Spring 2011

Fuller South west– Phoenix

NE506

Nelson

 

NE506: ephesians.  Ed Nelson.

 

DESCRIPTION: This course is an exegetical study of the letter to the Ephesians based on the Greek text.  Through verse by verse analysis the argument and major themes of the epistle will be examined.  The questions of authorship, style, relationship to Colossians, and other issues will be discussed.  The course will apply the materials from Exegetical Methods to the study.

 

SIGNIFICANCE FOR LIFE AND MINISTRY: Ephesians addresses great themes of Paul – reconciliation, unity in Christ, the church, the Lordship of Christ, the blessings and expectations of the Christian way, and living the Christian life both in regards to Households and in individual life. These issues are vital to the Christian growth of the individual Christian leader.  They must be increasingly a part of the teaching and preaching for the formation of the character of the contemporary church in the face of an increasingly hostile culture and world.

 

LEARNING OUTCOMES: Upon the successful completion of this course, students will have demonstrated  (1) an understanding of the letter of Ephesians within its socio-historical, literary, and canonical contexts; (2) the ability to identify central issues in the critical study of Ephesians; (3) knowledge of primary theological and ethical concerns of Ephesians; and (4) proficiency in their knowledge of the Greek text including awareness of lexical semantics, the identifying of grammatical constructions and syntactical analyses, translating with minimal lexical assistance, and proficiency in a basic knowledge of the practice of text criticism in Ephesians.  Learning outcomes 3 and 4 are particularly focused so as to develop proficiency in interpretation and in paying close attention to the text of Ephesians.

 

COURSE FORMAT: Lectures and discussions combining translations and exegesis of the biblical text, including opportunity to explore contemporary cultural and ecclesial settings. The course this term will meet for ten successive Tuesday evenings from 6:30-9:30 for a total of 30 contact hours.

 

REQUIRED READING: (Note that the student may choose either Lincoln or Hoehner or Arnold)

      Ephesians, the Greek text, either the NA27 or UBS4. 3438051001, $40.99 or 3438051133, $51.99

·       Arnold, Clinton E. Ephesians: Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the NT.Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2010.  978-0-310-24373-1.  $36.99

·       Fee, Gordon D. New Testament Exegesis: A Handbook for Students and Pastors. Rev. Ed. Louisville: Westminister/John Knox, 2003, 3rd. Ed. [195 pp.] ISBN: 0664223168, $24.95.

·       Lincoln, Andrew. Ephesians. WBC 42. Dallas: Word, 1990. 0-8499-0241-X  $49.99

·       Hoehner, Harold.  Ephesians: An Exegetical Commentary. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2002.  0-8010-2614-8.  $59.99

·       Lincoln, Andrew T. and A. M. Wedderburn, The Theology of the Later Pauline Epistles. NTT.  Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993. 0-521-36721-2. $29.99

 

RECOMMENDED READING:

Barth, Marcus.  Ephesians 1-3; 4-6.  A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary.  AB.  Garden City: Doubleday, 1974.

Best, Ernest, Ephesians. Sheffield: JSOT, 1993.

O’Brien, Peter T. The Letter to the Ephesians. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1999.

Schnackenburg, Rudolf, Trans. Helen Heron, Ephesians: A Commentary.  Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1991.

 

ASSIGNMENTS: 

1.  Weekly class preparation and reading. Each student will select one commentary to work through with the weekly assignment of the Greek text.  Each week students will hand in both a parsing assignment along with their personal translation (Learning Outcome 4). (30%)

2.  Each student will prepare 7 two-three page studies following the outline of Fee’s approach to the development of an exegetical study.  These will all deal with a single text to be selected by the student and approved by the professor.  These seven exercises will serve as stages of exegesis in preparation for the final paper. (Their being done on time will affect the final grade in relation to their point value). (Learning Outcomes 1, 2, 3, 4). Each of the seven papers is worth 5 percentage points of the student’s final grade. (35%)

3.  A 14-16 page Exegetical Paper on a pericope of the letter (Learing Outcomes 1, 2, 3, 4). (35%)

 

PREREQUISITES: NE502 and NS501.

 

RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: M.Div.: NTE; M.A.T.: NTBK; M.A.C.L.: NE

 

FINAL EXAMINATION:  No

 

 

This ECD is a reliable guide to the course design but is subject to modification.