This study will formulate and use an African contextual hermeneutic of the environment to interpret John 7:37-39. The study provides an overview of the water and environmental crisis both globally and in South Africa. This will be linked to a study of the Feast of Tabernacles as a background for reading John 7:37-39.
This will relate to the symbolism of water in the fourth gospel signifying the outpouring of the Spirit and the active role of Jesus in creation and how this can be used as a basis for an African contribution to a theology of the environment. 10 the context of the feast of the tabernacle and many other representations of the water motif has a feast as a marking event (Jones, 1997:151). Wai-Yee Ng identifies that behind the ideology of the writer of the fourth gospel lies the typology of creation rooted in the Old Testament.
While a symbol on the other hand presents the vehicle with the absence of a tenor and it is the responsibility of the reader to discern the tenor. In addition, the focus in the receptionist is mainly on "the potential activity of a text, the dynamic contribution of the reader and the experience when text and reader interact". In other words, the varying interpretations must be appropriately placed within the horizon of the text.
On the other hand, the "sensory pole" finds its meaning based on the external and physical appearance of the symbol itself.
Environmental analysis and Background of Study
Having made a brief overview of the global discussions on the crisis facing the environment in the world and how various authors have analyzed the situation, I will now turn to focus on the environmental and water crisis in South Africa and the rest of the region south of the African continent. In Mapping the Emergence of Climate Change Issues in South Africa, Conradie looks at the transition of issues on South Africa's agenda. This therefore makes the extent of available water dependent on the rate of climate change and patterns that may result in increased temperatures in Africa.
These celebrations varied in nature according to the requests and fears of the people. For the Batswana people, rain means blessings and this is important in the agricultural sector; which also contributes to the prosperity of the country. Landau emphasizes that rainmakers respond to the ecological crises of their communities which also have political implications for the well-being of the community or tribe.
The Methodist Church in Southern Africa has, albeit briefly, expressed its concern for the environment in the MCSA's official policy. Central to both of these celebrations is the concern for the fertility of the soil in the next agricultural year and for the coming of enough rain.
Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles)
In both cases the agricultural nature of the festival is alluded to in the festivities. Silver sees this as a result of Canaanite influence, which especially elevates the role of the priest in the cultic celebrations. Although the rabbinic sources shed light on the festival, there are complications in using these sources as a source for the history of the Second Temple period.
The first two chapters consist of rules related to how the sukkah should be built and how to stay in the cabins. Moreover, these chapters show a record of the celebration of the festival during the time of the temple (Rubenstein. 42 providence of rain and fertility of the land, hence the invocation of God's divine presence in the ritual.
Stern emphasizes that the water libations were the central activity of the festival, as it had to be performed by the priest and the high priest during the evening celebrations in the temple courts (1976:894). This power is therefore derived from the mythical functions of the temple and the cult. According to Safrai and Stern, the distinguishing feature of the celebration was its joy.
Therefore, water played an essential role in the daily events of the Festival. So idolatry requires the removal of God's presence from his temple and the exile of the covenant people. This is also seen in Ezekiel's vision of the renewal and transformation of the earth in chapters 47-48.
It has strong metonymic connections with cultural stories of God's creation and re-creation of the earth. Beyond this reference to creation, Ezekiel relies on the second aspect at the ideological pole of the Old Testament water symbol, namely cleansing. 52 fulfillment, the hope of the Old Testament was expressed in the scene of the good land.
Furthermore, it is clear in the Old Testament that it is man's sin and greed that results in drought and barrenness in the land. The location of the temple and the libation at the altar also play a significant role in the way the water is irrigated into the soil and the crops grow in each agricultural year.
Exegesis of John 7:37-39
59 which in the case of this study is the physical renewal of the earth. Water, as an image in the fourth gospel, returns frequently and expands with the progress of the gospel as a narrative whole. There is a sense of consistency in the role that water plays in this phase of the gospel.
Primarily, water serves as a symbol of the Spirit, which, according to the evangelist, is issued by Jesus. This is therefore the basis of the typology of creation, as mapped by Ng, in the Fourth Gospel (Ng, 2001:167). This can be argued through the appearance and use of the 'water' image in the prophetic books.
This appearance of the spirit by the water recalls the creation in Genesis 1:2 (Ng. Water appears as the main figure in this vision, but at the same time it is associated with the center of the temple and the presence of the glory God in the temple is the spirit of God (Ng, 2001:178) For this argument about the rejection of Jesus is an important setting of the holiday.
At the primary level, the text refers to Jesus as the source of living water, as promised to the Samaritan woman earlier in the Gospel (4:10); water will flow from his side while he hangs on the cross (19:34); From the understanding of water symbolism throughout the Gospel, Jesus is depicted as the source of the living water. In this chapter an application of the reading of John 7:37-39 will be applied in the context of South Africa.
This is important to the African understanding of the relationship between creation and humanity, as there is no distinction between the sacred and the secular. 79 responsible use of the ecosystem and active participation of all its inhabitants in soil fertility. 81 As we saw in the previous chapter, the flowing of water means the outpouring of the Spirit on all creation.
Only when God's people repent and are cleansed does the rain fall again. Echoes of the Prophet: The Use of Ezekiel in the Gospel of John and in the Literature of the Second Temple Period.
