Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Explaining The Obvious: Privileged Hermeneutics And The Irony Of Explicitly Literal Interpretation, Joshua Alkire

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis is to examine why so many uses of the word literal (whether taken from everyday contemporary speech or the works of well-respected ancient writers) seem at odds with the word’s theoretical definition and to explore the implications of this disparity for those who privilege a literal interpretation of Scripture. The examples will show that the meaning of literal was not altered at a particular point in time, nor is it altered on an ongoing basis by a small subset of particularly idiosyncratic individuals. Rather, the word is predisposed to behave strangely the moment it is …

Language Preferences Of Deaf Employees At The Department Of Defense, Trisha H. Montgomery

Master of Arts in Interpreting Studies and Communication Equity Thesis or Action Research Project

In the last 10 years, the workplace setting has become a new research topic in the field of signed language interpreting. This research, an adapted study from Birr (2010), looked at the language preferences among Deaf employees at the Department of Defense (DoD). Participants assessed an interpretation from spoken English to American Sign Language (ASL) and a transliteration from spoken English to contact sign. They then provided feedback regarding the two language models and which language model they preferred for each of eight specific settings commonly found in the federal government environment. This study considered various factors influencing the language …

Humility In The Proverbs, Jatniel Rodriguez

Honors Theses

This project utilizes thematic and exegetical methods to develop a practical definition of humility in Proverbs that fits within the greatet framework of the book. four verses in Proverbs explicitly use words translated 'humility' in English (11:2; 15:3; 18:12; 22:4). The literary and theological connections between the Hebrew words in these four verses and the same Hebrew words in the rest of the Old Testament indicate that humility is multifaceted, consisting of both internal and external characteristics. The three themes demonstrated by humility include: an attitude of the heart, a physical state of affliction, and the lasting outcomes of humility.

"But A Woman Who Fears The Lord Is To Be Praised": A Practical Vision In Proverbs 31, Ye Jin Jeon

Honors Theses

Proverbs begins with an exposition on what the "fear of the Lord" entails and ends with the description of the woman of noble character who fears the Lord (Prov. 31:30). Since few scholars have considered the woman of Prov. 31 in connection to the "fear of the Lord." this project overviews aspects of the "fear of the Lord" in the Old Testament, including all specific verses contacting the phrase, and examines the significance of their connections with Prov. 31. The contributions of this study include theological and practical implications of what it means to live a life fearing the Lord.

Learning To Read In The Theaetetus: The Recuperation Of Writing In Plato's Philosophy, Luke Lea

Foreign Languages & Literatures ETDs

In my thesis, I take up the popular question of the status of writing in Plato’s dialogues, but from a fresh perspective. Instead of approaching the question of writing head-on, I attend to the philosophical message about reading presented by two dialogues, the Phaedrus and the Theaetetus. My thesis offers interpretations of two individual dialogues whose emphasis on writing and reading as both literary themes and philosophical problems ensure that the overall meanings of these dialogues cannot be reached without attention to this subject.

Although I examine the dialogues in isolation, believing that the setting and characters unique to …

The Motif Of The Messiah In Zechariah 9-14, Caroline Stanke

Master's Theses

Topic

Zechariah 9-14 is full of prophecies regarding the coming of the messiah. The Jews at the time of Jesus awaited a messiah different from the one that came but how so? Did they misunderstand the prophecies or, by any chance, were the prophecies not clear enough?

Purpose

Firstly, it will be given an overview of the Book of Zechariah. Then, the messianic prophecies in Zechariah 9-14 will be examined closer and how they fit into the context of the prophets, the book of Zechariah, and the different chapters. An analysis of the similarities and differences will be written afterwards. …

The Man Who Put His Head In A Microwave Oven: A Look At James Incandenza From Infinite Jest, Esteban Meneses

Master of Liberal Studies Theses

I will attempt to reconstruct and interpret the elusive ‘Infinite Jest,’ the film within the novel of the same title. As James Incandenza’s final product whose cryptic message originates in the filmmaker’s broken upbringing and damaged relationship with his own family, the movie points beyond the novel to the world of the reader and serves as Wallace’s mirrored evaluation of the purpose and moral considerations on literary fiction, itself part of American culture. By analyzing primarily Incandenza’s relationship with his father in the two 1960s scenes, I intend to provide a missing component in previous IJ scholarship toward the elucidation …

Reading As A Disclosure Of The Thoughts Of The Heart: Proto-Halakhic Reuse And Appropriation Between Torah And The Prophets, Kenneth Bergland

Dissertations

How should we then live? This has been the guiding question throughout the study. In a world that offers a myriad of answers to this one question, I have sought the answer in the Bible, more specifically in the Hebrew part of the Bible. Instead of asking the straightforward question as to how the Bible can function as norm for contemporary ethics, the following discussion is based on the assumption that an authentic reading and appropriation of the text needs both to understand and to emulate the ways in which the biblical authors read the Bible. While scholars have examined …

Why Did Daniel And His Friends Refuse The King's Food And Wine, Sung Jae Park

Master's Theses

Problem

The first chapter of Daniel contains a well-known story of Daniel and his three friends' refusal to eat the king's food and wine. To the casual reader, this story may not solicit any probing questions as to the rationale for their decision. However, commentators of the book of Daniel have long been puzzled over this. The purpose of this study is to raise this question and propose a rationale for Daniel and his three friends' refusal of the king's food and wine.

Method

This study will encompass the entire first chapter of Daniel. Although the entire chapter will be …

The Origins And Antecedents Of Joachim Of Fiore's (1135-1202) Historical-Continuous Method Of Prophetic Interpretation, Dojcin Zivadinovic

Dissertations

Problem

In an age of biblical idealism dominated with allegorical hermeneutics, the works of Joachim of Fiore (1135-1202) created a shift in biblical exegesis, directly impacting the development of both Catholic and Protestant eschatology. Although a clear interest has been expressed concerning the influence of Joachim of Fiore on the eschatology of the late Middle Ages, very few scholars have attempted to explore the antecedents of Joachim’s ideas, specifically his historical-continuous interpretation of Daniel and Revelation and the application of the year-day principle. The purpose of this study is to explore the origins of Joachim’s eschatological views and to suggest …

A Comparative Study Of Hermeneutical Approaches To The Seven Seals, Harold Novac

Master's Theses

Problem

From the beginnings God had a purpose with His prophetical messages to the world and we can see in the Bible clearly, that God always presented His prophetical messages in a certain order. A chronological method was favored by God. That is why from the beginnings, as Seventh-Day Adventists we believed that the best way to interpret the secrets of Revelation is through the historicist approach. Unfortunately this view is fading among scholars, even among SDA researchers.

Purpose

We are going to investigate why this is happening and we will show that historicism has a lot to say, even …

Faith And New Life In Christ: The Problem Of Circumcision In Galatians 5:2-6, Keldie S. Paroschi

Master's Theses

Problem

Paul explicitly addresses the issue of circumcision for the first time in the epistle of Galatians in chapter 5:2–6. The precise meaning of circumcision, however, both historically and exegetically, has been much debated in Pauline scholarship.

Method

This thesis will first provide an overview of how circumcision has been interpreted in the context of different approaches to Pauline theology. Then, the historical background of the significance of circumcision around the first century AD will be analyzed, both in the Jewish and the Greco-Roman context. Finally, an exegetical study of Galatians 5:2–6 will focus on how Paul addresses the topic …