Content

This course will introduce the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible) and critically examine its contents for insight into the life, the history and faith of the people of God in ancient Israel. The unit will survey the contents of the Old Testament which formed and established a people’s identity; the historical contexts; the diversity of genres; theological positions and of the OT books. The unit will equip the student to assess the meaning of the texts in their ancient Near Eastern environment; to understand the development of Hebrew religion through the 2nd temple period; and the relation of the OT texts to issues of contemporary faith.

Unit code: BA1009P

Unit status: Archived (New unit)

Points: 18.0

Unit level: Undergraduate Level 1

Unit discipline: Old Testament

Delivery Mode: Online

Proposing College: Pilgrim Theological College

Show when this unit is running

Learning outcomes

1.

Demonstrate understanding of the textual, cultural, historical, literary, religious, and theological aspects of the Old Testament

2.

Describe the historical and socio-cultural contexts of the ancient Near Eastern world in which the books of the Old Testament emerged

3.

Develop a critical framework for reading and interpreting the diverse contents of the Old Testament

4.

Engage the Old Testament and its material in theological reflection and in preaching

5.

Discern the significance and relevance of the Old Testament in our times and places

6.

Build a foundation for more advanced study of the Old Testament.

Unit sequence

15 Points of Biblical Studies

Pedagogy

Lectures; Exercises; Seminars; Tutorials

Indicative Bibliography

  • Boadt, Lawrence. Reading the Old Testament: An Introduction. Second Edition. Revised and Updated by Richard Clifford and Daniel Harrington. New York/Mahwah, N. J.: Paulist Press, 2012.
  • Brueggemann, Walter and Tod Linafelt. An Introduction to the Old Testament: The Canon and Christian Imagination. Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2012. (recommended for purchase)
  • Collins, John J. Introduction to the Hebrew Bible. 2nd ed. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2014. (recommended for purchase)
  • Dick, Michael B. Reading the Old Testament: An Inductive Introduction. Peabody, Massachusetts: 2008.
  • Drane, Jonathan. Introducing the Old Testament. Third Edition. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2011.
  • Gertz, Jan Christian, Angelika Berlejung, Konrad Schmid and Markus Witte. T & T Clark Handbook on the Old Testament: An Introduction to the Literature, Religion and History of the Old Testament. London/New York: T & T Clark International, 2012.
  • Gravett, Sandra L., Karla G. Bohmbach, F. V. Greifenhagen and Donald L. Polaski. An Introduction to the Hebrew Bible: A Thematic Approach. Louisville/London: Westminster John Knox Press, 2008. (recommended for purchase)
  • JPS Guide, The Jewish Bible. Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society, 2008.
  • Knight, Douglas A. and Amy-Jill Levine. The Meaning of the Bible: What the Jewish Scriptures and Christian Old Testament Can Teach us. New York: Harper One, 2011.
  • Rutledge, Fleming. And God Spoke to Abraham: Preaching from the Old Testament. Grand Rapids, Michigan/Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2011.
  • Schottroff, Luise and Marie-Theres Wacker, Editors. Feminist Biblical Interpretation: A Compendium of Critical Commentary on the Books of the Bible and Related Literature. Grand Rapids, Michigan/Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2010.

Assessment

Type Description Word count Weight (%)
Essay

Online participation in Tutorials

0 10.0
Essay

A short exercise - 500 Words

0 20.0
Essay

An Essay introducing a book of the OT – 1500 Words

0 30.0
Approvals

Unit approved for the University of Divinity by John Capper on 1 Nov, 2014

Unit record last updated: 2020-10-28 14:50:33 +1100