male counterparts. Ancient societies of the Mediterranean world were not only shaped by the basic differentiation between upper and lower strata (for example, elite and masses). Of great significance was a person's gender (Kroeger 2000:1276-1280). This outlook of society reflects the cultural and anthropological insight that gender is a social construct in which female feelings were considered inferior to male role and status. Gender-specific behaviour was generally embedded in the fundamental values of the Mediterranean societies and was oriented toward the concepts of honour, shame, and disgrace (Stegemann & Stegemann 1999:361-362).

In very general terms Jesus lived in social-cultural contexts (the Jewish context and the larger Greco-Roman society) in which the male view of women was usually negative and the place of women was understood to be limited for the most part to the domestic roles of wife and mother (Scholer 1992:880).

In a context in which women's role and status were considered negative and limited, the Gospel of John develops as a paradigm in which women are treated on par with men (Kroeger 2000:1276-1280). Although the community of John adopted its ethos and pathos from the Mediterranean cultural contexts, the women of the Johannine community enjoyed considerable freedom (Chakkuvarackal 2002:58-77). The stories of the Gospel of John demonstrate that the Johannine women acted with a prophetic spirit and clear vision. Since Christ had liberated them from male-dominated culture and set them as model leaders, the women became challenging figures (Kanagaraj 2001:75). The following sections clarify the role and status of the Johannine women characters.

2.1 The Mother of Jesus (2:1-5, 12; 19:25-27)

Mary appears on two different occasions within the narrative framework of John, one at the beginning (2:1-12) and another at the climax (19:25-27) of Jesus' public ministry.¹ The narrator describes her as "mother (μήτηρ) of Jesus" (2:1, 3) and "his mother" (2:5, 12; 19:25, 26a, 26b).² In both passages, Jesus addresses her as "woman" (Greek γύναι, 2:4; 19:26).³While the narrator mentions her as μήτηρ to make her identity known to the reader, Jesus addresses her as γύναι. The Johannine Jesus addresses her as "woman" in order to de-emphasise his earthly origin.⁴ As the incarnation of Jesus is made obvious in the human sphere, he emphasises his divine identity and prepares to fulfill the "hour" of the Father (Moloney 1989/1998:67).⁵ In the process of emphasising the heavenly origin, hardly any attention is paid to his earthly origin. Jesus' addressing Mary as γύναι should be understood within this ideological framework of John. The narrator makes it plain that the mother of Jesus was at the wedding in Cana, Galilee (v. 2:1). Mary's being with the family during this auspicious occasion is noticeable. She is introduced as the initiator of a dialogue with Jesus to solve an important problem. The dialogue begins as she brings an important concern to Jesus, namely the lack of wine at the wedding banquet (Thomaskutty 2015:79).⁶ The presence of Mary as the first reported character (2:1), Jesus and his disciples as invited guests (2:2), and the brothers of Jesus as walk-on characters (2:12) strengthen the argument that the wedding was of one of the closer relatives, or at least one of the friends of the family (Kanagaraj 2005:98-99).⁷ Although Jesus attempts to emphasise his heavenly origin, his earthly mother receives attention at the crucial junctures of his public ministry.

Mary's presence and her speech in verse 2:1-5 are to be understood as the first female presence and voice within the narrative framework of John.⁸As she appears at the outset of Jesus' public ministry, she expresses her voice in order to invite Jesus' attention.⁹ When she mentions that "they have no wine" (2:3b), she reflects her attachment to the family and her knowledge about the top secrets of the banquet room.¹⁰ As the woman approaches Jesus with her request, expresses her expectation (2:3b), and instructs the servants (2:5), she lavishes her trust in Jesus (Bruce 1983:70).¹¹ Mary's implied thoughts are made explicit through her performative speech in verse 3b and the subsequent instruction to the servants in verse 5.

The Mother's apparently neutral comment, "they have no wine," can be understood as a linguistic strategy of indirectness where without making an explicit request, she presumes, because of her relationship with her son, that he will hear the implied request (Coloe 2013:205).

When Jesus tells Mary (v.4) and his brothers (7:6) that his hour has not yet come, the reader can infer a conflict within his family set-up about the concept of hour.¹² While the hour of his earthly family members is scheduled according to worldly standards (7:6b), Jesus works according to the hour of his Father in heaven. The story should also be viewed from the cultural dynamics of "honor and shame" (Neyrey 2007:16-21). While the so-called honourable are seated at the table as guests, a woman, in the role of a host, is concerned about extending hospitality to them and sustaining the dignity of the family. As wine was metaphorically equated to joy in Jewish culture, she is instrumental in bringing the lost joy of the family back in place.¹³Verse 12 also mentions Jesus' going down to Capernaum with his mother, brothers, and disciples and their staying together for a few days.¹⁴ While Mary's trust in, and devotion to Jesus are conspicuous in verses 2:1-5 and 19:25-27, his brothers' unbelief is made obvious in verse 7:1-9.

On a second occasion, Mary appears near Jesus' cross (19:25-27). As the narrator positions her presence right at the beginning and the end of Jesus' public ministry, the reader can conjecture her association with Jesus throughout the Johannine story (Milne 1993:278; Calvin 1553:53). In 2:1-11, the suspense concerning Jesus' relationship with his "worldly mother" is resolved when Jesus' "hour" comes into a full circle in 19:25-27.¹⁵ While she appears in the Galilean context for the first time in 2:1-11, she appears in the Judean setting in 19:25-27. As Jesus was at the point of a shameful death, standing near the cross was also considered shameful.¹⁶ Jesus' brothers are settled in Galilee (7:1-9) and there is no mention about their presence near the cross.¹⁷ Mary's association with the crucified Jesus is intriguing. Jesus tells his lonely mother, "Woman, here is your son" (19:26), and thus he extends his care and protection to her.¹⁸Moreover, it is surprising that there was no second view from his brothers when Jesus entrusted their mother under the care of the Beloved Disciple. According to Stagg (1978:236),

[h]is brothers in the flesh were not there; but for Jesus a 'soul brother' was there who could be a 'son' to Mary and Mary a 'mother' to him.

