NTT Journal for Theology and the Study of Religion - Volume 49, Issue 4, 1995

A textlinguistic approach to the perennial problem of the Hebrew verb has recently been developed in various quarters. Scholars like A. Niccacci, M. Eskhult and R. Longacre have argued that the function of the verbal forms is not primarily to be described in terms of tense or aspect, but that the verbal forms need to be viewed as signals structuring the text in which they occur. Although this new approach is certainly helpful it also presents several problems. In the present article it is argued that textlinguistic functions are not inherent in the different verbal forms; rather, such functions are contextual realisations of the temporal-aspectual value of the forms.

Although the attention paid to rabbinic literature in recent biblical scholarship is laudable, some criticism on the way the term ‘midrash’ is used, is required. It tends to become a fashionable word that has lost all specific meaning. The main reason for this is the scarce experience of biblical scholars with detailed study of rabbinic texts. In this paper, two solutions for this problem are offered. Firstly, exegetes should depart from the factual study of rabbinic midrash, and only on the basis of the characteristics found there, turn to the biblical text; further, they should realize that ‘midrash’ is a very specific form of rabbinic dealing with Scripture, and therefore a 'stretched' use of the term is more often than not inaccurate. To illustrate this subject, some studies in the field of biblical exegesis have been examined.

This article offers an overview of Dutch publications on the relationships between the natural sciences and religion as published between 1980 and 1994. Three main strategies are distinguished: approaches which reinterpret the sciences with respect to content and status in the context of religious presuppositions (faithful thinking), approached which reinterpret faith in the context of knowledge and views of knowledge as shared by persons of various religious persuasions (thoughtful faith), and arguments that religion and science should be considered as separate enterprises. Liberal and orthodox examples of these strategies are considered. The author opts for a liberal version of the ‘thoughtful faith’ strategy.