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OT5350: 3 Hours – Fall 2019

Professor Dr. William A. Ross ([email protected]) TA Matthew Robinson Class Time Wednesday 8:30–12:00

Men reject their and slay them, but they love their martyrs and honor those they have slain. – Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov

Prophetia enim nihil aliud quam exposition et … praxis et applicatio legis fuit. – Martin Luther1

“I wish that all the LORD’s people were prophets and that the LORD would put his Spirit on them!” במדבר יא כט ,

(Explanation) פשׁר .A COURSE GOALS 1. To understand textual, historical, exegetical, and biblical-theological aspects of the books of Isaiah through Malachi in the broader context of the , particularly in connection with redemptive history and fulfillment in . 2. To appreciate and discuss the relevance of these books for the Church and the world today. 3. To deepen our love for and understanding of the Word of God in Scripture.

PREREQUISITES &C. None. However, Hebrew I and II are strongly encouraged in order to get the most out of this course as possible. I will use Hebrew alongside English in class regularly.

(Obligations) משמרות .B REQUIRED TEXTS a) Peter J. Gentry, How to Read & Understand the Biblical Prophets (Crossway, 2017), pp. 11–124. b) Chalmers, Interpreting the Prophets: Reading, Understanding, and Preaching from the Worlds of the Prophets (IVP Academic, 2015).

1 “For was nothing other than exposition and … practice and application of Law.” OT5350 Isaiah–Malachi

c) O. Palmer Robertson, The Christ of the Prophets (abridged ed. P&R, 2008), pp. 1– 502. d) Richard S. Hess, The Old Testament: A Historical, Theological, and Critical Introduction (Baker Academic, 2016), pp. 513–560, 568–710. e) Miles Van Pelt, ed., A Biblical Theological Introduction to the Old Testament: The Promised (Crossway, 2016), pp. 23–42, 247–339, 495–513, 543–550. f) The books of Isaiah through Malachi in any English .

ISAIAH READING (PROVIDED ON CANVAS) g) Gregory K. Beale, “A Specific Problem Confronting the Authority of the Bible: Should the ’s Claim That the Isaiah Wrote the Whole Be Taken at Face Value?” in The Erosion of Inerrancy in Evangelicalism: Responding to New Challenges to Biblical Authority (Crossway, 2008), pp. 123– 159. h) John N. Oswalt, “The Implications of an Evangelical View of Scripture for the Authorship of the Book of Isaiah,” in I. Block and Richard L. Schultz, eds., Bind Up the Testimony: Explorations in the Genesis of the Book of Isaiah (Hendrickson, 2015), pp. 273–291. i) Richard L. Schultz, “The Origins and Basic Arguments of the Multi-Author View of the Composition of Isaiah: Where Are We Now and How Did We Get Here?,” in Daniel I. Block and Richard L. Schultz, eds., Bind Up the Testimony: Explorations in the Genesis of the Book of Isaiah (Hendrickson, 2015), pp. 7–31. j) Richard L. Schultz, “How Many Isaiahs Were There and What Does It Matter?: Prophetic Inspiration in Recent Evangelical Scholarship,” in Vincent Bacote, Laura C. Miguélez, and Dennis L. Okholm, eds., Evangelicals & Scripture: Tradition, Authority, and Hermeneutics (InterVarsity Press, 2004), pp, 150–170. k) Richard L. Schultz, “Isaiah, Isaiahs, and Current Scholarship,” in James K. Hoffmeier and Dennis R. Magary, eds., Do Historical Matters Matter to Faith? A Critical Appraisal of Modern and Postmodern Approaches to Scripture (Crossway, 2012), pp. 243–261. l) Christopher R. Seitz, “–66: Making Sense of the Whole,” in Reading and Preaching the Book of Isaiah (Fortress, 1988), pp. 105–126.

CLASS REQUIREMENTS, ASSIGNMENTS, AND FINAL EXAM

Attendance & Class Participation I will not take attendance; but attendance is not optional. Note that to miss one class is to miss three lectures. If for any reason you know that you will be forced to miss a day of class or a reading quiz – or to be late to class – you must discuss this with me in advance to make appropriate arrangements. Except in cases of actual emergency, if you are simply late to class and miss a quiz or exam, etc., you shall

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bear the punishment of your iniquity. Malfunctioning alarm clocks, Charlotte traffic, unsleeping newborns, etc. are not valid reasons to be late to class. To achieve the Course Goals set out in (A.) above, you are expected to be at full focus in class and to participate by responding to my questions and asking your own. In this connection, laptops are provisionally allowed but discouraged. Do not waste your investment in seminary education by allowing The Screen to rule your attention in class. However you choose to take notes, I will provide lecture outlines (.pdf and .doc) to annotate in class. These will be made available on Canvas.

Reading Quizzes There will be three reading quizzes that cover the assignments listed above. A schedule is provided below. The quizzes will be taken on Canvas and will consist of fill-in-the-blank, true/false, and multiple choice questions. The quizzes are meant to be demanding but not draconian. With the exception of Quiz 3 (see below), questions will focus on major points, not minutiae. In order to help you do better, I allow you to use your personal, hand-written notes on your reading during the quiz. Honor code applies. ► Note that Quiz 3 only asks what percentage of assignments d) and e) you read. You will also be asked what percentage of f) you completed on the Final Exam.