The Johannine narrator does not indicate the role and status of James, the so-called brother of Jesus,¹⁹ and Joseph, the father (1:45; 6:42), at this point.²⁰ On the other hand, the Beloved Disciple is responsible for taking care of his Lord's mother (v. 27; Moloney 1989/1998:503). According to Morris (1995:718), "[i]t is perhaps a little strange that Jesus commends Mary to the beloved disciple rather than to his brothers. But they did not believe in him (7:5) and Mary did."²¹ Jesus' mother was welcomed into the company of the believing rather than being under the care of her unbelieving children.²² Mary's character demonstrates her leadership role at the wedding place and her deep devotion to Jesus near the cross.

2.2 The Samaritan woman (4:1-26, 39-42)

Jesus crosses the existing social, racial, and moral barriers when he engages in a dialogue with the Samaritan woman (4:1-26).²³ In his analysis of the pericope, Stibbe (1993:66-67) observes both realistic and representative aspects in the portrayal of the woman.²⁴ In the episode, she is presented in a more favourable light than her male counterparts (Stibbe 1993:62).²⁵The woman's coming to the well at midday and her presence in the scorching sun reflect her social status as a person who was rejected in society due to her shameful past (vv. 16-18; Kanagaraj 2005:142). After crossing all the human-made boundaries, Jesus asks her for a drink (v. 7). The woman's surprising answer to Jesus enables the reader to understand how the Jews have treated the Samaritans for centuries (v. 9).²⁶ As a representative figure, her response to Jesus cannot be considered insignificant; rather, it must be construed as her voice for justice and equality with a gnomic and universal intent.²⁷ Jesus' response concerning the living water and her misunderstood response reveal the conceptual conflict between Jesus' eternal perspective and her temporal point of view (vv. 10-12).

Jesus' speech in verse 10 makes it obvious that his interlocutor was unaware of God's gift and its provider (Köstenberger 2004:149-150). But her inquisitive nature enables Jesus to make his identity progressively known to her. The conversation reveals the underlying contrast between Jacob's well and Jesus' provision of the water that gushes up to eternal life (vv. 12-14). In verse 15, the woman's perplexity is once again made explicit, as she expresses her views from a parochial perspective (Bennema 2009:88). The all-knowing perspective of Jesus and the unknowing perspective of the woman are in sharp contrast in the story. In verses 7-15, the metaphor of water is used to distinguish between the "from above" and "from below" perspectives. Even when she was continually misunderstanding, she was in a progressive mode in her encounter with Jesus (Bennema 2009:88). Verses 16-19 focus on the woman's personal identity. When Jesus enquires about her husband, she responds to him that she does not have one (vv. 16-17). Jesus mentions the realities behind her personal life (v. 18) and she acknowledges him as a prophet (v. 19).²⁸

The dialogue develops further as the theme shifts from "water" (vv. 7-15) and "woman" (and her personal identity, vv. 16-19) to the theme of "worship" (vv. 20-26; Thomaskutty 2015:145-147). The woman reflects her wider knowledge in matters of worship, as she distinguishes between her ancestors' worship on "this mountain" and the worship of the Jews in Jerusalem (v. 20; Morris 1995:237). Jesus' response directs her attention away from the "first space" (Mount Gerizim) and the "second space" (Jerusalem) to a "third space" ("worship in spirit and in truth," v. 23; Thomaskutty 2015:147-149; Brown 1966:180-181). Jesus' intention of the "worship in spirit and in truth" is to direct her attention toward the experience of eternal life. This equips her to express her expectation and knowledge about the coming Messiah (v. 25).²⁹ Borchert (1996/2002:209) states that

[t]he woman's expectation of the coming messianic figure was of one who would reveal 'all things,' consistent with the Samaritan expectation of a Mosaic-like Prophet or Taheb (Keener 2003:619-620).

The woman's statement about her expectation persuades Jesus to reveal his messianic identity (v. 26; Borchert 1996/2002:209-210). Thus, the dialogue as a whole develops in a triadic fashion: the "water" that Jesus provides is introduced (vv. 7-15); the "woman" and her personal identity are revealed (vv. 16-19), and the "worship in spirit and in truth" is prophesied (vv. 20-26; Thomaskutty 2015:145-147).

The water jar that the woman leaves is a prop.³⁰ It symbolically speaks of her leaving the worldly water in order to proclaim about the living water (v. 28). The woman proclaims about Jesus to her own people in a persuasive manner (v. 29) and drives them from the city to the saviour (v. 30; see Scholer 1992:883, 886).³¹ Culpepper (1983:137) comments that "[t]he woman becomes a missionary to her people. She evokes, therefore, the mission to the Samaritans." The narrator states that many Samaritans from the city believed in Jesus because of her word about him (v. 39).³²After their personal encounter with Jesus, the Samaritans are believing not only because of the woman's words, but also because of their own personal witness about him (vv. 40-42; Anderson 1992:5:940-947; Köstenberger 2004:163-164).³³

The woman, who had been confined to her own house, realised a sense of freedom after her encounter with Jesus to face her own people and introduce the saviour to them (Kanagaraj 2001:63-64; Chakkuvarackal 2002:71). Their final utterance that Jesus is "truly the Saviour of the World" is the paramount utterance of the story (v. 42b).³⁴ Although the woman is considered an outsider, an unclean, and shameless person, she is a representative character who turns to be a proclaimer.³⁵

