Revisiting the Babylonian Exile in Jeremiah 29:1-14: A Samoan La-tō Reading using an Oceanic Hermeneutic A thesis presented to the University of Otago Dunedin, New Zealand In partial fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Theology (Old Testament in Biblical Studies) by Numerator Tuimalatū Leuila Ofo’ia July, 2017 Dedication I dedicate this thesis with honour and much gratitude to my beloved father, the late Rev. Tuimalatū Leuila Ofo’ia. You are gone but truly not forgotten. I remember you in every way; you disciplined and taught me. I love you Papa with all my heart. RIL And to My mother Makerita Ofo’ia And My wife Inamorata Rowena Ofoia and children: Tauvaga Numerator Junior, Wennarator Irae, Cecilia Inamorata, Belteshazzar Mapusaga and Jacob Berakah. Abstract This project explores the feasibility of a Samoan approach to the Judahites’ ‘exile,’ with particular reference to Jeremiah 29:1-14. The word ‘exile’ in the Hebrew Bible can imply discipline as an act of love, life, and hope rather than hatred and wrath. This positive interpretation challenges the dominant negative Samoan view of the Babylonian Exile, which was influenced by Pacific missionary pioneers and the tacit acceptance of the Bible in Samoa. Specifically, this project will develop a la-tō (‘travel away from home’) perspective as an alternative reading approach, reflecting opportunity and hope that results from exploration. The project also raises concerns about apparent inaccuracies in the translation of the Samoan Bible that influence modern believers to be either victims of misinterpretation or silently to tolerate the limitations of the missionary translation. Ideally, a la-tō approach is one that enables Samoan readers to engage with the Bible in light of their own contextual reality. By utilising this Oceanic, specifically Samoan, approach, this project re-visits the Babylonian Exile in order to view it through a Samoan lens. Acknowledgments Tatalo Fa’afetai: Le Atua e, ia vi’ia oe e fa’avavau, ona o lou alofa ma lou fa’amaoni, o lau Afioga Paia e lē o se futu na tafea, e tau fesiligia sona magāvai po’o sona fa’asinomaga. Ae o le Upu o le ola na tō ma tafea fa’auto i vasā, mo le fa’amoemoe, ina ia pipi’itia ni ‘ai o le Talalelei, ia tupu-ola ma maua’a lou finagalo i o matou loto. Le Atua ua fa’amalō le tautai matapalapala, malō le la-tō i le tai, malō le la-tō i le ala, ua malie lau fa’aaloalo. Ua e tali i a matou tatalo ma tapua’iga, ua e fa’ainu fo’i lo matou galala fa’aleagaga. Ia saga vi’ia pea oe le Atua Tolu Tasi Paia e lē aunoa. O le agaga fa’afetai ma le fa’amalō e le fa’aitiitia i le tapuaiga mau ma le nofo tatalo a le Ekalesia Metotisi i Samoa ma atunu’u i fafo. Le Afioga i le Peresitene, Rev. Apineru Lafai aemaise le Peresitene sili o le Au-uso Fealofani, Seti Apineru Lafai. Ua fa’amalō le tapua’i ma le faitatalo, fa’afetai tele mo mea uma, aemaise le avanoa ua mafai ona fa’atinoina ai lenei fa’amoemoe taua. Ou te fa’afetai fo’i i le Afioga i le ali’i Sea, Rev. Logo Ofe ma Sunema Ofe aemaise o le Sinoti a Niusila i Saute i le lagolago i lenei fa’amoemoe. Ou te fa’afetai fo’i i le Susuga ia Tualagi Ah Yek ma le Faletua aemaise le Matagaluega Metotisi i Dunedin mo le lagolago aemaise le tapua’iga. Fa’afetai, fa’afetai tele lava. A special thanks to the Methodist Church in England (Salt Grant Scholarship) and the Methodist Church of Samoa for funding and sponsorship. Much appreciated. I am most grateful and thankful to my supervisor, Rev. Dr. James Harding. Your knowledge and leadership truly have made my dreams possible, reachable and achievable. I am honoured and fortunate to be one of your students. I treasure everything that I have learnt from you throughout this project. Thank you. I also owe great gratitude to my co-supervisor, Dr. Margaret Eaton, for her loving and passionate support—you were such a blessing to work with also as my mentor for this research, especially in Hebrew. I thank the Department of Theology and Religion, and Otago i University for the resources and support. I also thank the Pacific Island Centre as well as the Samoan community in Dunedin. I thank the Piula Theological College, the Principal, the Faculty, staff and students, for their prayers and support. I thank especially to Rev. Dr. Mosese Ma’ilo for his influence on me in Biblical Studies, as well as for his PhD thesis which became a reliable source for this research. I thank all the providers (scholars) of the sources that I have used in my writing. I thank Rev. Olataga Elu, Rev. Latu Kioa for advices and support. I also thank Rev. Fa’apea Elia who influenced me in the study of the Old Testament. Thank you! I give thanks especially to my mother Makerita Ofoia, my brothers and sisters and my Ofoia family for their continuing support and prayers while undertaking this project. I thank especially my brother Ofoia Nomeneta and his wife Fa’aiuga for their ongoing support throughout. I am also thankful to Silia Tofilau and family for prayers and support. Those I always remember, the late Hon. Tofilau Tauvaga and the late Ofoia Moso Taisi Ofoia, late Oloiali’i Nafatali. I thank all my family and friends for everything. My list of the people that deserved to be mentioned and thank is unlimited, but I am grateful for everyone’s prayers and support. Last but not least, I owe a great debt to my lovely wife, Inamorata Rowena Ofoia. Your love and support gave me the confidence to continue on, such that words cannot explain. You are truly my blessing. I am also grateful for my children, Tauvaga Numerator Junior, Wennarator Irae, Cecilia Inamorata, Belteshazzar Mapusaga, Jacob Berakah and my nephew Brad Watson for unlimited support. I am so blessed to have all of you in my life. Thank you for being my strength, shelter and my family. God has an amazing plan, future and hope for everyone. Jeremiah 29:11. ii List of Abbreviations AEV – Authorised English Version BFBS – British and Foreign Bible Society DCH – Dictionary of Classical Hebrew ESC – Editorial Sub – Committee Minutes BFBS FOB – Fresh off the Boat LMS – London Missionary Society LXX – Septuagint MT – Masoretic Text NRSV – The New Revised Standard Version SDC – Samoan District Committee (LMS missionaries) SSJ – South Seas Journals SSL – South Seas Letters SSO – South Seas Odds SSP – South Seas Personals WTT – Leningrad Hebrew Old Testament (BibleWorks) iii Table of Contents Acknowledgments i List of Abbreviations iii Table of Contents iv Chapter 1 1 Introduction 1 1.1. My Turning Point 1 1.2. ‘My’, the writer’s context 2 1.3. Pacific Scholars Who Have Influenced Me 5 1.4. Contextual Island Readers of the Bible 8 1.5. What is La-tō ? 19 1.6. la 20 1.6.1. la – sail 20 1.6.2. lā – sun 21 1.6.3. la – directional pointer 22 1.6.4. la – branch 23 1.7. Tō 23 1.7.1. tō – bring 23 1.7.2. tō – grant 24 1.7.3. tō – pregnant/pregnancy 26 1.7.4. tō le fale – temporary relief. 26 1.7.5. tō – to plant 27 1.7.6. tō – take away 28 1.8. La-tō – Away from Home 28 1.8.1. la-tō i manū 28 1.8.2. la-tō i mala 29 1.8.3. fa’a-tō – curse 29 1.9. Taufanua – at home 31 Summary 32 Chapter 2 33 Introduction 33 2.1. The Bible Adrift in the Pacific 34 2.1.1. Where it all started 34 iv 2.1.2. The Pioneers of the Samoan Bible translation 40 2.1.3. The Samoan Natives 45 2.2. Samoan Translation 47 2.2.1. The Bible translated in Samoan 47 2.2.2. The Gap between the Pioneers and the Samoan natives 52 2.2.3. The Samoan prototypes have drifted away in Translation 54 2.3. Translation Issues 56 2.3.1. Transliterated words 56 2.3.2. Word by word translation 58 2.3.3. Adoption of other Pacific Island Words in Translation 61 2.3.4. Words pluralised 65 2.3.5. Inconsistency in the Samoan Translation 68 2.3.6. Misinterpretation 70 2.4. Multiple Contexts 73 2.4.1. Mixture of Contexts in Samoan Bible Translation 73 2.4.2. Colonial Implication in Samoan Translation 76 Summary 81 Chapter 3 82 Introduction 82 3.1. The Historical Context of the Babylonian Exile. 84 3.1.1. Political Power as an Imperial Instrument 85 3.1.2. Captivity, an Imperial Political Strategy 86 3.1.3. The suffering 87 3.1.4. Literary Context of Jeremiah 87 3.1.5. Literary Context of Chapter 29:1-14 90 3.2. The Letter: Jeremiah 29:1-14 92 3.2.1. Verse 1 92 3.2.2. Verse 2 94 3.2.3. Verse 3 96 3.2.4. Verse 4 97 3.2.5. Verse 5 98 3.2.6. Verse 6 100 3.2.7. Verse 7 101 3.2.8. Verse 8 103 3.2.9. Verse 9 104 v 3.2.10. Verse 10 106 3.2.11. Verse 11 107 3.2.12. Verse 12 109 3.2.13.