Spring 2007/Pasadena
OT507
Butler

OT507: OLD TESTAMENT EXEGESIS: JOB. James T. Butler.


DESCRIPTION: The book of Job will be examined critically from the twin perspectives of its meaning in its ancient context and its continuing significance for the modern community of faith. Significant time will be devoted to the translation and careful exegetical examination of the Hebrew text of representative passages. Lectures will address larger thematic and structural issues, and will explore parallels with other ancient Near Eastern representatives of theodicy literature. Time will be given to discussion of examples of the heritage of Job in Western culture and in the theological reflection of the church.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: Students completing this course will have demonstrated (1) the ability to use appropriate tools to translate and analyze portions of the Hebrew text of Job; (2) basic skills in exegeting Old Testament texts; (3) an awareness of the literary complexity of the book of Job and a consistent, exegetically sound interpretation of its message; (4) an ability to relate Job to the wisdom literature of the Old Testament and to appreciate the distinctive contributions of this literature to biblical theology; and (5) an ability to articulate responses to the theological challenges posed by suffering.

RELEVANCE FOR MINISTRY: Job offers crucial lessons for ministry to a suffering world: the limits of our theological systems in the face of unexplained suffering; the need for humility and self-scrutiny in our efforts to help those who suffer; the need to recognize and to advocate for those who suffer in our midst and "outside the gate," in the very diverse social and cultural settings of our world.

COURSE FORMAT: The course will meet twice weekly, two hours per session.

REQUIRED READING:

English text of Job; Hebrew text of selected passages.

One of the following two commentaries:
Hartley, J.E. The Book of Job. NICOT. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1988. OR

Balentine, Samuel E. Job. Macon, GA: Smyth and Helwys, 2006.
Gutiérrez, Gustavo. On Job: God-Talk and the Suffering of the Innocent. Maryknoll: Orbis, 1987.

MacLeish, A. J.B. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1958.
See the Biblical Division bibliography "Linguistic and Exegetical Books Required in the Master of Divinity Program" available in the SOT Academic Advising office.

RECOMMENDED READING:
Murphy, Roland E. The Tree of Life: An Exploration of Biblical Wisdom Literature. 3rd ed. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2002.

ASSIGNMENTS: The requirements will fall into three areas:
  1. Weekly preparation for translation and exegetical discussions.

  2. The writing of an exegetical paper (12-15 pages).

  3. The use of lecture notes and syllabus readings to develop answers to study questions from which the final examination will be drawn.

PREREQUISITES: LG502.
PLEASE NOTE: OT 507 (Hebrew exegesis, MDiv core) and OT 570 (English elective) are different versions of the same course, meeting together one day and separately the other days. Only one of the two classes may be taken.

RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: Meets MDiv core requirement in Old Testament "c" (OTCE).

FINAL EXAMINATION: Yes.