Spring 2018/Pasadena

OT517

Allen

OT517: OLD TESTAMENT BOOK STUDY: LAMENTATIONS (4 Units: 160 hours). Leslie C. Allen.

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DESCRIPTION: Exegetical study of the book of Lamentations in English (NRSV). Attention will also be paid to genres, structure, and the lasting value of the book.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: Having successfully completed this course, students will have demonstrated that they (1)have readthe bookcarefully and are familiar with its contents and themes;(2) can interpret passages within it in their own right and in their socio-historical, literary, and canonical contexts; (3) have identified central issues in the critical study of it; (4) can articulate its primary theological and ethical concerns; (5) can use English-based tools for interpreting it;(6) can recognize hermeneutical issues arising from the diverse contexts of contemporary readers;and (7) can interpret it faithfully and creatively in the context of their congregation, of the contemporary world and of their own lives.

COURSE FORMAT: The class meets twice weekly for two hour sessions for a total of 40 instructional hours in the classroom, for lecture and discussion.

REQUIRED READING [60 hours]: 901 pages required.

Allen, Leslie C. A Liturgy of Grief: A Pastoral Commentary on Lamentations. Baker Academic, 2011. ISBN: 978-0801039607, Pub. Price $22.00 [145 pp. assigned].

Berlin, Adele. Lamentations: A Commentary. Westminster John Knox, 2002. ISBN: 978-0664229740, Pub. Price $30.00 [79 pages assigned].

Garrett, Duane, and Paul R. House. Song of Songs, Lamentations. Nelson, 2004. ISBN: 978-0849908255, Pub. Price $49.99 [106 pp. assigned].

O’Connor, Kathleen. M. Lamentations and the Tears of the World. Orbis, 2002. ISBN: 978-1570753992, Pub. Price $24.00. [63 pp. assigned].

Parry, Robin A. Lamentations. Eerdmans, 2010. ISBN: 978-0802827142, Pub. Price $25.00 [189 pp. assigned].

Sittser, Gerald L. A Grace Disguised: How the Soul Grows Through Loss. Zondervan, 1995. ISBN: 978-0310258957, Pub. Price $19.99 [184 pp. assigned]

eReserves:

Boda, Mark J. “The Priceless Gain of Penitence: From Communal Lament to Penitential Prayer in the ‘Exilic’ Liturgy of Israel.” Horizons in Biblical Theology 25 (2003): 51-75. [25 pages assigned]

Matthews, Victor H., and James C. Moyer. The Old Testament: Text and Context. 3rd ed. Baker Academic, 2012. ISBN: 978-0801048357, Pub. Price $35.00 [6 pp. assigned].

Miller, Patrick D. “Prayer as Persuasion: The Rhetoric and Intention of Prayer.” Word and World 13 (1993): 356-62 [7 pp. assigned]

Parry, Robin A., and Heath A. Thomas, editors. Great is Thy Faithfulness? Reading Lamentations as Sacred Scripture. Pickwick, 2011. ISBN: 978-1610974530, Pub. Price $36.00 [37 pp. assigned]

Pham, Xuan H. T. Mourning in the Ancient Near East and the Hebrew Bible. Sheffield Academic Press, 2000. ISBN: 978-1841270296, Pub. Price $148.00 [23 pp. assigned].

Reimer, David J. “Good Grief? A Psychological Reading of Lamentations.” ZAW 114 (2002): 542-59. [18 pages]

Thomas, Heath A. “Relating Prayer and Pain: Psychological Analysis and Lamentations Research.” Tyndale Bulletin 61 (2010): 183-201. [19 pages assigned]

RECOMMENDED READING:

Brown, Robert M. Elie Wiesel: Messenger to All Humanity, Revised Edition. University of Notre Dame, 1983. ISBN: 978-0268009205, Pub. Price $29.00.

Kübler-Ross, Elisabeth, and David Kessler. On Grief and Grieving: Finding the Meaning of Grief through the Five Stages of Loss. Scribner, 2014. ISBN: 978-1476775555. Pub. Price $16.00.

Lee, Nancy C., and Carleen Madolfo, editors, Lamentations in Ancient and Contemporary Cultural Contexts. Society of Biblical Literature, 2008. ISBN: 978-1589833579, Pub. Price $34.95.

Lewis, Clive S. A Grief Observed. Harper One, 1989. ISBN: 978-0060652388, Pub. Price $13.99.

Salters, Robin B. Lamentations: A Critical and Exegetical Commentary. T & T Clark, 2014. ISBN: 978-0567481672, Pub. Price $43.95.

Weems, Ann. Psalms of Lament. Westminster John Knox, 1995. ISBN: 978-0664258313, Pub. Price $17.00.

Wolterstorff, Nicholas. Lament for a Son. Eerdmans, 1987. ISBN: 978-0802802941, Pub. Price $12.00.

ASSIGNMENTS AND ASSESSMENT:

1. Attendance at classes [40 hours] and reading of the total of 901 pages of required reading [This assignment is related to learning outcomes ##1-7] [60 hours].
2. A one-hour midterm examination (20%). [This assignment is related to learning outcomes ##1-6] [5 hours].
3. Interpretive Assignment on Lamentations 4 [3,500 words] (30%). [This assignment is related to learning outcomes ##1-6] [42 hours].
4. A two-hour final examination (50%). [This assignment is related to learning outcomes ##1-6] [10 hours].
5. Personal lament writing (no assessment). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #7] [3 hours].

PREREQUISITES: BI500 or NE502; OT500 or OT501 or OT502.

RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: Counts as a biblical elective for the 120 MDiv, 80 MAT, and 80 MATM Programs (Fall 2015). Meets the OTBK requirement for the MAT Program (Winter 2010).

FINAL EXAMINATION: Yes, in class.

NOTE: This ECD is a reliable guide to the course design but is subject to modification. Textbook prices are set by publishers and are subject to change.