Summer 2004/Pasadena
Five-week Intensive: June 21 - July 23
OT504
Goldingay
OT504: WRITINGS. John Goldingay.
DESCRIPTION:
- The course covers the books in the third section of the Hebrew
scriptures: Psalms, Job, Proverbs, the Scrolls (Ruth, Ecclesiastes, Song of
Songs, Lamentations, and Esther), Daniel, Ezra-Nehemiah, and
Chronicles.
RELEVANCE FOR MINISTRY:
- By the end of the course students should have: (1) become excited
about these books with their wide-ranging significance for our life with God;
(2) considered the importance of the wisdom books in the modern world against
their middle eastern background; (3) gained expertise in approaches to
interpreting the Psalms and let this bring about developments in the way they
pray; (4) considered the way Israel's story is retold and extended in the Old
Testament and its significance for the modern church; and (5) considered
approaches to the interpretation of Old Testament short stories and their
significance for women and men today.
COURSE FORMAT:
- The course meets for four hours twice a week for five weeks. Each
class combines lecture and plenary discussion with work in groups of four or
five; the course includes some dramatized reading, creative writing, and
listening to recorded material. Classes require substantial preparation on the
part of students, on average two hours of preparation for each class hour,
including study of the biblical text and other reading which is specified. The
course emphasizes collaborative learning and students need to be willing to be
committed to working together with other students.
REQUIRED READING:
- Students do not need to possess any books except an NRSV and a copy
of the Course Reader.
- Students should obtain the Course Reader before the course starts.
RECOMMENDED READING:
- Brenner, A., ed. A Feminist Companion to the Wisdom Literature,
A Feminist Companion to the Song of Songs, A Feminist Companion to Ruth.
Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1995, 1993, and 1993. Also subsequent
volumes in this series edited by Brenner.
- Brueggemann, W. The Message of the Psalms. Minneapolis: Augsburg,
1984.
- ______. The Psalms and the Life of Faith. Minneapolis: Fortress,
1995.
- Crenshaw, J. Old Testament Wisdom. Atlanta: Knox, 1981/London: SCM,
1982; rev. ed., 1999.
- Goldingay, J. Old Testament Theology, Volume One. InterVarsity
Press, 2003.
- Gunn, D., and D. N. Fewell. Narrative in the Hebrew Bible.
Oxford/New York: Oxford University Press, 1993.
- Kidner, D. The Wisdom of Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes. Downers
Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1985 (= Wisdom to Live By. Leicester:
InterVarsity Press, 1985).
ASSIGNMENTS:
- Preparation notes for each class (50%).
- Attendance at classes. Students who miss the first or last class forfeit
5% of their grade. Students who miss a class other than the first or last take
a final exam based on further reading detailed in the course reader.
- Two 7-10 page papers, or one 15-20-page paper, by negotiation
(50%).
PREREQUISITES: None.
RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: Meets M. Div. core requirement in Old Testament "c"
(OTC).
FINAL EXAMINATION:
- There is an exam for students who miss a class (see [2] under
Assignments). The mark is then combined with that for the files of preparation
notes.