DESCRIPTION: The third part of the Hebrew canon of the Old Testament will be studied by way of introduction and selected readings from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible. Historical, theological, literary and canonical perspectives will be considered in order to elucidate the meaning of these books.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: This course will enable students (1) to know better this crucial part of the Old Testament, (2) to understand its literary features and (3) the historical and/or cultural situations in which it was written, and (4) to develop ability in interpreting the Bible.

RELEVANCE FOR MINISTRY: While the preacher brings God's Word to the people, the seminary teacher has the prior task of bringing ministerial students to the Bible, in which the revelation of the being and will of God is anchored in ancient history and literature and culture. From this study in the Old Testament will emerge its recurring agenda of human need or perplexity and divine response, and also issues of spirituality as God's people or individual servants wrestled with problems of living and either found or resisted divine grace.

COURSE FORMAT: The class will meet twice weekly for two-hour sessions of lecture and discussion.

REQUIRED READING:

New Revised Standard Version of the Bible.

Childs, B. S. Introduction to the Old Testament as Scripture. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1979.

Murphy, R. E. The Tree of Life: An Exploration of Biblical Wisdom Literature. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996.

Rendtorff, R. The Old Testament: An Introduction. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1986.

Anderson, B. W. Out of the Depths: The Psalms Speak for Us Today. 3rd ed. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2000.

LaSor, W. S., Hubbard, D. A., Bush, F. W. Old Testament Survey. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996.