2.3 Martha and Mary of Bethany (11:1-45; 12:1-8)

The sisters in 11:1-45 and 12:1-8 reflect their devotion to Jesus and demonstrate their unique model of discipleship. Not only was Bethany known in their names, but Lazarus is also introduced as their brother.³⁶While the disturbed sisters sent a message to Jesus about Lazarus' illness (v. 3), they showed their trust in him and Jesus showed his love for the family. Their message persuades Jesus to declare one of his glorification motifs in verse 4 (Borchert 1996:350). While Martha went out to meet Jesus, Mary stayed at home deeply distressed (v. 20; Brown 1966:423). In both Luke and John, Martha is represented primarily as a rather determined worker (Luke 10:41; John 12:2) and Mary as the worshipful one (Luke 10:39, 42; John 11:2; 12:3).³⁷ Verses 20-27 focus on Martha as she engages in a dialogue with Jesus.³⁸ She begins the conversation with Jesus: "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died" (v. 21).³⁹ She is assured of the fact that God can give whatever Jesus asks (v. 22). While Jesus assures her that her brother will rise again in the present life, she states her assurance about its happening on the last day (vv. 23-24; Köstenberger 2004:334-335).

Martha's utterances reflect her complete trust in Jesus, but she is oriented toward the "future" rather than the "present". Jesus reveals his identity: "I am the resurrection and the life" (v. 25; Borchert 1996:356).⁴⁰On one occasion when Jesus tells her about the necessity to believe (vv. 25b-26), she affirms her faith in a most profound fashion, addressing him as "Lord," "Messiah," "Son of God," and "the one coming into the world" (v. 27).⁴¹ Köstenberger (2004:336) states that

Martha's almost creed-like confession of Jesus as 'the Christ, the Son of God - the one who is coming into the world' strikingly anticipates the purpose statement at the end of the Gospel of John 20:30-31.⁴²

Martha's return home and her call of Mary reflect her witnessing attitude (v. 28).⁴³ In performing this, she moves from being a confessor to being a witness (Brant 2011:175-176; Stibbe 1993:125).

Mary is introduced as the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair (vv. 11:2; 12:1-8).⁴⁴ She kneels down in front of Jesus and uses the same utterance Martha used in verse 21 (v. 32). This shows that the declaration "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have been died" (vv. 21, 32) was their family confession. Jesus was deeply moved and his spirit greatly disturbed when he saw Mary and the people weeping (v. 33; Brown 1966:424-425).⁴⁵ According to Borchert (1996:359),

Mary expressed her loss differently from Martha. Mary's tears have in fact taken the place of most of Martha's words (Culpepper 1983:140-142; Stibbe 1993:126).

Jesus' inner movements and outer expressions enable the Jews to ponder the depth of his love for Martha, Mary, and Lazarus (vv. 35-37; Brown 1966:424-425). After introducing Mary's entry on the stage, Martha once again appears as a dialogue partner with Jesus. Upon Jesus' request to move the stone from the entrance, Martha responds by mentioning the time when Lazarus' body was laid inside the tomb and the aspect of stent (v. 39; Bruce 1983:247-248). At that point, Jesus once again stabilises Martha's belief prepares her to see the glory of God (v. 40).⁴⁶ While Martha expresses her faith based on her "future" eschatological hope, Jesus shapes her faith based on the "present" realities. The sisters' message to Jesus (v. 3), their family confession (vv. 21, 32), constant conversation, expression of emotion, and growth in faith in Jesus makes him glorify the name of the Father (vv. 40; 4; Culpepper 1983:140-142; Thomaskutty 2015:403).

Stagg (1978:238) states that

John gives great prominence to Mary and Martha throughout the story. Jesus dominates the story, but otherwise the sisters command the center of the stage.

Martha and Mary are, in their own way, genuine disciples and demonstrate their faith in Jesus (Thomaskutty 2015:400-404).

In 12:1-8, the sisters, along with their brother who was raised from death, enter the stage once again (Witherington 1995:203-205; Stagg 1978:238-239). The three members of the family are involved in different ways in the story: Martha is serving (v. 2a);⁴⁷ Mary anoints the feet of Jesus (v. 3), and Lazarus is reclining at the table with the guests (v. 2b; Dodd 1952:368-370). The narrator foregrounds the character of Mary over against Judas Iscariot.

There are five contrasts between Judas Iscariot (a male disciple) and Mary of Bethany (a follower of Jesus): while Judas speaks like a concerned person (vv. 4-5), Mary acts in a gentle way (v. 3); while Judas betrays Jesus for thirty pieces of silver (Matt. 26:15), Mary spends three hundred denarii and shows her superabundant generosity (v. 5; Schnackenburg 1980:3:368); while Judas fills his heart with evil thoughts (vv. 5-6), the woman fills the home with the fragrance of perfume (v. 3b); while Judas, as a guest, accuses the woman, Mary is lavishly an honourable host, and, while Judas betrays Jesus which led to his arrest (18:2), Mary prepared herself for the day of her master's aurial (v. 7; Blomberg 2001:175-178). Schnackenburg (1980:370) comments that

Mary has recognized the dignity and greatness of Jesus and, in an exemplary action, has shown the others who they have in their midst.

While special attention is paid to Martha in Chapter 11, Mary receives more attention in 12:1-8. The role and status of both Martha and Mary are established above several of the male characters in the Gospel of John (Brant 2011:179-180). Both of them are paradigms for ideal discipleship and for effective leadership, because they exhibit the qualities of devotion, sacrificial attitude, service, belief in Jesus, and apostolic witness.⁴⁸ They are closely bound to Christ and to his mission of accomplishing God's redemptive plan (Kanagaraj 2001:70).

