<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>The study is a response to the call for papers that focuses on African issues and, I chose to discuss the issue of migration. Though not a historical document, the Bible records various journeys that the ancient people travelled;<xref ref-type="fn" rid="fn1_w2aab2b8b5b1b7b1ab1aaAa"><sup>1</sup></xref> it narrates people’s relocations from one geographic place to the other. However, migration has never been the main focus of several biblical interpreters who seem to perceive the Bible mostly from a theological lens. Largely, this study is informed by current challenges associated with immigration, highlighting comparative migration experiences that seem embellished under theological themes. For examples, each day we hear about stories of migrants who drown in the sea while trying to cross to Europe or of foreigners, due to xenophobic conflicts over few economic resources, die in numbers in South Africa. This study explores two biblical characters—Abraham and Jesus from a migration perspective, focusing on the pushed or pulled factors embedded under their stories.</p></abstract>

The study is a response to the call for papers that focuses on African issues and, I chose to discuss the issue of migration. Though not a historical document, the Bible records various journeys that the ancient people travelled;1 it narrates people’s relocations from one geographic place to the other. However, migration has never been the main focus of several biblical interpreters who seem to perceive the Bible mostly from a theological lens. Largely, this study is informed by current challenges associated with immigration, highlighting comparative migration experiences that seem embellished under theological themes. For examples, each day we hear about stories of migrants who drown in the sea while trying to cross to Europe or of foreigners, due to xenophobic conflicts over few economic resources, die in numbers in South Africa. This study explores two biblical characters—Abraham and Jesus from a migration perspective, focusing on the pushed or pulled factors embedded under their stories.

Abraham and Jesus as Ancient Migrants: An African Migration Perspective

Perichoresis

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

{"article-title":"Abraham and Jesus as Ancient Migrants: An African Migration Perspective"}

The study is a response to the call for papers that focuses on African issues and, I chose to discuss the issue of migration. Though not a historical document,...

Abraham and Jesus as Ancient Migrants: An African Migration Perspective

Published Online: Apr 22, 2016

Page range: 63 - 74

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/perc-2016-0004

Keywords
Migration, Bible, Zimbabwe, Abraham, Jesus

© 2016 Zorodzai Dube, published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Abraham and Jesus as Ancient Migrants: An African Migration Perspective

Published Online: Apr 22, 2016

Page range: 63 - 74

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/perc-2016-0004

KeywordsMigration, Bible, Zimbabwe, Abraham, Jesus

© 2016 Zorodzai Dube, published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
Migration, Bible, Zimbabwe, Abraham, Jesus