Fall 2014/Pasadena

OT500

Butler

OT500: OLD TESTAMENT INTRODUCTION (4 Units: 160 hours). James T. Butler.

DESCRIPTION: This course orients students to the literature of the Old Testament in its various literary, historical, and theological contexts and to Old Testament interpretation in service of Christian practice. The books of Genesis, Exodus, Deuteronomy, 2 Samuel, Job, Psalms, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Daniel will be the focus of study.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: Students who successfully complete this course will have demonstrated that they: (1) have a basic grasp of the contents of Israel’s Scriptures, history, and geography; (2) can use interpretive approaches that explore both the literary features of the Old Testament and the historical and cultural contexts in which it came into being; (3) can assess hermeneutical issues arising from the diverse contexts of contemporary readers; (4) can relate the Old Testament as Scripture to Christian theology, mission, and discipleship; and (5) have used this knowledge and these abilities to interpret some key Old Testament texts.

COURSE FORMAT: This class meets once per week for three hour sessions for a total of 30 hours of classroom instruction for lecture and discussion plus 10 hours of directed learning activities for a total of 40 instructional hours.

REQUIRED READING: 1,200 total pages required.

Coogan, Michael D. A Brief Introduction to the Old Testament. 2nd ed. OxfordUP, 2011. ISBN: 978-0199830114, Pub. Price $64.95 [400 pp.].

Genesis; Exodus; Deuteronomy; 2 Samuel; Job; Psalms 42-106; Isaiah 1-14, 40-53, 63-66; Jeremiah 1-36; Daniel (NRSV, TNIV, or CEB); Ancient Near Eastern Texts Packet [450 pp.].

Articles from Moodle e-reserves [approx. 350 pp.]

ANE texts

Clements, Ronald E. “The Messianic Hope in the Old Testament,” JSOT, 43 (1989): 3-19.

Fernandez, Eleazar S. “Exodus-Toward-Egypt: Filipino-Americans’ Struggle to Realize the Promised Land in America,” in E.S. Fernandez and F.F. Segovia (eds.), A Dream Unfinished: Theological Reflections on America from the Margins. (Orbis, 2001) pp. 167-81.

Garber, David G. “Resisting Daniel: The Church’s Fear of Bearing Witness to a Difficult Book,” Review and Expositor 109 (2012): 531-539.

Gutiérrez, Gustavo. “’But Why Lord’: On Job and the Suffering of the Innocent,” Other Side 23 (1987): 18-23.

Jones, Barry A. “Resisting the Power of Empire: The Theme of Resistance in the Book of Daniel,” Review and Expositor 109 (2012): 541-556.

Lapsley, Jacqueline E. “Hearing Whispers: Attending to Women’s Words in the Voice of Rachel,” in J.E. Lapsley, Whispering the Word (Westminster, 2005), pp. 21-34.

Miller, Patrick D. “The Sufficiency and Insufficiency of the Commandments,” in P. D. Miller, The Way of the Lord (Eerdmans, 2007), pp. 17-36.

O’Connor, Kathleen M. “Teaching Jeremiah,” in Perspectives in Religious Studies 36 (2009): 273-287.

Roberts, J. J. M. “In Defense of the Monarchy: the Contribution of Israelite Kingship to Biblical Theology,” in P.D. Miller; P.D. Hanson; S.D. McBride (eds.), Ancient Israelite Religion (Fortress, 1987), pp. 377-396.

Ruiz, Jean-Pierre. “Contexts in Conversation: First World and Third World Readings of Job,” Journal of Hispanic/Latino Theology 2 (1995): 5-29.

Wilkinson, David. “Reading Genesis 1-3 in the Light of Modern Science,” in S.C. Barton and D. Wilkinson (eds.), Reading Genesis after Darwin (Oxford, 2009), pp. 127-144.

(Others on Deuteronomy, Psalms, Isaiah.)

RECOMMENDED READING: A bibliography of recommended readings will be provided with the syllabus.

ASSIGNMENTS AND ASSESSMENT:

  1. 1,200 pages of required reading [80 hours].
  2. Short answer exam covering terminology, names, dates, geography (20%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1]. [5 hours].
  3. Completion of four 3-page “exam essays” covering key texts and topics (40%). [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #2-5]. [16 hours].
  4. Two forum posts [250 words] and four responses [100 words] [4 hours].
  5. An interpretive essay on an assigned text [2,500 words] (40%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #5]. [25 hours].

PREREQUISITES: None.

RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: Meets a core requirement in the 120 MDiv Program. Meets the OTC requirement in the 144 MDiv Program. Option to meet requirement in the MAT Program (Winter 2010) and a core requirement for the MATM, MAICS, and MACL Programs (Winter 2010).

FINAL EXAMINATION: None.


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.

For your convenience, order these texts online through the Archives Bookshop.