The School of Theology & Religious Studies

The School of Theology & Religious Studies The Catholic University of America TRS 804G The BOOK OF EZEKIEL Spring 2009, Th 9:35 AM-12:05 PM

Rev. Christopher Begg, Ph.D., S.T.D. Office: Caldwell 426 Office Hours: 1:30-2:30 (and by appointment) Email: [email protected]; Phones: (202) 238-1667 (residence); (202)319-6505 (office)

COURSE DESCRIPTION This seminar will begin with a series of lectures by the Professor that are intended to provide students with an overview of key questions concerning the Book of Ezekiel and the scholarly discussion concerning those questions. The second part of the course will be devoted to presentation of student papers and the discussion of these by the group. Each class will begin with students translating an assigned passage of Ezekiel and answering questions about the verb forms of the passage.

COURSE GOALS The goals of the course are: (1) to familiarize students with the Book of Ezekiel and the scholarly issues posed by it; (2) to give students practice in the application of a variety of scholarly methods in their application to Ezekiel; and (3) to assist students in developing the writing and research necessary to carry out original research in biblical studies.

GOALS FOR STUDENT LEARNING At the conclusion of the course, students should be familiar with: (1) the Book of Ezekiel and the scholarly discussion concerning this; and (2) the various methods used in the study of the book.

GRADE The final grade will be based on the student's paper (1/3), class participation (1/3), and a take-home final exam (1/3) concerning the Professor's lectures. The University grading system for graduate students is available at http://policies.cua.edu/academicgrad//gradesfull.cfm#iii. Reports of grades in courses are available at the end of each term on http://cardinalstation.cua.edu.

ACADEMIC HONESTY Academic honesty is expected of all CUA students. Faculty are required to initiate the imposition of sanctions when they find violations of academic honesty, such as plagiarism, improper use of the student's own work, cheating and fabrication. The following sanctions are presented in the University procedures related to Academic Dishonesty (from http://policies.cua.edu/academicundergrad/integrityprocedures.cfm): Please review the complete texts of the University policy and procedures regarding Student Academic Dishonesty, including requirements for appeals, at http:policies.cua.edu/academicundergrad/integrity.cfm. CLASS POLICIES AND EXPECTATIONS Students are expected to attend all class sessions and to be on time for these. If you must miss a class, please notify Professor in advance concerning this.

ACCOMODATIONS FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES Any student who feels s/he may need an accomodation based on the impact of a disability should contact the professor privately to discuss specific needs. Please contract Disability Support Services (at 202 319-5211, room 207 Pryzbla Center) to coordinate reasonable accomodations for students with documented disabilities. To read about the services and policies, please visit the website: http:disability support.cua.edu.

SEMINAR SCHEDULE (TENTATIVE) Jan. 15: Presentation of Course

Jan 22: Ezekiel: Times & Person

Jan 29: The Book of Ezekiel: divisions & features

Feb. 5: The Text of Ezekiel: Hebrew & Greek

Feb 12: History of Ezekiel Scholarship

Feb 19: " " " " (cont.)

Feb. 26: The Message of Ezekiel

March 12: Ezekiel and other OT literary complexes/traditions

March 19: " " " " " " " (cont.)

March 26: Ezekiel in the NT

April 2: Student Paper

REQUIRED TEXTS The Book of Ezekiel in English, Hebrew, and Greek Henry McKeating, Ezekiel (OTG; Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1993) EXEGETICAL PAPERS Students are asked to choose, in consultation with the Professor, a chapter-length passage from the Book of Ezekiel as the topic of their paper by Feb. 5th.The papers should follow the "Instructions for Contributors to the Catholic Biblical Quarterly" and the Chicago Manual of Style. Where there are differences between the two, the former should be followed.The exegetical paper should address the following points: 1. the delimitation of the passage from its context 2. translation of the passage (with text-critical and translational notes) 3. the literary form(s) of the passage 4. the structure of the passage and its divisions 5. exegesis of the passage (with attention to its key terms, concepts, images, and the OT and ANE background of these) 6. the question of the unity and "authenticity" of the passage 7. the theology and anthropology of the passage 8. the relation of the passage to both its proximate context and the book as a whole 9. bibliography (including works in languages other than English)

PROCEDURES FOR CLASS PRESENTATION OF PAPERS Students are asked to distribute their (draft) papers to the class a week prior to the session at which they will present. All students are asked to carefully read the paper (and the passage on which it is based) prior to the session. At the student's designated session, he/she will give a 20- 30 minute overview of the paper, its salient findings and remaining questions. Thereafter, all class members and the Professor will offer their observations on the paper to the presentator, who will have an opportunity to respond to these. At the end of the session, the other students and the Professor will turn over their written comments to the presentor so that he/she can utilize these in rewriting the paper in final form.

BIBLIOGRAPHY For bibliographical indications, please consult the above-cited book of McKeating and Old Testament Abstracts (OTA).