2.4 Mary Magdalene (19:25; 20:1-2, 11-18)

In the Gospel of John, Mary Magdalene appears for the first time in the company of a group of women under the cross, namely the mother of Jesus, her sister, and Clopas' wife. Mary's presence reveals her association with some of the significant women of the early Jesus movement (19:25). Her appearance is revealed in 20:1-2 and 20:11-18 during the post-resurrection period. At Jesus' tomb, Mary witnesses that the stone had already been removed from its entrance (v. 1; Schnackenburg 1980:307-308). She reports to Peter and the Beloved Disciple that Jesus' body has been taken away from the tomb. Brant (2011:266) comments that

[a] woman who comes alone in darkness to such a place abandons propriety and safety in order to commemorate Jesus with her grief. John represents her anxiety by focalizing the setting through her eyes: she sees the stone has been removed from the tomb (20:1).

Her statement in verse 2, "we do not know where they have laid him," mentions her misapprehension. After testifying about the empty tomb to the disciples, the woman stands outside the tomb and weeps (v. 11).⁴⁹This incident reveals her lamenting attitude when it was not expected from her.⁵⁰ Like Jesus was weeping outside the tomb of Lazarus (11:35), Mary Magdalene weeps outside her Lord's tomb.⁵¹ As Stibbe (1993:205) states: "This echo effect suggests a Christ-like quality to Mary's characterization." The conversation between the woman and the angels makes it once again explicit that she was deeply disturbed within (vv. 12-13). Her devotion to Jesus is made clear as she attempts to regain the corpse of her Lord (Culpepper 1983:144).⁵² Her turning around to see and unrecognition of the identity of Jesus reveal some of the realistic aspects of Johannine storytelling (Schnackenburg 1980:314-320).⁵³

The character of Mary captures the reader's attention, as she progresses in her faith in Jesus. There are several reasons for her unrecognition of Jesus in verse 14: as Mary was settled in her mundane and "from below" perception that Jesus was indeed dead, she was unable to understand the supernatural and "from above" aspects; she already witnessed the death of Jesus, noticed that the stone was rolled away, perceived that the body was taken from there, and saw that the disciples themselves confirmed it, and the tears from her eyes would have blurred her eyes from recognising Jesus (v. 14; Bauckham 2002:262-276). While Jesus asks her the reason behind her weeping and about the identity of the person whom she seeks, she responds naturally (v. 15). Mary's response to the disciples (v. 2b), to the angels (v. 13b), and to Jesus (v. 15b) reflects her settled view that someone removed Jesus' body from the site.⁵⁴ Mary's words and actions fill the narrative with a great deal of reality effects (Jones 2008:58-59; Bennema 2005/2007:213-215).

In verse 16, John narrates that Jesus calls the woman by her name (that is, "Mary") and that she recognises him in return (that is, Ραββουνι in v. 16; Neyrey 2007:321-325). Jesus' address and her response reflect the acceptance and recognition of the story (Brant 2011:270.).⁵⁵ As Jesus' ascension to the Father is imminent, he requests the woman not to cling onto him (v. 17a). The resurrected Jesus appoints Mary as the first person to proclaim the good news to the disciples and to others (v. 18a; Culpepper 1983:144; Jones 2008:58-59). The woman's personal conviction and proclamation ("I have seen the Lord") to the disciples later becomes the early Christian community's conviction and proclamation ("We have seen the Lord," v. 25a; Stibbe 1993:204-206). Jesus appoints Mary as a witness to announce the good news of his resurrection and his imminent ascension to the Father (Bennema 2005/2007:214; Beasley-Murray 1999:376). Mary's proclamation to the male disciples, "I have seen the Lord" (v. 18), has apostolic significance (Kanagaraj 2001:37; Chakkuvarackal 2002:72). This would have persuaded many to hail her as an "apostle to the apostles" (Thomaskutty 2017:61; Haskins 1993:55-94).

 

3. JOHANNINE WOMEN IN THE INDIAN CONTEXT

As analysed and identified earlier, Johannine women show devotion to Jesus and affirm their faith with profundity more so than some of their male counterparts (Beirne 2003:1-41). As part of the community of John, they seemingly enjoyed considerable freedom in exercising their spirituality, expressing views openly in public places, and developing faith in Jesus as a powerful means to escape from their parochial worldviews (Witherington 1988:175-182). Jesus' position as the protagonist of the story and the Johannine community's reinterpretation of the events from the Sitz-im-Leben Jesu to address the existential struggles of the Sitz-im-Leben Kirche enable the narrator to sustain some of the values and virtues of the Jesus movement.⁵⁶

John supports women's representation on various levels of life: Jesus' mother appears in the context of both a celebrative mood (2:1-5) and a lamenting situation (19:25-27); the unnamed woman appears at a public well in the Samaritan context (4:1-42); Martha and Mary both appear in a bereaving situation (11:1-44) as well as in a context in which they show superabundant generosity (12:1-8), and Mary Magdalene laments at the tomb of Jesus and proclaims the resurrected Jesus (20:1-2, 11-18; Witherington 1988:175-182). These indications reveal that Johannine women exercised their faith in both the public and the private sectors of life. Their representation of various levels in the life of Jesus and their reinterpretation of the quintessential life of the Johannine community reveal their openness, even as far as the women's status and role are concerned.⁵⁷ In the process of interpreting John in the Indian context, one needs to adopt a third life situation (Sitz-im-Leben Indien), in order to further re-interpret the story of the Gospel of John (Thomaskutty 2017:158; Martyn 1968:24-151).

In the Indian context, atrocities against women are on the rise and the rights of women are not protected. Women are considered inferior to men and are treated with low esteem. These contextual realities persuade the attention of the reader of the Gospel of John to view the text from a gnomic rather than a descriptive perspective.⁵⁸ While Martyn perceives the Gospel of John as a two-level drama, an Indian reader who interprets the text from her/his existential realities can better understand it as a tri-level drama (Thomaskutty 2017:158). John frequently describes Jesus as empowering women, and contrasting their belief with the unfaithfulness of men (Kanagaraj 2001:60-61). In the Indian context, the empowerment of women is of significant concern, as they are often illiterate, have no political power or voice in religion, and are ostracised by leading elements of society.

