Motho ke Motho ka Modimo: A Theological Dialogue Between בְּרִית and Ubuntu in the (Southern) African Context

• Michael Seheri University of South Africa https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3659-1730

Abstract

The Old Testament concept of בְּרִית (covenant) articulates a divinely initiated relationship between God and humanity, structuring identity, vocation, and communal belonging. In the (Southern) African context, Ubuntu—expressed in the maxim “Motho ke motho ka batho” (Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu; a person is a person through others)—offers a relational anthropology grounded in interdependence and communal ethics. This study brings these two frameworks into critical dialogue by developing a theologically grounded account of covenant, with particular attention to Deuteronomic theology, and engaging Ubuntu as a contextual philosophical partner. It argues that both covenant and Ubuntu converge in their affirmation of relationality as constitutive of personhood, while differing in orientation: covenant is fundamentally theocentric, whereas Ubuntu is primarily anthropocentric. On this basis, the article proposes a theocentric reformulation of Ubuntu—“Motho ke motho ka Modimo” (a person is a person through God)—as a constructive theological synthesis. This formulation integrates African communal anthropology with biblical covenant theology, offering a contextual framework for addressing contemporary questions of identity, justice, and social cohesion.