Paper The paper must be written on a passage from the book of Isaiah. I recommend that your passage not be longer than ten or fifteen verses. Whatever passage you choose (and you will have to defend your choice), it must include one of the following texts2: • 40:3–5, 6–9, 13 • 55:3 • 42:1–4 • 56:7 • 45:23 • 59:7–8, 20–21 • 49:6, 8 • 61:1–2 • 52:7, 11, 15 • 62:11 • 53:1, 4, 7–8 • 65:1–2 • 54:1, 13 • 66:1–2

Your paper will be due in two stages prior to the final version, which itself is due on December 12th. In Part 1 you will defend your passage boundaries, then in Part 2 you will do a translation analysis. More details will be provided in class. All of the passages above come from so-called “Second” Isaiah and all of them are cited in the New Testament. The New Testament authors cite the book of Isaiah more than any other Old Testament book except the . Some of the Isaiah texts listed above are cited more than once in different New Testament books,

2 Anything separated by a comma is considered a separate text. For example, “Isa. 8:14, 17–18” is two texts, the first 8:14 and the second 8:17–18. Your passage might include both but it does not have to. More on this below.

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sometimes from a single chapter (e.g., vv. 11–12 appear in 1 Cor. 14:21, while v. 16 appears in Rom. 10:11). In broad strokes, your paper you must do three things: (1) Discuss the composition of the book of Isaiah (2) Exposit your chosen passage within the context of the book as a whole (3) Examine how your passage is used in the New Testament In the course of doing (1) above, you must at a minimum read and interact with the articles listed in the Isaiah Reading assignments.3 I do not want a summary. I want your synthesis and statement of the history of scholarship on the composition of Isaiah, as well as its implications for understanding and exegeting the book for the Church. These implications will then guide you when you do your exposition in (2), where you must not only explain the meaning of the passage but also discuss how it coheres with the broader structure, themes, and theology of the book of Isaiah as a whole. The final part of the paper in (3) can be brief – but it must be at least 1,000 words – and will discuss both why and how the New Testament author used your passage. The paper must be between 5,000 – 6,000 words (excluding footnotes and bibliography). You must double space, justify the text (Ctrl + J), and use Times New Roman font. Please use the SBL Handbook of Style (2nd ed.) for citation of primary and secondary sources. You are expected to do actual research for this paper and to demonstrate its results. To that end, you are required to use at least eight secondary sources (either books or articles), in addition to the texts assigned in this course. Sources prior to 1970, shady internet stuff, and Bible dictionaries do not count towards this requirement. Moreover, if you have taken Hebrew I and II, it must show in your paper. Your paper should also be enjoyable to read, which at a minimum requires graduate-level use of English punctuation, grammar, style, and rhetoric.4 You must turn in the final draft by midnight on the due date in both hard copy and PDF (via Canvas). Late assignments will be penalized by one letter grade per calendar day. Papers will be graded according to the following general rubric: • Argument (30%): Is the paper arguing a clear, coherent thesis throughout? • Scholarship (40%): Has the paper handled the biblical text responsibly? Has the paper made careful and discerning use of secondary sources, including honest engagement with viewpoints with which the author disagrees? • Quality (25%): Is the paper well-structured, logical, and cohesive? Is it well- written for its target audience? Is it clear and easy to read?

3 You are expected to go beyond these sources in your research. 4 By “rhetoric” I mean, at a minimum, the use of an introduction with a clear thesis, logical flow of argument throughout the body, and a persuasive conclusion)

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• Style (5%): Does it meet the required style guidelines? Are footnotes and bibliography composed correctly?

Final Exam The final will be taken during the final exam period on the Lockdown Browser and will cover the entire course’s lectures and reading. It will be mostly long essay format along with select short answer, true/false, etc. It will be challenging but there are no tricks involved. I will provide a study guide in advance from which the exam will draw. N.B. You will be asked what percentage of the total assigned reading that you personally completed (including English Bible reading). Come to the exam ready to be honest, with this percentage calculated.

COURSE SCHEDULE

Date Lecture Topic Assignment

21st Course Introduction; Introduction to Prophetic Literature

Aug 28th Biblical History

th

4 , Reading Quiz 1 (a, b)

11th , Paper Part 1 Due ept

S th

18 Isaiah Part I SSYRIAN A 25th Isaiah Part II

2nd ; ; Paper Part 2 Due 9th [Fall Break: No Class]

ct 16th Reading Quiz 2 (c) O ABYLONIAN

23rd B

30th Daniel 6th ; ; Zechariah ERSIAN

13th ; Malachi; History of the P Reading Quiz 3 (d, e) ov

N [ETS: No Class] [Thanksgiving Break: No Class]

D 12th Final Paper Due

All parts of this syllabus are subject to change; any and all such changes will be communicated in advance in writing.