Like the Johannine women, the women of modern India can be effective agents of liberation and transformation (Thomaskutty 2016:13). The following roles of Johannine women are influential in the Indian context. As Mary the mother of Jesus was playing significant roles at the wedding banquet and near the cross, Indian women should take the initiative to lead the country in order to fulfil divine tasks; as the woman at the well was instrumental in bringing the gospel to her own people, the village women of India can play transformative roles in their respective areas of life; as Martha and Mary were believing and ministering to Jesus in Bethany, Indian women should take the challenges in fostering the missionary tasks and ministerial duties entrusted unto them, and as Mary Magdalene was sharing the good news of Jesus' resurrection with her male counterparts, the women of India should take active steps in propagating the gospel (Thomaskutty 2017:62). Women figures such as Pandita Ramabhai (1858-1922), Mother Teresa, and others devoted themselves to the tasks of Christ and used their intrinsic power in leadership and missional engagements. They followed the path of Johannine women and introduced radical transformation in their respective areas of life (Chakkuvarackal 2002:88).

Discriminatory thought and practices against women persist in Indian society, although the Indian Constitution guarantees equality of sexes. India is also a signatory to the UN Charter affirming equal rights (Das 2001:160). Against such contextual realities, the experiences of the Johannine women and the Johannine community suggest alternative views. The Samaritan woman's encounter with Jesus resulted in her acquiring greater knowledge. This unique experience enabled her to lead her people toward the "true Saviour of the World." The Samaritan woman's involvements can be introduced as a paradigm for Indian women so that they may develop themselves from misunderstanding situations to greater understanding and awareness of the "past," to a transformative living in the "present," and emphasising the older traditions to life-affirming newer experiences. Martha and Mary of Bethany can serve as models to move away from future-oriented eschatological hopes to present-affirming and living experiences. The sisters' positive qualities such as hospitality, generosity, and devotion to Christ should be exercised for transformative living within the contemporary Indian context.

Mary Magdalene outsmarts her male counterparts as she exemplified her devotion to Jesus by means of proclamations and actions. As she was demonstrating her most profound proclamation, keeping up fellowship with the community of God and being dynamically involved around and beyond Jesus' tomb, her character can be hailed as a model for women in oppressive socio-religious structures. Just as these Johannine women exemplified their leadership roles, devotion to Jesus, progress in understanding Jesus, and witnessing Christ in diverse walks of life, Indian women in general can demonstrate their intrinsic qualities in order to transform themselves and society. Chennattu (2017:200) proposes that Indian interpreters of the text should emphasise "an ethics of giving life in abundance as a hermeneutical key" for interpreting John. She further states that

such a premise presupposes a principle of combined radical equality and inclusiveness and a process of dialogue at all levels (Chennattu 2017:200).

Chennattu's suggestion is significant in the Indian context as the people as a whole expect a paradigm to liberate the ostracised communities of the nation.

 

4. CONCLUDING REMARKS

The above analysis shows the character of women in the Gospel of John in relation to Jesus and other characters of the macro-story. Although they were considered powerless in their own socio-religious and politico-cultural contexts, they assume power within both the Sitz-im-Leben Jesu and the Sitz-im-Leben Kirche. In this study, the researcher employed the method of a hermeneutics of suspicion in order to foreground the characters within the narrative annals of John. As part of the Johannine community, the women in John enjoyed considerable freedom. Mary, the Mother of Jesus, demonstrates her leadership quality at the wedding in Cana and her deep devotion to Jesus near the cross. Although the woman at the well was, by nature, misunderstanding and parochial, her progress in realising the prophet Messiah and guiding Samaritans toward the "true Saviour of the world" is persuasive. Martha and Mary of Bethany show their family confession that, if Jesus were with them, Lazarus would not have died. They progress in their faith in, and devotion to Jesus. While Martha shifts from her future-oriented eschatological hope to the present-oriented realisation of the Messianic age, Mary demonstrates her identity through her superabundant generosity.

Mary Magdalene's speeches and actions reveal that she was a paradigmatic personality for the early Christian communities, including the male characters of the story. Her personal proclamation ("I have seen the Lord") became the community proclamation ("We have seen the Lord"). In their encounter with Jesus, all these women showed their love for, and devotion to their Lord. They all used their intrinsic "woman power" to come out of their narrow confines of life. These women of the Gospel of John can be viewed as paradigms in the Indian context, as the women of India are eagerly awaiting a message of liberation and transformation.

By developing a hermeneutics of suspicion and an Indian feminist methodology, today's Indian feminists should foster gnomic interpretative strategies over against the prevailing descriptive strategies. As Jesus liberated women from the confines of social, religious, geographical, moral, and sexual barriers and the women of John are living examples of such a movement, one should attempt, within the contemporary Indian context, to develop new hermeneutical keys in order to unlock the grand narratives of the text.

