The academic discipline of biblical studies experiences an increasing tendency to engage in burning issues of our own time. The contemporary globalization of the subject – with more and stronger exponents outside its traditional Western habitat – challenges a discipline that used to be defined as a purely historical enterprise whose only purpose was that of providing textual and historical raw materials for others, such as the supposedly “real” theologians of systematic theology, practical theology, or missiology. Using examples provided by African biblical scholars who interpret biblical concepts of poverty, the article argues that the academic discipline of biblical studies has a mandate to participate in the current struggle for justice and human dignity, and to do so with its particular insights and tools vis-a-vis the biblical texts.

中文翻译：

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古代以色列的“穷人”——以及当代非洲圣经研究

圣经研究的学科越来越倾向于参与我们这个时代的热点问题。该学科的当代全球化——在其传统的西方栖息地之外有越来越多的代表——挑战了过去被定义为纯粹历史事业的学科，其唯一目的是为他人提供文本和历史原材料，例如所谓的系统神学、实践神学或宣教学的“真正”神学家。文章使用解释圣经贫困概念的非洲圣经学者提供的例子，认为圣经研究的学科有责任参与当前争取正义和人类尊严的斗争，并利用其特殊的见解和工具来实现这一目标。 -a-vis 圣经文本。