Global Hermeneutics? - International Voices in Biblical Studies ...

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Reading the Old Testament from a Nigerian Background: A Woman’s Perspective MARY JEROME OBIORAH INTRODUCTION In spite of the fast development being experienced in most sectors of life in Nigeria and an increase in the number of women educated in various walks of life, the situation of women with respect to literacy still needs improvement. This is reflected in different approaches of Nigerian women to the Old Testament. This essay studies Nigerian women’s understanding of the Old Testament and their varied responses to it, particularly how their socio-cultural background determines their internalisation of the Sacred Scripture. Sources utilised in this contribution are tripartite: literary works by some women, questionnaires, and personal interactions with women from various Nigerian tribes and Christian communities. Besides stating their ages, Christian denominations, tribes and academic qualifications, the women interviewed were requested to express their personal views on the Old Testament and how the Sacred Texts affect their lives as women. The results of this investigation are presented in five interrelated steps, which form the next five sections of this article: • Nigerian women readers of the Old Testament; • Levels of meaning; • Social background of the readers; • The readers’ social background with respect to the Old Testament; • The readers’ wide-ranging responses. WOMEN READERS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT In this context the phrase “women readers of the Old Testament” stands for the extensive groups of women who have access to the Bible and whose levels of literacy and social backgrounds condition their approaches to the Sacred Texts. They are Christian women who belong to different tribes and to numerous Christian communities in the country. One can distinguish at least three large groups of women readers. There are in the first place those Christian women who, as a result of their limited level of formal education, have access to the texts of the Old Testament only by listening to readings in their religious services. These readings are often in 35
36 GLOBAL HERMENEUTICS? the vernacular, very accessible and understood, and generally it is the male leaders who interpret these biblical texts. Readers in the second group, whose number is indeed growing every day because of the increase in the number of women who embark on formal education, are literate and more enlightened than those in the first group. Their contact with the Bible is not limited to what they hear in the religious celebrations because many of them possess copies of the Bible in various English versions. Women in this group usually continue their personal study of the Sacred Texts in their homes, in other social groups outside their Church premises and in their own research. 1 A handful of women who have had the privilege of doing formal theological studies and a limited number who have specialised in biblical studies are in the third group. These are mainly lecturers in the few theological schools and other higher education institutions in the country. Some of them are also leaders in their Christian communities. LEVELS OF MEANING The differences in the academic backgrounds of women affect their approaches to the Old Testament and the kind of information they look for in the Bible. In spite of the inherent difficulties in understanding some texts of the Bible, particularly the Old Testament, the majority of women in the first group generally consider the Sacred Scriptures as God’s word or God’s self-communication. It is sacrosanct and therefore it should be taken as it is presented to us. The stories of the origins of the world and similar texts, for instance, are not questioned. Those who have the right of pulpit and who have to address heterogeneous groups of persons do not normally explore beyond the literal meaning of the biblical texts. Women in the first group of readers mentioned above who are exposed to the sermons they receive from the pulpit, therefore do not go beyond the literal meaning either. Sometimes attempts to lead this group to a deeper sense of the biblical text are met with untold difficulties because they are inadequately prepared for receiving other views on Scripture. Readers in the second group approach the text not only with faith but also with a critical mind. 2 The few experts answer some of these women’s questions with caution. Prudence is necessary, because many of the readers lack the necessary 1 Cf. R. N. Edet, “Christianity and African Women’s Rituals,” in The Will to Arise: Women, Tradition and the Church in Africa (ed. M. A. Oduyoye and M. R. A. Kanyoro; New York: Orbis Books, 1992), 25–39. Edet, a senior lecturer in a Nigerian university, discovers in the Old Testament texts (see page 28 of her article) matrices of some religious practices in Nigeria that militate against women’s human rights. M. A. Oduyoye, “Violence against Women: A Challenge to Christian Theology,” Journal of Inculturation Theology 1 (1994), 48–50. The author employs the biblical accounts of creation, especially the creation of human beings in God’s image, in explaining the equality of both genders.
Page 1 and 2: International Voices in Biblical St
Page 3 and 4: International Voices in Biblical St
Page 5 and 6: Copyright © 2010 by the Society of
Page 8 and 9: Introduction The XIXth Congress of
Page 10: List of Contributors DR. GERLINDE B
Page 14 and 15: Geographical and Institutional Aspe
Page 16 and 17: HOLTER 5 The first set of tables ou
Page 18 and 19: HOLTER 7 list. Then in 2005 there a
Page 20 and 21: HOLTER 9 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s To
Page 22 and 23: HOLTER 11 collaboration is concerne
Page 24 and 25: HOLTER 13 research in France, or wh
Page 26: Part II CASE STUDIES
Page 29 and 30: 18 GLOBAL HERMENEUTICS? women. On t
Page 31 and 32: 20 GLOBAL HERMENEUTICS? which integ
Page 33 and 34: 22 GLOBAL HERMENEUTICS? Testament t
Page 35 and 36: 24 GLOBAL HERMENEUTICS? canonical a
Page 37 and 38: 26 GLOBAL HERMENEUTICS? BIBLICAL HE
Page 39 and 40: 28 GLOBAL HERMENEUTICS? the root of
Page 41 and 42: 30 GLOBAL HERMENEUTICS? The land is
Page 43 and 44: 32 GLOBAL HERMENEUTICS? perceived a
Page 48 and 49: OBIORAH 37 prerequisites for undert
Page 50 and 51: OBIORAH 39 It is a society where th
Page 52 and 53: OBIORAH 41 Those without formal edu
Page 54: OBIORAH 43 level of literacy among
Page 58 and 59: The Global Context and Its Conseque
Page 60 and 61: JONKER 49 It seems to me that Prof.
Page 62 and 63: JONKER 51 textual reception in the
Page 64 and 65: JONKER 53 anthropological definitio
Page 66 and 67: JONKER 55 basis of the inter-contex
Page 68 and 69: The Global Context and Its Conseque
Page 70 and 71: MOJOLA 59 global ambitions: we find
Page 72 and 73: MOJOLA 61 ability to express themse
Page 74 and 75: MOJOLA 63 specific. It only places
Page 76 and 77: MOJOLA 65 God’s name in Kiswahili
Page 78 and 79: MOJOLA 67 with the above when he ob
Page 80 and 81: MOJOLA 69 Nevertheless it could be
Page 82 and 83: MOJOLA 71 Iraqw/Gorwa tongue for th
Page 84 and 85: MOJOLA 73 For many years ever since
Page 86 and 87: MOJOLA 75 of purification is normal
Page 88 and 89: MOJOLA 77 Jacob Milgrom held in a c
Page 90 and 91: MOJOLA 79 two systems. These differ
Page 92 and 93: MOJOLA 81 categories discussed abov
Page 94: Part IV AFTERWORD
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86 GLOBAL HERMENEUTICS? “GLOBALIZ
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88 GLOBAL HERMENEUTICS? biblical in
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90 GLOBAL HERMENEUTICS? example (Le
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92 GLOBAL HERMENEUTICS? role of bib
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