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Anderson, R.T. 1992. "Samaritans." In: D.N. Freedman (ed.-in-chief), The Anchor Bible Dictionary. Vol. 5 (New York: Doubleday), pp. 940-947.         [ Links ]

Beasley-Murray, G.R. 1999. John. Second edition. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers. Word Biblical Commentary. Vol. 36.         [ Links ]

Beirne, M.M. 2003. Women and men in the Fourth Gospel: A genuine discipleship of equals. London: Sheffield Academic Press. JSNT Supplement Series 242.         [ Links ]

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Brown, R.E. 1966. The Gospel according to John 1-12. Garden City, NY: Doubleday. The Anchor Bible. Vol. 29.         [ Links ]

Bruce, F.F. 1983. The Gospel of John: Introduction, exposition, and notes. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm B. Eerdmans.         [ Links ]

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Carson, D.A. 1992. The Gospel according to John. Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press.         [ Links ]

Chatman, S. 1978. Story and discourse: Narrative structure in fiction and film. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.         [ Links ]

Chakkuvarackal, T.J. 2002a. Glimpses of the "feminine" in Indian religion and society: A Christian perspective. Indian Journal of Theology 44(1-2):79-93.         [ Links ]

Chakkuvarackal, T.J. 2002b. "Woman-power" in the canonical Gospels: A paradigm for the modern patriarchal societies. Bangalore Theological Forum 34(2):58-77.         [ Links ]

Chennattu, R.M. 2017. Life in abundance: Johannine ethics from an Indian feminist perspective. In: Y.S.L. Chan, J.F. Keenan & R. Zacharias (eds.), The Bible and Catholic Theological Ethics (New York: Orbis Books), pp. 172-182.         [ Links ]

Coloe, M.L. 2013. The mother of Jesus: A woman possessed. In: S.A. Hunt, D.F. Tolmie & R. Zimmermann (eds). Character studies in the Fourth Gospel (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm B. Eerdmans), pp. 202-213.         [ Links ]

Culpepper, R.A. 1983. Anatomy of the Fourth Gospel: A study in literary design. Philadelphia, PA: Fortress Press.         [ Links ]

Das, S. 2001. Christian ethics and Indian ethos. Delhi: ISPCK.         [ Links ]

Dodd, C.H. 1952. The interpretation of the Fourth Gospel. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.         [ Links ]

Esler, P.F. & PIPER, R.A. 2006. Lazarus, Mary and Martha: Social-scientific approaches to the Gospel of John. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press.         [ Links ]

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Gillman, F.M. 1992. "James, brother of Jesus." In: D.N. Freedman (ed.-in-chief), The Anchor Bible Dictionary, Vol. 3 (New York: Doubleday), pp. 620-621.         [ Links ]

Haskins, S. 1993. "Apostola apostolorum." Mary Magdalene: Myth and metaphor. New York: Penguin Press.         [ Links ]

Jones, J.K. 2008. The women in the Gospel of John: The divine feminine. St. Louis, MI: Chalice Press.         [ Links ]

Kanagaraj, J.J. 2001. The profiles of women in John: House-bound or Christ-bound. Bangalore Theological Forum 33(2):60-79.         [ Links ]

Kanagaraj, J.J. 2005. The Gospel of John: A commentary. Secunderabad: OM Books.         [ Links ]

Keener, C.S. 2003. The Gospel of John: A commentary.Vol. 1. Peabody, MA: Hendricksen Publishers.         [ Links ]

Koester, C.R. 1990. "The Saviour of the World" (John 4:42). Journal of Biblical Literature 109(4):665-680. https://doi.org/10.2307/3267369.         [ Links ]

Kok, K. 2010. "As the Father has sent me, I send you": Towards a missional-incarnational ethos in John 4. In: R. Zimmermann & J.G. van der Watt (eds.) in cooperation with S. Luther, Moral language in the New Testament: The interrelatedness of language and ethics in Early Christian writings (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck), pp. 168-193.         [ Links ]

Köstenberger, A.J. 2004. John. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic Press. BECNT.         [ Links ]

Kroeger, C.C. 2000. "Women in Greco-Roman world and Judaism." In: C.A. Evans & S.E. Porter (eds.), Dictionary of New Testament background (Downers Grove, ILL: Inter-Varsity Press), pp. 1278-1280.         [ Links ]

Martyn, J.L 1968. History and theology in the Fourth Gospel. Nashville, TN: Abingdon.         [ Links ]

Marxen, W. 1959/1969. Der Evangelist Markus. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.         [ Links ]

McReynolds, K. 1995. "Mary, the mother of Jesus." In: P.D. Gardner (ed.), New International Encyclopedia of Bible characters (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan), pp. 444-447.         [ Links ]

Milne, B. 1993. The message of John. Nottingham: Inter-Varsity Press. The Bible Speaks Today Series. Vol. 4.         [ Links ]

