Content

This unit will introduce the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) 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 Hebrew Bible which formed and established a people’s identity; the historical contexts in which these books were written, formed and shaped; the diversity of genres; the theological positions of these 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 these Hebrew texts to issues of contemporary life and faith.

Unit code: BA8010P

Unit status: Approved (Major revision)

Points: 24.0

Unit level: Postgraduate Foundational

Unit discipline: Old Testament

Delivery Mode: Face to Face

Proposing College: Pilgrim Theological College

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Learning outcomes

1.

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

2.

Discuss the relevance of the historical and socio-cultural contexts of the ancient Near Eastern world in which the books of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament emerged

3.

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

4.

Engage the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament and its material in theological reflection and in preaching

5.

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

6.

Demonstrate competence in applying exegetical principles to selected texts as a foundation for more advanced study of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament.

Unit sequence

This is a foundational unit and will function as a prerequisite for advanced units in the discipline

Pedagogy

Assigned readings; Lectures; 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.

Collins, John J. Introduction to the Hebrew Bible. 2nd ed. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2014. (recommended for purchase).

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.

Hayes, Christine. Introduction to the Bible. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2012.

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.

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.

Yee, Gale., Page, Jr., Hugh R., and Coomber, Matthew J.M., Fortress Commentary on the Bible: The Old Testament and Apocrypha. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress, 2014.

Assessment

Type Description Word count Weight (%)

Variant 1

Essay

A short exercise - 1000 Words

1000 20.0
Essay

An Essay introducing a book of the OT – 3000 Words

3000 40.0
Exegetical Essay

An Exegetical essay - 3000 Words

3000 40.0

Variant 2

Essay

Essay - 2500 words

3000 40.0
Exegetical Essay

Exegetical Essay - 4000 words

4000 60.0
Approvals

Unit approved for the University of Divinity by Prof Albert Haddad on 24 Aug, 2022

Unit record last updated: 2022-08-24 15:02:24 +1000