RECENT PH.D. DISSERTATIONS AT TRINITY EVANGELICAL DIVINITY SCHOOL

Trinity Journal, Spring 2008

Doctoral Student: Hyochan Michael Kim

Dissertation Mentor: Dr. Eckhard J. Schnabel

Dissertation Title:

"Front Israel to the Nations": A Critical Study of the Abraham Motif in Luke-Acts

The dissertation studies Luke's appropriation of the Abraham motif in Luke-Acts. This motif plays an indispensable role in the formation of Luke's narrative as a whole. Abraham appears most prominently in Luke's writings among all NT books, evidenced by frequency, strategic placement, and pervasiveness of mentions of Abraham through intertextual connections to both the OT and Second Temple documents.

First, Luke's focus is God's covenant promise to Abraham, who is progenitor of the Hebrew race. By patterning the expansion of the covenantal blessings from a national aspect to a universal aspect in the development of the Abraham narrative, Luke places the theme of "from Israel to the nations" at the heart of his own narrative construction.

Second, Luke's portrayal of Abraham recalls the image of Abraham in Second Temple Judaism. In tragic situations, ancient memories of Abraham become intensified, which is evident in the frequent appearances of the "remembering" motif and the transformation of Abraham into an eschatological figure. Abraham is presented not only as an individual of a bygone past, but as the eschatological father who will receive all faithful Jews in the age to come.

Third, from the outset of his narrative, Luke presents God's remembering of the Abrahamic covenant as the foundation of his salvation work through Jesus Christ. Luke's integration of the Abraham motif with other major historical motifs, such as the Davidic motif and the Exodus motif, demonstrates the continuity in God's salvation work in Israel's history.

Fourth, the fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant is no longer manifested in political terms but in soteriological ones such as salvation, repentance, forgiveness of sins, reversal of fortunes, joy, and other related terminologies.

In conclusion, Luke presents God as the God of worldwide mission, who has planned the salvation of all flesh from the beginning. This is evidenced by God's continuing work in history and testified to by the entire Scriptures. Both the coming of Jesus and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit have one consistent goal of fulfilling this divine plan of salvation, which is to be carried on by the Spirit-empowered community of Jesus' followers, the church.

Doctoral Student: Hee Sung Lee

Dissertation Mentor: Dr. Willem A. VanGemeren

Dissertation Title:

The Inheritance of the Servants in Isaiah 40-66: A Textlinguistic Analysis

In the last two decades the study of the Book of Isaiah has revolved around the issue of the unity of Isaiah. Scholars have asked whether it is legitimate to read each part of the Book of Isaiah independently while neglecting the literary relationship between them. Whereas there is a consensus regarding the necessity of a holistic reading of the Book of Isaiah, scholars have diverse methodological stances in explaining "how" and "why" the various parts of Isaiah have been unified. Accordingly, this dissertation examines the variations on the theme of the servants and the inheritance and their literary and theological implications for the reading of Isaiah 40-66 as a whole. To decipher the semantic possibilities of the servants and the inheritance within the larger literary unit, we will utilize textlinguistic theories with emphasis on text connectivity (cohesion, coherence, and intertextuality). This study will focus on the sections Isa 54:11-17, 58:1-14, and 65:8-16 within their larger literary context as well as their co-texts of 49:155:13, 56:1-63:6, and 64:7-66:24. We will also cover the following areas in each chapter: (1) text demarcation, (2) thematic progression, (3) communicative function, and (4) theological implications.

Chapter one presents a review of literature of the current trends of Isaianic scholarship and the scholarly discussions on the servant theme. On the basis of observations from the literature review, we will set out our goal and scope of study.

Chapter two provides methodological tools that will be employed in our study. We discuss some basic notions of the language (semantics, communicative action, and metaphor). Then we observe textlinguistics, which concerns how different parts of a text are combined by means of text connectivity, and some principles for the theological understanding of the text.

Chapter three develops the thematic transition from the servant to the servants within Isaiah 40-55. The ministry of the suffering servant justifies the responsive nations, the confession group within Israel, and the children of Israel to be a part of the servants' community. The servants inherit the restoration of Zion and receive vindication from God.

Chapter four explores the thematic progression of the servants and the inheritance in relation to the response of the people within 56:1-63:6. The faithful who trust God and deal with their neighbors with righteousness and justice will inherit the land and the holy mountain. However, everyone within Israel fails to respond with faith and character; thus, God himself brings salvation to his people, promising the glorious transformation of Zion.