A comparison of the witchcraft is poison metaphor in Soweto and selected Old Testament passages

Abstract

African Old Testament interpretation has been asserting itself against mainstream Euro-American biblical scholarship. In doing so, various tools have been crafted, mostly in accordance with the goal of addressing the life concerns of ordinary Africans. The preferred method for the majority of African OT scholars has been the comparative paradigm. This article introduces a cognitive methodology for the comparison of cultural elements and belief systems in contemporary Africa and the ancient Near East. Although the method can be used for the scrutiny of both socio-political and religio-cultural fundamentals, the approach is demonstrated with reference to African and ancient Israelite conceptions regarding witchcraft.