Research

Research in New Testament Studies focuses particularly on the analysis, description and relevance of Judaeo-Christian identities. It is conducted on the nexus of Hellenistic Judaism and Early Christianity as situated within the broader contexts of late antiquity. The research foci are:

• Jewish Scriptures used by early Christian societies

To identify and reconstruct the earliest text forms of the Greek Old Testament from explicit quotations in Philo of Alexandria and the New Testament writers in order to establish the rationale of early Christian hermeneutics; Septuagint (LXX) Studies (Gert Steyn);

• Social-scientific studies on the New Testament

To establish a post-modern ethics based on the values of the historical Jesus (Ernest van Eck);

• Identity formation and social transformation in early Christianity

To establish the ethical and missiological principles which directed early Christian societies (Kobus Kok)

• Biblical hermeneutics in the context of African societies

To establish responsible socio-religious mechanisms for the use and application of biblical texts in the contexts of African societies