History of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament)--Current Academic Understandings
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DOCUMENT RESUME ED 474 890 SO 034 275 AUTHOR Abrahamson, Brant; Smith, Fred TITLE History of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament)--Current Academic Understandings. PUB DATE 2001-00-00 NOTE 138p.; Includes 13 lesson plans and a teacher's manual. AVAILABLE FROM The Teachers' Press, 3731 Madison Avenue, Brookfield, IL 60513 ($15). Tel: 708-485-5983; Fax: 708-387-7057; e-mail: [email protected]; Web site: http://www.angelfire.com/biz/tchpr/ . PUB TYPE Guides Classroom Teacher (052) EDRS PRICE EDRS Price MF01/PC06 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Ancient History; *Archaeology; *Biblical Literature; Discussion (Teaching Technique); Lecture Method; Maps; *Middle Eastern History; *Oral Tradition; Religion Studies; Social Studies; Units of Study IDENTIFIERS Bible Study; *Old Testament; Timelines ABSTRACT The lessons in the teacher's guide about the Bible's Old Testament are based on historic and scientific scholarship and, to avoid a sectarian point of view, focus on the factual data generated by academic research. The lessons are based on what is known about the nature of oral tradition, recent archaeological findings, and the academic biblical research that has been ongoing for almost two centuries. The teacher's guide is divided into four sections: (1) "Introduction" (Religious Belief and Scientifically-Oriented Scholarship; Teaching and Religious Bias; Parents and Local Religious Leaders; Personal Student Beliefs; Dealing with Miraculous Happenings and Abhorrent Practices); (2) "Thoughts on Methods of Instruction" (Pictures and Preparation; Repetition, Memorization and Drill; Evaluating Student Work; Conclusion);(3) "Lecture/Discussion Materials" (Understanding the Origin of a Supernatural Story; Religion of Zoroaster; Religious Change: Judaism and the Babylonian Captivity; Ancient and Modern World Views; Comparing Western (Abrahamic) Religions with South Asian Faiths (Hinduism and Buddhism); Golden Rule); and (4)"Quizzes, Timelines, and Maps." The student lesson plan series on the Old Testament is designed to provide students with an understanding of how, from a scholar's perspective, the Bible came into existence. The lessons seek to provide students with simple but authoritative answers to questions about the characteristics of oral history upon which much of the Bible is based, when various parts of it were written, how its translation into Greek changed its meaning, and when it became finalized for Jews and for Christians. The first segment, "To the Student and Teacher: Setting the Stage," is followed by 13 chapters: (1) "Geographic World of the Bible"; (2) "Dating Bible Stories and Oral Tradition"; (3) "Israelites Before 1000 BCE"; (4) "Before Israel and Judah 1000 to 900 BCE"; (5) "Israel and Judah 900 to 600 BCE"; (6)"Hebrews, Babylonians, Persians 600-500 BCE"; (7) "Jews and Persians 500 to 300 BCE"; (8) "Jews, Greeks and Hasmonaeans 300 to 50 BCE"; (9) "Jews, Romans and the World From 50 BCE On"; (10) "Old Testament and Christianity";(11) "Jewish and Christian Canons"; (12) "Old Testament and the Koran"; and (13) "Summary and Conclusion." Each chapter includes notes. An appendix lists Bible books (when composed and material type/historical setting). (Contains 28 references.) (BT) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. History of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) Current Academic Understandings tr) cN1 71- MO Cf) Brant Abrahamson Fred Smith U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS CENTER (ERIC) )4. This document has been reproduced as BEEN GRANTED BY received from the person or organization originating it. Minor changes have been made to dismhaason_ improve reproduction quality. Points of view or opinions stated in this TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES document do not necessarily represent INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) 2 official OERI position or policy. History of the Hebrew Bible: Current Academic Understandings (90 page text and 40 page teacher's manual) is a unit of study that is available for $12.50 per copy, plus $2.50 per order for postage and handling. Include check or institutional purchase order. The unit may be reproduced for classes in one building of a school district when credit is given. For classes in additional buildings, purchase at least one additional copy for each building. As a courtesy and to encourage us, please send an e-mail, letter or fax to The Teachers' Press stating, in general terms, how many copies are being reproduced and who will be receiving them. About the Authors: Brant Abrahamson and Fred Smith are career history and social studies teachers. As