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(Statutes) חקות .C GRADING POLICY & SCALE

25% Reading Quizzes A 100–97 C 82–80 10% Paper Assignments A- 96–94 C- 79–78 30% Final Paper B+ 93–91 D+ 77–75 35% Final Exam B 90–88 D 74–72 B- 87–86 D- 71–70 C+ 85–83 F 69–0 (Guidelines) הלכות .D READING In this course I am assuming that you enjoy reading, are prepared to learn independently from doing so at length, and that ongoing book-learning will shape your life and ministry. Hence, a significant portion of your grade (25%) will be based upon your interaction with the assigned reading. You may not always agree with what you are reading; that is okay. Take the time to understand, digest it, and reflect critically on the material. No audiobooks allowed. There is a total of ~1238 pages of reading for this course (not including English Bible), which works out to approximately 120 pages per week for the duration of the semester. Devise a schedule and stick to it in order to be well prepared for the reading quizzes. You are welcome (and even encouraged) to prepare for reading quizzes by means of group study. However, you are required to do all the reading yourself prior to such activity. You will be asked what percentage of the total assigned reading you completed personally on the final exam.

RTS CHARLOTTE CLASSROOM TECHNOLOGY USAGE

RTS Charlotte recognizes how essential it is for students to have reliable, campus-wide access to the internet. For that reason, we have made Wi-Fi available for our student body, not only in the library and student lounges, but also in the classrooms. We know that students need to use the internet to download class materials, access files on the Cloud, and locate other important information. However, we also recognize that internet access in the classroom provides opportunity for abuse and misuse. Some students have unfortunately used their internet access to engage in many activities that distract them from the classroom lectures (e.g., surfing the web, checking sports scores, playing games). Not only does such activity hamper a student’s own seminary education, but it distracts other students who can easily view the screens of nearby students. In addition, donors and classroom guests (who often sit in the back) can see this inappropriate internet usage, which reflects poorly on RTS. Classroom etiquette includes leaving cell phones turned off, refraining from surfing the Internet or playing

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OT5350 Isaiah–Malachi computer games or other distracting activities. In addition, students must respect standards set by individual professors regarding the use of technology during their class.

In order to address this issue, we must appeal to the integrity of the students as ones who are preparing for a lifetime of ministry to Christ and his church. We expect each student to take personal responsibility for proper classroom technology usage and to encourage others around them to do the same. All RTS-Charlotte students are accountable to the policies stated in the Student Handbook and Academic Catalog and are therefore expected to use technology in the classroom only for appropriate class- related activities. Student conduct is under the supervision of the Dean of Students.

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Course Objectives Related to MDiv* Student Learning Outcomes Course: OT5350 Isaiah to Malachi Professor: Ross Campus: Charlotte Date: Fall 2019 MDiv* Student Learning Outcomes Rubric Mini- In order to measure the success of the MDiv curriculum, RTS has defined  Strong the following as the intended outcomes of the student learning process.  Moderate Each course contributes to these overall outcomes. This rubric shows the  Minimal contribution of this course to the MDiv outcomes.  None *As the MDiv is the core degree at RTS, the MDiv rubric will be used in this syllabus. Articulation Broadly understands and articulates knowledge, both Skills and concepts taught in class (oral & oral and written, of essential biblical, theological, Strong lectures for application in the written) historical, and cultural/global information, including exegetical paper. Stresses clear writing, details, concepts, and frameworks. Also includes cogent thought, and concision. ability to preach and teach the meaning of Scripture to both heart and mind with clarity and enthusiasm.

Scripture Significant knowledge of the original meaning of Skills taught for reading, Scripture. Also, the concepts for and skill to research Strong understanding, and interpreting further into the original meaning of Scripture and to Scripture through the use of academic apply Scripture to a variety of modern circumstances. tools and, where appropriate, the use (Includes appropriate use of original languages and of Hebrew. hermeneutics; and integrates theological, historical, and cultural/global perspectives.) Reformed Significant knowledge of Reformed theology and Scripture engaged from a unified, Theology practice, with emphasis on the Westminster Moderate redemptive historical perspective. Standards.

Sanctification Demonstrates a love for the Triune God that aids the Class opened with prayer. The study of student’s sanctification. Minimal the text of scripture is part of sanctification. Worldview Burning desire to conform all of life to the Word of The study of the text of scripture leads God. Includes ability to interact within a Minimal to application to all of life. denominational context, within the broader worldwide church, and with significant public issues. Winsomely Embraces a winsomely Reformed ethos. (Includes an Careful and respectful interaction with Reformed appropriate ecumenical spirit with other Christians, Moderate other scholarship is part of class especially Evangelicals; a concern to present the lectures, assigned reading, and writing. Gospel in a God-honoring manner to non-Christians; and a truth-in-love attitude in disagreements.) Pastoral Ability to minister the Word of God to hearts and Equips students with foundational skills Ministry lives of both churched and unchurched, to include Moderate for , focusing on scripture as preaching, teaching, leading in worship, leading and God’s revealed word to facilitate shepherding the local congregation, aiding in spiritual proper worship and application to the maturity, concern for non-Christians. Church. Focus on understanding parts of scripture in light of the whole helps communicate its message.

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