Reading Ruth 4 and Leviticus 25:8–55 in the light of the landless and poor women in South Africa: A conversation with Fernando F. Segovia and Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara

HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies

 
 
Field Value
 
Title Reading Ruth 4 and Leviticus 25:8–55 in the light of the landless and poor women in South Africa: A conversation with Fernando F. Segovia and Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara
 
Creator Mtshiselwa, V. Ndikhokele N.
 
Subject Old Testament, sociology, cultural studies Book of Ruth; Leviticus; patriarchy; land; poverty; liberation
Description Recent statistics in South Africa shows that women mostly experience poverty as compared to their male counterparts. In the context of the experience of poverty by women, several Old Testament scholars have convincingly explored the theme of poverty in the Hebrew Bible. In her contextual rereading of the Naomi-Ruth Story, Madipoane Masenya (ngwan’a Mphahlele) links the issue of poverty to the theme of land. Also, from the historical-critical and partly, the contextual approach to ancient texts, Esias E. Meyer argues that Leviticus 25:8–55 holds liberating possibilities for women who are invisible in such a text. Based on the argument made by the preceding scholars, firstly, this article argues that in the context from which the texts of Ruth 4 and Leviticus 25:8–55 emerged, some women were both landless and poor. Secondly, it is argued in this article that the context of these texts carries a striking resemblance to the situation of women in modern South Africa, as many women do not own productive land and are poor. Thirdly, this article poses the question: What implications do the ideologies of Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara and the hermeneutical approach of Fernando F. Segovia to ancient texts bear on the reading of Ruth 4 and Leviticus 25:8–55 in South Africa?Keywords: Book of Ruth; Leviticus; patriarchy; land; poverty; liberation
 
Publisher AOSIS
 
Contributor
Date 2016-06-24
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion — literary analysis
Format text/html application/octet-stream text/xml application/pdf
Identifier 10.4102/hts.v72i1.3140
 
Source HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies; Vol 72, No 1 (2016); 5 pages 2072-8050 0259-9422
 
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://hts.org.za/index.php/hts/article/view/3140/7237 https://hts.org.za/index.php/hts/article/view/3140/7238 https://hts.org.za/index.php/hts/article/view/3140/7239 https://hts.org.za/index.php/hts/article/view/3140/6982
 
Coverage — — —
Rights Copyright (c) 2016 V. Ndikhokele N. Mtshiselwa https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
ADVERTISEMENT