htp://www.hts.org.za Open Access HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies ISSN: (Online) 2072-8050, (Print) 0259-9422 Page 1 of 8 Original Research Read online: Scan this QR code with your smart phone or mobile device to read online. Author: Jean-Claude Loba-Mkole 1 Afliaton: 1 Department of Hebrew, Faculty of Humanites, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa Corresponding author: Jean-Claude Loba-Mkole, lobamkolejeanclaude@gmail. com Dates: Received: 13 Apr. 2021 Accepted: 04 June 2021 Published: 31 Aug. 2021 How to cite this artcle: Loba-Mkole, J.-C., 2021, ‘Intercultural constructons of the New Testament: Epistemological foundatons’, HTS Teologiese Studies/ Theological Studies 77(2), a6739. htps://doi. org/10.4102/hts.v77i2.6739 Copyright: © 2021. The Authors. Licensee: AOSIS. This work is licensed under the Creatve Commons Atributon License. Introducton Intercultural constructions are part of cultural criticism. This method has entered the world of biblical interpretation since the second half of the 20th century. 1 In the Western world, cultural Bible studies arguably originated in the United States as a part of literary analyses of biblical scenes, themes and stories presented in the traditional arts and modern media. 2 In Africa, the intercultural method emanates from the paradigm of inculturation coupled with reconstruction. Both are arguably two sides of the same coin, a reality that the concept of intercultural construction captures well (Loba-Mkole 2016). The present study discusses epistemological foundations of intercultural constructions of the New Testament in Africa. Before embarking on this discussion, it documents the history and procedures of this interpretive tool. In Africa, the intercultural method emanates from the paradigm of inculturation coupled with reconstruction. It has already embraced biblical exegesis, translation studies, canonical criticism and ecological hermeneutics. Questions relating to the history, procedures and epistemological presuppositions are relevant to any scientific discipline (ed. Storey 1996): [T]raditionally, an academic discipline is defined by three criteria: first, there is the object of study; secondly, there are the basic assumptions which underpin the method (s) of approach to the object of study; and thirdly, there is the history of the discipline itself. (p. 11) The material object of the intercultural biblical construction under study concerns the New Testament books as recorded at least in one of the Christian Biblical canons. The formal object of this approach is to interpret a biblical text through a sincere dialogue with different cultural frames of reference that inform it, such as original, traditional (ecclesial) and contemporary cultures. The history of intercultural approaches is rooted in both Western and African scholarships. 1.See Hoggart (1957), Williams (1958, 1961), Wimbush (1989), Mabee (1991), Moxnes (1998), Brown, Davaney and Tanner (eds. 2001), Exum and Moore (eds. 1998), Ukpong (2002a) and Klingbeil (2005). 2.See Iser (1974:274–294, 1975, 1978), Holland (1968), Bleich (1975), Hall (1980), Easthope (1991) and Grossberg, Nelson and Treichler (1993). The present study discusses epistemological foundations of intercultural constructions of the New Testament in Africa. Before embarking on this discussion, it documents the history and procedures of this interpretive tool. In Africa, the intercultural method emanates from the paradigm of inculturation coupled with reconstruction. It has already embraced biblical exegesis, translation studies, canonical criticism and ecological hermeneutics. Contribution: The insights of the article ‘Intercultural constructions of the New Testament: Epistemological foundations’ pertain firstly to the description of the method of intercultural constructions, taking stock of its emergence, development, procedures, and epistemological foundations in both African and international theological circles. Secondly, the study has specifically established the following epistemological foundations of the intercultural method: interculturality as the cradle of the New Testament corpus, an existential mode, an interpretive paradigm, and interaction with a triple hexagonal dimension. The latter includes a triple pitfall (to avoid), a triple frame of reference, a triple epistemological privilege, a triple epistemological value, a triple ethical value, and a triple cultural position. Keywords: paradigm; method; construction; narrativity; intercultural; the New Testament. Intercultural constructons of the New Testament: Epistemological foundatons Read online: Scan this QR code with your smart phone or mobile device to read online. Note: Special Collecton: Scholarly Voices, sub-edited by Yolanda Dreyer (University of Pretoria).