Mani lived in a world where many ideas contributed to his unique theology. In the scriptural legacy of Mani seven of his books show influence of Ethiopian Enoch. These books are identified in this article and the use of Enochic material in those books is discussed. The Manichaean myth is briefly discussed and used to propose that Enochic influence can mainly be found in the way First Enoch depicted characters and presented the cosmos. Mani adopted his ideas mainly from the (...) Book of the Watchers , the Book of Parables and the Astronomical Book of Enoch where evil beings and cursed places are depicted. (shrink)

This article uses cognitive linguistics and an embodied cognitive approach to analyse the passage of Proverbs 1:20-33. The poem, presented as a prophetic threat, uses metaphoric language to depict the dialogue between personified wisdom and metaphorised human beings. The analysis indicates that there is a coherence of metaphors in the target domain shared by both metaphorised source domains of wisdom and the hearers. Using bodily metaphors it stresses the need of wisdom to be internalised by men.

The Core Syllabus of the Southern African Society for Biblical StudiesIn this evaluation of the Core Syllabus of the Southern African Biblical Studies Society, two factors are taken into account: the history of this society, and the trends in curriculum design which influenced the formulation of this syllabus.

The Hebrew Bible is quoted and alluded to in 4QInstruction. There is an obvious similarity between the way the raz nihyeh of 4QInstruction and Lady Wisdom in Proverbs 8 function. This intertextual study investigates this phenomenon by comparing 4Q416 2 III 8-21 and 4Q417 1 I with Proverbs 8:12-21 and 8:22-31. It is concluded that apocalyptic influence changed the character of Lady Wisdom but not her essential function.