Mother of Black Old Testament Scholarship in South Africa—Madipoane Masenya (Ngwan'a Mphahlele): Yo Aneng a Swere Thipa ka Bogaleng (The One Who Held the Knife at Its Sharp End)

Abstract

This article asserts that Professor Madipoane Masenya (Ngwan’a Mphahlele) deserves to be recognised as the “Mother of black Old Testament scholarship in South Africa.” She ought to be celebrated for pioneering the bosadi approach, an African and black womanist hermeneutic that stands as distinctly her own. Through her approach, Masenya challenges dominant Euro-Western paradigms that have long shaped biblical interpretation and theological study in (South) Africa as well as the patriarchal tendencies inherent in the Bible, biblical scholarship and African cultures. She intentionally centres the experiences, voices and knowledge systems of African women within theological scholarship. Her contributions have profoundly impacted the field of Old Testament studies, particularly in the areas of biblical hermeneutics, women's experiences and gender hermeneutics. Given her significant involvement and groundbreaking work, Masenya’s recognition in this manner is both warranted and necessary.