DESCRIPTION: This seminar is intended to ground advanced graduate students in
the scholarly conversation about the history of Israel, which is the foundation
for every other critical method in Old Testament scholarship. The course begins
with a consideration of the sources of data for writing the history of Israel,
and the methods of weighing them. It continues with a selective study of
various historical periods and moments, including the roots of Israelite
ethnicity, the united monarchy, the siege of Sennacherib, and the postexilic
Restoration. The final weeks are given to special topics such as gender, social
history, and the current debate between "maximalist" and "minimalist"
historians.
SIGNIFICANCE FOR LIFE AND MINISTRY: An understanding of Israelite history and
historiography is fundamental to the critical study of the Old Testament, and
also deepens and informs theological interpretations.
LEARNING OUTCOMES: Students successfully completing this course will have
demonstrated that they have (1) attained a familiarity with the most
significant primary textual and archaeological data relating to Israel's
history; (2) attained a familiarity with a mainstream scholarly reconstruction
of Israel's history, as well as major alternative positions; (3) gained an
ability to reason through historiographical decisions in keeping with scholarly
methods; (4) become familiar with the work of major scholars writing about
Israelite history; (5) gained expertise in classical Hebrew through weekly
translations.
COURSE FORMAT: This course will meet once weekly for a four-hour session.
Class sessions will involve weekly student presentations and guided discussions
on various topics.
REQUIRED TEXT:
Miller, J. Maxwell, and John H. Hayes. A History of Ancient Israel and
Judah. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2006.
STRONGLY RECOMMENDED TEXTS:
Finkelstein, Israel, and Amihai Mazar. The Quest for the Historical Israel:
Debating Archaeology and the History of Early Israel. Atlanta: SBL,
2007.
Grabbe, Lester L. Ancient Israel: What Do We Know and How Do We Know It?
London: T & T Clark, 2007.
Halpern, Baruch. The First Historians: The Hebrew Bible and History.
University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1988. (Paperback edition
1996.)
Killebrew, Ann E. Biblical Peoples and Ethnicity: An Archaeological Study of
Egyptians, Canaanites, Philistines, and Early Israel 1300-1100 B.C.E.
Atlanta: SBL, 2005.
King, Philip J., and Lawrence E. Stager. Life in Biblical Israel.
Library of Ancient Israel. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2001.
Long, V. Philips, Israel's Past in Present Research: Essays on Ancient
Israelite Historiography. SBTS 7. Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 1999.
Mieroop, Marc van de. Cuneiform Texts and the Writing of History.
London: Routledge, 1999.
_________. A History of the Ancient Near East ca. 3000 - 323 BC. 2nd ed.
London: Blackwell, 2007.
RECOMMENDED TEXTS:
A list of recommended texts will be provided.
ASSIGNMENTS: The final grade will consist of the following components: