Micah’s shepherd-king (Mi 2:12–13): An ethical model for reversing oppression in leadership praxis

Verbum et Ecclesia

 
 
Field Value
 
Title Micah’s shepherd-king (Mi 2:12–13): An ethical model for reversing oppression in leadership praxis
 
Creator Boloje, Blessing O.
 
Subject Old Testament Exegesis/Theology; Book of Micah Micah; shepherd-king; flock; leadership; oppression and violence; ethical model; reversal of fortune
Description The exposition attempts to use Micah’s metaphor of shepherd-king (Mi 2:12–13) as a heuristic ethical model for reversing oppression and violence in leadership praxis. Given the reality of widespread oppression and violence perpetrated by the powerful, Micah 2:12–13 is interjected into the oracle as a means of accentuating the hope of those who are marginalised and dispossessed. Although Micah’s shepherd-king metaphor interrupts the foregoing context of the oracle of condemnation and doom, the unit logically balances the general rhetorical pattern of judgement, and afterward salvation. Such a canonical and ideological reading presents a window through which informed ethical models are constructed for the reversal of oppression and violence in the readers’ socio-economic and religious context. Micah’s shepherd-king metaphor imagines a restoration of fortune under the leadership of a coming eschatological shepherd-leader allows one a positive construct of a visionary leader, who is a passionate agent of restoration rather than one who is an agent of exploitation, oppression and bondage.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: As a rhetorical literary production, there are seemingly noteworthy ideological and theological intentions in the Book of Micah. Consequently, this exposition brings together biblical, literary, exegetical and theological discourses into dialogue with ethics, ethical demands and practical theology. Granted that leadership affects every aspect of community life, Micah’s beautifully harmonised, biblical shepherd-king in time and context generates insightful alternative and viable components of the process of conveying its life-giving and instructive power for contemporary leadership praxis, both within the ecclesia community and larger human society.
 
Publisher AOSIS
 
Contributor
Date 2020-09-10
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion — —
Format text/html application/epub+zip text/xml application/pdf
Identifier 10.4102/ve.v41i1.2088
 
Source Verbum et Ecclesia; Vol 41, No 1 (2020); 7 pages 2074-7705 1609-9982
 
Language eng
 
Relation
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:

https://verbumetecclesia.org.za/index.php/ve/article/view/2088/4235 https://verbumetecclesia.org.za/index.php/ve/article/view/2088/4234 https://verbumetecclesia.org.za/index.php/ve/article/view/2088/4236 https://verbumetecclesia.org.za/index.php/ve/article/view/2088/4233
 
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Rights Copyright (c) 2020 Blessing O. Boloje https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
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