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1 The Synoptic Evangelists mention her name in Matthew 1-2; 13:55; Mark 6:3; Luke 1-2, and Acts 1:14. See Scholer (1992:884-885); Gaventa (1999:81-95).
2 Jesus' mother is mentioned in the discussions of the Jews in verse 6:42. According to Blomberg (2001:86), "[t]hat John calls Mary simply 'Jesus's mother' fits ancient practice in referring to well-known figures and presupposes some knowledge of her within the Johannine community."
3 Bruce (1983:69) states: "Our Lord addressed his mother by this same term (Gk. γύναι, vocative of γυνή) when he hung on the cross (19:26); and indeed the term was consonant with the utmost courtesy, being translatable as 'madam' or 'my lady.'" See also Stibbe (1993:44); Brown (1966:98); Borchert (1966/2002:154-155); Milne (1993:64).
4 Scholer (1992:885) observes that "Jesus's conversation with her [Mary] in John 2 does not indicate disrespect, but rather shows John's emphasis on Jesus's own authority and responsibility for his mission and implies Mary's discipleship. Mary is understood as a disciple (see John 19:25-27; Acts 1:14)." Morris (1995:158) mentions the following: "That Jesus calls Mary 'Woman' and not 'Mother' probably indicates that there is a new relationship between them as he enters his public ministry." See Köstenberger 2004:94; Coloe 2013:210; Stagg 1978:236.
5 See Stibbe (1993:44); Beasley-Murray (1999:34-35).
6 See Köstenberger (2004:93-96); Culpepper (1983:133-134).
7 See also Chatman (1978:173-195).
8 According to Bruce (1983:69), "Mary may well have had some responsibility for the catering; at any rate she knew that in such a crisis she could not do better than call upon her Son's resourcefulness. Probably she had learned by experience that to draw his attention to a need was a sure way of getting something done."
9 As Moloney (1989/1998:67) states: "She [the mother of Jesus] was the first character introduced and she initiates action with her statement." Morris (1995:158) observes that "[s]he [Mary] knew, in short, that Jesus was the Messiah, and it is not unlikely that she now tried to make him take such action as would show him to all as the Messiah she knew him to be."
10 In 2:1-11, Mary, the mother of Jesus, makes her son aware of the wedding party's need. See Thomaskutty (2016:12; 2017c:59-60); Milne (1993:63). Bennema (2005/2007:38) comments that "[t]he statement that Jesus's mother makes, 'they have no wine' (v. 3), is actually a request for Jesus to do something about it."
11 Köstenberger (2004:92, 96) comments that "Mary may have been a friend of the family, helping behind the scenes."
12 Neyrey (2007:63) observes that, "[w]hen Jesus declares that 'my hour has not yet come,' this speaks of God's providential orchestration of Jesus's high status as he returns to God and glory." For more syntactical aspects of verse 4, see Wallace (1996:150-151).
13 Borchert (1996:155) mentions the following: "In the context of the wedding, which normally was a combination public-private affair, the two worlds often merged. In this particular case how Jesus's mother became involved in this wedding is not explained." Milne (1993:63) comments that "Mary's sharing her dilemma with Jesus was possibly a habit bred of long years of family dependence, in the apparent absence of Joseph (Mark 6:3)." See Brown (1966:97-99); McReynolds (1995:446).
14 Brashler (1992:3:820) states that "John 2:12 mentions that the brothers of Jesus accompanied him to Capernaum and they later tauntingly suggest that Jesus should publicly demonstrate his great deeds at the Feast of Tabernacles (7:3, 5, 10)."
15 Coloe (2013:207) states that "[t]he importance of her relationship as mother of Jesus, in this Gospel, will only be revealed in 'the Hour.' The Cana miracle happens, but Jesus's apparent reprimand creates a puzzle that will not be resolved until the Passion."
16 Stibbe (1993:44) mentions that "Jesus's reference to his 'hour' here (the hour of his return to the Father, embracing his death), links the Cana episode to the crucifixion where the mother of Jesus is also present."
17 The Synoptics also associate the brothers and sisters of Jesus in the Galilean context. See Mark 6:3 = Matthew 13:56; Mark 3:31-32 = Matthew 12:42 and Luke 8:19-20 (Brashler 1992:819).
18 It is stated that her sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, was with her. Beasley-Murray (1999:349) comments that "[h]is [Jesus's] brief words to his mother and the disciple are not just a commendation or suggestion; they are more like a testamentary disposition, in language reminiscent of adoption."
19 Gillman (1992:620) reports different views. Some hold, following the most normal interpretation of the NT language, that James was a son of Joseph and Mary, evidently born after Jesus. Others, with reference to various apocryphal sources, maintain that James was an older foster brother of Jesus, a son of Joseph by a previous marriage. A third interpretation theorises that James and Jesus as brothers were, according to Semitic idiom, cousins.
20 Porter (1992:974) mentions that, "[a]part from John (1:45; 6:42), where Jesus is twice referred to as the 'son of Joseph,' Joseph is only mentioned in the birth and childhood stories of Jesus."
21 Borchert (2002:269) mentions that "[t]he traditional role of the oldest son in a Jewish family was to provide for the care of the mother when the husband or father of the house was no longer around to care for the mother. It seems clear that Jesus here fulfilled his family responsibility as a dutiful son." Brashler (1992:3:820) states that "Acts 1:14 ... includes the brothers of Jesus as part of a group praying together after the crucifixion with the 11 disciples and some women, including Jesus mother Mary."
22 Culpepper (1983:133) views Mary as symbolically representing Judaism, Jewish Christianity, the new Eve, and the church. See Kanagaraj (2005:98).
23 For more details about Samaria and Samaritans, see Purvis (1992:914-921); Anderson (1992:940-947); Thomaskutty (2016:12).
24 The woman appears as a realistic person without any mask and representative value as the narrator presents her even without mentioning her name.
25 The dialogue between Jesus and the woman educates about the universal, inter-religious and cross-cultural mission initiatives as the protagonist breaks the ethnic, cultural, religious, and sexual boundaries in order to speak and engage in the Missio Dei. See Kok (2010:168); Thomaskutty (2015:167-168).
26 Williamson (1992:728) comments that "[t]he parenthetical comment in verse 9 about Jewish-Samaritan relations following the woman's expression of surprise that Jesus should ask her for a drink is probably not a general statement, but reflects a halakhic ruling (mid-first century?) that 'the daughters of the Samaritans are menstruants from their cradle' (fa. Nid. 31b) and hence that the vessels which they handle are unclean." See also Neyrey (2003:110).
