Spring 2016/Pasadena

OT573

Smoak

OT573: THEOLOGY OF EXILE IN THE OLD TESTAMENT (4 units: 160 hours). Jeremy D. Smoak.

DESCRIPTION: This course will examine the diverse ways in which the Hebrew Bible develops theologies of exile in relation to the Assyrian and Babylonian exiles of Israel and Judah. Specific focus will be given to how the biblical texts relate the topic of exile to certain theological and humanitarian concerns, such as the status of the refugee, the pollution of the land, and issues related to divine presence and absence. In addition, the class will consider how the literature of the Persian period offers diverse perspectives on how the biblical writers developed theologies after the exile in the early Second Temple Period. Towards this end, the class will do a close reading of selected texts from the Torah, Prophets, and Writings in order to examine how the biblical texts represent responses to questions about exile, dislocation, and refugee movements for both the ancient and modern world.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: Upon successful completion of this course, students will have demonstrated the ability to (1) describe the main content of the biblical literature from the period of the exile and early Second Temple Period that focuses upon the themes of exile, foreign occupation, theodicy, and the pollution of the land; (2) describe how perspectives from post-colonial methodologies offer new ways to approach the literature of the Hebrew Bible; (3) compare some of the situations described in this literature to modern situations of exile and refugee movements; and (4) identify and explain how the theologies of exile in this literature inform the church’s call to minister to all peoples, especially the suffering, the refugee, and the dispossessed.

COURSE FORMAT: The course will meet twice weekly in two-hour sessions for lectures and discussions for a total of 40 hours of in-class instructional time. Students will also use Moodle as a part of the course.

REQUIRED READING: 1000 total number of pages required.

NRSV, TNIV, or CEB Bible.

Albertz, Rainer. Israel in Exile: The History and Literature of the Sixth Century B.C.E. Society of Biblical Literature, 2003. ISBN: 978-1589830554, Pub. Price $49.95 [300 pp.].

Houston, Fleur S. You Shall Love the Stranger as Yourself: The Bible, Refugees and Asylum. Biblical Challenges in the Contemporary World. Routledge, 2015. ISBN: 978-1138859319, Pub. Price $47.95 [214 pp.].

Smith-Christopher, Daniel. A Biblical Theology of Exile. Overtures to Biblical Theology. Augsburg, 2002. ISBN: 978-0800632243, Pub. Price $20.00 [209 pp.].

Selected readings on e-Reserve, including: Jill Middlemas, “The Voice of the Land: Lamentations,” The Troubles of Templeless Judah (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005), 171–228; Nancy Lee, “Lamentations and Polemic: The Rejection/Reception History of Women’s Lament…and Syria,” Interpretation 67/2 (2013), 155–183; L. Stulman, “Ezekiel as Disaster/Survival Literature: Speaking on Behalf of the Losers,” The Prophets Speak on Forced Migration (Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2015), 133–146; Pamela Barmash, “Pollution and Homicide,” Homicide in the Biblical World, 94–116; select chapters from Sugirtharajah, R.S., Postcolonial Criticism and Biblical Interpretation (Oxford: Oxford University Press,” 2002) ISBN 9780198752691 [40 pp.].