they taught, they became deeply frustrated with the deficiencies of standard textbooks, and they began developing alternative materials for their students. Some of their lessons and units have been published by GSP, Tucson, AZ, and The Teachers' Press, Brookfield, IL, 60513. Current publications include Teaching About Religion in History Classes: Sacred and Secular History, The Decalogue: Bible Scholarship for Use Today, Calendars and Thinking Logically, Thinking Logically: A Study of Common Fallacies, Thinking About the "Mysterious," Thinking About Religion From a Global Perspective, Prejudice in Group Relations, Ways to Influence People, and Family Group Living. Abrahamson's degrees are from Augustana College (BA) and the University of Iowa (MA). Smith graduated from the University of Chicago (BA) and Northern Illinois University (MA). Abrahamson was selected as an Illinois Master Teacher. COPYRIGHT © BRANT ABRAHAMSON 2001 THE TEACHERS' PRESS 3731 MADISON AVE. BROOKFIELD, IL 60513 (708) 485-5983 FAX (708) 387-7057 [email protected] http://www.angelfire.com/biz/tchpr 3 History of the Hebrew Bible Table of Contents Table of Contents To The Student and teacher: Setting the Stage 1 Chapter One The Geographic World of the Bible 7 Chapter Two Dating Bible Stories and Oral Tradition 13 Chapter Three The Israelites Before 1000 BCE 19 Chapter Four Before Israel & Judah--1000 to 900 BCE 25 Chapter Five Israel & Judah--900 to 600 BCE 31 Chapter Six Hebrews, Babylonians, Persians--600-500 BCE 37 Chapter Seven Jews & Persians--500 to 300 BCE 43 Chapter Eight Jews, Greeks & Hasmonaeans--300 to 50 BCE 49 Chapter Nine Jews, Romans & the World--From 50 BCE On 55 Chapter Ten The Old Testament and Christianity 61 Chapter Eleven The Jewish and Christian Canons 67 Chapter Twelve The Old Testament and the Koran 73 Chapter Thirteen Summary and Conclusion 79 Appendix Bible Books 85 Bibliography 89 i 4 To the Student and Teacher History of the Hebrew Bible To the Student andTeacher:Setting the Stage Jews, Christians andMuslims believe that the universeis the creation of one God whodwells in a spiritual realmoutside of the created universe. They believe "he" createdthe universe where intelligentcreatures might arise with whom he couldcommunicate. Through communicationthey believe this spiritual Godprovides them with Divineguidelines for living. This communication take manyforms. Direct contact comesthrough prayers, meditation,mystical experiences, and awide variety of ceremonies. Jews, Christians andMuslims also believe thatGod first communicated with the ancestorsof the Jews several thousand years ago. They believe the HebrewBible--the Christian OldTestament--is a record of this communication.i This series of lessons isdesigned to provide studentswith an understanding of how, from ascholar's perspective, this Bible cameinto existence. We seek to providestudents with simple butauthoritative answers to questionssuch as these:2 1. What are the characteristicsof oral history upon whichmuch of the Hebrew Bible is based? 2. How accurate is theMiddle Eastern history that itcontains? 3. When were the various partsof it written and underwhat circumstances? 4. How did its translationinto Greek change its meaning? 5. When did it become"finalized" for Jews? For Christians? We stick to natural causeand effect. We do not attempt todeal with questions about Divine inspiration.It may be that a cosmic Godhas "spoken" to humans throughthe Bible. It may be that theworldly events equally. Both Jews 1We use the title, "Hebrew Bible" and "OldTestament" interchangeably and about biblia, which is Latin for the and Christians consider the material tobe holy. Bible is a word that comes from byblos because papyrus was Greek word meaning "book." TheGreeks called paper made from papyrus Mediterranean Sea in what is now imported from Bib los, a Phoenician portcity on the eastern shore of the Lebanon. Sets of written papers werecalled biblia - -as in bibliography. (published by 2 The authors of the booklet called The Bible &Public Schools: A First Amendment Guide clearly that "Any class about the National Bible Association and theFirst Amendment Center) state quite the Bible must be taught in an objective,academic manner." 1 5 History of the Hebrew Bible To the Student and Teacher described in the Bible can be explained by miracles, sudden Divine revelations and the like. But, this religious understanding is outside the scope of our inquiry. Therefore, these lessons maybe quite different from those students learn in synagogues, churches or from previous studies. As presented in these lessons, most books in the Hebrew Bible slowly emerged from centuries of oral traditions. They are the result of historical circumstances that existed in the Middle East beginning in the second millennium BCE.3 Generalizations in these lessons are tentative.