27 In this instance, "gnomic" means "timeless" facts, which works efficaciously with an "everywhere" and "ever" sense. See Thomaskutty (2017b:66); Brown (1966:168-172); Köstenberger (2004:149).
28 Moloney (1989/1998:131-132) states that "[m]uch is made of the five husbands, a number beyond the possibilities allowed by Jewish practice, as a possible symbolic use of the number five to refer to the five gods of Samaria (cf. Ant. 9.288), or the five books of the Samaritan Pentateuch, or the five foreign cities that brought their gods with them (cf. 2 Kings 17:27-31)." See also Brown (1966:171); Carson (1992:221).
29 Morris (1995:236) comments that "[t]he Samaritans acknowledged no prophet after Moses other than the one spoken of in Deuteronomy 18:18, and him they regarded as the Messiah. For her to speak of Jesus as a prophet was thus to move into the area of messianic speculation."
30 The woman's leaving of the "water jar" is a prop used to reveal the symbolic activity of leaving "Jacob's water" and proclaiming the "living water." See Thomaskutty (2015:152).
31 See also Köstenberger (2004:152-154); Keener (2003:622).
32 Bauckham (2002:292) states that, "[t]hough the Samaritan woman in John 4 is not a model of respectable women's behavior, there is probably nothing improper about the way she spreads her news throughout her village (John 4:28-30, 39)."
33 Stagg (1978:237) comments that, "[w]ith dramatic skill, the storyteller moves the Samaritan woman from a very shady character to one of great stature. Next to Jesus, she dominates the story."
34 The inter-religious nature of the dialogue sharpens the woman's existent views and directs her to the Saviour of the World. See Koester (1990:665-680); Thomaskutty (2017b:66).
35 According to Neyrey (2007:95), "[t]he cultural world of the Gospel highly valued female sexual exclusivity, the core of a female's virtue and worth. Thus a female with five husbands and a current companion not her spouse mocks this criterion; hardly virtuous, she is instead a sinner, an adulterous, a shameless person."
36 Köstenberger (2004:326) states that "Martha was the older of the two, since she acts as the hostess in the Lukan passage". See Stagg (1978:238); Luke 10:38-42.
37 Stibbe (1993:125) states that "[s]he [Martha] goes out alone to meet Jesus and, like the Samaritan woman, is portrayed as one who grows in faith and understanding." See also Borchert (1996:349).
38 Neyrey (2007:197) states: "We know that Martha is a 'beloved' disciple along with her sister and brother. Like the Samaritan woman Jesus catechizes her, moving her from commonplace notions of afterlife to elite knowledge of Jesus as a unique source of imperishability: 'I am the resurrection and the life.'"
39 Bruce (1983:243) mentions that "Martha uses the language of faith. If Jesus had been there at the time, Lazarus would not have died: this is not a complaint; it is an expression of her faith in Jesus's power. It is the same faith that finds voice in her assurance that God will grant Jesus whatever request he makes."
40 Dodd (1952:366) states: "Now the resurrection to which vv. 28-29 refer is the general resurrection 'on the last day' (cf. 6:54); but the raising of Lazarus is set in contrast with the resurrection on the last day, to which Martha had pinned her faith."
41 Neyrey (2007:196) states that, "[i]n a Gospel where confessions are rare and reserved for elite people, Martha declares that she 'knows' that Jesus is Messiah, Son of God, and the one coming into the world."
42 Neyrey (2007:197) mentions that "the narrative attributes to Martha very high status by virtue of Jesus's revelations, but not a formal role."
43 Mary and the people consoling her go to the place where Jesus was. The people consoled her and, following her, thought that she was going to weep at the tomb (v. 31).
44 Esler & Piper (2006:17-22) attempt to understand Lazarus, Mary and Martha as prototypes of identity for followers of Christ. See also Thomaskutty (2017c:61).
45 See Köstenberger (2004:339); Neyrey (2007:198-199).
46 As the episode begins with a glory proposal (v. 4) and ends with a glory fulfilment, it can be considered a glory-focused revelatory dialogue. See Thomaskutty (2015:368404); Brant (2011:176); Culpepper (1983:140-142); Witherington (1995:204).
47 Schnackenburg (1980:366) states that "[t]he remark about Martha's waiting at the table resembles Luke 10:40, but the evangelist may also have been familiar with this tradition in some way."
48 Witherington (1995:207) states that "Mary also seems to be assuming the role of a servant, for it was the servant's task to anoint the master's feet when he came off the dusty highways of Judea."
49 Witherington (1995:330) observes: "From the very beginning of this story in v. 11, we can perceive a gradual process of revelation to Mary, which goes for naught until the crucial moment of recognition and the even more crucial teaching that follows it." See also Kanagaraj (2005:643-649).
50 Moloney (1989/1998:527) states that "[t]he introduction of Mary at the tomb is strange. In almost every case the narrator of the Fourth Gospel indicates movement of characters from one place to another (e.g., 2:1, 13; 3:22; 4:3-6; 5:1; 6:1; 7:10; 8:59; 10:22; 11:5, 17, 38, 54; 12:1, 12, 26b). The present state of the text is probably the result of the insertion of the passage on the two disciples into what was originally a Mary Magdalene story."
51 Schnackenburg (1980:315) mentions that "[h]er [Mary's] 'weeping' is not the lament for the dead, but is an expression of her personal pain and her sadness, that she does not find her dead Lord."
52 Stagg (1978:239) comments that "[h]er [Mary's] single-hearted devotion even when it appeared that all was lost is portrayed in her manner and words."
53 Stibbe (1993:205) mentions that "[s]he [Mary] is portrayed in a stylized fashion."
54 Bruce (1983:387) states that "Mary was determined to find out what had happened to the body of Jesus; she reckoned, probably, that if she stayed around someone might come along who could give her the information she wanted."
55 Moloney (2007:528) observes that "[t]he name Jesus calls Mary and her response are Greek transliterations of Aramaic, although the narrator explains that it is Hebrew. There is a level of intimacy implied by the recourse to an original language in both the naming and the response." See Blomberg (2001:264).
56 These expressions mean the life situation of Jesus and the life situation/s of the early Christian community/ies. See Marxen (1959/1969).
57 John, the narrator, captures the story of Jesus as the protagonist in order to retell and re-interpret that with greater efficacy. See Thomaskutty (2017a:141).
58 While descriptive linguistic phenomena guide the reader to the there and then aspects, gnomic linguistic phenomena guide the reader to the everywhere and ever perspective. See Thomaskutty (2017b:64-68).