Open Access

Abraham and Jesus as Ancient Migrants: An African Migration Perspective

   | Apr 22, 2016
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Perichoresis
African Hermeneutics in the Twenty-First Century. Social History and Indigenous Theologies in Contemporary African Research. Issue Editor: Zorodzai Dube

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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 Though not a historical document, the Bible records various journeys that the ancient people travelled;1 it narrates people’s relocations from one geographic place to the other.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.

eISSN:
2284-7308
Language:
English
Publication timeframe:
3 times per year
Journal Subjects:
Theology and Religion, General Topics and Biblical Reception